Search results for: post occupancy evaluation

Authors: Mubashar Iqbal, Iqra Anjum, Muhammad Dildar Gogi, Muhammad Jalal Arif

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The present study was carried to screen out the effective entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) inoculation method in maize and to evaluate pathogenicity and oviposition-choice in C. partellus. Three entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) formulations Pacer® (Metarhizium anisopliae), Racer® (Beauveria bassiana) and Meailkil® (Verticillium lecanii) were evaluated at three concentrations (5000, 10000 and 20000 ppm) for their endophytism in maize and pathogenicity in C. partellus. The stock solution of the highest concentration (20,000 ppm) was prepared and next lower from stock solution. In the first experiment, three EPF was inoculated in maize plant by four methods, i.e., leaf-inoculation (LI), whorl-inoculation (WI), shoot-inoculation (SI) and root-inoculation (RI). Leaf-discs and stem-cutting were sampled in all four inoculation methods and placed on fungus growth media in Petri dishes. In the second experiment, pathogenicity, pupal formation, adult emergence, sex ratio, oviposition-choice, and growth index of C. partellus were calculated. The leaves and stem of the inoculated plants were given to the counted number of larvae of C. Partellus. The mortality of larvae was recorded on daily basis till the pupation. The result shows that maximum percent mortality (86.67%) was recorded at high concentration (20000ppm) of Beauveria bassiana by leaf inoculation method. For oviposition choice bioassay, the newly emerged adults were fed on diet (water, honey and yeast in 9:1:1) for 48 hours. One pair of C. Partellus were aspirated from the rearing cages and were detained in large test tube plugged with diet soaked cotton. A set of four plants for each treatment were prepared and randomized inside the large oviposition chamber. The test tubes were opened and fitted in the hole made in the wall of oviposition chamber in front of each treatment. The oviposition chamber was placed in a completely dark laboratory to eliminate the effect of light on moth’s behavior. The plants were removed from the oviposition chamber after the death of adults. The number of eggs deposited on the plant was counted. The results of 2nd experiment revealed that in all EPF and inoculation methods, the fecundity, egg fertility and growth index of C. partellus decreased with the increase in concentration being significantly higher at low concentration (5000ppm) and lower at higher concentration (20000ppm). Application of B. bassiana demonstrated that minimum fecundity (126.83), egg fertility (119.52) and growth index (15%) in C. partellus followed by M. anisopliae with fecundity (135.93), egg fertility (132.29) and growth index (17.50%) while V. lecanii show higher values of fecundity (137.37), egg fertility (1135.42) and growth index (20%). Overall leaf inoculation method showed least fecundity (123.89) with egg fertility (115.36) and growth index (14%) followed by whorl, shoot inoculation method and root inoculation method show higher values of fecundity, egg fertility and growth index.

Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, Chilo partellus, entomopathoganic, Metarhizium anisopliae, Verticillium lecanii

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Authors: Laura Gleason, Sahithi Talasila, Lauren Banner, Ladan Afifi, Neda Nikbakht

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Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) accounts for 9% of all cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. pcALCL is classically characterized as a solitary papulonodule that often enlarges, ulcerates, and can be locally destructive, but overall exhibits an indolent course with overall 5-year survival estimated to be 90%. Distinguishing pcALCL from systemic ALCL (sALCL) is essential as sALCL confers a poorer prognosis with average 5-year survival being 40-50%. Although extremely rare, there have been several cases of ALK-positive ALCL diagnosed on skin biopsy without evidence of systemic involvement, which poses several challenges in the classification, prognostication, treatment, and follow-up of these patients. Objectives: We present a case of cutaneous ALK-positive ALCL without evidence of systemic involvement, and a narrative review of the literature to further characterize that ALK-positive ALCL limited to the skin is a distinct variant with a unique presentation, history, and prognosis. A 30-year-old woman presented for evaluation of an erythematous-violaceous papule present on her right chest for two months. With the development of multifocal disease and persistent lymphadenopathy, a bone marrow biopsy and lymph node excisional biopsy were performed to assess for systemic disease. Both biopsies were unrevealing. The patient was counseled on pursuing systemic therapy consisting of Brentuximab, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, and Prednisone given the concern for sALCL. Apropos of the patient we searched for clinically evident, cutaneous ALK-positive ALCL cases, with and without systemic involvement, in the English literature. Risk factors, such as tumor location, number, size, ALK localization, ALK translocations, and recurrence, were evaluated in cases of cutaneous ALK-positive ALCL. The majority of patients with cutaneous ALK-positive ALCL did not progress to systemic disease. The majority of cases that progressed to systemic disease in adults had recurring skin lesions and cytoplasmic localization of ALK. ALK translocations did not influence disease progression. Mean time to disease progression was 16.7 months, and significant mortality (50%) was observed in those cases that progressed to systemic disease. Pediatric cases did not exhibit a trend similar to adult cases. In both the adult and pediatric cases, a subset of cutaneous-limited ALK-positive ALCL were treated with chemotherapy. All cases treated with chemotherapy did not progress to systemic disease. Apropos of an ALK-positive ALCL patient with clinical cutaneous limited disease in the histologic presence of systemic markers, we discussed the literature data, highlighting the crucial issues related to developing a clinical strategy to approach this rare subtype of ALCL. Physicians need to be aware of the overall spectrum of ALCL, including cutaneous limited disease, systemic disease, disease with NPM-ALK translocation, disease with ALK and EMA positivity, and disease with skin recurrence.

Keywords: anaplastic large cell lymphoma, systemic, cutaneous, anaplastic lymphoma kinase, ALK, ALCL, sALCL, pcALCL, cALCL

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Authors: Tiptunya Duangsri, Panwilai Chomchid, Natchanok Jansawang

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This research study was to investigate of education decisions must be made which a part of it should be passed on to future generations as obligatory for all members of a chemistry class for students who will prepare themselves for a special position. The descriptions of instructional design were provided and the recent criticisms are discussed. This research study to an outline of an integrative framework for the description of information and the instructional design model give structure to negotiate a semblance of conscious understanding. The aims of this study are to describe the instructional design model for comparisons between students’ genders of their effects on STEM educational learning achievement motives to their science attitudes and logical thinking abilities with a sample size of 18 students at the 11th grade level with the cluster random sampling technique in Mahawichanukul School were designed. The chemistry learning environment was administered with the STEM education method. To build up the 5-instrument lesson instructional plan issues were instructed innovations, the 30-item Logical Thinking Test (LTT) on 5 scales, namely; Inference, Recognition of Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation and Evaluation scales was used. Students’ responses of their perceptions with the Test Of Chemistry-Related Attitude (TOCRA) were assessed of their attitude in science toward chemistry. The validity from Index Objective Congruence value (IOC) checked by five expert specialist educator in two chemistry classroom targets in STEM education, the E1/E2 process were equaled evidence of 84.05/81.42 which results based on criteria are higher than of 80/80 standard level with the IOC from the expert educators. Comparisons between students’ learning achievement motives with STEM educational model on stoichiometry issue in chemistry classes with different genders were differentiated at evidence level of .05, significantly. Associations between students’ learning achievement motives on their posttest outcomes and logical thinking abilities, the predictive efficiency (R2) values indicate that 69% and 70% of the variances in different male and female student groups of their logical thinking abilities. The predictive efficiency (R2) values indicate that 73%; and 74% of the variances in different male and female student groups of their science attitudes toward chemistry were associated. Statistically significant on students’ perceptions of their chemistry learning classroom environment and their science attitude toward chemistry when using the MCI and TOCRA, the predictive efficiency (R2) values indicated that 72% and 74% of the variances in different male and female student groups of their chemistry classroom climate, consequently. Suggestions that supporting chemistry or science teachers from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in addressing complex teaching and learning issues related instructional design to develop, teach, and assess traditional are important strategies with a focus on STEM education instructional method.

Keywords: development, the instructional design model, students learning achievement motives, science attitudes with STEM educational model, stoichiometry issue, chemistry classes, genders

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Authors: K. C. Sharda

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Introduction: In the world, almost half of the population are lacking proper access to improved sanitation services. In Nepal, large number of people are living without access to any sanitation facility. Ecological sanitation toilet which is defined as water conserving and nutrient recycling system for use of human urine and excreta in agriculture would count a lot to utilize locally available resources, to regenerate soil fertility, to save national currency and to achieve the goal of elimination open defecation in country like Nepal. The objectives of the research were to test the efficacy of human urine for improving crop performance and to evaluate the feasibility of ecological sanitation in rural area of Central Nepal. Materials and Methods: The field investigation was carried out at Palung Village Development Committee (VDC) of Makawanpur District, Nepal from March – August, 2016. Five eco-san toilets in two villages (Angare and Bhot Khoriya) were constructed and questionnaire survey was carried out. During the questionnaire survey, respondents were asked about socio-economic parameters, farming practices, awareness of ecological sanitation and fertilizer value of human urine and excreta in agriculture. In prior to a field experiment, soil was sampled for analysis of basic characteristics. In the field experiment, cauliflower was cultivated for a month in the two sites to compare the fertilizer value of urine with chemical fertilizer and no fertilizer with three replications. The harvested plant samples were analyzed to understand the nutrient content in plant with different treatments. Results and Discussion: Eighty three percent respondents were engaged in agriculture growing mainly vegetables, which may raise the feasibility of ecological sanitation. In the study area, water deficiencies in dry season, high demand of chemical fertilizer, lack of sanitation awareness were found to be solved. The soil at Angare has sandier texture and lower nitrogen content compared to that in Bhot Khoriya. While the field experiment in Angare showed that the aboveground biomass of cauliflower in the urine fertilized plot were similar with that in the chemically fertilized plot and higher than those in the non-fertilized plots, no significant difference among the treatments were found in Bhot Khoriya. The more distinctive response of crop growth to the three treatments in the former might be attributed to the poorer soil productivity, which in turn could be caused by the poorer inherent soil fertility and the poorer past management by the farmer in Angare. Thus, use of urine as fertilizer could help poor farmers with low quality soil. The significantly different content of nitrogen and potassium in the plant samples among three treatments in Bhot Khoriya would require further investigation. When urine is utilized as a fertilizer, the productivity could be increased and the money to buy chemical fertilizer would be utilized in other livelihood activities. Ecological sanitation is feasible in the area with similar socio-economic parameter.

