Search results for: power loss reduction

Authors: Yusuf Bulale, Mark Prince, Geoff Tansley, Peter Brett

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Cochlear Implantation (CI) which became a routine procedure for the last decades is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound for patients who are severely and profoundly deaf. Today, cochlear implantation technology uses electrode array (EA) implanted manually into the cochlea. The optimal success of this implantation depends on the electrode technology and deep insertion techniques. However, this manual insertion procedure may cause mechanical trauma which can lead to a severe destruction of the delicate intracochlear structure. Accordingly, future improvement of the cochlear electrode implant insertion needs reduction of the excessive force application during the cochlear implantation which causes tissue damage and trauma. This study is examined tool-tissue interaction of large prototype scale digit embedded with distributive tactile sensor based upon cochlear electrode and large prototype scale cochlea phantom for simulating the human cochlear which could lead to small-scale digit requirements. The digit, distributive tactile sensors embedded with silicon-substrate was inserted into the cochlea phantom to measure any digit/phantom interaction and position of the digit in order to minimize tissue and trauma damage during the electrode cochlear insertion. The digit has provided tactile information from the digit-phantom insertion interaction such as contact status, tip penetration, obstacles, relative shape and location, contact orientation and multiple contacts. The tests demonstrated that even devices of such a relative simple design with low cost have a potential to improve cochlear implant surgery and other lumen mapping applications by providing tactile sensory feedback information and thus controlling the insertion through sensing and control of the tip of the implant during the insertion. In that approach, the surgeon could minimize the tissue damage and potential damage to the delicate structures within the cochlear caused by current manual electrode insertion of the cochlear implantation. This approach also can be applied to other minimally invasive surgery applications as well as diagnosis and path navigation procedures.

Keywords: cochlear electrode insertion, distributive tactile sensory feedback information, flexible digit, minimally invasive surgery, tool/tissue interaction

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Authors: Abdul Rahmat

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Community-based education in the economic empowerment of the family is an attempt to accelerate human development index (HDI) Dumbo Kingdom District of Gorontalo economics (purchasing power) program developed in this activity is the manufacture of functional skills shredded fish, fish balls, fish nuggets, chips anchovies, and corn sticks fish. The target audience of this activity is fishing se mothers subdistrict Dumbo Kingdom include Talumolo Village, Village Botu, Kampung Bugis Village, Village North and Sub Leato South Leato that each village is represented by 20 participants so totaling 100 participants. Time activities beginning in October s/d November 2014 held once a week on every Saturday at 9.00 s/d 13:00/14:00. From the results of the learning process of testing the skills of functional skills of making shredded fish, fish balls, fish nuggets, chips anchovies, fish and corn sticks residents have additional knowledge and experience are: 1) Order the concept include: nutrient content, processing food with fish raw materials , variations in taste, packaging, pricing and marketing sales. 2) Products made: in accordance with the wishes of the residents learned that estimated Eligible selling, product packaging logo creation, preparation and realization of the establishment of Business Study Group (KBU) and pioneered the marketing network with restaurant, store / shop staple food vendors that are around CLC.

Keywords: community development, functional skills, gender, HDI

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Authors: Arega Shumetie Ademe, Belay Kassa, Degye Goshu, Majaliwa Mwanjalolo

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Currently the world economy is suffering from one critical problem, climate change. Some studies done before identified that impact of the problem is region specific means in some part of the world (temperate zone) there is improvement in agricultural performance but in some others like in the tropics there is drastic reduction in crop production and crop income. Climate variability is becoming dominant cause of short-term fluctuation in rain-fed agricultural production and income of developing countries. The purely rain-fed Ethiopian agriculture is the most vulnerable sector to the risks and impacts of climate variability. Thus, this study tried to identify impact of climate variability on crop income of smallholders in Ethiopia. The research used eight rounded unbalanced panel data from 1994- 2014 collected from six villages in the study area. After having all diagnostic tests the research used fixed effect method of regression. Based on the regression result rainfall and temperature deviation from their respective long term averages have negative and significant effect on crop income. Other extreme devastating shocks like flood, storm and frost, which are sourced from climate variability, have significant and negative effect on crop income of households’. Parameters that notify rainfall inconsistency like late start, variation in availability at growing season, and early cessation are critical problems for crop income of smallholder households as to the model result. Given this, impact of climate variability is not consistent in different agro-ecologies of the country. Rainfall variability has similar impact on crop income in different agro-ecology, but variation in temperature affects cold agro-ecology villages negatively and significantly, while it has positive effect in warm villages. Parameters that represent rainfall inconsistency have similar impact in both agro-ecologies and the aggregate model regression. This implies climate variability sourced from rainfall inconsistency is the main problem of Ethiopian agriculture especially the crop production sub-sector of smallholder households.

Keywords: climate variability, crop income, household, rainfall, temperature

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Authors: Adedoyin Opeyemi Osokoya

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The study assesses the influence of social media on perceived learning outcome of agricultural science students in tertiary institutions in Oyo state, Nigeria. The four-stage sampling procedure was used to select participants. All students in the seven tertiary institutions that offer agriculture science as a course of study in Oyo State was the population. A university, a college of agriculture and a college of education were sampled, and a department from each was randomly selected. Twenty percent of the students’ population in the respective selected department gave a sample size of 165. Questionnaire was used to collect information on respondents’ personal characteristics and information related to access to social media. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, correlation, and multiple regression at the 0.05 confidence level. Age and household size were 21.13 ± 2.64 years and 6 ± 2.1 persons respectively. All respondents had access to social media, majority (86.1%) owned Android phone, 57.6% and 52.7% use social media for course work and entertainment respectively, while the commonly visited sites were WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, Opera mini. Over half (53.9%) had an unfavourable attitude towards the use of social media for learning; benefits of the use of social media for learning was high (56.4%). Removal of information barrier created by distance (x̄=1.58) was the most derived benefit, while inadequate power supply (x̄=2.36), was the most severe constraints. Age (β=0.23), sex (β=0.37), ownership of Android phone (β=-1.29), attitude (β=0.37), constraints (β =-0.26) and use of social media (β=0.23) were significant predictors of influence on perceived learning outcomes.

Keywords: use of social media, agricultural science students, undergraduates of tertiary institutions, Oyo State of Nigeria

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Authors: Alvarado M. Lady G., Ortiz V. Yaylenne, Quintero B. Quelbis R.

