Search results for: surface area

Authors: Itissam Abuiziah

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This work presents a case study of water-hammer analysis and control for the Oum Azza pumping station project in the coastal area of Rabat to Casablanca from the dam Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah (SMBA). This is a typical pumping system with a long penstock and is currently at design and executions stages. Since there is no ideal location for construction of protection devices, the protection devices were provisionally designed to protect the whole conveying pipeline. The simulation results for the transient conditions caused by a sudden pumping stopping without including any protection devices, show that there is a negative beyond 1300m to the station 5725m near the arrival of the reservoir, therefore; there is a need for the protection devices to protect the conveying pipeline. To achieve the goal behind the transient flow analysis which is to protect the conveying pipeline system, four scenarios had been investigated in this case study with two types of protecting devices (pressure relief valve and desurging tank with automatic air control). The four scenarios are conceders as with pressure relief valve, with pressure relief valve and a desurging tank with automatic air control, with pressure relief valve and tow desurging tanks with automatic air control and with pressure relief valve and three desurging tanks with automatic air control. The simulation result for the first scenario shows that overpressure corresponding to an instant pumping stopping is reduced from 263m to 240m, and the minimum hydraulic grad line for the length approximately from station 1300m to station 5725m is still below the pipeline profile which means that the pipe must be equipped with another a protective devices for smoothing depressions. The simulation results for the second scenario show that the minimum and maximum pressures envelopes are decreases especially in the depression phase but not effectively protects the conduct in this case study. The minimum pressure increased from -77.7m for the previous scenario to -65.9m for the current scenario. Therefore the pipeline is still requiring additional protective devices; another desurging tank with automatic air control is installed at station2575.84m. The simulation results for the third scenario show that the minimum and maximum pressures envelopes are decreases but not effectively protects the conduct in this case study since the depression is still exist and varies from -0.6m to– 12m. Therefore the pipeline is still requiring additional protective devices; another desurging tank with automatic air control is installed at station 5670.32 m. Examination of the envelope curves of the minimum pressuresresults for the fourth scenario, we noticed that the piezometric pressure along the pipe remains positive over the entire length of the pipe. We can, therefore, conclude that such scenario can provide effective protection for the pipeline.

Keywords: analysis methods, protection devices, transient flow, water hammer

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Authors: Helen S. Joyner (Melito), Mohammad Anvari

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Concentrated emulsions stabilized by proteins are systems of great importance in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Controlling emulsion rheology is critical for ensuring desired properties during formation, storage, and consumption of emulsion-based products. Studies on concentrated emulsions have focused on rheology of monodispersed systems. However, emulsions used for industrial applications are polydispersed in nature, and this polydispersity is regarded as an important parameter that also governs the rheology of the concentrated emulsions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize rheological (small and large deformation behaviors) and microstructural properties of concentrated emulsions which were not truly monodispersed as usually encountered in food products such as margarines, mayonnaise, creams, spreads, and etc. The concentrated emulsions were prepared at different concentrations of fish gelatin (0.2, 0.4, 0.8% w/v in the whole emulsion system), oil-water ratio 80-20 (w/w), homogenization speed 10000 rpm, and 25oC. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to determine the microstructure of the emulsions. To prepare samples for CLSM analysis, FG solutions were stained by Fluorescein isothiocyanate dye. Emulsion viscosity profiles were determined using shear rate sweeps (0.01 to 100 1/s). The linear viscoelastic regions (LVRs) of the emulsions were determined using strain sweeps (0.01 to 100% strain) for each sample. Frequency sweeps were performed in the LVR (0.1% strain) from 0.6 to 100 rad/s. Large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) testing was conducted by collecting raw waveform data at 0.05, 1, 10, and 100% strain at 4 different frequencies (0.5, 1, 10, and 100 rad/s). All measurements were performed in triplicate at 25oC. The CLSM results revealed that increased fish gelatin concentration resulted in more stable oil-in-water emulsions with homogeneous, finely dispersed oil droplets. Furthermore, the protein concentration had a significant effect on emulsion rheological properties. Apparent viscosity and dynamic moduli at small deformations increased with increasing fish gelatin concentration. These results were related to increased inter-droplet network connections caused by increased fish gelatin adsorption at the surface of oil droplets. Nevertheless, all samples showed shear-thinning and weak gel behaviors over shear rate and frequency sweeps, respectively. Lissajous plots, or plots of stress versus strain, and phase lag values were used to determine nonlinear behavior of the emulsions in LAOS testing. Greater distortion in the elliptical shape of the plots followed by higher phase lag values was observed at large strains and frequencies in all samples, indicating increased nonlinear behavior. Shifts from elastic-dominated to viscous dominated behavior were also observed. These shifts were attributed to damage to the sample microstructure (e.g. gel network disruption), which would lead to viscous-type behaviors such as permanent deformation and flow. Unlike the small deformation results, the LAOS behavior of the concentrated emulsions was not dependent on fish gelatin concentration. Systems with different microstructures showed similar nonlinear viscoelastic behaviors. The results of this study provided valuable information that can be used to incorporate concentrated emulsions in emulsion-based food formulations.

Keywords: concentrated emulsion, fish gelatin, microstructure, rheology

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Authors: Maria Zulema Morquecho Vega, Fabiola CarolinaMiranda Castro, Rafael Verdugo Miranda, Ignacio Yocupicio Villegas, Ana lidia Barron Raygoza, Martin enrique MArquez Cordova, Jose Alberto Duarte Moller

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Background: Anemopsis californica, also called (tame grass) belongs to the Saururaceae family small, green plant. The blade is long and wide. Gives a white flower. The plant population is only found in humid, swampy habitats, it grows where there is water, along the banks of streams and water holes. In the winter, it dries up. The leaves, rhizomes, or roots of this plant have been used to treat a range of diseases. Some of its healing properties are used to treat wounds, cold and flu symptoms, spasmodic cough, infection, pain and inflammation, burns, swollen feet, as well as lung ailments, asthma, circulatory problems (varicose veins), rheumatoid arthritis, purifies blood, helps in urinary and digestive tract diseases, sores and healing, for headache, sore throat, diarrhea, kidney pain. The tea made from the leaves and roots is used to treat uterine cancer, womb cancer, relieves menstrual pain and stops excessive bleeding after childbirth. It is also used as a gynecological treatment for infections, hemorrhoids, candidiasis and vaginitis. Objective: To study the cytotoxicity of gels prepared with silver nanoparticles in AC extract combined with chitosan, collagen and hyaluronic acid as an alternative therapy for skin conditions. Methods: The Ag NPs were synthesized according to the following method. A 0.3 mg/mL solution is prepared in 10 ml of deionized water, adjust to pH 12 with NaOH, stirring is maintained constant magnetic and a temperature of 80 °C. Subsequently, 100 ul of a 0.1 M AgNO3 solution and kept stirring constantly for 15 min. Once the reaction is complete, measurements are performed by UV-Vis. A gel was prepared in a 5% solution of acetic acid with the respective nanoparticles and AC extract of silver in the extract of AC. Chitosan is added until the process begins to occur gel. At that time, collagen will be added in a ratio of 3 to 5 drops, and later, hyaluronic acid in 2% of the total compound formed. Finally, after resting for 24 hours, the cytotoxic effect of the gels was studied. in the presence of highly positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and highly negative for Escherichia coli. Cultures will be incubated for 24 hours in the presence of the compound and compared with the reference. Results: Silver nanoparticles obtained had a spherical shape and sizes among 20 and 30 nm. UV-Vis spectra confirm the presence of silver nanoparticles showing a surface plasmon around 420 nm. Finally, the test in presence of bacteria yield a good antibacterial property of this nanocompound and tests in people were successful. Conclusion: Gel prepared by biogenic synthesis shown beneficious effects in severe acne, acne vulgaris and wound healing with diabetic patients.

