Search results for: growth factors

Authors: A. ElZawam, D. McLean, A. Tibary

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In alpaca, age at puberty is variable and the factors regulating the pattern of puberty and sexual maturation are a subject of controversy. Plasma testosterone level is often used as an indicator of sexual maturity. Our hypothesis is that hCG treatment will cause an increase in testosterone level that is correlated with animal age. The specific aim was to investigate the testicular tissue response to a single hCG injection by monitoring the serum testosterone concentration. Eighty four (n=84) males ranging in age from 6 to 60 months were used. Alpacas were grouped based on their ages into 15 groups. Each group had three to five male animals. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein before treatment with hCG and 2 hours after intravenous administration of 3000 IU of hCG (Chorulon®). The serum was harvested and stored at -20ºC until the analysis. The effect of age on basal testosterone level and response to hCG treatment was evaluated by Analysis of Variance. As a result, basal serum testosterone concentrations were very low (<0.1ng/ml) until 9 months of age. Although basal serum testosterone concentrations increased steadily with age there was a significant variation amongst males within the same age group. Administration of 3000 IU of hCG, resulted in an average increase of 50% (P<0.05) in serum testosterone concentration after 2 hours. The percentage increase in serum testosterone in response to hCG stimulation varied from 51 to 81%. There was no correlation between the degree of response and age. However, the response to hCG injection presented two modes of increase depending on the age of animals. The first mode occurred at ages 9 to 14 months and the second mode was observed between 22 and 36 months. In conclusion, our results suggest that testicular growth and sensitivity to LH stimulation may be bimodal in the male alpaca with a rapid increase in growth and sensitivity between 9 and 14 months of age and a second phase of increased responsiveness after 21 months of ages.

Keywords: alpaca, testosterone, hCG, animal science

Procedia PDF Downloads 574

Authors: Emmanuel Carlo Belara, Albert John Dela Merced, Mark Anthony Dominguez, Diomari Erasga, Jerome Ferrer, Bernard Ombrog

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Social distancing errors are a common prevalence between vaccinated and unvaccinated in the Filipino community. This study aims to identify and relate the factors on how they affect our daily lives. Observed factors include memory, attention, anxiety, decision-making, and stress. Upon applying the ergonomic tools and statistical treatment such as t-test and multiple linear regression, stress and attention turned out to have the most impact to the errors of social distancing.

Keywords: vaccinated, unvaccinated, socoal distancing, filipinos

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Nurhayati Br Tarigan, Rizkita Rachmi Esyanti

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Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) has a great potential to be used as a natural sweetener because it contains steviol glycoside, which is approximately 100 - 300 times sweeter than sucrose, yet low calories. Vegetative and generative propagation of S. rebaudiana is inefficient to produce stevia biomass and stevioside. One of alternative for stevia propagation is in vitro shoot culture. This research was conducted to optimize the best medium for shoot growth and to compare the bioconversion efficiency and stevioside production of S. rebaudiana shoot culture cultivated in thin layer culture (TLC), recipient for automated temporary immersion system (TIS RITA®) bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor. The result showed that 1 ppm of Kinetin produced a healthy shoot and the highest number of leaves compared to BAP. Shoots were then cultivated in TLC, TIS RITA® bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor. Growth medium efficiency was determined by yield and productivity. TLC produced the highest growth medium efficiency of S. rebaudiana, the yield was 0.471 ± 0.117 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1, and the productivity was 0.599 ± 0.122 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1. While TIS RITA® bioreactor produced the lowest yield and productivity, 0.182 ± 0.024 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1 and 0.041 ± 0.0002 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1 respectively. The yield of bubble column bioreactor was 0.354 ± 0.204 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1 and the productivity was 0,099 ± 0,009 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1. The stevioside content from the highest to the lowest was obtained from stevia shoot which was cultivated on TLC, TIS RITA® bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor; the content was 93,44 μg/g, 42,57 μg/g, and 23,03 μg/g respectively. All three systems could be used to produce stevia shoot biomass, but optimization on the number of nutrition and oxygen intake was required in each system.

Keywords: bubble column, growth medium efficiency, Stevia rebaudiana, stevioside, TIS RITA®, TLC

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Nwobu Obiamaka, Samuel O. Faboyede

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This study examines the factors influencing career choice of undergraduate accounting students in selected Nigerian universities. The manner in which students of accounting perceive the factors that drive them into pursuing a career in accounting is important to the profession. The study made use of primary data collected from undergraduate accounting students in their final year in selected Nigerian universities. The data was collected using a survey instrument (questionnaire), copies of which were made and administered to the respondents (undergraduate accounting students in selected Nigerian universities). The finding suggests that the major factors influencing undergraduate accounting students to opt for a career in accounting include pressure from peers and monetary reward. The findings from the study have crucial policy implications for admission officers in tertiary institutions as well as the accounting profession in Nigeria.

