Search results for: cubic normal distribution

Authors: Caroline Kim

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Scholars have long disputed the relationship between the origins of language and human behavior. Historically, behaviorist psychologist B. F. Skinner argued that language is one instance of the general stimulus-response phenomenon that characterizes the essence of human behavior. Another, more recent approach argues, by contrast, that language is an innate cognitive faculty and does not arise from behavior, which might develop and reinforce linguistic facility but is not its source. Pinker, among others, proposes that linguistic defects arise from damage to the brain, both congenital and acquired in life. Much of his argument is based on case studies in which damage to the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas of the brain results in loss of the ability to produce coherent grammatical expressions when speaking or writing; though affected speakers often utter quite fluent streams of sentences, the words articulated lack discernible semantic content. Pinker concludes on this basis that language is an innate component of specific, classically language-correlated regions of the human brain. Taking a notorious 1970s case of linguistic maladaptation, this paper queries the dominant materialist paradigm of language-correlated regions. Susan “Genie” Wiley was physically isolated from language interaction in her home and beaten by her father when she attempted to make any sort of sound. Though without any measurable resulting damage to the brain, Wiley was never able to develop the level of linguistic facility normally achieved in adulthood. Having received a negative reinforcement of language acquisition from her father and lacking the usual language acquisition period, in adulthood Wiley was able to develop language only at a quite limited level in later life. From a contemporary behaviorist perspective, this case confirms the possibility of language deficiency without brain pathology. Wiley’s potential language-determining areas in the brain were intact, and she was exposed to language later in her life, but she was unable to achieve the normal level of communication skills, deterring socialization. This phenomenon and others like it in the case limited literature on linguistic maladaptation pose serious clinical, scientific, and indeed philosophical difficulties for both of the major competing theories of language acquisition, innateness, and linguistic stimulus-response. The implications of such cases for future research in language acquisition are explored, with a particular emphasis on the interaction of innate capacity and stimulus-based development in early childhood.

Keywords: behaviorism, innateness hypothesis, language, Susan "Genie" Wiley

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Authors: Maria Albuquerque, Miguel Matias, Ângelo Sá, Juliana Sousa, Maria Manuel Mouzinho

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Obesity is a frequent disease in Portugal. The surgical treatment is very effective and has an indication when there is a failure of the medical treatment. Although massive weight loss is associated with considerable health gains, these patients are characterized by a variable degree of dermolipodistrophy. In some cases, there is even the development of physical symptoms such as intertriginous, and some degree of psychological distress is present. In almost all cases, a desire for a better body contour, which inhibits some aspects of social life, is a fact. A prospective study was made to access the impact of body contouring surgery in the quality of life of patients who underwent a massive weight lost correction surgical procedure at Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central between January 2020 and December 2021. The patients were submitted to the Body Q subjective questionnaire adapted for the Portuguese language and accessed for the following categories: Anguish with Appearance, Contempt with Body Image, Satisfaction with the Abdomen, and Overall Satisfaction with the Body. The questionnaire was repeated at the 6 months mark. A total of 80 patients were sampled. The sex distribution was 79 female and 1 male. The median BMI index before surgery was inferior to 28%. The pre operatory questionnaire showed high scores for Anguish with Appearance and low scores for the body image self-evaluation. Overall, there was an improvement of at least 50% in all the evaluated scores. Additionally, a correlation was found between abdominoplasty and the contempt with body image and satisfaction with the abdomen (p-value <0.05). Massive weight loss is associated with important body deformities that have a significant impact on the patient’s personal and social life. Body contouring surgery is then vital for these patients as it implicates major aesthetic and functional benefits.

Keywords: abdominoplasty, cruroplasty, obesity, massive weight loss

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Authors: Enjie Xu, Zhen Huang, Kunpeng Zhu, Jianping Hu, Xiaolong Ma, Yongjie Wang, Jiazhuang Zhu, Chunlin Zhang

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Abstract: Hypoxia and dedifferentiation of osteosarcoma (OS) cells leads to poor prognosis. We plan to identify the role of hypoxia on dedifferentiation and the associated signaling pathways. We performed a sphere formation assay and determined spheroid cells as dedifferentiated cells by detecting stem cell-like markers. RNAi assay was used to explore the expression relationship between hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) and platelet derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB). We obtained PDGFRB knockdown and overexpression cells through lentiviral infection experiments and the effects of PDGFRB on cytoskeleton rearrangement and cell adhesion were explored by immunocytochemistry. Wound-healing experiments, transwell assays, and animal trials were employed to investigate the effect of PDGFRB on OS metastasis. Dedifferentiated OS cells were found to exhibit high expression of HIF1A and PDGFRB, and HIF1A promoted the expression of PDGFRB, subsequently activated ras homolog family member A (RhoA), and increased the phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC). PDGFRB also enhanced the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). The OS cell morphology and vinculin distribution were altered by PDGFRB. PDGFRB also promoted cell dedifferentiation and had a significant impact on the metastasis of OS cells both in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrated that HIF1A up-regulated PDGFRB under hypoxic conditions, and PDGFRB regulated the actin cytoskeleton by activating RhoA and subsequently phosphorylating MLC, thereby promoting OS dedifferentiation and pulmonary metastasis.

Keywords: osteosarcoma, dedifferentiation, metastasis, cytoskeleton rearrangement, PDGFRB, hypoxia

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Authors: Ashish Bhattarai, Bishnu Bhatta, Hem Raj Joshi, Nabin Neupane, Pankaj Yadav

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This report concerns the design, development, and analysis of the combined Darrieus and Savonius wind turbine. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT's) are of two type's viz. Darrieus (lift type) and Savonius (drag type). The problem associated with Darrieus is the lack of self-starting while Savonius has low efficiency. There are 3 straight Darrieus blades having the cross-section of NACA(National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics) 0018 placed circumferentially and a helically twisted Savonius blade to get even torque distribution. This unique design allows the use of Savonius as a method of self-starting the wind turbine, which the Darrieus cannot achieve on its own. All the parts of the wind turbine are designed in CAD software, and simulation data were obtained via CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics) approach. Also, the design was imported to FlashForge Finder to 3D print the wind turbine profile and finally, testing was carried out. The plastic material used for Savonius was ABS(Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and that for Darrieus was PLA(Polylactic Acid). From the data obtained experimentally, the hybrid VAWT so fabricated has been found to operate at the low cut-in speed of 3 m/s and maximum power output has been found to be 7.5537 watts at the wind speed of 6 m/s. The maximum rpm of the rotor blade is recorded to be 431 rpm(rotation per minute) at the wind velocity of 6 m/s, signifying its potentiality of wind power production. Besides, the data so obtained from both the process when analyzed through graph plots has shown the similar nature slope wise. Also, the difference between the experimental and theoretical data obtained has shown mechanical losses. The objective is to eliminate the need for external motors for self-starting purposes and study the performance of the model. The testing of the model was carried out for different wind velocities.