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The oil palm sector has seen significant growth in Colombia after the insertion of policies to stimulate the use of biofuels, which eventually contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) that deteriorate not only the environment but the health of people. However, the policy of using biofuels has been strongly questioned by the impacts that can generate; an example is the increase of other more harmful GHGs like the CH₄ that underlies the amount of solid waste generated. Casanare's department is estimated be one of the major producers of palm oil of the country given that has recently expanded its sowed area, which implies an increase in waste generated primarily in the industrial stage. For this reason, the following study evaluated the agronomic potential of the biochar obtained from empty fruit bunches and its nutritional contribution in cultivated soils with Elaeis guineensis in Casanare, Colombia. The biochar was obtained by slow pyrolysis of the clusters in a retort oven at an average temperature of 190 °C and a residence time of 8 hours. The final product was taken to the laboratory for its physical and chemical analysis as well as a soil sample from a cultivation of Elaeis guineensis located in Tauramena-Casanare. With the results obtained plus the bibliographical reports of the nutrient demand in this cultivation, the possible nutritional contribution of the biochar was determined. It is estimated that the cultivation requirements of nitrogen is 12.1 kg.ha⁻¹, potassium is 59.3 kg.ha⁻¹, magnesium is -31.5 kg.ha⁻¹ and phosphorus is 5.6 kg.ha⁻¹ obtaining a biochar contribution of 143.1 kg.ha⁻¹, 1204.5 kg.ha⁻¹, 39.2 kg.ha⁻¹ and 71.6 kg.ha⁻¹ respectively. The incorporation of biochar into the soil would significantly improve the concentrations of N, P, K and Mg, nutrients considered important in the yield of palm oil, coupled with the importance of nutrient recycling in agricultural production systems sustainable. The biochar application improves the physical properties of soils, mainly in the humidity retention. On the other hand, it regulates the availability of nutrients for plants absorption, with economic savings in the application of synthetic fertilizers and water by irrigation. It also becomes an alternative to manage agricultural waste, reducing the involuntary emissions of greenhouse gases to the environment by decomposition in the field, reducing the CO₂ content in the atmosphere.

Keywords: biochar, nutrient recycling, oil palm, pyrolysis

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Authors: Onur Ercan, Buket Askin, Erdogan Kucukoner

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Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum, bluegold) has become popular beverage due to their nutritional values such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In the study, the effects of pressing, mashing, enzymatic treatment, and pasteurization on anthocyanins, colour, and polyphenolics of blueberry juice (BJ) were studied. The blueberry juice (BJ) was produced with two different methods that direct juice extraction (DJE) and mash treatment process (MTP) were applied. After crude blueberry juice (CBJ) production, the samples were first treated with commercial enzymes [Novoferm-61 (Novozymes A/S) (2–10 mL/L)], to break down the hydrocolloid polysaccharides, mainly pectin and starch. The enzymes were added at various concentrations. The highest transmittance (%) was obtained for Novoferm-61 at a concentration of 2 mL/L was 66.53%. After enzymatic treatment, clarification trials were applied to the enzymatically treated BJs with adding various amounts of bentonite (10%, w/v), gelatin (1%, w/v) and kiselsol (15%, v/v). The turbidities of the clarified samples were then determined. However, there was no significant differences between transmittances (%) for samples. For that, only enzymatic treatment was applied to the blueberry juice processing (DDBJ, depectinized direct blueberry juice). Based on initial pressing process made to evaluate press function, it was determined that pressing fresh blueberries with no other processing did not render adequate juice due to lack of liquefaction. Therefore, the blueberries were mash into small pieces (3 mm) and then enzymatic treatments and clarification trials were performed. Finally, both BJ samples were pasteurized. Compositional analyses, colour properties, polyphenols and antioxidant properties were compared. Enzymatic treatment caused significant reductions in ACN content (30%) in Direct Blueberry Juice Processing (DBJ), while there was a significant increasing in Mash Treatment Processing (MTP). Overall anthocyanin levels were higher intreated samples after each processing step in MTP samples, but polyphenolic levels were slightly higher for both processes (DBJ and MTP). There was a reduction for ACNs and polyphenolics only after pasteurization. It has a result that the methods for tried to blueberry juice is suitable into obtain fresh juice. In addition, we examined fruit juice during processing stages; anthocyanin, phenolic substance content and antioxidant activity are higher, and yield is higher in fruit juice compared to DBJ method in MTP method, the MTP method should be preferred in processing juice of blueberry into fruit juice.

Keywords: anthocyanins, blueberry, depectinization, polyphenols

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Authors: M. Mutoti, J. Gumbo, A. Jideani

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Cyanobacteria or blue green algae have been part of the human diet for thousands of years. Cyanobacteria can multiply quickly in surface waters and form blooms when favorable conditions prevail, such as high temperature, intense light, high pH, and increased availability of nutrients, especially phosphorous and nitrogen, artificially released by anthropogenic activities. Consumption of edible cyanotoxins such as Spirulina may reduce risks of cataracts and age related macular degeneration. Sulfate polysaccharides exhibit antitumor, anticoagulant, anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and even antiviral activity against HIV, herpes, and hepatitis. In humans, exposure to cyanotoxins can occur in various ways; however, the oral route is the most important. This is mainly through drinking water, or by eating contaminated foods; it may even involve ingesting water during recreational activities. This paper seeks to present a review on cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin contamination of water and food and implications for human health. In particular, examining the water quality used during maize seed that passes through mill grinding processes. In order to fulfil the objective, this paper starts with the theoretical framework on cyanobacteria contamination of food that will guide review of the present paper. A number of methods for decontaminating cyanotoxins in food is currently available. Therefore, physical, chemical, and biological methods for treating cyanotoxins are reviewed and compared. Furthermore, methods that are utilized for detecting and identifying cyanobacteria present in water and food were also informed in this review. This review has indicated various routes through which humans can be exposed to cyanotoxins. Accumulation of cyanotoxins, mainly microcystins, in food has raised an awareness of the importance of food as microcystins exposure route to human body. Therefore, this review demonstrates the importance of expanding research on cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin contamination of water and food for water treatment and water supply management, with focus on examining water for domestic use. This will help providing information regarding the prevention or minimization of contamination of water and food, and also reduction or removal of contamination through treatment processes and prevention of recontamination in the distribution system.

Keywords: biofilm, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin, food contamination

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Authors: Vânia Costa, Nuno De Sá Teixeira, Ana C. Santos, Eduardo Santos

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Financial literacy and numeracy have been regarded as paramount for rational household decision making in the increasing complexity of financial markets. However, financial decisions are often made under sub-optimal circumstances, including cognitive overload. The present study aims to clarify how financial literacy and numeracy, taken as relevant expert knowledge for financial decision-making, modulate possible effects of cognitive load. Participants were required to perform a choice between a sure loss or a gambling pertaining a financial investment, either with or without a competing memory task. Two experiments were conducted varying only the content of the competing task. In the first, the financial choice task was made while maintaining on working memory a list of five random letters. In the second, cognitive load was based upon the retention of six random digits. In both experiments, one of the items in the list had to be recalled given its serial position. Outcomes of the first experiment revealed no significant main effect or interactions involving cognitive load manipulation and numeracy and financial literacy skills, strongly suggesting that retaining a list of random letters did not interfere with the cognitive abilities required for financial decision making. Conversely, and in the second experiment, a significant interaction between the competing mnesic task and level of financial literacy (but not numeracy) was found for the frequency of choice of a gambling option. Overall, and in the control condition, both participants with high financial literacy and high numeracy were more prone to choose the gambling option. However, and when under cognitive load, participants with high financial literacy were as likely as their illiterate counterparts to choose the gambling option. This outcome is interpreted as evidence that financial literacy prevents intuitive risk-aversion reasoning only under highly favourable conditions, as is the case when no other task is competing for cognitive resources. In contrast, participants with higher levels of numeracy were consistently more prone to choose the gambling option in both experimental conditions. These results are discussed in the light of the opposition between classical dual-process theories and fuzzy-trace theories for intuitive decision making, suggesting that while some instances of expertise (as numeracy) are prone to support easily accessible gist representations, other expert skills (as financial literacy) depend upon deliberative processes. It is furthermore suggested that this dissociation between types of expert knowledge might depend on the degree to which they are generalizable across disparate settings. Finally, applied implications of the present study are discussed with a focus on how it informs financial regulators and the importance and limits of promoting financial literacy and general numeracy.

