Search results for: longitudinal bone growth

Authors: Teerada Apibunyopas, Nithinant Thammakoranonta

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Many organizations bring e-Learning to use as a tool in their training and human development department. It is getting more popular because it is easy to access to get knowledge all the time and also it provides a rich content, which can develop the employees skill efficiently. This study focused on the factors that affect using e-Learning efficiently, so it will make job satisfaction increased. The questionnaires were sent to employees in large commercial banks, which use e-Learning located in Bangkok, the results from multiple linear regression analysis showed that employee’s characteristics, characteristics of e-Learning, learning and growth have influence on job satisfaction.

Keywords: e-Learning, job satisfaction, learning and growth, Bangkok

Procedia PDF Downloads 491

Authors: Akunna Agunwah, Kevin Gallimore, Kathryn Kinnmond

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Entrepreneurship and project management are widely associated and seen as a vehicle for economic growth, but are studied separately. A few authors have considered the interconnectivity existing between these two fields, but relatively little empirical data currently exist in the literature. The purpose of the present empirical study is to explore whether successful entrepreneurs utilise project management approaches in enhancing enterprise growth by understanding the working practices and experiences of the entrepreneurs’ using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as a lens. In order to understand those experiences, ten successful entrepreneurs in various business sectors in the North West of England were interviewed through a face-to-face semi-structured interview method. The collected audio tape-recorded data was transcribed and analysed using the deductive thematic technique (qualitative approach). The themes were viewed through the lens of Theory of Planned Behaviour to identify the three intentional antecedents (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control) and to understand how they relate to the project management approaches (Planning, execution, and monitoring). The findings are twofold, the first evidence of the three intentional antecedents, which make up Theory of Planned Behaviour was present. Secondly, the analysis of project management approaches themes (planning, execution, and monitoring) using the lens of the theory of planned behaviour shows evidence of the three intentional antecedents. There were more than one intentional antecedents found in a particular project management theme, which indicates that the entrepreneur does utilise these approaches without categorising them into definite themes. However, the entrepreneur utilised these intentional antecedents as processes to enhanced business growth. In conclusion, the work presented here showed a way of understanding the interconnectivity between entrepreneurship and project management towards enhancing enterprise growth by examining the working practices and experiences of the successful entrepreneurs in the North-West England.

Keywords: business growth, entrepreneurship, project management approaches, theory of planned behaviour

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Authors: S. Da Costa, D. Páez, F. Sánchez

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We examine the causal role of positive affect on creativity, the association of creativity or innovation in the ideation phase with functional emotional regulation, successful adjustment to stress and dispositional emotional creativity, as well as the predictive role of creativity for positive emotions and social adjustment. The study examines the effects of modification of positive affect on creativity. Participants write three poems, narrate an infatuation episode, answer a scale of personal growth after this episode and perform a creativity task, answer a flow scale after creativity task and fill a dispositional emotional creativity scale. High and low positive effect was induced by asking subjects to write three poems about high and low positive connotation stimuli. In a neutral condition, tasks were performed without previous affect induction. Subjects on the condition of high positive affect report more positive and less negative emotions, more personal growth (effect size r = .24) and their last poem was rated as more original by judges (effect size r = .33). Mediational analysis showed that positive emotions explain the influence of the manipulation on personal growth - positive affect correlates r = .33 to personal growth. The emotional creativity scale correlated to creativity scores of the creative task (r = .14), to the creativity of the narration of the infatuation episode (r = .21). Emotional creativity was also associated, during performing the creativity task, with flow (r = .27) and with affect balance (r = .26). The mediational analysis showed that emotional creativity predicts flow through positive affect. Results suggest that innovation in the phase of ideation is associated with a positive affect balance and satisfactory performance, as well as dispositional emotional creativity is adaptive.

Keywords: affectivity, creativity, induction, innovation, psychological factors

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Authors: Amritanshu Shriwastav, Purnendu Bose

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Algal photo bioreactors were operated at incident light intensities of 0.24, 2.52 and 5.96 W L-1 to determine the impact of light on algal growth. Low specific Chlorophyll-a content of algae was a strong indicator of light induced stress on algal cells. It was concluded that long term operation of photo bioreactors in the continuous illumination mode was infeasible under the range of incident light intensities examined and provision of a dark period after each light period was necessary for algal cells to recover from light-induced stress. Long term operation of photo bioreactors in the intermittent illumination mode was however possible at light intensities of 0.24 and 2.52 W L-1. Further, the incident light intensity in the photo bioreactors was found to decline exponentially with increase in algal concentration in the reactor due to algal ‘self-shading’. This may be an important determinant for photo bioreactor performance at higher algal concentrations.

Keywords: Algae, algal growth, photo bioreactor, photo-inhibition, ‘self-shading’

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Authors: Mahan Qwamizadeh, Kun Zhou, Zuoqi Zhang, Yong Wei Zhang

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Typical load-bearing biological materials like bone, mineralized tendon and shell, are biocomposites made from both organic (collagen) and inorganic (biomineral) materials. This amazing class of materials with intrinsic internally designed hierarchical structures show superior mechanical properties with regard to their weak components from which they are formed. Extensive investigations concentrating on static loading conditions have been done to study the biological materials failure. However, most of the damage and failure mechanisms in load-bearing biological materials will occur whenever their structures are exposed to dynamic loading conditions. The main question needed to be answered here is: What is the relation between the layout and architecture of the load-bearing biological materials and their dynamic behavior? In this work, a staggered model has been developed based on the structure of natural materials at nanoscale and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been used to study the dynamic behavior of the structure of load-bearing biological materials to answer why the staggered arrangement has been selected by nature to make the nanocomposite structure of most of the biological materials. The results showed that the staggered structures will efficiently attenuate the stress wave rather than the layered structure. Furthermore, such staggered architecture is effectively in charge of utilizing the capacity of the biostructure to resist both normal and shear loads. In this work, the geometrical parameters of the model like the thickness and aspect ratio of the mineral inclusions selected from the typical range of the experimentally observed feature sizes and layout dimensions of the biological materials such as bone and mineralized tendon. Furthermore, the numerical results validated with existing theoretical solutions. Findings of the present work emphasize on the significant effects of dynamic behavior on the natural evolution of load-bearing biological materials and can help scientists to design bioinspired materials in the laboratories.

