Search results for: urban growth

Authors: Bensaid A., Mostephaoui T., Nedjai R.

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A considerable area of Algerian lands are threatened by the phenomenon of wind erosion. For a long time, wind erosion and its associated harmful effects on the natural environment have posed a serious threat, especially in the arid regions of the country. In recent years, as a result of increases in the irrational exploitation of natural resources (fodder) and extensive land clearing, wind erosion has particularly accentuated. The extent of degradation in the arid region of the Algerian Mécheriadepartment generated a new situation characterized by the reduction of vegetation cover, the decrease of land productivity, as well as sand encroachment on urban development zones. In this study, we attempt to investigate the potential of remote sensing and geographic information systems for detecting the spatial dynamics of the ancient dune cords based on the numerical processing of PlanetScope PSB.SB sensors images by September 29, 2021. As a second step, we prospect the use of a multi-scale geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach to segment the high spatial resolution images acquired on heterogeneous surfaces that vary according to human influence on the environment. We have used the fractal net evolution approach (FNEA) algorithm to segment images (Baatz&Schäpe, 2000). Multispectral data, a digital terrain model layer, ground truth data, a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) layer, and a first-order texture (entropy) layer were used to segment the multispectral images at three segmentation scales, with an emphasis on accurately delineating the boundaries and components of the sand accumulation areas (Dune, dunes fields, nebka, and barkhane). It is important to note that each auxiliary data contributed to improve the segmentation at different scales. The silted areas were classified using a nearest neighbor approach over the Naâma area using imagery. The classification of silted areas was successfully achieved over all study areas with an accuracy greater than 85%, although the results suggest that, overall, a higher degree of landscape heterogeneity may have a negative effect on segmentation and classification. Some areas suffered from the greatest over-segmentation and lowest mapping accuracy (Kappa: 0.79), which was partially attributed to confounding a greater proportion of mixed siltation classes from both sandy areas and bare ground patches. This research has demonstrated a technique based on very high-resolution images for mapping sanded and degraded areas using GEOBIA, which can be applied to the study of other lands in the steppe areas of the northern countries of the African continent.

Keywords: land development, GIS, sand dunes, segmentation, remote sensing

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Authors: Laura E. Hall, Joel Monárrez-Espino, Luz María Tejada Tayabas

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College students are at risk of weight gain and poor dietary habits, and health behaviours established during this period have been shown to track into midlife. They may therefore be an important target group for health promotion strategies, yet there is a lack of literature regarding dietary intakes and associated factors in this group, particularly in middle-income countries such as Mexico. The aim of this exploratory research was to describe and compare reported dietary intakes among nursing and nutrition college students at two public universities in Mexico, and to explore the relationship between demographic, behavioural and other health-related factors and the risk of low diet quality. Mexican college students (n=444) majoring in nutrition or nursing at two urban universities completed questionnaires regarding dietary and health-related behaviours and risks. Dietary intake was assessed via 24-hour recall. Weight, height and abdominal circumference were measured. Descriptive statistics were reported and nutrient intakes were compared between colleges and study tracks using Student’s t tests, odds ratios and Pearson chi square tests. Two dietary quality scores were constructed to explore the relationship between demographic, behavioural and other health-related factors and the diet quality scores using binary logistic regression. Analysis was performed using SPSS statistics, with differences considered statistically significant at p<0.05. The response rate to the survey was 91%. When macronutrients were considered as a percentage of total energy, the majority of students had protein intakes within recommended ranges, however one quarter of students had carbohydrate and fat intakes exceeding recommended levels. Three quarters had fibre intakes that were below recommendations. More than half of the students reported intakes of magnesium, zinc, vitamin A, folate and vitamin E that were below estimated average requirements. Students studying nutrition reported macronutrient and micronutrient intakes that were more compliant with recommendations compared to nursing students, and students studying in central-north Mexico were more compliant than those studying in southeast Mexico. Breakfast skipping (Adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) = 5.3; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.2-22.7), risk of anxiety (OR = 2.3; CI = 1.3-4.4), and university location (OR = 1.6; CI = 1.03-2.6) were associated with a greater risk of having a low macronutrient score. Caloric intakes <1800kcal (OR = 5.8; CI = 3.5-9.7), breakfast skipping (OR = 3.7; CI = 1.4-10.3), vigorous exercise ≤1h/week (OR = 2.6; CI = 1.3-5.2), soda consumption >250mls/day (OR = 2.0; CI = 1.2-3.3), unhealthy diet perception (OR = 1.9; CI = 1.2-3.0), and university location (OR = 1.8; CI = 1.1-2.8) were significantly associated with greater odds of having a low micronutrient score. College students studying nursing and nutrition did not report ideal diets, and these students should not be overlooked in public health interventions. Differences in dietary intakes between universities and study tracks were evident, with more favourable profiles evident in nutrition compared to nursing, and North-central compared to Southeast students. Further, demographic, behavioural and other health-related factors were associated with diet quality scores, warranting further research.

Keywords: college student, diet quality, nutrient intake, young adult

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Authors: Elizaveta S. Prokofyeva, Svetlana V. Maltseva, Roman D. Zaitsev

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Rapidly evolving modern data analysis technologies in healthcare play a large role in understanding the operation of the system and its characteristics. Nowadays, one of the key tasks in urban healthcare is to optimize the resource allocation. Thus, the application of data analysis in medical institutions to solve optimization problems determines the significance of this study. The purpose of this research was to establish the dependence between the indicators of the effectiveness of the medical institution and its resources. Hospital discharges by diagnosis; hospital days of in-patients and in-patient average length of stay were selected as the performance indicators and the demand of the medical facility. The hospital beds by type of care, medical technology (magnetic resonance tomography, gamma cameras, angiographic complexes and lithotripters) and physicians characterized the resource provision of medical institutions for the developed models. The data source for the research was an open database of the statistical service Eurostat. The choice of the source is due to the fact that the databases contain complete and open information necessary for research tasks in the field of public health. In addition, the statistical database has a user-friendly interface that allows you to quickly build analytical reports. The study provides information on 28 European for the period from 2007 to 2016. For all countries included in the study, with the most accurate and complete data for the period under review, predictive models were developed based on historical panel data. An attempt to improve the quality and the interpretation of the models was made by cluster analysis of the investigated set of countries. The main idea was to assess the similarity of the joint behavior of the variables throughout the time period under consideration to identify groups of similar countries and to construct the separate regression models for them. Therefore, the original time series were used as the objects of clustering. The hierarchical agglomerate algorithm k-medoids was used. The sampled objects were used as the centers of the clusters obtained, since determining the centroid when working with time series involves additional difficulties. The number of clusters used the silhouette coefficient. After the cluster analysis it was possible to significantly improve the predictive power of the models: for example, in the one of the clusters, MAPE error was only 0,82%, which makes it possible to conclude that this forecast is highly reliable in the short term. The obtained predicted values of the developed models have a relatively low level of error and can be used to make decisions on the resource provision of the hospital by medical personnel. The research displays the strong dependencies between the demand for the medical services and the modern medical equipment variable, which highlights the importance of the technological component for the successful development of the medical facility. Currently, data analysis has a huge potential, which allows to significantly improving health services. Medical institutions that are the first to introduce these technologies will certainly have a competitive advantage.

Keywords: data analysis, demand modeling, healthcare, medical facilities

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Authors: Eda Ozkara San

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Nurse educators have been charged by several nursing organizations and accrediting bodies to provide innovative and evidence-based educational experiences, both didactic and clinical, to help students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to provide culturally competent nursing care to patients. Clinical simulation, which offers the opportunity for students to practice nursing skills in a risk-free, controlled environment and helps develop self-efficacy (confidence) within the nursing role. As one simulation method, the standardized patients (SPs) simulation helps educators to teach nursing students variety of skills in nursing, medicine, and other health professions. It can be a helpful tool for nurse educators to enhance cultural competence of nursing students. An alarming gap exists within the literature concerning the effectiveness of SP strategy to enhance cultural competence development of diverse student groups, who must work with patients from various backgrounds. This grant-supported, longitudinal, one-group, pretest and post-test educational intervention study aimed to examine the effect of the Diverse Standardized Patient Simulation (DSPS) cultural competence education strategy on students’ (n = 53) transcultural self-efficacy (TSE). The researcher-developed multidimensional DSPS strategy involved careful integration of transcultural nursing skills guided by the Cultural Competence and Confidence (CCC) model. As a carefully orchestrated teaching and learning strategy by specifically utilizing the SP pedagogy, the DSPS also followed international guidelines and standards for the design, implementation, evaluation, and SP training; and had content validity review. The DSPS strategy involved two simulation scenarios targeting underrepresented patient populations (Muslim immigrant woman with limited English proficiency and Irish-Italian American gay man with his partner (Puerto Rican) to be utilized in a second-semester, nine-credit, 15-week medical-surgical nursing course at an urban public US university. Five doctorally prepared content experts reviewed the DSPS strategy for content validity. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) score was calculated between .80-1.0 on the evaluation forms. Jeffreys’ Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET) was administered as a pretest and post-test to assess students’ changes in cognitive, practical, and affective dimensions of TSE. Results gained from this study support that the DSPS cultural competence education strategy assisted students to develop cultural competence and caused statistically significant changes (increase) in students’ TSE perceptions. Results also supported that all students, regardless of their background, benefit (and require) well designed cultural competence education strategies. The multidimensional DSPS strategy is found to be an effective way to foster nursing students’ cultural competence development. Step-by-step description of the DSPS provides an easy adaptation of this strategy with different student populations and settings.

