Search results for: emerging Pathogen

Authors: Zohreh Rashmei

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Introduction: Plasma inactivation is one of the emerging technologies in biomedical field and has been applied to the inactivation of microorganisms in water. The inactivation effect has been attributed to the presence of active plasma species, i.e. OH, O, O3, H2O2, UV and electric fields, generated by the discharge of plasma. Material and Method: To evaluate germicidal effects of plasma, the electric spark discharge device was used. After the effect of the plasma samples were collected for culture medium agar plate count. In addition to biological experiments, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide was also measured. Results: The results showed that Plasma is able to inactivate a high concentration of E. coli. After a short period of plasma radiation on the surface of water, the amount log8 reduced the microbial load. Starting plasma radiation on the surface of the water, the measurements show of production and increasing the amount of hydrogen peroxide in water. So that at the end of the experiment, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide to about 100 mg / l increased. Conclusion: Increasing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is directly related to the reduction of microbial load. The results of E. coli culture in media containing certain concentrations of H2O2 showed that E. coli can not to grow in a medium containing more than 2/5 mg/l of H2O2. Surely we can say that the main cause of killing bacteria is a molecule of H2O2.

Keywords: plasma, hydrogen peroxide, disinfection, E. coli

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Authors: Urvee B. Trivedi, U. D. Dalal

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As wireless communication services grow quickly; the seriousness of spectrum utilization has been on the rise gradually. An emerging technology, cognitive radio has come out to solve today’s spectrum scarcity problem. To support the spectrum reuse functionality, secondary users are required to sense the radio frequency environment, and once the primary users are found to be active, the secondary users are required to vacate the channel within a certain amount of time. Therefore, spectrum sensing is of significant importance. Once sensing is done, different prediction rules apply to classify the traffic pattern of primary user. Primary user follows two types of traffic patterns: periodic and stochastic ON-OFF patterns. A cognitive radio can learn the patterns in different channels over time. Two types of classification methods are discussed in this paper, by considering edge detection and by using autocorrelation function. Edge detection method has a high accuracy but it cannot tolerate sensing errors. Autocorrelation-based classification is applicable in the real environment as it can tolerate some amount of sensing errors.

Keywords: cognitive radio (CR), probability of detection (PD), probability of false alarm (PF), primary user (PU), secondary user (SU), fast Fourier transform (FFT), signal to noise ratio (SNR)

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Authors: Asmae Chraibi, Rachid Lghoul, Nabil Rhiati

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In the era of Industry 4.0, enterprises are increasingly employing digital technologies in order to improve their product development processes. This research focuses on the strategic deployment of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions during production as a key tracker of traceability and digital transformation activities. The study explores the integration of PLM within a larger organizational framework, examining its impact on product lifecycle efficiency, corporation, and innovation. Through a comprehensive analysis of a real case study from the automotive industry, this project evaluates the critical success factors and challenges associated with implementing PLM solutions for digital transformation. Moreover, it explores the synergic relationship between PLM and emerging technologies such as 3D experience and SOLIDWORKS, elucidating their combined potential in optimizing production workflows and enabling data-driven decision-making. The study's findings provide global approaches for firms looking to embark on a digital transformation journey by implementing PLM technologies. This research contributes to a better understanding of how PLM can be effectively used to foster innovation and competitiveness in the changing landscape of modern industry by shining light on best practices, critical considerations, and potential obstacles.

Keywords: product lifecyle management (PLM), industry 4.0, traceability, digital transformation, solution, innovation, 3D experience, SOLIDWORKS

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Authors: Muhammad Arsalan Khan Sherwani

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The use of Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors (VCI) to protect Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) bottom plates against soil-side corrosion is one of the emerging corrosion prevention methods, specifically for tanks constructed on oily sand pad. Oily sand pad and the presence of air gaps underneath the bottom plates lead to severe corrosion and high metal thickness loss. In such cases, the cathodic protection cannot be fully considered as effective due to Cathodic Protection (CP) current shielding. These situations sometimes result in serious failures on multiple fronts, such as; containment losses, system shutdowns, extensive repairs, environmental impact and safety concerns in case of flammable fluids. Recently, East West Pipeline Department (EWPD) of Saudi Aramco has deployed this technology to one of the crude oil storage tanks, which showed high metal thickness loss during its out of service inspection. Soil-side corrosion rustled in major repairs of bottom plates and ultimately caused enormous unplanned activities in term of time as well as cost. This paper mainly focuses on the methodology of VCI installation, corrosion monitoring system and the expected results of protection.