Keywords: load-bearing biological materials, nanostructure, staggered structure, stress wave decay

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Authors: Ming-Tzu Tsai, Jui-Ting Hsu, Chia-Chieh Lin, Feng-Tsai Chiang, Cheng-Chin Huang

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Far infrared (FIR), an invisible and short electromagnetic waves ranges from 6-14 μm also defines as the “growth ray.” Although the mechanism of FIR is still unknown, most data have suggested that FIR could accelerate the skin microcirculation by elevating the blood flow and nitric-oxide (NO) synthesis. In this present work, the effect of FIR irradiation and endothelial cell growth supplement (ECGS) on human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) was evaluated. To understand whether the cell viability and NO production of HUVECs affected by NO, cells with/without ECGS were treated in the presence or absence of L-NAME, an eNOS inhibitor. For FIR exposure, FIR-emitted ceramic powders consisted of a variety of well-mixed metal oxides were developed. The results showed that L-NAME did had a strong effect on the inhibition of NO production, especially in the ECGS-treated group. However, the cell viability of each group was rarely affected in the presence of L-NAME. Cells with the incubation of ECGS showed much higher cell viability compared to the control. Moreover, NO production of HUVECs exposed to FIR irradiation was significantly inhibited in the presence of L-NAME. It suggested that NO could play a role modulating the downstream signals of HUVECs during FIR exposure.

Keywords: far-infrared irradiation (FIR), nitric oxide (NO), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), endothelial cell growth supplement (ECGS)

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Authors: Nora Laref, Bettache Guessas

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Preservation of foods mainly depends on delaying or inhibiting the growth of spoilage microorganisms, and antifungal activity of lactic acid bacteria is one of the technological properties researched. The antifungal activity was screened with overlay method of six strains of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum LB54, LB52, LB51, LB20, LB24 Lactobacillus farciminis LB53) isolated from silage, camel milk and carrot against Aspergillus sp. Lactobacillus plantarum and farciminis inhibit spore germination and mycelia growth of Aspergillus sp., the production of antifungal compounds by these strains was detectable after 4h of incubation at 30°C and show total inhibition after 24h in liquid media, but in solid media showed a good inhibition after 96h of incubation, these compounds cause malformations in the thalle, conidiophore and conidia. These strains could be used as agents of biopreservation since have the ability to retard Aspergillus sp., growth in apricot juice with and without sugar conserved in refrigerator but not in bread.

Keywords: lactobacillus, antifungal substances, aspergillus, biopreservation

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Authors: A. Maria G. Melero, A. M. Senna, J. A. Domingues, M. A. Hausen, E. Aparecida R. Duek, V. R. Botaro

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A hydrogel from cellulose acetate cross linked with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (HAC-EDTA) was synthesized by our research group, and submitted to characterization and biological tests. Cytocompatibility analysis was performed by confocal microscopy using human adipocyte derived stem cells (ASCs). The FTIR analysis showed characteristic bands of cellulose acetate and hydroxyl groups and the tensile tests evidence that HAC-EDTA present a Young’s modulus of 643.7 MPa. The confocal analysis revealed that there was cell growth at the surface of HAC-EDTA. After one day of culture the cells presented spherical morphology, which may be caused by stress of the sequestration of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions at the cell medium by HAC-EDTA, as demonstrated by ICP-MS. However, after seven days and 14 days of culture, the cells present fibroblastoid morphology, phenotype expected by this cellular type. The results give efforts to indicate this new material as a potential biomaterial for tissue engineering, in the future in vivo approach.

Keywords: cellulose acetate, hydrogel, biomaterial, cellular growth

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Authors: Muhammad Naveed, Sohail Yousaf, Zahir Ahmad Zahir, Birgit Mitter, Angela Sessitsch

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Most bacterial endophytes originate from the soil and enter plants via the roots followed by further spread through the inner tissues. The mechanisms allowing bacteria to colonize plants endophytically are still poorly understood for most bacterial and plant species. Specific bacterial functions are required for plant colonization, but also the plant itself is a determining factor as bacterial ability to establish endophytic populations is very often dependent on the plant genotype (cultivar) and inoculums density. The effect of inoculum density (107, 108, 109 CFU mL-1) of Burkholderia phytofirmans strain PsJN was evaluated on growth and endophytic colonization of different maize and potato cultivars under axenic and natural soil conditions. PsJN inoculation significantly increased maize seedling growth and tuber yield of potato at all inoculum density compared to uninoculated control. Under axenic condition, PsJN inoculation (108 CFU mL-1) significantly improved the germination, root/shoot length and biomass up to 62, 115, 98 and 135% of maize seedling compared to uninoculated control. In case of potato, PsJN inoculation (109 CFU mL-1) showed maximum response and significantly increased root/shoot biomass and tuber yield under natural soil condition. We confirmed that PsJN is able to colonize the rhizosphere, roots and shoots of maize and potato cultivars. The endophytic colonization increased linearly with increasing inoculum density (within a range of 8 x 104 – 3 x 107 CFU mL-1) and were highest for maize (Morignon) and potato (Romina) as compared to other cultivars. Efficient colonization of cv. Morignon and Romina by strain PsJN indicates the specific cultivar colonizing capacity of the bacteria. The findings of the study indicate the non-significant relationship between colonization and plant growth promotion in maize under axenic conditions. However, the inoculum level (109 CFU mL-1) that promoted colonization of rhizosphere and plant interior (endophytic) also best promoted growth and tuber yield of potato under natural soil conditions.

