Search results for: ELISA technique

Authors: I. Sinnarasa, Y. Thimont, L. Presmanes, A. Barnabé

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The thermoelectricity is a promising technique to overcome the issues in recovering waste heat to electricity without using moving parts. In fact, the thermoelectric (TE) effect defines as the conversion of a temperature gradient directly into electricity and vice versa. To optimize TE materials, the power factor (PF = σS² where σ is electrical conductivity and S is Seebeck coefficient) must be increased by adjusting the carrier concentration, and/or the lattice thermal conductivity Kₜₕ must be reduced by introducing scattering centers with point defects, interfaces, and nanostructuration. The PF does not show the advantages of the thin film because it does not take into account the thermal conductivity. In general, the thermal conductivity of the thin film is lower than the bulk material due to their microstructure and increasing scattering effects with decreasing thickness. Delafossite type oxides CuᴵMᴵᴵᴵO₂ received main attention for their optoelectronic properties as a p-type semiconductor they exhibit also interesting thermoelectric (TE) properties due to their high electrical conductivity and their stability in room atmosphere. As there are few proper studies on the TE properties of Mg-doped CuCrO₂ thin films, we have investigated, the influence of the annealing temperature on the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of Mg-doped CuCrO₂ thin films and calculated the PF in the temperature range from 40 °C to 220 °C. For it, we have deposited Mg-doped CuCrO₂ thin films on fused silica substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. This study was carried out on 300 nm thin films. The as-deposited Mg doped CuCrO₂ thin films have been annealed at different temperatures (from 450 to 650 °C) under primary vacuum. Electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the thin films have been measured from 40 to 220 °C. The highest electrical conductivity of 0.60 S.cm⁻¹ with a Seebeck coefficient of +329 µV.K⁻¹ at 40 °C have been obtained for the sample annealed at 550 °C. The calculated power factor of optimized CuCrO₂:Mg thin film was 6 µW.m⁻¹K⁻² at 40 °C. Due to the constant Seebeck coefficient and the increasing electrical conductivity with temperature it reached 38 µW.m⁻¹K⁻² at 220 °C that was a quite good result for an oxide thin film. Moreover, the degenerate behavior and the hopping mechanism of CuCrO₂:Mg thin film were elucidated. Their high and constant Seebeck coefficient in temperature and their stability in room atmosphere could be a great advantage for an application of this material in a high accuracy temperature measurement devices.

Keywords: thermoelectric, oxides, delafossite, thin film, power factor, degenerated semiconductor, hopping mode

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Esmaili

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One of the most important parts of the restoration process of a power network is the synchronizing of its subsystems. In this situation, the biggest concern of the system operators will be the reduction of the standing phase angle (SPA) between the endpoints of the two islands. In this regard, the system operators perform various actions and maneuvers so that the synchronization operation of the subsystems is successfully carried out and the system finally reaches acceptable stability. The most common of these actions include load control, generation control and, in some cases, changing the network topology. Although these maneuvers are simple and common, due to the weak network and extreme load changes, the restoration will be associated with low speed. One of the best ways to control the SPA is to use FACTS devices. By applying a soft control signal, these tools can reduce the SPA between two subsystems with more speed and accuracy, and the synchronization process can be done in less time. Meanwhile, the unified power controller (UPFC), a series-parallel compensator device with the change of transmission line power and proper adjustment of the phase angle, will be the proposed option in order to realize the subject of this research. Therefore, with the optimal placement of UPFC in a power system, in addition to improving the normal conditions of the system, it is expected to be effective in reducing the SPA during power system restoration. Therefore, the presented paper provides an optimal structure to coordinate the three problems of improving the division of subsystems, reducing the SPA and optimal power flow with the aim of determining the optimal location of UPFC and optimal subsystems. The proposed objective functions in this paper include maximizing the quality of the subsystems, reducing the SPA at the endpoints of the subsystems, and reducing the losses of the power system. Since there will be a possibility of creating contradictions in the simultaneous optimization of the proposed objective functions, the structure of the proposed optimization problem is introduced as a non-linear multi-objective problem, and the Pareto optimization method is used to solve it. The innovative technique proposed to implement the optimization process of the mentioned problem is an optimization algorithm called the water cycle (WCA). To evaluate the proposed method, the IEEE 39 bus power system will be used.

Keywords: UPFC, SPA, water cycle algorithm, multi-objective problem, pareto

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Authors: Tariq Ahmad Safapuri, Saghir Ahmad, Farhana Allai

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The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect dehydration techniques (polyhouse and tray drying), different treatment (SHMP, SHMP+ salt, salt + turmeric), different packaging material (HDPE, combination film), and different packaging methods (air, vacuum, CO2 Flush) on quality of dehydrated buffalo meat during ambient temperature storage. The quality measuring parameters included physico-chemical characteristics i.e. pH, rehydration ratio, moisture content and microbiological characteristics viz total plate content. It was found that the treatment of (SHMP, SHMP + salt, salt + turmeric increased the pH. Moisture Content of dehydrated meat samples were found in between 7.20% and 5.54%.the rehydration ratio of salt+ turmeric treated sample was found to be highest and lowest for controlled meat sample. the bacterial count log TPC/g of salt + turmeric and tray dried was lowest i.e. 1.80.During ambient temperature storage ,there was no considerable change in pH of dehydrated sample till 150 days. however the moisture content of samples increased in different packaging system in different manner. The highest moisture rise was found in case of controlled meat sample HDPE/air packed while the lowest increase was reported for SHMP+ Salt treated Packed by vacuum in combination film packed sample. Rehydration ratio was found considerably affected in case of HDPE and air packed sample dehydrated in polyhouse after 150 days of ambient storage. While there was a very little change in the rehydration ratio of meat samples packed in combination film CO2 flush system. The TPC was found under safe limit even after 150 days of storage. The microbial count was found to be lowest for salt+ turmeric treated samples after 150 days of storage.

Keywords: ambient temperature, dehydration technique, rehydration ratio, SHMP (sodium hexa meta phosphate), HDPE (high density polyethelene)

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Authors: Kruttika Bhuse

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Aim: Synergism between periodontists and orthodontists (periodontal accelerated osteogenic orthodontics- PAOO) creates crucial opportunities to enhance clinical outcomes of combined therapies regarding both disciplines and has made adult orthodontics a reality. Thus, understanding the biomechanics of bone remodelling may increase the clinical applications of corticotomy facilitated orthodontics with or without alveolar augmentation. Wilckodontics can be an attractive treatment option and be a “win-win” situation for both the dental surgeon and patient by reducing the orthodontic treatment time in adults. Materials and methods: In this review, data related to the clinical aspects, steps of procedure, biomechanics of bone, indications and contraindications and final outcome of wilckodontic shall be discussed. 50 supporting articles from various international journals and 70 clinical cases were reviewed to get a better understanding to design this wilckodontic - meta analysis. Various journals like the Journal Of Clinical And Diagnostic Research, Journal Of Indian Society Of Periodontology, Journal Of Periodontology, Pubmed, Boston Orthodontic University Journal, Good Practice Orthodontics Volume 2, have been referred to attain valuable information on wilckodontics which was then compiled in this single review study. Result: As a promising adjuvant technique based on the transient nature of demineralization-remineralisation process in healthy tissues, wilckodontics consists of regional acceleratory phenomenon by alveolar corticotomy and bone grafting of labial and palatal/lingual surfaces, followed by orthodontic force. The surgical wounding of alveolar bone potentiates tissue reorganization and healing by a way of transient burst of localized hard and soft tissue remodelling.This phenomenon causes bone healing to occur 10-50 times faster than normal bone turnover. Conclusion: This meta analysis helps understanding that the biomechanics of bone remodelling may increase the clinical applications of corticotomy facilitated orthodontics with or without alveolar augmentation. The main benefits being reduced orthodontic treatment time, increased bone volume and post-orthodontic stability.