Keywords: VAWT, Darrieus, Savonius, helical blades, CFD, flash forge finder, ABS, PLA

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Authors: Puneet Kumar, Jonnalagadda Srinivas

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The authors report here vibration and buckling analysis of functionally graded carbon nanotube-polymer composite (FG-CNTPC) beams under hygro-thermo-mechanical environments using higher order shear deformation theory. The material properties of CNT and polymer matrix are often affected by temperature and moisture content. A micromechanical model with agglomeration effect is employed to compute the elastic, thermal and moisture properties of the composite beam. The governing differential equation of FG-CNTRPC beam is developed using higher-order shear deformation theory to account shear deformation effects. The elastic, thermal and hygroscopic strain terms are derived from variational principles. Moreover, thermal and hygroscopic loads are determined by considering uniform, linear and sinusoidal variation of temperature and moisture content through the thickness. Differential equations of motion are formulated as an eigenvalue problem using appropriate displacement fields and solved by using finite element modeling. The obtained results of natural frequencies and critical buckling loads show a good agreement with published data. The numerical illustrations elaborate the dynamic as well as buckling behavior under uniaxial load for different environmental conditions, boundary conditions and volume fraction distribution profile, beam slenderness ratio. Further, comparisons are shown at different boundary conditions, temperatures, degree of moisture content, volume fraction as well as agglomeration of CNTs, slenderness ratio of beam for different shear deformation theories.

Keywords: hygrothermal effect, free vibration, buckling load, agglomeration

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Authors: K. S. Zaytsev, Y. R. Nartsissov

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Glycine is one of the key inhibitory neurotransmitters in Central nervous system (CNS) meanwhile glycinergic transmission is highly dependable on its appropriate reuptake from synaptic cleft. Glycine transporters (GlyT) of types 1 and 2 are the enzymes providing glycine transport back to neuronal and glial cells along with Na⁺ and Cl⁻ co-transport. The distribution and stoichiometry of GlyT1 and GlyT2 differ in details, and GlyT2 is more interesting for the research as it reuptakes glycine to neuron cells, whereas GlyT1 is located in glial cells. In the process of GlyT2 activity, the translocation of the amino acid is accompanied with binding of both one chloride and three sodium ions consequently (two sodium ions for GlyT1). In the present study, we developed a computer simulator of GlyT2 and GlyT1 activity based on known experimental data for quantitative estimation of membrane glycine transport. The trait of a single protein functioning was described using the probability approach where each enzyme state was considered separately. Created scheme of transporter functioning realized as a consequence of elemental steps allowed to take into account each event of substrate association and dissociation. Computer experiments using up-to-date kinetic parameters allowed receiving the number of translocated glycine molecules, Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions per time period. Flexibility of developed software makes it possible to evaluate glycine reuptake pattern in time under different internal characteristics of enzyme conformational transitions. We investigated the behavior of the system in a wide range of equilibrium constant (from 0.2 to 100), which is not determined experimentally. The significant influence of equilibrium constant in the range from 0.2 to 10 on the glycine transfer process is shown. The environmental conditions such as ion and glycine concentrations are decisive if the values of the constant are outside the specified range.

Keywords: glycine, inhibitory neurotransmitters, probability approach, single protein functioning

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Authors: A. Clementking, C. Jothi Venkateswaran

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Mathematical and computational functionalities such as descriptive mining, optimization, and predictions are espoused to resolve natural resource planning. The water quality prediction and its attributes influence determinations are adopted optimization techniques. The water properties are tainted while merging water resource one with another. This work aimed to predict influencing water resource distribution connectivity in accordance to water quality and sediment using an innovative proposed master-slave neural network back-propagation model. The experiment results are arrived through collecting water quality attributes, computation of water quality index, design and development of neural network model to determine water quality and sediment, master–slave back propagation neural network back-propagation model to determine variations on water quality and sediment attributes between the water resources and the recommendation for connectivity. The homogeneous and parallel biochemical reactions are influences water quality and sediment while distributing water from one location to another. Therefore, an innovative master-slave neural network model [M (9:9:2)::S(9:9:2)] designed and developed to predict the attribute variations. The result of training dataset given as an input to master model and its maximum weights are assigned as an input to the slave model to predict the water quality. The developed master-slave model is predicted physicochemical attributes weight variations for 85 % to 90% of water quality as a target values.The sediment level variations also predicated from 0.01 to 0.05% of each water quality percentage. The model produced the significant variations on physiochemical attribute weights. According to the predicated experimental weight variation on training data set, effective recommendations are made to connect different resources.

Keywords: master-slave back propagation neural network model(MSBPNNM), water quality analysis, multivariate analysis, environmental mining

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Authors: Atsuko Okazaki, Jurg Ott

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Some genetic diseases (‘digenic traits’) are due to the interaction between two DNA variants. For example, certain forms of Retinitis Pigmentosa (a genetic form of blindness) occur in the presence of two mutant variants, one in the ROM1 gene and one in the RDS gene, while the occurrence of only one of these mutant variants leads to a completely normal phenotype. Detecting such digenic traits by genetic methods is difficult. A common approach to finding disease-causing variants is to compare 100,000s of variants between individuals with a trait (cases) and those without the trait (controls). Such genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been very successful but hinge on genetic effects of single variants, that is, there should be a difference in allele or genotype frequencies between cases and controls at a disease-causing variant. Frequent pattern mining (FPM) methods offer an avenue at detecting digenic traits even in the absence of single-variant effects. The idea is to enumerate pairs of genotypes (genotype patterns) with each of the two genotypes originating from different variants that may be located at very different genomic positions. What is needed is for genotype patterns to be significantly more common in cases than in controls. Let Y = 2 refer to cases and Y = 1 to controls, with X denoting a specific genotype pattern. We are seeking association rules, ‘X → Y’, with high confidence, P(Y = 2|X), significantly higher than the proportion of cases, P(Y = 2) in the study. Clearly, generally available FPM methods are very suitable for detecting disease-associated genotype patterns. We use fpgrowth as the basic FPM algorithm and built a framework around it to enumerate high-frequency digenic genotype patterns and to evaluate their statistical significance by permutation analysis. Application to a published dataset on opioid dependence furnished results that could not be found with classical GWAS methodology. There were 143 cases and 153 healthy controls, each genotyped for 82 variants in eight genes of the opioid system. The aim was to find out whether any of these variants were disease-associated. The single-variant analysis did not lead to significant results. Application of our FPM implementation resulted in one significant (p < 0.01) genotype pattern with both genotypes in the pattern being heterozygous and originating from two variants on different chromosomes. This pattern occurred in 14 cases and none of the controls. Thus, the pattern seems quite specific to this form of substance abuse and is also rather predictive of disease. An algorithm called Multifactor Dimension Reduction (MDR) was developed some 20 years ago and has been in use in human genetics ever since. This and our algorithms share some similar properties, but they are also very different in other respects. The main difference seems to be that our algorithm focuses on patterns of genotypes while the main object of inference in MDR is the 3 × 3 table of genotypes at two variants.