Keywords: accounting, career, choice, undergraduate

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Muhammad Faizan Rehman Qureshi, Ahmed Al-Kaisy

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Accurate estimation of traffic loads is critical for pavement and bridge design, among other transportation applications. Given the disproportional impact of heavier axle loads on pavement and bridge structures, truck and heavy vehicle traffic is expected to be a major determinant of traffic load estimation. Further, heavy vehicle traffic is also a major input in transportation planning and economic studies. The traditional method for estimating heavy vehicle traffic primarily relies on AADT estimation using Monthly Day of the Week (MDOW) adjustment factors as well as the percent heavy vehicles observed using statewide data collection programs. The MDOW factors are developed using daily and seasonal (or monthly) variation patterns for total traffic, consisting predominantly of passenger cars and other smaller vehicles. Therefore, while using these factors may yield reasonable estimates for total traffic (AADT), such estimates may involve a great deal of approximation when applied to heavy vehicle traffic. This research aims at assessing the approximation involved in estimating heavy vehicle traffic using MDOW adjustment factors for total traffic (conventional approach) along with three other methods of using MDOW adjustment factors for total trucks (class 5-13), combination-unit trucks (class 8-13), as well as adjustment factors for each vehicle class separately. Results clearly indicate that the conventional method was outperformed by the other three methods by a large margin. Further, using the most detailed and data intensive method (class-specific adjustment factors) does not necessarily yield a more accurate estimation of heavy vehicle traffic.

Keywords: traffic loads, heavy vehicles, truck traffic, adjustment factors, traffic data collection

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Authors: Clement C. Aladi, Zhaoxia Yi

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This study investigates factors influencing the implementation of flexible curricula in e-learning in Information Systems (IS) higher education. Drawing from curriculum theorists and contemporary literature, and using the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, it explores teacher-related challenges and their impact on curriculum flexibility implementation. By using the PLS-SEM, the study uncovers these factors and hopes to contribute to enhancing curriculum flexibility in delivering online and blended learning in IS higher education.

Keywords: flexible curriculum, online learning, e-learning, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Chien-Kuo Chang, You-Syuan Wu, Min-Chiu Wu, Bharath-Kumar Boyanapalli

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The electrical treeing mechanism in epoxy resin insulation is a critical area of study concerning the degradation of high-voltage electrical equipment. In this study, we conducted pressure-induced degradation experiments on epoxy resin specimens using a needle-plane electrode structure to simulate electrical treeing. The specimens featured two different defect spacings, allowing for detailed observation facilitated by time-lapse photography. Our investigation revealed four distinct stages of insulation degradation: initial dark tree growth, filamentary tree growth, reverse tree growth, and eventual insulation breakdown. The initial dark treeing stage, though shortest in duration, exhibited a thicker main branch and shorter branching, ceasing upon the appearance of filamentary treeing. Filamentary treeing manifested in two forms: dark filamentary treeing during the resin's glassy state, characterized by branching structures, and fuzzy filamentary treeing during the rubbery state, resembling white feathers. The channels formed by filamentary treeing were observed to be as narrow as a few micrometers and continued to grow until the end of the experiment. Additionally, the transition to reverse treeing occurred when filamentary treeing reached the ground electrode, with the earliest manifestation being growth from the ground electrode towards the high-voltage end.

Keywords: epoxy resin insulation, high-voltage equipment, electrical treeing mechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Fatima Chaudhary, Rehan Ul Haq

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Spatial and anthropogenic factors influencing nest-site selection in birds need to be identified for effective conservative practices. Environmental attributes such as food availability, predator density, previous reproductive success, etc., provide information regarding the site's quality. An artificial nest box experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of various factors on nest-site selection, as it is hard to assess the natural cavities. The experiment was conducted whereby half of the boxes were filled with old nest material. Artificial nest boxes created with different materials and different sizes and colors were installed at different heights. A total of 14 out of 60 nest boxes were occupied and four of them faced predation. The birds explored a total of 32 out of 60 nests, whereas anthropogenic factors destroyed 25 out of 60 nests. Birds chose empty nest boxes at higher rates however, there was no obvious avoidance of sites having high ectoparasites load due to old nest material. It is also possible that the preference towards the artificial nest boxes may differ from year to year because of several climatic factors and the age of old nest material affecting the parasite's survival. These variables may fluctuate from one season to another. Considering these factors, nest-site selection experiments concerning the effectiveness of artificial nest boxes should be carried out over several successive seasons. This topic may stimulate further studies, which could lead to a fully understanding the birds' evolutionary ecology. Precise information on these factors influencing nest-site selection can be essential from an economic point of view as well.

Keywords: artificial nesting, nest box, old nest material, birds

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Nunu Nakashidze, Shota Lominadze, Darejan Jashi

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Citrus culture used to be one of the leading fields of sub-tropical agriculture in Georgia and especially in Adjara region, but the citrus production has been significantly decreased in recent years due to deterioration of quality index of fruit and reduction of sale markets. The fact severely affected both the economy of Republic and population. Intensive technologies of citrus fruit production are widely implemented in the world practices, which include the following: variety of species, consumption of fertilizers and chemicals, proper use of fruit production and etc. However working on technologies which ensure getting of high quality and plentiful product is very much important if taking into consideration modern, global ecological problems. Using of bio-preparations for plant nourishment is considered as one of the activities. The present work discusses liquid organic fertilizer 'Biorag' produced in Georgia and influence of its growth stimulation (Gakhokidze N1, N2, N3) on agrochemical index of soils and mineral composition of fruit of Citrus Unshiu orchards cultivated in the sub-tropical zone of Black Sea in Adjara region. It was ascertained that liquid organic fertilizers used in the orchard of citrus 'Unshiu' and influence of growth stimulators on the quality index of fruit are not clearly shown in comparison with control one. A small priority is noticed in case of growth stimulators. In conditions of red soils, liquid organic fertilizers and growth stimulators added in the nutrition of the citrus more or less influence the dry material of fruit and the composition of ash and nutrition elements. Agro-chemical index of the soil, except exchange acidity, is somehow enlarged which is one of the positive results in this case.

