Search results for: Sara Hazem Hassan
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1013

Search results for: Sara Hazem Hassan

293 Role of Zinc in Catch-Up Growth of Low-Birth Weight Neonates

Authors: M. A. Abdel-Wahed, Nayera Elmorsi Hassan, Safaa Shafik Imam, Ola G. El-Farghali, Khadija M. Alian

Abstract:

Low-birth-weight is a challenging public health problem. Aim: to clarify role of zinc on enhancing catch-up growth of low-birth-weight and find out a proposed relationship between zinc effect on growth and the main growth hormone mediator, IGF-1. Methods: Study is a double-blind-randomized-placebo-controlled trial conducted on low-birth-weight-neonates delivered at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital. It comprised 200 Low-birth-weight-neonates selected from those admitted to NICU. Neonates were randomly allocated into one of the following two groups: group I: low-birth-weight; AGA or SGA on oral zinc therapy at dose of 10 mg/day; group II: Low-birth-weight; AGA or SGA on placebo. Anthropometric measurements were taken including birth weight, length; head, waist, chest, mid-upper arm circumferences, triceps and sub-scapular skin-fold thicknesses. Results: At 12-month-old follow-up visit, mean weight, length; head (HC), waist, chest, mid-upper arm circumferences and triceps; also, infant’s proportions had values ≥ 10th percentile for weight, length and HC were significantly higher among infants of group I when compared to those of group II. Oral zinc therapy was associated with 24.88%, 25.98% and 19.6% higher proportion of values ≥ 10th percentile regarding weight, length and HC at 12-month-old visit, respectively [NNT = 4, 4 and 5, respectively]. Median IGF-1 levels measured at 6 months were significantly higher in group I compared to group II (median (range): 90 (19 – 130) ng/ml vs. 74 (21 – 130) ng/ml, respectively, p=0.023). Conclusion: Oral zinc therapy in low-birth-weight neonates was associated with significantly more catch-up growth at 12-months-old and significantly higher serum IGF-1 at 6-month-old.

Keywords: low-birth-weight, zinc, catch-up growth, neonates

Procedia PDF Downloads 395
292 Fire and Explosion Consequence Modeling Using Fire Dynamic Simulator: A Case Study

Authors: Iftekhar Hassan, Sayedil Morsalin, Easir A Khan

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Accidents involving fire occur frequently in recent times and their causes showing a great deal of variety which require intervention methods and risk assessment strategies are unique in each case. On September 4, 2020, a fire and explosion occurred in a confined space caused by a methane gas leak from an underground pipeline in Baitus Salat Jame mosque during Night (Esha) prayer in Narayanganj District, Bangladesh that killed 34 people. In this research, this incident is simulated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software to analyze and understand the nature of the accident and associated consequences. FDS is an advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) system of fire-driven fluid flow which solves numerically a large eddy simulation form of the Navier–Stokes’s equations for simulation of the fire and smoke spread and prediction of thermal radiation, toxic substances concentrations and other relevant parameters of fire. This study focuses on understanding the nature of the fire and consequence evaluation due to thermal radiation caused by vapor cloud explosion. An evacuation modeling was constructed to visualize the effect of evacuation time and fractional effective dose (FED) for different types of agents. The results were presented by 3D animation, sliced pictures and graphical representation to understand fire hazards caused by thermal radiation or smoke due to vapor cloud explosion. This study will help to design and develop appropriate respond strategy for preventing similar accidents.

Keywords: consequence modeling, fire and explosion, fire dynamics simulation (FDS), thermal radiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 203
291 Application of Metric Dimension of Graph in Unraveling the Complexity of Hyperacusis

Authors: Hassan Ibrahim

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The prevalence of hyperacusis, an auditory condition characterized by heightened sensitivity to sounds, continues to rise, posing challenges for effective diagnosis and intervention. It is believed that this work deepens will deepens the understanding of hyperacusis etiology by employing graph theory as a novel analytical framework. We constructed a comprehensive graph wherein nodes represent various factors associated with hyperacusis, including aging, head or neck trauma, infection/virus, depression, migraines, ear infection, anxiety, and other potential contributors. Relationships between factors are modeled as edges, allowing us to visualize and quantify the interactions within the etiological landscape of hyperacusis. it employ the concept of the metric dimension of a connected graph to identify key nodes (landmarks) that serve as critical influencers in the interconnected web of hyperacusis causes. This approach offers a unique perspective on the relative importance and centrality of different factors, shedding light on the complex interplay between physiological, psychological, and environmental determinants. Visualization techniques were also employed to enhance the interpretation and facilitate the identification of the central nodes. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding hyperacusis by offering a network-centric perspective on its multifaceted causes. The outcomes hold the potential to inform clinical practices, guiding healthcare professionals in prioritizing interventions and personalized treatment plans based on the identified landmarks within the etiological network. Through the integration of graph theory into hyperacusis research, the complexity of this auditory condition was unraveled and pave the way for more effective approaches to its management.

Keywords: auditory condition, connected graph, hyperacusis, metric dimension

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290 Classical and Bayesian Inference of the Generalized Log-Logistic Distribution with Applications to Survival Data

Authors: Abdisalam Hassan Muse, Samuel Mwalili, Oscar Ngesa

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A generalized log-logistic distribution with variable shapes of the hazard rate was introduced and studied, extending the log-logistic distribution by adding an extra parameter to the classical distribution, leading to greater flexibility in analysing and modeling various data types. The proposed distribution has a large number of well-known lifetime special sub-models such as; Weibull, log-logistic, exponential, and Burr XII distributions. Its basic mathematical and statistical properties were derived. The method of maximum likelihood was adopted for estimating the unknown parameters of the proposed distribution, and a Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to assess the behavior of the estimators. The importance of this distribution is that its tendency to model both monotone (increasing and decreasing) and non-monotone (unimodal and bathtub shape) or reversed “bathtub” shape hazard rate functions which are quite common in survival and reliability data analysis. Furthermore, the flexibility and usefulness of the proposed distribution are illustrated in a real-life data set and compared to its sub-models; Weibull, log-logistic, and BurrXII distributions and other parametric survival distributions with 3-parmaeters; like the exponentiated Weibull distribution, the 3-parameter lognormal distribution, the 3- parameter gamma distribution, the 3-parameter Weibull distribution, and the 3-parameter log-logistic (also known as shifted log-logistic) distribution. The proposed distribution provided a better fit than all of the competitive distributions based on the goodness-of-fit tests, the log-likelihood, and information criterion values. Finally, Bayesian analysis and performance of Gibbs sampling for the data set are also carried out.