Keywords: cultural competence development, the cultural competence and confidence model, CCC model, educational intervention, transcultural self-efficacy, TSE, transcultural self-efficacy tool, TSET

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Authors: Brian Bacia, Esther Githaiga, Teresia Kabucho, Paul Moses Ndegwa, Lucy Gichohi

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Purpose: The aim of the study is to ensure an appropriate mix of evidence-based prevention strategies geared towards the reduction of new HIV infections and the incidence of Sexually transmitted Illnesses Background: In Nakuru County, more than 90% of all HIV-infected patients are adults and on a single-dose medication-one pill that contains a combination of several different HIV drugs. Nakuru town has been identified as the hardest hit by HIV/Aids in the County according to the latest statistics from the County Aids and STI group, with a prevalence rate of 5.7 percent attributed to the high population and an active urban center. Method: 2 key studies were carried out to provide evidence for the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) when used optimally on preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Discussions based on an examination, assessments of successes in planning, program implementation, and ultimate impact of prevention and treatment were undertaken involving health managers, health workers, community health workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS between February -August 2021. Questionnaires were carried out by a trained duo on ethical procedures at 15 HIV treatment clinics targeting patients on ARVs and caregivers on ARV prevention and treatment of pediatric HIV infection. Findings: Levels of AIDS awareness are extremely high. Advances in HIV treatment have led to an enhanced understanding of the virus, improved care of patients, and control of the spread of drug-resistant HIV. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of people living with HIV having access to life-long antiretroviral drugs (ARV), mostly on generic medicines. Healthcare facilities providing treatment are stressed challenging the administration of the drugs, which require a clinical setting. Women find it difficult to take a daily pill which reduces the effectiveness of the medicine. ART adherence can be strengthened largely through the use of innovative digital technology. The case management approach is useful in resource-limited settings. The county has made tremendous progress in mother-to-child transmission reduction through enhanced early antenatal care (ANC) attendance and mapping of pregnant women Recommendations: Treatment reduces the risk of transmission to the child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Promote research of medicines through patients and community engagement. Reduce the risk of transmission through breastfeeding. Enhance testing strategies and strengthen health systems for sustainable HIV service delivery. Need exists for improved antenatal care and delivery by skilled birth attendants. Develop a comprehensive maternal reproductive health policy covering equitability, efficient and effective delivery of services. Put in place referral systems.

Keywords: evidence-based prevention strategies, service delivery, human management, integrated approach

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Authors: Fei Chen, Wei Lu, Jun Cai

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During the Twelve Five period, China promulgated industrial policies promoting the relocation of energy-intensive industries to coastal areas in order to utilize marine shipping resources. Consequently, some major state-owned steel and gas enterprises have relocated and resulted in a large-scale coastal area development. However, some land may have been over-exploited with seamless coastline projects. To balance between employment and housing, new industrial coastal towns were constructed to support the industrial-led development. In this paper, we adopt a case-study approach to closely examine the development of several new industrial coastal towns of Liaoning Province situated in the Bohai Bay area, which is currently under rapid economic growth. Our investigations reflect the common phenomenon of long distance commuting and a massive amount of vacant residences. More specifically, large plant relocation caused hundreds of kilometers of daily commute and enterprises had to provide housing subsidies and education incentives to motivate employees to relocate to coastal areas. Nonetheless, many employees still refuse to relocate due to job stability, diverse needs of family members and access to convenient services. These employees averaged 4 hours of commute daily and some who lived further had to reside in temporary industrial housing units and subject to long-term family separation. As a result, only a small portion of employees purchase new coastal residences but mostly for investment and retirement purposes, leading to massive vacancy and ghost-town phenomenon. In contrast to the low demand, coastal areas tend to develop large amount of residences prior to industrial relocation, which may be directly related to local government finances. Some local governments have sold residential land to developers to general revenue to support the subsequent industrial development. Subject to the strong preference of ocean-view, residential housing developers tend to select coast-line land to construct new residential towns, which further reduces the access of marine resources for major industrial enterprises. This violates the original intent of developing industrial coastal towns and drastically limits the availability of marine resources. Lastly, we analyze the co-existence of over-exploiting residential areas and massive vacancies in reference to the demand and supply of land, as well as the demand of residential housing units with the choice criteria of enterprise employees.

Keywords: coastal industry town, commuter traffic, employment-housing space, outer suburb industrial area

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Authors: Xiao-Mei Zhang, Sian-Hong Tseng, Ming-Yen Lu

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Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as MoS₂, have attracted considerable attention owing to the unique optical and electronic properties related to its 2D ultrathin atomic layer structure. MoS₂ is becoming prevalent in post-silicon digital electronics and in highly efficient optoelectronics due to its extremely low thickness and its tunable band gap (Eg = 1-2 eV). For low-power, high-performance complementary logic applications, both p- and n-type MoS₂ FETs (NFETs and PFETs) must be developed. NFETs with an electron accumulation channel can be obtained using unintentionally doped n-type MoS₂. However, the fabrication of MoS₂ FETs with complementary p-type characteristics is challenging due to the significant difficulty of injecting holes into its inversion channel. Plasma treatments with different species (including CF₄, SF₆, O₂, and CHF₃) have also been found to achieve the desired property modifications of MoS₂. In this work, we demonstrated a p-type multilayer MoS₂ enabled by selective-area doping using CHF₃ plasma treatment. Compared with single layer MoS₂, multilayer MoS₂ can carry a higher drive current due to its lower bandgap and multiple conduction channels. Moreover, it has three times the density of states at its minimum conduction band. Large-area growth of MoS₂ films on 300 nm thick SiO₂/Si substrate is carried out by thermal decomposition of ammonium tetrathiomolybdate, (NH₄)₂MoS₄, in a tube furnace. A two-step annealing process is conducted to synthesize MoS₂ films. For the first step, the temperature is set to 280 °C for 30 min in an N₂ rich environment at 1.8 Torr. This is done to transform (NH₄)₂MoS₄ into MoS₃. To further reduce MoS₃ into MoS₂, the second step of annealing is performed. For the second step, the temperature is set to 750 °C for 30 min in a reducing atmosphere consisting of 90% Ar and 10% H₂ at 1.8 Torr. The grown MoS₂ films are subjected to out-of-plane doping by CHF₃ plasma treatment using a Dry-etching system (ULVAC original NLD-570). The radiofrequency power of this dry-etching system is set to 100 W and the pressure is set to 7.5 mTorr. The final thickness of the treated samples is obtained by etching for 30 s. Back-gated MoS₂ PFETs were presented with an on/off current ratio in the order of 10³ and a field-effect mobility of 65.2 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹. The MoS₂ PFETs photodetector exhibited ultraviolet (UV) photodetection capability with a rapid response time of 37 ms and exhibited modulation of the generated photocurrent by back-gate voltage. This work suggests the potential application of the mild plasma-doped p-type multilayer MoS₂ in UV photodetectors for environmental monitoring, human health monitoring, and biological analysis.

Keywords: photodetection, p-type doping, multilayers, MoS₂

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Authors: Liliana Gomez Cardona, Echo Parent-Racine, Joy Outerbridge, Arlene Laliberté, Outi Linnaranta

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Suicide rates among Inuit in Nunavik are six to eleven times larger than the Canadian average. The colonization, religious missions, residential schools as well as economic and political marginalization are factors that have challenged the well-being and mental health of these populations. In psychiatry, screening for mental illness is often done using questionnaires with which the patient is expected to respond how often he/she has certain symptoms. However, the Indigenous view of mental wellbeing may not fit well with this approach. Moreover, biomedical treatments do not always meet the needs of Indigenous peoples because they do not understand the culture and traditional healing methods that persist in many communities. Assess whether the questionnaires used to measure symptoms, commonly used in psychiatry are appropriate and culturally safe for the Inuit in Quebec. Identify the most appropriate tool to assess and promote wellbeing and follow the process necessary to improve its cultural sensitivity and safety for the Inuit population. Qualitative, collaborative, and participatory action research project which respects First Nations and Inuit protocols and the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP). Data collection based on five focus groups with stakeholders working with these populations and members of Indigenous communities. Thematic analysis of the data collected and emerging through an advisory group that led a revision of the content, use, and cultural and conceptual relevance of the instruments. The questionnaires measuring psychiatric symptoms face significant limitations in the local indigenous context. We present the factors that make these tools not relevant among Inuit. Although the scale called Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) was originally developed among Indigenous in Australia, the Inuit in Quebec found that this tool comprehends critical aspects of their mental health and wellbeing more respectfully and accurately than questionnaires focused on measuring symptoms. We document the process of cultural adaptation of this tool which was supported by community members to create a culturally safe tool that helps in resilience and empowerment. The cultural adaptation of the GEM provides valuable information about the factors affecting wellbeing and contributes to mental health promotion. This process improves mental health services by giving health care providers useful information about the Inuit population and their clients. We believe that integrating this tool in interventions can help create a bridge to improve communication between the Indigenous cultural perspective of the patient and the biomedical view of health care providers. Further work is needed to confirm the clinical utility of this tool in psychological and psychiatric intervention along with social and community services.