Keywords: growth stimulator, liquid fertilizer, plant, fruit, soil

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Mergleda Hodo

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All national governments aim to achieve economic equilibrium to build sustainable welfare, political stability, and economic equilibrium. There are various instruments to stimulate economic development and growth and achieve macroeconomic objectives. After the collapse of the political and economic system in the 1990s, some countries faced the complex challenge of economic development. This study aims to determine, based on empirical research, whether and to what extent tax revenue has an impact on the economic development of Albania. Furthermore, it gives an overview of the ways in which high tax burdens on the western Balkan countries have negatively affected foreign investment and reduced economic growth. This analysis is important for these selected countries, as the financial system has changed significantly over the years and has been affected significantly by a period of economic transition. The analysis is performed based on secondary data possessed by the World Bank and the central bank of each participating country between 2005 and 2018. The research findings indicate that tax policy affects, to a significant extent, the economic development of Albania. An efficient tax system is when individuals are willing to pay tax liability which will help in improving the economic well-being of a country.

Keywords: tax, development, economic growth, tax revenue

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Mayada Attia Ibrahim

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Evaluating and developing the electroplating production process is a key challenge in this type of process. The process is influenced by several factors such as process parameters, process costs, and production environments. Analyzing and optimizing all these factors together requires extensive analytical techniques that are not available in real-case industrial entities. This paper presents a practice-based framework for the evaluation and optimization of some of the crucial factors that affect the costs and production times associated with this type of process, energy costs, material costs, and product flow times. The proposed approach uses Design of Experiments, Discrete-Event Simulation, and Theory of Constraints were respectively used to identify the most significant factors affecting the production process and simulate a real production line to recognize the effect of these factors and assign possible bottlenecks. Several scenarios are generated as corrective strategies for improving the production line. Following that, data envelopment analysis CCR input-oriented DEA model is used to evaluate and optimize the suggested scenarios.

Keywords: electroplating process, simulation, design of experiment, performance optimization, theory of constraints, data envelopment analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Arash Khosravi, Mohamad Nazir Ahmad

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Today’s economy is a knowledge-based economy in which knowledge is a crucial facilitator to individuals, as well as being an instigator of success. Due to the impact of globalization, universities face new challenges and opportunities. Accordingly, they ought to be more innovative and have their own competitive advantages. One of the most important goals of universities is the promotion of students as professional knowledge workers. Therefore, knowledge sharing and transferring at tertiary level between students and supervisors is vital in universities, as it decreases the budget and provides an affordable way of doing research. Knowledge-sharing impact factors can be categorized into three groups, namely: organizational, individual and technical factors. There are some individual barriers to knowledge sharing, namely: lack of time and trust, lack of communication skills and social networks. IT systems such as e-learning, blogs and portals can increase knowledge sharing capability. However, it must be stated that IT systems are only tools and not solutions. Individuals are still responsible for sharing information and knowledge. This paper proposes new research model to examine the effect of individual factors and organisational factors, namely: learning strategy, trust culture, supervisory support, as well as technological factor on knowledge sharing in a research supervision process at the University of Technology Malaysia.

Keywords: knowledge management, knowledge sharing, research supervision, knowledge transferring

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Mesut BALIBEY, Serpil TÜRKYILMAZ

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A popular topic in the econometrics and time series area is the cointegrating relationships among the components of a nonstationary time series. Engle and Granger’s least squares method and Johansen’s conditional maximum likelihood method are the most widely-used methods to determine the relationships among variables. Furthermore, a method proposed to test a unit root based on the periodogram ordinates has certain advantages over conventional tests. Periodograms can be calculated without any model specification and the exact distribution under the assumption of a unit root is obtained. For higher order processes the distribution remains the same asymptotically. In this study, in order to indicate advantages over conventional test of periodograms, we are going to examine a possible relationship between tourism and economic growth during the period 1999:01-2010:12 for Turkey by using periodogram method, Johansen’s conditional maximum likelihood method, Engle and Granger’s ordinary least square method.