Keywords: digenic traits, DNA variants, epistasis, statistical genetics

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Authors: Phakamani Xaba, Robert Huberts, Bilainu Oboirien

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The present study was aimed at developing & comparing two neural-network-based predictive models to predict shelf-life/product age of South African margarine using free fatty acid (FFA), water droplet size (D3.3), water droplet distribution (e-sigma), moisture content, peroxide value (PV), anisidine valve (AnV) and total oxidation (totox) value as input variables to the model. Brick margarine products which had varying ages ranging from fresh i.e. week 0 to week 47 were sourced. The brick margarine products which had been stored at 10 & 25 °C and were characterized. JMP and MATLAB models to predict shelf-life/ margarine age were developed and their performances were compared. The key performance indicators to evaluate the model performances were correlation coefficient (CC), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) relative to the actual data. The MATLAB-developed model showed a better performance in all three performance indicators. The correlation coefficient of the MATLAB model was 99.86% versus 99.74% for the JMP model, the RMSE was 0.720 compared to 1.005 and the MAPE was 7.4% compared to 8.571%. The MATLAB model was selected to be the most accurate, and then, the number of hidden neurons/ nodes was optimized to develop a single predictive model. The optimized MATLAB with 10 neurons showed a better performance compared to the models with 1 & 5 hidden neurons. The developed models can be used by margarine manufacturers, food research institutions, researchers etc, to predict shelf-life/ margarine product age, optimize addition of antioxidants, extend shelf-life of products and proactively troubleshoot for problems related to changes which have an impact on shelf-life of margarine without conducting expensive trials.

Keywords: margarine shelf-life, predictive modelling, neural networks, oil oxidation

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Authors: Yu Chen Su

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Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) refers to impaired glucose tolerance in pregnant women, impacting both the mother and newborn with short and long-term effects. It increases risks of preeclampsia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cesarean section, and preterm birth. GDM is associated with fetal macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, neonatal hypoglycemia, and future type 2 diabetes risk. A study on 6,421 pregnant women found 12% experienced high stress, linked to maladaptive coping and depressive emotions. Women with high-risk pregnancies may experience greater stress and depression. Research suggests GDM increases depression prevalence. A study on 632 Hispanic women with GDM showed severe stress and depression tendencies. Involving 95 women with GDM, 33.4% exhibited depression symptoms. Another study compared 180 GDM women to 186 with normal glucose levels, revealing higher depression levels in GDM women. They found GDM women were 1.85 times more likely to receive antidepressants during pregnancy and 1.69 times more likely to experience postpartum depression. Maternal stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy are significant factors. Early identification by healthcare professionals can greatly benefit GDM women, their infants, and their families. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and the risk of depression. Methods: This study reviewed and analyzed relevant literature on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and depression in 6,876 patients. The literature search followed PRISMA guidelines and included databases like Embase, PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. Prospective or retrospective studies with relevant risk ratios and estimates were included, using a random-effects model for the analysis of depression risk correlation. Studies without depression data or relevant risks were excluded. The search period extended until October 2022. Results: Systematic review of 7 studies (6,876 participants) found a significant association (OR = 8.77, CI: 7.98-9.64, p < 0.05) between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and higher depression risk compared to healthy pregnant women. Conclusions: Pregnancy is a significant life transition involving physiological, psychological, and social changes. Gestational diabetes poses challenges to women's physical and mental well-being. Sensitive healthcare professionals identifying issues early can greatly benefit women, babies, and the family.

Keywords: gestational diabetes, depression, systematic review, neta-analysis

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Authors: Jorge Iván Bañol-Betancur, Lina María Martínez-Sánchez, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez-Gázquez, Estefanía Bahamonde-Olaya, Ana María Gutiérrez-Tamayo, Laura Isabel Jaramillo-Jaramillo, Camilo Ruiz-Mejía, Natalia Morales-Quintero

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Acute chest pain is a distressing sensation between the diaphragm and the base of the neck and it represents a diagnostic challenge for any physician in the emergency department. Objective: To establish the main clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients who present with chest pain to the emergency department in a private clinic from the city of Medellin, during 2014-2015. Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective observational study. Population and sample were patients who consulted for chest pain in the emergency department who met the eligibility criteria. The information was analyzed in SPSS program vr.21; qualitative variables were described through relative frequencies, and the quantitative through mean and standard deviation ‬or medians according to their distribution in the study population. Results: A total of 231 patients were evaluated, the mean age was 49.5 ± 19.9 years, 56.7% were females. The most frequent pathological antecedents were hypertension 35.5%, diabetes 10,8%, dyslipidemia 10.4% and coronary disease 5.2%. Regarding pain features, in 40.3% of the patients the pain began abruptly, in 38.2% it had a precordial location, for 20% of the cases physical activity acted as a trigger, and 60.6% was oppressive. Costochondritis was the most common cause of chest pain among patients with an established etiologic diagnosis, representing the 18.2%. Conclusions: Although the clinical features of pain reported coincide with the clinical presentation of an acute coronary syndrome, the most common cause of chest pain in study population was costochondritis instead, indicating that it is a differential diagnostic in the approach of patients with pain acute chest.

Keywords: acute coronary syndrome, chest pain, epidemiology, osteochondritis

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Authors: S. H. Jang

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Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is characterized by acute neurologic symptoms (visual loss, headache, altered mentality and seizures) and by typical imaging findings (bilateral subcortical and cortical edema with predominatly posterior distribution). Nephrotic syndrome is a syndrome comprising signs of proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and edema. It is well known that hypertension predispose patient with nephrotic syndrome to PRES. A 45-year old male was referred for suddenly developed vertigo, disequilibrium. He had previous history of nephrotic syndrome. His medical history included diabetes controlled with medication. He was hospitalized because of generalized edema a few days ago. His vital signs were stable. On neurologic examination, his mental state was alert. Horizontal nystagmus to right side on return to primary position was observed. He showed good grade motor weakness and ataxia in right upper and lower limbs without other sensory abnormality. Brain MRI showed increased signal intensity in FLAIR image, decreased signal intensity in T1 image and focal enhanced lesion in T1 contrast image at whole midbrain, pons and cerebellar peduncle symmetrically, which was compatible with vasogenic edema. Laboratory findings showed severe proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia. He was given intravenous dexamethasone and diuretics to reduce vasogenic edema and raise the intra-vascular osmotic pressure. Nystagmus, motor weakness and limb ataxia improved gradually over 2 weeks; He recovered without any neurologic symptom and sign. Follow-up MRI showed decreased vasogenic edema fairly. We report a case of brain stem PRES in normotensive, nephrotic syndrome patient.

