Search results for: epidermal growth factor

Authors: Pukhtoon Yar

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Peshawar City is experiencing a rapid spatial urban growth primarily as a result of high rate of urbanization along with economic development. This paper was designed to understand the impacts of urbanization on agriculture land use change by particularly focusing on land use change trajectories from the past (1991-2014). We used Landsat imageries (30 meters) for1991along with Spot images (2.5 meters) for year 2014. . The ground truthing of the satellite data was performed by collecting information from Peshawar Development Authority, revenue department, real estate agents and interviews with the officials of city administration. The temporal satellite images were processed by applying supervised maximum likelihood classification technique in ArcGIS 9.3. The procedure resulted into five main classes of land use i.e. built-up area, farmland, barren land, cultivable-wasteland and water bodies. The analysis revealed that, in Peshawar City the built-up environment has been doubled from 8.1 percent in 1991 to over 18.2 percent in 2014 by predominantly encroaching land producing food. Furthermore, the CA-Markov Model predicted that the area under impervious surfaces would continue to flourish during the next three decades. This rapid increase in built-up area is accredited to the lack of proper land use planning and management, which has caused chaotic urban sprawl with detrimental social and environmental consequences.

Keywords: Urban Expansion, Land use, GIS, Remote Sensing, Markov Model, Peshawar City

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Authors: Jackson Simon Lusagalika, Lai Hsin-Chih, Dai Yu-Tung

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Particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 meters or less are referred to as "fine particulate matter" (PM₂.₅) are easily inhaled and can go deeper into the lungs than other particles in the atmosphere, where it may have detrimental health consequences. In this study, we use a hybrid model that combined CMAQ and AERMOD as well as initial meteorological fields from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to study the impact of power plant PM₂.₅ emissions in South Taiwan since it frequently experiences higher PM₂.₅ levels. A specific date of March 3, 2022, was chosen as a result of a power outage that prompted the bulk of power plants to shut down. In some way, it is not conceivable anywhere in the world to turn off the power for the sole purpose of doing research. Therefore, this catastrophe involving a power outage and the shutdown of power plants offers a great occasion to evaluate the impact of air pollution driven by this power sector. As a result, four numerical experiments were conducted in the study using the Continuous Emission Data System (CEMS), assuming that the power plants continued to function normally after the power outage. The hybrid model results revealed that power plants have a minor impact in the study region. However, we examined the accumulation of PM₂.₅ in the study and discovered that once the vortex at 925hPa was established and moved to the north of Taiwan's coast, the study region experienced higher observed PM₂.₅ concentrations influenced by meteorological factors. This study recommends that decision-makers take into account not only control techniques, specifically emission reductions, but also the atmospheric and meteorological implications for future investigations.

Keywords: PM₂.₅ concentration, powerplants, hybrid air quality model, CEMS, Vorticity

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Authors: Lourdes Yareth Herrera-Chavez, Alberto Ruiz, Victor H. Lopez

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Superalloys are used in components that operate at high temperatures such as pressure vessels and heat exchanger tubing. Design standards for these components must consider creep resistance among other criteria. Fusion welding processes are commonly used in the industry to join such components. Fusion processes commonly generate three distinctive zones, i.e. heat affected zone (HAZ), namely weld metal (WM) and base metal (BM). In nickel-based superalloy, the microstructure developed during fusion welding dictates the mechanical response of the welded component and it is very important to establish these effects in the mechanical response of the component. In this work, two plates of Inconel 600 superalloy were Gas Metal Arc Welded (GMAW). Creep samples were cut and milled to specifications and creep tested at a temperature (650 °C) using stress level of 350, 300, 275, 250 and 200 MPa. Microstructural analysis results showed a progressive creep damage evolution that depends on the stress levels with a preferential accumulation of creep damage at the heat affected zone where the creep rupture preferentially occurs owing to an austenitic matrix with grain boundary precipitated of the type Cr23C6. The fractured surfaces showed dimple patterns of cavity and voids. Results indicated that the damage mechanism is due to cavity growth by the combined effect of the power law and diffusion creep.

Keywords: austenitic microstructure, creep damage evolution, heat affected zone, vickers microhardness

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Authors: Bo Wang

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The geometric processing of multi-source remote sensing data using control data of different scale and different accuracy is an important research direction of multi-platform system for earth observation. In the existing block bundle adjustment methods, as the controlling information in the adjustment system, the approach using single observation scale and precision is unable to screen out the control information and to give reasonable and effective corresponding weights, which reduces the convergence and adjustment reliability of the results. Referring to the relevant theory and technology of quotient space, in this project, several subjects are researched. Multi-layer quotient space of multi-geometric features is constructed to describe and filter control data. Normalized granularity merging mechanism of multi-layer control information is studied and based on the normalized scale factor, the strategy to optimize the weight selection of control data which is less relevant to the adjustment system can be realized. At the same time, geometric positioning experiment is conducted using multi-source remote sensing data, aerial images, and multiclass control data to verify the theoretical research results. This research is expected to break through the cliché of the single scale and single accuracy control data in the adjustment process and expand the theory and technology of photogrammetry. Thus the problem to process multi-source remote sensing data will be solved both theoretically and practically.