Keywords: decision making, cognitive load, financial literacy, numeracy

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Authors: M. Kolotylo, H. Zheng, R. Parente, R. Dahiya

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Large number of organizations, frequently motivated by budget and cost cuts, outsource their Information Technology (IT) positions every year. Although the objective of reduction in financial obligations is often not accomplished, many buyer companies still manage to benefit from outsourcing projects. Knowledge Transfer (KT), being one of the major processes that take place during IT outsourcing partnership, may exert a strong impact on the performance of the parties involved, particularly that of the buyer. Research, however, lacks strong conceptual basis for the possible benefits that KT from supplier may bring to the buyer; and for the mechanisms that may be adopted by the buyer to maximize such benefit. This paper aims to fill this gap by proposing a conceptual framework of organizational learning and development of dynamic capabilities enabled by KT from the supplier to the buyer. The study examines buyer-supplier relationships in the context of IT outsourcing transactions, and theorizes how KT from the supplier to the buyer helps the performance of the buyer. It warrants that more research is carried out in order to explicate and provide evidence regarding the role that KT plays in strategic improvements for the buyer. The paper proposes to take up a two-fold approach to the research: conceptual development that utilizes logical argumentation and interpretive historical research, as well as a qualitative case study which aims to capture and understand the complex processes involved. Thus, the study provides a comprehensive visualization of the dynamics of the conditions under which participation in IT outsourcing partnership might be of benefit to the buyer company. The framework demonstrates the mechanisms involved in buyer’s achievement of strategic alignment through organizational learning enabled by KT from the supplier. It highlights that organizational learning involves a balance between exploitation of assets and exploration of new possibilities, and further notes that the dynamic capabilities mediate the effect of organizational learning on firm performance. The paper explicates in what ways managers can leverage outsourcing projects to execute strategy, which would enable their organization achieve better performance. The study concludes that organizational learning enables the firm to develop IT capabilities of strategic planning, IT integration, and IT relationships in the outsourcing context, and that IT capabilities developed through the organizational learning would help the firm in achieving strategic alignment.

Keywords: dynamic capabilities, it outsourcing, knowledge transfer, organizational learning, strategic alignment

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Authors: Nasrin Takzaree, Gholamreza Hassanzadeh, Abbas Hadjiakhoondi, Mohammadreza Rouini

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Introduction: Today herbal medicine are extensively used for various therapeutic reasons. Whereas Achillea millefolium L. comprises different chemical compounds it is used in classic and modern medicine for different purposes. Concerning the family planning as a principle matter, the idea of using specific herbal medicine is of great importance. Purpose: To investigate the effects of Achillea millefolium L. extract on fertility power and spermatogenesis process in male mature Wistar rats and the anti-fertility effects of this extract in male genital system. Material and methods: In this study 32 male mature Wistar rats were randomly divided in to 4 experimental groups. 1st experimental group included 8 rats receiving Achillea millefolium extract at the dose of 200 mg/kg intraperitoneally. Second and third groups received the extract the same at the doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg respectively. 4th group was considered as control group in which the parenteral distilled water was administered. after 20 days, rats were sacrificed and the spermatogenesis process was histologically examined. Results: In experimental groups receiving high doses of extract comparing with control group, thickness in seminiferous tubules basal membrane, decrease in germinal epithelium cells, congestion in testicular tissue, disarrangement in germinal epithelium cells as well as decrease in cellular condense were observed (p<0.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that alcoholic extract of Achillea millefolium at high concentrations lead to the structural alterations and changes in spermatogenesis in testicular tissue.

Keywords: spermatogenesis, alcoholic extract of Achillea millefolium L., testis, Wistar rat

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Authors: Md. Omar Bin Harun Khan

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The collapse of the infamous Rana Plaza, a multi-storeyed commercial building in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh has brought with it a plethora of positive and negative consequences. Bangladesh being a key player in the export of clothing, found itself amidst a wave of economic upheaval following this tragic incident that resulted in numerous Bangladeshis, most of whom were factory workers. This paper compares the consequences that the country’s Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector is facing now, two years into the incident. The paper presents a comparison of statistical data from study reports and brings forward perspectives from all dimensions of Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations in Bangladesh following the event. The paper brings across the viewpoint of donor organizations and donor countries, the impacts of several initiatives taken by foreign organizations like the International Labour Organization, and local entities like the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in order to reinforce compliance and stabilize the shaky foundation that the RMG sector had found itself following the collapse. Focus of the paper remains on the stance taken by the suppliers in Bangladesh, with inputs from buying houses and factories, and also on the reaction of foreign brands. The paper also focuses on the horrific physical, mental and financial implications sustained by the victims and their families, and the consequent uproar from workers in general regarding compliance with work safety and workers’ welfare conditions. The purpose is to get across both sides of the scenario: the economic impact that suppliers / factories/ sellers/ buying houses/exporters have faced in Bangladesh as a result of complete loss of reliability on them regarding working standards; and also to cover the aftershock felt on the other end of the spectrum by the importers/ buyers, particularly the foreign entities, in terms of the sudden accountability of being affiliated with non- compliant factories. The collapse of Rana Plaza has received vast international attention and strong criticism. Nevertheless, the almost immediate strengthening of labourrights and the wholesale reform undertaken on all sides of the supply chain, evidence a move of all local and foreign stakeholders towards greater compliance and taking of precautionary steps for prevention of further disasters. The tragedy that Rana Plaza embodies served as a much-needed epiphany for the soaring RMG Sector of Bangladesh. Prompt co-operation on the part of all stakeholders and regulatory bodies now show a move towards sustainable development, which further ensures safeguarding against any future irregularities and pave the way for steady economic growth.

Keywords: economy, employment standards, Rana Plaza, RMG

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Authors: Ying-Jung Hsieh, Angela S. Huang, Chu-Ming Chiu, Yu-Min Chou, Chin-Hui Yang