Keywords: crop genotype, inoculum density, Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, colonization, growth, potato

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Authors: L. Steponavičiūtė, L. Steponavičienė

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Despite the rapid nanotechnology progress and recognition, its potential impact in ecosystems and health of humans is still not fully known. In this paper, the study of ecotoxicological dangers of nanomaterials is presented. By chemical reduction method, silver (AgNPs) and gold (AuNPs) nanoparticles were synthesized, characterized and used in experiments to examine their impact on microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans) and terrestrial flora (Phaseolus vulgaris and Lepidium sativum). The results collected during experiments with terrestrial flora show tendentious growth stimulations caused by gold nanoparticles. In contrast to these results, silver nanoparticle solutions inhibited growth of beans and garden cress, compared to control samples. The results obtained from experiments with microorganisms show similarities with ones collected from experiments with terrestrial plants. Samples treated with AuNPs of size 13 nm showed stimulation in the growth of the colonies compared with 3,5 nm size nanoparticles.

Keywords: nanomaterials, ecotoxicology, nanoparticles, ecosystems

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Authors: Ryeong-Hyeon Kim, Ah-Reum Lee, Seong-Soo Roh, Gyo-Nam Kim

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Appropriate regulation of melanogenesis is important for the management of skin pigmentation-related disease. Although several beneficial effects of fisetin (3,7,3’,4’-tetrahydroxyflavone) have been reported, the precise role and molecular mechanisms of fisetin in skin health both remain unclear. Here, we induced melanogenesis of HRM2 mice (n=7/group) by UVB irradiation for 20 days. UVB-induced HRM2 mice showed that the significantly increased melanin accumulation, however, fisetin treatment (25mg and 50mg/kg of body weight) dose-dependently and significantly inhibits UVB-induced melanogenesis. In line with this, fisetin treatment effectively down-regulated m RNA and expression levels of tyrosinase, TRP2, and MITF. In addition, our inhibitor assay revealed the down-regulated melanogenic marker genes by fisetin treatment were mediated with connective tissue growth factor (CCN2)/TGF-β signaling pathway. Useful information is provided for development of functional foods using fisetin for skin health.

Keywords: connective tissue growth factor, fisetin, melanogenesis, skin, TGF-beta

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Authors: Mohamed H. Kosba, Heba A. Ibrahim, H. Rozita

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Statement of the Problem: The life expectancy for transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients has increased dramatically with iron-chelation therapy and other modern management modalities. In these patients, the most dominant maxillofacial manifestations are protrusion of zygomatic bones and premaxilla due to the hyperplasia of bone marrow. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs according to the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) among Malay transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Orientation: This is a cross-sectional study consist of 43 Malay transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients, 22 males, and 19 females with the mean age of 15.9 years old (SD 3.58). The subjects were selected randomly from patients attending Paediatrics and Internal Medicine Clinic at Hospital USM and Hospital Sultana Bahiyah. The subjects were assessed for malocclusion according to Angle’s classification, and orthodontic treatment needs using DAI. The results show that 22 of the subjects (51.1%) have class II malocclusion, 12 subjects (28%) have class І, while 9 subjects (20.9%) have class Ⅲ. The assessment of orthodontic treatment needs to reveal 22 cases (51.1%) fall in the normal/minor needs category, 12 subjects (28%) fall in the severe and very severe category, while 9 subjects (20.9%) fall in the definite category. Conclusion & Significance: Half of Malay transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients have Class Ⅱmalocclusion. About 28% had malocclusion and required orthodontic treatment. This research shows that Malay transfusion-dependent thalassemia may require orthodontic management; earlier intervention to reduce the complexity of the treatment later, suggesting functional appliance as a suitable treatment option for them, a twin block appliance together with headgear to restrict maxillary growth suggested for management. The current protocol implemented by the Malaysian Ministry of Health for the management of these patients seems to be sufficient since the result shows that about 28% require orthodontic treatment need, according to DAI.

Keywords: prevalence, DAI, thalassaemia, angle classification

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Authors: M. Youngsabanant-Areekijseree, C. Thepsithar, K. Sribuddhachart, J. Tananantayot

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Porcine oviductal fluid (pOF) from oviduct, an unused organ from the slaughterhouse, was effectively used for biotechnology studies. The fluid components consisted of micro- and macro-nutrients, amino acids, carbon source and proteins that played important roles in animal cell and embryo development. This was our knowledge on investigating pOF as growth promoting substance in culture medium of an orchid, Dendrobium mirbelianum. Two-leaf shoots were cultured in liquid Vacin and Went (VW) medium as a standard medium supplemented with 2 g/L peptone (Pe) or 100 g/ L boiled-potato water (Po) alone or in combinations, and added with 0, 1, 3 or 5 ml/L pOF. All explants were cultured in a stationary condition for 8 weeks. It was found that medium added with 100 g/L Po and 1 ml/L pOF provided the best results (1.02 g fresh weight, 4.2 shoots, 0.53 cm shoot height, 4.4 protocorms, 11.0 leaves and 5.7 roots with 100% survival) when compared to other medium, but not statistically significant difference from medium added with 100 g/L Po (0.86 g fresh weight, 4.3 shoots, 0.51 cm shoot height, 4.6 protocorms, 12.4 leaves and 6.6 roots with 100% survival). However, VW medium supplemented with 1 or 3 ml/L pOF alone showed the higher percentage of survival (100%) than VW medium (86.67%). It was shown the potential role of pOF as an organic supplement for promoting growth of plants. Acknowledgements—The project was funded by a grant from Silpakorn University Research & Development Institute (SURDI) and Faculty of Science, Silpakorn University, Thailand.