Keywords: cauliflower, chemical fertilizer, ecological sanitation, Nepal, urine

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Authors: Hatem Abou-Senna, Essam Radwan

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With increasing traffic and limited resources, accommodating left-turning traffic has been a challenge for traffic engineers as they seek balance between intersection capacity and safety; these are two conflicting goals in the operation of a signalized intersection that are mitigated through signal phasing techniques. Hence, to increase the left-turn capacity and reduce the delay at the intersections, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) moves forward with a vision of optimizing intersection control using innovative intersection designs through the Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSM&O) program. These alternative designs successfully eliminate the left-turn phase, which otherwise reduces the conventional intersection’s (CI) efficiency considerably, and divide the intersection into smaller networks that would operate in a one-way fashion. This study focused on the Crossover Displaced Left-turn intersections (XDL), also known as Continuous Flow Intersections (CFI). The XDL concept is best suited for intersections with moderate to high overall traffic volumes, especially those with very high or unbalanced left turn volumes. There is little guidance on determining whether partial XDL intersections are adequate to mitigate the overall intersection condition or full XDL is always required. The primary objective of this paper was to evaluate the overall intersection performance in the case of different partial XDL designs compared to a full XDL. The XDL alternative was investigated for 4 different scenarios; partial XDL on the east-west approaches, partial XDL on the north-south approaches, partial XDL on the north and east approaches and full XDL on all 4 approaches. Also, the impact of increasing volume on the intersection performance was considered by modeling the unbalanced volumes with 10% increment resulting in 5 different traffic scenarios. The study intersection, located in Orlando Florida, is experiencing recurring congestion in the PM peak hour and is operating near capacity with volume to a capacity ratio closer to 1.00 due to the presence of two heavy conflicting movements; southbound and westbound. The results showed that a partial EN XDL alternative proved to be effective and compared favorably to a full XDL alternative followed by the partial EW XDL alternative. The analysis also showed that Full, EW and EN XDL alternatives outperformed the NS XDL and the CI alternatives with respect to the throughput, delay and queue lengths. Significant throughput improvements were remarkable at the higher volume level with percent increase in capacity of 25%. The percent reduction in delay for the critical movements in the XDL scenarios compared to the CI scenario ranged from 30-45%. Similarly, queue lengths showed percent reduction in the XDL scenarios ranging from 25-40%. The analysis revealed how partial XDL design can improve the overall intersection performance at various demands, reduce the costs associated with full XDL and proved to outperform the conventional intersection. However, partial XDL serving low volumes or only one of the critical movements while other critical movements are operating near or above capacity do not provide significant benefits when compared to the conventional intersection.

Keywords: continuous flow intersections, crossover displaced left-turn, microscopic traffic simulation, transportation system management and operations, VISSIM simulation model

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Authors: Dan W. Rhodes, Juliane Hey, Magali Karagueuzian, Florianne Martinez, Yael Sandowski, Vanessa Roulet, Mahmoud Badawi, Mohammed-Amine Chakir, Valérie Simon, Jérémie Gautier, Françoise Le Boulaire, Catherine Coignard, Claire Vincent, Sandrine Greaume, Isabelle Voisin

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Background: Beckman Coulter, Inc. (BEC) has recently developed a fully automated second-generation anti-HCV test on a new immunoassay platform. The objective of this multicenter study conducted in Europe was to evaluate the performance of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay on the recently CE-marked DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer as an aid in the diagnosis of HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) infection and as a screening test for blood and plasma donors. Methods: The clinical specificity of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay was determined using HCV antibody-negative samples from blood donors and hospitalized patients. Sample antibody status was determined by a CE-marked anti-HCV assay (Abbott ARCHITECTTM anti-HCV assay or Abbott PRISM HCV assay) with an additional confirmation method (Immunoblot testing with INNO-LIATM HCV Score - Fujirebio), if necessary, according to pre-determined testing algorithms. The clinical sensitivity was determined using known HCV antibody-positive samples, identified positive by Immunoblot testing with INNO-LIATM HCV Score - Fujirebio. HCV RNA PCR or genotyping was available on all Immunoblot positive samples for further characterization. The false initial reactive rate was determined on fresh samples from blood donors and hospitalized patients. Thirty (30) commercially available seroconversion panels were tested to assess the sensitivity for early detection of HCV infection. The study was conducted from November 2019 to March 2022. Three (3) external sites and one (1) internal site participated. Results: Clinical specificity (95% CI) was 99.7% (99.6 – 99.8%) on 5852 blood donors and 99.0% (98.4 – 99.4%) on 1527 hospitalized patient samples. There were 15 discrepant samples (positive on ACCESS anti-HCV assay and negative on both ARCHITECT and Immunoblot) observed with hospitalized patient samples, and of note, additional HCV RNA PCR results showed five (5) samples had positive HCV RNA PCR results despite the absence of HCV antibody detection by ARCHITECT and Immunoblot, suggesting a better sensitivity of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay with these five samples compared to the ARCHITECT and Immunoblot anti-HCV assays. Clinical sensitivity (95% CI) on 510 well-characterized, known HCV antibody-positive samples was 100.0% (99.3 – 100.0%), including 353 samples with known HCV genotypes (1 to 6). The overall false initial reactive rate (95% CI) on 6630 patient samples was 0.02% (0.00 – 0.09%). Results obtained on 30 seroconversion panels demonstrated that the ACCESS anti-HCV assay had equivalent sensitivity performances, with an average bleed difference since the first reactive bleed below one (1), compared to the ARCHITECTTM anti-HCV assay. Conclusion: The newly developed ACCESS anti-HCV assay from BEC for use on the DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer demonstrated high clinical sensitivity and specificity, equivalent to currently marketed anti-HCV assays, as well as a low false initial reactive rate.

Keywords: DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer, HCV, HCV antibody, Hepatitis C virus, immunoassay

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Authors: Sardorbek Numonov, Hyohun Kim, Dongwha Shin, Yeonseok Kim, Ji-Su Ahn, Dongeun Choi, Byung-Woo Hong

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The detection of curvilinear structures often plays an important role in the analysis of images. In particular, it is considered as a crucial step for the diagnosis of chronic respiratory diseases to localize the fissures in chest CT imagery where the lung is divided into five lobes by the fissures that are characterized by linear features in appearance. However, the characteristic linear features for the fissures are often shown to be subtle due to the high intensity variability, pathological deformation or image noise involved in the imaging procedure, which leads to the uncertainty in the quantification of anatomical or functional properties of the lung. Thus, it is desired to enhance the linear features present in the chest CT images so that the distinctiveness in the delineation of the lobe is improved. We propose a recursive diffusion process that prefers coherent features based on the analysis of structure tensor in an anisotropic manner. The local image features associated with certain scales and directions can be characterized by the eigenanalysis of the structure tensor that is often regularized via isotropic diffusion filters. However, the isotropic diffusion filters involved in the computation of the structure tensor generally blur geometrically significant structure of the features leading to the degradation of the characteristic power in the feature space. Thus, it is required to take into consideration of local structure of the feature in scale and direction when computing the structure tensor. We apply an anisotropic diffusion in consideration of scale and direction of the features in the computation of the structure tensor that subsequently provides the geometrical structure of the features by its eigenanalysis that determines the shape of the anisotropic diffusion kernel. The recursive application of the anisotropic diffusion with the kernel the shape of which is derived from the structure tensor leading to the anisotropic scale-space where the geometrical features are preserved via the eigenanalysis of the structure tensor computed from the diffused image. The recursive interaction between the anisotropic diffusion based on the geometry-driven kernels and the computation of the structure tensor that determines the shape of the diffusion kernels yields a scale-space where geometrical properties of the image structure are effectively characterized. We apply our recursive anisotropic diffusion algorithm to the detection of curvilinear structure in the chest CT imagery where the fissures present curvilinear features and define the boundary of lobes. It is shown that our algorithm yields precise detection of the fissures while overcoming the subtlety in defining the characteristic linear features. The quantitative evaluation demonstrates the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for the detection of fissures in the chest CT in terms of the false positive and the true positive measures. The receiver operating characteristic curves indicate the potential of our algorithm as a segmentation tool in the clinical environment. This work was supported by the MISP(Ministry of Science and ICT), Korea, under the National Program for Excellence in SW (20170001000011001) supervised by the IITP(Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion).