Keywords: cointegration, economic growth, periodogram ordinate, tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Birendra Kumar Jha, Mingma L. Sherpa, Binod Kumar Dahal

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Background: The metabolic syndrome is emerging as a major public health concern in the world. Urbanization, surplus energy uptake, compounded by decreased physical activities, and increasing obesity are the major factors contributing to the epidemic of metabolic syndrome worldwide. However, prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its risk factors are little studied in Terai region of Nepal. The objectives of this research were to estimate the prevalence and to identify the risk factors of metabolic syndrome among adults in Terai region of Nepal. Method: We used a community based cross sectional study design. A total of 225 adults (age: 18 to 80 years) were selected from three district of Terai region of Nepal using cluster sampling by camp approach. IDF criteria (central obesity with any two of following four factors: triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dl or specific treatment for lipid abnormality, reduced HDL, raised blood pressure and raised fasting plasma glucose or previously diagnosed type 2 diabetes) were used to assess metabolic syndrome. Interview, physical and clinical examination, measurement of fasting blood glucose and lipid profile were conducted for all participants. Chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression were employed to explore the risk factors of metabolic syndrome. Result: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 70.7%. Hypertension, increased fasting blood sugar, increased triglycerides and decreased HDL were observed in 50.7%, 32.4%, 41.8% and 79.1% of the subjects respectively. Socio-economic and behavioral risk factors significantly associated with metabolic syndrome were gender male (OR=2.56, 955 CI: 1.42-4.63; p=0.002), in service or retired from service (OR=3.72, 95% CI: 1.72-8.03; p=0.001) and smoking (OR= 4.10, 95% CI: 1.19-14.07; p=0.016). Conclusion: Higher prevalence of Metabolic syndrome along with presence of behavioral risk factors in Terai region of Nepal likely suggest lack of awareness and health promotion activities for metabolic syndrome and indicate the need to promote public health programs in this region to maintain quality of life.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, Nepal, prevalence, risk factors, Terai

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Moses Balina, Archbald Bahizi

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Introduction: Early onset neonatal sepsis is a systemic infection in a newborn baby during the first week after birth and contributes to 50% of neonatal deaths each year. Risk factors for early onset neonatal sepsis, which can be maternal, health care provider, or health care facility associated, can be prevented with access to quality antenatal care. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess early onset neonatal sepsis and antenatal factors associated with Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. Methodology: A cross sectional study design was used. The study involved 60 respondents who were mothers of breastfeeding neonates being treated for early onset neonatal sepsis at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. Simple random sampling was used to select study participants. Data were collected using questionnaires, entered in Stata 16, and analysed using logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of early onset neonatal sepsis at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital was 25%. Multivariate analysis revealed that institutional factors were the only antenatal factors found to be significantly associated with early onset neonatal sepsis at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital (p < 0.01). Bivariate analysis revealed that attending antenatal care at a health centre III or IV instead of a hospital (p = 0.011) and attending antenatal care in health care facilities with no laboratory investigations (p = 0.048) were risk factors for early onset neonatal sepsis in the newborn at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. Conclusion: Antenatal factors were associated with early onset neonatal sepsis, and health care facility factors like lower level health centre and unavailability of quality laboratory investigations to pregnant women contributed to early onset neonatal sepsis in the newborn. Mentorships, equipping/stocking laboratories, and improving staffing levels were necessary to reduce early onset neonatal sepsis.

Keywords: antenatal factors, early onset neonatal sepsis, neonates 0-7 days, fort portal regional referral hospital

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Ghaneshree Moonsamy, Nodumo N. Zulu, Rajesh Lalloo, Suren Singh, Santosh O. Ramchuran

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The abalone industry of South Africa is under severe pressure due to illegal harvesting and poaching of this seafood delicacy. These abalones are harvested excessively; as a result, these animals do not have a chance to replace themselves in their habitats, ensuing in a drastic decrease in natural stocks of abalone. Abalone has an extremely slow growth rate and takes approximately four years to reach a size that is market acceptable; therefore, it was imperative to investigate methods to boost the overall growth rate and immunity of the animal. The University of Cape Town (UCT) began to research, which resulted in the isolation of two microorganisms, a yeast isolate Debaryomyces hansenii and a bacterial isolate Vibrio midae, from the gut of the abalone and characterised them for their probiotic abilities. This work resulted in an internationally competitive concept technology that was patented. The next stage of research was to develop a suitable bioprocess to enable commercial production. Numerous steps were taken to develop an efficient production process for V. midae, one of the isolates found by UCT. The initial stages of research involved the development of a stable and robust inoculum and the optimization of physiological growth parameters such as temperature and pH. A range of temperature and pH conditions were evaluated, and data obtained revealed an optimum growth temperature of 30ᵒC and a pH of 6.5. Once these critical growth parameters were established further media optimization studies were performed. Corn steep liquor (CSL) and high test molasses (HTM) were selected as suitable alternatives to more expensive, conventionally used growth medium additives. The optimization of CSL (6.4 g.l⁻¹) and HTM (24 g.l⁻¹) concentrations in the growth medium resulted in a 180% increase in cell concentration, a 5716-fold increase in cell productivity and a 97.2% decrease in the material cost of production in comparison to conventional growth conditions and parameters used at the onset of the study. In addition, a stable market-ready liquid probiotic product, encompassing the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state of Vibrio midae cells, was developed during the downstream processing aspect of the study. The demonstration of this technology at a full manufacturing scale has further enhanced the attractiveness and commercial feasibility of this production process.