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Background and Objectives: Hepatitis A is primarily acquired by the fecal-oral route through person-to-person contact or ingestion of contaminated food or water. During 2010 to 2014, an average of 83 cases of locally-acquired disease was reported to Taiwan’s notifiable disease system. Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (TCDC) identified an outbreak of acute hepatitis A which began in June 2015. Of the 126 cases reported in 2015, 103 (82%) cases were reported during June–December and 95 cases (92%) of them were male. The average age of all male cases was 31 years (median, 29 years; range, 15–76 years). Among the 95 male cases, 49 (52%) were also infected with HIV, and all reported to have had sex with other men. To control this outbreak, TCDC launched a free hepatitis A vaccination program in January 2016 for close contacts of confirmed hepatitis A cases, including family members, sexual partners, and household contacts. Effect of the vaccination program was evaluated. Methods: All cases of hepatitis A reported to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System were included. A case of hepatitis A was defined as a locally-acquired disease in a person who had acute clinical symptoms include fever, malaise, loss of appetite, nausea or abdominal discomfort compatible with hepatitis, and tested positive for anti-HAV IgM during June 2015 to June 2016 in Taiwan. The rate of case accumulation was calculated using a simple regression model. Results: During January–June 2016, there were 466 cases of hepatitis A reported; of the 243 (52%) who were also infected with HIV, 232 (95%) had a history of having sex with men. Of the 346 cases that were followed up, 259 (75%) provided information on contacts but only 14 (5%) of them provided the name of their sexual partners. Among the 602 contacts reported, 349 (58%) were family members, 14 (2%) were sexual partners, and 239 (40%) were other household contacts. Among the 602 contacts eligible for free hepatitis A vaccination, 440 (73%) received the vaccine. There were 87 (25%) cases that refused to disclose their close contacts. The average case accumulation rate during January–June 2016 was 21.7 cases per month, which was 6.8 times compared to the average case accumulation rate during June–December 2015 of 3.2 cases per month. Conclusions: Despite vaccination program aimed to provide free hepatitis A vaccine to close contacts of hepatitis A patients, the outbreak continued and even gained momentum in transmission. Refusal by hepatitis A patients to provide names of their close contacts and rejection of contacts to take the hepatitis A vaccine may have contributed to the poor effect of the program. Targeted vaccination efforts of all MSM may be needed to control the outbreak among this population in the short term. In the long term, universal vaccination program is needed to prevent the infection of hepatitis A.

Keywords: hepatitis A, HIV, men who have sex with men, vaccination

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Authors: Jiří. J. Urbánek, Hana Malachová, Josef Krahulec, Jitka Johanidisová

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The paper deals with crisis situations investigation and modelling within the organizations of critical infrastructure. Every crisis situation has an origin in the emergency event occurrence in the organizations of energetic critical infrastructure especially. Here, the emergency events can be both the expected events, then crisis scenarios can be pre-prepared by pertinent organizational crisis management authorities towards their coping or the unexpected event (Black Swan effect) – without pre-prepared scenario, but it needs operational coping of crisis situations as well. The forms, characteristics, behaviour and utilization of crisis scenarios have various qualities, depending on real critical infrastructure organization prevention and training processes. An aim is always better organizational security and continuity obtainment. This paper objective is to find and investigate critical/ crisis zones and functions in critical situations models of critical infrastructure organization. The DYVELOP (Dynamic Vector Logistics of Processes) method is able to identify problematic critical zones and functions, displaying critical interfaces among actors of crisis situations on the DYVELOP maps named Blazons. Firstly, for realization of this ability is necessary to derive and create identification algorithm of critical interfaces. The locations of critical interfaces are the flags of crisis situation in real organization of critical infrastructure. Conclusive, the model of critical interface will be displayed at real organization of Czech energetic crisis infrastructure subject in Black Out peril environment. The Blazons need live power Point presentation for better comprehension of this paper mission.

Keywords: algorithm, crisis, DYVELOP, infrastructure

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Authors: A. M. S. S. Amarasiri, A. P. Attanayake, K. A. P. W. Jayatilaka, L. K. B. Mudduwa

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Adriamycin (ADR) is an effective anthracyclin antitumor drug, but its clinical use is limited due to renal toxicity. The leaves of Asparagus falcatus (Family: Liliaceae) have been used in the management of renal diseases since antiquity. In the present investigation, the aqueous leaf extract of A. falcatus was evaluated for acute nephroprotective activity in ADR induced nephrotoxic rats. Nephrotoxicity was induced in healthy male Wistar rats by intraperitoneal administration of ADR 20 mg/kg. The lyophilized powder of the aqueous refluxed (4h) leaf extract of A. falcatus was administered orally at three selected doses; 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg for three consecutive days. Fosinopril sodium (0.09 mg/kg) was used as the standard drug. Administration of the plant extract and the standard drug was commenced 24 hours after the induction of nephrotoxicity to rats. The nephroprotective effect was determined by selected biochemical parameters and by the assessment of histopathology on H and E stained kidney sections. The results were compared to a group of control rats with ADR induced nephrotoxicity. A group of rats administered with the equivalent volume of normal saline served as the healthy control. Administration of ADR 20 mg/kg produced a significant increase in the concentrations of serum creatinine (61%) and urine protein (73%) followed by a significant decrease in serum total protein (21%) and albumin (44%) of the plant extract treated animals compared to the healthy control group (p < 0.05). The aqueous extract of Asparagus falcatus at the three doses; 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg and the standard drug were found to decrease the elevation of concentrations of serum creatinine (33%, 51%, 54% and 42%) and urine protein (8%, 63%, 80% and 86%) respectively. The serum concentrations of total protein (12%, 17%, 29% and 12%) and albumin (3%, 17%, 17% and 16%) were significantly increased compared to the nephrotoxic control group respectively. Assessment of histopathology on H and E stained kidney sections demonstrated that ADR induced renal injury, as evidenced by loss of brush border, cytoplasmic vacuolization, pyknosis in renal tubular epithelial cells, haemorrhages, glomerular congestion and presence of hyaline casts. Treatment with the plant extract and the standard drug resulted in attenuation of the morphological destruction in rats. The results of the present study revealed that the aqueous leaf extract of A. falcatus possesses significant nephroprotective activity against adriamycin induced acute nephrotoxicity. The improved kidney functions were supported with the results of selected biochemical parameters and histological changes observed on H and E stained sections of the kidney tissues in Wistar rats.

Keywords: adriamycin induced nephrotoxicity, asparagus falcatus, biochemical assessment, histopathological assessment, nephroprotective activity

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Authors: Shaukat Ali Shahee, Usha Ananthakumar

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A data set exhibits class imbalance problem when one class has very few examples compared to the other class, and this is also referred to as between class imbalance. The traditional classifiers fail to classify the minority class examples correctly due to its bias towards the majority class. Apart from between-class imbalance, imbalance within classes where classes are composed of a different number of sub-clusters with these sub-clusters containing different number of examples also deteriorates the performance of the classifier. Previously, many methods have been proposed for handling imbalanced dataset problem. These methods can be classified into four categories: data preprocessing, algorithmic based, cost-based methods and ensemble of classifier. Data preprocessing techniques have shown great potential as they attempt to improve data distribution rather than the classifier. Data preprocessing technique handles class imbalance either by increasing the minority class examples or by decreasing the majority class examples. Decreasing the majority class examples lead to loss of information and also when minority class has an absolute rarity, removing the majority class examples is generally not recommended. Existing methods available for handling class imbalance do not address both between-class imbalance and within-class imbalance simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a method that handles between class imbalance and within class imbalance simultaneously for binary classification problem. Removing between class imbalance and within class imbalance simultaneously eliminates the biases of the classifier towards bigger sub-clusters by minimizing the error domination of bigger sub-clusters in total error. The proposed method uses model-based clustering to find the presence of sub-clusters or sub-concepts in the dataset. The number of examples oversampled among the sub-clusters is determined based on the complexity of sub-clusters. The method also takes into consideration the scatter of the data in the feature space and also adaptively copes up with unseen test data using Lowner-John ellipsoid for increasing the accuracy of the classifier. In this study, neural network is being used as this is one such classifier where the total error is minimized and removing the between-class imbalance and within class imbalance simultaneously help the classifier in giving equal weight to all the sub-clusters irrespective of the classes. The proposed method is validated on 9 publicly available data sets and compared with three existing oversampling techniques that rely on the spatial location of minority class examples in the euclidean feature space. The experimental results show the proposed method to be statistically significantly superior to other methods in terms of various accuracy measures. Thus the proposed method can serve as a good alternative to handle various problem domains like credit scoring, customer churn prediction, financial distress, etc., that typically involve imbalanced data sets.