Keywords: Dendrobium mirbelianum, pig, oviductal fluid, in vitro growth

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Authors: Taylor Harris

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Gustilo-anderson grade III tibial fractures are exquisitely difficult injuries to manage as they require extensive soft tissue repair in addition to fracture fixation. These injuries are best managed collaboratively by Orthopedic and Plastic surgeons. While utilizing an Orthoplastics approach has decreased the rates of adverse outcomes in these injuries, there is a large amount of variation in exactly how an Orthoplastics team approaches complex cases such as these. It is sometimes recommended that definitive bone fixation and soft tissue coverage be completed simultaneously in a single-stage manner, but there is a paucity of large scale studies to provide evidence to support this recommendation. It is the aim of this study to report the outcomes of a single-stage "fix-and-flap" approach through a systematic review of the available literature. Hopefully, this better informs an evidence-based Orthoplastics approach to managing open tibial fractures. Systematic review of the literature was performed. Medline and Google Scholar were used and all studies published since 2000, in English were included. 103 studies were initially evaluated for inclusion. Reference lists of all included studies were also examined for potentially eligible studies. Gustilo grade III tibial shaft fractures in adults that were managed with a single-stage Orthoplastics approach were identified and evaluated with regard to outcomes of interest. Exclusion criteria included studies with patients <16 years old, case studies, systemic reviews, meta-analyses. Primary outcomes of interest were the rates of deep infections and rates of limb salvage. Secondary outcomes of interest included time to bone union, rates of non-union, and rates of re-operation. 15 studies were eligible. 11 of these studies reported rates of deep infection as an outcome, with rates ranging from 0.98%-20%. The pooled rate between studies was 7.34%. 7 studies reported rates of limb salvage with a range of 96.25%-100%. The pooled rate of the associated studies was 97.8%. 6 reported rates of non-union with a range of 0%-14%, a pooled rate of 6.6%. 6 reported time to bone union with a range of 24 to 40.3 weeks and a pooled average time of 34.2 weeks, and 4 reported rates of reoperation ranging from 7%-55%, with a pooled rate of 31.1%. A few studies that compared a single stage to a multi stage approach side-by-side unanimously favored the single stage approach. Outcomes of Gustilo grade III open tibial fractures utilizing an Orthoplastics approach that is specifically done in a single-stage produce low rates of adverse outcomes. Large scale studies of Orthoplastic collaboration that were not completed in strictly a single stage, or were completed in multiple stages, have not reported as favorable outcomes. We recommend that not only should Orthopedic surgeons and Plastic surgeons collaborate in the management of severe open tibial fracture, but they should plan to undergo definitive fixation and coverage in a single-stage for improved outcomes.

Keywords: orthoplastic, gustilo grade iii, single-stage, trauma, systematic review

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Authors: Ritu Karwasra, Surender Singh

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Inflammation is an important physiological response of the body’s self-defense system that helps in eliminating and protecting organism from harmful stimuli and in tissue repair. It is a highly regulated protective response which helps in eliminating the initial cause of cell injury, and initiates the process of repair. The present study was designed to evaluate the ameliorative effect of pomegranate rind extract on pain and inflammation. Hydroalcoholic standardized rind extract of pomegranate at doses 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg and indomethacin (3 mg/kg) was tested against eddy’s hot plate induced thermal algesia, carrageenan (acute inflammation) and Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (chronic inflammation) induced models in Wistar rats. Parameters analyzed were inhibition of paw edema, measurement of joint diameter, levels of GSH, TBARS, SOD, TNF-α, radiographic imaging, tissue histology and synovial expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine receptor (TNF-R1). Radiological and light microscopical analysis were carried out to find out the bone damage in CFA-induced chronic inflammatory model. Findings of the present study revealed that pomegranate rind extract at a dose of 200 mg/kg caused a significant (p<0.05) reduction in paw swelling in both the inflammatory models. Nociceptive threshold was also significantly (p<0.05) improved. Immunohistochemical analysis of TNF-R1 in CFA-induced group showed elevated level, whereas reduction in level of TNF-R1 was observed in pomegranate (200 mg/kg). Henceforth, we might say that pomegranate produced a dose-dependent reduction in inflammation and pain along with the reduction in levels of oxidative stress markers and tissue histology, and the effect was found to be comparable to that of indomethacin. Thus, it can be concluded that pomegranate is a potential therapeutic target in the pathogenesis of inflammation and pain, and punicalagin is the major constituents found in rind extract might be responsible for the activity.

Keywords: carrageenan, inflammation, nociceptive-threshold, pomegranate, histopathology

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Authors: Prince Suka Neekia Momta, Rita Iheoma Achonyeulo