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, chest CT imagery, chronic respiratory disease, curvilinear structure, fissure detection, structure tensor

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Authors: Sopio Totibadze

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Although the legal framework of Georgia reflects the main principles of gender equality and is in line with the international situation (UNDP, 2018), Georgia remains a male-dominated society. This means that men prevail in many areas of social, economic, and political life, which frequently gives women a subordinate status in society and the family (UN women). According to the latest study, “violence against women and girls in Georgia is also recognized as a public problem, and it is necessary to focus on it” (UN women). Moreover, the Public Defender's report on the protection of human rights in Georgia (2019) reveals that “in the last five years, 151 women were killed in Georgia due to gender and family violence”. Sadly, these statistics have increased significantly since that time. The issue was acutely reflected in the document published by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, “Gender Hate Crime” (March 10, 2021). “Unfortunately, the rates of femicide ..... are still high in the country, and distrust of law enforcement agencies often makes such cases invisible, which requires special attention from the state.” More precisely, the cited document considers that there are frequent cases of crimes based on gender-based oppression in Georgia, which pose a threat not only to women but also to people of any gender whose desires and aspirations do not correspond to the gender norms and roles prevailing in society. According to the study, this type of crime has a “significant and lasting impact on the victim(s) and also undermines the safety and cohesion of society and gender equality”. It is well-known that language is often used as a tool for gender oppression (Rusieshvili-Cartledge and Dolidze, 2021; Totibadze, 2021). Therefore, feminist and gender studies in linguistics ultimately serve to represent the problem, reflect on it, and propose ways to solve it. Together with technical advancement in communication, a new form of discrimination has arisen- hate language against women in electronic media discourse. Due to the nature of social media and the internet, messages containing hate language can spread in seconds and reach millions of people. However, only a few know about the detrimental effects they may have on the addressee and society. This paper aims to analyse the hateful comments directed at women on various media platforms to determine (1) the linguistic strategies used while attacking women and (2) the reasons why women may fall victim to this type of hate language. The data have been collected over six months, and overall, 500 comments will be examined for the paper. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was chosen for the methodology of the study. The comments posted on various media platforms, including social media posts, articles, or pictures, have been selected manually due to several reasons, the most important being the problem of identifying hate speech as it can disguise itself in different ways- humour, memes, etc. The comments on the articles, posts, pictures, and videos selected for sociolinguistic analysis depict a woman, a taboo topic, or a scandalous event centred on a woman that triggered a lot of hatred and hate language towards the person to whom the post/article was dedicated. The study has revealed that a woman can become a victim of hatred directed at them if they do something considered to be a deviation from a societal norm, namely, get a divorce, be sexually active, be vocal about feministic values, and talk about taboos. Interestingly, people who utilize hate language are not only men trying to “normalize” the prejudiced patriarchal values but also women who are equally active in bringing down a "strong" woman. The paper also aims to raise awareness about the hate language directed at women, as being knowledgeable about the issue at hand is the first step to tackling it.

Keywords: femicide, hate language, media discourse, sociolinguistics

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Authors: Boudjelal Amel

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Arisarum vulgare, a member of the Araceae family, is an herbaceous perennial widely distributed in the Mediterranean region. A. vulgare is recognized for its medicinal properties and holds significant traditional importance in Algeria for the treatment of various human ailments, including pain, infections, inflammation, digestive disorders, skin problems, eczema, cancer, wounds, burns and gynecological diseases. Despite its extensive traditional use, scientific exploration of A. vulgare remains limited. The study aims to investigate for the first time the therapeutic potential of A. vulgare ethanolic extract obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction. The chemical composition of the extract was determined by LC-MS/MS analysis. For in vitro phytopharmacological evaluation, several assays, including DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and reducing power, were employed to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The antibacterial activity was assessed againt Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococus aureus, Enterococcus feacium by disk diffusion and microdilution methods. The possible inhibitory activity of ethanolic extract was analyzed against the cholinesterases enzymes (AChE and BChE). The DNA protection activity of A. vulgare ethanolic extract was estimated using the agarose gel electrophoresis method. The capacities of the extract to protect plasmid DNA (pBR322) from the oxidizing effects of H2O2 and UV treatment were evaluated by their DNA-breaking forms. The in vivo wound healing potential of a traditional ointment containing 5% of A. vulgare ethanolic extract was also investigated. The LC-MS/MS profiling of the extract revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds, including naringenin, chlorogenic, vanillic, cafeic, coumaric acids, trans-cinnamic and trans ferrulic acids. The plant extract presented considerable antioxidant potential, being the most active for Reducing power (0,07326±0.001 mg/ml) and DPPH (0.14±0.004 mg/ml). The extract showed the highest inhibition zone diameter against Enterococcus feacium (36±0.1 mm). The ethanolic extract of A. vulgare suppressed the growth of Staphylococus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium according to the MIC values. The extract of the plant significantly inhibited both AChE and BChE enzymes. DNA protection activity of the A. vulgare extract was determined as 90.41% for form I and 51.92% for form II. The in vivo experiments showed that 5% ethanolic extract ointment accelerated the wound healing process. The topical application of the traditional formulation enhanced wound closure (95,36±0,6 %) and improved histological parameters in the treated group compared to the control groups. The promising biological properties of Arisarum vulgare revealed that the plant could be appraised as a potential origin of bioactive molecules having multifunctional medicinal uses.

Keywords: arisarum vulgare, LC-MS/MS, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, cholinesterases enzymes inhibition, dna-damage activity, in vivo wound healing

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Authors: Kayla Belanger, Pascale Vigneron, Guy Schlatter, Bernard Devauchelle, Christophe Egles

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A severe injury to a peripheral nerve leads to its degeneration and the loss of sensory and motor function. To this day, there still lacks a more effective alternative to the autograft which has long been considered the gold standard for nerve repair. In order to overcome the numerous drawbacks of the autograft, tissue engineered biomaterials may be effective alternatives. Silk fibroin is a favorable biomaterial due to its many advantageous properties such as its biocompatibility, its biodegradability, and its robust mechanical properties. In this study, bio-mimicking multi-channeled nerve guidance conduits made of aligned nanofibers achieved by electrospinning were functionalized with signaling biomolecules and were tested in vitro and in vivo for nerve regeneration support. Silk fibroin (SF) extracted directly from silkworm cocoons was put in solution at a concentration of 10wt%. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was added to the resulting SF solution to increase solution viscosity and the following three electrospinning solutions were made: (1) SF/PEO solution, (2) SF/PEO solution with nerve growth factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor, and (3) SF/PEO solution with nerve growth factor and neurotrophin-3. Each of these solutions was electrospun into a multi-layer architecture to obtain mechanically optimized aligned nanofibrous mats. For in vitro studies, aligned fibers were treated to induce β-sheet formation and thoroughly rinsed to eliminate presence of PEO. Each material was tested using rat embryo neuron cultures to evaluate neurite extension and the interaction with bio-functionalized or non-functionalized aligned fibers. For in vivo studies, the mats were rolled into 5mm long multi-, micro-channeled conduits then treated and thoroughly rinsed. The conduits were each subsequently implanted between a severed rat sciatic nerve. The effectiveness of nerve repair over a period of 8 months was extensively evaluated by cross-referencing electrophysiological, histological, and movement analysis results to comprehensively evaluate the progression of nerve repair. In vitro results show a more favorable interaction between growing neurons and bio-functionalized silk fibers compared to pure silk fibers. Neurites can also be seen having extended unidirectionally along the alignment of the nanofibers which confirms a guidance factor for the electrospun material. The in vivo study has produced positive results for the regeneration of the sciatic nerve over the length of the study, showing contrasts between the bio-functionalized material and the non-functionalized material along with comparisons to the experimental control. Nerve regeneration has been evaluated not only by histological analysis, but also by electrophysiological assessment and motion analysis of two separate natural movements. By studying these three components in parallel, the most comprehensive evaluation of nerve repair for the conduit designs can be made which can, therefore, more accurately depict their overall effectiveness. This work was supported by La Région Picardie and FEDER.

Keywords: electrospinning, nerve guidance conduit, peripheral nerve regeneration, silk fibroin

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Authors: Leslie Raphael de M. Ferraz, Salvana Priscylla M. Costa, Tarcyla de A. Gomes, Giovanna Christinne R. M. Schver, Cristóvão R. da Silva, Magaly Andreza M. de Lyra, Danilo Augusto F. Fontes, Larissa A. Rolim, Amanda Carla Q. M. Vieira, Miracy M. de Albuquerque, Pedro J. Rolim-Neto

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Efavirenz (EFV) is a drug used as first-line treatment of AIDS. However, it has poor aqueous solubility and wettability, presenting problems in the gastrointestinal tract absorption and bioavailability. One of the most promising strategies to improve the solubility is the use of solid dispersions (SD). Therefore, this study aimed to characterize SD EFZ with the polymers: PVP-K30, PVPVA 64 and SOLUPLUS in order to find an optimal formulation to compose a future pharmaceutical product for AIDS therapy. Initially, Physical Mixtures (PM) and SD with the polymers were obtained containing 10, 20, 50 and 80% of drug (w/w) by the solvent method. The best formulation obtained between the SD was selected by in vitro dissolution test. Finally, the drug-carrier system chosen, in all ratios obtained, were analyzed by the following techniques: Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), polarization microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and spectrophotometry of absorption in the region of infrared (IR). From the dissolution profiles of EFV, PM and SD, the values of area Under The Curve (AUC) were calculated. The data showed that the AUC of all PM is greater than the isolated EFV, this result is derived from the hydrophilic properties of the polymers thus favoring a decrease in surface tension between the drug and the dissolution medium. In adittion, this ensures an increasing of wettability of the drug. In parallel, it was found that SD whom had higher AUC values, were those who have the greatest amount of polymer (with only 10% drug). As the amount of drug increases, it was noticed that these results either decrease or are statistically similar. The AUC values of the SD using the three different polymers, followed this decreasing order: SD PVPVA 64-EFV 10% > SD PVP-K30-EFV 10% > SD Soluplus®-EFV 10%. The DSC curves of SD’s did not show the characteristic endothermic event of drug melt process, suggesting that the EFV was converted to its amorphous state. The analysis of polarized light microscopy showed significant birefringence of the PM’s, but this was not observed in films of SD’s, thus suggesting the conversion of the drug from the crystalline to the amorphous state. In electron micrographs of all PM, independently of the percentage of the drug, the crystal structure of EFV was clearly detectable. Moreover, electron micrographs of the SD with the two polymers in different ratios investigated, we observed the presence of particles with irregular size and morphology, also occurring an extensive change in the appearance of the polymer, not being possible to differentiate the two components. IR spectra of PM corresponds to the overlapping of polymer and EFV bands indicating thereby that there is no interaction between them, unlike the spectra of all SD that showed complete disappearance of the band related to the axial deformation of the NH group of EFV. Therefore, this study was able to obtain a suitable formulation to overcome the solubility limitations of the EFV, since SD PVPVA 64-EFZ 10% was chosen as the best system in delay crystallization of the prototype, reaching higher levels of super saturation.