Keywords: periodontal osteogenic accelerated orthodontics, alveolar corticotomy, bone augmentation, win-win situation

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Authors: Chamika Chiran Perera, Dananjaya Perera, Chirath Dasanayake, Banuka Athuraliya

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Male infertility is a major problem in the world, and it is a neglected and sensitive health issue in Sri Lanka. It can be determined by analyzing human semen samples. Sperm motility is one of many factors that can evaluate male’s fertility potential. In Sri Lanka, this analysis is performed manually. Manual methods are time consuming and depend on the person, but they are reliable and it can depend on the expert. Machine learning and deep learning technologies are currently being investigated to automate the spermatozoa motility analysis, and these methods are unreliable. These automatic methods tend to produce false positive results and false detection. Current automatic methods support different techniques, and some of them are very expensive. Due to the geographical variance in spermatozoa characteristics, current automatic methods are not reliable for motility analysis in Sri Lanka. The suggested system, DeepMotile, is to explore a method to analyze motility of human spermatozoa automatically and present it to the andrology laboratories to overcome current issues. DeepMotile is a novel deep learning method for analyzing spermatozoa motility parameters in the Sri Lankan population. To implement the current approach, Sri Lanka patient data were collected anonymously as a dataset, and glass slides were used as a low-cost technique to analyze semen samples. Current problem was identified as microscopic object detection and tackling the problem. YOLOv5 was customized and used as the object detector, and it achieved 94 % mAP (mean average precision), 86% Precision, and 90% Recall with the gathered dataset. StrongSORT was used as the object tracker, and it was validated with andrology experts due to the unavailability of annotated ground truth data. Furthermore, this research has identified many potential ways for further investigation, and andrology experts can use this system to analyze motility parameters with realistic accuracy.

Keywords: computer vision, deep learning, convolutional neural networks, multi-target tracking, microscopic object detection and tracking, male infertility detection, motility analysis of human spermatozoa

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Authors: Dusittorn Ngamying

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The research on Thatsana Nataya Chatri Dance: A Creative Conservation Process of Cultural Performing Arts for Competition was aimed at 1) studying the creative conservation process of cultural performing arts; 2) creating conservation process of cultural performing arts of Thatsana Nataya Chatri dance; and 3) utilizing the created performing arts for the competition. The study was conducted using the qualitative research method in the Central region provinces of Thailand through documentary study and data from field observations, interviews and focus group meetings. Data were collected from 50 informants consisting of 10 experts on the subject, 30 practitioners and 10 general information providers. The data collection instruments consisted of participatory and non-participatory forms, structured and non-structured interview schedules and focus group note forms. The data were verified by the triangulation technique and presented using the descriptive analysis. The results of the study reveal that the creative conservation process of cultural performing arts should be initiated by those who have experienced using a prior knowledge in the pursuit of new knowledge. The new knowledge is combined to generate creative work with the conservation process in 9 aspects: acquiring the related knowledge, creating theme and inspiration, designing the music and melody, designing costumes, inventing dance postures, selecting dancers, transferring the dance postures, preparing the stage and performance equipment, planning the performance event. Inventing the conservation process of cultural performing arts Thatsana Nataya Chatri dance consists of 33 dance postures and 14 transformed patterns. The performance requires 6 dancers, 3 males and 3 females. Costume features both male and female classical and modified dancer’s costumes. The duration of the show takes 5 minutes. As for the application for the competition, this creative work has been selected by Dramatic Works Association (Thailand) to represent Thailand at the Lombok International Dance Sports Festival 2015 held at Lombok, Indonesia. The team has been awarded the Second Place in the Traditional Dance category.

Keywords: creative conservation process, cultural performing arts, Thatsana Nataya Chatri dance, competition

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Authors: Shiva Osouli, Maryam Atapour, Mehrdad Ahmadi, Shima Shokri

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Citrus leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is native to Asia and one of the most serious pests of Iran’s citrus nursery stocks. In the present study, the possibility of insect mass rearing on four various citrus hosts and the effects of gamma irradiation on the pupal mortality and reproduction of this pest were studied. Trifoliate orange and grapefruit showed less infection, while the number of pupae in Valencia oranges and sweet lemons cages was so high. There was not any significant difference between weight of male and female pupae among different citrus hosts, but generally the weight of male pupae was less than females. Use of Valencia orange or sweet lemons seedlings in especial dark emergence and oviposition cages could be recommended for mass rearing of this pest. In this study, the effects of gamma radiation at doses 100 to 450 Gy on biological and reproductive parameters of the pest has been determined. The results show that mean percent of pupal mortality increased with increasing doses and reached to 28.67% at 450 Gy for male pupae and 38.367% for female pupae. Also, the mean values of this parameter were higher for irradiated female, which indicated the higher sensitivity of this sex. The gamma ray irradiation from 200 and 300 Gy caused decrease in male and female adult moth longevity, respectively. The eggs were laid by emerged females, and their hatchability was decreased by increasing gamma doses. The fecundity of females in both combinations of crosses (irradiated male × normal female and irradiated female × normal male) did not differ, but fertility of laid eggs by irradiated female × normal male affected seriously and the mean values of this parameter reached to zero at 300 Gy. The hatchability percentage of produced eggs by normal female × irradiated male at 300 Gy was 23.29% and reached to less than 2 % at 450 Gy as the highest tested dose. The results of this test show that females have more radio-sensitivity in comparison to males.

Keywords: citrus leaf miner, Phyllocnistis citrella, citrus hosts, mass rearing, Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

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Authors: Olawale S. Fatoba, Stephen A. Akinlabi, Esther T. Akinlabi, Rezvan Gharehbaghi

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The performance of material surface under wear and corrosion environments cannot be fulfilled by the conventional surface modifications and coatings. Therefore, different industrial sectors need an alternative technique for enhanced surface properties. Titanium and its alloys possess poor tribological properties which limit their use in certain industries. This paper focuses on the effect of hybrid coatings Al-Cu-Fe on a grade five titanium alloy using laser metal deposition (LMD) process. Icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe as quasicrystals is a relatively new class of materials which exhibit unusual atomic structure and useful physical and chemical properties. A 3kW continuous wave ytterbium laser system (YLS) attached to a KUKA robot which controls the movement of the cladding process was utilized for the fabrication of the coatings. The titanium cladded surfaces were investigated for its hardness, corrosion and tribological behaviour at different laser processing conditions. The samples were cut to corrosion coupons, and immersed into 3.65% NaCl solution at 28oC using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Linear Polarization (LP) techniques. The cross-sectional view of the samples was analysed. It was found that the geometrical properties of the deposits such as width, height and the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of each sample remarkably increased with increasing laser power due to the laser-material interaction. It was observed that there are higher number of aluminum and titanium presented in the formation of the composite. The indentation testing reveals that for both scanning speed of 0.8 m/min and 1m/min, the mean hardness value decreases with increasing laser power. The low coefficient of friction, excellent wear resistance and high microhardness were attributed to the formation of hard intermetallic compounds (TiCu, Ti2Cu, Ti3Al, Al3Ti) produced through the in situ metallurgical reactions during the LMD process. The load-bearing capability of the substrate was improved due to the excellent wear resistance of the coatings. The cladded layer showed a uniform crack free surface due to optimized laser process parameters which led to the refinement of the coatings.

