Search results for: multi–drug resistant pathogenic bacteria

Authors: Muhammad Younas, Zimal Naveed

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Introduction : TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air (e.g. by coughing). The 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 87% of all estimated incident cases worldwide, and eight of these countries accounted for more than two thirds of the global total: India (27%), Indonesia (10%), China (7.1%), the Philippines (7.0%), Pakistan (5.7%), Nigeria (4.5%), Bangladesh (3.6%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.0%). Objective : To analyze prevalence of tuberculosis among the people who presented at THQ hospital Bhalwal between April 2024 to June 2024. Method : Total of 9200 patients presented in the OPD of THQ hospital Bhalwal were included in the study. These presumed cases underwent diagnostic testing by sputum for AFB, Gene expert and chest x rays. The data was then classified based Pulmonary and Extra-pulmonary TB disease and further classified on the basis of bacteriology positive and clinically diagnosed TB. The registered TB cases were then classified in 8 age groups in years and according to the gender. All the registered TB cases were then tested for HIV to observe the relation between Tuberculosis and HIV. Results : The total of 9200 patients presented to OPD during the period of 3 months between April 2024 to June 2024. Total registered cases of Tuberculosis were 161 (comprising 153 new cases and 8 cases after treatment failure). Out of the new cases 83 were males and 70 female cases were identified. The majority of males that were identified lies between age 55-64 and 65 and above while the majority of females that were diagnosed lies in the age group of 5-14 and 15-24. All the registered cases were then tested for HIV but none of them were found to be positive. Conclusion : According to World Health Organisation Global Tuberculosis Report, the incidence of Tubeculosis per 100000 people was 258, equivalent to 0.258 %. However, the study reveals an exceptionally high frequency of TB cases. The prevalence of Tuberculosis per 100000 people was found to be 1750 which is equivalent to 1.75 %. The study revealed that larger proportion of the population is currently affected by TB compared to the global average incidence reported by the WHO. The findings of the study indicates that the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) among females is most common in the younger population, specifically between the ages of 5 to 24, and particularly within the peak fertility age group of 15 to 24 years. The health of women in their peak fertility years is crucial for maternal and child health outcomes. This highlights the need for targeted public health interventions in this area to manage and reduce the burden of TB.

Keywords: AGE, AFB, female, male

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Authors: Beatrice Adeoye

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Studies have associated social and demographic characteristics as strong determinants of utilization of health care services; however, not much has been done to explore the dynamics of these variables in Nigeria. This empirical study explores the link between demographic factors and the future use of health care services in Nsukka, southeast Nigeria. A total of 543 respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. The findings of the study showed that majority (56.9%) of the respondents were female while 43.1% were male. More of the respondents were married (50.3%) while 41.80/0 of the respondents were between ages 26-35. Testing the demographic characteristics regarding where people will prefer to go first for treatment with multiple regression, It is only Sex as a demographic variable that indicates positive association for future occurrence to where people will prefer to go first for treatment with 0.08 significance. Age and education indicates no association considering their level of significance. This result shows that sex is one of the determinant factors of where and when people will go for treatment. This is pointing out the realities regarding African society where in the family setting, it is the father that dictates the cause of action. Also to buttress these findings, cross tabulating age with who determines where and when to go for treatment, findings show that majority (58.9%) within age 26-35 said their spouses decide on where and when to go for treatment. Findings showed that patriarchy still plays an important role in the utilization of health care delivery among the people studied.

Keywords: Demographic characters, Determinant, Health Care, treatment, self-medication, symptom,

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Authors: M. G. Cattaneo

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The non-effectiveness of certain codified human rights is particularly apparent with reference to the lack of access to essential drugs in developing countries, which represents a breach of the human right to receive adequate health assistance. This paper underlines the conflict and the legal contradictions between human rights, namely health rights, international Intellectual Property Rights, in particular patent law, as well as international trade law. The paper discusses the crucial links between R&D costs for innovation, patents and new medical drugs, with the goal of reformulating the hierarchies of priorities and of interests at stake in the international intellectual property (IP) law system. Different from what happens today, International patent law should be a legal instrument apt at rebalancing an axiological asymmetry between the (conflicting) needs at stake The core argument in the paper is the proposal of an alternative pathway, namely a feasible proposal for a patent law reform. IP laws tend to balance the benefits deriving from innovation with the costs of the provided monopoly, but since developing countries and industrialized countries are in completely different political and economic situations, it is necessary to (re)modulate such exchange according to the different needs. Based on this critical analysis, the paper puts forward a proposal, called Trading Time for Space (TTS), whereby a longer time for patent exclusive life in western countries (Time) is offered to the patent holder company, in exchange for the latter selling the medical drug at cost price in developing countries (Space). Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies should sell drugs in developing countries at the cost price, or alternatively grant a free license for the sale in such countries, without any royalties or fees. However, such social service shall be duly compensated. Therefore, the consideration for such a service shall be an extension of the temporal duration of the patent’s exclusive in the country of origin that will compensate the reduced profits caused by the supply at the price cost in developing countries.