Keywords: cultural adaptation, cultural safety, empowerment, Inuit, mental health, Nunavik, resiliency

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Authors: Ayesha Mushtaq

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Asthma is a pulmonary disease in which blockade of the airway takes place due to inflammation as a response to certain allergens. Breathing troubles, cough, and dyspnea are one of the few symptoms. Several studies have indicated a significant effect on asthma due to changes in dietary routines. Certain food items, such as oily foods and other materials, are known to cause an increase in the symptoms of asthma. Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables may be important in relation to asthma prevalence. The objective of this study is to assess and compare the nutritional status of asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients. The significance of this study lies in the factor that it will help nutritionists to arrange a feasible dietary routine for asthmatic patients. This research was conducted at the Pulmonology Department of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science Islamabad. About thirty hundred thirty-four million people are affected by asthma worldwide. Pakistan is on the verge of being an uplifted urban population and asthma cases are increasingly high these days. Several studies suggest an increase in the Asthmatic patient population due to improper diet. Other studies conducted at different institutions have conducted research on similar topics. These studies have suggested that there is a substantial alteration in the nutritional status of asthmatic and non-Asthmatic patients. This is a cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the nutritious standing of Asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients. This research took place at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, Pakistan. The research included asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients coming to the pulmonology department clinic at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). These patients were aged between 20-60 years. A questionnaire was developed for these patients to estimate their dietary plans in these patients. The methodology included four sections. The first section was the Socio-Demographic profile, which included age, gender, monthly income and occupation. The next section was anthropometric measurements which included the weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of the individual. The next section, section three, was about the biochemical attributes, such as for biochemical profiling, pulmonary function testing (PFT) was performed. In the next section, Dietary habits, which were assessed by using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) through food habits and consumption pattern, was assessed. The next section life style data, in which the person's level of physical activity, sleep and smoking habits were assessed. The next section was statistical analysis. All the data obtained from the study were statistically analyzed and assessed. Most of the asthma Patients were females, with weight more than normal or even obese. Body Mass Index (BMI) was higher in asthma Patients than those in non-Asthmatic ones. When the nutritional Values were assessed, we came to know that these patients were low on certain nutrients and their diet included more junk and oily food than healthy vegetables and fruits. Beverages intake was also included in the same assessment. It is evident from this study that nutritional status has a contributory effect on asthma. So, patients on the verge of developing asthma or those who have developed asthma should focus on their diet, maintain good eating habits and take healthy diets, including fruits and vegetables rather than oily foods. Proper sleep may also contribute to the control of asthma.

Keywords: NUTRI, BMI, asthma, food

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Authors: Narayana Bhat, Majda Khalil, Hamad Al-Mansour, Anitha Manuvel, Vimla Yeddu

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The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential and phytochemical composition of Peganum harmala L. For this purpose, powdered shoot, root, and seed samples were extracted in an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) with methanol, ethanol, acetone, and dichloromethane. The residues were reconstituted in the above solvents and 10% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). The antimicrobial activity of these extracts was tested against two bacterial (Escherichia coli E49 and Staphylococcus aureus CCUG 43507) and two fungi Candida albicans ATCC 24433, Candida glabrata ATCC 15545) strains using the well-diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and growth pattern of these test strains were determined using microbroth dilution method, and the phospholipase assay was performed to detect tissue damage in the host cells. Results revealed that ethanolic, methanolic, and dichloromethane extracts of seeds exhibited significant antimicrobial activities against all tested strains, whereas the acetone extract of seeds was effective against E. coli only. Similarly, ethanolic and methanolic extracts of roots were effective against two bacterial strains only. One sixth of percent (0.6%) yield of methanol extract of seeds was found to be the MIC for Escherichia coli E49, Staphylococcus aureus CCUG 43507, and Candida glabrata ATCC 15545. Overall, seed extracts had greater antimicrobial activities compared to roots and shoot extracts. The original plant extract and MIC dilutions prevented phospholipase secretion in Staphylococcus aureus CCUG 43507 and Candida albicans ATCC 24433. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay revealed radical scavenging activities ranging from 71.80 ± 4.36% to 87.75 ± 1.70%. The main compound present in the root extract was 1-methyl-7-methoxy-beta-carboline (RT: 44.171), followed by norlapachol (3.62%), benzopyrazine (2.20%), palmitic acid (2.12%) and vasicinone (1.96%). In contrast, phenol,4-ethenyl-2-methoxy was in abundance in the methonolic extract of the shoot, whereas 1-methyl-7-methoxy-beta-carboline (79.59%), linoleic acid (9.05%), delta-tocopherol (5.02%), 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester (2.65%), benzene, 1,1-1,2 ethanediyl bis 3,4dimethyl (1.15%), anthraquinone (0.58%), hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (0.54%), palmitic acid (0.35%) and methyl stearate (0.18%) were present in the methanol extract of seeds. Major findings of this study, along with their relevance to developing effective, safe drugs, will be discussed in this presentation.

Keywords: medicinal plants, secondary metabolites, phytochemical screening, bioprospecting, radical scavenging

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Authors: N. B. Chandrakala

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Domestic violence is one of the most under-reported crimes. Problem with domestic violence is that it is not even considered as abuse in many parts of the world especially certain parts of Asia, Africa and Middle East. It is viewed as “doing the needful”. Domestic violence could be in form of emotional harassment, physical injury or psychological abuse perpetrated by one of the family members to another. It is a worldwide phenomenon mainly targeting women. The acts of violence have terrible negative impact on women. It is also an infringement of women’s rights and can be safely termed as human rights abuse. In cases pertaining to domestic violence, male adults often misuses his authority and power to control another using physical or psychological means. Violence and other forms of abuse are common in domestic violence. Sexual assaults, molestation and battering are common in these cases. Domestic violence is a human rights issue and a serious deterrent to development. Domestic violence could also take place in subtle forms like making the person feel worthless or not giving the victims any personal space or freedom. The problematic aspect is cases of domestic violence are very rarely reported. The majority of the victims are women but children are also made to suffer silently. They are abused and neglected. Their innocent minds are adversely affected with the incidents of domestic violence. According to a report by World Health Organization (WHO), sexual trafficking, female feticide, dowry death, public humiliation and physical torture are some of the most common forms of domestic violence against Indian women. Such acts belie our growth and claim as an economic superpower. It is ironic that we claim to be one of the most rapidly advancing countries in the world and yet we have done hardly anything of note against social hazards like domestic violence. Laws are not that stringent when it comes to reporting acts of domestic violence. Even if the report is filed it turns out to be a long drawn process and not every victim has that much resource to fight till the end. It is also a social taboo to make your family matters public. The big challenge in front now is to enforce it in true sense. Steps that are actually needed; tough laws against domestic violence, speedy execution and change in the mindset of society only then we can expect to have some improvement in such inhuman cases. An effective response to violence must be multi-sectoral; addressing the immediate practical needs of women experiencing abuse; providing long-term follow up and assistance; and focusing on changing those cultural norms, attitudes and legal provisions that promote the acceptance of and even encourage violence against women, and undermine women's enjoyment of their full human rights and freedoms. Hence the responses to the problem must be based on integrated approach. The effectiveness of measures and initiatives will depend on coherence and coordination associated with their design and implementation.

Keywords: domestic violence, human rights, sexual assaults, World Health Organization

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Authors: David A. Ullisch, Yantree D. Sankar-Thomas, Stefan Wilke, Thomas Selge, Matthias Pump, Thomas Leibold, Kai Schütte, Gilbert Gorr

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Plants have been considered as a source of natural substances for ages. Secondary metabolites from plants are utilized especially in medical applications but are more and more interesting as cosmetical ingredients and in the field of nutraceuticals. However, supply of compounds from natural harvest can be limited by numerous factors i.e. endangered species, low product content, climate impacts and cost intensive extraction. Especially in the pharmaceutical industry the ability to provide sufficient amounts of product and high quality are additional requirements which in some cases are difficult to fulfill by plant harvest. Whereas in many cases the complexity of secondary metabolites precludes chemical synthesis on a reasonable commercial basis, plant cells contain the biosynthetic pathway – a natural chemical factory – for a given compound. A promising approach for the sustainable production of natural products can be plant cell fermentation (PCF®). A thoroughly accomplished development process comprises the identification of a high producing cell line, optimization of growth and production conditions, the development of a robust and reliable production process and its scale-up. In order to address persistent, long lasting production, development of cryopreservation protocols and generation of working cell banks is another important requirement to be considered. So far the most prominent example using a PCF® process is the production of the anticancer compound paclitaxel. To demonstrate the power of plant suspension cultures here we present three case studies: 1) For more than 17 years Phyton produces paclitaxel at industrial scale i.e. up to 75,000 L in scale. With 60 g/kg dw this fully controlled process which is applied according to GMP results in outstanding high yields. 2) Thapsigargin is another anticancer compound which is currently isolated from seeds of Thapsia garganica. Thapsigargin is a powerful cytotoxin – a SERCA inhibitor – and the precursor for the derivative ADT, the key ingredient of the investigational prodrug Mipsagargin (G-202) which is in several clinical trials. Phyton successfully generated plant cell lines capable to express this compound. Here we present data about the screening for high producing cell lines. 3) The third case study covers ingenol-3-mebutate. This compound is found in the milky sap of the intact plants of the Euphorbiacae family at very low concentrations. Ingenol-3-mebutate is used in Picato® which is approved against actinic keratosis. Generation of cell lines expressing significant amounts of ingenol-3-mebutate is another example underlining the strength of plant cell culture. The authors gratefully acknowledge Inspyr Therapeutics for funding.