Keywords: Al-Cu-Fe coating, corrosion, intermetallics, laser metal deposition, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, wear resistance

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Authors: Ahmet Karagoz, Irfan Karagoz

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Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a radar mechanism that can be integrated into manned and unmanned aerial vehicles to create high-resolution images in all weather conditions, regardless of day and night. In this study, SAR images of military vehicles with different azimuth and descent angles are pre-processed at the first stage. The main purpose here is to reduce the high speckle noise found in SAR images. For this, the Wiener adaptive filter, the mean filter, and the median filters are used to reduce the amount of speckle noise in the images without causing loss of data. During the image segmentation phase, pixel values are ordered so that the target vehicle region is separated from other regions containing unnecessary information. The target image is parsed with the brightest 20% pixel value of 255 and the other pixel values of 0. In addition, by using appropriate parameters of statistical region merging algorithm, segmentation comparison is performed. In the step of feature extraction, the feature vectors belonging to the vehicles are obtained by using Gabor filters with different orientation, frequency and angle values. A number of Gabor filters are created by changing the orientation, frequency and angle parameters of the Gabor filters to extract important features of the images that form the distinctive parts. Finally, images are classified by sparse representation method. In the study, l₁ norm analysis of sparse representation is used. A joint database of the feature vectors generated by the target images of military vehicle types is obtained side by side and this database is transformed into the matrix form. In order to classify the vehicles in a similar way, the test images of each vehicle is converted to the vector form and l₁ norm analysis of the sparse representation method is applied through the existing database matrix form. As a result, correct recognition has been performed by matching the target images of military vehicles with the test images by means of the sparse representation method. 97% classification success of SAR images of different military vehicle types is obtained.

Keywords: automatic target recognition, sparse representation, image classification, SAR images

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Authors: Maznieda Mahjom, Rohaida Ismail, Masita Arip, Mohd Shaiful Azlan, Nor’Ashikin Othman, Hafizah Abdullah, nor Zahrin Hasran, Joshita Jothimanickam, Syaqilah Shawaluddin, Nadia Mohamad, Raheel Nazakat, Tuan Mohd Amin, Mizanurfakhri Ghazali, Rosmanajihah Mat Lazim

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COVID-19 outbreak is particularly detrimental to the mental health of everyone as well as leaving a long devastating crisis in the healthcare sector. Daily increment of COVID-19 cases and close contact, necessitating the testing of a large number of samples, thus increasing the workload and burden to laboratory personnel. This study aims to determine the prevalence of personal-, work- and client-related burnout as well as to measure the concentration of salivary cortisol among laboratory personnel in the main laboratories in Klang Valley, Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted in late 2021 and recruited a total of 404 respondents from three laboratories in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The level of burnout was assessed using Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) comprising three sub-dimensions of personal-, work- and client-related burnout. The cut-off score of 50% and above indicated possible burnout. Meanwhile, salivary cortisol was measured using a competitive enzyme immunoassay kit (Salimetrics, State College, PA, USA). Normal levels of salivary cortisol concentration in adults are within 0.094 to 1.551 μg/dl (morning) and can be none detected to 0.359 μg/dl (evening). The prevalence of personal-, work- and client-related burnout among laboratory personnel were 36.1%, 17.8% and 7.2% respectively. Meanwhile, the abnormal morning and evening cortisol concentration recorded were 29.5% and 21.8% excluding 6.9%-7.4% missing data. While the IgA level is normal for most of the respondents, which recorded at 95.53%. Laboratory personnel were at risk of suffering burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, mental health programs need to be addressed at the department and hospital level by regularly screening healthcare workers and designing an intervention program. It is also vital to improve the coping skills of laboratory personnel by increasing the awareness of good coping skill techniques. The training must be in an innovative way to ensure that the lab personnel can internalise the technique and practise it in real life.

Keywords: burnout, COVID-19, laborotary personnel, salivary cortisol

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Authors: Aniko Babits, Ahmad Daoud

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Introduction: The beach chair position (BCP) is a good approach to almost all types of shoulder procedures. However, moving an anaesthetized patient from the supine to sitting position may pose a risk of cerebral hypoperfusion and potential cerebral ischaemia as a result of significant reductions in blood pressure and cardiac output. Hypocapnia in ventilated patients and impaired blood flow to the vertebral artery due to hyperextension, rotation, or tilt of the head may have an impact too. Co-morbidities that may increase the risk of cerebral ischaemia in the BCP include diabetes with autonomic neuropathy, cerebrovascular disease, cardiac disease, severe hypertension, generalized vascular disease, history of fainting, and febrile conditions. Beach chair surgery requires a careful anaesthetic and surgical management to optimize patient safety and minimize the risk of adverse outcomes. Methods: We describe the necessary steps for optimal patient positioning and the aims of intraoperative management, including anaesthetic techniques to ensure patient safety in the BCP. Results: Regardless of the anaesthetic technique, adequate patient positioning is paramount in the BCP. The key steps to BCP are aimed at optimizing surgical success and minimizing the risk of severe neurovascular complications. The primary aim of anaesthetic management is to maintain cardiac output and mean arterial pressure (MAP) to protect cerebral perfusion. Blood pressure management includes treating a fall in MAP of more than 25% from baseline or a MAP less than 70 mmHg. This can be achieved by using intravenous fluids or vasopressors. A number of anaesthetic techniques could also improve cerebral oxygenation, including avoidance of intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) with general anaesthesia (GA), using regional anaesthesia, maintaining normocapnia and normothermia, and the application of compression stockings. Conclusions: In summary, BCP is a reliable and effective position to perform shoulder procedures. Simple steps to patient positioning and careful anaesthetic management could maximize patient safety and avoid unwanted adverse outcomes in patients undergoing surgery in BCP.

Keywords: beach chair position, cerebral oxygenation, cerebral perfusion, sitting position

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Authors: Hussein M. Etmimi, Peter E. Mallon

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Electrospinning uses an electrical charge to draw very fine fibers (typically on the micro or nano scale) from a liquid or molten precursor. Over the years, this method has become a widely used and a successful technique to process polymer materials and their composites into nanofibers. The main focus of this work is to study the electrospinning of multi-phase amphiphilic copolymers and their nanocomposites, which contain graphene as the nanofiller material. In such amphiphilic materials, the constituents segments are incompatible and thus the solid state morphology will be determined by the composition of the various constituents as well as the method of preparation. In this study, amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(dimethyl siloxane) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PDMS-b-PMMA) with well-defined structures were synthesized and the solution electrospinning of these materials and their properties were investigated. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was used to obtain the controlled block copolymers with relatively high molar masses and narrow dispersity. First, PDMS macroinitiators with different chain length of 1000, 5000 and 10000 g/mol were synthesized by the reaction of monocarbinol terminated PDMS with α-bromoisobutyryl bromide initiator. The obtained macroinitiators were used for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate monomer to obtain the desired block copolymers using the ATRP process. Graphene oxide (GO) of different loading was then added to the copolymer solution and the resultant nanocomposites were successfully electrospun into nanofibers. The electrospinning was achieved using dimethylformamide/chloroform mixture (60:40 vl%) as electrospinning solution medium. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the successful formation of the electrospun fibers with dimensions in the nanometer range. X-ray diffraction indicated that the GO nanosheets were of an exfoliated structure, irrespective of the filler loading. Thermogravimetric analysis also showed that the thermal stability of the nanofibers was improved in the presence of GO, which was not a function of the filler loading. Differential scanning calorimetry also showed that the mechanical properties (measured as glass transition temperature) of the nanofibers was improved significantly in the presence of GO, which was a function of the filler loading.