Keywords: Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor, Soil Side Corrosion, External Corrosion, Above Grade Storage Tank

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Authors: Aman Ullah

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The use of renewable resources in supplementing and/or replacing traditional petrochemical products, through green chemistry, is becoming the focus of research. The utilization of oils can play a primitive role towards sustainable development due to their large scale availability, built-in-functionality, biodegradability and no net CO2 production. Microwaves, being clean, green and environmentally friendly, are emerging as an alternative source for product development. Solvent free conversion of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME's) derived from canola oil and waste cooking oil under microwave irradiation demonstrated dramatically enhanced rates. The microwave-assisted reactions lead to the most valuable terminal olefins with enhanced yields, purities and dramatic shortening of reaction times. Various monomers/chemicals were prepared in high yield in very short time. The complete conversions were observed at temperatures as low as 40 ºC within less than five minutes. The products were characterized by GC-MS, GC-FID and NMR. The monomers were separated and polymerized into different polymers including biopolyesthers, biopolyesters, biopolyamides and biopolyolefins. The polymers were characterized in details for their structural, thermal, mechanical and viscoelastic properties. The ability for complete conversion of oils under solvent free conditions and synthesis of different biopolymers is undoubtedly an attractive concept from both an academic and an industrial point of view.

Keywords: monomers, biopolymers, green chemistry, bioplastics, biomaterials

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Authors: Rajendra Kumar Isaac, Monisha Isaac

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Climate variability and changes are the emerging challenges for Indian agriculture with the growing population to ensure national food security. A study was conducted to assess the Climatic Change effects in medium to low altitude areas of the Himalayan region causing changes in land use and cereal crop productivity with the various climatic parameters. The rainfall and temperature changes from 1951 to 2013 were studied at four locations of varying altitudes, namely Hardwar, Rudra Prayag, Uttar Kashi and Tehri Garwal. It was observed that there is noticeable increment in temperature on all the four locations. It was surprisingly observed that the mean rainfall intensity of 30 minutes duration has increased at the rate of 0.1 mm/hours since 2000. The study shows that the combined effect of increasing temperature, rainfall, runoff and urbanization at the mid-Himalayan region is causing an increase in various climatic disasters and changes in agriculture patterns. A noticeable change in cropping patterns, crop productivity and land use change was observed. Appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies are necessary to ensure that sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture. Appropriate information is necessary for farmers, as well as planners and decision makers for developing, disseminating and adopting climate-smart technologies.

Keywords: climate variability, agriculture, land use, mitigation strategies

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Authors: Rahah Hasan, Faridah Sahari

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This paper describes the development of modern art in Borneo, particularly in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei, after the Second World War until the 1970s. This was the period when the British Colonial government dictated the education system, which consequentially inculcated visual art through art and craft subjects imposed on all vernacular schools in Borneo. British influence within the state governance, social, and education system designed with Western ideology created not only a westernized society and mindset but at the same time generated artistic opportunities for emerging local painters to be involved in the initiation of Modern Art in Borneo. Through the historical method and analysis of primary and secondary data, it was obvious that the existence of colonial government departments and institutions such as museums and teaching colleges, and other social organizations in Borneo at that time contributed significantly to the artistic movement. The similar structure and motivation of development in other areas of Borneo confirmed that artistic affirmation of modern art advanced homogenously. Their understanding of easel painting as well as a unique interpretation of culture once distanced from traditional art, resulting in a new visual image that transcended their ethnicity and identity through new mediums and tools. These meticulous interventions modestly visualized in each painting, as discussed in this paper, hopefully, will give a deeper understanding and appreciation of the history of modern art in Borneo.

Keywords: art history, Borneo art, fine art, modern art

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Authors: Clinton Chidiebere Anyanwu

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Secondary education is a vital part of a virtuous circle of economic growth within the context of a globalised knowledge economy. The teaching of Business Education entails teaching learners the essentials, rudiments, assumptions, and methods of business. Hence, it was deemed necessary for the study to investigate technology integration in Business Education. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the study observes teachers’ level of technology use in Business Education classrooms. Using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, probability, and purposive sampling, the majority of participants were found to be not integrating technology to an acceptable level and a small percentage was. After an analysis of constructs from UTAUT, some of this could be attributed to the lack of facilitating conditions in the teaching and learning of Business Education. The implication of the study findings is that poor investment in technology integration in secondary schools in Nigeria affects pedagogical implementations and effective teaching and learning of Business Education subjects. The study concludes that if facilitating conditions and professional development are considered to address the shortfalls in terms of TPACK, technology integration will become a reality in secondary schools in Nigeria.