Keywords: Ingenol-3-mebutate, plant cell culture, sustainability, thapsigargin

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Authors: Matteo Gentilucci, Marco Materazzi, Gilberto Pambianchi

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Climate change is an increasingly central issue in the world, because it affects many of human activities. In this context regional studies are of great importance because they sometimes differ from the general trend. This research focuses on a small area of central Italy which overlooks the Adriatic Sea, the province of Macerata. The aim is to analyze space-based climate changes, for precipitation and temperatures, in the last 3 climatological standard normals (1961-1990; 1971-2000; 1981-2010) through GIS software. The data collected from 30 weather stations for temperature and 61 rain gauges for precipitation were subject to quality controls: validation and homogenization. These data were fundamental for the spatialization of the variables (temperature and precipitation) through geostatistical techniques. To assess the best geostatistical technique for interpolation, the results of cross correlation were used. The co-kriging method with altitude as independent variable produced the best cross validation results for all time periods, among the methods analysed, with 'root mean square error standardized' close to 1, 'mean standardized error' close to 0, 'average standard error' and 'root mean square error' with similar values. The maps resulting from the analysis were compared by subtraction between rasters, producing 3 maps of annual variation and three other maps for each month of the year (1961/1990-1971/2000; 1971/2000-1981/2010; 1961/1990-1981/2010). The results show an increase in average annual temperature of about 0.1°C between 1961-1990 and 1971-2000 and 0.6 °C between 1961-1990 and 1981-2010. Instead annual precipitation shows an opposite trend, with an average difference from 1961-1990 to 1971-2000 of about 35 mm and from 1961-1990 to 1981-2010 of about 60 mm. Furthermore, the differences in the areas have been highlighted with area graphs and summarized in several tables as descriptive analysis. In fact for temperature between 1961-1990 and 1971-2000 the most areally represented frequency is 0.08°C (77.04 Km² on a total of about 2800 km²) with a kurtosis of 3.95 and a skewness of 2.19. Instead, the differences for temperatures from 1961-1990 to 1981-2010 show a most areally represented frequency of 0.83 °C, with -0.45 as kurtosis and 0.92 as skewness (36.9 km²). Therefore it can be said that distribution is more pointed for 1961/1990-1971/2000 and smoother but more intense in the growth for 1961/1990-1981/2010. In contrast, precipitation shows a very similar shape of distribution, although with different intensities, for both variations periods (first period 1961/1990-1971/2000 and second one 1961/1990-1981/2010) with similar values of kurtosis (1st = 1.93; 2nd = 1.34), skewness (1st = 1.81; 2nd = 1.62 for the second) and area of the most represented frequency (1st = 60.72 km²; 2nd = 52.80 km²). In conclusion, this methodology of analysis allows the assessment of small scale climate change for each month of the year and could be further investigated in relation to regional atmospheric dynamics.

Keywords: climate change, GIS, interpolation, co-kriging

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Lam Hong Lan

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The textile industry is said to be the second-largest polluter, responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually. There is an urgent need to practice the circular economy to increase the use and reuse around the world. By its nature, the pre-owned fashion business is considered part of the circular economy as it helps to eliminate waste and circulate products. Second-hand clothes and accessories used to be associated with a ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’ in Vietnam. This perception has been shifted, especially amongst the younger generation. Vietnamese consumer is spending more on products and services that increase self-esteem. The same consumer is moving away from a collectivist social identity towards a ‘me, not we’ outlook as they look for a way to express their individual identity. And pre-owned fashion is one of their solutions as it values money, can create a unique personal style for the wearer and links with sustainability. The design of this study is based on the second-hand shopping motivation theory. A semi-structured online survey with 100 consumers from one pre-owned clothing community and one pre-owned e-commerce site in Vietnam. The findings show that in contrast with Vietnamese older consumers (55+yo) who, in the previous study, generally associated pre-owned fashion with ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’, young customers (20-30 yo) were actively promoted their pre-owned fashion items to the public via outlet’s social platforms and their social media. This cultural shift comes from the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion and the growth of digital platforms in the pre-owned fashion business in the last five years, which has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion in Vietnam. It can be summarised in three areas: (1) global and local celebrity influencers. A number of celebrities have been photographed wearing vintage items in music videos, photoshoots or at red carpet events. (2) E-commerce and intermediaries. International e-commerce sites – e.g., Vinted, TheRealReal – and/or local apps – e.g., Re.Loved – can influence attitudes and behaviors towards pre-owned consumption. (3) Eco-awareness. The increased online coverage of climate change and environmental pollution has encouraged customers to adopt a more eco-friendly approach to their wardrobes. While sustainable biomaterials and designs are still navigating their way into sustainability, sustainable consumerism via pre-owned fashion seems to be an immediate solution to lengthen the clothes lifecycle. This study has found that young consumers are primarily seeking value for money and/or a unique personal style from pre-owned/vintage fashion while using these purchases to promote their own “eco-awareness” via their social media networks. This is a good indication for fashion designers to keep in mind in their design process and for fashion enterprises in their business model’s choice to not overproduce fashion items.

Keywords: cultural shift, pre-owned fashion, sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion.

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: J. Yang, M. Monnot, T. Eljaddi, L. Simonian, L. Ercolei, P. Moulin

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The application of membrane technology to wastewater treatment has expanded rapidly under increasing stringent legislation and environmental protection requirements. At the same time, the water resource is becoming precious, and water reuse has gained popularity. Particularly, ultrafiltration (UF) is a very promising technology for water reuse as it can retain organic matters, suspended solids, colloids, and microorganisms. Nevertheless, few studies dealing with operating optimization of UF as a tertiary treatment for water reuse on a semi-industrial scale appear in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to explore the permeate water quality and to optimize operating parameters (maximizing productivity and minimizing irreversible fouling) through the operation of a UF pilot plant under real conditions. The fully automatic semi-industrial UF pilot plant with periodic classic backwashes (CB) and air backwashes (AB) was set up to filtrate the secondary effluent of an urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in France. In this plant, the secondary treatment consists of a conventional activated sludge process followed by a sedimentation tank. The UF process was thus defined as a tertiary treatment and was operated under constant flux. It is important to note that a combination of CB and chlorinated AB was used for better fouling management. The 200 kDa hollow fiber membrane was used in the UF module, with an initial permeability (for WWTP outlet water) of 600 L·m-2·h⁻¹·bar⁻¹ and a total filtration surface of 9 m². Fifteen filtration conditions with different fluxes, filtration times, and air backwash frequencies were operated for more than 40 hours of each to observe their hydraulic filtration performances. Through comparison, the best sustainable condition was flux at 60 L·h⁻¹·m⁻², filtration time at 60 min, and backwash frequency of 1 AB every 3 CBs. The optimized condition stands out from the others with > 92% water recovery rates, better irreversible fouling control, stable permeability variation, efficient backwash reversibility (80% for CB and 150% for AB), and no chemical washing occurrence in 40h’s filtration. For all tested conditions, the permeate water quality met the water reuse guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), French standards, and the regulation of the European Parliament adopted in May 2020, setting minimum requirements for water reuse in agriculture. In permeate: the total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, and turbidity were decreased to < 2 mg·L-1, ≤ 10 mg·L⁻¹, < 0.5 NTU respectively; the Escherichia coli and Enterococci were > 5 log removal reduction, the other required microorganisms’ analysis were below the detection limits. Additionally, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was measured in raw wastewater of WWTP, UF feed, and UF permeate in November 2020. As a result, the raw wastewater was tested positive above the detection limit but below the quantification limit. Interestingly, the UF feed and UF permeate were tested negative to SARS-CoV-2 by these PCR assays. In summary, this work confirms the great interest in UF as intensified tertiary treatment for water reuse and gives operational indications for future industrial-scale production of reclaimed water.