Keywords: anemopsis californica, nanomedicina, biotechnology, biomedicine

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Authors: Cao Bin, Yuan Yi, Wang Qiang, Amor Abdelkader, Ali Reza Kamali, Diogo Montalvão

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The study of the electrodynamic behavior of non-ferrous particles in time-varying magnetic fields is a promising area of research with wide applications, including recycling of non-ferrous metals, mechanical transmission, and space debris. The key technology for recovering non-ferrous metals is eddy current separation (ECS), which utilizes the eddy current force and torque to separate non-ferrous metals. ECS has several advantages, such as low energy consumption, large processing capacity, and no secondary pollution, making it suitable for processing various mixtures like electronic scrap, auto shredder residue, aluminum scrap, and incineration bottom ash. Improving the separation efficiency of mixtures with different particle sizes in ECS can create significant social and economic benefits. Our previous study investigated the influence of particle size on separation efficiency by combining numerical simulations and separation experiments. Pearson correlation analysis found a strong correlation between the eddy current force in simulations and the repulsion distance in experiments, which confirmed the effectiveness of our simulation model. The interaction effects between particle size and material type, rotational speed, and magnetic pole arrangement were examined. It offer valuable insights for the design and optimization of eddy current separators. The underlying mechanism behind the effect of particle size on separation efficiency was discovered by analyzing eddy current and field gradient. The results showed that the magnitude and distribution heterogeneity of eddy current and magnetic field gradient increased with particle size in eddy current separation. Based on this, we further found that increasing the curvature of magnetic field lines within particles could also increase the eddy current force, providing a optimized method to improving the separation efficiency of fine particles. By combining the results of the studies, a more systematic and comprehensive set of optimization guidelines can be proposed for mixtures with different particle size ranges. The separation efficiency of fine particles could be improved by increasing the rotational speed, curvature of magnetic field lines, and electrical conductivity/density of materials, as well as utilizing the eddy current torque. When designing an ECS, the particle size range of the target mixture should be investigated in advance, and the suitable parameters for separating the mixture can be fixed accordingly. In summary, these results can guide the design and optimization of ECS, and also expand the application areas for ECS.

Keywords: eddy current separation, particle size, numerical simulation, metal recovery

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Authors: Natalie Riley, Anita Quigley, Robert M. I. Kapsa, George W. Greene

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As the fields of medicine and bionics grow rapidly in technological advancement, the future and success of it depends on the ability to effectively interface between the artificial and the biological worlds. The biggest obstacle when it comes to implantable, electronic medical devices, is maintaining a ‘clean’, low noise electrical connection that allows for efficient sharing of electrical information between the artificial and biological systems. Implant fouling occurs with the adhesion and accumulation of proteins and various cell types as a result of the immune response to protect itself from the foreign object, essentially forming an electrical insulation barrier that often leads to implant failure over time. Lubricin (LUB) functions as a major boundary lubricant in articular joints, a unique glycoprotein with impressive anti-adhesive properties that self-assembles to virtually any substrate to form a highly ordered, ‘telechelic’ polymer brush. LUB does not passivate electroactive surfaces which makes it ideal, along with its innate biocompatibility, as a coating for implantable bionic electrodes. It is the aim of the study to investigate LUB’s anti-fouling properties and its potential as a safe, bioinspired material for coating applications to enhance the performance and longevity of implantable medical devices as well as reducing the frequency of implant replacement surgeries. Native, bovine-derived LUB (N-LUB) and recombinant LUB (R-LUB) were applied to gold-coated mylar surfaces. Fibroblast, chondrocyte and neural cell types were cultured and grown on the coatings under both passive and electrically stimulated conditions to test the stability and anti-adhesive property of the LUB coating in the presence of an electric field. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays were conducted as a directly proportional cell population count on each surface along with immunofluorescent microscopy to visualize cells. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey’s test was used to test for statistical significance. Under both passive and electrically stimulated conditions, LUB significantly reduced cell attachment compared to bare gold. Comparing the two coating types, R-LUB reduced cell attachment significantly compared to its native counterpart. Immunofluorescent micrographs visually confirmed LUB’s antiadhesive property, R-LUB consistently demonstrating significantly less attached cells for both fibroblasts and chondrocytes. Preliminary results investigating neural cells have so far demonstrated that R-LUB has little effect on reducing neural cell attachment; the study is ongoing. Recombinant LUB coatings demonstrated impressive anti-adhesive properties, reducing cell attachment in fibroblasts and chondrocytes. These findings and the availability of recombinant LUB brings into question the results of previous experiments conducted using native-derived LUB, its potential not adequately represented nor realized due to unknown factors and impurities that warrant further study. R-LUB is stable and maintains its anti-fouling property under electrical stimulation, making it suitable for electroactive surfaces.

Keywords: anti-fouling, bioinspired, cell attachment, lubricin

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Authors: Kamaran Fathulla

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Human creativity knows no bounds. More than a millennia ago humans have expressed their knowledge on cave walls and on clay artefacts. Using visuals such as diagrams and paintings have always provided us with a natural and intuitive medium for expressing such creativity. Making sense of human generated visualisation has been influenced by western scientific philosophies which are often reductionist in their nature. Theoretical frameworks such as those delivered by Peirce dominated our views of how to make sense of visualisation where a visual is seen as an emergent property of our thoughts. Others have reduced the richness of human-generated visuals to mere shapes drawn on a piece of paper or on a screen. This paper introduces an alternate framework where the centrality of human functioning is given explicit and richer consideration through the multi aspectual philosophical works of Herman Dooyeweerd. Dooyeweerd's framework of understanding reality was based on fifteen aspects of reality, each having a distinct core meaning. The totality of the aspects formed a ‘rainbow’ like spectrum of meaning. The thesis of this approach is that meaningful human functioning in most cases involves the diversity of all aspects working in synergy and harmony. Illustration of the foundations and applicability of this approach is underpinned in the case of humans use of diagramming for creative purposes, particularly within an educational context. Diagrams play an important role in education. Students and lecturers use diagrams as a powerful tool to aid their thinking. However, research into the role of diagrams used in education continues to reveal difficulties students encounter during both processes of interpretation and construction of diagrams. Their main problems shape up students difficulties with diagrams. The ever-increasing diversity of diagrams' types coupled with the fact that most real-world diagrams often contain a mix of these different types of diagrams such as boxes and lines, bar charts, surfaces, routes, shapes dotted around the drawing area, and so on with each type having its own distinct set of static and dynamic semantics. We argue that the persistence of these problems is grounded in our existing ways of understanding diagrams that are often reductionist in their underpinnings driven by a single perspective or formalism. In this paper, we demonstrate the limitations of these approaches in dealing with the three problems. Consequently, we propose, discuss, and demonstrate the potential of a nonreductionist framework for understanding diagrams based on Symbolic and Spatial Mappings (SySpM) underpinned by Dooyeweerd philosophy. The potential of the framework to account for the meaning of diagrams is demonstrated by applying it to a real-world case study physics diagram.