Keywords: multi-source image geometric process, high precision geometric positioning, quotient space of multi-geometric features, optimized weight selection

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Authors: Khaled M. Khleifat

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from infected burn patients and characterized by standard biochemical tests. The in vitro copper uptake was compared between this isolated pathogenic strain and two non-pathogenic control strains of Gram-positive bacteria Bacillusthuringiensis strain Israelisas well as Gram-negative bacteria Enterobacter aerogenes. Maximum copper uptake of 470 ppm/g biomass was obtained by P. aeruginosa strain, while the control strains B. thuringiensis and Enterobacter aerogenes had copper uptake of 350 and 383 ppm/g biomass, respectively. However, the lowest copper uptake (60 ppm/g biomass) was observed with another control the saprophytic strain Pseudomonas (Shewanella) putrefaciens. A further investigation regarding the effect of copper toxicity on bacterial growth, gave an MIC score of 600 ppm for P. aeruginosa strain compared to 460 and 300 ppm for the two Gram positive and Gram negative control strains, respectively. In tandem with these in vitro findings, blood analysis on burn patients infected with P. aeruginosa has indicated a selective decrease of copper (hypocupremia) and ceruloplasmin plasma levels. The iron metabolism was also affected by this copper deprivation leading to a similar decrease in plasma levels of PCV, iron, total iron-binding capacity, and transferrin. All these hematological changes were significantly different (P < 0.05) from the matched group of non-infected burn patients. The observed hypocupremia in infected burn patients was attributed to demanding scavenger ability by P. aeruginosa strain for the copper of plasma.

Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, hypocupremia, correlation, PCV

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Authors: Lasha Mskhaladze, Guram Burchuladze, Khvicha Datunashvili

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Technological changes have an impact not only on economic but also on social elements of society which in turn has created new challenges for states’ political systems and their regimes. As a result of unprecedented growth of information technologies and communications digital democracy and electronic governance have emerged. Nowadays effective state functioning cannot be imagined without electronic governance. In Georgia, special attention is paid to the development of such new systems and establishment of electronic governance. Therefore, in parallel to intensive development of information technologies an important priority for public sector in Georgia is the development of electronic governance. In spite of the fact that today Georgia with its economic indicators satisfies the standards of western informational society, and major part of its gross domestic product comes from the service sector (59.6%), it still remains a backward country on the world map in terms of information technologies and electronic governance. E-transparency in Georgia should be based on such parameters as government accountability when the government provides citizens information about their activities; e-participation which involves government’s consideration of external expert assessments; cooperation between officials and citizens in order to solve national problems. In order to improve electronic systems the government should actively do the following: Fully develop electronic programs concerning HR and exchange of data between public organizations; develop all possible electronic services; improve existing electronic programs; make electronic services available on different mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, etc.).

Keywords: electronic transparency, electronic services, information technology, information society, electronic systems

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios States and skin cancers. Objective: Identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for a groups 1 to 3 seconds (p<0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: ultraviolet rays, lymphocytes, chromosome breakpoints, photodamage

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios states and skin cancers. Objective: To identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from the heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin, and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for groups 1 to 3 seconds (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: chromosome breakpoints, lymphocytes, photodamage, ultraviolet rays

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Authors: Mohsen Shati, Seyede Salehe Mortazavi, Seyed Kazem Malakouti, Hamidreza Khanke Fazlollah Ahmadi

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Taking unnecessary or excessive medication or using drugs with no indication (polypharmacy) by people of all ages, especially the elderly, is associated with increased adverse drug reactions (ADR), medical errors, hospitalization and escalating the costs. It may be facilitated or impeded by the healthcare system. In this study, we are going to describe the role of the health system in the practice of polypharmacy in Iranian elderly. In this Inductive qualitative content analysis using Graneheim and Lundman methods, purposeful sample selection until saturation has been made. Participants have been selected from doctors, pharmacists, policy-makers and the elderly. A total of 25 persons (9 men and 16 women) have participated in this study. Data analysis after incorporating codes with similar characteristics revealed 14 subcategories and six main categories of the referral system, physicians’ accessibility, health data management, drug market, laws enforcement, and social protection. Some of the conditions of the healthcare system have given rise to polypharmacy in the elderly. In the absence of a comprehensive specialty and subspecialty referral system, patients may go to any physician office so may well be confused about numerous doctors' prescriptions. Electronic records not being prepared for the patients, failure to comply with laws, lack of robust enforcement for the existing laws and close surveillance are among the contributing factors. Inadequate insurance and supportive services are also evident. Age-specific care providing has not yet been institutionalized, while, inadequate specialist workforce playing a major role. So, one may not ignore the health system as contributing factor in designing effective interventions to fix the problem.