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Ant Tracking seismic attribute applied over 4-seconds seismic volume revealed structural features triggered by clay diapirism, growth fault development, rapid deltaic sedimentation and intense drilling. The attribute was extracted on vertical seismic sections and time slices. Mega tectonic structures such as growth faults and clay diapirs are visible on vertical sections with obscured minor lineaments or fractures. Fractures are distinctively visible on time slices yielding recognizable patterns corroborating established geologic models. This model seismic attribute enabled the understanding of fluid flow characteristics and production responses. Three structural patterns recognized in the field include: major growth faults, minor faults or lineaments and network of fractures. Three growth faults mapped on seismic section form major deformation bands delimiting the area into three blocks or depocenters. The growth faults trend E-W, dip down-to-south in the basin direction, and cut across the study area. The faults initiating from about 2000ms extended up to 500ms, and tend to progress parallel and opposite to the growth direction of an upsurging diapiric structure. The diapiric structures form the major deformational bands originating from great depths (below 2000ms) and rising to about 1200ms where series of sedimentary layers onlapped and pinchout stratigraphically against the diapir. Several other secondary faults or lineaments that form parallel streaks to one another also accompanied the growth faults. The fracture networks have no particular trend but form a network surrounding the well area. Faults identified in the study area have potentials for structural hydrocarbon traps whereas the presence of fractures created a fractured-reservoir condition that enhanced rapid fluid flow especially water. High aquifer flow potential aided by possible fracture permeability resulted in rapid decline in oil rate. Through the application of Ant Tracking attribute, it is possible to obtain detailed interpretation of structures that can have direct influence on oil and gas production.

Keywords: seismic, attributes, production, structural

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Authors: T. Büyüksırıt, H. Kuleaşan

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Natural antimicrobials are used to preserve foods that can be found in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Antimicrobial substances are natural or artificial agents that produced by microorganisms or obtained semi/total chemical synthesis are used at low concentrations to inhibit the growth of other microorganisms. Food borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms are inactivated by the use of antagonistic microorganisms and their metabolites. Yeasts can produce toxic proteins or glycoproteins (toxins) that cause inhibition of sensitive bacteria and yeast species. Antimicrobial substance producing phenotypes belonging different yeast genus were isolated from different sources. Toxins secreted by many yeast strains inhibiting the growth of other yeast strains. These strains show antimicrobial activity, inhibiting the growth of mold and bacteria. The effect of antimicrobial agents produced by yeasts can be extremely fast, and therefore may be used in various treatment procedures. Rapid inhibition of microorganisms is possibly caused by microbial cell membrane lipopolysaccharide binding and in activation (neutralization) effect. Antimicrobial agents inhibit the target cells via different mechanisms of action.

Keywords: antimicrobial agents, yeast, toxic protein, glycoprotein

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Authors: Hanee Ryu

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The former president Lee Myung-bak's administration of Korea presented “green growth” as a catchphrase from 2008. He declared “low-carbon, green growth” the nation's vision for the next decade according to United Nation Framework on Climate Change. The government designed omnidirectional policy for low-carbon and green growth with concentrating all effort of departments. The structural change was expected because this slogan is the identity of the government, which is strongly driven with the whole department. After his administration ends, the purpose of this paper is to quantify the policy effect and to compare with the value of the other OECD countries. The major target values under direct policy objectives were suggested, but it could not capture the entire landscape on which the policy makes changes. This paper figures out the policy impacts through comparing the value of ex-ante between the one of ex-post. Furthermore, each index level of Korea’s low-carbon and green growth comparing with the value of the other OECD countries. To measure the policy effect, indicators international organizations have developed are considered. Environmental Sustainable Index (ESI) and Environmental Performance Index (EPI) have been developed by Yale University’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and Joint Research Center of European Commission. It has been widely used to assess the level of natural resource endowments, pollution level, environmental management efforts and society’s capacity to improve its environmental performance over time. Recently OCED publish the Green Growth Indicator for monitoring progress towards green growth based on internationally comparable data. They build up the conceptual framework and select indicators according to well specified criteria: economic activities, natural asset base, environmental dimension of quality of life and economic opportunities and policy response. It considers the socio-economic context and reflects the characteristic of growth. Some selected indicators are used for measuring the level of changes the green growth policies have induced in this paper. As results, the CO2 productivity and energy productivity show trends of declination. It means that policy intended industry structure shift for achieving carbon emission target affects weakly in the short-term. Increasing green technologies patents might result from the investment of previous period. The increasing of official development aids which can be immediately embarked by political decision with no time lag present only in 2008-2009. It means international collaboration and investment to developing countries via ODA has not succeeded since the initial stage of his administration. The green growth framework makes the public expect structural change, but it shows sporadic effect. It needs organization to manage it in terms of the long-range perspectives. Energy, climate change and green growth are not the issue to be handled in the one period of the administration. The policy mechanism to transfer cost problem to value creation should be developed consistently.

Keywords: comparing ex-ante between ex-post indicator, green growth indicator, implication for green growth policy, measuring policy effect

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Authors: Raghavi Janaswamy, Srinivas Janaswamy

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) measures the degree to which individuals can identify, understand and manage emotions. Indeed, it highlights the intricate relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual. In today's world, EI competencies appear to be more valuable compared to cognitive and/or technical expertise. Higher EI endows realistic confidence to perceive challenges with positive thinking and, in turn, offers a steady growth as well as the speed of work and discerning ability. It certainly plays a vital role for aspirants to ascend the organizational ladder and distinguishes outstanding leaders from the rest. Emotional maturity further reflects on the behavioral pattern toward dealing with self and the immediate environment. Indeed, it aids in cementing inter-personal relations at a workplace with a thorough understanding and certainly paves the way for leaders to their prosperity as well as organizational growth. Herein, EI contributions to an individual, team, and organizational success are discussed with an emphasis on the required tools to acquire higher EI traits. The strategies for promoting self-awareness, empathy, and social skills and changing trends of the new programs for the EI improvement are also highlighted.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, organizational growth, self-awareness skills

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Authors: Rashidah Ghazali, Herlina Abdul Rahim, Mashitah Shikh Maidin, Shafishuhaza Sahlan, Noramli Abdul Razak

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Sound exposure effects have been investigated by broadcasting a group of broilers with sound of Quran verses (Group B) whereas the other group is the control broilers (Group C). The growth rate comparisons in terms of weight and raw meat texture measured by shear force have been investigated. Twenty-seven broilers were randomly selected from each group on Day 24 and weight measurement was carried out every week till the harvest day (Day 39). Group B showed a higher mean weight on Day 24 (1.441±0.013 kg) than Group C. Significant difference in the weight on Day 39 existed for Group B compared to Group C (p< 0.05). However, there was no significant (p> 0.05) difference of shear force in the same muscles (breast and drumstick raw meat) of both groups but the shear force of the breast meat for Group B and C broilers was lower (p < 0.05) than that of their drumstick meat. Thus, broadcasting the sound of Quran verses in the coop can be applied to improve the growth rate of broilers for producing better quality poultry.