Keywords: probiotics, abalone aquaculture, bioprocess technology, manufacturing scale technology development

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Roseline Unoma Chidobi

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The purpose of this study is to identify the extent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) application in record management and some factors militating against the utilization of e-learning in the universities in Enugu state. The study was a survey research the quantitative data were collected through a 30 – item questionnaire title extent of ICT Application in Record management and militating Factors in the utilization of e-learning (EIARMMFUE). This was administered on a population of 603 respondents made up of university academic staff and senior administrative staff. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics on a modified 4 point rating scale. Findings of the study revealed among others that ICT are not adequately applied in the management of records in the Universities in Nigeria. Factors like wrong notion or superstitious believe hinder the effective utilization of e – learning approach. The study recommended that the use of ICT in record management should be enhanced in order to achieve effective school management. All the factors militating against the effective utilization of e-learning approach should be addressed for the maximum realization of teaching and learning.

Keywords: e-learning, information communication, teaching, technology, tertiary institution

Procedia PDF Downloads 529

Authors: Fatih Özogul, Esmeray Kuley Boga, Ferhat Kuley, Yesim Özogul

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The impact of diethyl ether extract of spices (sumac, cumin, black pepper and red pepper) on growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Paratyphi A, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Camplylobacter jejuni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia enterocolitica and their biogenic amine production were investigated in tyrosine decarboxylase broth. Sumac extract generally had the highest activity to inhibit bacterial growth compared to other extracts, although antimicrobial effect of extracts used varied depending on bacterial strains. Sumac extract resulted in 3.34 and 2.54 log reduction for Y. enterocolitica and Camp. jejuni growth, whilst red pepper extract induced 0.65, 0.41 and 0.34 log reduction for growth of Y. enterocolitica, S. Paratyphi A and Staph. aureus, respectively. Spice extracts significantly inhibited ammonia production by bacteria (P < 0.05). Eleven and nine fold reduction on ammonia production by S. Paratyphi A and Staph. aureus were observed in the presence of sumac extract. Dopamine, agmatine, tyramine, serotonin and TMA were main amines produced by bacteria. Tyramine production by food-borne-pathogens was more than 10 mg/L, whereas histamine accumulated below 52 mg/L. The effect of spice extracts on biogenic amine production varied depending on amino acid decarboxylase broth, spice type, bacterial strains and specific amine, although cumin extract generally increased biogenic amine production by bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobials, biogenic amines, food-borne pathogens, spice extracts

Procedia PDF Downloads 318

Authors: Zuzana Poborilova, Anna B. Ohlsson, Torkel Berglund, Anna Vildova, Petr Babula

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Lawsone is a pigment that occurs naturally in plants. It has been used as a skin and hair dye for a long time. Moreover, its different biological activities have been reported. The present study focused on the effect of lawsone on a plant cell model represented by tobacco BY-2 cell suspension culture, which is used as a model comparable with the HeLa cells. It has been shown that lawsone inhibits the cell growth in the concentration-dependent manner. In addition, changes in DNA methylation level have been determined. We observed decreasing level of DNA methylation in the presence of increasing concentrations of lawsone. These results were accompanied with overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since epigenetic modifications can be caused by different stress factors, there could be a connection between the changes in the level of DNA methylation and ROS production caused by lawsone.

Keywords: DNA methylation, lawsone, naphthoquinone, reactive oxygen species

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Authors: Amir Ali, Laura Yael Mendoza

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The application of nanomaterials is becoming the most effective strategy of elicitation to produce a desirable level of plant biomass with complex medicinal compounds. This study was designed to check the influence of phytosynthesized iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) on physical growth characteristics, antioxidant status, and production of steviol glycosides of in vitro grown Stevia rebaudiana. Effect of different concentrations of iron nanoparticles replacement of iron sulfate in MS medium (stock solution) on invitro stevia plant growth following positive control (MS basal medium), negative control (iron sulfate devoid medium), iron sulfate devoid MS medium and supplemented with FeNPs at different concentrations (5.6 mg/L, 11.2 mg/L, 16.8 mg/L, 22.4 mg/L) was evaluated. The iron deficiency leads to a drastic reduction in plant growth. In contrast, applying FeNPs leads to improvement in plant height, leave diameter, improved leave morphology, etc., in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the stress caused by FeNPs at 16.8 mg/L in cultures produced higher levels of total phenolic content (3.7 ± 0.042 mg/g dry weight: DW) and total flavonoid content (1.9 ± 0.022 mg/g DW and antioxidant activity (78 ± 4.6%). In addition, plants grown in the presence of FeNPs at 22.4 mg/L resulted in higher enzymatic antioxidant activities (SOD = 3.5 ± 0.042 U/mg; POD = 2.6 ± 0.026 U/mg; CAT = 2.8 ± 0.034 U/mg and APx = 3.6 ± 0.043 U/ mg), respectively. Furthermore, exposure to a higher dose of FeNPs (22.4 mg/L) exhibited the maximum amount of stevioside (stevioside: 4.6 ± 0.058 mg/g (DW) and rebaudioside A: 4.9 ± 0.068 mg/g DW) as compared to other doses. The current investigation confirms the effectiveness of FeNPs in growth media. It offers a suitable prospect for commercially desirable production of S. rebaudiana biomass with higher sweet glycosides profiles in vitro.