Keywords: elderly, polypharmacy, health system, qualitative study

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Authors: Ibrahim H. Kilic, A. B. Tugrul

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Energy is a fundamental component in economic development and energy consumption is an index of prosperity and the standard of living. The consumption of energy per capita has increased significantly over the last decades, as the standard of living has improved. Turkey’s geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of wind power. Among the renewable sources, Turkey has very high wind energy potential. Information such as installation capacity of wind power plants in installation, under construction and license stages in the country are reported in detail. Some suggestions are presented in order to increase the wind power installation capacity of Turkey. Turkey’s economic and social development has led to a massive increase in demand for electricity over the last decades. Since the Turkey has no major oil or gas reserves, it is highly dependent on energy imports and is exposed to energy insecurity in the future. But Turkey does have huge potential for renewable energy utilization. There has been a huge growth in the construction of wind power plants and small hydropower plants in recent years. To meet the growing energy demand, the Turkish Government has adopted incentives for investments in renewable energy production. Wind energy investments evaluated the impact of feed-in tariffs (FIT) based on three scenarios that are optimistic, realistic and pessimistic with APLUS software that is developed for rational evaluation for energy market. Results of the three scenarios are evaluated in the view of electricity market for Turkey.

Keywords: APLUS, energy policy, renewable energy, wind power, Turkey

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Authors: Temitope Abiodun Balogun

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Political interviews are one of the ways by which political office-seekers in Nigeria sell themselves to the electorates. Extant studies have examined the discourse of political interviews from conversational, philosophical, rhetorical, stylistic and pragmatic perspectives with insufficient attention paid to grammatical forms and communicative intentions of the interviews granted by the two presidential aspirants in the 2015 Nigerian general election. This study fills this scholarly gap to unmask their grammatical forms and communicative styles, intention and credibility. The paper adopts Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, specifically interpersonal function coupled with Searle’s Model of Speech Acts Theory as a theoretical framework. A total of six interviews granted by the two presidential aspirants in media serve as the source of data. It is discovered that, in most cases, politicians’ communicative intention is to “pull-down” their political opponents. While declarative and interrogatives are simple, direct and straightforward, the intention is to condemn, lambast and castigate their opponents. This communicative style does not allow the general populace to decipher the political manifestoes of the political aspirants and the party they represent. The paper recommends that before Nigeria can boast of any sustainable growth and development, there is the need for her political office-seekers to adopt effective communication strategies and styles to unveil their intention and manifestoes so that electorates can evaluate their performance after their tenure of office.

Keywords: general election, grammatical forms and function, political interviews, presidential aspirants

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Authors: Abubakar Mukhtar Yakasai, Muhammad Tahir Jan

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Purpose: This paper is aimed at exploring factors influencing online shopping intention among the young consumers in Nigeria. Design/Methodology/approach: The paper adopted and extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the basis for literature review. Additionally, the paper proposed a framework with the inclusion of culture as a moderating factor of consumer online shopping intention among consumers in Nigeria. Findings: Despite high rate of internet penetration in Nigerian, as well as the rapid advancement of online shopping in the world, little attention was paid to this important revolution specifically among Nigeria’s consumers. Based on the review of extant literature, the TAM extended to include perceived risk and enjoyment (PR and PE) was discovered to be a better alternative framework for predicting Nigeria’s young consumers’ online shopping intention. The moderating effect of culture in the proposed model is shown to help immensely in ascertaining differences, if any, between various cultural groups among online shoppers in Nigeria. Originality/ value: The critical analysis of different factors will assist practitioners (like online retailers, e-marketing managers, website developers, etc.) by signifying which combinations of factors can best predict consumer online shopping behaviour in particular instances, thereby resulting in effective value delivery. Online shopping is a newly adopted technology in Nigeria, hence the paper will give a clear focus for effective e-marketing strategy. In addition, the proposed framework in this paper will guide future researchers by providing a tool for systematic evaluation and testing of real empirical situation of online shopping in Nigeria.

Keywords: online shopping, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, technology acceptance model, Nigeria

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Authors: Christiana Jonut

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The study addresses tagal as an ecotourism product that is uniquely for Sabah. It is a community based tourism venture that is influenced by the Dusun ethic’s traditional law. The traditional principle of tagal is focused primarily on individual exploitation of riverine resources and it was transformed into a community participation in the riverine conservation to foster the growth or survival of ecotourism. It manages a river into a sustainable manner. A smart partnership system between the community and the authority particularly the Department of Fisheries Sabah, tagal has successfully become an instrument to protect, revive and manage the river fish resources. In 2015, Sabah Fisheries Department added 536 tagal sites. Most tagal sites were turned into a community based tourism venture. They generate income through jobs creation for the purpose of uplifting the local’s economic level. Tagal ecotourism sites also increase environmental awareness of the local people to love their culture, tradition and environment. This venture also promotes the sustainability of the eco-tourism. The objective of this study is to explore the issues and contexts of empowerment of the local people in managing a successful tagal ecotourism. This study further explains how community capacity building is the major influence of empowerment of the local community. The methodology approach used is qualitative where interview is chosen as the data collection method. This is a literature review of exploring empowerment of the local community through various community capacity building initiatives that would motivate the local people to be actively involved in the tagal.