Keywords: classification, imbalanced dataset, Lowner-John ellipsoid, model based clustering, oversampling

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Authors: Hung-Chih Hsu, Pey-Jium Chang, Ching-Hsein Chen, Jer-Liang Andrew Yeh

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disorder in rehabilitation clinic. The main characteristics include joint pain, localized tenderness and enlargement, joint effusion, cartilage destruction, loss of adhesion of perichondrium, synovium hyperplasia. Synoviocytes inflammation might be a cause of local tenderness and effusion. Inflammation cytokines might also play an important role in joint pain, cartilage destruction, decrease adhesion of perichondrium to the bone. Treatments of osteoarthritis include non-steroid anti-inflammation drugs (NSAID), glucosamine supplementation, hyaluronic acid, arthroscopic debridement, and total joint replacement. Total joint replacement is commonly used in patients with severe OA who failed respond to pharmacological treatment. However, some patients received surgery had serious adverse events, including instability of the implants due to insufficient adhesion to the adjacent bony tissue or synovial inflammation. We tried to develop ideal nano-topographic oxidized silicon nanosponges by using with various chemicals to produce thickness difference in nanometers in order to study more about the cell-environment interactions in vitro like the alterations of cell adhesion, morphology, extracellular matrix secretions in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Cytokines studies like growth factor, reactive oxygen species, reactive inflammatory materials (Like nitrous oxide and prostaglandin E2), extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation enzymes, and synthesis of collagen will also be observed and discussed. Extracellular and intracellular expression transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) will be studied by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The degradation of ECM will be observed by the bioactivity ratio of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase by ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). When rabbit synoviocytes were cultured on these nano-topographic structures, they demonstrate better cell adhesion rate, decreased expression of MMP-2,9 and PGE2, and increased expression of TGF-β when cultured in nano-topographic oxidized silicon nanosponges than in the planar oxidized silicon ones. These results show cell behavior, cytokine production can be influenced by physical characteristics from different nano-topographic structures. Our study demonstrates the possibility of manipulating cell behavior in these nano-topographic biomaterials.

Keywords: osteoarthritis, synoviocyte, oxidized silicon surfaces, reactive oxygen species

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Authors: Mubassir Hussain

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British Bangladeshis are one of the most marginalised and lowest socioeconomic groups in the UK. Their silent hardships have crystallised the stigma surrounding them. Understanding the intimate workings of this stigma can unravel its profound psychological impact, which has hindered their social and economic progress and slowly taken them out of the ‘victim’ mindset. Although community-based studies have been conducted to understand the nuances of British Bangladeshis’ stigma experiences, these examinations are broad and touch only the surface. They do not investigate the private family dynamics behind closed doors, how family members feel and engage with stigma or the use and justification of their responses. The main objectives of this qualitative research are to observe how attitudes towards stigma differ across generations, analyse the variety and frequency of reactions across age cohorts, gender, and social class, and examine how their actions and identities shape their responses. This data will be collected through embedded ethnography and analysed using qualitative software. Through this analysis, the research hypothesises that the older generation will engage more in the ‘isolation’, ‘not responding’, and ‘management of the self’ response categories, whereas the subsequent generations will employ ‘confrontation’, ‘demonstrating competence’, and ‘management of the self’ reactions. From these findings, the study anticipates an assortment of compelling and diverse responses and effects. Ultimately, the family members and community are responsible for their own futures and have the power to make these life-altering changes. Their collective experiences and values shape how individuals perceive and respond to stigma, racism, Islamophobia and discrimination through either silence, resilience or confrontation.

Keywords: British Bangladeshi, stigma, racism, discrimination, Islamophobia, responses

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Authors: Velvizhi Dharmalingam, Rajalaksmi Ramalingam, Rekha Prabhu, Ilavarasan Raju

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Background: The use of herbal products for various therapeutic regimens has increased tremendously in the developing countries. Elaeocarpus ganitrus(Rudraksha) is a broad-leaved tree, belonging to the family Elaeocarpaceae found in tropical and subtropical areas. It is popular in an indigenous system of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani. According to Ayurvedic medicine, Rudraksha is used in the managing of blood pressure, asthma, mental disorders, diabetes, gynaecological disorders, neurological disorders such as epilepsy and liver diseases. Objectives: The present study aimed to study the physicochemical parameters of Elaeocarpus ganitrus(fruits) and identify the phenolic compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid, and chebulinic acid). To estimate the microbial load and the antibacterial activity of extract of Elaeocarpus ganitrus for selective pathogens. Methodology: The dried powdered fruit of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was performed the physicochemical parameters (such as Loss on drying, Alcohol soluble extractive, Water soluble extractive, Total ash and Acid insoluble ash) and pH was measured. The dried coarse powdered fruit of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was extracted successively with hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and aqueous alcohol by cold percolation method. Identification of phenolic compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid, chebulinic acid) was done by HPTLC method and confirmed by co-TLC using different solvent system.The successive extracts of Elaeocarpus ganitrus and standards (like gallic acid, ellagic acid, and chebulinic acid) was approximately weighed and made up with alcohol. HPTLC (CAMAG) analysis was performed on a TLC over silica gel 60F254 precoated aluminium plate, layer thickness 0.2 mm (E.Merck, Germany) by using ATS4, Visualizer and Scanner with wavelength at 254 nm, 366 nm and derivatized with different reagents. The microbial load such as total bacterial count, total fungal count, Enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by serial dilution method and antibacterial activity of was measured by Kirby bauer method for selective pathogens. Results: The physicochemical parameter of Elaeocarpus ganitrus was studied for standardization of crude drug. Among all the successive extracts were identified with phenolic compounds and Elaeocarpus ganitrus extract having potent antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, Elaeocarpus ganitrus, HPTLC, phenolic compounds

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Suprit Pradhan, Tshering Yangzom

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Even with availability of the modern day online insulation diagnostic technologies like partial discharge monitoring, the measurements like Dissipation Factor (tanδ), DC High Voltage Insulation Currents, Polarization Index (PI) and Insulation Resistance Measurements are still widely used as a diagnostic tools to assess the condition of stator insulation in hydro power plants. To evaluate the condition of stator winding insulation in one of the generators that have been operated since 1999, diagnostic tests were performed on the stator bars of 15 MVA generators of Basochhu Hydropower Plant. This paper presents diagnostic study done on the data gathered from the measurements which were performed in 2015 and 2016 as part of regular maintenance as since its commissioning no proper aging data were maintained. Measurement results of Dissipation Factor, DC High Potential tests and Polarization Index are discussed with regard to their effectiveness in assessing the ageing condition of the stator insulation. After a brief review of the theoretical background, the strengths of each diagnostic method in detecting symptoms of insulation deterioration are identified. The interesting results observed from Basochhu Hydropower Plant is taken into consideration to conclude that Polarization Index and DC High Voltage Insulation current measurements are best suited for the detection of humidity and contamination problems and Dissipation Factor measurement is a robust indicator of long-term ageing caused by oxidative degradation.