Keywords: characterization, dissolution, Efavirenz, solid dispersions

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Authors: D. P. Houhoula, J. Papaparaskevas, S. Konteles, A. Dargenta, A. Farka, C. Spyrou, M. Ziaka, S. Koussisis, E. Charvalos

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Objectives: Nanotechnology is providing revolutionary opportunities for the rapid and simple diagnosis of many infectious diseases. Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritis are important human pathogens. Diagnostic assays for bacterial culture and identification are time consuming and laborious. There is an urgent need to develop rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive diagnostic tests. In this study, a gold nanoprobe strategy developed and relies on the colorimetric differentiation of specific DNA sequences based approach on differential aggregation profiles in the presence or absence of specific target hybridization. Method: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were purchased from Nanopartz. They were conjugated with thiolated oligonucleotides specific for the femA gene for the identification of members of Staphylococcus aureus, the mecA gene for the differentiation of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Staphylococcus aureus, hly gene encoding the pore-forming cytolysin listeriolysin for the identification of Listeria monocytogenes and the invA sequence for the identification of Salmonella enteritis. DNA isolation from Staphylococcus aureus Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritis cultures was performed using the commercial kit Nucleospin Tissue (Macherey Nagel). Specifically 20μl of DNA was diluted in 10mMPBS (pH5). After the denaturation of 10min, 20μl of AuNPs was added followed by the annealing step at 58oC. The presence of a complementary target prevents aggregation with the addition of acid and the solution remains pink, whereas in the opposite event it turns to purple. The color could be detected visually and it was confirmed with an absorption spectrum. Results: Specifically, 0.123 μg/μl DNA of St. aureus, L.monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritis was serially diluted from 1:10 to 1:100. Blanks containing PBS buffer instead of DNA were used. The application of the proposed method on isolated bacteria produced positive results with all the species of St. aureus and L. monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritis using the femA, mecA, hly and invA genes respectively. The minimum detection limit of the assay was defined at 0.2 ng/μL of DNA. Below of 0.2 ng/μL of bacterial DNA the solution turned purple after addition of HCl, defining the minimum detection limit of the assay. None of the blank samples was positive. The specificity was 100%. The application of the proposed method produced exactly the same results every time (n = 4) the evaluation was repeated (100% repeatability) using the femA, hly and invA genes. Using the gene mecA for the differentiation of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Staphylococcus aureus the method had a repeatability 50%. Conclusion: The proposed method could be used as a highly specific and sensitive screening tool for the detection and differentiation of Staphylococcus aureus Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritis. The use AuNPs for the colorimetric detection of DNA targets represents an inexpensive and easy-to-perform alternative to common molecular assays. The technology described here, may develop into a platform that could accommodate detection of many bacterial species.

Keywords: gold nanoparticles, pathogens, nanotechnology, bacteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 341

Authors: Carla M. Machado, André A. Silva, Armando Bastos, Telmo G. Santos, J. Pamies Teixeira

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Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) are increasingly being used in automotive components. The use of AHSS sheets plays an important role in reducing weight, as well as increasing the resistance to impact in vehicle components. However, the large-scale use of these sheets becomes more difficult due to the limitations during the forming process. Such limitations are due to the elastically driven change of shape of a metal sheet during unloading and following forming, known as the springback effect. As the magnitude of the springback tends to increase with the strength of the material, it is among the most worrisome problems in the use of AHSS steels. The prediction of strain hardening, especially under non-proportional loading conditions, is very limited due to the lack of constitutive models and mainly due to very limited experimental tests. It is very clear from the literature that in experimental terms there is not much work to evaluate deformation behavior under real conditions, which implies a very limited and scarce development of mathematical models for these conditions. The Bauschinger effect is also fundamental to the difference between kinematic and isotropic hardening models used to predict springback in sheet metal forming. It is of major importance to deepen the phenomenological knowledge of the mechanical and microstructural behavior of the materials, in order to be able to reproduce with high fidelity the behavior of extension of the materials by means of computational simulation. For this, a multi phenomenological analysis and characterization are necessary to understand the various aspects involved in plastic deformation, namely the stress-strain relations and also the variations of electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability associated with the metallurgical changes due to plastic deformation. Aiming a complete mechanical-microstructural characterization, uniaxial tensile tests involving successive cycles of loading and unloading were performed, as well as biaxial tests such as the Erichsen test. Also, nondestructive evaluation comprising eddy currents to verify microstructural changes due to plastic deformation and ultrasonic tests to evaluate the local variations of thickness were made. The material parameters for the stable yield function and the monotonic strain hardening were obtained using uniaxial tension tests in different material directions and balanced biaxial tests. Both the decrease of the modulus of elasticity and Bauschinger effect were determined through the load-unload tensile tests. By means of the eddy currents tests, it was possible to verify changes in the magnetic permeability of the material according to the different plastically deformed areas. The ultrasonic tests were an important aid to quantify the local plastic extension. With these data, it is possible to parameterize the different models of kinematic hardening to better approximate the results obtained by simulation with the experimental results, which are fundamental for the springback prediction of the stamped parts.

Keywords: advanced high strength steel, Bauschinger effect, sheet metal forming, springback

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Andy Ho

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Breast cancer is a common cancer in Australia. Early diagnosis is crucial for improving patient outcomes, as later-stage detection correlates with poorer prognoses. While multiparametric MRI offers superior sensitivity in detecting invasive and high-grade breast cancers compared to conventional mammography, its extended scan duration and high costs limit widespread application. As a result, full protocol MRI screening is typically reserved for patients at elevated risk. Recent advancements in imaging technology have facilitated the development of Abbreviated MRI protocols, which dramatically reduce scan times (<10 minutes compared to >30 minutes for full protocol). The potential for Abbreviated MRI to offer a more time- and cost-efficient alternative has implications for improving patient accessibility, reducing appointment durations, and enhancing compliance—especially relevant for individuals requiring regular annual screening over several decades. The purpose of this study is to assess the diagnostic efficacy of Abbreviated MRI for breast cancer screening among high-risk patients at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA). This study aims to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and inter-reader variability of Abbreviated MRI protocols when interpreted by subspecialty-trained Breast Radiologists. A systematic review of the RPA’s electronic Picture Archive and Communication System identified high-risk patients, defined by Australian ‘Medicare Benefits Schedule’ criteria, who underwent Breast MRI from 2021 to 2022. Eligible participants included asymptomatic patients under 50 years old referred by the High-Risk Clinic due to a high-risk genetic profile or relevant familial history. The MRIs were anonymized, randomized, and interpreted by four Breast Radiologists, each independently completing standardized proforma evaluations. Radiological findings were compared against histopathology as the gold standard or follow-up imaging if biopsies were unavailable. Statistical metrics, including sensitivity, specificity, and inter-reader variability, were assessed. The Fleiss-Kappa analysis demonstrated a fair inter-reader agreement (kappa = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.19–0.32; p < 0.0001). The sensitivity for detecting malignancies was 0.75, with a specificity of 0.84. These findings underline the potential of Abbreviated MRI as a reliable screening tool for malignancies with significant specificity, though reduced sensitivity highlights the importance of robust radiologist training and consistent evaluation standards. Abbreviated MRI protocols exhibit promise as a viable screening option for high-risk patients, combining reduced scan times and acceptable diagnostic accuracy. Further work to refine interpretation practices and optimize training is essential to maximize the protocol’s utility in routine clinical screening and facilitate broader accessibility.

Keywords: abbreviated, breast, cancer, MRI

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Authors: Athini Ntloko

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Mycobacterium bovis and other species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) can result to a zoonotic infection known as Bovine tuberculosis (bTB). MTBC has members that may contaminate an extensive range of hosts, including wildlife. Diverse wild species are known to cause disease in domestic livestock and are acknowledged as TB reservoirs. It has been a main study worldwide to deliberate on bTB risk factors as a result and some studies focused on particular parts of risk factors such as wildlife and herd management. The significance of the study was to determine the incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex that is associated with soil, hayfeed and water. Questionnaires were administered to thirty (30) smallholding farm owners in the two villages (kwaMasele and Qungqwala) and three (3) three commercial farms (Fort Hare dairy farm, Middledrift dairy farm and Seven star dairy farm). Detection of M. tuberculosis complex was achieved by Polymerase Chain Reaction using primers for IS6110; whereas a genotypic drug resistance mutation was detected using Genotype MTBDRplus assays. Nine percent (9%) of respondents had more than 40 cows in their herd, while 60% reported between 10 and 20 cows in their herd. Relationship between farm size and vaccination for TB differed from forty one percent (41%) being the highest to the least five percent (5%). The highest number of respondents who knew about relationship between TB cases and cattle location was ninety one percent (91%). Approximately fifty one percent (51%) of respondents had knowledge about wild life access to the farms. Relationship between import of cattle and farm size ranged from nine percent (9%) to thirty five percent (35%). Cattle sickness in relation to farm size differed from forty three (43%) being the highest to the least three percent (3%); while thirty three percent (33%) of respondents had knowledge about health management. Respondents with knowledge about the occurrence of TB infections in farms were forty-eight percent (48%). The frequency of DNA isolation from samples ranged from the highest forty-five percent (45%) from water to the least twenty two percent (22%) from soil. Fort Hare dairy farm had the highest number of positive samples, forty four percent (44%) from water samples; whereas Middledrift dairy farm had the lowest positive from water, seventeen percent (17%). Twelve (22%) out of 55 isolates showed resistance to INH and RIF that is, multi-drug resistance (MDR) and nine percent (9%) were sensitive to either INH or RIF. The mutations at rpoB gene differed from 58% being the highest to the least (23%). Fifty seven percent (57%) of samples showed a S315T1 mutation while only 14% possessed a S531L in the katG gene. The highest inhA mutations were detected in T8A (80 %) and the least was observed in A16G (17%). The results of this study reveal that risk factors for bTB in cattle and dairy farm workers are a serious issue abound in the Eastern Cape of South Africa; with the possibility of widespread dissemination of multidrug resistant determinants in MTBC from the environment.