Keywords: capacity building, Tagal, ecotourism, empowerment, Sabah

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Authors: Zain Ul Hassan, Muhammad Zain Ul Abadin, Muhammad Zubair Khan

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have now become of predominant importance for various operations, and an immense amount of work is going on in this specific category. The structural stability and life of these UAVs is key factor that should be considered while deploying them to different intelligent operations as their failure leads to loss of sensitive real-time data and cost. This paper presents an applied research on the development of a structural health monitoring system for a UAV designed and fabricated by deploying modular approach. Firstly, a modular UAV has been designed which allows to dismantle and to reassemble the components of the UAV without effecting the whole assembly of UAV. This novel approach makes the vehicle very sustainable and decreases its maintenance cost to a significant value by making possible to replace only the part leading to failure. Then the SHM for the designed architecture of the UAV had been specified as a combination of wings integrated with strain gauges, on-board data logger, bridge circuitry and the ground station. For the research purpose sensors have only been attached to the wings being the most load bearing part and as per analysis was done on ANSYS. On the basis of analysis of the load time spectrum obtained by the data logger during flight, fatigue life of the respective component has been predicted using fracture mechanics techniques of Rain Flow Method and Miner’s Rule. Thus allowing us to monitor the health of a specified component time to time aiding to avoid any failure.

Keywords: fracture mechanics, rain flow method, structural health monitoring system, unmanned aerial vehicle

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Authors: Md Habibur Rahman, Jaeho Kim

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Efficient process scheduling is a crucial factor in ensuring optimal system performance and resource utilization in computer systems. While various algorithms have been proposed over the years, there are still limitations to their effectiveness. This paper introduces a new Wait-Optimized Scheduler (WOS) algorithm that aims to minimize process waiting time by dividing them into two layers and considering both process time and waiting time. The WOS algorithm is non-preemptive and prioritizes processes with the shortest WOS. In the first layer, each process runs for a predetermined duration, and any unfinished process is subsequently moved to the second layer, resulting in a decrease in response time. Whenever the first layer is free or the number of processes in the second layer is twice that of the first layer, the algorithm sorts all the processes in the second layer based on their remaining time minus waiting time and sends one process to the first layer to run. This ensures that all processes eventually run, optimizing waiting time. To evaluate the performance of the WOS algorithm, we conducted experiments comparing its performance with traditional scheduling algorithms such as First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) and Shortest-Job-First (SJF). The results showed that the WOS algorithm outperformed the traditional algorithms in reducing the waiting time of processes, particularly in scenarios with a large number of short tasks with long wait times. Our study highlights the effectiveness of the WOS algorithm in improving process scheduling efficiency in computer systems. By reducing process waiting time, the WOS algorithm can improve system performance and resource utilization. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in developing and implementing efficient process scheduling algorithms.

Keywords: process scheduling, wait-optimized scheduler, response time, non-preemptive, waiting time, traditional scheduling algorithms, first-come-first-serve, shortest-job-first, system performance, resource utilization

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Authors: Joy Winston James, Abdul Kadher Jilani

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This review article provides a comprehensive overview of social engineering attacks, specifically those executed through the Kali Linux operating system. It aims to present an in-depth analysis of the background and importance of social engineering in cybersecurity, the tools, and techniques used in these attacks, real-world case studies that demonstrate their effectiveness, and ethical considerations that need to be taken into account while using them. The article highlights the Kali Linux tools that are commonly used in social engineering attacks, including SET, Metasploit, and BeEF, and discusses techniques such as phishing, pretexting, and baiting that are crucial in conducting successful social engineering attacks. It further explores real-world case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of these techniques, emphasizing the importance of implementing effective countermeasures to reduce the risk of successful social engineering attacks. Moreover, the article sheds light on ethical considerations that need to be taken into account while using social engineering tools, emphasizing the importance of using them ethically and legally. Finally, the article provides potential countermeasures such as two-factor authentication, strong password policies, and regular security audits to help individuals and organizations better protect themselves against this growing threat. By understanding the tools and techniques used in social engineering attacks and implementing appropriate countermeasures, individuals and organizations can minimize the risk of successful social engineering attacks and improve their cybersecurity posture. To illustrate the effectiveness of social engineering attacks, we present real-world case studies that demonstrate how easily individuals and organizations can fall prey to these attacks. We also discuss ethical considerations that must be taken into account while using social engineering tools, emphasizing the need for responsible and legal use of these tools.