Keywords: elctrospinning, graphene oxide, nanofibers, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)

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Authors: G. Amariei, K. Boltes, R. Rosal, P. Leton

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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are supposed to hold an important place in the reduction of emerging contaminants, but provide an environment that has potential for the development and/or spread of adaptation, as bacteria are continuously mixed with contaminants at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Reviewing the literature, there are little data available regarding the use of adapted bacteria forming activated sludge community for toxicity assessment, and only individual validations have been performed. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the toxicity of Triclosan (TCS) and Ibuprofen (IBU), individually and in binary combination, on adapted activated sludge (AS). For this purpose a battery of biomarkers were assessed, involving oxidative stress and cytotoxicity responses: glutation-S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and viable cells with FDA. In addition, we compared the toxic effects on adapted bacteria with unadapted bacteria, from a previous research. Adapted AS comes from three continuous-flow AS laboratory systems; two systems received IBU and TCS, individually; while the other received the binary combination, for 14 days. After adaptation, each bacterial culture condition was exposure to IBU, TCS and the combination, at 12 h. The concentration of IBU and TCS ranged 0.5-4mg/L and 0.012-0.1 mg/L, respectively. Batch toxicity experiments were performed using Oxygraph system (Hansatech), for determining the activity of CAT enzyme based on the quantification of oxygen production rate. Fluorimetric technique was applied as well, using a Fluoroskan Ascent Fl (Thermo) for determining the activity of GST enzyme, using monochlorobimane-GSH as substrate, and to the estimation of viable cell of the sludge, by fluorescence staining using Fluorescein Diacetate (FDA). For IBU adapted sludge, CAT activity it was increased at low concentration of IBU, TCS and mixture. However, increasing the concentration the behavior was different: while IBU tends to stabilize the CAT activity, TCS and the mixture decreased this one. GST activity was significantly increased by TCS and mixture. For IBU, no variations it was observed. For TCS adapted sludge, no significant variations on CAT activity it was observed. GST activity it was significant decreased for all contaminants. For mixture adapted sludge the behaviour of CAT activity it was similar to IBU adapted sludge. GST activity it was decreased at all concentration of IBU. While the presence of TCS and mixture, respectively, increased the GST activity. These findings were consistent with the viability cells evaluation, which clearly showed a variation of sludge viability. Our results suggest that, compared with unadapted bacteria, the adapted bacteria conditions plays a relevant role in the toxicity behaviour towards activated sludge communities.

Keywords: adapted sludge community, mixture, PPCPs, toxicity

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Authors: Mohamad Bolandmartabe, Nafiseh Hassani, Saeed Abdi Darake, Maryam Asghari

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Dogs are highly susceptible to diseases, nutritional problems, toxins, and parasites, with parasitic infections being common and causing hardship in their lives. Some important internal parasites include worms (such as roundworms and tapeworms) and protozoa, which can lead to anemia in dogs. Important bloodborne parasites in dogs include microfilariae and adult forms of Dirofilaria immitis, Dipetalonema reconditum, Babesia, Trypanosoma, Hepatozoon, Leishmania, Ehrlichia, and Hemobartonella. Babesia and Hemobartonella are parasites that reside inside red blood cells and cause regenerative anemia by directly destroying the red blood cells. Hepatozoon, Leishmania, and Ehrlichia are also parasites that reside within white blood cells and can infiltrate other tissues, such as the liver and lymph nodes. Since intermediate hosts are more commonly found in the open environment, the prevalence of parasites in stray and free-roaming dogs is higher compared to pet dogs. Furthermore, pet dogs are less exposed to internal and external parasites due to better care, hygiene, and being predominantly indoors. Therefore, they are less likely to be affected by them. Among the parasites, Leishmania carries significant importance as it is shared between dogs and humans, causing a dangerous disease known as visceral Leishmaniasis or kala-azar and cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Furthermore, dogs can act as reservoirs and spread the disease agent within human communities. Therefore, timely and accurate diagnosis of these diseases in dogs can be highly beneficial in preventing their occurrence in humans. In this article, we employed the Giemsa staining technique under a light microscope for the identification of bloodborne parasites in dogs. However, considering the negative impact of these parasites on the natural life of dogs, the development of chronic diseases, and the gradual loss of the animal's well-being, rapid and timely diagnosis is essential. Serological methods and PCR are available for the diagnosis of certain parasites, which have high sensitivity and desirable characteristics. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the molecular aspects of bloodborne parasites in dogs referred to veterinary hospitals in Tehran city.

Keywords: leishmaniasis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, dirofilariasis, hepatozoonosis

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Authors: A. Ghribi, M. Bagane

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The discharge of dye in industrial effluents is of great concern because their presence and accumulation have a toxic or carcinogenic effect on living species. The removals of such compounds at such low levels are a difficult problem. Physicochemical technique such as coagulation, flocculation, ozonation, reverse osmosis and adsorption on activated carbon, manganese oxide, silica gel and clay are among the methods employed. The adsorption process is an effective and attractive proposition for the treatment of dye contaminated wastewater. Activated carbon adsorption in fixed beds is a very common technology in the treatment of water and especially in processes of decolouration. However, it is expensive and the powdered one is difficult to be separated from aquatic system when it becomes exhausted or the effluent reaches the maximum allowable discharge level. The regeneration of exhausted activated carbon by chemical and thermal procedure is also expensive and results in loss of the sorbent. Dye molecules also have very high affinity for clay surfaces and are readily adsorbed when added to clay suspension. The elimination of the organic dye by clay was studied by serval researchers. The focus of this research was to evaluate the adsorption potential of the raw clay in removing congo red from aqueous solutions using a laboratory fixed-bed column. The continuous sorption process was conducted in this study in order to simulate industrial conditions. The effect of process parameters, such as inlet flow rate, adsorbent bed height and initial adsorbate concentration on the shape of breakthrough curves was investigated. A glass column with an internal diameter of 1.5 cm and height of 30 cm was used as a fixed-bed column. The pH of feed solution was set at 7.Experiments were carried out at different bed heights (5-20 cm), influent flow rates (1.6- 8 mL/min) and influent congo red concentrations (10-50 mg/L). The obtained results showed that the adsorption capacity increases with the bed depth and the initial concentration and it decreases at higher flow rate. The column regeneration was possible for four adsorption–desorption cycles. The clay column study states the value of the excellent adsorption capacity for the removal of congo red from aqueous solution. Uptake of congo red through a fixed-bed column was dependent on the bed depth, influent congo red concentration and flow rate.