Keywords: hayfeed, isoniazid, multi-drug resistance, mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, polymerase chain reaction, rifampicin, soil, water

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Anil Saini, Jatinder Kumar Ratan

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Now a day, the key issue for the scientific community is to devise the innovative technologies for sustainable control of urban pollution. In urban cities, a large surface area of the masonry structures, buildings, and pavements is exposed to the open environment, which may be utilized for the control of air pollution, if it is built from the photocatalytically active cement-based constructional materials such as concrete, mortars, paints, and blocks, etc. The photocatalytically active cement is formulated by incorporating a photocatalyst in the cement matrix, and such cement is generally known as self-cleaning cement In the literature, self-cleaning cement has been synthesized by incorporating nanosized-TiO₂ (n-TiO₂) as a photocatalyst in the formulation of the cement. However, the utilization of n-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement has the drawbacks of nano-toxicity, higher cost, and agglomeration as far as the commercial production and applications are concerned. The use of microsized-TiO₂ (m-TiO₂) in place of n-TiO₂ for the commercial manufacture of self-cleaning cement could avoid the above-mentioned problems. However, m-TiO₂ is less photocatalytically active as compared to n- TiO₂ due to smaller surface area, higher band gap, and increased recombination rate. As such, the use of m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement may lead to a reduction in photocatalytic activity, thus, reducing the self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial abilities of the resultant cement material. So improvement in the photoactivity of m-TiO₂ based self-cleaning cement is the key issue for its practical applications in the present scenario. The current work proposes the use of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ for the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance its photocatalytic activity. The calcined dolomite, a constructional material, has also been utilized as co-adsorbent along with the surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ in the formulation of self-cleaning cement to enhance the photocatalytic performance. The surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂, calcined dolomite, and the formulated self-cleaning cement were characterized using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) surface area, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The self-cleaning property of the as-prepared self-cleaning cement was evaluated using the methylene blue (MB) test. The depolluting ability of the formulated self-cleaning cement was assessed through a continuous NOX removal test. The antimicrobial activity of the self-cleaning cement was appraised using the method of the zone of inhibition. The as-prepared self-cleaning cement obtained by uniform mixing of 87% clinker, 10% calcined dolomite, and 3% surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ showed a remarkable self-cleaning property by providing 53.9% degradation of the coated MB dye. The self-cleaning cement also depicted a noteworthy depolluting ability by removing 5.5% of NOx from the air. The inactivation of B. subtiltis bacteria in the presence of light confirmed the significant antimicrobial property of the formulated self-cleaning cement. The self-cleaning, depolluting, and antimicrobial results are attributed to the synergetic effect of surface-fluorinated m-TiO₂ and calcined dolomite in the cement matrix. The present study opens an idea and route for further research for acile and economical formulation of self-cleaning cement.

Keywords: microsized-titanium dioxide (m-TiO₂), self-cleaning cement, photocatalysis, surface-fluorination

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Alan Crowle, Philpp Thies

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As the floating offshore wind turbine industry continues to develop and grow, the capabilities of established port facilities need to be assessed as to their ability to support the expanding construction and installation requirements. This paper assesses current infrastructure requirements and projected changes to port facilities that may be required to support the floating offshore wind industry. Understanding the infrastructure needs of the floating offshore renewable industry will help to identify the port-related requirements. Floating Offshore Wind Turbines can be installed further out to sea and in deeper waters than traditional fixed offshore wind arrays, meaning that it can take advantage of stronger winds. Separate ports are required for substructure construction, fit-out of the turbines, moorings, subsea cables and maintenance. Large areas are required for the laydown of mooring equipment; inter-array cables, turbine blades and nacelles. The capabilities of established port facilities to support floating wind farms are assessed by evaluation of the size of substructures, the height of wind turbine with regards to the cranes for fitting of blades, distance to offshore site and offshore installation vessel characteristics. The paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using large land-based cranes, inshore floating crane vessels or offshore crane vessels at the fit-out port for the installation of the turbine. Water depths requirements for import of materials and export of the completed structures will be considered. There are additional costs associated with any emerging technology. However part of the popularity of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines stems from the cost savings against permanent structures like fixed wind turbines. Floating Offshore Wind Turbine developers can benefit from lighter, more cost-effective equipment which can be assembled in port and towed to the site rather than relying on large, expensive installation vessels to transport and erect fixed bottom turbines. The ability to assemble Floating Offshore Wind Turbines equipment onshore means minimizing highly weather-dependent operations like offshore heavy lifts and assembly, saving time and costs and reducing safety risks for offshore workers. Maintenance might take place in safer onshore conditions for barges and semi-submersibles. Offshore renewables, such as floating wind, can take advantage of this wealth of experience, while oil and gas operators can deploy this experience at the same time as entering the renewables space The floating offshore wind industry is in the early stages of development and port facilities are required for substructure fabrication, turbine manufacture, turbine construction and maintenance support. The paper discusses the potential floating wind substructures as this provides a snapshot of the requirements at the present time, and potential technological developments required for commercial development. Scaling effects of demonstration-scale projects will be addressed, however, the primary focus will be on commercial-scale (30+ units) device floating wind energy farms.

Keywords: floating wind, port, marine construction, offshore renewables

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Narges Bahmanyar, Masoud Ghorbani

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Rabies is caused by several species of the genus Lyssavirus in the Rhabdoviridae family. The disease is deadly encephalitis transmitted from warm-blooded animals to humans, and domestic and wild carnivores play the most crucial role in its transmission. The prevalence of rabies in poor areas of developing salinities is constantly posed as a global threat to public health. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 60,000 people die yearly from rabies. Of these, 60% of deaths are related to the Middle East. Although rabies encephalitis is incurable to date, awareness of the disease and the use of vaccines is the best way to combat the disease. Although effective vaccines are available, there is a high cost involved in vaccine production and management to combat rabies. Increasing the prevalence and discovery of new strains of rabies virus requires the need for safe, effective, and as inexpensive vaccines as possible. One of the approaches considered to achieve the quality and quantity expressed through the manufacture of recombinant types of rabies vaccine. Currently, livestock rabies vaccines are used only in inactivated or live attenuated vaccines, the process of inactivation of which pays attention to considerations. The rabies virus contains a negatively polarized single-stranded RNA genome that encodes the five major structural genes (N, P, M, G, L) from '3 to '5 . Rabies virus glycoprotein G, the major antigen, can produce the virus-neutralizing antibody. N-antigen is another candidate for developing recombinant vaccines. However, because it is within the RNP complex of the virus, the possibility of genetic diversity based on different geographical locations is very high. Glycoprotein G is structurally and antigenically more protected than other genes. Protection at the level of its nucleotide sequence is about 90% and at the amino acid level is 96%. Recombinant vaccines, consisting of a pathogenic subunit, contain fragments of the protein or polysaccharide of the pathogen that have been carefully studied to determine which of these molecules elicits a stronger and more effective immune response. These vaccines minimize the risk of side effects by limiting the immune system's access to the pathogen. Such vaccines are relatively inexpensive, easy to produce, and more stable than vaccines containing viruses or whole bacteria. The problem with these vaccines is that the pathogenic subunits may elicit a weak immune response in the body or may be destroyed before they reach the immune cells, which requires nanoparticles to overcome. Suitable for use as an adjuvant. Among these, biodegradable nanoparticles with functional levels are good candidates as adjuvants for the vaccine. In this study, we intend to use beta-glucan nanoparticles as adjuvants. The surface glycoprotein of the rabies virus (G) is responsible for identifying and binding the virus to the target cell. This glycoprotein is the major protein in the structure of the virus and induces an antibody response in the host. In this study, we intend to use rabies virus surface glycoprotein conjugated with beta-glucan nanoparticles to produce vaccines.

Keywords: rabies, vaccines, beta glucan, nanoprticles, adjuvant, recombinant protein

Procedia PDF Downloads 18

Authors: Ippei Torii, Kaoruko Ohtani, Takahito Niwa, Naohiro Ishii

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This paper shows developing an objectivity index using the measurement of subtle eyeball movement to diagnose autism. The developmentally disabled assessment varies, and the diagnosis depends on the subjective judgment of professionals. Therefore, a supplementary inspection method that will enable anyone to obtain the same quantitative judgment is needed. The diagnosis are made based on a comparison of the time of gazing an object in the conventional autistic study, but the results do not match. First, we divided the pupil into four parts from the center using measurements of subtle eyeball movement and comparing the number of pixels in the overlapping parts based on an afterimage. Then we developed the objective evaluation indicator to judge non-autistic and autistic people more clearly than conventional methods by analyzing the differences of subtle eyeball movements between the right and left eyes. Even when a person gazes at one point and his/her eyeballs always stay fixed at that point, their eyes perform subtle fixating movements (ie. tremors, drifting, microsaccades) to keep the retinal image clear. Particularly, the microsaccades link with nerves and reflect the mechanism that process the sight in a brain. We converted the differences between these movements into numbers. The process of the conversion is as followed: 1) Select the pixel indicating the subject's pupil from images of captured frames. 2) Set up a reference image, known as an afterimage, from the pixel indicating the subject's pupil. 3) Divide the pupil of the subject into four from the center in the acquired frame image. 4) Select the pixel in each divided part and count the number of the pixels of the overlapping part with the present pixel based on the afterimage. 5) Process the images with precision in 24 - 30fps from a camera and convert the amount of change in the pixels of the subtle movements of the right and left eyeballs in to numbers. The difference in the area of the amount of change occurs by measuring the difference between the afterimage in consecutive frames and the present frame. We set the amount of change to the quantity of the subtle eyeball movements. This method made it possible to detect a change of the eyeball vibration in numerical value. By comparing the numerical value between the right and left eyes, we found that there is a difference in how much they move. We compared the difference in these movements between non-autistc and autistic people and analyzed the result. Our research subjects consists of 8 children and 10 adults with autism, and 6 children and 18 adults with no disability. We measured the values through pasuit movements and fixations. We converted the difference in subtle movements between the right and left eyes into a graph and define it in multidimensional measure. Then we set the identification border with density function of the distribution, cumulative frequency function, and ROC curve. With this, we established an objective index to determine autism, normal, false positive, and false negative.