Keywords: hazard rate function, log-logistic distribution, maximum likelihood estimation, generalized log-logistic distribution, survival data, Monte Carlo simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 175
289 Rice Mycotoxins Fate During In vitro Digestion and Intestinal Absorption: the Effect of Individual and Combination Exposures

Authors: Carolina S. Monteiro, Eugénia Pinto, Miguel A. Faria, Sara C. Cunha

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About half of the world's population eats rice daily, making it the primary food source for billions of people. Besides its nutrition potential, rice can be a significant route of exposure to many contaminants. Mycotoxins are an example of such contaminants that can be present in rice. Among them, ochratoxin (OTA), citrinin (CIT), and zearalenone (ZEN) are frequently reported in rice. During digestion, only a fraction of mycotoxins from food can be absorbed (bioaccessible fraction), influencing their ability to cause toxic effects. Insufficient knowledge of the bioavailability of mycotoxins, alone and in combination, may hinder an accurate risk assessment of contaminants ingested by humans. In this context, two different rice (Oryza sativa) varieties, Carolino white and Carolino brown, both with and without turmeric, were boiled and individually spiked with OTA, CIT, and ZEN plus with its combination. Subsequently, samples were submitted to the INFOGEST harmonized in vitro digestion protocol to evaluate the bioaccessibility of mycotoxins. Afterward, the in vitro intestinal transport of the mycotoxins, both alone and in combination, was evaluated in digests of Carolino white rice with and without turmeric. Assays were performed with a monolayers of of Caco-2 and HT-29 cells. Bioaccessibility of OTA and ZEN, alone and in combination, were similar in Carolino white and brown rice with or without turmeric. For CIT, when Carolino white rice was used, the bioaccessibility was higher alone than in combination (62.00% vs. 25.00%, without turmeric; 87.56% vs. 53.87%, with turmeric); however, with Carolino brown rice was the opposite (66.38% vs. 75.20%, without turmeric; 43.89% vs. 59.44%, with turmeric). All the mycotoxins, isolated, reached the higher bioaccessibility in the Carolino white rice with turmeric (CIT: 87.56%; OTA: 59.24%; ZEN: 58.05%). When mycotoxins are co-present, the higher bioaccessibility of each one varies with the type of rice. In general, when turmeric is present, bioaccessibility increases, except for CIT, using Carolino brown rice. Concerning the intestinal absorption in vitro, after 3 hours of transport, all mycotoxins were detected in the basolateral compartment being thus transported through the cells monolayer. ZEN presented the highest fraction absorbed isolated and combined, followed by CIT and OTA. These findings highlight that the presence of other components in the complex dietary matrix, like turmeric, and the co-presence of mycotoxins can affect its final bioavailability with obvious implications for health risk. This work provides new insights to qualitatively and quantitatively describe mycotoxin in rice fate during human digestion and intestinal absorption and further contribute to better risk assessment.

Keywords: bioaccessibility, digestion, intestinal absorption, mycotoxins

Procedia PDF Downloads 39
288 A Case Study of Alkali-Silica Reaction Induced Consistent Damage and Strength Degradation Evaluation in a Textile Mill Building Due to Slow-Reactive Aggregates

Authors: Ahsan R. Khokhar, Fizza Hassan

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Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) has been recognized as a potential cause of concrete degradation in the world since the 1940s. In Pakistan, mega hydropower structures like dams, weirs constructed from aggregates extracted from a local riverbed exhibited different levels of alkali-silica reactivity over an extended service period. The concrete expansion potential due to such aggregates has been categorized as slow-reactive. Apart from hydropower structures, ASR existence has been identified in the concrete structural elements of a Textile Mill building which used aggregates extracted from the nearby riverbed. The original structure of the Textile Mill was erected in the 80s with the addition of a textile ‘sizing and wrapping’ hall constructed in the 90s. In the years to follow, intensive spalling was observed in the structural members of the subject hall; enough to threat to the overall stability of the building. Limitations such as incomplete building data posed hurdles during the detailed structural investigation. The paper lists observations made while assessing the extent of damage and its effect on the building hall structure. Core testing and Petrographic tests were carried out as per the ASTM standards for strength degradation analysis followed by the identifying its root cause. Results confirmed significant structural strength reduction because of ASR which necessitated the formulation of an immediate re-strengthening solution. The paper also discusses the possible tracks of rehabilitative measures which are being adapted to stabilize the structure and seize further concrete expansion.

Keywords: Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), concrete strength degradation, damage assessment, damage evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 109
287 Accounting for Rice Productivity Heterogeneity in Ghana: The Two-Step Stochastic Metafrontier Approach

Authors: Franklin Nantui Mabe, Samuel A. Donkoh, Seidu Al-Hassan

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Rice yields among agro-ecological zones are heterogeneous. Farmers, researchers and policy makers are making frantic efforts to bridge rice yield gaps between agro-ecological zones through the promotion of improved agricultural technologies (IATs). Farmers are also modifying these IATs and blending them with indigenous farming practices (IFPs) to form farmer innovation systems (FISs). Also, different metafrontier models have been used in estimating productivity performances and their drivers. This study used the two-step stochastic metafrontier model to estimate the productivity performances of rice farmers and their determining factors in GSZ, FSTZ and CSZ. The study used both primary and secondary data. Farmers in CSZ are the most technically efficient. Technical inefficiencies of farmers are negatively influenced by age, sex, household size, education years, extension visits, contract farming, access to improved seeds, access to irrigation, high rainfall amount, less lodging of rice, and well-coordinated and synergized adoption of technologies. Albeit farmers in CSZ are doing well in terms of rice yield, they still have the highest potential of increasing rice yield since they had the lowest TGR. It is recommended that government through the ministry of food and agriculture, development partners and individual private companies promote the adoption of IATs as well as educate farmers on how to coordinate and synergize the adoption of the whole package. Contract farming concept and agricultural extension intensification should be vigorously pursued to the latter.