Keywords: SySpM, drawing style, mapping

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Authors: Anitha Kandasamy, Thirumurugan Ramaiah

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Interestingly, organic materials exhibit large optical nonlinearity with quick responses and having the flexibility of molecular tailoring using computational modelling and favourable synthetic methodologies. Pyridine based organic compounds and carboxylic acid contained aromatic compounds play a crucial role in crystal engineering of NCS complexes that displays admirable optical nonlinearity with fast response and favourable physicochemical properties such as low dielectric constant, wide optical transparency and large laser damage threshold value requires for optoelectronics device applications. Based on these facts, it was projected to form an acentric molecule of π-conjugated system interaction with appropriately replaced electron donor and acceptor groups for achieving higher SHG activity in which quinoline-2-carboyxlic acid is chosen as an electron acceptor and capable of acting as an acid as well as a base molecule, while 2-amino-4-methylpyridine is used as an electron donor and previously employed in numerous proton transfer complexes for synthesis of NLO materials for optoelectronic applications. 2-amino-4-mehtylpyridinium quinoline-2-carboxylate molecular complex (2AQ) is having π-donor-acceptor groups in which 2-amino-4-methylpyridine donates one of its electron to quinoline -2-carboxylic acid thereby forming a protonated 2-amino-4-methyl pyridinium moiety and mono ionized quinoline-2-carboxylate moiety which are connected via N-H…O intermolecular interactions with non-centrosymmetric crystal packing arrangement at microscopic scale is accountable to the enhancement of macroscopic second order NLO activity. The 2AQ crystal was successfully grown by a slow evaporation solution growth technique and its structure was determined in orthorhombic crystal system with acentric, P212121, space group. Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals that O…H intermolecular interactions primarily contributed with 31.0 % to the structural stabilization of 2AQ. The molecular structure of title compound has been confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectral studies. The vibrational modes of functional groups present in 2AQ have been assigned by using FTIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The grown 2AQ crystal exhibits high optical transparency with lower cut-off wavelength (275 nm) within the region of 275-1500 nm. The laser study confirmed that 2AQ exhibits high SHG efficiency of 12.6 times greater than that of KDP. TGA-DTA analysis revealed that 2AQ crystal had a thermal stability of 223 °C. The low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss at higher frequencies confirmed good crystalline nature with fewer defects of grown 2AQ crystal. The grown crystal exhibits soft material and positive photoconduction behaviour. Mulliken atomic distribution and FMOs analysis suggested that the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding which lead to the enhancement of NLO activity. These properties suggest that 2AQ crystal is a suitable material for optoelectronic and laser frequency conversion applications.

Keywords: crystal growth, NLO activity, proton transfer complex, quantum chemical investigation

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Authors: Zhihua Cao, Hongfei Zhao, Zhongneng Wu

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The development of polar-based agroforestry was necessary due to the influence of the timber market environment in China, which can promote the coordinated development of forestry and agriculture, and gain remarkable ecological, economic and social benefits. The main agroforestry models of the main poplar planting area in Huaibei plain and along the Yangtze River plain were carried out. 11 typical management models of poplar were selected to sum up: pure poplar forest, poplar-rape-soybean, poplar-wheat-soybean, poplar-rape-cotton, poplar-wheat, poplar-chicken, poplar-duck, poplar-sheep, poplar-Agaricus blazei, poplar-oil peony, poplar-fish, represented by M0-M10, respectively. 12 indexes related with economic, ecological and social benefits (annual average cost, net income, ratio of output to investment, payback period of investment, land utilization ratio, utilization ratio of light energy, improvement and system stability of ecological and production environment, product richness, labor capacity, cultural quality of labor force, sustainability) were screened out to carry on the comprehensive evaluation and analysis to 11 kinds of typical agroforestry models based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results showed that the economic benefit of each agroforestry model was in the order of: M8 > M6 > M9 > M7 > M5 > M10 > M4 > M1 > M2 > M3 > M0. The economic benefit of poplar-A. blazei model was the highest (332, 800 RMB / hm²), followed by poplar-duck and poplar-oil peony model (109, 820RMB /hm², 5, 7226 RMB /hm²). The order of comprehensive benefit was: M8 > M4 > M9 > M6 > M1 > M2 > M3 > M7 > M5 > M10 > M0. The economic benefit and comprehensive benefit of each agroforestry model were higher than that of pure poplar forest. The comprehensive benefit of poplar-A. blazei model was the highest, and that of poplar-wheat model ranked second, while its economic benefit was not high. Next were poplar-oil peony and poplar-duck models. It was suggested that the model of poplar-wheat should be adopted in the plain along the Yangtze River, and the whole cycle mode of poplar-grain, popalr-A. blazei, or poplar-oil peony should be adopted in Huaibei plain, northern Anhui. Furthermore, wheat, rape, and soybean are the main crops before the stand was closed; the agroforestry model of edible fungus or Chinese herbal medicine can be carried out when the stand was closed in order to maximize the comprehensive benefit. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reference for forest farmers in the selection of poplar agroforestry model in the future and to provide the basic data for the sustainable and efficient study of poplar agroforestry in Anhui province, eastern China.

Keywords: agroforestry, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), comprehensive benefit, model, poplar

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Authors: Catariny C. Aleman, Flavio B. Campos, Matheus A. Caliman, Everardo C. Mantovani

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The seedling production stage is a critical point in the vegetable production system. Obtaining high-quality seedlings is a prerequisite for subsequent cropping to occur well and productivity optimization is required. The water management is an important step in agriculture production. The adequate water requirement in horticulture seedlings can provide higher quality and increase field production. The practice of irrigation is indispensable and requires a duly adjusted quality irrigation system, together with a specific water management plan to meet the water demand of the crop. Irrigation management in seedling management requires a great deal of specific information, especially when it involves the use of inputs such as hydrorentering polymers and automation technologies of the data acquisition and irrigation system. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa - MG. Tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) were produced in plastic trays of 128 cells, suspended at 1.25 m from the ground. The seedlings were irrigated by 4 micro sprinklers of fixed jet 360º per tray, duly isolated by sideboards, following the methodology developed for this work. During Phase 1, in January / February 2017 (duration of 24 days), the cultivation coefficient (Kc) of seedlings cultured in the presence and absence of hydrogel was evaluated by weighing lysimeter. In Phase 2, September 2017 (duration of 25 days), the seedlings were submitted to 4 irrigation managements (Kc, timer, 0.50 ETo, and 1.00 ETo), in the presence and absence of hydrogel and then evaluated in relation to quality parameters. The microclimate inside the greenhouse was monitored with the use of air temperature, relative humidity and global radiation sensors connected to a microcontroller that performed hourly calculations of reference evapotranspiration by Penman-Monteith standard method FAO56 modified for the balance of long waves according to Walker, Aldrich, Short (1983), and conducted water balance and irrigation decision making for each experimental treatment. Kc of seedlings cultured on a substrate with hydrogel (1.55) was higher than Kc on a pure substrate (1.39). The use of the hydrogel was a differential for the production of earlier tomato seedlings, with higher final height, the larger diameter of the colon, greater accumulation of a dry mass of shoot, a larger area of crown projection and greater the rate of relative growth. The handling 1.00 ETo promoted higher relative growth rate.