Keywords: pen testing, hacking, Kali Linux, social engineering

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Authors: V. R. Ahire, A. Kumar, B. N. Pandey, K. P. Mishra, G. R. Kulkarni

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Radiation therapy is an effective vital strategy used globally in the treatment of cervical cancer. However, radiation efficacy principally depends on the radiosensitivity of the tumor, and not all patient exhibit significant response to irradiation. A radiosensitive tumor is easier to cure than a radioresistant tumor which later advances to local recurrence and metastasis. Herbal polyphenols are gaining attention for exhibiting radiosensitization through various signaling. Current work focuses to study the radiosensitization effect of ellagic acid (EA), on HeLa cells. EA intermediated radiosensitization of HeLa cells was due to the induction γ-H2AX foci formation, G1 phase cell cycle arrest, and loss of reproductive potential, growth inhibition, drop in the mitochondrial membrane potential and protein expression studies that eventually induced apoptosis. Irradiation of HeLa in presence of EA (10 μM) to doses of 2 and 4 Gy γ-radiation produced marked tumor cytotoxicity. EA also demonstrated radio-protective effect on normal cell, NIH3T3 and aided recovery from the radiation damage. Our results advocate EA to be an effective adjuvant for improving cancer radiotherapy as it displays striking tumor cytotoxicity and reduced normal cell damage instigated by irradiation.

Keywords: apoptotic radiosensitivity, ellagic acid, mitochondrial potential, cell-cycle arrest

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Authors: Shradha S. Binani, P. S. Bodke, R. V. Joat

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Recent decades have witnessed an exponential growth in the field of acoustical parameters and ultrasound on solid, liquid and gases. Ultrasonic propagation parameters yield valuable information regarding the behavior of liquid systems because intra and intermolecular association, dipolar interaction, complex formation and related structural changes affecting the compressibility of the system which in turn produces variations in the ultrasonic velocity. The acoustic and thermo dynamical parameters obtained in ultrasonic study show that ion-solvation is accompanied by the destruction or enhancement of the solvent structure. In the present paper the ultrasonic velocity (v), density (ρ), viscosity(η) have been measured for the pharmacological important compound 2-hydroxy substituted phenyl pyrimidine derivative (2-hydroxy-4-(4’-methoxy phenyl)-6-(2’-hydroxy-4’-methyl-5’-chlorophenyl)pyrimidine) in ethanol as a solvent by using different concentration at constant room temperature. These experimental data have been used to estimate physical parameter like adiabatic compressibility, intermolecular free length, relaxation time, free volume, specific acoustic impedance, relative association, Wada’s constant, Rao’s constant etc. The above parameters provide information in understanding the structural and molecular interaction between solute-solvent in the drug solution with respect to change in concentration.

Keywords: acoustical parameters, ultrasonic velocity, density, viscosity, 2-hydroxy substituted phenyl pyrimidine derivative

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Authors: Shahab Mirzaean Mahabadi, Elham Ebrahimi

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The urban development process in the historical urban context has predominately witnessed two main approaches: the first is the Preservation and conservation of the urban fabric and its value, and the second approach is urban renewal and redevelopment. The latter is generally supported by political and economic aspirations. These two approaches conflict evidently. The authors go through the history of urban planning in order to review the historical development of the mentioned approaches. In this article, various values which are inherent in the historical fabric of a city are illustrated by emphasizing on cultural identity and activity. In the following, it is tried to find an optimized plan which maximizes economic development and minimizes change in historical-cultural sites simultaneously. In the proposed model, regarding the decision maker’s intention, and the variety of functions, the selected zone is divided into a number of components. For each component, different alternatives can be assigned, namely, renovation, refurbishment, destruction, and change in function. The decision Variable in this model is to choose an alternative for each component. A set of decisions made upon all components results in a plan. A plan developed in this way can be evaluated based on the decision maker’s point of view. That is, interactions between selected alternatives can make a foundation for the assessment of urban context to design a historical-cultural landscape. A genetic algorithm (GA) approach is used to search for optimal future land use within the historical-culture landscape for a sustainable high-growth city.

Keywords: urban sustainability, green city, regeneration, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Olha Mostova, Maciej Stolarski, Gerald Matthews

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The present paper explores and tests Gary Chapman’s claims that (1) people vary in the ways they prefer to receive and express affection and (2) romantic partners, who communicate their feelings correspondingly to their partner’s preferences, experience greater relationship quality. The author proposes five distinct preferences for and tendencies to express love, including acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, and gifts. In the present study, partners (N = 100 romantic, heterosexual couples) completed measures assessing their preferences and behavioral tendencies reflecting 1) how they a) tend to express and b) prefer to receive signs of affection in correspondence to the five proposed categories; 2) relationship satisfaction; 3) sexual satisfaction and 4) empathy, which was expected to be the factor that leads to a better understanding of and responding to the partner’s needs. The degree of the within-couple match was calculated separately for each individual based on the discrepancies between one’s felt (preferred) and their partner’s expressed love language. The joint discrepancy indicator was a sum of such discrepancies across the five love languages. Conducted analyses provided evidence for significant associations between matching on love languages and both relationship and sexual satisfaction. In particular, people who expressed their affection in the way their partners preferred to receive it experienced greater satisfaction with their relationships and were more sexually satisfied compared to those who met their partner’s needs to a lesser extent. Other results provide some support for mediating effects of certain domains of empathy in the said associations among male but not female participants.