Keywords: dissipation Factor (tanδ), polarization Index (PI), DC High Voltage Insulation Current, insulation resistance (IR), Tan Delta Tip-Up, dielectric absorption ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Matteo Nicoli, Gianvito Colucci, Valeria Di Cosmo, Daniele Lerede, Laura Savoldi

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The transport sector is currently responsible for approximately 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. In the wider context of achieving carbon neutrality of the global energy system, different alternatives are available to decarbonizethe transport sector. In particular, while electricity is already the most consumed energy commodity in rail transport, battery electric vehicles are one of the zero-emissions options on the market for road transportation. On the other hand, hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles are available for road and non-road vehicles. The European Commission is strongly pushing toward the integration of hydrogen in the energy systems of European countries and its widespread adoption as an energy vector to achieve the Green Deal targets. Furthermore, the Italian government is defining hydrogen-related objectives with the publication of a dedicated Hydrogen Strategy. The adoption of energy system optimization models to study the possible penetration of alternative zero-emitting transport technologies gives the opportunity to perform an overall analysis of the effects that the development of innovative technologies has on the entire energy system and on the supply-side, devoted to the production of energy carriers such as hydrogen and electricity. Using an open-source modeling framework such as TEMOA, this work aims to compare the role of hydrogen and electric vehicles in the decarbonization of the transport sector. The analysis investigates the advantages and disadvantages of adopting the two options, from the economic point of view (costs associated with the two options) and the environmental one (looking at the emissions reduction perspectives). Moreover, an analysis on the profitability of the investments in hydrogen and electric vehicles will be performed. The study investigates the evolution of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in different transportation modes (road, rail, navigation, and aviation) by detailed analysis of the full range of vehicles included in the techno-economic database used in the TEMOA model instance adopted for this work. The transparency of the analysis is guaranteed by the accessibility of the TEMOA models, based on an open-access source code and databases.

Keywords: battery electric vehicles, decarbonization, energy system optimization models, fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen, open-source modeling, TEMOA, transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Maria Medeiros, Suren Surenthiran, Abitha Muralithar, Soushma Seeburuth, Mohammed Mohammed

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Introduction: Appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency globally and can have devastating consequences. Diagnostic imaging in acute appendicitis has become increasingly common in aiding the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Computerized tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) are the most commonly used imaging modalities for diagnosing acute appendicitis. Pre-operative imaging has contributed to a reduction of negative appendicectomy rates from between 10-29% to 5%. Literature report CT scan has a diagnostic sensitivity of 94% in acute appendicitis. This clinical audit was conducted to establish if the CT scan's diagnostic yield for acute appendicitis matches the literature. CT scan has a high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing acute appendicitis and its use can result in a lower negative appendicectomy rate. The aim of this study is to compare the pre-operative imaging findings from CT scans to the histopathology results post-operatively and establish the accuracy of CT scans in aiding the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Methods: This was a retrospective study focusing on adult presentations to the general surgery department in a district general hospital in central London with an impression of acute appendicitis. We analyzed all patients from July 2022 to December 2022 who underwent a CT scan preceding appendicectomy. Pre-operative CT findings and post-operative histopathology findings were compared to establish the efficacy of CT scans in diagnosing acute appendicitis. Our results were also cross-referenced with pre-existing literature. Data was collected and anonymized using CERNER and analyzed in Microsoft Excel. Exclusion criteria: Children, age <16. Results: 65 patients had CT scans in which the report stated acute appendicitis. Of those 65 patients, 62 patients underwent diagnostic laparoscopies. 100% of patients who underwent an appendicectomy with a pre-operative CT scan showing acute appendicitis had acute appendicitis in histopathology analysis. 3 of the 65 patients who had a CT scan showing appendicitis received conservative treatment. Conclusion: CT scans positive for acute appendicitis had 100% sensitivity and a positive predictive value, which matches published research studies (sensitivity of 94%). The use of CT scans in the diagnostic work-up for acute appendicitis can be extremely helpful in a) confirming the diagnosis and b) reducing the rates of negative appendicectomies and consequently reducing unnecessary operative-associated risks for patients, reducing costs and reducing pressure on emergency theatre lists.

Keywords: acute apendicitis, CT scan, general surgery, imaging

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Authors: Clare S. Sullivan

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The high desert of central Oregon, USA is a challenging growing environment: short growing season (70-100 days); average annual precipitation of 280 mm; drastic swings in diurnal temperatures; possibility of frost any time of year; and sandy soils low in organic matter. Despite strong demand, there is almost no fruit grown in central Oregon due to potential yield loss caused by early and late frosts. Elsewhere in the USA, protected culture (i.e., high tunnels) has been used to extend fruit production seasons and improve yields. In central Oregon, high tunnels are used to grow multiple high-value vegetable crops, and farmers are unlikely to plant a perennial crop in a high tunnel unless proven profitable. In May 2019, two berry trials were established on a farm in Alfalfa, OR, to evaluate raspberry and strawberry yield, season length, and fruit quality in protected (high tunnels) vs. unprotected culture (open field). The main objective was to determine whether high tunnel berry production is a viable enterprise for the region. Each trial was arranged using a split-plot design. The main factor was the production system (high tunnel vs. open field), and the replicated, subplot factor was berry variety. Four day-neutral strawberry varieties and four primocane-bearing raspberry varieties were planted for the study and were managed using organic practices. Berries were harvested once a week early in the season, and twice a week as production increased. Harvested berries were separated into ‘marketable’ and ‘unmarketable’ in order to calculate percent cull. First-year results revealed berry yield and quality differences between varieties and production systems. Strawberry marketable yield and berry fruit size increased significantly in the high tunnel compared to the field; percent yield increase ranged from 7-46% by variety. Evie 2 was the highest yielding strawberry, although berry quality was lower than other berries. Raspberry marketable yield and berry fruit size tended to increase in the high tunnel compared to the field, although variety had a more significant effect. Joan J was the highest yielding raspberry and out-yielded the other varieties by 250% outdoor and 350% indoor. Overall, strawberry and raspberry yields tended to improve in high tunnels as compared to the field, but data from a second year will help determine whether high tunnel investment is worthwhile. It is expected that the production system will have more of an effect on berry yield and season length for second-year plants in 2020.