Keywords: automatic system; efficiency of water use; precision irrigation, micro sprinkler.

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Authors: D. Augutis, M. Balalaikins, D. Bastyte, R. Ferenca, A. Gintaras, R. Karpuska, G. Svitra, U. Valainis

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Osmoderma species complex (consisting of Osmoderma eremita, O. barnabita, O. lassallei and O. cristinae) is a scarab beetle serving as indicator species in nature conservation. Osmoderma inhabits cavities containing sufficient volume of wood mould usually caused by brown rot in veteran deciduous trees. As the species, having high demands for the habitat quality, they indicate the suitability of the habitat for a number of other specialized saproxylic species. Since typical habitat needed for Osmoderma and other species associated with hollow veteran trees is rapidly declining, the species complex is protected under various legislation, such as Bern Convention, EU Habitats Directive and the Red Lists of many European states. Natura 2000 sites are the main tool for conservation of O. barnabita in Lithuania, currently 17 Natura 2000 sites are designated for the species, where monitoring is implemented once in 3 years according to the approved methodologies. Despite these monitoring efforts in species reports, provided to EU according to the Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, it is defined on the national level, that overall assessment of O. barnabita is inadequate and future prospects are poor. Therefore, research on the distribution and habitat status of O. barnabita was launched on the national level in 2016, which was complemented by preparatory actions of LIFE OSMODERMA project. The research was implemented in the areas equally distributed in the whole area of Lithuania, where O. barnabita was previously not observed, or not observed in the last 10 years. 90 areas, such as Habitats of European importance (9070 Fennoscandian wooded pastures, 9180 Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes, and ravines), Woodland key habitats (B1 broad-leaved forest, K1 single giant tree) and old manor parks, were chosen for the research after review of habitat data from the existing national databases. The first part of field inventory of the habitats was carried out in 2016 and 2017 autumn and winter seasons, when relative abundance of O. barnabita was estimated according to larval faecal pellets in the tree cavities or around the trees. The state of habitats was evaluated according to the density of suitable and potential trees, percentage of not overshadowed trees and amount of undergrowth. The second part of the field inventory was carried out in the summer with pheromone traps baited with (R)-(+)-γ –decalactone. Results of the research show not only occurrence and habitat status of O. barnabita, but also help to clarify O. barnabita habitat requirements in Lithuania, define habitat size, its structure and distribution. Also, it compares habitat needs between the regions in Lithuania and inside and outside Natura 2000 areas designated for the species.

Keywords: habitat status, insect conservation, Osmoderma barnabita, veteran trees

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Authors: Jose R. Garcia, Lexi Frankel, Amalia Ardeljan, Sergio Medina, Ali Yasback, Omar Rashid

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Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacterium that affects nearly half of the population worldwide and humans serve as the principal reservoir. Infection rates usually follow an inverse relationship with hygiene practices and are higher in developing countries than developed countries. Incidence varies significantly by geographic area, race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status. H. pylori is primarily associated with conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as atrophic gastritis and duodenal peptic ulcers. Infection is also associated with an increased risk of carcinogenesis as there is evidence to show that H. pylori infection may lead to gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. It is suggested that H. pylori infection may be considered as a systemic condition, leading to various novel associations with several different neoplasms such as colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer, although further research is needed. Emerging evidence suggests that H. pylori infection may offer protective effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a result of non-specific induction of interferon- γ (IFN- γ). Similar methods of enhanced immunity may affect the development of bronchogenic carcinoma due to the antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic and cytostatic functions of IFN- γ. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and the incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma. Methods: The data was provided by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database to evaluate the patients infected versus patients not infected with H. pylori using ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes. Access to the database was granted by the Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale for the purpose of academic research. Standard statistical methods were used. Results:-Between January 2010 and December 2019, the query was analyzed and resulted in 163,224 in both the infected and control group, respectively. The two groups were matched by age range and CCI score. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.853% with 3,024 patients in the H. pylori group compared to 4.785% with 7,810 patients in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.367 (0.353 - 0.383) with a confidence interval of 95%. The two groups were matched by treatment and incidence of cancer, which resulted in a total of 101,739 patients analyzed after this match. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.929% with 1,962 patients in the H. pylori and treatment group compared to 4.618% with 4,698 patients in the control group with treatment. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.403 (0.383 - 0.425) with a confidence interval of 95%.

Keywords: bronchogenic carcinoma, helicobacter pylori, lung cancer, pathogen-associated molecular patterns

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Authors: Jiri Nepereny, Vladimir Vrzal

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Staphylococcus intermedius/pseudintermedius bacteria are commonly found on the skin of healthy dogs and can cause pruritic skin diseases under certain circumstances (trauma, allergy, immunodeficiency, ectoparasitosis, endocrinological diseases, glucocorticoid therapy, etc.). These can develop into complicated superficial or deep pyoderma, which represent a large group of problematic skin diseases in dogs. These are predominantly inflammations of a secondary nature, associated with the occurrence of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. A major problem is increased itching, which greatly complicates the healing process. The aim of this work is to verify the efficacy of the developed preparation Bacteriophage SI (Staphylococcus intermedius). The tested preparation contains a lysate of bacterial cells of S. intermedius host culture including culture medium and live virions of specific phage. Sodium Merthiolate is added as a preservative in a safe concentration. Validation of the efficacy of the product was demonstrated by monitoring the therapeutic effect after application to indicated cases from clinical practice. The indication for inclusion of the patient into the trial was an adequate history and clinical examination accompanied by sample collection for bacteriological examination and isolation of the specific causative agent. Isolate identification was performed by API BioMérieux identification system (API ID 32 STAPH) and rep-PCR typing. The suitability of therapy for a specific case was confirmed by in vitro testing of the lytic ability of the bacteriophage to lyse the specific isolate = formation of specific plaques on the culture isolate on the surface of the solid culture medium. So far, a total of 32 dogs of different sexes, ages and breed affiliations with different symptoms of staphylococcal dermatitis have been included in the testing. Their previous therapy consisted of more or less successful systemic or local application of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The presence of S. intermedius/pseudintermedius has been demonstrated in 26 cases. The isolates were identified as a S. pseudintermedius, in all cases. Contaminant bacterial microflora was always present in the examined samples. The test product was applied subcutaneously in gradually increasing doses over a period of 1 month. After improvement in health status, maintenance therapy was followed by application of the product once a week for 3 months. Adverse effects associated with the administration of the product (swelling at the site of application) occurred in only 2 cases. In all cases, there was a significant reduction in clinical signs (healing of skin lesions and reduction of inflammation) after therapy and an improvement in the well-being of the treated animals. A major problem in the treatment of pyoderma is the frequent resistance of the causative agents to antibiotics, especially the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) strains. Specific phagolysate using for the therapy of these diseases could solve this problem and to some extent replace or reduce the use of antibiotics, whose frequent and widespread application often leads to the emergence of resistance. The advantage of the therapeutic use of bacteriophages is their bactericidal effect, high specificity and safety. This work was supported by Project FV40213 from Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic.