Keywords: posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, MRI, nephrotic syndrome, vasogenic brain edema

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Authors: Suvorov Vasyl, Filipchuk Viktor

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Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) is a frequent pathology in pediatric orthopedist’s practice. Neglected or residual cases of DDH in walking patients are usually treated using pelvic osteotomies. Plastic changes take place in hinge points due to acetabulum reorientation during surgery. Classically described hinge points and a traditional division of pelvic osteotomies on reshaping and reorientation are currently debated. The purpose of this article was to evaluate biomechanical changes during the most commonly used pelvic osteotomies (Salter, Dega, Pemberton) for DDH treatment in pediatric patients. Methods: virtual pelvic models of 2- and 6-years old patients were created, material properties were assigned, pelvic osteotomies were simulated and biomechanical changes were evaluated using finite element analysis (FEA). Results: it was revealed that the patient's age has an impact on pelvic bones and cartilages density (in younger patients the pelvic elements are more pliable - p<0.05). Stress distribution after each of the abovementioned pelvic osteotomy was assessed in 2- and 6-years old patients’ pelvic models; hinge points were evaluated. The new term "restriction point" was introduced, which means a place where restriction of acetabular deformity correction occurs. Pelvic ligaments attachment points were mainly these restriction points. Conclusions: it was found out that there are no purely reshaping and reorientation pelvic osteotomies as previously believed; the pelvic ring acts as a unit in carrying out the applied load. Biomechanical overload of triradiate cartilage during Salter osteotomy in 2-years old patient and in 2- and 6-years old patients during Pemberton osteotomy was revealed; overload of the posterior cortical layer in the greater sciatic notch in 2-years old patient during Dega osteotomy was revealed. Level of Evidence – Level IV, prognostic.

Keywords: developmental dysplasia of the hip, pelvic osteotomy, finite element analysis, hinge point, biomechanics

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Authors: Galal Omer, Onisimo Mutanga, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Elhadi Adam

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Threatened tree species (TTS) play a significant role in ecosystem functioning and services, land use dynamics, and other socio-economic aspects. Such aspects include ecological, economic, livelihood, security-based, and well-being benefits. The development of techniques for mapping and monitoring TTS is thus critical for understanding the functioning of ecosystems. The advent of advanced imaging systems and supervised learning algorithms has provided an opportunity to classify TTS over fragmenting landscape. Recently, vegetation maps have been produced using advanced imaging systems such as WorldView-2 (WV-2) and robust classification algorithms such as support vectors machines (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN). However, delineation of TTS in a fragmenting landscape using high resolution imagery has widely remained elusive due to the complexity of the species structure and their distribution. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to examine the utility of the advanced WV-2 data for mapping TTS in the fragmenting Dukuduku indigenous forest of South Africa using SVM and ANN classification algorithms. The results showed the robustness of the two machine learning algorithms with an overall accuracy (OA) of 77.00% (total disagreement = 23.00%) for SVM and 75.00% (total disagreement = 25.00%) for ANN using all eight bands of WV-2 (8B). This study concludes that SVM and ANN classification algorithms with WV-2 8B have the potential to classify TTS in the Dukuduku indigenous forest. This study offers relatively accurate information that is important for forest managers to make informed decisions regarding management and conservation protocols of TTS.

Keywords: artificial neural network, threatened tree species, indigenous forest, support vector machines

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Authors: Wenjiang Deng, Tian Mou, Yudi Pawitan, Trung Nghia Vu

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Estimation of isoform-level gene expression from RNA-seq data depends on simplifying assumptions, such as uniform reads distribution, that are easily violated in real data. Such violations typically lead to biased estimates. Most existing methods provide a bias correction step(s), which is based on biological considerations, such as GC content–and applied in single samples separately. The main problem is that not all biases are known. For example, new technologies such as single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) may introduce new sources of bias not seen in bulk-cell data. This study introduces a method called XAEM based on a more flexible and robust statistical model. Existing methods are essentially based on a linear model Xβ, where the design matrix X is known and derived based on the simplifying assumptions. In contrast, XAEM considers Xβ as a bilinear model with both X and β unknown. Joint estimation of X and β is made possible by simultaneous analysis of multi-sample RNA-seq data. Compared to existing methods, XAEM automatically performs empirical correction of potentially unknown biases. XAEM implements an alternating expectation-maximization (AEM) algorithm, alternating between estimation of X and β. For speed XAEM utilizes quasi-mapping for read alignment, thus leading to a fast algorithm. Overall XAEM performs favorably compared to other recent advanced methods. For simulated datasets, XAEM obtains higher accuracy for multiple-isoform genes, particularly for paralogs. In a differential-expression analysis of a real scRNA-seq dataset, XAEM achieves substantially greater rediscovery rates in an independent validation set.

Keywords: alternating EM algorithm, bias correction, bilinear model, gene expression, RNA-seq

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Authors: G. Wagner, R. Herrmann

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Cytotoxic platinum compounds play a major role in the chemotherapy of a large number of human cancers. However, due to the severe side effects for the patient and other problems associated with their use, there is a need for the development of more efficient drugs and new methods for their selective delivery to the tumours. One way to achieve the latter could be in the use of nanoparticular substrates that can adsorb or chemically bind the drug. In the cell, the drug is supposed to be slowly released, either by physical desorption or by dissolution of the particle framework. Ideally, the cytotoxic properties of the platinum drug unfold only then, in the cancer cell and over a longer period of time due to the gradual release. In this paper, we report on our first steps in this direction. The binding properties of a series of cytotoxic Pt(II) oxadiazoline compounds to mesoporous silica particles has been studied by NMR and UV/vis spectroscopy. High loadings were achieved when the Pt(II) compound was relatively polar, and has been dissolved in a relatively nonpolar solvent before the silica was added. Typically, 6-10 hours were required for complete equilibration, suggesting the adsorption did not only occur to the outer surface but also to the interior of the pores. The untreated and Pt(II) loaded particles were characterised by C, H, N combustion analysis, BET/BJH nitrogen sorption, electron microscopy (REM and TEM) and EDX. With the latter methods we were able to demonstrate the homogenous distribution of the Pt(II) compound on and in the silica particles, and no Pt(II) bulk precipitate had formed. The in vitro cytotoxicity in a human cancer cell line (HeLa) has been determined for one of the new platinum compounds adsorbed to mesoporous silica particles of different size, and compared with the corresponding compound in solution. The IC50 data are similar in all cases, suggesting that the release of the Pt(II) compound was relatively fast and possibly occurred before the particles reached the cells. Overall, the platinum drug is chemically stable on silica and retained its activity upon prolonged storage.