Keywords: subtle eyeball movement, autism, microsaccade, pursuit eye movements, ROC curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Fang Lian, Zefang Chenli, Laijun Ma, Lei Mao

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Up to now, electrolytic process is a popular way to prepare Mn and MnO2 (EMD) with high purity. However, the conventional preparation process of manganese oxide such as Mn3O4 with high purity from electrolytic manganese metal is characterized by long production-cycle, high-pollution discharge and high energy consumption especially initially from low-grade rhodochrosite, the main resources for exploitation and applications in China. Moreover, Mn3O4 prepared from electrolytic manganese shows large particles, single morphology beyond the control and weak chemical activity. On the other hand, hydrometallurgical method combined with thermal decomposition, hydrothermal synthesis and sol-gel processes has been widely studied because of its high efficiency, low consumption and low cost. But the key problem in direct preparation of manganese oxide series from low-grade rhodochrosite is to remove completely the multiple impurities such as iron, silicon, calcium and magnesium. It is urgent to develop a sustainable approach to high pure manganese oxide series with character of short process, high efficiency, environmentally friendly and economical benefit. In our work, the preparation technique of high pure Mn3O4 directly from low-grade rhodochrosite ore (13.86%) was studied and improved intensively, including the effective leaching process and the short purifying process. Based on the same ion effect, the repeated leaching of rhodochrosite with sulfuric acid is proposed to improve the solubility of Mn2+ and inhibit the dissolution of the impurities Ca2+ and Mg2+. Moreover, the repeated leaching process could make full use of sulfuric acid and lower the cost of the raw material. With the aid of theoretical calculation, Ba(OH)2 was chosen to adjust the pH value of manganese sulfate solution and BaF2 to remove Ca2+ and Mg2+ completely in the process of purifying. Herein, the recovery ratio of manganese and removal ratio of the impurity were evaluated via chemical titration and ICP analysis, respectively. Comparison between conventional preparation technique from electrolytic manganese and a sustainable approach directly from low-grade rhodochrosite have also been done herein. The results demonstrate that the extraction ratio and the recovery ratio of manganese reached 94.3% and 92.7%, respectively. The heavy metal impurities has been decreased to less than 1ppm, and the content of calcium, magnesium and sodium has been decreased to less than 20ppm, which meet standards of high pure reagent for energy and electronic materials. In compare with conventional technique from electrolytic manganese, the power consumption has been reduced to ≤2000 kWh/t(product) in our short-process approach. Moreover, comprehensive recovery rate of manganese increases significantly, and the wastewater generated from our short-process approach contains low content of ammonia/ nitrogen about 500 mg/t(product) and no toxic emissions. Our study contributes to the sustainable application of low-grade manganese ore. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (No.2015BAB01B02) for financial support to the work.

Keywords: leaching, high purity, low-grade rhodochrosite, manganese oxide, purifying process, recovery ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 248

Authors: S. Sabatino, V. Calderaro, V. Galdi, G. Graber, L. Ippolito

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Climate change is a rapidly growing global threat caused mainly by increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. These emissions come from multiple sources, including industry, power generation, and the transport sector. The need to tackle climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions is indisputable. A crucial solution to achieving decarbonization in the transport sector is the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). These vehicles use lithium (Li-Ion) batteries as an energy source, making them extremely efficient and with low direct emissions. However, Li-Ion batteries are not without problems, including the risk of overheating and performance degradation. To ensure its safety and longevity, it is essential to use a battery management system (BMS). The BMS constantly monitors battery status, adjusts temperature and cell balance, ensuring optimal performance and preventing dangerous situations. From the monitoring carried out, it is also able to optimally manage the battery to increase its life. Among the parameters monitored by the BMS, the main ones are State of Charge (SoC), State of Health (SoH), and State of Power (SoP). The evaluation of these parameters can be carried out in two ways: offline, using benchtop batteries tested in the laboratory, or online, using batteries installed in moving vehicles. Online estimation is the preferred approach, as it relies on capturing real-time data from batteries while operating in real-life situations, such as in everyday EV use. Actual battery usage conditions are highly variable. Moving vehicles are exposed to a wide range of factors, including temperature variations, different driving styles, and complex charge/discharge cycles. This variability is difficult to replicate in a controlled laboratory environment and can greatly affect performance and battery life. Online estimation captures this variety of conditions, providing a more accurate assessment of battery behavior in real-world situations. In this article, a hybrid approach based on a neural network and a statistical method for real-time estimation of SoC, SoH, and SoP parameters of interest is proposed. These parameters are estimated from the analysis of a one-day driving profile of an electric vehicle, assumed to be divided into the following four phases: (i) Partial discharge (SoC 100% - SoC 50%), (ii) Partial discharge (SoC 50% - SoC 80%), (iii) Deep Discharge (SoC 80% - SoC 30%) (iv) Full charge (SoC 30% - SoC 100%). The neural network predicts the values of ohmic resistance and incremental capacity, while the statistical method is used to estimate the parameters of interest. This reduces the complexity of the model and improves its prediction accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated by analyzing its performance in terms of square mean error (RMSE) and percentage error (MAPE) and comparing it with the reference method found in the literature.

Keywords: electric vehicle, Li-Ion battery, BMS, state-of-charge, state-of-health, state-of-power, artificial neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Nadia Zahra Karimi Khiavi, Amir Ghiami Rad

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Due to the high likelihood of injuries in karate, karatekas' injuries warrant special treatment. This study explores the prevalence of karate injuries in East Azerbaijan, Iran and provides a model for karatekas to use in the prevention of such injuries. This study employs a descriptive approach. Male and female participants with a brown belt or above in either control or non-control styles in East Azerbaijan province are included in the study's statistical population. A statistical sample size of 100 people was computed using the tools employed (smartpls), and the samples were drawn at random from all clubs in the province with the assistance of the Karate Board in order to give a model for the prevention of karate injuries. Information was gathered by means of a survey that made use of the Standard Questionnaire for Australian Sports Medicine Injury Reports. The information is presented in the form of tables and samples, and descriptive statistics were used to organise and summarise the data. Control and non-control independent t-tests were conducted using SPSS version 20, and structural equation modelling (pls) was utilised for injury prevention modelling at a 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that the most common areas of injury among the control groups were the upper limbs (46.15%), lower limbs (34.61%), trunk (15.38%), and head and neck (3.84%). The most common types of injuries were broken bones (34.61%), sprain or strain (23.13%), bruising and contusions (23.13%), trauma to the face and mouth (11.53%), and damage to the nerves (69.69%). Uncontrolled committees are most likely to sustain injuries to the head and neck (33.33%), trunk (25.92%), upper limbs (22.22%), and lower limbs (18.51%). The most common injuries were to the mouth and face (33.33%), dislocations and fractures (22.22%), aspirin and strain (22.22%), bruises and contusions (18.51%), and nerves (70%), in that order. Among those who practice control kata, injuries to the upper limb account for 45.83%, the lower limb for 41.666%, the trunk for 8.33%, and the head and neck for 4.166%. The most common types of injuries are dislocations and fractures (41.66 per cent), aspirin and strain (29.16 per cent), bruising and bruises (16.66 per cent), and nerves (12.5%). Injuries to the face and mouth were not reported among those practising the control kata. By far, the most common sites of injury for those practising uncontrolled kata were the lower limb (43.74%), upper limb (39.13%), trunk (13.14%), and head and neck (4.34%). The most common types of injuries were dislocations and fractures (34.82%), aspirin and strain (26.08%), bruises and contusions (21.73%), mouth and face (13.14%), and nerves. Teaching the concepts of cooling and warming (0.591) and enhancing the degree of safety in the sports environment (0.413) were shown to play the most essential roles in reducing sports injuries among karate practitioners of controlling and uncontrolled styles, respectively. Use of common sports gear (0.390), Modification of training programme principles (0.341), Formulation of an effective diet plan for athletes (0.284), Evaluation of athletes' physical anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and physics (0.247).