Keywords: berries, high tunnel, local food, organic

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Authors: J. Nyenhuis, J. Drelich

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This research study was designed to determine if food crops could be bio-fortified with micro-nutrients by growing sprouts on mineral fortified fiber mats. Diets high in processed foods have been found to lack essential micro-nutrients for optimum human development and overall health. Some micro-nutrients such as copper (Cu) have been found to enhance the inflammatory response through its oxidative functions, thereby having a role in cardiovascular disease (CVD), metabolic syndrome (MetS), diabetes and related complications. Recycled cellulose fibers and clay saturated with micro-nutrient ions can be converted to a novel mineral-metal hybrid material in which the fiber mat becomes a carrier of essential micro-nutrients. The reduction of ionic to metallic copper was accomplished using hydrogen at temperatures ranging from 400o to 600oC. Copper particles with diameters ranging from ~1 to 400-500 nm reside on the recycled fibers that make up the mats. Seeds purchased from a commercial, organic supplier were germinated on the specially engineered cellulose fiber mats that incorporated w10 wt% clay fillers saturated with either copper particles or ionic copper. After the appearance of the first leaves, the sprouts were dehydrated and analyzed for Cu content. Nutrient analysis showed 1.5 to 1.6 increase in Cu of the sprouts grown on the fiber mats with copper particles, and 2.3 to 2.5 increase on mats with ionic copper as compared to the control samples. The antibacterial properties of materials saturated with copper ions at room temperature and at temperatures up to 400°C have been verified with halo method tests against Escherichia Coli in previous studies. E. coli is a known pathogenic risk in sprout production. Copper exhibits excellent antibacterial properties when tested on S. aureus, a pathogenic gram-positive bacterium. This has also been confirmed for the fiber-copper hybrid material in this study. This study illustrates the potential for the use of engineered mats as a viable way to increase the micro-nutrient composition of locally-grown food crops and the need for additional research to determine the uptake, nutritional implications and risks of micro-nutrient bio-fortification.

Keywords: bio-fortification, copper nutrient analysis, micro-nutrient uptake, sprouts and mineral-fortified mats

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Authors: Michail Milas, Aikaterini Dafni Tegiou, Nickolas Rigopoulos, Eustathios Giaouris, Zaharias Loannou

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Nanotechnology, a relatively new scientific field, addresses the manipulation of nanoscale materials and devices, which are governed by unique properties, and is applied in a wide range of industries, including food packaging. The incorporation of nanoparticles into polymer matrices used for food packaging is a field that is highly researched today. One such combination is silver nanoparticles with polypropylene. In the present study, the synthesis of the silver nanoparticles was carried out by a natural method. In particular, a ripe banana peel extract was used. This method is superior to others as it stands out for its environmental friendliness, high efficiency and low-cost requirement. In particular, a 1.75 mM AgNO₃ silver nitrate solution was used, as well as a BPE concentration of 1.7% v/v, an incubation period of 48 hours at 70°C and a pH of 4.3 and after its preparation, the polypropylene films were soaked in it. For the PP films, random PP spheres were melted at 170-190°C into molds with 0.8cm diameter. This polymer was chosen as it is suitable for plastic parts and reusable plastic containers of various types that are intended to come into contact with food without compromising its quality and safety. The antimicrobial test against Escherichia coli DFSNB1 and Staphylococcus epidermidis DFSNB4 was performed on the films. It appeared that the films with silver nanoparticles had a reduction, at least 100 times, compared to those without silver nanoparticles, in both strains. The limit of detection is the lower limit of the vertical error lines in the presence of nanoparticles, which is 3.11. The main reasons that led to the adsorption of nanoparticles are the porous nature of polypropylene and the adsorption capacity of nanoparticles on the surface of the films due to hydrophobic-hydrophilic forces. The most significant parameters that contributed to the results of the experiment include the following: the stage of ripening of the banana during the preparation of the plant extract, the temperature and residence time of the nanoparticle solution in the oven, the residence time of the polypropylene films in the nanoparticle solution, the number of nanoparticles inoculated on the films and, finally, the time these stayed in the refrigerator so that they could dry and be ready for antimicrobial treatment.

Keywords: antimicrobial control, banana peel extract, E. coli, natural synthesis, microbe, plant extract, polypropylene films, S.epidermidis, silver nano, random pp

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Anjula Negi, D. T. V. Raghu Ramaswamy, Rajneesh Sareen

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Road infrastructure is emphatically one of the top most critical infrastructure to the Indian economy. Road network in the country of around 3.3 million km is the second largest in the world. Nationwide statistics released by Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways reveal that every minute an accident happens and one death every 3.7 minutes. This reported scale in terms of safety is a matter of grave concern, and economically represents a national loss of 3% to the GDP. Union Budget 2016-17 has allocated USD 12 billion annually for development and strengthening of roads, an increase of 56% from last year. Thus, highlighting the importance of roads as critical infrastructure. National highway alone represent only 1.7% of the total road linkages, however, carry over 40% of traffic. Further, trends analysed from 2002 -2011 on national highways, indicate that in less than a decade, a 22 % increase in accidents have been reported, but, 68% increase in death fatalities. Paramount inference is that accident severity has increased with time. Over these years many measures to increase road safety, lessening damage to physical assets, reducing vulnerabilities leading to a build-up for resilient road infrastructure have been taken. In the context of national highway development program, policy makers proposed implementation of around 20 % of such road length on PPP mode. These roads were taken up on high-density traffic considerations and for qualitative implementation. In order to understand resilience impacts and safety parameters, enshrined in various PPP concession agreements executed with the private sector partners, such highway specific projects would be appraised. This research paper would attempt to assess such safety measures taken and the possible reasons behind an increase in accident severity through these PPP case study projects. Delving further on safety features to understand policy measures adopted in these cases and an introspection on reasons of severity, whether an outcome of increased speeds, faulty road design and geometrics, driver negligence, or due to lack of discipline in following lane traffic with increased speed. Assessment exercise would study these aspects hitherto to PPP and post PPP project structures, based on literature review and opinion surveys with sectoral experts. On the way forward, it is understood that the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway’s estimate for strengthening the national highway network is USD 77 billion within next five years. The outcome of this paper would provide an understanding of resilience measures adopted, possible options for accessible and safe road network and its expansion to policy makers for possible policy initiatives and funding allocation in securing critical infrastructure.

Keywords: national highways, policy, PPP, safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Laura Mendez

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Tribunals for the prosecution of crimes against humanity have been implemented in recent history via international intervention or imposed by one side of the conflict, as in the cases of Rwanda, Iraq, Argentina, and Chile. However, the creation of a criminal tribunal as the result of a peace agreement between formerly warring parties has been unique to the Colombian peace process. As such, the Colombian Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP), or JEP for its Spanish acronym, is viewed as a site of social contestation where actors shape its design and implementation. This study contributes to the literature of transitional justice by analyzing how the framing of the creation of the Colombian tribunal reveals the parties' interests. The analysis frames the interests of the power-brokers, i.e., the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the victims in light of the tribunal’s functions. The purpose of this analysis is to understand how the interests of the parties are embedded in the designing of the SJP. This paper argues that the creation of the SJP rests on restorative justice, for which the victim, not the perpetrator, is at the center of prosecution. The SJP’s approach to justice moves from prosecution as punishment to prosecution as sanctions. SJP’s alternative sanctions focused on truth, reparation, and restoration are designed to humanize both the victim and the perpetrator in order to achieve reconciliation. The findings also show that requiring the perpetrator to perform labor to repair the victim as an alternative form of sanction aims to foster relations of reintegration and social learning between victims and perpetrators.