Keywords: cytotoxicity, mesoporous silica, nanoparticles, platinum compounds

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Authors: Katie Kilgour, Brendan Turner, Carly Catella, Michael Daniele, Stefano Menegatti

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In vivo, the extracellular matrix (ECM) provides biochemical and mechanical properties that are instructional to resident cells to form complex tissues with characteristics to develop and support vascular networks. In vitro, the development of vascular networks can be guided by biochemical patterning of substrates via spatial distribution and display of peptides and growth factors to prompt cell adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation. We have developed a technique utilizing peptide ligands that specifically bind vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), erythropoietin (EPO), or angiopoietin-1 (ANG1) to spatiotemporally distribute growth factors to cells. This allows for the controlled release of each growth factor, ultimately enhancing the formation of a vascular network. Our engineered tissue constructs (ETCs) are fabricated out of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), which is an ideal substrate for tailored stiffness and bio-functionality, and covalently patterned with growth factor specific peptides. These peptides mimic growth factor receptors, facilitating the non-covalent binding of the growth factors to the ETC, allowing for facile uptake by the cells. We have demonstrated in the absence of cells the binding affinity of VEGF, EPO, and ANG1 to their respective peptides and the ability for each to be patterned onto a GelMA substrate. The ability to organize growth factors on an ETC provides different functionality to develop organized vascular networks. Our results demonstrated a method to incorporate biochemical cues into ETCs that enable spatial and temporal control of growth factors. Future efforts will investigate the cellular response by evaluating gene expression, quantifying angiogenic activity, and measuring the speed of growth factor consumption.

Keywords: growth factor, hydrogel, peptide, angiogenesis, vascular, patterning

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Authors: Dafna Knani, Sarit S. Sivan

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Aggrecan, one of the main components of the intervertebral disc (IVD), belongs to the family of proteoglycans (PGs) that are composed of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains covalently attached to a core protein. Its primary function is to maintain tissue hydration and hence disc height under the high loads imposed by muscle activity and body weight. Significant PG loss is one of the first indications of disc degeneration. A possible solution to recover disc functions is by injecting a synthetic hydrogel into the joint cavity, hence mimicking the role of PGs. One of the hydrogels proposed is GAG-analogues, based on sulfate-containing polymers, which are responsible for hydration in disc tissue. In the present work, we used molecular dynamics (MD) to study the effect of the hydrogel crosslinking (type and degree) on the swelling behavior of the suggested GAG-analogue biomimetics by calculation of cohesive energy density (CED), solubility parameter, enthalpy of mixing (ΔEmix) and the interactions between the molecules at the pure form and as a mixture with water. The simulation results showed that hydrophobicity plays an important role in the swelling of the hydrogel, as indicated by the linear correlation observed between solubility parameter values of the copolymers and crosslinker weight ratio (w/w); this correlation was found useful in predicting the amount of PEGDA needed for the desirable hydration behavior of (CS)₄-peptide. Enthalpy of mixing calculations showed that all the GAG analogs, (CS)₄ and (CS)₄-peptide are water-soluble; radial distribution function analysis revealed that they form interactions with water molecules, which is important for the hydration process. To conclude, our simulation results, beyond supporting the experimental data, can be used as a useful predictive tool in the future development of biomaterials, such as disc replacement.

Keywords: molecular dynamics, proteoglycans, enthalpy of mixing, swelling

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Authors: Suelen C. Lima, André C. de Oliveira, Rosemary A. Roque

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Dengue is fatal arboviruses transmitted by the A. aegypti mosquito to more than 100 countries, for which the WHO estimates that 2.5 million people will be infected by these disease. The widespread of these diseases is due, among other factors, to the resistance that A. aegypti has to several commercial insecticides. On the other hand, natural products based on plants of the genus Piper (Piperaceae) are characterized by their insecticidal activities against mosquitoes. Piper longepetiolatum and Piper brachypetiolatum are species with wide distribution in the State of Amazonas. However, there is no investigation of phytochemical or biological of these plants against mosquitoes such as A. aegypti. The main of this study was to identify the chemical composition of the essential oil (EOs) from P. longepetiolatum and P. brachypetiolatum and to evaluate the biological activity against A. aegypti. The EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation from leaves (200 g) of P. longepetiolatum and P. brachypetiolatum and analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The main compounds β-caryophyllene (99.9% of purity) and E-nerolidol (99.4% of purity) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich® Brazil. The larvicidal activity of EOs (20 to 100 ppm), β-caryophyllene and E-nerolidol (10 to 50 ppm) was performed according to WHO protocol against A. aegypti larvae. The GC-MS and GC-FID analysis of EOs from P. longepetiolatum and P. brachypetiolatum indicated the majority presence of β-caryophyllene (35.42%) and E-nerolidol (49.79%), respectively. The results showed that all natural products presented larvicidal activity against A. aegypti. In this aspect, the OE from P. brachypetiolatum (LC50 of 15.51 ppm and LC90 of 22.79 ppm) was more active than the OE from P. longepetiolatum (LC50 of 47.17 ppm and LC90 of 69.60 ppm) (p < 0.05). Regarding of main compounds, E-nerolidol (LC50 of 9.50 ppm and LC90 of 23.89 ppm) showed higher larvicidal activity than the β-caryophyllene compound (LC50 of 79.00 ppm and LC90 of 230.91 ppm) (p < 0.05). The larvae treated with these natural products showed tremors and lethargic movements, suggesting that these natural products have neurotoxic action. These observations support studies to investigate the mechanism of action. This is the first record of the chemical composition and larvicidal activity of the EO from P. longepetiolatum and P. brachypetiolatum rich in β-caryophyllene and E-nerolidol against A. aegypti larvae.

Keywords: piperaceae, aedes, sesquiterpenes, biological control

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Authors: Anuj Srivastava, Kuldeep Kumar

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This paper proposes a numerical study of volute tongue design, which affects the centrifugal compressor operating range and pressure recovery. Increased efficiency has been the traditional importance of compressor design. However, the increased operating range has become important in an age of ever-increasing productivity and energy costs in the turbomachinery industry. Efficiency and overall operating range are the two most important parameters studied to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of centrifugal compressor. Volute is one of the components that have significant effect on these two parameters. Choice of volute tongue geometry has major role in compressor performance, also affects performance map. The author evaluates the trade-off on using pull-back tongue geometry on centrifugal compressor performance. In present paper, three different tongue positions and shapes are discussed. These designs are compared in terms of pressure recovery coefficient, pressure loss coefficient, and stable operating range. The detailed flow structures for various volute geometries and pull back angle near tongue are studied extensively to explore the fluid behavior. The viscous Navier-Stokes equations are used to simulate the flow inside the volute. The numerical calculations are compared with thermodynamic 1-D calculations. Author concludes that the increment in compression ratio accompanies with more uniform pressure distribution in the modified tongue shape and location, a uniform static pressure around the circumferential which build a more uniform flow in the impeller and diffuser. Also, the blockage at the tongue of the volute was causing circumferentially nonuniformed pressure along the volute. This nonuniformity may lead impeller and diffuser to operate unstably. However, it is not the volute that directly controls the stall.