Keywords: semi-industrial UF pilot plant, water reuse, fouling management, coronavirus

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Bela Lebedeva

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Characteristics of the Web as a channel of information dissemination - accessibility and openness, interactivity and multimedia news - become wider and cover the audience quickly, positively affecting the perception of content, but blur out the understanding of the journalistic work. As a result audience and advertisers continue migrating to the Internet. Moreover, online targeting allows monetizing not only the audience (as customarily given to traditional media) but also the content and traffic more accurately. While the users identify themselves with the qualitative characteristics of the new market, its actors are formed. Conflict of interests is laid in the base of the economy of their relations, the problem of traffic tax as an example. Meanwhile, content monetization actualizes fiscal interest of the state too. The balance of supply and demand is often violated due to the political risks, particularly in terms of state capitalism, populism and authoritarian methods of governance such social institutions as the media. A unique example of access to journalistic material, limited by monetization of content is a television channel Dozhd' (Rain) in Russian web space. Its liberal-minded audience has a better possibility for discussion. However, the channel could have been much more successful in terms of unlimited free speech. Avoiding state pressure and censorship its management has decided to save at least online performance and monetizing all of the content for the core audience. The study Methodology was primarily based on the analysis of journalistic content, on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the audience. Reconstructing main events and relationships of actors on the market for the last six years researcher has reached some conclusions. First, under the condition of content monetization the capitalization of its quality will always strive to quality characteristics of user, thereby identifying him. Vice versa, the user's demand generates high-quality journalism. The second conclusion follows the previous one. The growth of technology, information noise, new political challenges, the economy volatility and the cultural paradigm change – all these factors form the content paying model for an individual user. This model defines him as a beneficiary of specific knowledge and indicates the constant balance of supply and demand other conditions being equal. As a result, a new economic quality of information is created. This feature is an indicator of the market as a self-regulated system. Monetized information quality is less popular than that of the Public Broadcasting Service, but this audience is able to make decisions. These very users keep the niche sectors which have more potential of technology development, including the content monetization ways. The third point of the study allows develop it in the discourse of media space liberalization. This cultural phenomenon may open opportunities for the development of social and economic relations architecture both locally and regionally.

Keywords: content monetization, state capitalism, media liberalization, media economy, information quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Cheh-Shyh Ting, Jiin-Liang Lin

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This study was conducted at the Wanglung Farm in Pingtung County to test the groundwater seepage influences on the implemented project for artificial groundwater recharge. The study was divided into three phases. The first phase, conducted on natural groundwater that was recharged through the local climate and growing conditions, observed the natural form of vegetation species. The original plants were flooded, and after 60 days it was observed that of the original plants only Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) and Black heart (Polygonum lapathifolium Linn.) remained. Direct infiltration tests were carried out, and calculations for the effect of vegetation on infiltration velocity of the recharge pool were noted. The second phase was an indoor test. Bahia grass and wild amaranth were selected as vegetation roots. After growth, the distribution of different grassroots was observed in order to facilitate a comparison permeability coefficient calculated by the amount of penetration and to explore the relationship between density and the efficiency to groundwater recharge. The third phase was the root tomography analysis, further observation of the development of plant roots using computed tomography technology. Computed Tomography, also known as (CT), is a diagnostic imaging examination, normally used in the medical field. In the first phase of the feasibility study, most non-aquatic plants wilted and died within seven days. In seven days, the remaining plants were used for experimental infiltration analysis. Results showed that in eight hours of infiltration test, Eleusine indica stems averaged 0.466 m/day and wild amaranth averaged 0.014 m/day. The second phase of the experiment was conducted on the remains of the plant a week in it had died and rotted, and the infiltration experiment was performed under these conditions. The results showed eight hours in end of the infiltration test, Eleusine indica stems averaged 0.033 m/day, and wild amaranth averaged 0.098 m/day. Non-aquatic plants died within two weeks, and their rotted remains clogged the pores of bottom soil particles, causing obstruction of recharge pool infiltration. Experiment results showed that eight hours in the test the average infiltration velocity for Eleusine indica stems was 0.0229 m/day and wild amaranth averaged 0.0117 m/day. Since the rotted roots of the plants blocked the pores of the soil in the recharge pool, which resulted in the obstruction of the artificial infiltration pond and showed an immediate impact on recharge efficiency. In order to observe the development of plant roots, the third phase used computed tomography imaging. Iodine developer was injected into the Black heart, allowing its cross-sectional images to be shown on CT and to be used to observe root development.

Keywords: artificial recharge of groundwater, computed tomography, infiltration velocity, vegetation root system

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Sadat Sembatya

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Tantalum metal is used in addressing capacitance challenge in the 21st-century technology growth. Tantalum is rarely found in its elemental form. Hence it’s often found with niobium and the radioactive elements of thorium and uranium. Industrial processes are required to extract pure tantalum. Its deposits are mainly oxide associated and exist in Ta-Nb oxides such as tapiolite, wodginite, ixiolite, rutile and pyrochlore-supergroup minerals are of minor importance. The stability and chemical inertness of tantalum makes it a valuable substance for laboratory equipment and a substitute for platinum. Each period of Tantalum ore formation is characterized by specific mineralogical and geochemical features. Compositions of Columbite-Group Minerals (CGM) are variable: Fe-rich types predominate in the Man Shield (Sierra Leone), the Congo Craton (DR Congo), the Kamativi Belt (Zimbabwe) and the Jos Plateau (Nigeria). Mn-rich columbite-tantalite is typical of the Alto Ligonha Province (Mozambique), the Arabian-Nubian Shield (Egypt, Ethiopia) and the Tantalite Valley pegmatites (southern Namibia). There are large compositional variations through Fe-Mn fractionation, followed by Nb-Ta fractionation. These are typical for pegmatites usually associated with very coarse quartz-feldspar-mica granites. They are young granitic systems of the Kibara Belt of Central Africa and the Older Granites of Nigeria. Unlike ‘simple’ Be-pegmatites, most Ta-Nb rich pegmatites have the most complex zoning. Hence we need systematic exploration tools to find and rapidly assess the potential of different pegmatites. The pegmatites exist as known deposits (e.g., abandoned mines) and the exposed or buried pegmatites. We investigate rocks and minerals to trace for the possibility of the effect of hydrothermal alteration mainly for exposed pegmatites, do mineralogical study to prove evidence of gradual replacement and geochemistry to report the availability of trace elements which are good indicators of mineralisation. Pegmatites are not good geophysical responders resulting to the exclusion of the geophysics option. As for more advanced prospecting, we bulk samples from different zones first to establish their grades and characteristics, then make a pilot test plant because of big samples to aid in the quantitative characterization of zones, and then drill to reveal distribution and extent of different zones but not necessarily grade due to nugget effect. Rapid assessment tools are needed to assess grade and degree of fractionation in order to ‘rule in’ or ‘rule out’ a given pegmatite for future work. Pegmatite exploration is also unique, high risk and expensive hence right traceability system and certification for 3Ts are highly needed.

Keywords: exploration, mineralogy, pegmatites, tantalum

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Alexis D'Agostino, Celeste Sununtunasuk, Jack Fiedler

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Background: Iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation during antenatal care (ANC) has existed in many countries for decades. Despite this, low national coverage persists and women do not often consume appropriate amounts during pregnancy. USAID’s SPRING Project investigated pregnant women’s access to, and consumption of, IFA tablets through ANC. Cross-country analysis provided a global picture of the state of IFA-supplementation, while country-specific results noted key contextual issues, including geography, wealth, and ANC attendance. The analysis can help countries prioritize strategies for systematic performance improvements within one of the most common micronutrient supplementation programs aimed at reducing maternal anemia. Methodology: Using falter point analysis on Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data collected from 162,958 women across 22 countries, SPRING identified four sequential falter points (ANC attendance, IFA receipt or purchase, IFA consumption, and number of tablets taken) where pregnant women fell out of the IFA distribution structure. SPRING analyzed data on IFA intake from DHS surveys with women of reproductive age. SPRING disaggregated these data by ANC participation during the most recent pregnancy, residency, and women’s socio-economic status. Results: Average sufficient IFA tablet use across all countries was only eight percent. Even in the best performing countries, only about one-third of pregnant women consumed 180 or more IFA tablets during their most recent pregnancy. ANC attendance was an important falter point for a quarter of women across all countries (with highest falter rates in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Niger). Further analysis reveals patterns, with some countries having high ANC coverage but low IFA provision during ANC (DRC and Haiti), others having high ANC coverage and IFA provision but few women taking any tablets (Nigeria and Liberia), and countries that perform well in ANC, supplies, and initial consumption but where very few women consume the recommended 180 tablets (Malawi and Cambodia). Country-level analysis identifies further patterns of supplementation. In Indonesia, for example, only 62% of women in the poorest quintile took even one IFA tablet, while 86% of the wealthiest women did. This association between socioeconomic status and IFA intake held across nearly all countries where these data are available and was also visible in rural/urban comparisons. Analysis of ANC attendance data also suggests that higher numbers of ANC visits are associated with higher tablet intake. Conclusions: While it is difficult to disentangle which specific aspects of supply or demand cause the low rates of consumption, this tool allows policy-makers to identify major bottlenecks to scaling-up IFA supplementation during ANC. In turn, each falter point provides possible explanations of program performance and helps strategically identify areas for improved IFA supplementation. For example, improving the delivery of IFA supplementation in Ethiopia relies on increasing access to ANC, but also on identifying and addressing program gaps in IFA supply management and health workers’ practices in order to provide quality ANC services. While every country requires a customized approach to improving IFA supplementation, the multi-country analysis conducted by SPRING is a helpful first step in identifying country bottlenecks and prioritizing interventions.