Keywords: business education, secondary education, technology integration, TPACK, UTAUT

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Authors: Claire Song

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Background: TikTok is an emerging social media platform creating an outlet for nurses to express and communicate their nursing experiences and stress related to nursing. Purpose: This study investigates the lived experiences of nursing burnout shared on TikTok. Method: The cross-sectional content analysis examines the video content, format, type, and quantitative indicators, including the number of likes and comments. Results: A total of 35 videos and 18616 comments were examined, published between November 2020 and May 2023. Combined, these 35 videos received 24859 comments and 1159669 of likes. Most of the videos included nurses, and 12 included nurses in professional attire. Three videos included interviewers in the video, but the rest of the videos were self-recorded. Four themes of nurses’ burnout experiences were identified: 1) high-intensity work environment, 2) negative internal perception, 3) culture of nursing work, and 4) poor teamwork experience. Conclusion: This study explored the description of nurses’ burnout experiences via a creative platform. Social media, such as TikTok, is a valuable outlet for healthcare providers to express and share their experiences. Future research might consider using the social media platform to explore coping strategies and resilience in nurses who experienced burnout.

Keywords: burnout, emotional wellbeing, nursing, social media

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Authors: Jameson McFarlane, Thorne J. McFarlane, Leon Bernard

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Social network sites (SNS) is an emerging phenomenon that is here to stay. The popularity and the ubiquity of the SNS technology are undeniable. Because most SNS are free and easy to use people from all walks of life and from almost any age are attracted to that technology. College age students are by far the largest segment of the population using SNS. Since most SNS have been adapted for mobile devices, not only do you find students using this technology in their study, while working on labs or on projects, a substantial number of students have been found to use SNS even while listening to lectures. This study found that SNS use has a significant negative impact on the grade point average of college students particularly in the first semester. However, this negative impact is greatly diminished by the end of the third semester partly because the students have adjusted satisfactorily to the challenges of college or because they have learned how to adequately manage their time. It was established that the kinds of activities the students are engaged in during the SNS use are the leading factor affecting academic performance. Of those activities, using SNS during a lecture or while studying is the foremost contributing factor to lower academic performance. This is due to “cognitive” or “information” bottleneck, a condition in which the students find it very difficult to multitask or to switch between resources leading to inefficiency in information retention and thus, educational performance.

Keywords: social network sites, social network analysis, regression coefficient, psychological engagement

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Authors: Albert Chang, Duncan Webster

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Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus infections in humans can be contracted through contact with domestic animals or unpasteurized dairy products. Although infection in humans is rare, the course can be fulminant. We describe the case of a 75-year-old, immunocompetent male, who developed disseminated disease with bacteremia, native aortic valve endocarditis, suppurative pericarditis with cardiac tamponade, meningitis and bilateral endopthalmitis. Despite treatment with pericardial drain placement, intravenous ceftriaxone and rifampin the patient, unfortunately, did not survive. To date, reported cases of disseminated infection by S. zooepidemicus are few. Furthermore, with the review of the literature, this case demonstrates the broadest organ system involvement reported. Of interest, previous studies have suggested an affinity of this organism for certain organ systems and this case corroborates an emerging association of S. zooepidemicus with endopthalmitis. In addition, this is the second Canadian case of documented human infection with both cases being similar in clinical features, presentation, and geographical location. A discussion regarding previous S. zooepidemicus outbreaks and the potential for zoonotic outbreaks to occur is included. In short, this case report should serve to warn clinicians regarding complications and sites of haematogenous seeding in the setting of disseminated S. zooepidemicus infections.

Keywords: endopthalmitis, endocarditis, meningitis, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus

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Authors: Lukas Kano Mangalla, Raden Rinova Sisworo, Luther Pagiling

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Torrefaction is an emerging thermo-chemical treatment process that aims to improve the quality of biomass fuels. This study focused on upgrading the waste teakwood through microwave torrefaction processes and investigating the key operating parameters to improve energy density for the quality of biochar production. The experiments were carried out in a 250 mL reactor placed in a microwave cavity on two different media, inert and non-inert. The microwave was operated at a frequency of 2.45GHz with power level variations of 540W, 720W, and 900W, respectively. During torrefaction processes, the nitrogen gas flows into the reactor at a rate of 0.125 mL/min, and the air flows naturally. The temperature inside the reactor was observed every 0.5 minutes for 20 minutes using a K-Type thermocouple. Changes in the mass and the properties of the torrefied products were analyzed to predict the correlation between calorific value, mass yield, and level power of the microwave. The results showed that with the increase in the operating power of microwave torrefaction, the calorific value and energy density of the product increased significantly, while mass and energy yield tended to decrease. Air can be a great potential media for substituting the expensive nitrogen to perform the microwave torrefaction for teakwood biomass.