Keywords: broilers, sound, shear force, weight

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Authors: Omar Ibrahim, Aly A. Gaafar, K. A. Ratib

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Two field experiments in micro plots were carried out during the winter seasons of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, Soil Salinity Laboratory, Alexandria, Egypt, to study the effect of three levels of salicylic acid (SA) as a growth regulator (0, 50, 100 ppm) and three rates of nitrogen fertilizer (75, 100, 125 kg N/feddan) on growth and yield of a spring wheat (Giza 168). The experimental design was a split plot with the main plots in randomized complete block design (RCBD) and four replicates. The results indicated that increasing nitrogen fertilizer rates resulted in insignificant effect on both plant height (cm) and grain weight/spike only. However, a significant effect was observed in all the other studied characters due to the increase in nitrogen fertilizer. On the other hand, increasing salicylic acid rates resulted in insignificant effect in all the studied characters except for chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, number of grain/spike, and grain yield (gm/ plot). The highest effects on grain yield in wheat were obtained by the rate of 125 kg/feddan of nitrogen fertilizer and 100 ppm of salicylic acid. In conclusion, the data indicated that a high grain yield could be obtained by adding 100 kg/feddan of nitrogen fertilizer and spraying of 50 ppm of salicylic acid with no significant difference with the highest rates. Finally, the interaction had no significant effect on all the studied characters.

Keywords: growth regulator, nitrogen fertilizer, spring wheat, salicylic acid

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Authors: M. Soltani, K. Pakzad, A. Haghigh-Khiyabani, M. Alavi, R. Naderi, M. Castex

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Effect of probiotic Bactocell (Pediococcus acidilactici) as a supplementary diet was studied on post-larvae 12-15 of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) (150000 PL/0.5 h pond, average body weight=0.02 g) growth performance under farm condition for 102 days at water quality parameters consisting of temperature at 30.5-36οC, dissolved oxygen 4.1-6.6 mg/l, salinity 40-54 g/l, turbidity 35-110 cm, ammonia 0.1-0.8 mg/l and nitrite 0.1-0.9 mg/l. Also, the resistance level of the treated shrimps was assessed against a virulent strain of Vibrio paraheamolyticus as intramuscular injection route at 1.4 x 106 cells/shrimp. Significantly higher growth rate (11.3±1.54 g) and lower feed conversion ratio (1.1) were obtained in shrimps fed diets supplemented with Bactocell at 350 g/ tone feed compared to other treatments of 250 g Bactocell/ton feed (10.8±2 g, 1.3), 500 g Bactocell/ton feed (10.3±1.7 g, 1.3) and untreated control (10.1±2 g, 1.4). Also, thermal growth coefficient (0.057%) and protein efficiency ratio (2.13) were significantly improved in shrimps fed diets supplemented with Bactocell at 350 g/ton feed compare to other groups. Shrimps fed diet supplemented with Bactocell at 350 g/tone feed showed significantly higher protein content (72.56%) in their carcass composition than treatments of 250 g/ton feed (65.9%), 500 g/ton feed (67.5%) and control group (65.9%), while the carcass contents of moisture, lipid and ash in all shrimp groups were not significantly affected by different concentrations of Bactocell. No mortality occurred in the experimentally infected shrimps fed with Bactocell at 500 g/tone feed after 7 hours post-challenge with V. parahemolyticus. The mortality levels of 100%, 40%, 50% and 70% were obtained in shrimps fed with 0.0, 500 g/tone feed, 350 g/ton feed and 250 g/ton feed, respectively 14 hours post-infection. Also, the cumulative mortalities were achieved in 100%, 92% and 81% in shrimps few with Bactocell at 500 g/ton feed, 250 g/ton feed and 350 g/ton feed, respectively.

Keywords: litopenaeus vannamei, vibrio paraheamolyticus, pediococcus acidilactici, growth performance, bactocell

Procedia PDF Downloads 677

Authors: Arezoo Fallahi, Siamak Derakhshan, Parvaneh Taymoori, Babak Nematshahrbabaki

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Background: Osteoporosis, the most common metabolic bone disease, is an important health care issue. Not only the cost of disease is high but also is one of the causes of disability and mortality and effect on quality of life. Although self-care is effective on disease, s control and treatment but still effective factors on self-care of patient, s viewpoint have not been survey. The aim of this study was to explore effective factors on self-care in women with osteoporosis. Materials and methods: This study was done by conventional content analysis approach in year 2014. Through purposeful sampling 15 women referred to bone mass densitometry centers participated in this study. Inclusion criteria were: Women older than 50 years old with osteoporosis, final diagnosis of osteoporosis for over six –month period, T-score index below -2.5 (lower back or hip), drug use by patients with a physician’s prescription, ability in speaking and attending to participate in the study. Data was collected by face to face and group semi-structure deep interviews and analyzed via content analysis method. To support of rigor of data, criteria credibility, confirmability and transferability were used. Results: during data analysis five categories developed: “hope and disability in the face of illness”, “mutual roles of physician”, “role of family” and “administrative centers and organizations”. To perform self-care behaviors, the participations of this study emphasized on pay attention to their own healthy, regarding patients' rights by physician, pay attention to women's health by men, and the role of media especially radio and television. Conclusion: the finding of the study showed that women’s responsibility with osteoporosis for their health is not a factor but it is multifactorial. Increasing life expectancy in patients, attention to patients needs by physician, increasing health promotion programs in the media and enhancing role of family may provide conditions and infrastructure to empowerment women in doing self-care behavior.