Keywords: affection, empathy, love languages, relationship satisfaction, romantic couples, sexual satisfaction

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Authors: Pui Hong Chung, Wing Chi Ho, Jun Li, Cyrus Leung, Ek Yeoh

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Background: Cigarette smoking is associated with poor tuberculosis (TB) outcomes in terms of progression of active TB, relapse of TB and TB-related mortality, but the association with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is unclear. The systematic review conducted aimed at studying the association between active smoking and LTBI, and likelihood of dose-response relationship. Methods: Two independent reviewers searched three electronic databases comprising PudMed, Medline by EBSCOHOST, ExcerptaMedica Database (EMBASE), from inception up to 31st Dec 2015 for studies reporting data on current smoking and the LTBI with tuberculin skin test (TST) or interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) results, comparing the odds ratios (ORs) of outcome measure of TST or IGRAs among current smokers with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Seven studies were identified, including six cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal cohort study. The outcome measures from three studies were in TST, three studies in IGRAs and one for both tests. For TST, OR ranging from 1.39 to 3.40 (95% CI) with all studies shown positive association between cigarette smoking and LTBI. For IGRAs, OR ranging from 0.47 to 1.89 (95% CI) with one study shown the negative association that might be related to impaired interferon-gamma production in immunosuppressive persons. One identified study demonstrated positive dose-response relationship in TST result. Conclusions: Cigarette smoking is likely to be a risk factor of LTBI. There is the important implication for TB and tobacco control program to halt TB by empowering public health policy. Further study is also needed to provide more evidence of the dose-response model/relationship.

Keywords: latent tuberculosis infection, systematic review, active smoking, model

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Authors: Constant Gillot, Pauline Michaux, Julien Favresse, Jean-Michel Dogné, Jonathan Douxfils

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Introduction: NETosis has emerged as a crucial yet paradoxical factor in severe COVID-19 cases. While neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) help contain and eliminate viral particles, excessive NET formation can lead to hyperinflammation, exacerbating tissue damage and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Aims: This study evaluates the relationship between COVID-19-infected sera and NETosis using an ex-vivo model. Methods: Sera from 8 post-admission COVID-19 patients, after receiving corticoid therapy, were used to induce NETosis in neutrophils from a healthy donor. NET formation was tracked using fluorescent markers for DNA and neutrophil elastase (NE) every 2 minutes for 8 hours. The results were expressed as a percentage of DNA/NE released over time. Key metrics, including T50 (time to 50% release) and AUC (area under the curve), representing total NETosis potential), were calculated. A 27-cytokine screening kit was used to assess the cytokine composition of the sera. Results: COVID-19 sera induced NETosis based on their cytokine profile. The AUC of NE and DNA release decreased with time following corticoid therapy, showing a significant reduction in 6 of the 8 patients (p<0.05). T50 also decreased in parallel with AUC for both markers. Cytokines concentration decrease with time after therapy administration. There is correlation between 14 cytokines concentration and NE release. Conclusion: This ex-vivo model successfully demonstrated the induction of NETosis by COVID-19 sera using two markers. A clear decrease in NETosis potential was observed over time with glucocorticoid therapy. This model can be a valuable tool for monitoring NETosis and investigating potential NETosis inducers and inhibitors.

Keywords: NETosis, COVID-19, cytokine storm, biomarkers

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Authors: Nicola Urbino

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The definition of corporate social responsibility policies is a central topic in contemporary museology, as the role of museums in developing social, cultural, and environmental impact strategies has become increasingly prominent. An overarching perspective in this domain can be provided by the publication of the primary tool for impact verification and reporting in the CSR field: the Social Report. The presentation, based on an international and national theoretical and regulatory assessment, focuses on the operational significance of structured social reporting for Italian museums. The study involves analyzing over 25 Social Reports from leading Italian museums over the past 5 years to assess their CSR practices, examining both the strengths and weaknesses, in order to offer a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of social responsibility in the national context. Moreover, a benchmark will be done between the legislative framework and guidelines and the effective implementation of CSR policies and practices. That said, the contribution aims at analyzing the strategies of the main Italian museums regarding their environmental impact on the territory. Through the analysis of the Social Balance Sheets published by a group of museums from the north to the south of Italy, it will highlight the relations that museums have established over the years with the territory and the environment, their sensitivity to climate change, and the strategies proposed to mitigate their environmental impact. Starting from a general analysis, the paper will help to highlight best practices and management models to be followed for sustainable growth, analyzing best practice, case studies and strategies applied to the museological field.