Keywords: global health, global justice, patent law reform, access to drugs

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Authors: Yen-Hao Su, Wan-Chun Tang, Ya-Wen Cheng, Peik Sia, Chi-Chen Huang, Yi-Chao Lee, Hsin-Yi Jiang, Ming-Heng Wu, I-Lu Lai, Jun-Wei Lee, Kuen-Haur Lee

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There is a wide range of drugs and combinations under investigation and/or approved over the last decade to treat colorectal cancer (CRC), but the 5-year survival rate remains poor at stages II–IV. Therefore, new, more efficient drugs still need to be developed that will hopefully be included in first-line therapy or overcome resistance when it appears, as part of second- or third-line treatments in the near future. In this study, we revealed that heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors have high therapeutic potential in CRC according to combinative analysis of NCBI's Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository and chemical genomic database of Connectivity Map (CMap). We found that second generation Hsp90 inhibitor, NVP-AUY922, significantly down regulated the activities of a broad spectrum of kinases involved in regulating cell growth arrest and death of NVPAUY922-sensitive CRC cells. To overcome NVP-AUY922-induced upregulation of survivin expression which causes drug insensitivity, we found that combining berberine (BBR), a herbal medicine with potency in inhibiting survivin expression, with NVP-AUY922 resulted in synergistic antiproliferative effects for NVP-AUY922-sensitive and -insensitive CRC cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that treatment of NVP-AUY922-insensitive CRC cells with the combination of NVP-AUY922 and BBR caused cell growth arrest through inhibiting CDK4 expression and induction of microRNA-296-5p (miR-296-5p)-mediated suppression of Pin1–β-catenin–cyclin D1 signaling pathway. Finally, we found that the expression level of Hsp90 in tumor tissues of CRC was positively correlated with CDK4 and Pin1 expression levels. Taken together, these results indicate that combination of NVP-AUY922 and BBR therapy can inhibit multiple oncogenic signaling pathways of CRC.

Keywords: berberine, colorectal cancer, connectivity map, heat shock protein 90 inhibitor

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Authors: Elissar Mansour, Emily Chen, Tracee Fernandez, Mariam Basheti, Christopher Gordon, Bandana Saini

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Sleep is an essential process for the maintenance of several neurobiological processes such as memory consolidation, mood, and metabolic processes. It is known that sleep patterns vary with age and is affected by multiple factors. While non-pharmacological strategies are generally considered first-line, sedatives are excessively used in the older population. This study aimed to explore the management of sleep in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) by nurse professionals and to identify the key factors that impact provision of optimal sleep health care. An inductive thematic qualitative research method was employed to analyse the data collected from semi-structured interviews with registered nurses working in RACF. Seventeen interviews were conducted, and the data yielded three themes: 1) the nurses’ observations and knowledge of sleep health, 2) the strategies employed in RACF for the management of sleep disturbances, 3) the organizational barriers to evidence-based sleep health management. Nurse participants reported the use of both non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions. Sedatives were commonly prescribed due to their fast action and accessibility despite the guidelines indicating their use in later stages. Although benzodiazepines are known for their many side effects, such as drowsiness and oversedation, temazepam was the most commonly administered drug. Sleep in RACF was affected by several factors such as aging and comorbidities (e.g., dementia, pain, anxiety). However, the were also many modifiable factors that negatively impacted sleep management in RACF. These include staffing ratios, nursing duties, medication side effects, and lack of training and involvement of allied health professionals. This study highlighted the importance of involving a multidisciplinary team and the urge to develop guidelines and training programs for healthcare professionals to improve sleep health management in RACF.

Keywords: registered nurses, residential aged care facilities, sedative use, sleep

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Authors: Fatma El-Zahraa El-Taher, Ayman Taha, Jane Courtney, Susan Mckeever

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Understanding road networks plays an important role in navigation applications such as self-driving vehicles and route planning for individual journeys. Intersections of roads are essential components of road networks. Understanding the features of an intersection, from a simple T-junction to larger multi-road junctions, is critical to decisions such as crossing roads or selecting the safest routes. The identification and profiling of intersections from satellite images is a challenging task. While deep learning approaches offer the state-of-the-art in image classification and detection, the availability of training datasets is a bottleneck in this approach. In this paper, a labelled satellite image dataset for the intersection recognition problem is presented. It consists of 14,692 satellite images of Washington DC, USA. To support other users of the dataset, an automated download and labelling script is provided for dataset replication. The challenges of construction and fine-grained feature labelling of a satellite image dataset is examined, including the issue of how to address features that are spread across multiple images. Finally, the accuracy of the detection of intersections in satellite images is evaluated.

Keywords: satellite images, remote sensing images, data acquisition, autonomous vehicles

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Authors: Mariana Mangas, Yaroslava Martins, M. Suárez, Célia Santos, Ana Matos Pires

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Baixo Alentejo is a region of Portugal characterized by an aging population, geographic isolation, social deprivation and a lack of medical staff. It is one of the most problematic regions in regards to mental health, particularly due to the factors mentioned. The aim of this study is a presentation of liaison psychiatry in Hospital José Joaquim Fernandes; a sample of the work done, the current situation and future perspectives. The aim is to present a retrospective study of internal psychiatric emergencies from January 1st, 2016 to August 31st, 2016. Liaison psychiatry of Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health (Psychiatry Service) of ULSBA includes the following activities: internal psychiatry emergencies, HIV consultation (comprised in the general consultation) and liaison psychology (oncology and pain), consisting of a total of 111 internal psychiatry emergencies during the identified period. Gender distribution was uniform. The most prevalent age group was 71-80 years, and 66,6% of patients were 60 years old and over. The majority of the emergency observations was requested by hospital services of medicine (56,8%) and surgery (24,3%). The most frequent reasons for admission were: respiratory disease (18,0%); tumors (15.3%); other surgical and orthopedic pathology (14,5%) and stroke (11,7%). The most frequent psychiatric diagnoses were: neurotic and organic depression (24,3%); delirium (26,1%) and adjustment reaction (14,5%). Major psychiatric pathology (schizophrenia and affective disorders) was found in 10,8%. Antidepressive medication was prescribed in 37,8% patients; antipsychotics in 34,2%. In 9.9% of the cases, no psychotropic drug was prescribed, and 5,4% of patients received psychologic support. Regarding hospital discharge, 42,4% of patients were referred to the general practitioner or to the medical specialist; 22,5% to outpatient gerontopsychiatry; 17,1% to psychiatric outpatient and 14,4% deceased. A future perspective is to start liaison in areas of HIV and psycho oncology in multidisciplinary approach and to improve collaboration with colleagues of other specialties for refining psychiatric referrals.