Keywords: centrifugal compressor volute, tongue geometry, pull-back, compressor performance, flow instability

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Authors: Sajjad Seifi Mofarah, S. K. Sadrnezhaad, Shokooh Moghadam, Javad Tavakoli

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In recent years a new method of combination treatment for cancer has been developed and studied that has led to significant advancements in the field of cancer therapy. Hyperthermia is a traditional therapy that, along with a creation of a medically approved level of heat with the help of an alternating magnetic AC current, results in the destruction of cancer cells by heat. This paper gives details regarding the production of the spherical nanocomposite PVA/γ-Fe2O3 in order to be used for medical purposes such as tumor treatment by hyperthermia. To reach a suitable and evenly distributed temperature, the nanocomposite with core-shell morphology and spherical form within a 100 to 200 nanometer size was created using phase separation emulsion, in which the magnetic nano-particles γ-Fe2O3 with an average particle size of 20 nano-meters and with different percentages of 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 were covered by polyvinyl alcohol. The main concern in hyperthermia and heat treatment is achieving desirable specific absorption rate (SAR) and one of the most critical factors in SAR is particle size. In this project all attempts has been done to reach minimal size and consequently maximum SAR. The morphological analysis of the spherical structure of the nanocomposite PVA/γ-Fe2O3 was achieved by SEM analyses and the study of the chemical bonds created was made possible by FTIR analysis. To investigate the manner of magnetic nanocomposite particle size distribution a DLS experiment was conducted. Moreover, to determine the magnetic behavior of the γ-Fe2O3 particle and the nanocomposite PVA/γ-Fe2O3 in different concentrations a VSM test was conducted. To sum up, creating magnetic nanocomposites with a spherical morphology that would be employed for drug loading opens doors to new approaches in developing nanocomposites that provide efficient heat and a controlled release of drug simultaneously inside the magnetic field, which are among their positive characteristics that could significantly improve the recovery process in patients.

Keywords: nanocomposite, hyperthermia, cancer therapy, drug releasing

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Authors: Duran Fiack, Jeremy Cumberbatch, Michael Sutherland, Nadine Zerphey

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Civic leaders have increasingly relied upon local climate adaptation plans to identify vulnerabilities, prioritize goals, and implement actions in order to prepare cities for the present and projected effects of global climate change. The concept of sustainability is central to these efforts, as climate adaptation discussions are often framed within the context of economic resilience, environmental protection, and the distribution of climate change impacts across various socioeconomic groups. For urban centers, the climate change issue presents unique challenges for each of these dimensions; however, its potential impacts on marginalized populations are extensive. This study draws from the ‘just sustainabilities’ framework to perform a qualitative analysis of climate adaptation plans prepared by 22 of the 100 largest U.S. cities and examine whether, and to what extent, such initiatives prioritize social equity improvements. Past research has found that the integration of sustainability in urban policy and planning often produces outcomes that favor environmental and economic objectives over social equity improvements. We find that social equity is a particularly prominent theme in local-level climate adaptation efforts, relative to environmental quality and economic development. The findings contribute to the literature on climate adaptation and sustainability within the urban context and offer practical insight for local-level stakeholders concerning potential obstacles and opportunities for the integration of social equity initiatives into climate adaptation planning. Given the likelihood that climate changes will continue to impose unique challenges for marginalized communities in urban areas, advancing our understanding of how social equity concerns are integrated into adaptation efforts is likely to become an increasingly critical area of inquiry.

Keywords: climate adaptation plan, climate change, social equity, sustainability

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Authors: Michio Kurosu

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Alterations in glycosylation not only directly impact cell growth and survival but also facilitate tumor-induced immunomodulation and eventual metastasis. Identification of cell type-specific glycoconjugates (tumor markers) has led to the discovery of new assay systems for certain cancers via immunodetection reagents. N- and O-linked glycans are the most abundant forms of glycoproteins. Recent studies of cancer immunotherapy are based on the immunogenicity of truncated O-glycan chains (e.g., Tn, sTn, T, and sLea/x). The prevalence of N-linked glycan changes in the development of tumor cells is known; however, therapeutic antibodies against N-glycans have not yet been developed. This is due to the lack of specificity of N-linked glycans between normal/healthy and cancer cells. Abnormal branching of N-linked glycans has been observed, particularly in solid cancer cells. While the discovery of drug-like glycosyltransferase inhibitors that block the biosynthesis of specific branching has a very low likelihood of success, altered glycosylation levels can be exploited by suppressing N-glycan biosynthesis through the inhibition of dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosaminephosphotransferase1 (DPAGT1) activity. Inhibition of DPAGT1 function leads to changes of O-glycosylation on proteins associated with mitochondria and zinc finger binding proteins (indirect effects). On the basis of dynamic crosstalk between DPAGT1 and Snail/Slung/ZEB1 (a family of transcription factors that promote the repression of the adhesion molecules), we have developed pharmacologically acceptable selective DPAGT1 inhibitors. Tunicamycin kills a wide range of cancer and healthy cells in a non-selective manner. In sharp contrast, our DPAGT1 inhibitors display strong cytostatic effects against 16 solid cancers, which require the overexpression of DPAGT1 in their progression but do not affect the cell viability of healthy cells. The identified DPAGT1 inhibitors possess impressive anti-metastatic ability in various solid cancer cell lines and induce their mitochondrial structural changes, resulting in apoptosis. A prototype DPAGT1 inhibitor, APPB has already been proven to shrink solid tumors (e.g., pancreatic cancers, triple-negative breast cancers) in vivo while suppressing metastases and has strong synergistic effects when combined with current cytotoxic drugs (e.g., paclitaxel). At this conference, our discovery of selective DPAGT1 inhibitors with drug-like properties and proof-of-pharmaceutical concept studies of a novel DPAGT1 inhibitor are presented.