Keywords: museums, social report, sustainable development, footprint

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Authors: Galen Dennis, Lukas Dahlin, Michael Guarnieri, Stefanie Van Wychen, Shawn Starkenburg, Matthew Posewitz, Colin Kruse

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Scenedesmus 46B-D3 was identified in 2021 by screening a culture collection produced by the Posewitz lab at the Colorado School of Mines. The strain was found to continue accumulating biomass in a nitrogen-depleted state, which is a rare and technologically promising trait in microalgae. As the culture grows, a shift from nitrogen-replete to depleted conditions is indicated by arrested cell division and the accumulation of lipids, polysaccharides and photoprotective pigments. The latter trait gives stationary phase cultures a deep red color due to the presence of the high-value beta-ketocarotenoids, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin. The combination of continued photosynthesis post-nitrogen depletion and the accumulation of valuable pigments makes S. 46B-D3 of interest from a fundamental and industrial perspective, respectively. This project reports the results of a multi-omic study examining changes in the proteome and transcriptome in nitrogen-replete and deplete conditions. In addition, it characterizes the pigment composition of S. 46B-D3 across its growth curve and the method of cell division within the strain. These results indicate that upon sensing nitrogen scarcity, S. 46B-D3 efficiently recycles and repurposes nitrogen away from cell division and towards energy storage through the accumulation of lipids and polysaccharides. The accumulation of photoprotective pigments also prevents damage to and serves as an additional carbon sink for the cell’s light system.

Keywords: pigments, photosynthesis, proteomics, transcriptomics

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Authors: Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari, Sorush Marzban

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The main aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting farmers' attitude of the Shanderman District in Masal (Guilan Province in the north of Iran), towards the concepts of multifunctional agriculture. The statistical population consisted of all 4908 in Shanderman.The sample of the present study consisted of 209 subjects who were selected from the total population using the Bartlett et al. Table. Questionnaire as the main tool of data collection was divided in two parts. The first part of questionnaire consisted of farmers' profiles regarding individual, technical-agronomic, economic and social characteristics. The second part included items to identify the farmers’ attitudes regarding different aspects of multifunctional agriculture. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed by professors and experts. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability (α= 0.844), which is considered an acceptable reliability value. Overall, the average scores of attitudes towards multifunctional agriculture show a positive tendency towards multifunctional agriculture, considering farmers' attitudes of the Shanderman district (SD = 0.53, M = 3.81). Results also highlight a significant difference between farmers' income source levels (F = 0.049) and agricultural literature review (F = 0.022) toward farmers' attitudes considering multifunctional agriculture (p < 0.05). Pearson correlations also indicated that there is a positive relationship between positive attitudes and family size (r = 0.154), farmers' experience (r = 0.246), size of land under cultivation (r = 0.186), income (r = 0.227), and social contribution activities (r = 0.224). The results of multiple regression analyses showed that the variation in the dependent variable depended on the farmers' experience in agricultural activities and their social contribution activities. This means that the variables included in the regression analysis are estimated to explain 12 percent of the variation in the dependent variable.

Keywords: multifunctional agriculture, attitude, effective factor, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Mais Nijim, Rama Devi Chennuboyina, Waseem Al Aqqad

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Advances in spatial and spectral resolution of satellite images have led to tremendous growth in large image databases. The data we acquire through satellites, radars and sensors consists of important geographical information that can be used for remote sensing applications such as region planning, disaster management. Spatial data classification and object recognition are important tasks for many applications. However, classifying objects and identifying them manually from images is a difficult task. Object recognition is often considered as a classification problem, this task can be performed using machine-learning techniques. Despite of many machine-learning algorithms, the classification is done using supervised classifiers such as Support Vector Machines (SVM) as the area of interest is known. We proposed a classification method, which considers neighboring pixels in a region for feature extraction and it evaluates classifications precisely according to neighboring classes for semantic interpretation of region of interest (ROI). A dataset has been created for training and testing purpose; we generated the attributes by considering pixel intensity values and mean values of reflectance. We demonstrated the benefits of using knowledge discovery and data-mining techniques, which can be on image data for accurate information extraction and classification from high spatial resolution remote sensing imagery.

Keywords: remote sensing, object recognition, classification, data mining, waterbody identification, feature extraction

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Authors: Caterina Calicchio, Talia Sbardella

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The ability to move through geographical and symbolic spaces is key for building new nodes and social relationships. Especially in the framework of language learning, accepting and valuing diversity can help to create a constructive atmosphere of cooperation, innovation, and creativity. Thus, it is important to outline the stages of forming a learning community, focusing on the characteristics that can favor its development. It is known that elements like curiosity and motivation are significant for individual language learning; hence, the study attempts to investigate how factors like openness to diversity and cultural immersion could improve Italian learning and teaching. This paper aims to indicate the factors that could be significant for the development of a Learning Community by presenting a case study on a course on Italian as a second language for beginners: first, the theoretical matrices underlying social learning will be outlined. Secondly, a quantitative study will be described based on an adaptation of the openness to diversity and some insights psychometric scale questionnaire developed at the Umbra Institute. The questionnaire was delivered to 52 American college students with open-ended and closed-ended questions. Students were asked to specify their level of agreement to a set of statements on a six-point Likert scale ranging from (1) Strongly disagree to (6) Strongly agree. The data has been analyzed with a quantitative and qualitative method and has been represented in a pie chart and in a histogram. Moreover, mean and frequency have been calculated. The research findings demonstrate that openness to diversity and challenge enhances cross-cutting skills such as intercultural and communicative competence: through cultural immersion and the facility of speaking with locals, the participants have been able to develop their own Italian L2 language community. The goal is to share with the scientific community some insights to trace possible future lines of research.