Keywords: efficiency, farmer innovation systems, improved agricultural technologies, two-step stochastic metafrontier approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 242
286 Differential Effects of Parity, Stress and Fluoxetine Treatment on Locomotor Activity and Swimming Behavior in Rats

Authors: Nur Hidayah Kaz Abdul Aziz, Norhalida Hashim, Zurina Hassan

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Peripartum period is a time where women are vulnerable to depression, and stress may further increase the risk of its occurrence. Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in the treatment of postpartum depression is a common practice. Comparison of antidepressant treatment, however, is rarely studied between gestated and nulliparous animals exposed to stress. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of parity and stress, as well as fluoxetine (an SSRI) treatment after stress exposure on the behavior of rats. Gestating and nulliparous Sprague Dawley rats were either subjected to chronic stressors or left undisturbed throughout the gestation period. After parturition, all stressors were stopped and some of the stressed rats were treated with fluoxetine (10mg/kg). Hence, the final groups formed were: 1. Non-stressed nulliparous rats, 2. Non-stressed dams, 3. Stressed nulliparous rats, 4. Stressed dams, 5. Fluoxetine-treated stressed nulliparous rats, and 6. Fluoxetine-treated stressed dams. Rats were tested in open field test (OFT), novel object recognition test (NOR) and forced swim test (FST) after weaning of pups. Gestational stress significantly reduced the locomotor activity of rats in OFT (p<0.05), while fluoxetine significantly increased the activity in nulliparous rats (p<0.001) but not the dams. While no differences were observed in NOR, stress and parity inhibited the rats from performing swimming behavior in FST. However, climbing and immobile behaviors in FST were found to have no significant differences, although there is a tendency of effect of treatment for immobility parameter (p=0.06) where fluoxetine-treated stressed dams were being the least immobile. In conclusion, the effects of parity and stress, as well as fluoxetine treatment, depended on the type of behavioral test performed.

Keywords: stress, parity, SSRI, behavioral tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 156
285 E-Pharmacy: An e-Commerce Approach for Buying Medicine Online in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Syed Asif Hassan, Tabrej Khan, Ibrahim Manssor Al Najar, Mohammed Nasser

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The incredible accomplishment achieved by e-commerce in consumer durable area encouraged us to implement the online e-commerce model to tap the business benefits of electronic pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is famous for traditional herbal medicine. The rich heritage of traditional medicine has helped the mushrooming of regional pharmaceutical industries manufacturing drugs and other therapeutic against various diseases. However, the implementation of e-commerce in pharmacy has not been employed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The electronic pharmacy (E-Pharm) is an important sector that is flourishing across the globe and providing benefits of E-Pharm to the customers and suppliers all around the world. In this context, our web-based application of electronic pharmacy is the one of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Surveys and personal interviews were used to identify key objectives of the proposed web-based portal. As per the findings of the surveys and personal interviews, following key objectives were identified: (a) The online platform will be used for ordering of prescription based medications for consumers. (b) The e-portal will provide space for pharmaceutical retailers who do not have an electronic platform to upload and sell their therapeutic products in an organized way. (c) The web portal will provide a tracking system to track the customer’s behavior like choice, offer, order, shipment, payment, etc. The web-based e-pharmacy portal will be developed using MySQL and PHP. The development of e-pharmacy web portal and e-prescription practices will not only improve the growth of electronic pharmacy but would also decrease the possibility of prescription alteration thus providing safety and improving the quality of service provided to the patient or consumers.

Keywords: e-commerce, E-Pharm, MySQL, PHP

Procedia PDF Downloads 380
284 Rational Design and Synthesis of 2D/3D Conjugated Porous Polymers via Facile and 'Greener' Direct Arylation Polycondensation

Authors: Hassan Bohra, Mingfeng Wang

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Conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) are amorphous, insoluble and highly robust organic semiconductors that have been largely synthesized by traditional transition-metal catalyzed reactions. The distinguishing feature of CPP materials is that they combine microporosity and high surface areas with extended conjugation, making them ideal for versatile applications such as separation, catalysis and energy storage. By applying a modular approach to synthesis, chemical and electronic properties of CPPs can be tailored for specific applications making these materials economical alternatives to inorganic semiconductors. Direct arylation - an environmentally benign alternative to traditional polymerization reactions – is one such reaction that extensively over the last decade for the synthesis of linear p-conjugated polymers. In this report, we present the synthesis and characterization of a new series of robust conjugated porous polymers synthesized by facile direct arylation polymerization of thiophene-flanked acceptor building blocks with multi-brominated aryls with different geometries. We observed that the porosities and morphologies of the polymers are determined by the chemical structure of the aryl bromide used. Moreover, good control of the optical bandgap in the range 2.53 - 1.3 eV could be obtained by using different building blocks. Structure-property relationships demonstrated in this study suggest that direct arylation polymerization is an attractive synthetic tool for the rational design of porous organic materials with tunable photo-physical properties for applications in photocatalysis, energy storage and conversion.

Keywords: direct arylation, conjugated porous polymers, triazine, photocatalysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 271
283 Entrepreneurship in Pakistan: Opportunities and Challenges

Authors: Bushra Jamil, Nudrat Baqri, Muhammad Hassan Saeed

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Entrepreneurship is creating or setting up a business not only for the purpose of generating profit but also for providing job opportunities. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers and product developers. They use their financial asset for hiring a professional team and combine the innovation, knowledge, and leadership leads to a successful startup or a business. To be a successful entrepreneur, one should be people-oriented and have perseverance. One must have the ability to take risk, believe in his/her potential, and have the courage to move forward in all circumstances. Most importantly, have the ability to take risk and can assess the risk. For STEM students, entrepreneurship is of specific importance and relevance as it helps them not just to be able to solve real life existing complications but to be able to recognize and identify emerging needs and glitches. It is becoming increasingly apparent that in today’s world, there is a need as well as a desire for STEM and entrepreneurship to work together. In Pakistan, entrepreneurship is slowly emerging, yet we are far behind. It is high time that we should introduce modern teaching methods and inculcate entrepreneurial initiative in students. A course on entrepreneurship can be included in the syllabus, and we must invite businessmen and policy makers to motivate young minds for entrepreneurship. This must be pitching competitions, opportunities to win seed funding, and facilities of incubation centers. In Pakistan, there are many good public sector research institutes, yet there is a void gap in the private sector. Only few research institute are meant for research and development. BJ Micro Lab is one of them. It is SECP registered company and is working in academia to promote and facilitate research in STEM. BJ Micro Lab is a women led initiative, and we are trying to promote research as a passion, not as an arduous burden. For this, we are continuously arranging training workshops and sessions. More than 100 students have been trained in ten different workshops arranged at BJ Micro Lab.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, STEM, challenges, oppurtunties

Procedia PDF Downloads 107
282 Arginase Enzyme Activity in Human Serum as a Marker of Cognitive Function: The Role of Inositol in Combination with Arginine Silicate