Keywords: women, osteoporosis, self-care, content analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 463

Authors: Yusra Tariq

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The Grass 37 gene is presently known in tomatoes, which are the source of healthy substances such as ascorbic acid, polyphenols, carotenoids and nutrients. It has a significant impact on the growth and development of humans. The GRASS 37 gene is a plant Transcription factor group assuming significant parts in various reactions of different Abiotic stresses such as (drought, salinity, thermal stresses, temperature, and bright waves) which could highly affect the growth. Tomatoes are very sensitive to temperature, and their growth or production occurs optimally in a temperature range from 21 C to 29.5 C during the daytime and from 18.5 C to 21 C during the night. This protein acts as a positive regulator of salt stress response and abscisic acid signaling. This study summarizes the structure characterized by molecular formula and protein-binding domains by different bioinformatics tools such as Expasy translate tool, Expasy Portparam, Swiss Prot and Inter Pro Scan, Clustal W tool regulatory procedure of GRASS gene components, also their reactions to both biotic and Abiotic stresses.

Keywords: GRAS37, gene, bioinformatics, tool

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Nur Azreena Idris, Soh Kheang Loh, Harrison Lau Lik Nang, Yuen May Choo, Eminour Muzalina Mustafa, Vijaysri Vello, Cheng Yau Tan, Siew Moi Phang

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It is estimated that about 0.65-0.67 m3 of palm oil mill effluent (POME) is generated when one tonne of fresh fruit bunches is processed. Owning to the high content of nutrients in POME, it has high potential as a medium for microalgae growth. This study attempted determining the growth rate, biomass productivity and biochemical composition of microalgae (Chlorella sp.) grown in different POME concentrations i.e. 6.25%, 12.5%, 25% and 50% at outdoor conditions using a 200-mL capacity high rate algae pond (HRAP) and 2 closed photobioreactors (PBRs) i.e. annular and flat panel. The strain, Chlorella sp. grown on 12.5% of POME in flat panel PBR exhibited the highest specific growth rate of 0.32/day and biomass productivity (27.1 mg/L/day) followed by those in HRAP and annular PBR. It further showed that a good growth of Chlorella sp. in 12.5% of POME could sufficiently reduce the nutrients of POME such as phosphate (PO4), nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The extracted algal oil from POME culture showed that the saturated fatty acids decreased while polyunsaturated fatty acids increased compared to those cultured in standard culture medium (Bold’s Basal medium). The biochemical compositions of the algae grown in flat panel PBR were the highest with lipid, protein and carbohydrate productivity of 17.91 mg/L/day, 34.65 mg/L/day and 21.44 mg/L/day, respectively. The microalgae cultivation in diluted POME had not only shown potential as biodiesel feedstock based on the fatty acids profile but also the ability to reduce pollutants e.g. PO4, NO3, NO2 and COD in biological wastewater treatment.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, photobioreactors, biomass productivity, specific growth rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Wei Yao

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A steerable and flexible drill is needed in orthopaedic surgery. For example, osteoarthritis is a common condition affecting millions of people for which joint replacement is an effective treatment which improves the quality and duration of life in elderly sufferers. Conventional surgery is not very accurate. Computer navigation and robotics can help increase the accuracy. For example, In Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA), robotic surgery is currently practiced mainly on acetabular side helping cup positioning and orientation. However, femoral stem positioning mostly uses hand-rasping method rather than robots for accurate positioning. The other case for using a flexible drill in surgery is Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction. The majority of ACL Reconstruction failures are primarily caused by technical mistakes and surgical errors resulting from drilling the anatomical bone tunnels required to accommodate the ligament graft. The proposed new steerable drill system will perform orthopedic surgery through curved tunneling leading to better accuracy and patient outcomes. It may reduce intra-operative fractures, dislocations, early failure and leg length discrepancy by making possible a new level of precision. This technology is based on a robotically assisted, steerable, hand-held flexible drill, with a drill-tip tracking device and a multi-modality navigation system. The critical differentiator is that this robotically assisted surgical technology now allows the surgeon to prepare 'patient specific' and more anatomically correct 'curved' bone tunnels during orthopedic surgery rather than drilling straight holes as occurs currently with existing surgical tools. The flexible and steerable drill and its navigation system for femoral milling in total hip arthroplasty had been tested on sawbones to evaluate the accuracy of the positioning and orientation of femoral stem relative to the pre-operative plan. The data show the accuracy of the navigation system is better than traditional hand-rasping method.