Keywords: Italian as second language, language learning, learning community, openness to diversity

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Authors: Shivam Patel, Abdullah Y. Usmani

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Physiological flow under rest and exercise conditions in patient-specific cerebral aneurysm models is numerically investigated. A finite-volume based code with BiCGStab as the linear equation solver is used to simulate unsteady three-dimensional flow field through the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Flow characteristics are first established in a healthy cerebral artery for both physiological conditions. The effect of saccular aneurysm on cerebral hemodynamics is then explored through a comparative analysis of the velocity distribution, nature of flow patterns, wall pressure and wall shear stress (WSS) against the reference configuration. The efficacy of coil embolization as a potential strategy of surgical intervention is also examined by modelling coil as a homogeneous and isotropic porous medium where the extended Darcy’s law, including Forchheimer and Brinkman terms, is applicable. The Carreau-Yasuda non-Newtonian blood model is incorporated to capture the shear thinning behavior of blood. Rest and exercise conditions correspond to normotensive and hypertensive blood pressures respectively. The results indicate that the fluid impingement on the outer wall of the arterial bend leads to abnormality in the distribution of wall pressure and WSS, which is expected to be the primary cause of the localized aneurysm. Exercise correlates with elevated flow velocity, vortex strength, wall pressure and WSS inside the aneurysm sac. With the insertion of coils in the aneurysm cavity, the flow bypasses the dilatation, leading to a decline in flow velocities and WSS. Particle residence time is observed to be lower under exercise conditions, a factor favorable for arresting plaque deposition and combating atherosclerosis.

Keywords: 3D FVM, Cerebral aneurysm, hypertension, coil embolization, non-Newtonian fluid

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Authors: Rayeheh Khatami, Toktam Hanaei, Mohammad Reza Mansouri Daneshvar

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The growth of the agricultural sector is known as an essential way to achieve development goals in developing countries. Urban agriculture is a way to reduce the vulnerability of urban populations of the world toward global environmental change. It is a sustainable and efficient system to respond to the environmental, social and economic needs of the city, which leads to urban sustainability. Today, many local and national governments are developing urban agriculture as an effective tool in responding to challenges such as poverty, food security, and environmental problems. In this study, we follow a perspective based on urban agriculture literature in order to indicate the urban agriculture’s benefits in environmental planning strategies in non-western countries like Iran. The methodological approach adopted is based on qualitative approach and documentary studies. A total of 35 articles (mixed quantitative and qualitative methods studies) were studied in final analysis, which are published in relevant journals that focus on this subject. Studies show the wide range of positive benefits of urban agriculture on food security, nutrition outcomes, health outcomes, environmental outcomes, and social capital. However, there was no definitive conclusion about the negative effects of urban agriculture. This paper provides a conceptual and theoretical basis to know about urban agriculture and its roles in environmental planning, and also conclude the benefits of urban agriculture for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who seek to create spaces in cities for implementation urban agriculture in future.

Keywords: urban agriculture, environmental planning, urban planning, literature

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Authors: Soujanya Pasumarthi

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Inverse docking is a relatively new technique that has been used to identify potential receptor targets of small molecules. Our docking software package MDock is well suited for such an application as it is both computationally efficient, yet simultaneously shows adequate results in binding affinity predictions and enrichment tests. As a validation study, we present the first stage results of an inverse-docking study which seeks to identify potential direct targets of PRIMA-1. PRIMA-1 is well known for its ability to restore mutant p53's tumor suppressor function, leading to apoptosis in several types of cancer cells. For this reason, we believe that potential direct targets of PRIMA-1 identified in silico should be experimentally screened for their ability to inhibitcancer cell growth. The highest-ranked human protein of our PRIMA-1 docking results is oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC), which is part of the cholesterol synthetic pathway. The results of two followup experiments which treat OSC as a possible anti-cancer target are promising. We show that both PRIMA-1 and Ro 48-8071, a known potent OSC inhibitor, significantly reduce theviability of BT-474 breast cancer cells relative to normal mammary cells. In addition, like PRIMA-1, we find that Ro 48-8071 results in increased binding of mutant p53 to DNA in BT- 474cells (which highly express p53). For the first time, Ro 48-8071 is shown as a potent agent in killing human breast cancer cells. The potential of OSC as a new target for developing anticancer therapies is worth further investigation.

Keywords: inverse docking, in silico screening, protein-ligand interactions, molecular docking

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