Keywords: psychiatry, liaison, internal emergency, psychiatric referral

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Authors: Antonio Gioiosa, Simone Doanti, Eric Flumerfelt, Luca Morescalchi, Elena Pedreschi, Gianantonio Pezzullo, Ryan A. Rivera, Franco Spinella

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The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab aims to measure the charged-lepton flavour violating neutrino-less conversion of a negative muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. With the expected experimental sensitivity, Mu2e will improve the previous limit of four orders of magnitude. The Mu2e data acquisition (DAQ) system provides hardware and software to collect digitized data from the tracker, calorimeter, cosmic ray veto, and beam monitoring systems. Mu2e’s trigger and data acquisition system (TDAQ) uses otsdaq as its solution. developed at Fermilab, otsdaq uses the artdaq DAQ framework and art analysis framework, under-the-hood, for event transfer, filtering, and processing. Otsdaq is an online DAQ software suite with a focus on flexibility and scalability while providing a multi-user, web-based interface accessible through the Chrome or Firefox web browser. The detector read out controller (ROC) from the tracker and calorimeter stream out zero-suppressed data continuously to the data transfer controller (DTC). Data is then read over the PCIe bus to a software filter algorithm that selects events which are finally combined with the data flux that comes from a cosmic ray veto system (CRV).

Keywords: trigger, daq, mu2e, Fermilab

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Authors: Belgherbi Aicha, Hadjidj Ismahen, Bessaid Abdelhafid

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Accurate Liver, spleen and kidneys segmentation in abdominal CT images is one of the most important steps for computer aided abdominal organs pathology diagnosis. In this paper, we have proposed a new semi-automatic algorithm for Liver, spleen and kidneys area extraction in abdominal CT images. Our proposed method is based on hierarchical segmentation and watershed algorithm. In our approach, a powerful technique has been designed to suppress over-segmentation based on mosaic image and on the computation of the watershed transform. The algorithm is currency in two parts. In the first, we seek to improve the quality of the gradient-mosaic image. In this step, we propose a method for improving the gradient-mosaic image by applying the anisotropic diffusion filter followed by the morphological filters. Thereafter we proceed to the hierarchical segmentation of the liver, spleen and kidney. To validate the segmentation technique proposed, we have tested it on several images. Our segmentation approach is evaluated by comparing our results with the manual segmentation performed by an expert. The experimental results are described in the last part of this work.

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion filter, CT images, morphological filter, mosaic image, multi-abdominal organ segmentation, mosaic image, the watershed algorithm

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Authors: M. Sumida, S. Morita

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In this research, the effect of unsteady flows acting on road vehicles was experimentally investigated, using an advanced and recently introduced wind tunnel. The aims of this study were to extract the characteristics of fluid forces acting on road vehicles under unsteady wind conditions and obtain new information on drag forces in a practical on-road test. We applied pulsating wind as a representative example of the atmospheric fluctuations that vehicles encounter on the road. That is, we considered the case where the vehicles are moving at constant speed in the air, with large wind oscillations. The experimental tests were performed on the Ahmed-type test model, which is a simplified vehicle model. This model was chosen because of its simplicity and the data accumulated under steady wind conditions. The experiments were carried out with a time-averaged Reynolds number of Re = 4.16x10⁵ and a pulsation period of T = 1.5 s, with amplitude of η = 0.235. Unsteady fluid forces of drag and lift were obtained utilizing a multi-component load cell. It was observed that the unsteady aerodynamic forces differ significantly from those under steady wind conditions. They exhibit a phase shift and an enhanced response to the wind oscillations. Furthermore, their behavior depends on the slant angle of the rear shape of the model.

Keywords: Ahmed body, automotive aerodynamics, unsteady wind, wind tunnel test

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Authors: Naouelle Azzag, Nadia Haddad, Benoit Durand, Elisabeth Petit, Ali Ammouche, Bruno Chomel, Henri J. Boulouis

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Bartonella henselae is a small, gram negative, arthropod-borne bacterium that has been shown to cause multiple clinical manifestations in humans including cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, endocarditis, and bacteremia. In this research, we report the results of a cross sectional study of Bartonella henselae bacteremia in stray cats from Algiers. Whole blood of 227 stray cats from Algiers was tested for the presence of Bartonella species by culture and for the evaluation of the genetic diversity of B. henselae strains by multi-locus variable number of tandem repeats assay (MLVA). Bacteremia prevalence was 17% and only B. henselae was identified. Type I was the predominant type (64%). MLVA typing of 259 strains from 30 bacteremic cats revealed 52 different profiles. 51 of these profiles were specific to Algerian cats/identified for the first time. 20/30 cats (67%) harbored 2 to 7 MLVA profiles simultaneously. The similarity of MLVA profiles obtained from the same cat, neighbor-joining clustering and structure-neighbor clustering showed that such a diversity likely results from two different mechanisms occurring either independently or simultaneously independent infections and genetic drift from a primary strain.