Keywords: iron and folic acid, supplementation, antenatal care, micronutrient

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Kumalbeo Paul Kamani

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Marketing plays a very important role in the success of any firm since it represents the means through which a firm can reach its customers and also promotes its products and services. In fact, marketing aids the firm in identifying customers who the business can competitively serve, and tailoring product offerings, prices, distribution, promotional efforts, and services towards those customers. Unfortunately, in many firms, marketing has been reduced to merely advertisement. For effective marketing, firms must go beyond this often-limited function of advertisement. In the fashion industry in particular, marketing faces challenges due to its peculiar characteristics. Previous research for instance affirms the idiosyncrasy and peculiarities that differentiate the fashion industry from other industrial areas. It has been documented that the fashion industry is characterized seasonal intensity, short product life cycles, the difficulty of competitive differentiation, and long time for companies to reach financial stability. These factors are noted to pose obstacles to the fashion entrepreneur’s endeavours and can be the reasons that explain their low survival rates. In recent times, the fashion industry has been described as a market that is accessible market, has low entry barriers, both in terms of needed capital and skills which have all accounted for the burgeoning nature of startups. Yet as already stated, marketing is particularly challenging in the industry. In particular, areas such as marketing, branding, growth, project planning, financial and relationship management might represent challenges for the fashion entrepreneur but that have not been properly addressed by previous research. It is therefore important to assess marketing strategies of fashion firms and the factors influencing their success. This study generally sought to examine marketing strategies of fashion dealers in Ghana and their critical success factors. The study employed the quantitative survey research approach. A total of 120 fashion dealers were sampled. Questionnaires were used as instrument of data collection. Data collected was analysed using quantitative techniques including descriptive statistics and Relative Importance Index. The study revealed that the marketing strategies used by fashion apparels are text messages using mobile phones, referrals, social media marketing, and direct marketing. Results again show that the factors influencing fashion marketing effectiveness are strategic management, marketing mix (product, price, promotion etc), branding and business development. Policy implications are finally outlined. The study recommends among others that there is a need for the top management executive to craft and adopt marketing strategies that enable that are compatible with the fashion trends and the needs of the customers. This will improve customer satisfaction and hence boost market penetration. The study further recommends that the fashion industry in Ghana should seek to ensure that fashion apparels accommodate the diversity and the cultural setting of different customers to meet their unique needs.

Keywords: marketing, fashion, industry, success factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 16

Authors: Sanaa Riaz

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The free people, Amazigh (plural Imazighen), often known by the more popular exonym, Berber, are spread across several North African countries with the highest population in Morocco have been substantially misunderstood and differentially showcased by entities from western-school educated scholars to human, health and women’s rights organizations, to the State to the international community. This paper is an examination of the various conceptualization of the Imazighen. With the popularity of the Arab Spring movement to oust monarchical and dictatorial rulers across the Middle East and North Africa in Morocco, the Moroccan monarchy introduced various reform programs to win public favor. These included social, economic and educational reforms to incorporate marginalized groups such as the Imazighen. The monarchy has ushered Amazigh representation in public offices and landscape through Amazigh script, even though theirs has been an oral culture. After the Arab Spring, the Justice and Development party, an Islamist party took over in Morocco due to its accessibility to the masses, In Sept. 2021, unlike the case of Egypt and Tunisia where military and constitutional means were sought, Morocco successfully removed it from power through the ballot, resulting in a real victory for the neutral monarchy and its representation as a moderate, secular and liberal force for the nation. As a result, supporting the perpetuation of Amazigh linguistic identity also became synonymous to making a secular statement as a Muslim. It has led to the telling of Amazigh identity at state museums as one representing the indigenous, pure, diverse, culturally-rich and united Morocco. Reform efforts have also prioritized an amiable look towards the economic and familial links of Moroccan Jews with the few thousand families still left in the country and a showcasing through museums and cultural centers of the Jewish identity as Moroccan first. In that endeavor, it is interesting to note the coverage of Jews as the indigenous of Morocco through the embracing of their “folk” cultural and religious practices, those that are not continued outside Morocco. In this epistemology, the concept of the Moroccan Jew becomes similar to the indigenous Amazigh, both cherished as the oldest peoples of Morocco and symbols of its unity and resilience. In the urban discourse, Amazigh identity is a concept that continues to be part of the deliberations of elites and scholars graduating from French schools on the incorporation of rural and illiterate Morocco in economic and educational advancement. Yet, with the constant influx of migrants from Western Sahara into cities like Fez and Marrakesh, Amazigh has often been described as the umbrella term of those of “mixed” ethnic ancestry who constitute the country’s free population. In sum, Amazigh identity highlights the changing discourse on marginalized communities, human rights, representation, Moroccan nationhood, and regional and transnational politics. The aim of this paper is to analyze perceptions of Amazigh identity in Morocco post-2021 ousting of the Islamist party using data from state-sponsored museum displays and cultural centers collected in Summer 2022 and scholarly analyses of Amazigh identity, representation and rights in Morocco.

Keywords: Amazigh identity, Morocco, representation, state politics

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: N. Renuka, R. Ramesh Babu, N. Vijayan

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Ion beams play a significant role in the process of tuning the properties of materials. Based on the radiation behavior, the engineering materials are categorized into two different types. The first one comprises organic solids which are sensitive to the energy deposited in their electronic system and the second one comprises metals which are insensitive to the energy deposited in their electronic system. However, exposure to swift heavy ions alters this general behavior. Depending on the mass, kinetic energy and nuclear charge, an ion can produce modifications within a thin surface layer or it can penetrate deeply to produce long and narrow distorted area along its path. When a high energetic ion beam impinges on a material, it causes two different types of changes in the material due to the columbic interaction between the target atom and the energetic ion beam: (i) inelastic collisions of the energetic ion with the atomic electrons of the material; and (ii) elastic scattering from the nuclei of the atoms of the material, which is extremely responsible for relocating the atoms of matter from their lattice position. The exposure of the heavy ions renders the material return to equilibrium state during which the material undergoes surface and bulk modifications which depends on the mass of the projectile ion, physical properties of the target material, its energy, and beam dimension. It is well established that electronic stopping power plays a major role in the defect creation mechanism provided it exceeds a threshold which strongly depends on the nature of the target material. There are reports available on heavy ion irradiation especially on crystalline materials to tune their physical and chemical properties. L-Arginine Acetate [LAA] is a potential semi-organic nonlinear optical crystal and its optical, mechanical and thermal properties have already been reported The main objective of the present work is to enhance or tune the structural and optical properties of LAA single crystals by heavy ion irradiation. In the present study, a potential nonlinear optical single crystal, L-arginine acetate (LAA) was grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The grown LAA single crystal was irradiated with oxygen ions at the dose rate of 600 krad and 1M rad in order to tune the structural and optical properties. The structural properties of pristine and oxygen ions irradiated LAA single crystals were studied using Powder X- ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared spectral studies which reveal the structural changes that are generated due to irradiation. Optical behavior of pristine and oxygen ions irradiated crystals is studied by UV-Vis-NIR and photoluminescence analyses. From this investigation we can concluded that oxygen ions irradiation modifies the structural and optical properties of LAA single crystals.

Keywords: heavy ion irradiation, NLO single crystal, photoluminescence, X-ray diffractometer

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Angela Cristina Da F. De Oliveira, Salma E. Asmar, Norbert P. Battlori, Yaz Vera, Uriel R. Valencia, Tâmara Duarte Borges, Antoni D. Bueno, Leandro Batista Costa

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As homeothermic animals, pigs manifest maximum performance when kept at comfortable temperature levels, represented by a limit where thermoregulatory processes are minimal (18 - 20°C). In a stress situation where it will have a higher energy demand for thermal maintenance, the energy contribution to the productive functions will be reduced, generating health imbalances, drop in productive rates and welfare problems. The hypothesis of this project is that 5% starch replacement per 5% sunflower oil (SO), in growing and finishing pig’s diet (Iberic x Duroc), is effective as a nutritional strategy to reduce the negative impacts of thermal stress on performance and animal welfare. Seventy-two crossbred males (51± 6,29 kg body weight- BW) were housed according to the initial BW, in climate-controlled rooms, in collective pens, and exposed to heat stress conditions (30 - 32°C; 35% to 50% humidity). The experiment lasted 90 days, and it was carried out in a randomized block design, in a 2 x 2 factorial, composed of two diets (starch or sunflower oil (with or without) and two feed intake management (ad libitum and restriction). The treatments studied were: 1) control diet (5% starch x 0% SO) with ad libitum intake (n = 18); 2) SO diet (replacement of 5% of starch per 5% SO) with ad libitum intake (n = 18); 3) control diet with restriction feed intake (n = 18); or 4) SO diet with restriction feed intake (n = 18). Feed was provided in two phases, 50–100 Kg BW for growing and 100-140 Kg BW for finishing period, respectively. Hematological, biochemical and growth performance parameters were evaluated on all animals at the beginning of the environmental treatment, on the transition of feed (growing to finishing) and in the final of experiment. After the experimental period, when animals reached a live weight of 130-140 kg, they were slaughtered by carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning. Data have shown for the growing phase no statistical interaction between diet (control x SO) and management feed intake (ad libitum x restriction) on animal performance. At finishing phase, pigs fed with SO diet with restriction feed intake had the same average daily gain (ADG) compared with pigs in control diet with ad libitum feed intake. Furthermore, animals fed with the same diet (SO), presented a better feed gain (p < 0,05) due to feed intake reduce (p < 0,05) when compared with control group. To hematological and biochemical parameters, animals under heat stress had an increase in hematocrit, corpuscular volume, urea concentration, creatinine, calcium, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (p < 0,05) when compared with the beginning of experiment. These parameters were efficient to characterize the heat stress, although the experimental treatments were not able to reduce the hematological and biochemical stress indicators. In addition, the inclusion of SO on pig diets improve feed gain in pigs at finishing phase, even with restriction feed intake.