Keywords: bacteriophage, pyoderma, staphylococcus spp, therapy

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Authors: Domingos Viegas, Miguel Almeida, Carmen Rocha, Ilda Novo, Yolanda Luna

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Forest fires along the more than 1200km of the Spanish-Portuguese border are more and more frequent, currently achieving around 2000 fire events per year. Some of these events develop to large international wildfire requiring concerted operations based on shared information between the two countries. The fire event of Valencia de Alcantara (2003) causing several fatalities and more than 13000ha burnt, is a reference example of these international events. Currently, Portugal and Spain have a specific cross-border cooperation protocol on wildfires response for a strip of about 30km (15 km for each side). It is recognized by public authorities the successfulness of this collaboration however it is also assumed that this cooperation should include more functionalities such as the development of a common risk information system for transboundary fire events. Since Portuguese and Spanish authorities use different approaches to determine the fire risk indexes inputs and different methodologies to assess the fire risk, sometimes the conjoint firefighting operations are jeopardized since the information is not harmonized and the understanding of the situation by the civil protection agents from both countries is not unique. Thus, a methodology aiming the harmonization of the fire risk calculation and perception by Portuguese and Spanish Civil protection authorities is hereby presented. The final results are presented as well. The fire risk index used in this work is the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), which is based on meteorological data. The FWI is limited on its application as it does not take into account other important factors with great effect on the fire appearance and development. The combination of these factors is very complex since, besides the meteorology, it addresses several parameters of different topics, namely: sociology, topography, vegetation and soil cover. Therefore, the meaning of FWI values is different from region to region, according the specific characteristics of each region. In this work, a methodology for FWI calibration based on the number of fire occurrences and on the burnt area in the transboundary regions of Portugal and Spain, in order to assess the fire risk based on calibrated FWI values, is proposed. As previously mentioned, the cooperative firefighting operations require a common perception of the information shared. Therefore, a common classification of the fire risk for the fire events occurred in the transboundary strip is proposed with the objective of harmonizing this type of information. This work is integrated in the ECHO project SpitFire - Spanish-Portuguese Meteorological Information System for Transboundary Operations in Forest Fires, which aims the development of a web platform for the sharing of information and supporting decision tools to be used in international fire events involving Portugal and Spain.

Keywords: data harmonization, FWI, international collaboration, transboundary wildfires

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: A. L. Verret, N. Prince, Y. Jerome, A. Bras

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The effects of housing design on the health and well-being of populations are quite intangible. In fact, healthy housing parameters are generally difficult to establish scientifically. It is often unclear the direction of a cause-and-effect relationship between health variables and housing. However, the lack of clear and definite measurements does not entail the absence of relationship between housing, health, and well-being. Research has thus been conducted. It has mostly aimed the physical rather than the psychological or social well-being of a population, given the difficulties to establish cause-effect relationships because of the subjectivity of the psychological symptoms and of the challenge in determining the influence of other factors. That said, a strong relationship has been exposed between light and physiology. Both the nervous and endocrine systems, amongst others, are affected by different wavelengths of natural light within a building. Daylight in the workplace is indeed associated to decreased absenteeism, errors and product defects, fatigue, eyestrain, increased productivity and positive attitude. Similar associations can also be made to residential housing. Lower levels of sunlight within the home have been proven to result in impaired cognition in depressed participants of a cross-sectional case study. Moreover, minimum space (area and volume) has been linked to healthy housing and quality of life, resulting in norms and regulations for such parameters for home constructions. As a matter of fact, it is estimated that people spend the two-thirds of their lives within the home and its immediate environment. Therefore, it is possible to deduct that the health and well-being of the occupants are potentially at risk in an unhealthy housing situation. While the impact of architecture on health and well-being is acknowledged and considered somewhat crucial in various countries of the north and the south, this issue is barely raised in Haiti. In fact, little importance is given to architecture for many reasons (lack of information, lack of means, societal reflex, poverty…). However, the middle-class is known for its residential strategies and trajectories in search of better-quality homes and environments. For this reason, it would be pertinent to use this group and its strategies and trajectories to isolate the impact of housing design on the overall health and well-being. This research aims to analyze the impact of housing architecture on the health and well-being of middle-class families in the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince. It is a case study which uses semi-structured interviews and observations as research methods. Although at an early stage, this research anticipates that homes affect their occupants both psychologically and physiologically, and consequently, public policies and the population should take into account the architectural design in the planning and construction of housing and, furthermore, cities.

Keywords: architectural design, health and well-being, middle-class housing, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Juergen Junk, Franz Ronellenfitsch, Michael Eickermann

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An appropriate weed management in autumn is a prerequisite for an economically successful harvest in the following year. In Luxembourg oilseed rape, wheat and barley is sown from August until October, accompanied by a chemical weed control with soil active herbicides, depending on the state of the weeds and the meteorological conditions. Based on regular ground and surface water-analysis, high levels of contamination by transformation products of respective herbicide compounds have been found in Luxembourg. The most ideal conditions for incorporating soil active herbicides are single rain events. Weed control may be reduced if application is made when weeds are under drought stress or if repeated light rain events followed by dry spells, because the herbicides tend to bind tightly to the soil particles. These effects have been frequently reported for Luxembourg throughout the last years. In the framework of a multisite long-term field experiment (EFFO) weed monitoring, plants observations and corresponding meteorological measurements were conducted. Long-term time series (1947-2016) from the SYNOP station Findel-Airport (WMO ID = 06590) showed a decrease in the number of days with precipitation. As the total precipitation amount has not significantly changed, this indicates a trend towards rain events with higher intensity. All analyses are based on decades (10-day periods) for September and October of each individual year. To assess the future meteorological conditions for Luxembourg, two different approaches were applied. First, multi-model ensembles from the CORDEX experiments (spatial resolution ~12.5 km; transient projections until 2100) were analysed for two different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP8.5 and RCP4.5), covering the time span from 2005 until 2100. The multi-model ensemble approach allows for the quantification of the uncertainties and also to assess the differences between the two emission scenarios. Second, to assess smaller scale differences within the country a high resolution model projection using the COSMO-LM model was used (spatial resolution 1.3 km). To account for the higher computational demands, caused by the increased spatial resolution, only 10-year time slices have been simulated (reference period 1991-2000; near future 2041-2050 and far future 2091-2100). Statistically significant trends towards higher air temperatures, +1.6 K for September (+5.3 K far future) and +1.3 K for October (+4.3 K), were predicted for the near future compared to the reference period. Precipitation simultaneously decreased by 9.4 mm (September) and 5.0 mm (October) for the near future and -49 mm (September) and -10 mm (October) in the far future. Beside the monthly values also decades were analyzed for the two future time periods of the CLM model. For all decades of September and October the number of days with precipitation decreased for the projected near and far future. Changes in meteorological variables such as air temperature and precipitation did already induce transformations in weed societies (composition, late-emerging etc.) of arable ecosystems in Europe. Therefore, adaptations of agronomic practices as well as effective weed control strategies must be developed to maintain crop yield.