Keywords: Bartonella, cat, MLVA, genetic

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Authors: Diogo José Morgado Rebelo, Francisco António Carneiro Pacheco de Andrade, Paulo Jorge Freitas de Oliveira Novais

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Not everything in AI-power consumer credit scoring turns out to be a wonder. When using AI in Creditworthiness Assessment (CWA), opacity and unfairness ‘sins’ must be considered to the task be deemed Responsible. AI software is not always 100% accurate, which can lead to misclassification. Discrimination of some groups can be exponentiated. A hetero personalized identity can be imposed on the individual(s) affected. Also, autonomous CWA sometimes lacks transparency when using black box models. However, for this intended purpose, human analysts ‘on-the-loop’ might not be the best remedy consumers are looking for in credit. This study seeks to explore the legality of implementing a Multi-Agent System (MAS) framework in consumer CWA to ensure compliance with the regulation outlined in Article 14(4) of the Proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), dated 21 April 2021 (as per the last corrigendum by the European Parliament on 19 April 2024), Especially with the adoption of Art. 18(8)(9) of the EU Directive 2023/2225, of 18 October, which will go into effect on 20 November 2026, there should be more emphasis on the need for hybrid oversight in AI-driven scoring to ensure fairness and transparency. In fact, the range of EU regulations on AI-based consumer credit will soon impact the AI lending industry locally and globally, as shown by the broad territorial scope of AIA’s Art. 2. Consequently, engineering the law of consumer’s CWA is imperative. Generally, the proposed MAS framework consists of several layers arranged in a specific sequence, as follows: firstly, the Data Layer gathers legitimate predictor sets from traditional sources; then, the Decision Support System Layer, whose Neural Network model is trained using k-fold Cross Validation, provides recommendations based on the feeder data; the eXplainability (XAI) multi-structure comprises Three-Step-Agents; and, lastly, the Oversight Layer has a 'Bottom Stop' for analysts to intervene in a timely manner. From the analysis, one can assure a vital component of this software is the XAY layer. It appears as a transparent curtain covering the AI’s decision-making process, enabling comprehension, reflection, and further feasible oversight. Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME) might act as a pillar by offering counterfactual insights. SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP), another agent in the XAI layer, could address potential discrimination issues, identifying the contribution of each feature to the prediction. Alternatively, for thin or no file consumers, the Suggestion Agent can promote financial inclusion. It uses lawful alternative sources such as the share of wallet, among others, to search for more advantageous solutions to incomplete evaluation appraisals based on genetic programming. Overall, this research aspires to bring the concept of Machine-Centered Anthropocentrism to the table of EU policymaking. It acknowledges that, when put into service, credit analysts no longer exert full control over the data-driven entities programmers have given ‘birth’ to. With similar explanatory agents under supervision, AI itself can become self-accountable, prioritizing human concerns and values. AI decisions should not be vilified inherently. The issue lies in how they are integrated into decision-making and whether they align with non-discrimination principles and transparency rules.

Keywords: creditworthiness assessment, hybrid oversight, machine-centered anthropocentrism, EU policymaking

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Authors: Netsanet Kebede Hundessa

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Substrate modification of thin film composite (TFC) membranes with various crosslinkers is typically necessary for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) applications. This modification is aimed at enhancing membrane stability and solvent resistance, but it often results in a decline in permeance. This study introduces a distinct approach by developing a coordination-crosslinked polyimide substrate, which differs from the covalently-crosslinked substrates traditionally used. This developed substrate achieves enhanced solvent resistance, improved hydrophilicity, and optimized porous microstructure simultaneously. The study investigates the effects of an alkaline coagulation bath, subsequent ion exchange, and further solvent activation. The resulting TFC membrane successfully overcomes the typical permeability-selectivity trade-off of OSN membranes. It demonstrates significantly improved solvent permeance (1.5–2 times higher than previously reported data) with values of 65.2 LMH/bar for methanol, 33.1 LMH/bar for ethanol, and 59.1 LMH/bar for acetone while maintaining competitive solute rejection (>98% for Rose Bengal). This research is expected to provide a new direction for developing high-performance OSN composite membranes and other separation applications.

Keywords: metal coordinatiom, thin film composite membrane, organic solvent nanofiltration, solvent activation

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Authors: Amel Hannech, Mehdi Adda, Hamid Mcheick

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In computer science, the purpose of finding useful information is still one of the most active and important research topics. The most popular application of information retrieval (IR) are Search Engines, they meet users' specific needs and aim to locate the effective information in the web. However, these search engines have some limitations related to the relevancy of the results and the ease to explore those results. In this context, we proposed in previous works a Multi-Space Search Engine model that is based on a multidimensional interpretation universe. In the present paper, we integrate an additional dimension that allows to offer users new research experiences. The added component is based on creating user profiles and calculating the similarity between them that then allow the use of collaborative filtering in retrieving search results. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, a prototype is developed. The experiments showed that the additional dimension has improved the relevancy of results by predicting the interesting items of users based on their experiences and the experiences of other similar users. The offered personalization service allows users to approve the pertinent items, which allows to enrich their profiles and further improve research.