Keywords: hematological, performance, pigs, welfare

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Claudia Rodriguez-Espinosa, Erika Elizabeth Pérez Múzquiz

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Since the creation of the “Pueblos Mágicos” program in 2001, a series of social and cultural events had directly affected the heritage conservation of the 121 registered localities until 2018, when the federal government terminated the program. Many studies have been carried out that seek to analyze from different perspectives and disciplines the consequences that these appointments have generated in the “Pueblos Mágicos.” Multidisciplinary groups such as the one headed by Carmen Valverde and Liliana López Levi, have brought together specialists from all over the Mexican Republic to create a set of diagnoses of most of these settlements, and although each one has unique specificities, there is a constant in most of them that has to do with the loss of cultural heritage and that is related to transculturality. There are several factors identified that have fostered a cultural loss, as a direct reflection of the economic crisis that prevails in Mexico. It is important to remember that the origin of this program had as its main objective to promote the growth and development of local economies since one of the conditions for entering the program is that they have less than 20,000 inhabitants. With this goal in mind, one of the first actions that many “Pueblos Mágicos” carried out was to improve or create an infrastructure to receive both national and foreign tourists since this was practically non-existent. Creating hotels, restaurants, cafes, training certified tour guides, among other actions, have led to one of the great problems they face: globalization. Although by itself it is not bad, its impact in many cases has been negative for heritage conservation. The entry into and contact with new cultures has led to the undervaluation of cultural traditions, their transformation and even their total loss. This work seeks to present specific cases of transformation and loss of cultural heritage, as well as to reflect on the problem and propose scenarios in which the negative effects can be reversed. For this text, 36 “Pueblos Mágicos” have been selected for study, based on those settlements that are cited in volumes I and IV (the first and last of the collection) of the series produced by the multidisciplinary group led by Carmen Valverde and Liliana López Levi (researchers from UNAM and UAM Xochimilco respectively) in the project supported by CONACyT entitled “Pueblos Mágicos. An interdisciplinary vision”, of which we are part. This sample is considered representative since it forms 30% of the total of 121 “Pueblos Mágicos” existing at that moment. With this information, the elements of its intangible heritage loss or transformation have been identified in every chapter based on the texts written by the participants of that project. Finally, this text shows an analysis of the effects that this federal program, as a public policy applied to 132 populations, has had on the conservation or transformation of the intangible cultural heritage of the “Pueblos Mágicos.” Transculturality, globalization, the creation of identities and the desire to increase the flow of tourists have impacted the changes that traditions (main intangible cultural heritage) have had in the 18 years that the federal program lasted.

Keywords: public policies, cultural tourism, heritage preservation, pueblos mágicos program

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: D. Kekelidze, G. Tsotadze, G. Maisuradze, L. Akhalbedashvili, M. Chkhaidze

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Statement of Problem: The problem of solid wastes -dangerous sources of environmental pollution,is the urgent issue for Georgia as there are no waste-treatment and waste- incineration plants. Urban peripheral and rural areas, frequently along small rivers, are occupied by landfills without any permission. The study of the pollution of some environmental objects in the adjacent territories of solid waste landfill in Tbilisi carried out in 2020-2021, within the framework of project: “Ecological monitoring of the landfills surrounding areas and population health risk assessment”. Research objects: This research had goal to assess the ecological state of environmental objects (soil cover and surface water) in the territories, adjacent of solid waste landfill, on the base of changes heavy metals' (HM) concentration with distance from landfill. An open sanitary landfill for solid domestic waste in Tbilisi locates at suburb Lilo surrounded with densely populated villages. Content of following HM was determined in soil and river water samples: Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn. Methodology: The HM content in samples was measured, using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (spectrophotometer of firm Perkin-Elmer AAnalyst 200) in accordance with ISO 11466 and GOST Р 53218-2008. Results and discussion: Data obtained confirmed migration of HM mainly in terms of the distance from the polygon that can be explained by their areal emissions and storage in open state, they could also get into the soil cover under the influence of wind and precipitation. Concentration of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn always increases with approaching to landfill. High concentrations of Pb, Cd are characteristic of the soil covers of the adjacent territories around the landfill at a distance of 250, 500 meters.They create a dangerous zone, since they can later migrate into plants, enter in rivers and lakes. The higher concentrations, compared to the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) for surface waters of Georgia, are observed for Pb, Cd. One of the reasons for the low concentration of HM in river water may be high turbidity – as is known, suspended particles are good natural sorbents that causes low concentration of dissolved forms. Concentration of Cu, Ni, Mn increases in winter, since in this season the rivers are switched to groundwater feeding. Conclusion: Soil covers of the areas adjacent to the landfill in Lilo are contaminated with HM. High concentrations in soils are characteristic of lead and cadmium. Elevated concentrations in comparison with the MPC for surface waters adopted in Georgia are also observed for Pb, Cd at checkpoints along and below (1000 m) of the landfill downstream. Data obtained confirm migration of HM to the adjacent territories of the landfill and to the Lochini River. Since the migration and toxicity of metals depends also on the presence of their mobile forms in water bodies, samples of bottom sediments should be taken too. Bottom sediments reflect a long-term picture of pollution, they accumulate HM and represent a constant source of secondary pollution of water bodies. The study of the physicochemical forms of metals is one of the priority areas for further research.

Keywords: landfill, pollution, heavy metals, migration

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Authors: Drago Bratkovic, Curtis Gravance, David Ketteridge, Ravi Krishnan, Michael Imperiale

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The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a group of lysosomal storage diseases that have a common defect in the catabolism of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). MPS I is the most common of the MPS diseases. Manifestations of MPS I include coarsening of facial features, corneal clouding, developmental delay, short stature, skeletal manifestations, hearing loss, cardiac valve disease, hepatosplenomegaly, and umbilical and inguinal hernias. Treatments for MPS I restore or activate the missing or deficient enzyme in the case of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) is a potential treatment to improve bone and joint manifestations of MPS I. The mechanisms of action of PPS that are relevant to the treatment of MPS I are the ability to: (i) Reduce systemic and accumulated GAG, (ii) Reduce inflammatory effects via the inhibition of NF-kB, resulting in the reduction in pro-inflammatory mediators. (iii) Reduce the expression of the pain mediator nerve growth factor in osteocytes from degenerating joints. (iv) Inhibit the cartilage degrading enzymes related to joint dysfunction in MPS I. PPS is being evaluated as an adjunctive therapy to ERT and/or HSCT in an open-label, single-centre, phase 2 study. Patients are ≥ 5 years of age with a diagnosis of MPS I and previously received HSCT and/or ERT. Three white, female, patients with MPS I-Hurler, ages 14, 15, and 19 years, and one, white male patient aged 15 years are enrolled. All were diagnosed at ≤2 years of age. All patients received HSCT ≤ 6 months after diagnosis. Two of the patients were treated with ERT prior to HSCT, and 1 patient received ERT commencing 3 months prior to HSCT. Two patients received 0.75mg/kg and 2 patients received 1.5mg/kg of PPS. PPS was well tolerated at doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg to 47 weeks of continuous dosing. Of the 19 adverse events (AEs), 2 were related to PPS. One AE was moderate (pre-syncope) and 1 was mild (injection site bruising), experienced in the same patient. All AEs were reported as mild or moderate. There have been no SAEs. One subject experienced a COVID-19 infection and PPS was interrupted. The MPS I signature GAG fragments, sulfated disaccharide and UA-HNAc S, tended to decrease in 3 patients from baseline through Week 25. Week 25 GAG data are pending for the 4th patient. Overall, most biomarkers (inflammatory, cartilage degeneration, and bone turnover) evaluated in the 3 patients with 25-week assessments have indicated either no change or a reduction in levels compared to baseline. In 3 patients, there was a trend toward improvement in the 2MWT from baseline to Week 48 with > 100% increase in 1 patient (01-201). In the 3 patients that had Week 48 assessments, patients and proxies reported improvement in PGIC, including “worthwhile difference” (n=1), or “made all the difference” (n=2).