Keywords: CORDEX projections, dry spells, ensembles, weed management

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Kuniko Muramoto, Tadashi Nakamura, Shiro Dan

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On March 11, 2011 the Great East Japan Disaster caused widespread damage. In the aftermath, we searched for ways to provide long-term support and enhanced resilience to affected areas, arriving at the Family Manga Exhibition: an art collection portraying family life. It became a tool for community outreach and intervention, and we implemented support programs by collaborating with local support agencies. This 10-year project has been touring through four prefectures in Tohoku since the disaster struck, bearing witness to the effects of disaster and recovery alike. At this five-year mark, we use a narrative perspective to present our findings and reflect on post-disaster community support. It is important to note that the exhibition’s art does not directly depict the disaster; it portrays stories of anonymous families instead. They stimulate viewers’ memories and remind them of their own family stories. We analyzed viewers' oral and written responses to the exhibition and discovered that family manga as an art form enhances the viewer’s sense of connection to people close to them. We also discovered that the viewers gained more universal perspective on their own situations by viewing the exhibition. Manga, we found, offered a certain safety by enabling the viewers to control how they would interact with the exhibition's content and themes. In addition, the purpose of the project was for us to become witnesses of the disaster and recovery. Supporters of the project became active listeners, functioning as interactive agents who helped forming stories. Voices of the story tellers and the listeners layered upon each other and, as a result, converged into brand new narratives. The essence of traumatic experience is ‘the sense of overwhelming powerlessness and isolation’. When we redefine trauma as ‘broken relationships’, we can say that ‘enhancing relationships’ and ‘weaving relationships’ are what strengthen our resilience. This project used narrative as a modality to fortify the resilience of people involved by enhancing the social capital of bonding, bridging, and linking. The manga exhibition functioned as a tool to achieve this end, suggesting that similar applications are possible. Programs we held in-between manga exhibitions also served to enhance narratives of resiliency in the regions. However, we will save that story for another time. We hope to continue collecting the precious and polyphonic voices of people to present as stories born out of the Great East Japan Disaster. This effort extends beyond the immediately affected area by helping us prepare our resilience for future disasters.

Keywords: community, manga, narrative, resilience

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Dace Grauda, Gunta Cekstere, Inta Belogrudova, Andis Karlsons, Isaak Rashal

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Trifolium repens L. (white or Dutch clover) is a perennial herb, belongs to legume family (Leguminosae Juss.), spread extensively by stolons and seeds. The species is cultivated worldwide and was naturalized in many countries in meadows, yards, gardens, along roads and streets etc., especially in temperate regions. It is widespread also in grasslands throughout Riga, the capital of Latvia. The goal of this study was to investigate genetic structure of white clover population in Riga and to evaluate influence of different salt concentration on plants. For this purpose universal retrotranspozone based IRAP (Inter-Retrotransposon Amplified Polymorphism) method was used. The plant material was collected in different regions of Riga and in several urban areas of Latvia. Plant DNA was isolated from in silicogel dried leaves of using 1% CTAB (cetyltrimet-ammonium bromide) buffer DNA extraction procedure. Genetic structure of city population and wild populations were compared. Soil salinization is an important issue associated with low water resources and highly urbanized areas in aride and semi-aride climate conditions, as well as de-icing salt application to prevent ice formation on roads in winter. The T. repens variety ‘Daile’ (form giganteum), one of the often used component of urban greeneries, was studied in this investigation. Plants were grown from seeds and cultivated in the light conditions (18-25 C, 16h/8h of day/night, light intensity 3000 lx) in plastic pots (200 ml), filled with commercial neutralized (pH 5.9 ± 0.3) peat substrate with mineral nutrients. To analyse the impact of increased soil salinity treatments with gradually rising NaCl (0; 20; 40; 60; 80; 100 mM) levels were arranged. Plants were watered when necessary with deionised water to provide optimum substrate moisture 60-70%. The experiment was terminated six weeks after establishment. For analysis of mineral nutrients, dry plant material (above ground part and roots) was used. Decrease of Na content can be significant under elevated salinity till 20 mM NaCl. High NaCl concentrations in the substrate increase Na, Cl, Cu, Fe, and Mn accumulation, but reduce S, Mg, K content in the plant above ground parts. Abiotic stresses generally changes the levels of DNA metilation. Several candidate gene for salt tolerance will be analysed for DNA metilation level using Pyromark-Q24 advanced.

Keywords: DNA metilation, IRAP, soil salinization, white clover

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Armin Solemanifar, Arthur Wilkinson, Kinjalkumar Patel

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Carbon fibre (CF) - polymer laminate composites have very low densities (approximately 40% lower than aluminium), high strength and high stiffness but in terms of toughness properties they often require modifications. For example, adding rubbers or thermoplastics toughening agents are common ways of improving the interlaminar fracture toughness of initially brittle thermoset composite matrices. The main aim of this project was to toughen CF-epoxy resin laminate composites using hybrid CF-fabrics incorporating Innegra™ a commercial highly-oriented polypropylene (PP) fibre, in which more than 90% of its crystal orientation is parallel to the fibre axis. In this study, the damage tolerance of hybrid (carbon-Innegra, CI) composites was investigated. Laminate composites were produced by resin-infusion using: pure CF fabric; fabrics with different ratios of commingled CI, and two different types of pure Innegra fabrics (Innegra 1 and Innegra 2). Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) was used to measure the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the composite matrix and values of flexural storage modulus versus temperature. Mechanical testing included drop-weight impact, compression-after-impact (CAI), and interlaminar (short-beam) shear strength (ILSS). Ultrasonic C-Scan imaging was used to determine the impact damage area and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the fracture mechanisms that occur during failure of the composites. For all composites, 8 layers of fabrics were used with a quasi-isotropic sequence of [-45°, 0°, +45°, 90°]s. DMTA showed the Tg of all composites to be approximately same (123 ±3°C) and that flexural storage modulus (before the onset of Tg) was the highest for the pure CF composite while the lowest were for the Innegra 1 and 2 composites. Short-beam shear strength of the commingled composites was higher than other composites, while for Innegra 1 and 2 composites only inelastic deformation failure was observed during the short-beam test. During impact, the Innegra 1 composite withstood up to 40 J without any perforation while for the CF perforation occurred at 10 J. The rate of reduction in compression strength upon increasing the impact energy was lowest for the Innegra 1 and 2 composites, while CF showed the highest rate. On the other hand, the compressive strength of the CF composite was highest of all the composites at all impacted energy levels. The predominant failure modes for Innegra composites observed in cross-sections of fractured specimens were fibre pull-out, micro-buckling, and fibre plastic deformation; while fibre breakage and matrix delamination were a major failure observed in the commingled composites due to the more brittle behaviour of CF. Thus, Innegra fibres toughened the CF composites but only at the expense of reducing compressive strength.