Keywords: adsorption, breakthrough curve, clay, congo red, fixed bed column, regeneration

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Authors: Mohamed Abdalla Saleem, Hana Ellafi

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The study area is located in the eastern part of the Sirt Basin, in the Sarir-Hameimat arm of the basin, south of Amal High. The area covers the northern part of the Hamemat Trough and the Rakb High. All of these tectonic elements are part of the major and common tectonics that were created when the old Sirt Arch collapsed, and most of them are trending NW-SE. This study has been conducted to investigate the subsurface structures and the sedimentology characterization of the area and attempt to define its development tectonically and stratigraphically. About 7600 land gravity measurements, 22500 gridded magnetic data, and petrographic core data from some wells were used to investigate the subsurface structural features both vertically and laterally. A third-order separation of the regional trends from the original Bouguer gravity data has been chosen. The residual gravity map reveals a significant number of high anomalies distributed in the area, separated by a group of thick sediment centers. The reduction to the pole magnetic map also shows nearly the same major trends and anomalies in the area. Applying the further interpretation filters reveals that these high anomalies are sourced from different depth levels; some are deep-rooted, and others are intruded igneous bodies within the sediment layers. The petrographic sedimentology study for some wells in the area confirmed the presence of these igneous bodies and defined their composition as most likely to be gabbro hosted by marine shale layers. Depth investigation of these anomalies by the average depth spectrum shows that the average basement depth is about 7.7 km, while the top of the intrusions is about 2.65 km, and some near-surface magnetic sources are about 1.86 km. The depth values of the magnetic anomalies and their location were estimated specifically using the 3D Euler deconvolution technique. The obtained results suggest that the maximum depth of the sources is about 4938m. The total horizontal gradient of the magnetic data shows that the trends are mostly extending NW-SE, others are NE-SW, and a third group has an N-S extension. This variety in trend direction shows that the area experienced different tectonic regimes throughout its geological history.

Keywords: sirt basin, tectonics, gravity, magnetic

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Authors: Beryl Rene R. Lopez, Lesley Anne M. Lipat, Rhogene Barbette C. Lirio, Laurice Joy H. Llanes, Karl Philippe M. Llapitan, Einstein James R. Lopez, Socorro S. GuanHing

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Background: Measles remain as one of the most common childhood diseases despite the availability of the vaccine that is safe and cost-effective. Because of morbidity and mortality associated with the recent measles outbreak in the Philippines, there is an increasing concern from the health care professionals. Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the compliance of Filipino mothers to measles vaccination and their health beliefs when grouped according to the given socio-demographic factors using a researcher-made questionnaire. Research Methodology: This research utilized the descriptive-correlational research design. With the use of purposive sampling technique, the study involved 200 Filipino mothers aged 18 years old and above excluding those who are healthcare professionals with children aged 2-3 years old with either urban or rural as their settlements. Pre-testing was done prior to the actual data gathering. A questionnaire composed of 26 items involving socio-demographic, compliance, and health beliefs was distributed to the sample population. Statistical analysis was done with the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) for the first research question and Structural Equation Model (SEM) for the second research question. Results: Four dimensions were generated with the use of EFA namely: Vulnerability-Oriented Beliefs (VOB), Knowledge-Oriented Beliefs (KOB), Accessibility-Oriented Beliefs (AOB), and Outcomes-Oriented Beliefs (OOB). These were then correlated with the mothers’ socio-demographic factors (age, educational attainment, the area of residence, the number of children, and family income) and their compliance to the measles vaccination schedule. Results showed significant and direct relationships between area of residence and compliance, family income and compliance, KOB and compliance, education and KOB, KOB and VOB, KOB and OOB, AOB and KOB, AOB and OOB, AOB and VOB, and lastly, OOB and VOB. Conclusion: The Knowledge – Oriented Belief dimension greatly influence compliance to measles vaccination. Other determinants of compliance like the area of residence, educational attainment, and family income significantly increase the Filipino mothers’ likelihood of compliance to measles vaccination, which have implications to health education.

Keywords: socio-demographic, health beliefs, compliance, measles vaccination

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Paul V. Thomas, Mostafa S. A. Elsayed, Denis Walch

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Airframe structural optimization at different design stages results in new mass and stiffness distributions which modify the critical design loads envelop. Determination of aircraft critical loads is an extensive analysis procedure which involves simulating the aircraft at thousands of load cases as defined in the certification requirements. It is computationally prohibitive to use a Global Finite Element Model (GFEM) for the load analysis, hence reduced order structural models are required which closely represent the dynamic characteristics of the GFEM. This paper presents the implementation of Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) method for the generation of high fidelity Reduced Order Model (ROM) of complex airframes. Here, sub-structuring technique is used to divide the complex higher order airframe dynamical system into a set of subsystems. Each subsystem is reduced to fewer degrees of freedom using matrix projection onto a carefully chosen reduced order basis subspace. The reduced structural matrices are assembled for all the subsystems through interface coupling and the dynamic response of the total system is solved. The CMS method is employed to develop the ROM of a Bombardier Aerospace business jet which is coupled with an aerodynamic model for dynamic aeroelasticity loads analysis under gust turbulence. Another set of dynamic aeroelastic loads is also generated employing a stick model of the same aircraft. Stick model is the reduced order modelling methodology commonly used in the aerospace industry based on stiffness generation by unitary loading application. The extracted aeroelastic loads from both models are compared against those generated employing the GFEM. Critical loads Modal participation factors and modal characteristics of the different ROMs are investigated and compared against those of the GFEM. Results obtained show that the ROM generated using Craig Bampton CMS reduction process has a superior dynamic characteristics compared to the stick model.

Keywords: component mode synthesis, craig bampton reduction method, dynamic aeroelasticity analysis, model order reduction

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Authors: Fazıl Gökgöz, Fahrettin Filiz

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Load forecasting has become crucial in recent years and become popular in forecasting area. Many different power forecasting models have been tried out for this purpose. Electricity load forecasting is necessary for energy policies, healthy and reliable grid systems. Effective power forecasting of renewable energy load leads the decision makers to minimize the costs of electric utilities and power plants. Forecasting tools are required that can be used to predict how much renewable energy can be utilized. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of LSTM-based neural networks for estimating renewable energy loads. In this study, we present models for predicting renewable energy loads based on deep neural networks, especially the Long Term Memory (LSTM) algorithms. Deep learning allows multiple layers of models to learn representation of data. LSTM algorithms are able to store information for long periods of time. Deep learning models have recently been used to forecast the renewable energy sources such as predicting wind and solar energy power. Historical load and weather information represent the most important variables for the inputs within the power forecasting models. The dataset contained power consumption measurements are gathered between January 2016 and December 2017 with one-hour resolution. Models use publicly available data from the Turkish Renewable Energy Resources Support Mechanism. Forecasting studies have been carried out with these data via deep neural networks approach including LSTM technique for Turkish electricity markets. 432 different models are created by changing layers cell count and dropout. The adaptive moment estimation (ADAM) algorithm is used for training as a gradient-based optimizer instead of SGD (stochastic gradient). ADAM performed better than SGD in terms of faster convergence and lower error rates. Models performance is compared according to MAE (Mean Absolute Error) and MSE (Mean Squared Error). Best five MAE results out of 432 tested models are 0.66, 0.74, 0.85 and 1.09. The forecasting performance of the proposed LSTM models gives successful results compared to literature searches.