Keywords: cell culture, stevia, iron nanoparticles, antioxidants

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Francisco Pereira, António Augusto Vicente, Filipe Vaz, Joel Borges, Pedro Geada

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Light is a growth-limiting factor in microalgae cultivation, where factors like spectral components, intensity, and duration, often characterized by its wavelength, are well-reported to have a substantial impact on cell growth rates and, consequently, photosynthetic performance and mitigation of CO2, one of the most significant greenhouse gases (GHGs). Photobioreactors (PBRs) are commonly used to grow microalgae under controlled conditions, but they often fail to provide an even light distribution to the cultures. For this reason, there is a pressing need for innovations aiming at enhancing the efficient utilization of light. So, one potential approach to address this issue is by implementing plasmonic films, such as the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). LSPR is an optical phenomenon connected to the interaction of light with metallic nanostructures. LSPR excitation is characterized by the oscillation of unbound conduction electrons of the nanoparticles coupled with the electromagnetic field from incident light. As a result of this excitation, highly energetic electrons and a strong electromagnetic field are generated. These effects lead to an amplification of light scattering, absorption, and extinction of specific wavelengths, contingent on the nature of the employed nanoparticle. Thus, microalgae might benefit from this biotechnology as it enables the selective filtration of inhibitory wavelengths and harnesses the electromagnetic fields produced, which could lead to enhancements in both biomass and metabolite productivity. This study aimed at implementing and evaluating a “plasmon-enhanced PBR”. The goal was to utilize LSPR thin films to enhance the growth and CO2 bio-fixation rate of Chlorella vulgaris. The internal/external walls of the PBRs were coated with a TiO2 matrix containing different nanoparticles (Au, Ag, and Au-Ag) in order to evaluate the impact of this approach on microalgae’s performance. Plasmonic films with distinct compositions resulted in different Chlorella vulgaris growth, ranging from 4.85 to 6.13 g.L-1. The highest cell concentrations were obtained with the metallic Ag films, demonstrating a 14% increase compared to the control condition. Moreover, it appeared to be no differences in growth between PBRs with inner and outer wall coatings. In terms of CO2 bio-fixation, distinct rates were obtained depending on the coating applied, ranging from 0.42 to 0.53 gCO2L-1d-1. Ag coating was demonstrated to be the most effective condition for carbon fixation by C. vulgaris. The impact of LSPR films on the biochemical characteristics of biomass (e.g., proteins, lipids, pigments) was analysed as well. Interestingly, Au coating yielded the most significant enhancements in protein content and total pigments, with increments of 15 % and 173 %, respectively, when compared to the PBR without any coating (control condition). Overall, the incorporation of plasmonic films in PBRs seems to have the potential to improve the performance and efficiency of microalgae cultivation, thereby representing an interesting approach to increase both biomass production and GHGs bio-mitigation.

Keywords: CO₂ bio-fixation, plasmonic effect, photobioreactor, photosynthetic microalgae

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Authors: Kanokwan Sansuwan, Orapint Jintasataporn, Srinoy Chumkam

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Asian seabass is one of the economically important fish of Thailand and other countries in the Southeast Asia. Zinc is an essential trace metal to fish and vital to various biological processes and function. It is required for normal growth and indispensable in the diet. Therefore, the artificial diets offered to intensively cultivated fish must possess the zinc content required by the animal metabolism for health maintenance and high weight gain rates. However, essential elements must also be in an available form to be utilized by the organism. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the application of different zinc forms, including organic Zinc (zinc amino acid complex) and inorganic Zinc (zinc sulfate), as feed additives in diets for Asian seabass. Three groups with five replicates of fish (mean weight 22.54 ± 0.80 g) were given a basal diet either unsupplemented (control) or supplemented with 50 mg Zn kg−¹ sulfate (ZnSO₄) or Zinc Amino Acid Complex (ZnAA) respectively. Feeding regimen was initially set at 3% of body weight per day, and then the feed amount was adjusted weekly according to the actual feeding performance. The experiment was conducted for 10 weeks. Fish supplemented with ZnAA had the highest values in all studied growth indicators (weight gain, average daily growth and specific growth rate), followed by fish fed the diets with the ZnSO₄, and lowest in fish fed the diets with the control. Lysozyme and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of fish supplemented with ZnAA were significantly higher compared with all other groups (P < 0.05). Fish supplemented with ZnSO₄ exhibited significant increase in digestive enzyme activities (protease, pepsin and trypsin) compared with ZnAA and the control (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed for RNA and protein in muscle (P > 0.05). The results of the present work suggest that ZnAA are a better source of trace elements for Asian seabass, based on growth performance and immunity indices examined in this study.

Keywords: Asian seabass, growth performance, zinc amino acid complex (ZnAA), zinc sulfate (ZnSO₄)

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Authors: Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale, Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Rudson de Sousa Lima

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Around the planet Earth, access to clean water is a problem whose importance has increased due to population growth and its misuse. Thus, projects that seek to transform water sources improper (salty and brackish) in drinking water sources are current issues. However, this transformation generally requires a high cost of implementation, operation and maintenance. In this context, the aim of this work is the development of a passive solar distiller for brackish water, made from recycled and durable materials such as aluminum, cement, glass and PVC basins. The results reveal factors that influence the performance and viability of the expansion project.