Keywords: DPAGT1 inhibitors, anti-metastatic drugs, natural product based drug designs, cytostatic effects

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Authors: Salman Naveed, Nitant Gandhi, Grant Billings, Zachary Jones, B. Todd Campbell, Michael Jones, Sachin Rustgi

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Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the primary source of natural fiber in the U.S. and a major crop in the Southeastern U.S. Despite constant efforts to increase the cotton fiber yield, the yield gain has stagnated. Therefore, we undertook a novel approach to improve the cotton fiber yield by altering its growth habit from perennial to annual. In this effort, we identified genotypes with high-expression alleles of five floral induction and meristem identity genes (FT, SOC1, FUL, LFY, and AP1) from an upland cotton mini-core collection and crossed them in various combinations to develop cotton lines with annual growth habit, optimal flowering time and enhanced productivity. To facilitate the characterization of genotypes with the desired combinations of stacked alleles, we identified markers associated with the gene expression traits via genome-wide association analysis using a 63K SNP Array (Hulse-Kemp et al. 2015 G3 5:1187). Over 14,500 SNPs showed polymorphism and were used for association analysis. A total of 396 markers showed association with expression traits. Out of these 396 markers, 159 mapped to genes, 50 to untranslated regions, and 187 to random genomic regions. Biased genomic distribution of associated markers was observed where more trait-associated markers mapped to the cotton D sub-genome. Many quantitative trait loci coincided at specific genomic regions. This observation has implications as these traits could be bred together. The analysis also allowed the identification of candidate regulators of the expression patterns of these floral induction and meristem identity genes whose functions will be validated via virus-induced gene silencing.

Keywords: cotton, GWAS, QTL, expression traits

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Authors: Somayeh Fani, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla

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Costus speciosus is an important Malaysian medicinal plant commonly used traditionally in the treatment of many aliments. The present investigation is designed to elucidate preventive effects of ethanolic extracts of C. speciosus rhizome against absolute ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. Five groups of rats were orally pre-treated with vehicle, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as normal control group (Group 1), ethanol as ulcer control group (Group 2), omeprazole 20 mg/kg (reference group) (Group 3), and 250 and 500 mg/kg of C. speciosus extract (experimental groups) (Group 4 and 5), respectively. An hour later, CMC was given orally to Group 1 rats and absolute ethanol was given orally to Group 2-5 rats to generate gastric mucosal injury. After an additional hour, the rats were sacrificed. Grossly, ulcer control group exhibited severe of gastric mucosal hemorrhagic injury and increased in ulcer area, whereas groups pre-treated with omeprazole or plant’s rhizomes exhibited the significant reduction of gastric mucosal injury. Significant increase in the pH and mucous of gastric content was observed in rats re-treated with C. speciosus rhizome. Histology, ulcer control rats, demonstrated remarkable disruption of gastric mucosa, increased in edema and inflammatory cells infiltration of submucosal layer compared to rats pre-treated with rhizomes extract. Periodic acid Schiff staining for glycoprotein, rats pre-fed with C. speciosus C. displayed remarkably intense uptake of magenta color by glandular gastric mucosa compared with ulcer control rats. Immunostaining of gastric epithelium, rats pre-treatment with rhizome extract provide evidence of up-regulation of HSP70 and down-regulation of Bax proteins compared to ulcer control animals. Gastric tissue homogenate, C. speciosus significantly increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), increased the level of non-protein sulfhydryl (NP-SH) and decreased the level of lipid peroxidation after ethanol administration. Acute toxicity test did not show any signs of toxicity. The mechanisms implicated the gasrtoprotective property of C. speciosus depend upon the antisecretory activity, increased in gastric mucus glycoprotein, up-regulation of HSP70 protein and down-regulation of Bax proteins, reduction in the lipid peroxidation and increase in the level of NP-SH and antioxidant enzymes activity in gastic homogenate.

Keywords: antioxidant, Costus speciosus, gastric ulcer, histology, omeprazole

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Authors: Xavier Lorang, Ahmadali Tahmasebimoradi, Chetra Mang, Sylvain Girard

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The additive manufacturing processes (e.g. selective laser melting) allow us to produce lattice structures which have less weight, higher impact absorption capacity, and better thermal exchange property compared to the classical structures. Unfortunately, geometric imperfections (defects) in the lattice structures are by-products results of the manufacturing process. These imperfections decrease the lifetime and the strength of the lattice structures and alternate their mechanical responses. The objective of the paper is to present a simulation strategy which allows us to take into account the effect of the geometric imperfections on the mechanical response of the lattice structure. In the first part, an identification method of geometric imperfection parameters of the lattice structure based on point clouds is presented. These point clouds are based on tomography measurements. The point clouds are fed into the platform LATANA (LATtice ANAlysis) developed by IRT-SystemX to characterize the geometric imperfections. This is done by projecting the point clouds of each microbeam along the beam axis onto a 2D surface. Then, by fitting an ellipse to the 2D projections of the points, the geometric imperfections are characterized by introducing three parameters of an ellipse; semi-major/minor axes and angle of rotation. With regard to the calculated parameters of the microbeam geometric imperfections, a statistical analysis is carried out to determine a probability density law based on a statistical hypothesis. The microbeam samples are randomly drawn from the density law and are used to generate lattice structures. In the second part, a finite element model for the lattice structure with the simplified geometric imperfections (ellipse parameters) is presented. This numerical model is used to simulate the generated lattice structures. The propagation of the uncertainties of geometric imperfections is shown through the distribution of the computed mechanical responses of the lattice structures.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, finite element model, geometric imperfections, lattice structures, propagation of uncertainty

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Rui Wang, Luodi Yu, Dan Huang, Hsuan-Chih Chen, Yang Zhang, Suiping Wang

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Enhanced discrimination of pure tones but diminished discrimination of speech pitch (i.e., lexical tone) were found in children with autism who speak a tonal language (Mandarin), suggesting a speech-specific impairment of pitch perception in these children. However, in tonal languages, both lexical tone and vowel are phonemic cues and integrally dependent on each other. Therefore, it is unclear whether the presence of phonemic vowel dimension contributes to the observed lexical tone deficits in Mandarin-speaking children with autism. The current study employed a multi-feature oddball paradigm to examine how vowel and tone dimensions contribute to the neural responses for syllable change detection and involuntary attentional orienting in school-age Mandarin-speaking children with autism. In the oddball sequence, syllable /da1/ served as the standard stimulus. There were three deviant stimulus conditions, representing tone-only change (TO, /da4/), vowel-only change (VO, /du1/), and change of tone and vowel simultaneously (TV, /du4/). EEG data were collected from 25 children with autism and 20 age-matched normal controls during passive listening to the stimulation. For each deviant condition, difference waveform measuring mismatch negativity (MMN) was derived from subtracting the ERP waveform to the standard sound from that to the deviant sound for each participant. Additionally, the linear summation of TO and VO difference waveforms was compared to the TV difference waveform, to examine whether neural sensitivity for TV change detection reflects simple summation or nonlinear integration of the two individual dimensions. The MMN results showed that the autism group had smaller amplitude compared with the control group in the TO and VO conditions, suggesting impaired discriminative sensitivity for both dimensions. In the control group, amplitude of the TV difference waveform approximated the linear summation of the TO and VO waveforms only in the early time window but not in the late window, suggesting a time course from dimensional summation to nonlinear integration. In the autism group, however, the nonlinear TV integration was already present in the early window. These findings suggest that speech perception atypicality in children with autism rests not only in the processing of single phonemic dimensions, but also in the dimensional integration process.