Keywords: deep learning, long short term memory, energy, renewable energy load forecasting

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Hussam Ashwi, Magbool Oraiby, Ali Muyidi, Hamad Al-Oufi, Mohammed Al-Oufi, Adel Al-Juhani, Salman Al-Zemaa, Saeed Al-Shahrani, Amal Abuallah, Wedad Sherwani, Mohammed Alattas, Ibraheem Attafi

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Ethanol must be accurately identified and quantified to establish their use and contribution in criminal cases and forensic medicine. In some situations, it may be necessary to reanalyze an old specimen; therefore, it is essential to comprehend the effect of storage conditions and how long the result of a reanalyzed specimen can be reliable and reproducible. Additionally, ethanol can be produced via multiple in vivo and in vitro processes, particularly in diabetic patients, and the results can be affected by storage conditions and time. In order to distinguish between in vivo and in vitro alcohol generation in diabetes patient urine samples, various factors should be considered. This study identifies and quantifies ethanol and EtG in diabetic patients' urine samples stored in two different settings over time. Ethanol levels were determined using gas chromatography-headspace (GC-HS), and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) levels were determined using the immunoassay (RANDOX) technique. Ten urine specimens were collected and placed in a standard container. Each specimen was separated into two containers. The specimens were divided into two groups: those kept at room temperature (25 °C) and those kept cold (2-8 °C). Ethanol and EtG levels were determined serially over a two-week period. Initial results showed that none of the specimens tested positive for ethanol or EtG. At room temperature (15-25 °C), 7 and 14 days after the sample was taken, the average concentration of ethanol increased from 1.7 mg/dL to 2 mg/dL, and the average concentration of EtG increased from 108 ng/mL to 186 ng/mL. At 2–8 °C, the average ethanol concentration was 0.4 and 0.5 mg/dL, and the average EtG concentration was 138 and 124 ng/mL seven and fourteen days after the sample was collected, respectively. When ethanol and EtG levels were determined 14 days post collection, they were considerably lower than when stored at room temperature. A considerable increase in EtG concentrations (14-day range 0–186 ng/mL) is produced during room-temperature storage, although negative initial results for all specimens. Because EtG might be produced after a sampling collection, it is not a reliable indicator of recent alcohol consumption. Given the possibility of misleading EtG results due to in vitro EtG production in the urine of diabetic patients.

Keywords: ethyl glucuronide, ethanol, forensic toxicology, diabetic

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Faiz Khan Mohammad, Saumya Ray Chaudhari, Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Swagatika Sahoo

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Cholera caused by pathogenic gut bacteria Vibrio Cholerae (VC), is a major health problem in developing countries. Different strains of VC exhibit variable responses subject to different extracellular medium (Nag et al, Infect Immun, 2018). In this study, we present a new approach to model the variable VC responses in mono- and co-cultures, subject to continuously changing growth medium, which is otherwise difficult via simple FBA model. Nine VC strain and seven E. coli (EC) models were assembled and considered. A continuously changing medium is modelled using a new iterative-based controlled medium technique (ITC). The medium is appropriately prefixed with the VC model secretome. As the flux through the bacteria biomass increases secretes certain by-products. These products shall add-on to the medium, either deviating the nutrient potential or block certain metabolic components of the model, effectively forming a controlled feed-back loop. Different VC models were setup as monoculture of VC in glucose enriched medium, and in co-culture with VC strains and EC. Constrained to glucose enriched medium, (i) VC_Classical model resulted in higher flux through acidic secretome suggesting a pH change of the medium, leading to lowering of its biomass. This is in consonance with the literature reports. (ii) When compared for neutral secretome, flux through acetoin exchange was higher in VC_El tor than the classical models, suggesting El tor requires an acidic partner to lower its biomass. (iii) Seven of nine VC models predicted 3-methyl-2-Oxovaleric acid, mysirtic acid, folic acid, and acetate significantly affect corresponding biomass reactions. (iv) V. parhemolyticus and vulnificus were found to be phenotypically similar to VC Classical strain, across the nine VC strains. The work addresses the advantage of the ITC over regular flux balance analysis for modelling varying growth medium. Future expansion to co-cultures, potentiates the identification of novel interacting partners as effective cholera therapeutics.

Keywords: cholera, vibrio cholera El. tor, vibrio cholera classical, acetate

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: C. G. Mendez-Garcia, E. T. Romero-Guzman, H. Hernandez-Mendoza, C. Solis, E. Chavez-Lomeli, E. Chamizo, R. Garcia-Tenorio

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Plutonium is present in different concentrations in the environment and biological samples related to nuclear weapons testing, nuclear waste recycling and accidental discharges of nuclear plants. This radioisotope is considered the most radiotoxic substance, particularly when it enters the human body through inhalation of powders insoluble or aerosols. This is the main reason of the determination of the concentration of this radioisotope in the atmosphere. Besides that, the isotopic ratio of ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu provides information about the origin of the source. PM₂.₅ sampling was carried out in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico (MZVM) from February 18th to March 17th in 2015 on quartz filter. There have been significant developments recently due to the establishment of new methods for sample preparation and accurate measurement to detect ultra trace levels as the plutonium is found in the environment. The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a technique that allows measuring levels of detection around of femtograms (10-15 g). The AMS determinations include the chemical isolation of Pu. The Pu separation involved an acidic digestion and a radiochemical purification using an anion exchange resin. Finally, the source is prepared, when Pu is pressed in the corresponding cathodes. According to the author's knowledge on these aerosols showed variations on the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio of the natural value, suggesting that could be an anthropogenic source altering it. The determination of the concentration of the isotopes of Pu can be a useful tool in order the clarify this presence in the atmosphere. The first results showed a mean value of activity concentration of ²³⁹Pu of 280 nBq m⁻³ thus the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu was 0.025 corresponding to the weapon production source; these results corroborate that there is an anthropogenic influence that is increasing the concentration of radioactive material in PM₂.₅. According to the author's knowledge in Total Suspended Particles (TSP) have been reported activity concentrations of ²³⁹⁺²⁴⁰Pu around few tens of nBq m⁻³ and 0.17 of ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios. The preliminary results in MZVM show high activity concentrations of isotopes of Pu (40 and 700 nBq m⁻³) and low ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio than reported. These results are in the order of the activity concentrations of Pu in weapons-grade of high purity.

Keywords: aerosols, fallout, mass spectrometry, radiochemistry, tracer, ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio

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Authors: Sharon Q. Yang, Robert J. Congleton

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Information security is a broad concept that covers any issues and concerns about the proper access and use of information on the Internet, including measures and procedures to protect intellectual property and private data from illegal access and online theft; the act of hacking; and any defensive technologies that contest such cybercrimes. As more research and commercial activities are conducted online, cybercrimes have increased significantly, putting sensitive information at risk. Information security has become critically important for organizations and private citizens alike. Hackers scan for network vulnerabilities on the Internet and steal data whenever they can. Cybercrimes disrupt our daily life, cause financial losses, and instigate fear in the public. Since the start of the pandemic, most data related cybercrimes targets have been either financial or health information from companies and organizations. Libraries also should have a high interest in understanding and adopting information security methods to protect their patron data and copyrighted materials. But according to information security professionals, higher education and cultural organizations, including their libraries, are the least prepared entities for cyberattacks. One recent example is that of Steven’s Institute of Technology in New Jersey in the US, which had its network hacked in 2020, with the hackers demanding a ransom. As a result, the network of the college was down for two months, causing serious financial loss. There are other cases where libraries, colleges, and universities have been targeted for data breaches. In order to build an effective defense, we need to understand the most common types of cybercrimes, including phishing, whaling, social engineering, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, malware and ransomware, and hacker profiles. Our research will focus on each hacking technique and related defense measures; and the social background and reasons/purpose of hacker and hacking. Our research shows that hacking techniques will continue to evolve as new applications, housing information, and data on the Internet continue to be developed. Some cybercrimes can be stopped with effective measures, while others present challenges. It is vital that people understand what they face and the consequences when not prepared.