Authors: Katie Emerson, Sara Perez-Ojalvo, Jim Komorowski, Danielle Greenberg

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate arginase activity levels in response to combinations of an inositol-stabilized arginine silicate (ASI; Nitrosigine®), L-arginine, and Inositol. Arginine acts as a vasodilator that promotes increased blood flow resulting in enhanced delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and other tissues. ASI alone has been shown to improve performance on cognitive tasks. Arginase, found in human serum, catalyzes the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea, completing the last step in the urea cycle. Decreasing arginase levels maintains arginine and results in increased nitric oxide production. This study aimed to determine the most effective combination of ASI, L-arginine and inositol for minimizing arginase levels and therefore maximize ASI’s effect on cognition. Serum was taken from untreated healthy donors by separation from clotted factors. Arginase activity of serum in the presence or absence of test products was determined (QuantiChrom™, DARG-100, Bioassay Systems, Hayward CA). The remaining ultra-filtrated serum units were harvested and used as the source for the arginase enzyme. ASI alone or combined with varied levels of Inositol were tested as follows: ASI + inositol at 0.25 g, 0.5 g, 0.75 g, or 1.00 g. L-arginine was also tested as a positive control. All tests elicited changes in arginase activity demonstrating the efficacy of the method used. Adding L-arginine to serum from untreated subjects, with or without inositol only had a mild effect. Adding inositol at all levels reduced arginase activity. Adding 0.5 g to the standardized amount of ASI led to the lowest amount of arginase activity as compared to the 0.25g 0.75g or 1.00g doses of inositol or to L-arginine alone. The outcome of this study demonstrates an interaction of the pairing of inositol with ASI on the activity of the enzyme arginase. We found that neither the maximum nor minimum amount of inositol tested in this study led to maximal arginase inhibition. Since the inhibition of arginase activity is desirable for product formulations looking to maintain arginine levels, the most effective amount of inositol was deemed preferred. Subsequent studies suggest this moderate level of inositol in combination with ASI leads to cognitive improvements including reaction time, executive function, and concentration.

Keywords: arginine, inositol, arginase, cognitive benefits

Procedia PDF Downloads 87
281 Voting Representation in Social Networks Using Rough Set Techniques

Authors: Yasser F. Hassan

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Social networking involves use of an online platform or website that enables people to communicate, usually for a social purpose, through a variety of services, most of which are web-based and offer opportunities for people to interact over the internet, e.g. via e-mail and ‘instant messaging’, by analyzing the voting behavior and ratings of judges in a popular comments in social networks. While most of the party literature omits the electorate, this paper presents a model where elites and parties are emergent consequences of the behavior and preferences of voters. The research in artificial intelligence and psychology has provided powerful illustrations of the way in which the emergence of intelligent behavior depends on the development of representational structure. As opposed to the classical voting system (one person – one decision – one vote) a new voting system is designed where agents with opposed preferences are endowed with a given number of votes to freely distribute them among some issues. The paper uses ideas from machine learning, artificial intelligence and soft computing to provide a model of the development of voting system response in a simulated agent. The modeled development process involves (simulated) processes of evolution, learning and representation development. The main value of the model is that it provides an illustration of how simple learning processes may lead to the formation of structure. We employ agent-based computer simulation to demonstrate the formation and interaction of coalitions that arise from individual voter preferences. We are interested in coordinating the local behavior of individual agents to provide an appropriate system-level behavior.

Keywords: voting system, rough sets, multi-agent, social networks, emergence, power indices

Procedia PDF Downloads 375
280 The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Brain Oxygenation and Pleasure during Exercise

Authors: Alexandre H. Okano, Pedro M. D. Agrícola, Daniel G. Da S. Machado, Luiz I. Do N. Neto, Luiz F. Farias Junior, Paulo H. D. Nascimento, Rickson C. Mesquita, John F. Araujo, Eduardo B. Fontes, Hassan M. Elsangedy, Shinsuke Shimojo, Li M. Li

Abstract:

The prefrontal cortex is involved in the reward system and the insular cortex integrates the afferent inputs arriving from the body’ systems and turns into feelings. Therefore, modulating neuronal activity in these regions may change individuals’ perception in a given situation such as exercise. We tested whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) change cerebral oxygenation and pleasure during exercise. Fourteen volunteer healthy adult men were assessed into five different sessions. First, subjects underwent to a maximum incremental test on a cycle ergometer. Then, subjects were randomly assigned to a transcranial direct current stimulation (2mA for 15 min) intervention in a cross over design in four different conditions: anode and cathode electrodes on T3 and Fp2 targeting the insular cortex, and Fpz and F4 targeting prefrontal cortex, respectively; and their respective sham. These sessions were followed by 30 min of moderate intensity exercise. Brain oxygenation was measured in prefrontal cortex with a near infrared spectroscopy. Perceived exertion and pleasure were also measured during exercise. The asymmetry in prefrontal cortex oxygenation before the stimulation decreased only when it was applied over this region which did not occur after insular cortex or sham stimulation. Furthermore, pleasure was maintained during exercise only after prefrontal cortex stimulation (P > 0.7), while there was a decrease throughout exercise (P < 0.03) during the other conditions. We conclude that tDCS over the prefrontal cortex changes brain oxygenation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex and maintains perceived pleasure during exercise. Therefore, this technique might be used to enhance effective responses related to exercise.

Keywords: affect, brain stimulation, dopamine neuromodulation, pleasure, reward, transcranial direct current stimulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 301
279 Efficacy of Biofeedback-Assisted Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on Postoperative Stress Urinary Incontinence

Authors: Asmaa M. El-Bandrawy, Afaf M. Botla, Ghada E. El-Refaye, Hassan O. Ghareeb

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Background: Urinary incontinence is a common problem among adults. Its incidence increases with age and it is more frequent in women. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the first-line therapy in the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) either alone or combined with biofeedback-assisted PFMT. The aim of the work: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted PFMT in postoperative stress urinary incontinence. Settings and Design: A single blind controlled trial design was. Methods and Material: This study was carried out in 30 volunteer patients diagnosed as severe degree of stress urinary incontinence and they were admitted to surgical treatment. They were divided randomly into two equal groups: (Group A) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with post-operative biofeedback-assisted PFMT and home exercise program (Group B) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with home exercise program only. Assessment of all patients in both groups (A) and (B) was carried out before and after the treatment program by measuring intra-vaginal pressure in addition to the visual analog scale. Results: At the end of the treatment program, there was a highly statistically significant difference between group (A) and group (B) in the intra-vaginal pressure and the visual analog scale favoring the group (A). Conclusion: biofeedback-assisted PFMT is an effective method for the symptomatic relief of post-operative female stress urinary incontinence.