Keywords: hybrid composite, thermoplastic fibre, compression strength, damage tolerance

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Hoa Pham

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Code switching, which can be described as the use of students’ first language in second language classrooms, has long been a controversial topic in the area of language teaching and second language acquisition. While this has been widely investigated across different contexts, little empirical research has been undertaken in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of bilingual discourse and code switching practices in content and language integrated classrooms, which has significant implications for language teaching and learning in general and in particular for language pedagogy at tertiary level in Vietnam. This study examines the accounts the teachers articulated for their code switching practices in content-based Business English in Vietnam. Data were collected from five teachers through the use of stimulated recall interviews facilitated by the video data to garner the teachers' cognitive reflection, and allowed them to vocalise the motivations behind their code switching behaviour in particular contexts. The literature has recommended that when participants are provided with a large amount of stimuli or cues, they will experience an original situation again in their imagination with great accuracy. This technique can also provide a valuable "insider" perspective on the phenomenon under investigation which complements the researcher’s "outsider" observation. This can create a relaxed atmosphere during the interview process, which in turn promotes the collection of rich and diverse data. Also, participants can be empowered by this technique as they can raise their own concerns and discuss instances which they find important or interesting. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. The study found that the teachers indicated their support for the use of code switching in their pedagogical practices. Particularly, as a pedagogical resource, the teachers saw code switching to the L1 playing a key role in facilitating the students' comprehension of both content knowledge and the target language. They believed the use of the L1 accommodates the students' current language competence and content knowledge. They also expressed positive opinions about the role that code switching plays in stimulating students' schematic language and content knowledge, encouraging retention and interest in learning and promoting a positive affective environment in the classroom. The teachers perceived that their use of code switching to the L1 helps them meet the students' language needs and prepares them for their study in subsequent courses and addresses functional needs so that students can cope with English language use outside the classroom. Several factors shaped the teachers' perceptions of their code switching practices, including their accumulated teaching experience, their previous experience as language learners, their theoretical understanding of language teaching and learning, and their knowledge of the teaching context. Code switching was a typical phenomenon in the observed classes and was supported by the teachers in certain contexts. This study reinforces the call in the literature to recognise this practice as a useful instructional resource.

Keywords: codeswitching, language teaching, teacher beliefs, tertiary level

Procedia PDF Downloads 440

Authors: Zakia Fatima, Liu Lu, Donghao Li

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The analysis of biological fluid metabolites holds significant importance in various areas, such as medical research, food science, and public health. Investigating the levels and distribution of nutrients and their metabolites in biological samples allows researchers and healthcare professionals to determine nutritional status, find hypovitaminosis or hypervitaminosis, and monitor the effectiveness of interventions such as dietary supplementation. Moreover, analysis of nutrient metabolites provides insight into their metabolism, bioavailability, and physiological processes, aiding in the clarification of their health roles. Hence, the exploration of a distinct, efficient, eco-friendly, and simpler methodology is of great importance to evaluate the metabolic content of complex biological samples. In this work, a green and rapid analytical method based on an automated online two-dimensional microscale carbon fiber/activated carbon fiber fractionation system and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2DμCFs-TOF-MS) was used to evaluate metabolites of urine samples after oral administration of food supplements. The automated 2DμCFs instrument consisted of a microcolumn system with bare carbon fibers and modified carbon fiber coatings. Carbon fibers and modified carbon fibers exhibit different surface characteristics and retain different compounds accordingly. Three kinds of mobile-phase solvents were used to elute the compounds of varied chemical heterogeneities. The 2DμCFs separation system has the ability to effectively separate different compounds based on their polarity and solubility characteristics. No complicated sample preparation method was used prior to analysis, which makes the strategy more eco-friendly, practical, and faster than traditional analysis methods. For optimum analysis results, mobile phase composition, flow rate, and sample diluent were optimized. Water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, and amino acids, as well as 22 vitamin metabolites and 11 vitamin metabolic pathway-related metabolites, were found in urine samples. All water-soluble vitamins except vitamin B12 and vitamin B9 were detected in urine samples. However, no fat-soluble vitamin was detected, and only one metabolite of Vitamin A was found. The comparison with a blank urine sample showed a considerable difference in metabolite content. For example, vitamin metabolites and three related metabolites were not detected in blank urine. The complete single-run screening was carried out in 5.5 minutes with the minimum consumption of toxic organic solvent (0.5 ml). The analytical method was evaluated in terms of greenness, with an analytical greenness (AGREE) score of 0.72. The method’s practicality has been investigated using the Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI) tool, obtaining a score of 77. The findings in this work illustrated that the 2DµCFs-TOF-MS approach could emerge as a fast, sustainable, practical, high-throughput, and promising analytical tool for screening and accurate detection of various metabolites, pharmaceuticals, and ingredients in dietary supplements as well as biological fluids.

Keywords: metabolite analysis, sustainability, carbon fibers, urine.

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Authors: Liaqat Ali, Ehsan, Muhammad Shahzad, Nasir Orakzai

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Introduction: Internal optical urethrotomy is the main stay treatment modality in management of urethral stricture. Being minimal invasive with less morbidity, it is commonly performed and favored procedure by urologists across the globe. Although short-term success rate of optical urethrotomy is promising but long-term efficacy of IOU is questionable with high recurrence rate in different studies. Numerous techniques had been adopted to reduce the recurrence after IOU like prolong catheterization and self-clean intermittent catheterization with varying success. Mitomycin C has anti-fibroblast and anti-collagen properties and has been used in trabeculectomy, myringotomy and after keloid scar excision in contemporary surgical practice. Present study according to the best of our knowledge is a pioneer pilot study in Pakistan to determine the efficacy of Mitomycin C in preventing recurrence of urethral stricture after internal optical urethrotomy. Objective: To determine the efficacy of Mitomycin C in reducing the recurrence of anterior urethral stricture after internal optical urethrotomy. Methods: It is a randomized control trial conducted in department of urology, Institute of Kidney Diseases Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar from March 2011 till December 2013. After approval of hospital ethical committee, we included maximum of 2 cm anterior urethral stricture irrespective of etiology. Total of 140 patients were equally divided into two groups by lottery method. Group A (Case) comprising of 70 patients in whom Mitomycin C 0.1% was injected sub mucosal in stricture area at 1,11,6 and 12 O clock position using straight working channel paediatric cystoscope after conventional optical urethrotomy. Group B (Control) 70 patients in whom only optical urethrotomy was performed. SCIC was not offered in both the groups. All the patients were regularly followed on a monthly basis for 3 months then three monthly for remaining 9 months. Recurrence was diagnosed by using diagnostic tools of retrograde urethrogram and flexible urethroscopy in selected cased. Data was collected on structured Proforma and was analyzed on SPSS. Result: The mean age in Group A was 33 ±1.5 years and Group B was 35 years. External trauma was leading cause of urethral stricture in both groups 46 (65%) Group A and 50 (71.4%) Group B. In Group A. Iatrogenic urethral trauma was 2nd etiological factor in both groups. 18(25%) Group A while 15( 21.4%) in Group B. At the end of 1 year, At the end of one year, recurrence of urethral stricture was recorded in 11 (15.71%) patient in Mitomycin C Group A and it was recorded in 27 (38.5 %) patients in group B. Significant difference p=0.001 was found in favour of group A Mitomycin group. Conclusion: Recurrence of urethral stricture is high after optical urethrotomy. Mitomycin C is found highly effective in preventing recurrence of urethral stricture after IOU.