Keywords: sports injuries, karate, prevention, cooling and warming

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Augustas Vaitkevicius, Mikhail Korjik, Eugene Tretyak, Ekaterina Trusova, Gintautas Tamulaitis

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Silicate materials are widely used as luminescent materials in amorphous and crystalline phase. Lithium silicate glass is popular for making neutron sensitive scintillation glasses. Cerium-doped single crystalline silicates of rare earth elements and yttrium have been demonstrated to be good scintillation materials. Due to their high thermal and photo-stability, silicate glass ceramics are supposed to be suitable materials for producing light converters for high power white light emitting diodes. In this report, the influence of glass composition and crystallization on photoluminescence (PL) of different silicate glasses was studied. Barium (BaO-2SiO₂) and lithium (Li₂O-2SiO₂) glasses were under study. Cerium, dysprosium, erbium and europium ions as well as their combinations were used for doping. The influence of crystallization was studied after transforming the doped glasses into glass ceramics by heat treatment in the temperature range of 550-850 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. The study was carried out by comparing the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, spatial distributions of PL parameters and quantum efficiency in the samples under study. The PL spectra and spatial distributions of their parameters were obtained by using confocal PL microscopy. A WITec Alpha300 S confocal microscope coupled with an air cooled CCD camera was used. A CW laser diode emitting at 405 nm was exploited for excitation. The spatial resolution was in sub-micrometer domain in plane and ~1 micrometer perpendicularly to the sample surface. An integrating sphere with a xenon lamp coupled with a monochromator was used to measure the external quantum efficiency. All measurements were performed at room temperature. Chromatic properties of the light emission from the glasses and glass ceramics have been evaluated. We observed that the quantum efficiency of the glass ceramics is higher than that of the corresponding glass. The investigation of spatial distributions of PL parameters revealed that heat treatment of the glasses leads to a decrease in sample homogeneity. In the case of BaO-2SiO₂: Eu, 10 micrometer long needle-like objects are formed, when transforming the glass into glass ceramics. The comparison of PL spectra from within and outside the needle-like structure reveals that the ratio between intensities of PL bands associated with Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺ ions is larger in the bright needle-like structures. This indicates a higher degree of crystallinity in the needle-like objects. We observed that the spectral positions of the PL bands are the same in the background and the needle-like areas, indicating that heat treatment imposes no significant change to the valence state of the europium ions. The evaluation of chromatic properties confirms applicability of the glasses under study for fabrication of white light sources with high thermal stability. The ability to combine barium and lithium glass matrixes and doping by Eu, Ce, Dy, and Tb enables optimization of chromatic properties.

Keywords: glass ceramics, luminescence, phosphor, silicate

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Authors: Gu Sihao

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The coordinated development of "ecology-production-life" in cities has been highly concerned by the country, and the transformation development and sustainable development of resource-based cities have become a hot research topic at present. As an important part of China's resource-based cities, coal resource-based cities have the characteristics of large number and wide distribution. However, due to the adjustment of national energy structure and the gradual exhaustion of urban coal resources, the development vitality of coal resource-based cities is gradually reduced. In many studies, the deterioration of ecological environment in coal resource-based cities has become the main problem restricting their urban transformation and sustainable development due to the "emphasis on economy and neglect of ecology". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Central Government has been deepening territorial space planning and development. On the premise of optimizing territorial space development pattern, it has completed the demarcation of ecological protection red lines, carried out ecological zoning and ecosystem evaluation, which have become an important basis and scientific guarantee for ecological modernization and ecological civilization construction. Grasp the regional multiple ecosystem services is the precondition of the ecosystem management, and the relationship between the multiple ecosystem services study, ecosystem services cluster can identify the interactions between multiple ecosystem services, and on the basis of the characteristics of the clusters on regional ecological function zoning, to better Social-Ecological system management. Based on this cognition, this study optimizes the spatial function zoning of Gujiao, a coal resource-based city, in order to provide a new theoretical basis for its sustainable development. This study is based on the detailed analysis of characteristics and utilization of Gujiao city land space, using SOFM neural networks to identify local ecosystem service clusters, according to the cluster scope and function of ecological function zoning of space partition balance and coordination between different ecosystem services strength, establish a relationship between clusters and land use, and adjust the functions of territorial space within each zone. Then, according to the characteristics of coal resources city and national spatial function zoning characteristics, as the driving factors of land change, by cellular automata simulation program, such as simulation under different restoration strategy situation of urban future development trend, and provides relevant theories and technical methods for the "third-line" demarcations of Gujiao's territorial space planning, optimizes territorial space functions, and puts forward targeted strategies for the promotion of regional ecosystem services, providing theoretical support for the improvement of human well-being and sustainable development of resource-based cities.

Keywords: coal resource-based city, territorial spatial planning, ecosystem service cluster, gmop model, geosos-FLUS model, functional zoning optimization and upgrading

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Authors: Rob Leslie, Taher Karimian

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The blockage of cross drainage structures is a risk that needs to be understood and managed or lessened through the design. A blockage is a random event, influenced by site-specific factors, which needs to be quantified for design. Under and overestimation of blockage can have major impacts on flood risk and cost associated with drainage structures. The importance of this matter is heightened for those projects located within sensitive lands. It is a particularly complex problem for large linear infrastructure projects (e.g., rail corridors) located within floodplains where blockage factors can influence flooding upstream and downstream of the infrastructure. The selection of the appropriate blockage factors for hydraulic modeling has been subject to extensive research by hydraulic engineers. This paper has been prepared to review the current Australian Rainfall and Runoff 2019 (ARR 2019) methodology for blockage assessment by applying this method to a transport corridor brownfield upgrade case study in New South Wales. The results of applying the method are also validated against asset data and maintenance records. ARR 2019 – Book 6, Chapter 6 includes advice and an approach for estimating the blockage of bridges and culverts. This paper concentrates specifically on the blockage of cross drainage structures. The method has been developed to estimate the blockage level for culverts affected by sediment or debris due to flooding. The objective of the approach is to evaluate a numerical blockage factor that can be utilized in a hydraulic assessment of cross drainage structures. The project included an assessment of over 200 cross drainage structures. In order to estimate a blockage factor for use in the hydraulic model, a process has been advanced that considers the qualitative factors (e.g., Debris type, debris availability) and site-specific hydraulic factors that influence blockage. A site rating associated with the debris potential (i.e., availability, transportability, mobility) at each crossing was completed using the method outlined in ARR 2019 guidelines. The hydraulic results inputs (i.e., flow velocity, flow depth) and qualitative factors at each crossing were developed into an advanced spreadsheet where the design blockage level for cross drainage structures were determined based on the condition relating Inlet Clear Width and L10 (average length of the longest 10% of the debris reaching the site) and the Adjusted Debris Potential. Asset data, including site photos and maintenance records, were then reviewed and compared with the blockage assessment to check the validity of the results. The results of this assessment demonstrate that the estimated blockage factors at each crossing location using ARR 2019 guidelines are well-validated with the asset data. The primary finding of the study is that the ARR 2019 methodology is a suitable approach for culvert blockage assessment that has been validated against a case study spanning a large geographical area and multiple sub-catchments. The study also found that the methodology can be effectively coded within a spreadsheet or similar analytical tool to automate its application.

Keywords: ARR 2019, blockage, culverts, methodology

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Authors: Vincent Schlageter, Maroua Mestiri, Florian Denzinger, Hugo Raetzo, Michel Demierre

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Precise landslide monitoring with differential global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is well known, but technical or economic reasons limit its application by geotechnical companies. This study demonstrates the reliability and the usefulness of Geomon (Infrasurvey Sàrl, Switzerland), a stand-alone and cost-effective rover network. The system permits deploying up to 15 rovers, plus one reference station for differential GNSS. A dedicated radio communication links all the modules to a base station, where an embedded computer automatically provides all the relative positions (L1 phase, open-source RTKLib software) and populates an Internet server. Each measure also contains information from an internal inclinometer, battery level, and position quality indices. Contrary to standard GNSS survey systems, which suffer from a limited number of beacons that must be placed in areas with good GSM signal, Geomon offers greater flexibility and permits a real overview of the whole landslide with good spatial resolution. Each module is powered with solar panels, ensuring autonomous long-term recordings. In this study, we have tested the system on several sites in the Swiss mountains, setting up to 7 rovers per site, for an 18 month-long survey. The aim was to assess the robustness and the accuracy of the system in different environmental conditions. In one case, we ran forced blind tests (vertical movements of a given amplitude) and compared various session parameters (duration from 10 to 90 minutes). Then the other cases were a survey of real landslides sites using fixed optimized parameters. Sub centimetric-accuracy with few outliers was obtained using the best parameters (session duration of 60 minutes, baseline 1 km or less), with the noise level on the horizontal component half that of the vertical one. The performance (percent of aborting solutions, outliers) was reduced with sessions shorter than 30 minutes. The environment also had a strong influence on the percent of aborting solutions (ambiguity search problem), due to multiple reflections or satellites obstructed by trees and mountains. The length of the baseline (distance reference-rover, single baseline processing) reduced the accuracy above 1 km but had no significant effect below this limit. In critical weather conditions, the system’s robustness was limited: snow, avalanche, and frost-covered some rovers, including the antenna and vertically oriented solar panels, leading to data interruption; and strong wind damaged a reference station. The possibility of changing the sessions’ parameters remotely was very useful. In conclusion, the rover network tested provided the foreseen sub-centimetric-accuracy while providing a dense spatial resolution landslide survey. The ease of implementation and the fully automatic long-term survey were timesaving. Performance strongly depends on surrounding conditions, but short pre-measures should allow moving a rover to a better final placement. The system offers a promising hazard mitigation technique. Improvements could include data post-processing for alerts and automatic modification of the duration and numbers of sessions based on battery level and rover displacement velocity.

Keywords: GNSS, GSM, landslide, long-term, network, solar, spatial resolution, sub-centimeter.