Keywords: torrefaction, microwave heating, energy enhancement, mass and energy yield

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Authors: Nasib Zaman, Maneesha Kour, Muhammad Rizwan, Fazal Akbar

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Abstract: Chikungunya fever is a re-emerging rapidly spreading mosquito-borne disease cause by Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquito vectors. Currently, it is affecting millions of people globally. Objective: This study's main objective was to find the incidence of chikungunya fever in the Swat region and the factors associated with the spread of this infection. Method: This study was carried out in different areas of Swat. Blood samples and data were collected from selected patients, and a questionnaire was filled for each patient. 3-5ml of the specimen was taken from the patient's vein and serum, or plasma was separated by centrifugation. Chikungunya tests were performed for IgG and IgM antibodies. The data was analyzed by SPSS and Graph Paid Prism 5. Results: A total of 169 patients were included in this study, out of which 103 (60.9%) having age less than 30 years were positive for chikungunya infection and 66 (39.1%) having more than 30 years were negative for this infection. Only 1 (0.6%) were positive for both IgG and IgM antibody. About 15 (8.9%) patients have diagnosed with positive IgG antibodies, and 25 (26.6%) patients were positive for IgM positive antibodies. The infection rate was significantly higher in males compared to females 71 (59.6%) vs. 14 (38%) P value=0.088, OR=1.7. Conclusion: This study concludes clinical knowledge and awareness that are necessary for a diagnosis of chikungunya infection properly. Therefore it is important to educate people for the eradication of this infection. Recommendation: This study also recommends investigating the other risk factors associated with this infection.

Keywords: Chikungunya, risk factor, Incidence, antibodies, mosquito

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Authors: Xiao-lei Wang

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The Novel Concept Combination (NCC) refers to the unique ability of multilingual children to creatively merge and integrate different linguistic and cultural elements to form innovative and original concepts. Children raised with more than one language often exhibit this skill in their daily communication, such as creating innovative metaphors that enrich their communication, showcasing their creativity in conveying the essence of their messages. This paper explores NCC abilities in multilingual children by focusing on two male trilingual siblings exposed to Chinese, French, and English from birth. The siblings were observed for 19 years in their daily context. Seventy-six hours of video-recorded data were used for this study (38 hours for each participant). A coding scheme developed by Wang et al. was employed to code the recorded data. The results suggest that these multilingual siblings proportionally increased their NCC skills over the years, emerging at age 3 and peaking at age 15. The characteristic of their NCC lies in their capacity to not merely replicate linguistic elements of different languages but to recreate, reshape, and reconstruct novel ideas in communication, enriching their interactions. The paper also addresses the educational implications for educators and parents, emphasizing the importance of valuing these novel ideas in everyday environments to encourage NCC development. This, in turn, contributes to cognitive and social development.

Keywords: multilingual children, novel concept combination, multilingual creativity, linguistic richness

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Authors: Charitha Harshani Perera, Rajkishore Nayak, Long Thang Van Nguyen

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With the advent of social media, Vietnam has changed the way customers perceive the information about the brand. In the context of higher education, the adoption of social media has received attention with the increasing rate of social media usage among undergraduates. Brand-related user-generated content (UGC) on social media emphasizes the social ties between users and users’ participation, which promotes the communication to build and maintain the relationship with the brands. Although brand positioning offers a significant competitive advantage, the association with brand-related user-generated content in social media with brand positioning in the context of higher education is still an under-researched area. Accordingly, using social identity theory and social exchange theory, this research aims to deepen our understanding of the influence of brand-related user-generated content on brand positioning and purchase intention. Employing a quantitative survey design,384 Vietnamese undergraduates were selected based on purposive sampling. The findings suggest that brand-related user-generated content influence brand positioning and brand choice intention. However, there is a significant mediating effect of the reliability and understandability of the content.

Keywords: brand positioning, brand-related user-generated content, emerging countries, higher education

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Authors: Musa Mayanja Lwanga, Annet Adong

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This study provides a micro perspective on the impact of mobile money services on individual’s saving behavior using the 2013 Uganda FinScope data. Results show that although saving through the mobile phone is not a common practice in Uganda, being a registered mobile money user increases the likelihood to save with mobile money. Saving using mobile is more prevalent in urban areas and in Kampala and Central region compared to other regions. This can be explained by: first, rural dwellers tend on average to have lower incomes and thus have lower to saving compared to the urban counterpart. Similarly, residents of Kampala tend to have higher incomes and thus high savings compared to residents of other regions. Secondly, poor infrastructure in rural areas in terms of lack of electricity and poor telecommunication network coverage may limit the use of mobile phones and consequently the use of mobile money as a saving mechanism. Overall, the use of mobile money as a saving mechanism is still very low and this could be partly explained by limitations in the legislation that does not incorporate mobile finance services into mobile money. The absence of interest payments on mobile money savings may act as a disincentive to save through this mechanism. Given the emerging mobile banking services, there is a need to create more awareness and the need for enhanced synergies between telecom companies and commercial banks.