Keywords: information retrieval, v-facets, user behavior analysis, user profiles, topical ontology, association rules, data personalization

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Authors: Raqiqa Tur Rasool, Ghulam Abbas Ashraf

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This study presents the synthesis and application of Carbon@NiCoFeS nanoparticles as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The Carbon@NiCoFeS nanoparticles, synthesized via a hydrothermal method, exhibit a highly crystalline and uniformly distributed nanostructure, as confirmed by XRD, SEM, TEM, and FTIR analyses. The photocatalytic performance was tested using ibuprofen (IBU) as a model pollutant under visible light, demonstrating remarkable efficiency across various conditions, including different concentrations of photocatalyst and PMS and a range of pH values. The enhanced activity is attributed to the synergistic effects of Ni, Co, and Fe, promoting effective electron-hole separation and reactive radical generation, primarily SO4•− and •OH. Quenching experiments highlighted sulfate radicals' predominant role in the degradation process. The Carbon@NiCoFeS photocatalyst also showed excellent reusability and stability over multiple cycles, and its versatility in degrading various organic pollutants underscores its potential for practical wastewater treatment applications. This research offers significant insights into multi-metal sulfide photocatalyst design, showcasing Carbon@NiCoFeS nanoparticles' promising role in environmental remediation via efficient PMS activation.

Keywords: NiCoFeS nanoparticles, photocatalytic degradation, peroxymonosulfate activation, organic pollutant removal, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Giovanni Menichini, Salvatore Giacomo Morano, Gloria Terenzi, Luca Salvatori, Maurizio Orlando

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The “Guidelines for Risk Classification, Safety Assessment, and Structural Health Monitoring of Existing Bridges” were recently approved by the Italian Government to define technical standards for managing the national network of existing bridges. These guidelines provide a framework for risk mitigation and safety assessment of bridges, which are essential elements of the built environment and form the basis for the operation of transport systems. Within the guideline framework, a workflow based on three main points was proposed: (1) risk-based, i.e., based on typical parameters of hazard, vulnerability, and exposure; (2) multi-level, i.e., including six assessment levels of increasing complexity; and (3) multirisk, i.e., assessing structural/foundational, seismic, hydrological, and landslide risks. The paper focuses on applying the Italian Guidelines to specific case studies, aiming to identify the parameters that predominantly influence the determination of the “class of attention”. The significance of each parameter is determined via sensitivity analysis. Additionally, recommendations for enhancing the process of assigning the class of attention are proposed.

Keywords: bridge safety assessment, Italian guidelines implementation, risk classification, structural health monitoring

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Authors: Shoubhik Mandal, Debarghya Mallick, Abhishek Banerjee, R. Ganesan, P. S. Anil Kumar

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We report magnetotransport measurements in Bi₁Sb₁Te₁.₅Se₁.₅/RuCl₃ heterostructure nanodevices. Bi₁Sb₁Te₁.₅Se₁.₅ (BSTS) is a strong three-dimensional topological insulator (3D-TI) that hosts conducting topological surface states (TSS) enclosing an insulating bulk. α-RuCl₃ (namely, RuCl₃) is an anti-ferromagnet that is predicted to behave as a Kitaev-like quantum spin liquid carrying Majorana excitations. Temperature (T)-dependent resistivity measurements show the interplay between parallel bulk and surface transport channels. At T < 150 K, surface state transport dominates over bulk transport. Multi-channel weak anti-localization (WAL) is observed, as a sharp cusp in the magnetoconductivity, indicating strong spin-orbit coupling. The presence of top and bottom topological surface states (TSS), including a pair of electrically coupled Rashba surface states (RSS), are indicated. Non-linear Hall effect, explained by a two-band model, further supports this interpretation. Finally, a low-T logarithmic resistance upturn is analyzed using the Lu-Shen model, supporting the presence of gapless surface states with a π Berry phase.

Keywords: topological materials, electrical transport, Lu-Shen model, quantum spin liquid

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Authors: Maiko Kiyohara, Toshiki Ito

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In this study, we used a psychotherapy process for patient with dissociative disorder and the graphic Rorschach (Digital version) (GRD). A dissociative disorder is a type of dissociation characterized by multiple alternating personalities (also called alternate identity or another identity). "dissociation" is a state in which consciousness, memory, thinking, emotion, perception, behavior, body image, and so on are divided and experienced. Dissociation symptoms, such as lack of memory, are seen, and the repetition of blanks in daily events causes serious problems in life. Although the pathological mechanism of dissociation has not yet been fully elucidated, it is said that it is caused by childhood abuse or shocking trauma. In case of Japan, no reliable data has been reported on the number of patients and prevalence of dissociative disorders, no drug is compatible with dissociation symptoms, and no clear treatment has been established. GRD is a method that the author revised in 2017 to a Graphic Rorschach, which is a special technique for subjects to draw language responses when enforce Rorschach. GRD reduces the burden on both the subject and the examiner, reduces the complexity of organizing data, improves the simplicity of organizing data, and improves the accuracy of interpretation by introducing a tablet computer during the drawing reaction. We are conducting research for the purpose. The patient in this case is a woman in her 50s, and has multiple personalities since childhood. At present, there are about 10 personalities whose main personality is just grasped. The patients is raising her junior high school sons as single parent, but personal changes often occur at home, which makes the home environment inferior and economically oppressive, and has severely hindered daily life. In psychotherapy, while a personality different from the main personality has appeared, I have also conducted psychotherapy with her son. In this case, the psychotherapy process and the GRD were performed to understand the personality characteristics, and the possibility of therapeutic significance to personality integration is reported.