Keywords: stress urinary incontinence, pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor exercises, biofeedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 286
278 Factors Affecting Special Core Analysis Resistivity Parameters

Authors: Hassan Sbiga

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Laboratory measurements methods were undertaken on core samples selected from three different fields (A, B, and C) from the Nubian Sandstone Formation of the central graben reservoirs in Libya. These measurements were conducted in order to determine the factors which affect resistivity parameters, and to investigate the effect of rock heterogeneity and wettability on these parameters. This included determining the saturation exponent (n) in the laboratory at two stages. The first stage was before wettability measurements were conducted on the samples, and the second stage was after the wettability measurements in order to find any effect on the saturation exponent. Another objective of this work was to quantify experimentally pores and porosity types (macro- and micro-porosity), which have an affect on the electrical properties, by integrating capillary pressure curves with other routine and special core analysis. These experiments were made for the first time to obtain a relation between pore size distribution and saturation exponent n. Changes were observed in the formation resistivity factor and cementation exponent due to ambient conditions and changes of overburden pressure. The cementation exponent also decreased from GHE-5 to GHE-8. Changes were also observed in the saturation exponent (n) and water saturation (Sw) before and after wettability measurement. Samples with an oil-wet tendency have higher irreducible brine saturation and higher Archie saturation exponent values than samples with an uniform water-wet surface. The experimental results indicate that there is a good relation between resistivity and pore type depending on the pore size. When oil begins to penetrate micro-pore systems in measurements of resistivity index versus brine saturation (after wettability measurement), a significant change in slope of the resistivity index relationship occurs.

Keywords: part of thesis, cementation, wettability, resistivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 225
277 Reducing CO2 Emission Using EDA and Weighted Sum Model in Smart Parking System

Authors: Rahman Ali, Muhammad Sajjad, Farkhund Iqbal, Muhammad Sadiq Hassan Zada, Mohammed Hussain

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Emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) has adversely affected the environment. One of the major sources of CO2 emission is transportation. In the last few decades, the increase in mobility of people using vehicles has enormously increased the emission of CO2 in the environment. To reduce CO2 emission, sustainable transportation system is required in which smart parking is one of the important measures that need to be established. To contribute to the issue of reducing the amount of CO2 emission, this research proposes a smart parking system. A cloud-based solution is provided to the drivers which automatically searches and recommends the most preferred parking slots. To determine preferences of the parking areas, this methodology exploits a number of unique parking features which ultimately results in the selection of a parking that leads to minimum level of CO2 emission from the current position of the vehicle. To realize the methodology, a scenario-based implementation is considered. During the implementation, a mobile application with GPS signals, vehicles with a number of vehicle features and a list of parking areas with parking features are used by sorting, multi-level filtering, exploratory data analysis (EDA, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)) and weighted sum model (WSM) to rank the parking areas and recommend the drivers with top-k most preferred parking areas. In the EDA process, “2020testcar-2020-03-03”, a freely available dataset is used to estimate CO2 emission of a particular vehicle. To evaluate the system, results of the proposed system are compared with the conventional approach, which reveal that the proposed methodology supersedes the conventional one in reducing the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Keywords: car parking, Co2, Co2 reduction, IoT, merge sort, number plate recognition, smart car parking

Procedia PDF Downloads 127
276 Sustainability as a Platform in Microfinance Industry for Developing Countries

Authors: Nor Azlina Ab.Rahman, Salwana Hassan, Zuraeda Ibrahim, Normah Omar, Jamaliah Said

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Revolution in the business environment has crucial growing changes on most globalized markets. Numerous of organizations are necessitating towards producing more proactive entrepreneurs with a dynamic teams, who can run and steer their business to victory. Revolutionizing on business strategy and entrepreneurial skills, also implementing innovation and practices to enhance its performance is necessary for these organizations to be more cost-efficient and increase their efficiency. The study aims to clarify issues of whether measurement has a positive effect on different aspects of innovation and best practices. The study contributes to the current understanding in three ways; first by presenting the important aspects of organizational innovation and best practices. Second by showing the importance of measurement in promoting different aspects of innovation and best practices. Third is to examine the link between innovation, best practices and sustainability in microfinance. The study has been executed by conducting a qualitative study toward the microfinance industry. A representative of management and employees in each company was selected through an invitation to participate in getting information for data collection purpose in the study. The study contains a comprehensive description of the impacts of measurement on different aspects of innovation and best practices towards sustainability in both microfinance industries and SMEs. Findings from this study shows that performance measurement has positive effects on issues related to innovation and best practices. The measurement for several aspects of innovation and best practices is good potential in microfinance industries. Additionally, measurement on innovation and best practices shows a positively related with each other to enhance organization performance. The study suggests that both academics and practitioners should focus on the development of new methods and practices to describe and scrutinize further understanding for measuring issues which is related to innovation and best practices, in order to better develop innovation and best practices towards sustainability. This effort would not only contribute to firm’s success, but also toward the development of the nation in the developing countries.

Keywords: best practices, innovation, microfinance, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 502
275 Identification of Potential Small Molecule Inhibitors Against β-hCG for Cancer Therapy: An In-Silico Study

Authors: Shreya Sara Ittycheria, K. C. Sivakumar, Shijulal Nelson Sathi, Priya Srinivas

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hCG, a heterodimer composed of α and β subunits, is a peptide hormone having numerous biological functions. Although hCG is expressed by placenta during pregnancy, ectopic β-hCG secretion is observed in many non-trophoblastic tumors including that of breast. In-vitro and in-vivo studies done in the lab, have proved that BRCA1 defective cancers express β-hCG and when β-hCG is expressed or supplemented, it promotes tumor progression and exhibits resistance to carboplatin and ABT888, in such cancers but not in BRCA1 wild type cancers. In cancer cells, instead of binding to its regular receptor, LH-CGR, β-hCG binds with Transforming Growth Factor Receptor 2 (TGFβRII) and phosphorylates it resulting in faster tumor progression through the Smad signaling pathway. Targeting β-hCG could be a potential therapeutic strategy for managing BRCA1 defective cancers. Here, molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies were done to identify potential small molecule inhibitors against β-hCG as there are currently no such inhibitors reported. The binding sites of TGFβRII on β-hCG were identified from the top 10 predicted complexes from Z Dock. Virtual screening of selected commercially available small molecules from various libraries such as ZINC, NCI and Life Chemicals amounting to a total of 50,025 molecules were done. Four potential small molecule inhibitors were identified, RgcbPs-1, RgcbPs-2, RgcbPs-3 and RgcbPs-4 with binding affinities -60.778 kcal/mol, -45.447 kcal/mol, -65.2268 kcal/mol and -82.040 kcal/mol respectively. Further, 100ns Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation showed that these molecules form stable complexes with β-hCG. RgcbPs-1 maintains hydrogen bonds with Q54, L52, Q46, C100, G36, C57, C38 residues, RgcbPs-2 maintains hydrogen bonds with A83 residue, RgcbPs-3 maintains hydrogen bonds with C57, Y58, R94, G101 residues and RgcbPs-4 maintains hydrogen bonds with G36, C38, T40, C57, D99, C100, G101 and L104 residues of β-hCG all of which coincide with the TGFβRII binding site on β-hCG. These results show that these two inhibitors could be used either singly or in combination for inhibiting β-hCG from binding to TGFβRII and thereby directly inhibiting the tumorigenesis pathway.