Keywords: financial inclusion, mobile money, savings, Uganda

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Authors: M. I. Ribah, M. Jibir, Y. A. Bashar, S. S. Manga

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Food safety is a significant and growing public health problem in the world and Nigeria as a developing country, since food-borne diseases are important contributors to the huge burden of sickness and death of humans. In Nigeria, traditional ready-to-eat meat products (RTE-MPs) like balangu, tsire, guru and dried meat products like kilishi, dambun nama, banda, were reported to be highly appreciated because of their eating qualities. The consumption of these products was considered as safe due to the treatments that are usually involved during their production process. However, during processing and handling, the products could be contaminated by pathogens that could cause food poisoning. Therefore, a hazard identification for pathogenic bacteria on some traditional RTE-MPs was conducted in Kebbi and Sokoto States, Nigeria. A total of 116 RTE-MPs (balangu-38, kilishi-39 and tsire-39) samples were obtained from retail outlets and analyzed using standard cultural microbiological procedures in general and selective enrichment media to isolate the target pathogens. A six-fold serial dilution was prepared and using the pour plating method, colonies were counted. Serial dilutions were selected based on the prepared pre-labeled Petri dishes for each sample. A volume of 10-12 ml of molten Nutrient agar cooled to 42-45°C was poured into each Petri dish and 1 ml each from dilutions of 102, 104 and 106 for every sample was respectively poured on a pre-labeled Petri plate after which colonies were counted. The isolated pathogens were identified and confirmed after series of biochemical tests. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the presence of pathogens. The General Linear Model was used to analyze data on pathogen presence according to RTE-MPs and means were separated using the Tukey test at 0.05 confidence level. Of the 116 RTE-MPs samples collected, 35 (30.17%) samples were found to be contaminated with some tested pathogens. Prevalence results showed that Escherichia coli, salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus were present in the samples. Mean total bacterial count was 23.82×106 cfu/g. The frequency of individual pathogens isolated was; Staphylococcus aureus 18 (15.51%), Escherichia coli 12 (10.34%) and Salmonella 5 (4.31%). Also, among the RTE-MPs tested, the total bacterial counts were found to differ significantly (P < 0.05), with 1.81, 2.41 and 2.9×104 cfu/g for tsire, kilishi, and balangu, respectively. The study concluded that the presence of pathogenic bacteria in balangu could pose grave health risks to consumers, and hence, recommended good manufacturing practices in the production of balangu to improve the products’ safety.

Keywords: ready-to-eat meat products, retail outlets, public health, safety assessment

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Authors: Amirreza Razzaghipour Sorkhab

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Hearing loss is one of the greatest common chronic health situations of older people. Hearing aids are the common treatment, and they recover the quality of life in older adults. Even so, comparatively few older adults with simple, mild to moderate, adult-onset, sensorineural hearing loss use hearing aids. It shouldn’t be expected that more expensive hearing aids always produce better outcomes. Given the importance of quality pledge, approaches of quantifying hearing aid fitting achievement are needed. Studies showed an important reduction in handicap following 3 weeks of hearing aid use, signifying the feasibility of using the Hearing Hindrance Inventory for the Elderly as an outcome measure for hearing aid success after a brief interval of hearing aid use. The results showed important development of the quality of life after three months of using a hearing aid in all members and improvement of their most important problems, i.e., the communication and exchange of data. Hearing loss can impair the conversation of information and so decreases the quality of life. Hearing aids have progressivemeaningfully over the past decade, chiefly due to the growing of digital technology. The next decade should see an even greater number of innovations to hearing aid technology. Development in digital hearing aids will be driven by investigate advances in the next fields such as wireless technology, hearing science, and cognitive scienceMoreover, emerging trends such as connectivity and individuation will also drive new technology. We hope that the advancement of technology will be enough to meet the needs of people with hearing aids.