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Authors: Tomas Makaras, Julija Razumienė, Vidutė Gurevičienė, Gintarė Sauliutė, Milda Stankevičiūtė

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Stress responses represent animal’s natural reactions to various challenging conditions and could be used as a welfare indicator. Regardless of the wide use of glucose measurements in stress evaluation, there are some inconsistencies in its acceptance as a stress marker, especially when it comes to comparison with non-invasive cortisol measurements in the fish challenging stress. To meet the challenge and to test the reliability and applicability of glucose measurement in practice, in this study, different environmental/anthropogenic exposure scenarios were simulated to provoke chemical-induced stress in fish (14-days exposure to landfill leachate) followed by a 14-days stress recovery period and under the cumulative effect of leachate fish subsequently exposed to pathogenic oomycetes (Saprolegnia parasitica) to represent a possible infection in fish. It is endemic to all freshwater habitats worldwide and is partly responsible for the decline of natural freshwater fish populations. Brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) and sea trout (Salmo trutta trutta) juveniles were chosen because of a large amount of literature on physiological stress responses in these species was known. Glucose content in fish by applying invasive and non-invasive glucose measurement procedures in different test mediums such as fish blood, gill tissues and fish-holding water were analysed. The results indicated that the quantity of glucose released in the holding water of stressed fish increased considerably (approx. 3.5- to 8-fold) and remained substantially higher (approx. 2- to 4-fold) throughout the stress recovery period than the control level suggesting that fish did not recover from chemical-induced stress. The circulating levels of glucose in blood and gills decreased over time in fish exposed to different stressors. However, the gill glucose level in fish showed a decrease similar to the control levels measured at the same time points, which was found to be insignificant. The data analysis showed that concentrations of β-D glucose measured in gills of fish treated with S. parasitica differed significantly from the control recovery, but did not differ from the leachate recovery group showing that S. parasitica presence in water had no additive effects. In contrast, a positive correlation between blood and gills glucose were determined. Parallel trends in blood and water glucose changes suggest that water glucose measurement has much potency in predicting stress. This study demonstrated that measuring β-D-glucose in fish-holding water is not stressful as it involves no handling and manipulation of an organism and has critical technical advantages concerning current (invasive) methods, mainly using blood samples or specific tissues. The quantification of glucose could be essential for studies examining the stress physiology/aquaculture studies interested in the assessment or long-term monitoring of fish health.

Keywords: brown trout, landfill leachate, sea trout, pathogenic oomycetes, β-D-glucose

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Authors: Alejandra Sierra, Gloria Valadez, Adriana Dávalos, Mirliana Ramírez

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For years, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization and other organizations have made efforts to the improve access and the quality of prenatal care as part of comprehensive programs for maternal and neonatal health, the standards of care have been renewed in order to migrate from a medical perspective to a holistic perspective. However, despite the efforts currently antenatal care models have not been verified by a scientific evaluation in order to determine their effectiveness. The teenage pregnancy is considered as a very important phenomenon since it has been strongly associated with inequalities, poverty and the lack of gender quality; therefore it is important to analyze the antenatal care that’s been given, including not only the clinical intervention but also the activities surrounding the advertising and the health education. In this study, the objective was to describe if the previously established activities (on the prenatal care models) are being performed in the care of pregnant teenagers attending prenatal care in health institutions in two cities in México and Chile during 2013. Methods: Observational and descriptive study, of a transversal cohort. 170 pregnant women (13-19 years) were included in prenatal care in two health institutions (100 women from León-Mexico and 70 from Chile-Coquimbo). Data collection: direct survey, perinatal clinical record card which was used as checklists: WHO antenatal care model WHO-2003, Official Mexican Standard NOM-007-SSA2-1993 and Personalized Service Manual on Reproductive Process- Chile Crece Contigo; for data analysis descriptive statistics were used. The project was approved by the relevant ethics committees. Results: Regarding the fulfillment of interventions focused on physical, gynecological exam, immunizations, monitoring signs and biochemical parameters in both groups was met by more than 84%; the activities of guidance and counseling pregnant teenagers in Leon compliance rates were below 50%, on the other hand, although pregnant women in Coquimbo had a higher percentage of compliance, no one reached 100%. The topics that less was oriented were: family planning, signs and symptoms of complications and labor. Conclusions: Although the coverage of the interventions indicated in the prenatal care models was high, there were still shortcomings in the fulfillment of activities to orientation, education and health promotion. Deficiencies in adherence to prenatal care guidelines could be due to different circumstances such as lack of registration or incomplete filling of medical records, lack of medical supplies or health personnel, absences of people at prenatal check-up appointments, among many others. Therefore, studies are required to evaluate the quality of prenatal care and the effectiveness of existing models, considering the role of the different actors (pregnant women, professionals and health institutions) involved in the functionality and quality of prenatal care models, in order to create strategies to design or improve the application of a complete process of promotion and prevention of maternal and child health as well as sexual and reproductive health in general.

Keywords: adolescent health, health systems, maternal health, primary health care

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Authors: Vandana Mohan, Ashwani Koul

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Aim: To evaluate the potential of Aqueous Tinospora cordifolia stem extract (Aq.Tc) and Arabinogalactan (AG) on pulmonary carcinogenesis and associated tumor markers. Background: Lung cancer is one of the most frequent malignancy with high mortality rate due to limitation of early detection resulting in low cure rates. Current research effort focuses on identifying some blood-based biomarkers like CEA, ctDNA and LDH which may have potential to detect cancer at an early stage, evaluation of therapeutic response and its recurrence. Medicinal plants and their active components have been widely investigated for their anticancer potentials. Aqueous preparation of T. Cordifolia extract is enriched in the polysaccharide fraction i.e., AG when compared with other types of extract. Moreover, reports are available of polysaccharide fraction of T. Cordifolia in in vitro lung cancer models which showed profound anti-metastatic activity against these cell lines. However, not much has been explored about its effect in in vivo lung cancer models and the underlying mechanism involved. Experimental Design: Mice were randomly segregated into six groups. Group I animals served as control. Group II animals were administered with Aq. Tc extract (200 mg/kg b.w.) p.o.on the alternate days. Group III animals were fed with AG (7.5 mg/kg b.w.) p.o. on the alternate days (thrice a week). Group IV animals were installed with Benzo(a)pyrene (50 mg/kg b.w.), i.p. twice within an interval of two weeks. Group V animals received Aq. Tc extract as in group II along with it B(a)P was installed after two weeks of Aq. Tc administration following the same protocol as for group IV. Group VI animals received AG as in group III along with it B(a)P was installed after two weeks of AG administration. Results: Administration of B(a)P to mice resulted in increased tumor incidence, multiplicity and pulmonary somatic index with concomitant increase in serum/plasma markers like CEA, ctDNA, LDH and TNF-α.Aq.Tc and AG supplementation significantly attenuated these alterations at different stages of tumorigenesis thereby showing potent anti-cancer effect in lung cancer. A pronounced decrease in serum/plasma markers were observed in animals treated with Aq.Tc as compared to those fed with AG. Also, extensive hyperproliferation of alveolar epithelium was prominent in B(a)P induced lung tumors. However, treatment of Aq.Tc and AG to lung tumor bearing mice exhibited reduced alveolar damage evident from decreased number of hyperchromatic irregular nuclei. A direct correlation between the concentration of tumor markers and the intensity of lung cancer was observed in animals bearing cancer co-treated with Aq.Tc and AG. Conclusion: These findings substantiate the chemopreventive potential of Aq.Tc and AG against lung tumorigenesis. Interestingly, Aq.Tc was found to be more effective in modulating the cancer as reflected by various observations which may be attributed to the synergism offered by various components of Aq.Tc. Further studies are in progress to understand the underlined mechanism in inhibiting lung tumorigenesis by Aq.Tc and AG.

Keywords: Arabinogalactan, Benzo(a)pyrene B(a)P, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Tinospora cordifolia

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Authors: Beazidou Eleftheria

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Roma children face discrimination in schools where they are the minority. On the other hand, teachers do not identify the specific needs of Roma students for educational and social inclusion and generally use a very restricted repertoire of insufficient strategies for helping them. Modern classrooms can and should look different. Therefore, engaging in transformational learning with young children is a deliberate choice. Transformation implies a different way of thinking and acting. This requires new knowledge that incorporates multiple perspectives and actions in order to generate experiences for further learning. In this way, we build knowledge based on empirical examples, and we share what works efficiently. The present research aims at assisting the participating teachers to improve their teaching inclusive practice, thus ultimately benefiting their students. To increase the impact of transformative efforts with a ‘new’ teaching approach, we implemented a classroom-based action research program for over six months in five kindergarten classrooms with Roma and non-Roma students. More specifically, we explore a) information about participants’ experience of the program and b) if the program is successful in helping participants to change their teaching practice. Action research is, by definition, a form of inquiry that is intended to have both action and research outcomes. The action research process that we followed included five phases: 1. Defining the problem: As teachers said, the Roma students are often the most excluded group in schools (Low social interaction and participation in classroom activities) 2. Developing a plan to address the problem: We decided to address the problem by improving/transforming the inclusive practices that teachers implemented in their classrooms. 3. Acting: implementing the plan: We incorporated new activities for all students with the goals: a) All students being passionate about their learning, b) Teachers must investigate issues in the educational context that are personal and meaningful to children's growth, c) Establishment of a new module for values and skills for all students, d) Raising awareness in culture of Roma, e) Teaching students to reflect. 4. Observing: We explore the potential for transformation in the action research program that involves observations of students’ participation in classroom activities and peer interaction. – thus, generated evidence from data. 5. Reflecting and acting: After analyzing and evaluating the outcomes from data and considering the obstacles during the program’s implementation, we established new goals for the next steps of the program. These are centered in: a) the literacy skills of Roma students and b) the transformation of teacher’s perceptions and believes, which have a powerful impact on their willingness to adopt new teaching strategies. The final evaluation of the program showed a significant achievement of the transformative goals, which were related to the active participation of the Roma students in classroom activities and peer interaction, while the activities which were related to literacy skills did not have the expected results. In conclusion, children were equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to raise their potential and contribute to wider societal development as well as teachers improved their teaching inclusive practice.

Keywords: action research, inclusive practices, kindergarten, transformation

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