Keywords: β-hCG, breast cancer, dynamic simulations, molecular docking, small molecule inhibitors, virtual screening.

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274 Lipid-Chitosan Hybrid Nanoparticles for Controlled Delivery of Cisplatin

Authors: Muhammad Muzamil Khan, Asadullah Madni, Nina Filipczek, Jiayi Pan, Nayab Tahir, Hassan Shah, Vladimir Torchilin

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Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNP) are delivery systems for controlled drug delivery at tumor sites. The superior biocompatible properties of lipid and structural advantages of polymer can be obtained via this system for controlled drug delivery. In the present study, cisplatin-loaded lipid-chitosan hybrid nanoparticles were formulated by the single step ionic gelation method based on ionic interaction of positively charged chitosan and negatively charged lipid. Formulations with various chitosan to lipid ratio were investigated to obtain the optimal particle size, encapsulation efficiency, and controlled release pattern. Transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering analysis demonstrated a size range of 181-245 nm and a zeta potential range of 20-30 mV. Compatibility among the components and the stability of formulation were demonstrated with FTIR analysis and thermal studies, respectively. The therapeutic efficacy and cellular interaction of cisplatin-loaded LPHNP were investigated using in vitro cell-based assays in A2780/ADR ovarian carcinoma cell line. Additionally, the cisplatin loaded LPHNP exhibited a low toxicity profile in rats. The in-vivo pharmacokinetics study also proved a controlled delivery of cisplatin with enhanced mean residual time and half-life. Our studies suggested that the cisplatin-loaded LPHNP being a promising platform for controlled delivery of cisplatin in cancer therapy.

Keywords: cisplatin, lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle, chitosan, in vitro cell line study

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273 Investigation of Adherence to Treatment, Perception, and Predictors of Adherence among Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease on Haemodialysis in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Authors: Rima Al Garni, Emad Al Shdaifat, Sahar Elmetwalli, Mohammad Alzaid, Abdulrahman Alghothayyan, Sara Al Abd Al Hai, Seham Al Rashidi

Abstract:

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of non-adherence of patients on haemodialysis and explore their perception of the importance of adherence to the therapeutic regime and estimate the predictors for adherence to the therapeutic regime. Background: End-stage renal disease is commonly treated by haemodialysis. Haemodialysis treatment alone is not effective in replacing kidney function. Diet and fluid restrictions, along with supplementary medications, are mandatory for the survival and well-being of patients. Hence, adherence to this therapeutic regimen is essential. However, non-adherence to diet and fluid restrictions, medications, and dialysis is common among patients on haemodialysis. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional method was applied to investigate the prevalence of non-adherence to treatment, including adherence to diet and fluid restrictions, medications, and dialysis sessions. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted using the Arabic version of the End-Stage Renal Disease Adherence Questionnaire. The sample included 230 patients undergoing haemodialysis in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. Results/Findings: Most patients had good adherence (71.3%), and only 3.9% had poor adherence. The divorced or widowed patient had higher adherence compared with single (P=0.011) and married participants (P=0.045) through using the post hoc test. Patients above 60 years had higher adherence compared to patients below 40 years old (P=0.016) using the post hoc test. For the perception of the importance of adherence to the therapeutic regime subscale, two-thirds of the patients had lower scores (<=11). Conclusion: Adherence to therapeutic regime is high for three fourth of patients undergoing haemodialysis in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia; this finding is similar to results abstracted from the local literature. This result would help us highlight the needs of patients who are not compliant with their treatment plans and investigate the consequences of non-adherence on their well-being and general health. Hence, plan individualised therapeutic programmes that could raise their awareness and influence their adherence to therapeutic regimes.

Keywords: adherence to treatment, haemodialysis, end stage renal disease, diet and fluid restrictions

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272 Biodistribution of Fluorescence-Labelled Epidermal Growth Factor Protein from Slow Release Nanozolid Depots in Mouse

Authors: Stefan Gruden, Charlott Brunmark, Bo Holmqvist, Erwin D. Brenndorfer, Martin Johansson, Jian Liu, Ying Zhao, Niklas Axen, Moustapha Hassan

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Aim: The study was designed to evaluate the ability of the calcium sulfate-based NanoZolid® drug delivery technology to locally release the epidermal growth factor (EGF) protein while maintaining its biological activity. Methods: NanoZolid-formulated EGF protein labelled with a near-infrared dye (EGF-NIR) depots or EGF-NIR dissolved in PBS were injected subcutaneously into mice bearing EGF receptor (EGFR) positive human A549 lung cancer tumors inoculated subcutaneously. The release and biodistribution of the EGF-NIR were investigated in vivo longitudinally up to 96 hours post-administration, utilizing whole-body fluorescence imaging. In order to confirm the in vivo findings, histological analysis of tumor cryosections was performed to investigate EGF-NIR fluorescent signal and EGFR expression level by immunofluorescence labelling. Results: The in vivo fluorescence imaging showed a controlled release profile of the EGF-NIR loaded in the NanoZolid depots compared to free EGF-NIR. Histological analysis of the tumors further demonstrated a prevailing distribution of EGF-NIR in regions with high levels of EGFR expression. Conclusion: Calcium sulfate based depots can be used to formulate EGF while maintaining its biological activity, e.g., receptor binding capability. This may have good clinical potential for local delivery of biomolecules to enhance treatment efficacy and minimize systemic adverse effects.