Keywords: transitional justice mechanisms, criminal tribunals, Colombia, Colombian Jurisdiction for Peace, JEP

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Authors: Gabriella Jorge, Carlos A. Pérez, Hanna Friberg, Sara Söderlund, Jan Lagerlöf

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Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is one of the most important Fusarium-caused diseases, which affects cereals with serious detrimental effects on yield and grain quality worldwide. Earthworms have been suggested as an alternative to control this disease, which requires a combination of preventive methods to reduce level of damage, although it has been proven that their effect is species dependent. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of the earthworms Aporrectodea longa and Lumbricus rubellus, on the inoculum of Fusarium graminearum on wheat straw. To test this we kept earthworms in vessels with soil, and F. graminearum-inoculated straw covering the surface, under controlled conditions for 6 weeks. Two factors were evaluated with a complete factorial design: earthworms (three levels: without earthworms, A. longa, and L. rubellus), and straw (two levels: inoculated with the pathogen, and sterile). The presence of L. rubellus significantly (P<0.05) reduced the amount of inoculated straw at the soil surface 31% after 6 weeks, while the presence of A. longa, most found in quiescence, did not have any significant effect on the amount of straw when compared to the control. After incubation, F. graminearum was detected by qPCR, only in the surface straw in those treatments inoculated with the pathogen but without earthworms. None of the treatments showed presence of Fusarium in the buried straw, soil or earthworm casts. Both earthworm species decreased in body weight during incubation, most likely due to the decrease in soil water content during the experiment, from 25% to 20%, and/or inadequate food supply, since no other source of food was added. However, this reduction in weight occurred indistinctly of the presence or not of Fusarium (P<0.05). This indicates that both species, of different ecological groups, anecic and epigeic, can reduce F. graminearum inoculum present in wheat straw, while their growth is not negatively affected by this pathogen. These promising results place A. longa, and L. rubellus as potential biocontrol agents of this fungal plant pathogen responsible for Fusarium Head Blight disease in wheat, although further ongoing experiments are needed to confirm the repeatability of these results.

Keywords: Aporrectodea longa, biological control, fungal plant pathogen, Lumbricus rubellus, qPCR, wheat straw

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Eko Adhi Setiawan, Duli Asih Siregar, Aiman Setiawan

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Solar energy is abundant in nature, particularly in the tropics which have peak sun hour that can reach 8 hours per day. In the fabrication process, Photovoltaic’s (PV) performance are tested in standard test conditions (STC). It specifies a module temperature of 25°C, an irradiance of 1000 W/ m² with an air mass 1.5 (AM1.5) spectrum and zero wind speed. Thus, the results of the performance testing of PV at STC conditions cannot fully represent the performance of PV in the tropics. For example Indonesia, which has a temperature of 20-40°C. In this paper, the effect of temperature on the choice of the 5 kW AC inverter topology on the PV system such as the Central Inverter, String Inverter and AC-Module specifically for the tropics will be discussed. The proper inverter topology can be determined by analysis of the effect of temperature and irradiation on the PV panel. The effect of temperature and irradiation will be represented in the characteristics of I-V and P-V curves. PV’s characteristics on high temperature would be analyzed using Solar panel modeling through MATLAB Simulink based on mathematical equations that form Solar panel’s characteristic curve. Based on PV simulation, it is known then that temperature coefficients of short circuit current (ISC), open circuit voltage (VOC), and maximum output power (PMAX) consecutively as high as 0.56%/oC, -0.31%/oC and -0.4%/oC. Those coefficients can be used to calculate PV’s electrical parameters such as ISC, VOC, and PMAX in certain earth’s surface’s certain point. Then, from the parameters, the utility of the 5 kW AC inverter system can be determined. As the result, for tropical area, string inverter topology has the highest utility rates with 98, 80 %. On the other hand, central inverter and AC-Module Topology has utility rates of 92.69 % and 87.7 % eventually.

Keywords: Photovoltaic, PV-Inverter Configuration, PV Modeling, Solar Panel Characteristics.

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Authors: Leyla Noroozbabaee, David Nickerson

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We introduce a modular, consistent, reusable bond graph model of the renal nephron’s proximal convoluted tubule (PCT), which can reproduce biological behaviour. In this work, we focus on ion and volume transport in the proximal convoluted tubule of the renal nephron. Modelling complex systems requires complex modelling problems to be broken down into manageable pieces. This can be enabled by developing models of subsystems that are subsequently coupled hierarchically. Because they are based on a graph structure. In the current work, we define two modular subsystems: the resistive module representing the membrane and the capacitive module representing solution compartments. Each module is analyzed based on thermodynamic processes, and all the subsystems are reintegrated into circuit theory in network thermodynamics. The epithelial transport system we introduce in the current study consists of five transport membranes and four solution compartments. Coupled dissipations in the system occur in the membrane subsystems and coupled free-energy increasing, or decreasing processes appear in solution compartment subsystems. These structural subsystems also consist of elementary thermodynamic processes: dissipations, free-energy change, and power conversions. We provide free and open access to the Python implementation to ensure our model is accessible, enabling the reader to explore the model through setting their simulations and reproducibility tests.

Keywords: Bond Graph, Epithelial Transport, Water Transport, Mathematical Modeling

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Authors: Viktor Kochkodan

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The main problem arising upon water treatment and desalination using pressure driven membrane processes such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis is membrane fouling that seriously hampers the application of the membrane technologies. One of the main approaches to mitigate membrane fouling is to minimize adhesion interactions between a foulant and a membrane and the surface coating of the membranes with polyelectrolytes seems to be a simple and flexible technique to improve the membrane fouling resistance. In this study composite polyamide membranes NF-90, NF-270, and BW-30 were modified using electrostatic deposition of polyelectrolyte multilayers made from various polycationic and polyanionic polymers of different molecular weights. Different anionic polyelectrolytes such as: poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), poly(vinyl sulfonic acid, sodium salt), poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) sodium salt, poly(acrylic acid) sodium salt (PA) and cationic polyelectrolytes such as poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), poly(ethylenimine) and poly(hexamethylene biguanide were used for membrane modification. An effect of deposition time and a number of polyelectrolyte layers on the membrane modification has been evaluated. It was found that degree of membrane modification depends on chemical nature and molecular weight of polyelectrolytes used. The surface morphology of the prepared composite membranes was studied using atomic force microscopy. It was shown that the surface membrane roughness decreases significantly as a number of the polyelectrolyte layers on the membrane surface increases. This smoothening of the membrane surface might contribute to the reduction of membrane fouling as lower roughness most often associated with a decrease in surface fouling. Zeta potentials and water contact angles on the membrane surface before and after modification have also been evaluated to provide addition information regarding membrane fouling issues. It was shown that the surface charge of the membranes modified with polyelectrolytes could be switched between positive and negative after coating with a cationic or an anionic polyelectrolyte. On the other hand, the water contact angle was strongly affected when the outermost polyelectrolyte layer was changed. Finally, a distinct difference in the performance of the noncoated membranes and the polyelectrolyte modified membranes was found during treatment of seawater in the non-continuous regime. A possible mechanism of the higher fouling resistance of the modified membranes has been discussed.

Keywords: contact angle, membrane fouling, polyelectrolytes, surface modification

Procedia PDF Downloads 255