Keywords: hearing loss, hearing aid, hearing aid technology, health

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Authors: Sonam Kumari

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, possesses a remarkable feature of entering into and emerging from a persistent state. The mechanism by which Mtb switches from the dormant state to the replicative form is still poorly characterized. Proteome studies have given us an insight into the role of certain proteins in giving stupendous virulence to Mtb, but numerous dotsremain unconnected and unaccounted. The WhiB family of proteins is one such protein that is associated with developmental processes in actinomycetes.Mtb has seven such proteins (WhiB1 to WhiB7).WhiB proteins are transcriptional regulators; their conserved C-terminal HTH motif is involved in DNA binding. They regulate various essential genes of Mtbby binding to their promoter DNA. Biophysical Analysis of the effect of DNA binding on WhiB proteins has not yet been appropriately characterized. Interaction with DNA induces conformational changes in the WhiB proteins, confirmed by steady-state fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy. ITC has deduced thermodynamic parameters and the binding affinity of the interaction. Since these transcription factors are highly unstable in vitro, their stability and solubility were enhanced by the co-expression of molecular chaperones. The present study findings help determine the conditions under which the WhiB proteins interact with their interacting partner and the factors that influence their binding affinity. This is crucial in understanding their role in regulating gene expression in Mtbandin targeting WhiB proteins as a drug target to cure TB.

Keywords: tuberculosis, WhiB proteins, mycobacterium tuberculosis, nucleic acid binding

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Authors: Manasi Roy, Raju Mondal

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During last two decades the synthesis and design of MOFs or novel coordination polymers (CPs) has flourished as an emerging area of research due to their role as functional materials. Accordingly, ten new cobalt-based MOFs have been synthesized using a simple bispyrazole ligand, 4,4′-methylene-bispyrazole (H2MBP), and isophthalic acid (H2IPA) and its four 5-substituted derivatives R-H2IPA (R = COOH, OH, tBu, NH2). The major aim of this study was to validate the mutual influence of temperature and substitutions on the final structural self-assembly. Five different isophthalic acid derivatives were used to study the influence of substituents while each reaction was carried out at two different temperatures to assess the temperature effect. A clear correlation was observed between the reaction temperature and the coordination number of the cobalt atoms which consequently changes the self assembly pattern. Another fact that the periodical change in coordination number did bring about some systematic changes in the structural network via secondary building unit selectivity. With the presence of a tunable cavity inside the network, and unsaturated metal centers, MOFs show highly encouraging photocatalytic degradation of toxic dye with a potential application in waste water purification. Another fascinating aspect of this work is the construction of magnetic coordination polymers with the occurrence of a not-so-common MCE behavior of cobalt-based MOF.

Keywords: MOFs, temperature effect, MCE, dye degradation

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Authors: Muhammad Kamran Hanif Khan, Fahad Mushtaq

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Background: In both developed and underdeveloped countries, coronary artery disease (CAD) is a serious cause of death and disability. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is becoming more prevalent in emerging countries like Pakistan due to the spread and acceptance of Western lifestyles. Material and Methods: An observational cross-sectional investigation was conducted, and data collection relied on a random cluster sampling method. The sample size for this cross-sectional study was calculated using the following factors: estimated true proportion of 17.5%, desired precision of 2%, and confidence interval of 95%. The data for this study was collected from a sample of 1387 adults. Results: The average age of those living in rural areas is 55.24 years, compared to 52.60 years for those living in urban areas. The mean fasting blood glucose of the urban participants is 105.28 mg/dL, which is higher than the mean fasting blood glucose of the rural participants, which is 102.06 mg/dL. The mean total cholesterol of the urban participants is 192.20 mg/dL, which is slightly higher than the mean total cholesterol of the rural participants, which is 191.97 mg/dL. CAD prevalence is greater in urban areas than in rural areas. ECG abnormalities prevalence is 16.1% in females compared to 12.5% in men. Conclusion: The prevalence of CAD is more common in urban areas than in rural ones for all of the measures of CAD used in the study.

Keywords: CVD prevalence, CVD risk factors, rural area, urban area

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Authors: Yee Hui Lim, Elena Gusareva, Irvan Luhung, Yulia Frank, Stephan Christoph Schuster

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Environmental pollution from microplastics (MPs) is an emerging concern worldwide. While the presence of microplastics has been well established in the marine and terrestrial environments, the prevalence of microplastics in the atmosphere is still poorly understood. Wet depositions such as rain or snow scavenge impurities from the atmosphere as it falls to the ground. These wet depositions serve as a useful tool in the removal of airborne particles that are suspended in the air. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the presence of atmospheric microplastics and fibres through the analysis of air, rainwater and snow samples. Air samples were collected with filter-based air samplers from outdoor locations in Singapore. The sampling campaigns were conducted during and after each rain event. Rainwater samples from Singapore and Siberia were collected as well. Snow samples were also collected from Siberia as part of the ongoing study. Genomic DNA was then extracted from the samples and sequenced with shotgun metagenomics approach. qPCR analysis was conducted to quantify the total bacteria and fungi in the air, rainwater and snow samples. The results compared the bioaerosol profiles of all the samples. To observe the presence of microplastics, scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used. From the preliminary results, microplastics were detected. It can be concluded that there is a significant amount of atmospheric microplastics present, and its occurrence should be investigated in greater detail.