Keywords: bioresorbable, calcium sulfate, controlled release, NanoZolid

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271 Seismological Studies in Some Areas in Egypt

Authors: Gamal Seliem, Hassan Seliem

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Aswan area is one of the important areas in Egypt and because it encompasses the vital engineering structure of the High dam, so it has been selected for the present study. The study of the crustal deformation and gravity associated with earthquake activity in the High Dam area of great importance for the safety of the High Dam and its economic resources. This paper deals with using micro-gravity, precise leveling and GPS data for geophysical and geodetically studies. For carrying out the detailed gravity survey in the area, were established for studying the subsurface structures. To study the recent vertical movements, a profile of 10 km length joins the High Dam and Aswan old dam were established along the road connecting the two dams. This profile consists of 35 GPS/leveling stations extending along the two sides of the road and on the High Dam body. Precise leveling was carried out with GPS and repeated micro-gravity survey in the same time. GPS network consisting of nine stations was established for studying the recent crustal movements. Many campaigns from December 2001 to December 2014 were performed for collecting the gravity, leveling and GPS data. The main aim of this work is to study the structural features and the behavior of the area, as depicted from repeated micro-gravity, precise leveling and GPS measurements. The present work focuses on the analysis of the gravity, leveling and GPS data. The gravity results of the present study investigate and analyze the subsurface geologic structures and reveal to there be minor structures; features and anomalies are taking W-E and N-S directions. The geodetic results indicated lower rates of the vertical and horizontal displacements and strain values. This may be related to the stability of the area.

Keywords: repeated micro-gravity changes, precise leveling, GPS data, Aswan High Dam

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270 Nutrition Role in the Management of Psychiatric Disorders

Authors: Abeer Mohammed, Nevein Mustafa Elashery, Mona Hassan Abdel Aal, Ereny Wilson Nagib

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The Aim of the current study is to investigate nutrition role in the management of psychiatric disorders. Research Design: A quasi- experimental research design was utilized for this study. Setting The study was conducted at outpatient clinic at Institute of Psychiatry affiliated to Ain Shams University hospitals, using a convenient sample of 50 psychiatric patients with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Tools: data were collected through; first, an interview questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, second, nutrition assessment tools Third, nutrition risk assessment. Fourth, nutrition management program Results showed that there were highly statistically significant improvements in modified nutritional supplements for patients with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders' patients after conducting the nutrition management program. Regarding psychiatric patients’ knowledge about healthy food, healthy nutritional habits, and patients’ awareness & readiness for change, there were highly statistically significant improvements. Concerning signs and symptoms of psychiatric disorders, there were highly statistically significant improvements for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive-compulsive patients after conducting the management program. In conclusion, the nutrition management program was effective in improving symptoms associated with, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. The study recommended that nurses should have more contribution in counseling psychiatric patients, and their families about healthy diet and healthy habits. Further research should recommend studying the effectiveness of herbs on enhancing mental health for psychiatric patients.

Keywords: nutrition, role, management, psychiatric disorders

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269 Eliminating Injury in the Work Place and Realizing Vision Zero Using Accident Investigation and Analysis as Method: A Case Study

Authors: Ramesh Kumar Behera, Md. Izhar Hassan

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Accident investigation and analysis are useful to identify deficiencies in plant, process, and management practices and formulate preventive strategies for injury elimination. In India and other parts of the world, industrial accidents are investigated to know the causes and also to fulfill legal compliances. However, findings of investigation are seldom used appropriately to strengthen Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in expected lines. The mineral rich state of Odisha in eastern coast of India; known as a hub for Iron and Steel industries, witnessed frequent accidents during 2005-2009. This article based on study of 982 fatal ‘factory-accidents’ occurred in Odisha during the period 2001-2016, discusses the ‘turnaround-story’ resulting in reduction of fatal accident from 122 in 2009 to 45 in 2016. This paper examines various factors causing incidents; accident pattern in steel and chemical sector; role of climate and harsh weather conditions on accident causation. Software such as R, SQL, MS-Excel and Tableau were used for analysis of data. It is found that maximum fatality is caused due to ‘fall from height’ (24%); steel industries are relatively more accident prone; harsh weather conditions of summer increase chances of accident by 20%. Further, the study suggests that enforcement of partial work-restriction around lunch time during peak summer, screening and training of employees reduce accidents due to fall from height. The study indicates that learning from accident investigation and analysis can be used as a method to reduce work related accidents in the journey towards ‘Vision Zero’.

Keywords: accident investigation and analysis, fatal accidents in India, fall from height, vision zero

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268 Effect of Electromagnetic Fields at 27 GHz on Sperm Quality of Mytilus galloprovincialis

Authors: Carmen Sica, Elena M. Scalisi, Sara Ignoto, Ludovica Palmeri, Martina Contino, Greta Ferruggia, Antonio Salvaggio, Santi C. Pavone, Gino Sorbello, Loreto Di Donato, Roberta Pecoraro, Maria V. Brundo

Abstract:

Recently, a rise in the use of wireless internet technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5G routers/modems have been demonstrated. These devices emit a considerable amount of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), which could interact with the male reproductive system either by thermal or non-thermal mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the direct in vitro influence of 5G radiation on sperm quality in Mytilus galloprovincialis, considered an excellent model for reproduction studies. The experiments at 27 GHz were conducted by using a no commercial high gain pyramidal horn antenna. To evaluate the specific absorption rate (SAR), a numerical simulation has been performed. The resulting incident power density was significantly lower than the power density limit of 10 mW/cm2 set by the international guidelines as a limit for nonthermal effects above 6 GHz. However, regarding temperature measurements of the aqueous sample, it has been verified an increase of 0.2°C, compared to the control samples. This very low-temperature increase couldn’t interfere with experiments. For experiments, sperm samples taken from sexually mature males of Mytilus galloprovincialis were placed in artificial seawater, salinity 30 + 1% and pH 8.3 filtered with a 0.2 m filter. After evaluating the number and quality of spermatozoa, sperm cells were exposed to electromagnetic fields a 27GHz. The effect of exposure on sperm motility and quality was evaluated after 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes with a light microscope and also using the Eosin test to verify the vitality of the gametes. All the samples were performed in triplicate and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Turkey test for multiple comparations of means to determine differences of sperm motility. A significant decrease (30%) in sperm motility was observed after 10 minutes of exposure and after 30 minutes, all sperms were immobile and not vital. Due to little literature data about this topic, these results could be useful for further studies concerning a great diffusion of these new technologies.