Keywords: solar distiller, passive distiller, distiller with pyramidal roof, ecologically correct

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Authors: Fadwa Alhalaiqa, Ahmad Al-Nawafleh, Abdul-Monim Batiha, Rami Masadeh, Aida Abd Alrazek

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Healthy lifestyle recommendations (e.g. physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, increased cholesterol levels, obesity, and poor stress management) play an important role in controlling BP. This study aimed to assess lifestyle modification factors among patient diagnosed with hypertension. Methods and materials: A cross section-survey design was used. Data was collected by four questionnaires one was the beliefs about medication (BMQ) and rest were developed to collect data about demographics and clinical characteristics and lifestyle modification factors. Results: Total 312 questionnaires had been completed. The participants had a mean age of 57.6 years (SD =11.8). The results revealed that our participants did not follow healthy lifestyle recommendations; for example the means BS level, BMI, and cholesterol levels were 155 mg/dl (SD= 71.9), 29 kg/2m (SD= 5.4) and 197 mg/dl (SD= 86.6) respectively. A significant correlation was shown between age and BP (P= 0.000). Increase in DBP correlates with a significant increase in cholesterol level (P= .002) and BMI (P= .006). Conclusion: Hypertensive patients did not adhere to healthy lifestyle modification factors. Therefore, an urgent action by addressing behavioral risk factors has a positive impact on preventing and controlling hypertension.

Keywords: adherence, healthy lifestyle, hypertension, patients

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Authors: Joselito Castro Gutierrez, Herbert Orteza, Jervie Boligon, Kenneth Esteves, Edrick Kevin Ferrer, Mark Kevin Torres, Patrick Vergara

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Teaching is a noble profession that involves an effective imparting of holistic learning. Consequently, it requires a driving force called motivation. This research aims to determine the motivating factors, problems encountered, solutions made by experienced secondary school teachers to remain in the teaching profession. A mixed unstructured/structured questionnaire was used for gathering data among public secondary school teachers. The researchers have arrived to a conclusion that the dominant motivating factors of teachers to stay in the profession are altruism, extrinsic factors, and self-efficacy. Meanwhile, the prevalent problems these experienced secondary teachers experienced are mutual dilemma, work overload, and personal issues. Teachers have varied methods on solving the problem which are: a) Direct Solution; b) Indirect Solution; and c) Pseudo-Solutions. Lastly, the factors, problems, and solutions, have influential effects on how long a teacher would sustain in teaching which would manifest as positive, negative and neutral effects.

Keywords: motivation, common problems of teachers, strategies in solving problems, teaching profession

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Authors: Pontsho E. Tseke, Phatu W. Mashela

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Cucurbitacin-containing phytonematicides had been consistent in suppressing root-knot (Meloidogyne species) when used in dried crude form, with limited evidence whether the efficacy could be affected when fresh fruits were used during fermentation. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide prepared using fermented crude extracts of fresh fruit from wild watermelon (Cucumis africanus) on the growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants and suppression of Meloidogyne species. Seedlings of tomato cultivar ‘Floradade’ were inoculated with 3 000 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2) of M. incognita race 2 in pot trials, with treatments comprising 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 % Nemafric-BL phytonematicide. At 56 days after inoculation, the phytonematicide reduced eggs and J2 in roots by 84-97%, J2 in soil by 49-96% and total nematodes by 70-97%. Plant variables and concentrations of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide exhibited positive quadratic relations, with 74-98% associations. In conclusion, fresh fruit of C. africanus could be used for the preparation of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide, particularly in cases where the dry infrastructure is not available.

Keywords: Cucurbitacin B, density-dependent growth, effective microorganisms, quadratic relations

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Authors: Hala Shaari, Nuredin Ahmed

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Teaching computer programming is recognized to be difficult and a real challenge. The biggest problem faced by novice programmers is their lack of understanding of basic programming concepts. A visualized learning tool was developed and used by volunteered first-year students for two semesters. The purposes of this paper are firstly, to emphasize factors which directly affect the performance of our students negatively. Secondly, to examine whether the proposed tool would improve their performance and learning progression. The results of adopting this tool were conducted using a pre-survey and post-survey questionnaire. As a result, students who used the learning tool showed better performance in their programming subject.

Keywords: factors, novice, programming, visualization

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Authors: Hisham Arab Alkabeya, A. M. Hughes, J. Adams