Keywords: GRD, dissociative disorder, a case study of psychotherapy process, dissociation

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Authors: Jose Carlos Tavares Carvalho, Hady Keita, Giovanna Rocha Santana, Igor Victor Ferreira Dos Santos, Jesus Rafael Rodriguez Amado, Ariadna Lafourcade Prada, Adriana Maciel Ferreira, Helison Oliveira

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Summary: As animal model, zebrafish can be a good opportunity to establish a profile of tissue alteration caused by Bothrops alternatus venom and to screen new anti-venom drugs. Objective: To establish tissue biomarkers from zebrafish injected by snake venom and elucidate the use of glucocorticoids in ophidic accidents. Materials and Methods: The Danio rerio fish were randomly divided into four groups: control group, venom group, Dexamethasone1h before venom injected group and Dexamethasone 1 h after venom injected group. The concentration of Bothrops alternatus venom was 0.13 mg/ml and the fish received 20µl/Fish. The Body weight measurement and histological characteristics of gills, kidneys, liver, and intestine were determinate. Results: Physical analysis shows necrosis accompanied by inflammation in animals receiving the Bothrops alternatus venom. Significant difference was observed in the variation of weight between the control group, and the groups received the venom (t student test, p < 0.05). The average histological alterations index of gill, liver, kidney or intestine was statistically higher in animals received the venom (t Student test, p < 0.05). The alterations were lower in the groups that received Dexamethasone 1h before and after venom injected compared to the group that received only the venom. Dexamethasone 1h before venom injected group had minor histopathological alterations. Conclusion: The organs of zebrafish may be a tissue biomarker of alterations from Bothrops alternatus venom and dexamethasone reduced the damage caused by this venom in the organs studied, which may suggest the use of zebrafish as animal model for research related to screening new drug against snake venom.

Keywords: zebrafish, snake venom, biomarker, drugs

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Authors: Rakesh Prajapati, Purvik Patel, Avadhoot Rajurkar

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Nowadays, manufacturing industries augment their production lines with modern machining centers backed by CAM software. Several attempts are being made to cut down the programming time for machining complex geometries. Special programs/software have been developed to generate the digital numerical data and to prepare NC programs by using suitable post-processors for different machines. By selecting the tools and manufacturing process then applying tool paths and NC program are generated. More and more complex mechanical parts that earlier were being cast and assembled/manufactured by other processes are now being machined. Majority of these parts require lots of pocketing operations and find their applications in die and mold, turbo machinery, aircraft, nuclear, defense etc. Pocketing operations involve removal of large quantity of material from the metal surface. The modeling of warm cast and clamping a piece of food processing parts which the used of Pro-E and MasterCAM^® software. Pocketing operation has been specifically chosen for toolpath optimization. Then after apply Pocketing toolpath, Multi Tool Selection and Reduce Air Time give the results of software simulation time and experimental machining time.

Keywords: toolpath, part program, optimization, pocket

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Authors: Che Zarrina Sa'ari, Sheriza Izwa Zainuddin, Hasimah Chik, Sharifah Basirah Syed Muhsin

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Palliative care is holistic care for patients with serious illnesses and for the family as well by interdisciplinary specialties to optimize quality of life by preventing, treating, and comforting the suffering and struggling. Palliative care is not a curative treatment but a comprehensive care to ensure the well-being of patients. This study was to identify the perceptions of patients and carers on healthcare needs and any factors related to the needs of palliative patients. Validated questionnaires survey of 254 patients and carers were analysed using a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The findings were processed with Cronbach Alpha analysis, frequency, and descriptive to compare the important of each element in healthcare. Open-ended responses were analysed using thematic framework approach. The findings proved that all the items in healthcare needs elements were important because the frequency shown higher values, which were physical needs (5.91), mental needs (6.10), spiritual needs (6.34), emotional needs (6.05), social needs (5.88) and logistics needs (5.05). The total score of Cronbach’s alpha (α) for this study is 0.958, which is suggesting very good internal consistency reliability for the elements for healthcare needs. Professionals and healthcare providers need to ensure healthcare planning is individualised by tailoring it to the values, priorities, and ethnic/cultural/religious context of each person.

Keywords: healthcare, need, holistic, palliative, multi speciality

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Authors: Dace Aleksandraviča

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The paper presents a theoretical exploration of the emerging field of 21st-century ecolinguistics, which examines the multi-faceted relationship between language, ecology, and identity in our rapidly changing global landscape. In an era characterized by unprecedented linguistic and cultural hybridity, understanding the interplay between language and environment is paramount. This paper delves into the concept of hybrid identities, examining how individuals negotiate their linguistic and cultural affiliations within diverse ecological contexts based on relevant prior contributions in the field. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives from linguistics, environmental studies, and cultural studies, the research investigates the ways in which language shapes and is shaped by environmental realities. The abstract underscores the importance of ecolinguistic approaches in fostering environmental stewardship and promoting sustainable practices. By acknowledging the intrinsic link between language, culture, and ecology, it becomes possible to cultivate a deeper appreciation for linguistic diversity and empower individuals to navigate their hybrid identities in a rapidly changing world. In line with that, the paper hopes to contribute to the growing body of literature on ecolinguistics and offer insights into how language can serve as a tool for both environmental conservation and cultural revitalization.