Keywords: mussel, spermatozoa, sperm motility, millimeter waves

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267 The Effect of Torsional Angle on Reversible Electron Transfer in Donor: Acceptor Frameworks Using Bis(Imino)Pyridines as Proxy

Authors: Ryan Brisbin, Hassan Harb, Justin Debow, Hrant Hratchian, Ryan Baxter

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Donor-Acceptor (DA) frameworks are crucial parts of any technology requiring charge transport. This type of behavior is ubiquitous across technologies from semi conductors to solar panels. Currently, most DA systems involve metallic components, but progressive research is being pursued to design fully organic DA systems to be used as both organic semi-conductors and light emitting diodes. These systems are currently comprised of conductive polymers and salts. However, little is known about the effect of various physical aspects (size, torsional angle, electron density) have on the act of reversible charge transfer. Herein, the effect of torsional angle on reductive stability in bis(imino)pyridines is analyzed using a combination of single crystal analysis and electro-chemical peak current ratios from cyclic voltammetry. The computed free energies of reduction and electron attachment points were also investigated through density functional theory and natural ionization orbital theory to gain greater understanding of the global effect torsional angles have on electron transfer in bis(imino)pyridines. Findings indicated that torsional angles are a multi-variable parameter affected by both local steric constraints and resonant electronic contributions. Local steric impacted torsional angles demonstrated a negligible effect on electrochemical reversibility, while resonant affected torsional angles were observed to significantly alter the electrochemical reversibility.

Keywords: cyclic voltammetry, bis(imino)pyridines, structure-activity relationship, torsional angles

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266 Mitigating Ruminal Methanogenesis Through Genomic and Transcriptomic Approaches

Authors: Muhammad Adeel Arshad, Faiz-Ul Hassan, Yanfen Cheng

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According to FAO, enteric methane (CH4) production is about 44% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. Ruminants produce CH4 as a result of fermentation of feed in the rumen especially from roughages which yield more CH4 per unit of biomass ingested as compared to concentrates. Efficient ruminal fermentation is not possible without abating CO2 and CH4. Methane abatement strategies are required to curb the predicted rise in emissions associated with greater ruminant production in future to meet ever increasing animal protein requirements. Ecology of ruminal methanogenesis and avenues for its mitigation can be identified through various genomic and transcriptomic techniques. Programs such as Hungate1000 and the Global Rumen Census have been launched to enhance our understanding about global ruminal microbial communities. Through Hungate1000 project, a comprehensive reference set of rumen microbial genome sequences has been developed from cultivated rumen bacteria and methanogenic archaea along with representative rumen anaerobic fungi and ciliate protozoa cultures. But still many species of rumen microbes are underrepresented especially uncultivable microbes. Lack of sequence information specific to the rumen's microbial community has inhibited efforts to use genomic data to identify specific set of species and their target genes involved in methanogenesis. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic study of entire microbial rumen populations offer new perspectives to understand interaction of methanogens with other rumen microbes and their potential association with total gas and methane production. Deep understanding of methanogenic pathway will help to devise potentially effective strategies to abate methane production while increasing feed efficiency in ruminants.

Keywords: Genome sequences, Hungate1000, methanogens, ruminal fermentation

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265 Effect of Ultrasound-Assisted Pretreatment on Saccharification of Spent Coffee Grounds

Authors: Shady S. Hassan, Brijesh K. Tiwari, Gwilym A. Williams, Amit K. Jaiswal

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EU is known as the destination with the highest rate of the coffee consumption per capita in the world. Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the main by-product of coffee brewing. SCG is either disposed as a solid waste or employed as compost, although the polysaccharides from such lignocellulosic biomass might be used as feedstock for fermentation processes. However, SCG as a lignocellulose have a complex structure and pretreatment process is required to facilitate an efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates. However, commonly used pretreatment methods, such as chemical, physico-chemical and biological techniques are still insufficient to meet optimal industrial production requirements in a sustainable way. Ultrasound is a promising candidate as a sustainable green pretreatment solution for lignocellulosic biomass utilization in a large scale biorefinery. Thus, ultrasound pretreatment of SCG without adding harsh chemicals investigated as a green technology to enhance enzyme hydrolysis. In the present work, ultrasound pretreatment experiments were conducted on SCG using different ultrasound frequencies (25, 35, 45, 130, and 950 kHz) for 60 min. Regardless of ultrasound power, low ultrasound frequency is more effective than high ultrasound frequency in pretreatment of biomass. Ultrasound pretreatment of SCG (at ultrasound frequency of 25 kHz for 60 min) followed by enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in total reducing sugars of 56.1 ± 2.8 mg/g of biomass. Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to investigate changes in functional groups of biomass after pretreatment, while high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for determination of glucose. Pretreatment of lignocellulose by low frequency ultrasound in water only was found to be an effective green approach for SCG to improve saccharification and glucose yield compared to native biomass. Pretreatment conditions will be optimized, and the enzyme hydrolysate will be used as media component substitute for the production of ethanol.

Keywords: lignocellulose, ultrasound, pretreatment, spent coffee grounds

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264 Validity and Reliability of a Questionaire for Measuring Behaviour Change of Low Performance Employee

Authors: Hazaila Binti Hassan, Abu Yazid Bin Abu Bakar, Salleh Amat

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This study is to get the validity and reliability of the questionnaire for behaviour change on low-performing officers. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the behaviour of low performing officers. There are 75 items in this questionnaire which involves 5 subscales, which are the 5 dimensions intended to be studied: 1st emotional stability, 2nd psycho-spiritual enhancement, 3rd social skills development, 4th cognitive and rationality improvement and 5th behavioural alignment and adjustment. There are 2 processes in this research whereby to check the validity and reliability. Both use quantitative methods. Validity content testing has been conducted to validate the behavioural change questionnaire of the low performing officers. For the face validity, 4 people are involved, two are psychologists who carried out the program and the other two are officers of the same rank, i.e. supporting officers. They are involved in correction of sentences, languages, and grammar as well as the sentence structures so that it tallies with the purpose of studies. The questionnaire underwent content validity by the experts. Five experts are appointed to attend this session, 3 are directly involved in the construction of this questionnaire and 2 others are experts from the university with a background in questionnaire development. The result shows that the content validity obtained a high coefficient of 0.745 with a minimum and maximum value of more than 0.60 which satisfies the characteristic of Content Value Ratio. The Cronbach’s alpha result is 0.867. The highest scores are the behavioural alignment and adjustment sub-scale recorded the highest value, followed by social skills development sub-scale, cognitive and rational improvements sub-scale, psycho-spiritual enhancement sub-scale, and lastly emotional stability. Therefore, both of validity and reliability result were accepted that this questionnaire is valid and reliable can be used in the study of behaviour changes of low performing officers in the civil service.

Keywords: content validity, reliability, five dimension, low-performing officers, questionnaire

Procedia PDF Downloads 254