Keywords: MPS I, pentosan polysulfate sodium, clinical study, 2MWT, QoL

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Authors: Miriam I. Jimenez-Perez, Mariana C. Orellana-Haro, Carolina Guzman-Brambila

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As part of microbiology and dietetics courses, students of medicine and nutrition analyze the main pathogenic microorganisms and perform dietary analyzes. The course of microbiology describes in a general way the main pathogens including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, as well as their interaction with the human species. We hypothesize that lack of practical application of the course causes the students not to find the value and the clinical application of it when in reality it is a matter of great importance for healthcare in our country. The courses of the medical microbiology and dietetics are mostly theoretical and only a few hours of laboratory practices. Therefore, it is necessary the incorporation of new innovative techniques that involve more practices and community fieldwork, real cases analysis and real-life situations. The purpose of this intervention was to incorporate real-world learning experiences in the instruction of medical microbiology and dietetics courses, in order to improve the learning process, understanding and the application in the field. During a period of 6 months, medicine and nutrition students worked in a community of urban poverty. We worked with 90 children between 4 and 6 years of age from low-income families with no access to medical services, to give an infectious diagnosis related to nutritional status in these children. We expect that this intervention would give a different kind of context to medical microbiology and dietetics students improving their learning process, applying their knowledge and laboratory practices to help a needed community. First, students learned basic skills in microbiology diagnosis test during laboratory sessions. Once, students acquired abilities to make biochemical probes and handle biological samples, they went to the community and took stool samples from children (with the corresponding informed consent). Students processed the samples in the laboratory, searching for enteropathogenic microorganism with RapID™ ONE system (Thermo Scientific™) and parasites using Willis and Malloy modified technique. Finally, they compared the results with the nutritional status of the children, previously measured by anthropometric indicators. The anthropometric results were interpreted by the OMS Anthro software (WHO, 2011). The microbiological result was interpreted by ERIC® Electronic RapID™ Code Compendium software and validated by a physician. The results were analyses of infectious outcomes and nutritional status. Related to fieldwork community learning experiences, our students improved their knowledge in microbiology and were capable of applying this knowledge in a real-life situation. They found this kind of learning useful when they translate theory to a real-life situation. For most of our students, this is their first contact as health caregivers with real population, and this contact is very important to help them understand the reality of many people in Mexico. In conclusion, real-world or fieldwork learning experiences empower our students to have a real and better understanding of how they can apply their knowledge in microbiology and dietetics and help a much- needed population, this is the kind of reality that many people live in our country.

Keywords: real-world learning experiences, medical microbiology, dietetics, nutritional status, infectious status.

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Authors: Seema Singh, Puja Anand, Alok Bhasin

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The interior design profession aims to create aesthetically pleasing design solutions for human habitats but of late, growing awareness about depleting environmental resources, both tangible and intangible, and damages to the eco-system led to the quest for creating healthy and sustainable interior environments. The paper proposes adapting traditionally produced organic wool textiles for the mainstream interior design industry. This can create sustainable livelihoods whereby eco-friendly bridges can be built between Interior designers and consumers and pastoral communities. This study focuses on traditional textiles produced by two pastoral communities from India that use organic wool from indigenous sheep varieties. The Gaddi communities of Himachal Pradesh use wool from the Gaddi sheep breed to create Pattu (a multi-purpose textile). The Kurumas of Telangana weave a blanket called the Gongadi, using wool from the Black Deccani variety of sheep. These communities have traditionally reared indigenous sheep breeds for their wool and produce hand-spun and hand-woven textiles for their own consumption, using traditional processes that are chemical free. Based on data collected personally from field visits and documentation of traditional crafts of these pastoral communities, and using traditionally produced indigenous organic wool, the authors have developed innovative textile samples by including design interventions and exploring dyeing and weaving techniques. As part of the secondary research, the role of pastoralism in sustaining the eco-systems of Himachal Pradesh and Telangana was studied, and also the role of organic wool in creating healthy interior environments. The authors found that natural wool from indigenous sheep breeds can be used to create interior textiles that have the potential to be marketed to an urban audience, and this will help create earnings for pastoral communities. Literature studies have shown that organic & sustainable wool can reduce indoor pollution & toxicity levels in interiors and further help in creating healthier interior environments. Revival of indigenous breeds of sheep can further help in rejuvenating dying crafts, and promotion of these indigenous textiles can help in sustaining traditional eco-systems and the pastoral communities whose way of life is endangered today. Based on research and findings, the authors propose that adapting traditional textiles can have potential for application in Interiors, creating eco-friendly spaces. Interior textiles produced through such sustainable processes can help reduce indoor pollution, give livelihood opportunities to traditional economies, and leave almost zero carbon foot-print while being in sync with available natural resources, hence ultimately benefiting the society. The win-win situation for all the stakeholders in this eco-friendly model makes it pertinent to re-think how we design lifestyle textiles for interiors. This study illustrates a specific example from the two pastoral communities and can be used as a model that can work equally well in any community, regardless of geography.

Keywords: design intervention, eco- friendly, healthy interiors, indigenous, organic wool, pastoralism, sustainability

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Authors: Benjamin O. Ehigie, Aderemi Alarape, Nyitor Shenge, Sylvester A. Okhakhume, Timileyin Fashola, Fiyinfunjah Dosumu

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Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is a construct in industrial and organisational behaviour that explains a person's voluntary commitment within an organisation, which is outside the scope of his or her contractual tasks. To attain organisational effectiveness the human factor of production is inevitable, hence the importance of employee behaviour. While the concept of organisational citizenship behavior is mostly discussed in the context of the workplace, it is reasoned that the idea could be reflective in relation to national commitment. Many developing countries in Africa, including Nigeria, suffer economic hardship today not necessarily due to poor resources but bad management of the resources. The mangers of their economies are not committed to the tenets of economic growth but engrossed in fraud, corruption, bribery, and other economic vices. It is this backdrop that necessitated the development and validation of the Ibadan-Nigeria Citizenship Behaviour (I-NCB) Scale. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey (online) research design, using 2404 postgraduate students in the Premier University of the country, with 99.2% being Nigerians and 0.8% non-Nigerians. Gender composition was 1,439 (60%) males and 965 (40%) females, 1201 (50%) were employed while 1203 50% unemployed, 74.2% of the employed were in public paid employment, 19.5% in private sector, and 6.3% were self-employed. Through literature review, 78 items were generated. Using 10 lecturers and 21 students, content and face validity were established respectively. Data collected were subjected to reliability and factor analytic statistics at p < .05 level of significance. Results of the content and face validity at 80% level of item acceptance resulted to 60 items; this was further reduced to 50 after item-total correlation using r=.30 criterion. Divergent validity of r= -.28 and convergent validity of r= .44 were obtained by correlating the I-NCB scale with standardized Counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) scale and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) scale among the workers. The reliability coefficients obtained were; Cronbach alpha of internal consistency (α = 0.941) and split-half reliability of r = 0.728. Factor analyses of the I-NCB scale with principal component and varimax rotation yielded five factors when Eigenvalue above 1 were extracted. The factors which accounted for larger proportions of the total variance were given factor names as; Altruistic, Attachment, Affective, Civic responsibility and Allegiance. As much as there are vast journals on citizenship behaviour in organisations, there exists no standardized tool to measure citizenship behaviour of a country. The Ibadan-Nigeria Citizenship Behaviour (I-NCB) scale was consequently developed. The scale could be used to select personnel into political positions and senior administrative positions among career workers in Nigeria, with the aim of determining national commitment to service.

Keywords: counterproductive work behaviour, CWB, Nigeria Citizenship Behaviour, organisational citizenship behaviour, OCB, Ibadan

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Authors: Dian Mayasari, Yosi Bayu Murti, Sylvia Utami Tunjung Pratiwi, Sudarsono

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Melastoma malabathricum L. is an Indo-Pacific herb that has been traditionally used to treat several ailments such as wounds, dysentery, diarrhea, toothache, and diabetes. This plant is common across tropical Indo-Pacific archipelagos and is tolerant of a range of soils, from low-lying areas subject to saltwater inundation to the salt-free conditions of mountain slopes. How the soil and environmental variation influences secondary metabolite production in the herb, and an understanding of the plant’s utility as traditional medicine, remain largely unknown and unexplored. The objective of this study is to evaluate the variability of the metabolic profiles of M. malabathricum L. across its geographic distribution. By employing high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), a highly established, simple, sensitive, and reliable method was employed for establishing the chemical fingerprints of 72 samples of M. malabathricum L. leaves from various geographical locations in Indonesia. Specimens collected from six terrestrial and archipelago regions of Indonesia were analyzed by HPLC to generate chromatogram peak profiles that could be compared across each region. Data corresponding to the common peak areas of HPLC chromatographic fingerprint were analyzed by hierarchical component analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) to extract information on the most significant variables contributing to characterization and classification of analyzed samples data. Principal component values were identified as PC1 and PC2 with 41.14% and 19.32%, respectively. Based on variety and origin, the high-performance liquid chromatography method validated the chemical fingerprint results used to screen the in vitro antioxidant activity of M. malabathricum L. The result shows that the developed method has potential values for the quality of similar M. malabathrium L. samples. These findings provide a pathway for the development and utilization of references for the identification of M. malabathricum L. Our results indicate the importance of considering geographic distribution during field-collection efforts as they demonstrate regional metabolic variation in secondary metabolites of M. malabathricum L., as illustrated by HPLC chromatogram peaks and their antioxidant activities. The results also confirm the utility of this simple approach to a rapid evaluation of metabolic variation between plants and their potential ethnobotanical properties, potentially due to the environments from whence they were collected. This information will facilitate the optimization of growth conditions to suit particular medicinal qualities.

Keywords: fingerprint, high performance liquid chromatography, Melastoma malabathricum l., metabolic profiles, principal component analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 131