Keywords: ecolinguistics, hybrid identities, language, globalization

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Authors: C. Okonkwo Ugochukwu, E. Sinebe Jude, N. Odoh Blessing, E. Okafor Christian

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In this paper, a modification on repair workshop queuing system using multi priority scheme was carried out. Chi square goodness of fit test was used to determine the random distribution of the inter arrival time and service time of crankshafts that come for maintenance in the workshop. The chi square values obtained for all the prioritized classes show that the distribution conforms to Poisson distribution. The mean waiting time in queue results of non-preemptive priority for 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes show 0.066, 0.09, and 0.224 day respectively, while preemptive priority show 0.007, 0.036 and 0.258 day. However, when non priority is used, which obviously has no class distinction it amounts to 0.17 days. From the results, one can observe that the preemptive priority system provides a very dramatic improvement over the non preemptive priority as it concerns arrivals that are of higher priority. However, the improvement has a detrimental effect on the low priority class. The trend of the results is similar to the mean waiting time in the system as a result of addition of the actual service time. Even though the mean waiting time for the queue and that of the system for no priority takes the least time when compared with the least priority, urgent and semi-urgent jobs will terribly suffer which will most likely result in reneging or balking of many urgent jobs. Hence, the adoption of priority scheme in this type of scenario will result in huge profit to the Company and more customer satisfaction.

Keywords: queue, priority class, preemptive, non-preemptive, mean waiting time

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Authors: Kevin A. Droguett, Edwin G. Pérez, Denis Fuentealba, Margarita E. Aliaga, Angélica M. Fierro

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Supramolecular chemistry is a field of growing interest. Moreover, studying the formation of host-guest complexes between macrocycles and dyes is highly attractive due to their potential applications. Examples of the above are drug delivery, catalytic process, and sensing, among others. There are different dyes of interest in the literature; one example is the quinolinone derivatives. Those molecules have good optical properties and chemical and thermal stability, making them suitable for developing fluorescent probes. Secondly, several macrocycles can be seen in the literature. One example is the cucurbiturils. This water-soluble macromolecule family has a hydrophobic cavity and two identical carbonyl portals. Additionally, the thermodynamic analysis of those supramolecular systems could help understand the affinity between the host and guest, their interaction, and the main stabilization energy of the complex. In this work, two 7-(diethylamino) quinoline-2 (1H)-one derivative (QD1-2) and their interaction with cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) were studied from an experimental and in-silico point of view. For the experimental section, the complexes showed a 1:1 stoichiometry by HRMS-ESI and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The inclusion of the derivatives on the macrocycle lends to an upward shift in the fluorescence intensity, and the pKa value of QD1-2 exhibits almost no variation after the formation of the complex. The thermodynamics of the inclusion complexes was investigated using ITC; the results demonstrate a non-classical hydrophobic effect with a minimum contribution from the entropy term and a constant binding on the order of 106 for both ligands. Additionally, dynamic molecular studies were carried out during 300 ns in an explicit solvent at NTP conditions. Our finding shows that the complex remains stable during the simulation (RMSD ~1 Å), and hydrogen bonds contribute to the stabilization of the systems. Finally, thermodynamic parameters from MMPBSA calculations were obtained to generate new computational insights to compare with experimental results.

Keywords: host-guest complexes, molecular dynamics, quinolin-2(1H)-one derivatives dyes, thermodynamics

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Authors: Assia Amri, Naima Layachi, Ali Ladjama

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The characterization of some Algerian honey was carried out on the basis of their physico-chemical properties: moisture,hydroxy methyl furfural, diastase activity, pH,free, total and lactonic acidity, electrical conductivity, minerals and proline content. Studied samples are found to be low in moisture and therefore safe from fermentation, low in HMF level and high in diastase activity. Additionally the diastase activity and the HMF content are widely recognized parameters indicating the freshness of honey. Phenolic compounds present in honey are classified into two groups - simple phenols and polyphenols. The simple phenols in honey are various phenol acids, but polyphenols are various flavonoids and flavonides. The aim of our work was to determine antioxidant properties of various Algerian honey samples–the total phenol content, total flavonoids content, as well as honey anti radical activity.The quality of honey samples differs on account of various factors such as season, packaging and processing conditions, floral source, geographical origin and storage period. It is important that precautions should be taken to ensure standardization and rationalization of beekeeping techniques, manufacturing procedures and storing processes to improve honey quality.

Keywords: honey, physico-chemical characterization, phenolic coumpound, HMF, diastase activity

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Authors: Wai Ho Darrell Kwok

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Building entities are valuable assets of a society, however, all of them are suffered from the ravages of weather and time. Facilitating onerous maintenance activities is the only way to either maintain or enhance the value and contemporary standard of the premises. By the way, maintenance budget is always bounded by the corresponding threshold limit. In order to optimize the limited resources allocation in carrying out maintenance, there is a substantial need to prioritize maintenance work. This paper reveals the application of Fuzzy AHP in a Facilities Management Company determining the maintenance priorities on the basis of predetermined criteria, viz., Building Status (BS), Effects on Fabrics (EF), Effects on Sustainability (ES), Effects on Users (EU), Importance of Usage (IU) and Physical Condition (PC) in dealing with categorized 8 predominant building components maintenance aspects for building premises. From the case study, it is found that ‘building exterior repainting or re-tiling’, ‘spalling concrete repair works among exterior area’ and ‘lobby renovation’ are the top three maintenance priorities from facilities manager and maintenance expertise personnel. Through the application of the Fuzzy AHP for maintenance priorities decision algorithm, a more systemic and easier comparing scalar linearity factors being explored even in considering other multiple criteria decision scenarios of building maintenance issue.