Keywords: atmospheric microplastics, metagenomics, scanning electron microscope, wet deposition

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Authors: Harmel Meriem

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The optoelectronic properties and high power conversion efficiency make lead halide perovskites ideal material for solar cell applications. However, the toxic nature of lead and the instability of organic cation are the two key challenges in the emerging perovskite solar cells. To overcome these challenges, we present our study about finding potential alternatives to lead in the form of A2BX6 perovskite using the first principles DFT-based calculations. The highly accurate modified Becke Johnson (mBJ) and hybrid functional (HSE06) have been used to investigate the Main Document Click here to view linked References to optoelectronic and thermoelectric properties of A2PdBr6 (A = K, Rb, and Cs) perovskite. The results indicate that different A-cations in A2PdBr6 can significantly alter their electronic and optical properties. Calculated band structures indicate semiconducting nature, with band gap values of 1.84, 1.53, and 1.54 eV for K2PdBr6, Rb2PdBr6, and Cs2PdBr6, respectively. We find strong optical absorption in the visible region with small effective masses for A2PdBr6. The ideal band gap and optimum light absorption suggest Rb2PdBr6 and Cs2PdBr6 potential candidates for the light absorption layer in perovskite solar cells. Additionally.

Keywords: soler cell, double perovskite, optoelectronic properties, ab-inotio study

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Authors: Kuek Teik Sheng, Leaw Zee Guan, Lim Wah Kien, Ting Tin Tin

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Educational technology such as YouTube and Kahoot have arisen as an alternative to effective learning among higher education institutions. There are many researches done in carrying out experiments to test different educational technologies and received positive feedback from students. Yet, similar study is hardly found in Malaysia especially study that includes the latest educational technologies. As a developing country, it is crucial to ensure that these emerging technologies are assisting students in learning process before it is widely adopted in institutions. This paper conducted a study to explore the perception of higher education institution students on the current educational technologies in Malaysia which include online educational games, online videos/course, social media, presentation tools and resource management tool. Some of these technologies have not been looked into its potential in effective learning process. An online survey using questionnaire is conducted among a target of 300 university/college. In the survey, the result shows that majority of the target students in Malaysia agree that the current educational technologies help them in learning, understanding and manage their studies. It is necessary to discover students’ perceptions on the educational technologies in order to provide guidelines for the educators/institutions in selecting appropriate technology to conduct the lecture/tutorial efficiently and effectively.

Keywords: education, educational technology, Facebook, PowerPoint, YouTube

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Authors: Sumaya Ismail, Aijaz Ahmad Reshi

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The advances in sensor and embedded technologies have led to rapid developments in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Presently researchers focus on the integration of WSNs to the Internet for their pervasive availability to access these network resources as the interoperable subsystems. The recent computing technologies like cloud computing has made resource sharing as a converged infrastructure with required service interfaces for the shared resources over the Internet. This paper presents application architecture for wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANS) following web of things, which allows easy integration of each node to the Internet in order to provide them with web accessibility. The architecture enables the sensors and actuator nodes accessed and controlled using cloud interface on WWW. The application architecture was implemented using existing web and its emerging technologies. In particular, the Representational State Transfer protocol (REST) was extended for the specific requirements of the application. The Cloud computing environment has been used as a development platform for the application to assess the possibility of integrating the WSAN nodes to Cloud services. The mushroom farm environment monitoring and control using WSANs has been taken as a research use case.

Keywords: WSAN, REST, web of things, ZigBee, cloud interface, PaaS, sensor gateway

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Authors: Abdikarim Barqadle Igale

Abstract:

The main objective of this study is to find out the indicators of excellent supply chain management based on game theory. The study employed a survey design to collect data. A total of 268 respondents participated in this research. The results indicate that both companies (Coca-cola & Yousran International) managed to effectively use the physical and information flows but were different from the focus on the items in the two key areas. The Coca-cola, for instance, sustained to utilize the flows of excellent planning, starting from row materials, timing, transformation, transportation, and storage of goods to reach consumer’s hands on one side and solid linkage to strategic partners to plan and work together for long-term control of better day-to-day supply chains of goods and materials down to customers’ consumption on the other. Meanwhile, the Yousran International heavily concentrated on the physical side with moderate rapports with strategic partners for long-term improvement on supply chain. The study proposes that strong combination of effective use of both physical and information flows are good indicators of better supply chain management in today’s emerging companies.