Keywords: cybercrimes, hacking technologies, higher education, information security, libraries

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Authors: Dini Dewi Heniarti

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Military Court which is a judicial institution within the military institution has a heavy duty. Military court has to ensuring a fair legal process for military personnel (due process of law) and enforces military discipline. Military justice must also ensure protects the rights of military personnel. In Indonesia tren of military court changes in vision. The debate is happened on the jurisdiction of military court that allegedly has the potential existence of impunity. The Decree of People’s Consultative Assembly Number VII/MPR/2000 which states that the army general who committed the crime should not be tried in military court is one that underlies the proposed amendment limits the jurisdiction of military court. For the identify of the background in a specific format that is limited to juridical review. The goals this research is to gain knowledge, deep understanding and the concept of jurisdiction of military courts for military members who committed general crimes in adjudication procedure from the perspective of legal reform as alternative to establish independency of military judiciary. This research using Rule of Law as Grand Theory, Development Legal Theory as a Middle Theory and Criminal Justice System and concept of jurisdiction as supporting as Applied Theory. This study using a normative juridical approach, and equipped by primary data juridical approach of historical and comparative approach. The author uses descriptive analytical specifications. The main data used in this research is secondary data, which includes primary legal materials, secondary legal material and legal materials tertiary. Analysis primary data and qualitative data is done legally. Technique checking the validity of the data in this study used multiple methods with the research triangulation. This paper will demonstrate the problems concerning the jurisdiction of military courts for military personnel who committed general crimes in perspective of military justice reform Indonesia and adjudication procedures for military member who committed general crimes in the military justice system in Indonesia, as alternative to establish independency of judiciary in military justice in Indonesia. Comparative approached the military justice system from another countries is aimed to development military justice in Indonesia.

Keywords: jurisdiction, military courts, military justice, independency of judiciary

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Authors: Derya Gül Ünlü, Oguz Kuş

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The branding of a country means that the country has its own position different from other countries in its region and thus it is perceived more specifically. It is made possible by the branding efforts of a country and the uniqueness of all the national structures, by presenting it in a specific way, by creating the desired image and attracting tourists and foreign investors. Establishing a national brand involves, in a sense, the process of managing the perceptions of the citizens of the other country about the target country, by structuring the image of the country permanently and holistically. By this means, countries are not easily affected by their crisis of international relations. Therefore, within the scope of the research that will be carried out from this point, it is aimed to show how the warplane downing crisis between Turkey and Russia is perceived on social media. The Russian warplane was downed by Turkey on November 24, 2015, on the grounds that Turkey violated the airspace on the Syrian border. Whereupon the relations between the two countries have been tensed, and Russia has called on its citizens not to go to Turkey and citizens in Turkey to return to their countries. Moreover, relations between two countries have been weakened, for example, tourism tours organized in Russia to Turkey and visa-free travel were canceled and all military dialogue was cut off. After the event, various news sites on social media published plenty of news related to topic and the readers made various comments about the event and Turkey. In this context, an investigation into the perception of Turkey's national brand before and after the warplane downing crisis has been conducted. through comments fetched from the reports on the BBC World, and from Al Jazeera English news sites on Facebook accounts, which takes place widely in the social media. In order to realize study, user comments were fetched from jet downing-related news which are published on Facebook fan-page of BBC World Service, and Al Jazeera English. Regarding this, all the news published between 24.10.2015-24.12.2015 and containing Turk and Turkey keyword in its title composed data set of our study. Afterwards, comments written to these news were analyzed via text mining technique. Furthermore, by sentiment analysis, it was intended to reveal reader’s emotions before and after the crisis.

Keywords: Al Jazeera English, BBC World, country branding, social media, text mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Ehsan Alishahi, Chuang Deng

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Materials with microstructural heterogeneity have recently attracted dramatic attention in the materials science community. Although most of the metals are identified as crystalline, the new class of amorphous alloys, sometimes are known as metallic glasses (MGs), exhibited remarkable properties, particularly high mechanical strength and elastic limit. The unique properties of MGs led to the wide range of studies in developing and characterizing of new alloys or composites which met the commercial desires. In spite of applicable properties of MGs, commercializing of metallic glasses was limited due to a major drawback, the lack of ductility and sudden brittle failure mode. Hence, crystalline-amorphous (C-A) composites were introduced almost in 2000s as a toughening strategy to improve the ductility of MGs. Despite the considerable progress reported in previous studies, there are still challenges in both synthesis and characterization of metallic C-A composites. In this study, accumulative roll bonding (ARB) was used to synthesize bulk crystalline-amorphous composites starting from crystalline Cu-Zr multilayers. Due to the severe plastic deformation state, new CuZr phases were formed during the rolling process which was reflected in SEM-EDS analysis. EDS elemental analysis showed the variation in the composition of CuZr phases such as 38-62, 50-50 to 68-32 at Cu-Zr % respectively. Moreover, TEM with electron diffraction analysis indicated the presence of both crystalline and amorphous structures for the new formed CuZr phases. In addition to the microstructural analysis, the mechanical properties of the synthesized composites were studied using the nanoindentation technique. Hysitron Nanoindentation instrument was used to conduct nanoindentation tests with cube corner tip. The maximum load of 5000 µN was applied in load control mode to measure the elastic modulus and hardness of different phases. The trend of results indicated three distinct regimes of hardness and elastic modulus including pure Cu, pure Zr, and new formed CuZr phases. More specifically, pure Cu regions showed the lowest values for both nanoindentation hardness and elastic modulus while the CuZr phases take the highest values. Consequently, pure Zr was placed in the intermediate range which is harder than pure Cu but softer than CuZr phases. In overall, it was found that CuZr phases with higher hardness were nucleated during ARB process as a result of mechanical alloying phenomenon.

Keywords: ARB, crystalline-amorphous composites, mechanical alloying, nanoindentation hardness

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Authors: Gordana Ćetković, Vesna Tumbas Šaponjac, Jasna Čanadanović-Brunet, Sonja Đilas, Slađana Stajčić, Jelena Vulić, Mirjana Jakišić

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Despite the recommended amount of daily intake of fruits, the consumption in modern age remains very low. Therefore there is a need for delivering valuable phytochemicals into the human body through different foods by developing functional food products fortified with natural bioactive compounds from plant sources. Recently, a growing interest rises in exploiting the fruit and vegetable by-products as sources of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins etc. Cherry contain high amounts of polyphenols, which are known to display a wide range of biological activities like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial or anti-carcinogenic activities, improvement of vision, induction of apoptosis and neuroprotective effects. Also, cherry pomace, a by-product in juice processing, can also be promising source of phenolic compounds. However, the application of polyphenols as food additives is limited because after extraction these compounds are susceptible to degradation. Microencapsulation is one of the alternative approaches to protect bioactive compounds from degradation during processing and storage. Freeze-drying is one of the most used microencapsulation methods for the protection of thermosensitive and unstable molecules. In this study sour cherry pomace was extracted with food-grade solvent (50% ethanol) to be suitable for application in products for human use. Extracted polyphenols have been concentrated and stabilized on whey (WP) and soy (SP) proteins. Encapsulation efficiency in SP was higher (94.90%), however not significantly (p<0.05) from the one in WP (90.10%). Storage properties of WP and SP encapsulate in terms of total polyphenols, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity was tested for 6 weeks. It was found that the retention of polyphenols after 6 weeks in WP and SP (67.33 and 69.30%, respectively) was similar. The content of anthocyanins has increased in WP (for 47.97%), while their content in SP has very slightly decreased (for 1.45%) after 6-week storage period. In accordance with anthocyanins the decrease in antioxidant activity in WP (87.78%) was higher than in SP (43.02%). According to the results obtained in this study, the technique reported herewith can be used for obtaining quality encapsulates for their further use as functional food additives, and, on the other hand, for fruit waste valorization.