Keywords: building maintenance, fuzzy AHP, maintenance priority, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: Santiago Martínez Hernández

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The establishment of the European Union signified the culmination of the supra-national power addressing economic, political, legal and humanitarian matters within and above a national territory. Human rights have taken a protagonist role as one of the pressing concerns that the EU addresses, and one of the most critical problems is that of human trafficking. This multi-billion dollar criminal business represents $31.6 per year made out of 2.5 million trafficked persons worldwide, making it one of the most crucial human rights problems in the world to address. The EU has developed strategies to tackle this issue through supra-national governance, however, how have they fared? What is the impact of its development on the issue? This paper will address the direct and indirect impact of the formation of the European Union as a supranational political and economic entity on the illicit industry of human trafficking in Europe. It attempts to analyse first, the situation of human trafficking in Europe, as an attempt to understand its importance in the region, addressing its root causes and the role of the states addressed. Second, the paper will examine the impact of the EU on human breaking down its policy-making at a supranational level, the role of the economic integration of the region, and the change of migration patterns since its inception.

Keywords: human trafficking, human rights, European union, criminal business

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Authors: Cristian Soitu, Alexander Feuerborn, Cyril Deroy, Alfonso Castrejon-Pita, Peter R. Cook, Edmond J. Walsh

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Microfluidics now stands as an academically mature technology after a quarter of a century research activities have delivered a vast array of proof of concepts for many biological workflows. However, translation to industry remains poor, with only a handful of notable exceptions – e.g. digital PCR, DNA sequencing – mainly because of biocompatibility issues, limited range of readouts supported or complex operation required. This technology exploits the domination of interfacial forces over gravitational ones at the microscale, replacing solid walls with fluid ones as building blocks for cell micro-environments. By employing only materials used by biologists for decades, the system is shown to be biocompatible, and easy to manufacture and operate. The method consists in displacing a continuous fluid layer into a pattern of isolated chambers overlaid with an immiscible liquid to prevent evaporation. The resulting fluid arrangements can be arrays of micro-chambers with rectangular footprint, which use the maximum surface area available, or structures with irregular patterns. Pliant, self-healing fluid walls confine volumes as small as 1 nl. Such fluidic structures can be reconfigured during the assays, giving the platform an unprecedented level of flexibility. Common workflows in cell biology are demonstrated – e.g. cell growth and retrieval, cloning, cryopreservation, fixation and immunolabeling, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, and proof-of-concept drug tests. This fluid-shaping technology is shown to have potential for high-throughput cell- and organism-based assays. The ability to make and reconfigure on-demand microfluidic circuits on standard Petri dishes should find many applications in biology, and yield more relevant phenotypic and genotypic responses when compared to standard microfluidic assays.

Keywords: fluid walls, micro-chambers, reconfigurable, freestyle

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Authors: I. Shuro

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The crystal structure of Tin Sulfide prepared by certain chemical methods is investigated using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. An anomalous HRTEM Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) exhibited a central scatter of diffraction spots, which is surrounded by secondary clusters of spots arranged in a hexagonal pattern around the central cluster was observed. FFT analysis has revealed a long lattice parameter and mostly viewed along a hexagonal axis where there many columns of atoms slightly displaced from one another. This FFT analysis has revealed that the metal sulfide has a long-range order interwoven chain of atoms in its crystal structure. The observed crystalline structure is inconsistent with commonly observed FFT patterns of chemically synthesized Tin Sulfide nanocrystals and thin films. SEM analysis showed the morphology of a myriad of multi-shaped crystals ranging from hexagonal, cubic, and spherical micro to nanostructured crystals. This study also investigates the presence of quasi-crystals as reflected by the presence of mixed local symmetries.

Keywords: fast fourier transform, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, tin sulfide, crystalline structure

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Authors: Khaled Sandjak, Boualem Tiliouine

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Structural analysis of flexible pavements has been and still is currently performed using multi-layer elastic theory. However, for thinly surfaced pavements subjected to low to medium volumes of traffics, the importance of non-linear stress-strain behaviour of unbound granular materials (UGM) requires the use of more sophisticated numerical models for structural design and performance of such pavements. In the present work, nonlinear unbound aggregates constitutive model is implemented within an axisymmetric finite element code developed to simulate the nonlinear behaviour of pavement structures including two local aggregates of different mineralogical nature, typically used in Algerian pavements. The performance of the mechanical model is examined about its capability of representing adequately, under various conditions, the granular material non-linearity in pavement analysis. In addition, deflection data collected by falling weight deflectometer (FWD) are incorporated into the analysis in order to assess the sensitivity of critical pavement design criteria and pavement design life to the constitutive model. Finally, conclusions of engineering significance are formulated.

Keywords: FWD backcalculations, finite element simulations, Nonlinear resilient behaviour, pavement response and performance, RLT test results, unbound granular materials

Procedia PDF Downloads 258