Keywords: game theory, physical flow, supply chain management, indicators

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Authors: Sónia Ribeiro, Diana Farinha, Hélia Sales, Rita Pontes, João Nunes

Abstract:

The demand and commitment to sustainability in the agrifood sector introduce news opportunities for new composite materials. Composite materials are emerging as a vital entity for the sustainable development. Polylactic acid (PLA) has been recognized as a potential polymer with attractive characteristics for agrifood sector applications. PLA that can be beneficial for the development of composites, biocomposites, films, porous gels, and so on. The production of PLA from lignocellulosic biomass residues matrix is a key option towards a sustainable and circular bioeconomy and a non-competitive application with feed and food sector. The Flui and BeirInov projects presents news developments in the production of PLA composites to value the Portuguese forest ecosystem, with high amount of lignocellulosic biomass residues and available. A performance production of lactic acid from lignocellulosic biomass undergoes a process of autohydrolysis, saccharification and fermentation, originating a lactic acid fermentation medium with a 72.27g.L-1 was obtained and a final purification of 72%. The high purification PLA from multi lignocellulosic residues representing one economic expensive process, and a new materials and application for the polymers and a combination with others types of composites matrix characteristic is the drive-up for this green market.

Keywords: polylactic acid, lignocellulosic biomass, agrifood, composite materials

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Authors: Lorena GóMez Escorcia, Gustavo Aroca MartíNez, Jose Luiz Villarreal, Elkin Navarro Quiroz

Abstract:

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a high-cost disease, occurring in about half of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Renal biopsy constitutes the only protocol that, to date, allows a correct diagnosis of the level of renal involvement in these patients. However, this procedure can have various adverse effects such as kidney bleeding, muscle bleeding, infection, pain, among others. Therefore, the development of new diagnostic alternatives is required. The neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been emerging as a novel biomarker of acute kidney injury. The aim of this study was to assess urinary NGAL levels as a marker for disease activity in patients with lupus nephritis. For this work included 50 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, 50 with active lupus nephritis (LN), and 50 without autoimmune and renal disease as controls. TNGAL in urine samples was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results revealed that patients with kidney damage had an elevated urinary NGAL as compared to patients with lupus without kidney damage and controls (p <0.005), and the mean of uNGAL was (28.72 ± 4.53), (19.51 ± 4.72), (8.91 ± 3.37) respectively. Measurement of urinary NGAL levels showed a very good diagnostic performance for discriminating patients with Lupus nephritis from SLE without renal damage and of control individuals.

Keywords: lupus nephritis, biomarker, NGAL, urine samples

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Authors: Tsietsi J. Pilusa, Tumisang G. Seodigeng

Abstract:

This study evaluates the benefits of advanced waste management practices in unlocking waste-to-energy opportunities within the solid waste industry. The key drivers of sustainable waste management practices, specifically with respect to packaging waste-to-energy technology options are discussed. The success of a waste-to-energy system depends significantly on the appropriateness of available technologies, including those that are well established as well as those that are less so. There are hard and soft interventions to be considered when packaging an integrated waste treatment solution. Technology compatibility with variation in feedstock (waste) quality and quantities remains a key factor. These factors influence the technology reliability in terms of production efficiencies and product consistency, which in turn, drives the supply and demand network. Waste treatment technologies rely on the waste material as feedstock; the feedstock varies in quality and quantities depending on several factors; hence, the technology fails, as a result. It is critical to design an advanced waste treatment technology in an integrated approach to minimize the possibility of technology failure due to unpredictable feedstock quality, quantities, conversion efficiencies, and inconsistent product yield or quality. An integrated waste-to-energy approach offers a secure system design that considers sustainable waste management practices.

Keywords: emerging markets, evaluation tool, interventions, waste treatment technologies

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Authors: Naveen Kumar, Shyambihari Prajapati

Abstract:

Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution that focuses on interconnectivity of machine to machine, human to machine and human to human via Internet of Things (IoT). Technologies of industry 4.0 facilitate communication between human and machine through IoT and forms Cyber-Physical Production System (CPPS). In CPPS, multiple shop floors sensor data are connected through IoT and displayed through sensor dashboard to the operator. These sensor dashboards have enormous amount of information to be presented which becomes complex for operators to perform monitoring, controlling and interpretation tasks. Designing handheld sensor dashboards for supervision task will become a challenge for the interface designers. This paper reports emerging technologies of industry 4.0, changing context of increasing information complexity in consecutive industrial revolutions and upcoming design challenges for interface designers in context of Industry 4.0. Authors conclude that information complexity of sensor dashboards design has increased with consecutive industrial revolutions and designs of sensor dashboard causes cognitive load on users. Designing such complex dashboards interfaces in Industry 4.0 context will become main challenges for the interface designers.

Keywords: Industry4.0, sensor dashboard design, cyber-physical production system, Interface designer

Procedia PDF Downloads 126