Keywords: cherry pomace, microencapsulation, polyphenols, storage

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Authors: Binaya Tamang, Buddhhi Raj Pokhrel, Narayan Gautam

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Background: There may be a connection between thyroid function and vitamin D status since both bind to similar nuclear hormone receptors and have similar response regions on gene promoters. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid hormones and vitamin D levels in females who were attending a tertiary care center in western Nepal and were either hypothyroid or euthyroid. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 by the Biochemistry department of the Universal College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), Bhairahawa, Province No. 5, Nepal, in cooperation with Internal medicine. Prior to the study, institutional review committee approval (UCMS/IRC/008/20) was acquired from UCMS. Women who visited the Internal Medicine OPD of UCMS and were advised to get a thyroid function test (TFT) were included in the study population. Only those who were willing to participate in the study were enrolled after the goals and advantages of the study had been explained to them. Participants who had recently used vitamin D supplements and medications that affected thyroid hormones were excluded. The participants gave their consent verbally and in writing. After getting the consent, a convenient sample technique was applied. Serum was isolated after drawing 3 ml of blood in a plain vial. Chemiluminescence assay was used to analyze vitamin D and thyroid hormones (MAGLUMI 2000). SPSS version 16.0 for Windows was used to conduct the statistical analysis. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value < 0.05. Results: Majority of the study population (n=214, 71%) had insufficient serum vitamin D levels. Among the thyroid groups, the median Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in hypothyroid (16.88 ng/ml) as compared to the euthyroid groups (25.01 ng/ml) (P<0.001). Similarly, serum Vitamin D levels were considerably lower in the obese population (16.86 ng/ml) as compared to the normal BMI group (24.90 ng/ml) (P<0.001) as well as in the vegetarian (15.43 ng.ml) than mixed diet consumer (24.89 ng/ml) (P<0.01). Even after the adjustment for these variables, the Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the hypothyroid population than in the euthyroid group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Comparing the hypothyroid population to the euthyroid, the median serum vitamin D levels were considerably lower. We were alarmed to see that the majority of euthyroid participants also had low levels of vitamin D. Therefore if left untreated, low vitamin D levels in hypothyroid patients could worsen their health further.

Keywords: vitamin D, thyroid hormones, euthyroid, hypothyroid, Nepal

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Authors: Werner Roux Uys

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The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) holds a high position of trust in South African society and a lack of trust by taxpayers in the Commissioner’s actions or conduct could compromise SARS’ management of public finances. Tax morality – which is implicit in the social contract between taxpayers and the state – includes distinct phenomena that can cause a breakdown if there is a perceived lack of action on the part of the Commissioner to ensure public finances are kept safe. To promote tax morality, the Commissioner must support the judiciary in the exercise of its discretion to punish fraudulent tax activities and corrupt tax practices. For several years the political meddling in the Commissioner’s actions and conduct have caused perceived abuse of power at SARS, and taxpayers believed their hard-earned income paid over to SARS would be fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyse previous decisions held by the South African judiciary regarding the Commissioner’s actions and conduct in tax matters, as well as consider important political statements and newspaper bulletins for the purpose of this research. The study applies a qualitative research approach and exploratory case study technique. Keywords were selected and inserted in the LexisNexis electronic database to systematically identify applicable case law where the ratio decidendi of the court referred to the actions and/or conduct of the Commissioner. Specific real-life statements, including political statements and newspaper bulletins, were selected to support the topic at hand. The purpose of the study is to educate the public about the perceptions that have transformed taxpayers’ behaviour towards the Commissioner for SARS since South Africa’s fledgling constitutional democracy was inaugurated in 1994. The study adds to the literature by identifying key characteristics or distinct phenomena regarding the actions and conduct of the Commissioner affecting taxpayers’ behaviour, including discretionary decision-making. From the findings, it emerged that SARS must abide by its (own) laws and that there is a need to educate not only South African taxpayers about tax morality, but also the public in general.

Keywords: commissioner, SARS, action and conduct, judiciary, discretionry, decsion-making

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Murna Muzaifa, Dian Hasni, Febriani, Anshar Patria, Amhar Abubakar

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Coffee flavour is influenced by many factors such as processing techniques. Civet coffee is known as one of premium coffee due to its unique processing technique and its superior cupping quality. The desirable aroma of coffee is foremost formed during roasting step at a high temperature from precursors that are present in the green bean. Sugars, proteins, acids and trigonelline are the principal flavor precursors compounds in green coffee bean. It is now widely accepted that amino acids act as precursors of the Maillard reaction during which the colour and aroma are formed. To investigate amino acids on civet coffee, concentration of 20 amino acids (L-Isoleucine, L-Valine, L-Proline, L-Phenylalanine, L-Arginine, L-Asparagine, L-Threonine, L-Tryptophan, L-Leucine, L-Serine, L-Glutamine, L-Methionine, L-Histidine, Aspartic acid, L-Tyrosine, L-Lysine, L-Glutamic acid, and L-Cysteine, L-Alanine and Glycine) were determined in green and roasted bean of civet coffee by LCMS analysis. The cup quality of civet coffee performed using professional Q-grader followed SCAA standard method. The measured parameters were fragrance/aroma, flavor, acidity, body, uniformity, clean up, aftertaste, balance, sweetness and overall. The work has been done by collecting samples of civet coffee from six locations in Gayo Higland, Aceh-Indonesia. The results showed that 18 amino acids were detected in green bean of civet coffee (L-Isoleucine, L-Valine, L-Proline, L-Phenylalanine, L-Arginine, L-Asparagine, L-Threonine, L-Tryptophan, L-Leucine, L-Serine, L-Glutamine, L-Methionine, L-Histidine, Aspartic acid, L-Tyrosine, L-Lysine, L-Glutamic acid, and L-Cysteine) and 2 amino acids were not detected (L-Alanine and Glycine). On the other hand, L-Tyrosine and Glycine were not detected in roasted been of civet coffee. Glutamic acid is the amino acid with highest concentration in both green and roasted bean (21,02 mg/g and 24,60 mg/g), followed by L- Valine (19,98 mg/g and 20,22 mg/g) and Aspartic acid (14,93 mg/g and 18,58 mg/g). Civet coffee has a fairly high cupping value (cup quality), ranging from 83.75 to 84.75, categorized as speciality coffee. Moreover, civet coffee noted to have nutty, chocolaty, fishy, herby and watery.

Keywords: amino acids, civet coffee, cupping quality, luwak

Procedia PDF Downloads 187