Keywords: autism, event-related potentials , mismatch negativity, speech perception

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Authors: Supanitayanon Lalita, Dechkunakorn Surachai, Anuwongnukroh Niwat, Srikhirin Toemsak, Roongrujimek Pitchaya, Tua-Ngam Peerapong

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Objective: To compare maximum load, percentage of elongation, physical characteristics of 4 types of dental floss: (1) Thai Silk Floss (silk, waxed), (2) Oral B® Essential Floss (nylon, waxed), (3) Experimental Floss Xu (nylon, unwaxed), (4) Experimental Floss Xw (nylon, waxed). Materials & method: Four types of floss were tested (n=30) with a Universal Testing Machine (Instron®). Each sample (30 cm long, 5 cm segment) was fixed, and pulled apart with load cell of 100 N and a test speed of 100 mm/min. Physical characteristics were investigated by digital microscope under 2.5×10 magnification, and scanning electron microscope under 1×100 and 5×100 magnification. The size of the filaments was measured in micron (μm) and the fineness were measured in Denier. Statistical analysis: For mechanical properties, the maximum load and the percentage of elongation were presented as mean ± SD. The distribution of the data was calculated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. One-way ANOVA and multiple comparison (Tukey HSD) were used to analyze the differences among the groups with the level of a statistical difference at p < 0.05. Results: The maximum load of Floss Xu, Floss Xw, Oral B and Thai Silk were 47.39, 46.46, 25.38, and 23.70 N, respectively. The percentage of elongation of Oral B, Floss Xw, Floss Xu and Thai Silk were 72.43, 44.62, 31.25, and 16.44%, respectively. All 4 types of dental floss showed statistically differences in both the maximum load and percentage of elongation at p < 0.05, except for maximum load between Floss Xw and Floss Xu that showed no statistically significant difference. Physical characteristics of Thai silk revealed the most disintegrated, the smallest, and the least fine filaments. Conclusion: Floss Xu had the highest maximum load. Oral B had the highest percentage of elongation. Wax coating on Floss X increased the elongation but had no significant effect on the maximum load. The physical characteristics of Thai Silk resulted in the lowest mechanical properties values.

Keywords: dental floss, maximum load, mechanical property, percentage of elongation, physical property

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Authors: Sarah El-Gamal, Passent Hossam, Ahmed Abd El Aziz, Rojina Mahmoud, Ahmed Hassan, Dalia Hilal, Eman Ayman, Hana Haytham, Omar Khamis

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Several concerns fall upon the supply chain, especially the cold supply chain. According to the literature, the main challenges in the cold supply chain are the distribution and storage phases. In this research, researchers focused on the storage area, which contains several activities such as the picking activity that faces a lot of obstacles and challenges The implementation of IoT solutions enables businesses to monitor the temperature of food items, which is perhaps the most critical parameter in cold chains. Therefore, researchers proposed a practical solution that would help in eliminating the problems related to ineffective picking for products, especially fish and seafood products, by using IoT technology, most notably LiFi technology. Thus, guaranteeing sufficient picking, reducing waste, and consequently lowering costs. A prototype was specially designed and examined. This research is a single case study research. Two methods of data collection were used; observation and semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and decision maker at Carrefour Alexandria to validate the problem and the proposed practical solution using IoTandLiFi technology. A total of three interviews were conducted. As a result, a SWOT analysis was achieved in order to highlight all the strengths and weaknesses of using the recommended Lifi solution in the picking process. According to the investigations, it was found that the use of IoT and LiFi technology is cost effective, efficient, and reduces human errors, minimize the percentage of product waste and thus save money and cost. Thus, increasing customer satisfaction and profits gained.

Keywords: cold supply chain, picking process, temperature control, IOT, warehousing, LIFI

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Authors: Josephine Muchiri, Makena Muriithi

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Adverse mental health consequences are experienced by those that have been touched by Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), whether directly or indirectly. These negative effects are felt not only in the short term but in years to come. It is important to examine the prevalence and co-occurrence of mental disorders in order to provide strategic interventions for women who have experienced IPV. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and comorbidity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Depression, and Anxiety among women who had experienced intimate Partner violence in two selected informal settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya. Participants were 116 women (15-60 years) selected through purposive and snowball sampling from the low social, economic settlements (Kawangware and Kibera) in Nairobi, Kenya. A social demographic questionnaire and the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) were used to collect data on intimate partner violence experiences. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Beck’s Depression Inventory, and the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, respectively. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29, utilizing descriptive and correlation analyses. Findings indicated that the women had undergone various forms of abuse from their intimate partners, which were physical abuse 111(92.5%), sexual abuse 70(88.6%), and verbal abuse 92(93.9%). The prevalence of the mental disorders was PTSD 47(32.4%); M= 44.11, S.D =14.67, depression was the highest at n=131(90.3%; M=33.37±9.98) with the levels of depression having varying prevalence rates where severe depression had the highest representation [moderate: n= 35; 24.1%, severe: n=69 (47.6%) and extremely severe: n=27(18.6%)]. Anxiety had the second highest prevalence of n=99 (68.8%; M= 28.55±13.63) with differing prevalence rates in the levels of anxiety which were normal anxiety: 45(31.3%), moderate anxiety n=62(43.1%) and severe anxiety: n=37(25.7%). Regarding comorbidities, the Pearson correlation test showed that there was a significant (p=0.000) positive relationship between PTSD and depression (r=0.379; p=.000), PTSD and anxiety (r=0.624; p=.000), and depression and anxiety (r=0.386; p=.000) such that increase in one disorder concomitantly led to increase of the other two disorders; hence comorbidity of the three disorders was ascertained. Conclusion: The study asserted the adverse impacts of IPV on women’s mental well-being, where the prevalence of PTSD, depression, and anxiety was established. Almost all the women had depressive symptoms; whereas more than half had anxiety and slightly more than a third had PTSD. Regarding the severity levels of anxiety and depression, almost half of the women with depression had severe depression whereas moderate anxiety was more prevalent for those with anxiety. The three disorders were found to co-occur where comorbidities of PTSD and anxiety had the highest probability of co-occurrence. It is thus recommended that mental health interventions with a focus on the three disorders be offered for women undergoing IPV.

Keywords: anxiety, comorbidity, depression, intimate partner violence, post-traumatic stress disorder

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