Keywords: navigation, robotic orthopedic surgery, steerable drill, tracking

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Ahlem Nefzi, Rania Aydi Ben Abdallah, Hayfa Jabnoun-Khiareddine, Ammar Nawaim, Rabiaa Haouala, Mejda Daami-Remadi

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Seven endophytic fungi were isolated from the wild Solanaceous species Lycium arabicum growing in the Tunisian Centre-East and were assessed for their ability to suppress Fusarium Crown and Root Rot disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (FORL) and to enhance plant growth. Fungal isolates were shown able to colonize tomato cv. Rio Grande roots, crowns, and stems. A significant promotion in all studied growth parameters (root length, shoot height, and roots and shoots fresh weight) was recorded in tomato plants treated with fungal conidial suspensions or their cell-free culture filtrates compared to FORL-inoculated or pathogen-free controls. I15 and I18 isolates were shown to be the most effective leading to 85.7-87.5 and 93.6-98.4% decrease in leaf and root damage index and the vascular discoloration extent, respectively, over FORL-inoculated and untreated control. These two bioactive and growth-promoting isolates (I15 and I18) were morphologically characterized and identified using rDNA sequencing gene as being Alternaria alternata (MF693801) and Fusarium fujikuroi (MF693802). These fungi significantly suppressed FORL mycelial growth and showed chitinolytic, proteolytic and amylase activities whereas only F. fujikuroi displayed a lipolytic activity. This study clearly demonstrated the potential use of fungi naturally associated with L. arabicum as biocontrol and bio-fertilizing agents.

Keywords: biocontrol, endophytic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, tomato promotion, Lycium arabicum

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Timea I. Hajnal-Jafari, Simonida S. Đurić, Dragana R. Stamenov

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Microbial inoculants from the group of symbiotic-nitrogen-fixing rhizobia are well known and widely used in production of legumes. On the other hand, nonsymbiotic plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are not commonly used in practice. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of soybean inoculation with symbiotic and nonsymbiotic bacteria on plant growth and seed yield of soybean. Microbiological activity in rhizospheric soil was also determined. The experiment was set up using a randomized block system in filed conditions with the following treatments: control-no inoculation; treatment 1-Bradyrhizobium japonicum; treatment 2-Azotobacter sp.; treatment 3-Bacillus sp..In the flowering stage of growth (FS) the number of nodules per plant (NPP), root length (RL), plant height (PH) and weight (PW) were measured. The number of pod per plant (PPP), number of seeds per pod (SPP) and seed weight per plant (SWP) were recorded at the end of vegetation period (EV). Microbiological analyses of soil included the determination of total number of bacteria (TNB), number of fungi (FNG), actinomycetes (ACT) and azotobacters (AZB) as well as the activity of the dehydrogenase enzyme (DHA). The results showed that bacterial inoculation led to the formation of root nodules regardless of the treatments with statistically no significant difference. Strong nodulation was also present in control treatment. RL and PH were positively influenced by inoculation with Azotobacter sp. and Bacillus sp., respectively. Statistical analyses of the number of PPP, SPP, and SWP showed no significant differences among investigated treatments. High average number of microorganisms were determined in all treatments. Most abundant were TNB (log No 8,010) and ACT (log No 6,055) than FNG and AZB with log No 4,867 and log No 4,025, respectively. The highest DHA activity was measured in the FS of soybean in treatment 3. The application of nonsymbiotic bacteria in soybean production can alleviate initial plant growth and help the plant to better overcome different stress conditions caused by abiotic and biotic factors.

Keywords: bacteria, inoculation, soybean, microbial activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Mahmoud Hassan, Walid Oueslati, Damien Rousseliere

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This paper explores the channels through which energy taxes may affect economic growth, using a simultaneous equations model for a balanced panel data of 31 OECD countries over the 1994–2013 period. The empirical results reveal a negative impact of energy taxes on physical investment in the short and long term. This impact is negatively sensitive to the existence and level of public debt. Additionally, the results show that energy taxes have an indirect effect on human capital through their impact on polluting emissions. The taxes on energy products are able to reduce both the flux and the stock of polluting emissions that have a negative impact on human capital skills in the short and long term. Finally, we found that energy taxes could encourage eco-innovation in the short and long term.

Keywords: energy taxes, economic growth, public debt, simultaneous equations model, multiple imputation

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Salima Taleb, Kafila Boulaba, Ahlem Yousfi, Nada Taleb, Difallah Basma

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Introduction: Obesity is recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor. It is associated with cardio-metabolic diseases. Its prevalence is increasing significantly in both rich and poor countries. However, there are obese people who have no metabolic disturbance. So we think obesity is not always a risk factor for an abnormal metabolic profile that increases the risk of cardiometabolic problems. However, there is no definition that allows us to identify the individual group Metabolically Healthy but Obese (MHO). Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between MHO and some factors associated with it. Methods: A longitudinal study is a prospective cohort study of 600 participants aged ≥18 years. Metabolic status was assessed by the following parameters: blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as weight (in kg) divided by height (m2), BMI = Weight/(Height)². According to the BMI value, our population was divided into four groups: underweight subjects with BMI <18.5 kg/m2, normal weight subjects with BMI = 18.5–24.9 kg/m², overweight subjects with BMI=25–29.9 kg/m², and obese subjects who have (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Statistical processing was done using the SPSS 25 software. Results: During this study, 194 (32.33%) were identified as MHO among 416 (37%) obese individuals. The prevalence of the metabolically unhealthy phenotype among normal-weight individuals was (13.83%) vs. (37%) in obese individuals. Compared with metabolically healthy normal-weight individuals (10.93%), the prevalence of diabetes was (30.60%) in MHO, (20.59%) in metabolically unhealthy normal weight, and (52.29%) for metabolically unhealthy obese (p = 0.032). Blood pressure was significantly higher in MHO individuals than in metabolically healthy normal-weight individuals and in metabolically unhealthy obese than in metabolically unhealthy normal weight (P < 0.0001). Familial coronary artery disease does not appear to have an effect on the metabolic status of obese and normal-weight patients (P = 0.544). However, waist circumference appears to have an effect on the metabolic status of individuals (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of metabolic profile disruption in normal-weight subjects and a high rate of overweight and/or obese people who are metabolically healthy. To understand the physiological mechanism related to these metabolic statuses, a thorough study is needed.

Keywords: metabolically health, obesity, factors associated, cardiovascular diseases

Procedia PDF Downloads 117