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Background: People with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) continue to experience problems with hand function despite new drug advances and targeted medical treatment. Consequently, it is important to identify the factors that influence the impact of RA disease on hand function. This systematic review identified observational studies that reported factors that influenced the impact of RA on hand function. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAL, AMED, PsychINFO, and Web of Science database were searched from January 1990 up to March 2017. Full-text articles published in English that described factors related to hand functional disability in people with RA were selected following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Pertinent data were thoroughly extracted and documented using a pre-designed data extraction form by the lead author, and cross-checked by the review team for completion and accuracy. Factors related to hand function were classified under the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework and health-related factors. Three reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the included articles using the quality of cross-sectional studies (AXIS) tool. Factors related to hand function that was investigated in two or more studies were explored using a best-evidence synthesis. Results: Twenty articles form 19 studies met the inclusion criteria from 1,271 citations; all presented cross-sectional data (five high quality and 15 low quality studies), resulting in at best limited evidence in the best-evidence synthesis. For the factors classified under the ICF domains, the best-evidence synthesis indicates that there was a range of body structure and function factors that were related with hand functional disability. However, key factors were hand strength, disease activity, and pain intensity. Low functional status (physical, emotional and social) level was found to be related with limited hand function. For personal factors, there is limited evidence that gender is not related with hand function; whereas, conflicting evidence was found regarding the relationship between age and hand function. In the domain of environmental factors, there was limited evidence that work activity was not related with hand function. Regarding health-related factors, there was limited evidence that the level of the rheumatoid factor (RF) was not related to hand function. Finally, conflicting evidence was found regarding the relationship between hand function and disease duration and general health status. Conclusion: Studies focused on body structure and function factors, highlighting a lack of investigation into personal and environmental factors when considering the impact of RA on hand function. The level of evidence which exists was limited, but identified that modifiable factors such as grip or pinch strength, disease activity and pain are the most influential factors on hand function in people with RA. The review findings suggest that important personal and environmental factors that impact on hand function in people with RA are not yet considered or reported in clinical research. Well-designed longitudinal, preferably cohort, studies are now needed to better understand the causality between personal and environmental factors and hand functional disability in people with RA.

Keywords: factors, hand function, rheumatoid arthritis, systematic review

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Authors: Panpan Fan, Bo Ming, Niels Anten, Jochem Evers, Yaoyao Li, Shaokun Li, Ruizhi xie

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Nitrogen (N) utilization for crop production under N deficiency conditions is subject to a trade-off between maintaining specific leaf N content (SLN), important for radiation-use efficiency (RUE), versus maintaining leaf area (LA) development, important for light capture. This paper aims to explore how maize deals with this trade-off through responses in SLN, LA and their underlying traits during the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. In a ten-year N fertilization trial in Jilin province, Northeast China, three N fertilizer levels have been maintained: N-deficiency (N0), low N supply (N1), and high N supply (N2). We analyzed data from years 8 and 10 of this experiment for two common hybrids. Under N deficiency, maize plants maintained LA and decreased SLN during vegetative stages, while both LA and SLN decreased comparably during reproductive stages. Canopy-average specific leaf area (SLA) decreased sharply during vegetative stages and slightly during reproductive stages, mainly because senesced leaves in the lower canopy had a higher SLA. In the vegetative stage, maize maintained leaf area at low N by maintaining leaf biomass (albeit hence having N content/mass) and slightly increasing SLA. These responses to N deficiency were stronger in maize hybrid XY335 than in ZD958. We conclude the main strategy of maize to cope with low N is to maintain plant growth, mainly by increasing SLA throughout the plant during early growth. N was too limiting for either strategy to be followed during later growth stages.

Keywords: leaf N content per unit leaf area, N deficiency, specific leaf area, maize strateg

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Authors: Elif Gencturk, Ekin Yurdakul, Ahmet Y. Celik, Senol Mutlu, Kutlu O. Ulgen

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Yeast cells are generally used as a model system of eukaryotes due to their complex genetic structure, rapid growth ability in optimum conditions, easy replication and well-defined genetic system properties. Thus, yeast cells increased the knowledge of the principal pathways in humans. During fermentation, carbohydrates (hexoses and pentoses) degrade into some toxic by-products such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF or HMF) and furfural. HMF influences the ethanol yield, and ethanol productivity; it interferes with microbial growth and is considered as a potent inhibitor of bioethanol production. In this study, yeast single cell behavior under HMF application was monitored by using a continuous flow single phase microfluidic platform. Microfluidic device in operation is fabricated by hot embossing and thermo-compression techniques from cyclo-olefin polymer (COP). COP is biocompatible, transparent and rigid material and it is suitable for observing fluorescence of cells considering its low auto-fluorescence characteristic. The response of yeast cells was recorded through Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) tagged Nop56 gene product, which is an essential evolutionary-conserved nucleolar protein, and also a member of the box C/D snoRNP complexes. With the application of HMF, yeast cell proliferation continued but HMF slowed down the cell growth, and after HMF treatment the cell proliferation stopped. By the addition of fresh nutrient medium, the yeast cells recovered after 6 hours of HMF exposure. Thus, HMF application suppresses normal functioning of cell cycle but it does not cause cells to die. The monitoring of Nop56 expression phases of the individual cells shed light on the protein and ribosome synthesis cycles along with their link to growth. Further computational study revealed that the mechanisms underlying the inhibitory or inductive effects of HMF on growth are enriched in functional categories of protein degradation, protein processing, DNA repair and multidrug resistance. The present microfluidic device can successfully be used for studying the effects of inhibitory agents on growth by single cell tracking, thus capturing cell to cell variations. By metabolic engineering techniques, engineered strains can be developed, and the metabolic network of the microorganism can thus be manipulated such that chemical overproduction of target metabolite is achieved along with the maximum growth/biomass yield.  

Keywords: COP, HMF, ribosome biogenesis, thermoplastic microbioreactor, yeast

Procedia PDF Downloads 174