Keywords: urethral stricture, mitomycine, internal optical urethrotomy, medical and health sciences

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Katerina Krizova, Inigo Molina

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The ongoing climate change affects various natural processes resulting in significant changes in human life. Since there is still a growing human population on the planet with more or less limited resources, agricultural production became an issue and a satisfactory amount of food has to be reassured. To achieve this, agriculture is being studied in a very wide context. The main aim here is to increase primary production on a spatial unit while consuming as low amounts of resources as possible. In Europe, nowadays, the staple issue comes from significantly changing the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. Recent growing seasons have been considerably affected by long drought periods that have led to quantitative as well as qualitative yield losses. To cope with such kind of conditions, new techniques and technologies are being implemented in current practices. However, behind assessing the right management, there is always a set of the necessary information about plot properties that need to be acquired. Remotely sensed data had gained attention in recent decades since they provide spatial information about the studied surface based on its spectral behavior. A number of space platforms have been launched carrying various types of sensors. Spectral indices based on calculations with reflectance in visible and NIR bands are nowadays quite commonly used to describe the crop status. However, there is still the staple limit by this kind of data - cloudiness. Relatively frequent revisit of modern satellites cannot be fully utilized since the information is hidden under the clouds. Therefore, microwave remote sensing, which can penetrate the atmosphere, is on its rise today. The scientific literature describes the potential of radar data to estimate staple soil (roughness, moisture) and vegetation (LAI, biomass, height) properties. Although all of these are highly demanded in terms of agricultural monitoring, the crop moisture content is the utmost important parameter in terms of agricultural drought monitoring. The idea behind this study was to exploit the unique combination of SAR (Sentinel-1) and optical (Sentinel-2) data from one provider (ESA) to describe potential crop water stress during dry cropping season of 2019 at six winter wheat plots in the central Czech Republic. For the period of January to August, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images were obtained and processed. Sentinel-1 imagery carries information about C-band backscatter in two polarisations (VV, VH). Sentinel-2 was used to derive vegetation properties (LAI, FCV, NDWI, and SAVI) as support for Sentinel-1 results. For each term and plot, summary statistics were performed, including precipitation data and soil moisture content obtained through data loggers. Results were presented as summary layouts of VV and VH polarisations and related plots describing other properties. All plots performed along with the principle of the basic SAR backscatter equation. Considering the needs of practical applications, the vegetation moisture content may be assessed using SAR data to predict the drought impact on the final product quality and yields independently of cloud cover over the studied scene.

Keywords: precision agriculture, remote sensing, Sentinel-1, SAR, water content

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Authors: Arsalan Jabbar, Wajiha Javed, Nelofer Mehboob, Zahid Memon

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Introduction: There are multiple social, individual and cultural factors that influence an individual’s decision to adopt family planning methods especially among non-users in patriarchal societies like Pakistan.Non-users, if targeted efficiently, can contribute significantly to country’s CPR. A research study showed that non-users if convinced to adopt lactational amenorrhea method can shift to long-term methods in future. Research shows that if non-users are targeted efficiently a 59% reduction in unintended pregnancies in Saharan Africa and South-Central and South-East Asia is anticipated. Methods: We did secondary data analysis on Pakistan Demographic Heath Survey (2012-13) dataset. Use of contraception (never-use/ever-use) was the outcome variable. At univariate level Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to assess relationship of baseline covariates with contraception use. Then variables to be incorporated in the model were checked for multi-collinearity, confounding, and interaction. Then binary logistic regression (with an urban-rural stratification) was done to find the relationship between contraception use and baseline demographic and social variables. Results: The multivariate analyses of the study showed that younger women (≤ 29 years) were more prone to be never users as compared to those who were > 30 years and this trend was seen in urban areas (AOR 1.92, CI 1.453-2.536) as well as rural areas (AOR 1.809, CI 1.421-2.303). While looking at regional variation, women from urban Sindh (AOR 1.548, CI 1.142-2.099) and urban Balochistan (AOR 2.403, CI 1.504-3.839) had more never users as compared to other urban regions. Women in the rich wealth quintile were more never users and this was seen both in urban and rural localities (urban (AOR 1.106 CI .753-1.624); rural areas (AOR 1.162, CI .887-1.524)) even though these were not statistically significant. Women idealizing more children(> 4) are more never users as compared to those idealizing less children in both urban (AOR 1.854, CI 1.275-2.697) and rural areas (AOR 2.101, CI 1.514-2.916). Women who never lost a pregnancy were more inclined to be non-users in rural areas (AOR 1.394, CI 1.127-1.723) .Women familiar with only traditional or no method had more never users in rural areas (AOR 1.717, CI 1.127-1.723) but in urban areas it wasn’t significant. Women unaware of Lady Health Worker’s presence in their area were more never users especially in rural areas (AOR 1.276, CI 1.014-1.607). Women who did not visit any care provider were more never users (urban (AOR 11.738, CI 9.112-15.121) rural areas (AOR 7.832, CI 6.243-9.826)). Discussion/Conclusion: This study concluded that government, policy makers and private sector family planning programs should focus on the untapped pool of never users (younger women from underserved provinces, in higher wealth quintiles, who desire more children.). We need to make sure to cover catchment areas where there are less LHWs and less providers as ignorance to modern methods and never been visited by an LHW are important determinants of never use. This all is in sync with previous literate from similar developing countries.

Keywords: contraception, demographic and health survey, family planning, never users

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Katarina Pogacnik, Ursa Zakrajsek, Nejc Sirk, Ziga Lampret

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Due to an increase in living standards along with global population growth and a trend of urbanization, municipalities and regions are faced with an ever rising energy demand. A challenge has arisen for cities around the world to modify the energy supply chain in order to reduce its consumption and CO₂ emissions. The aim of our work is the development of a computational-analytical platform for dynamic support in decision-making and the determination of economic and technical indicators of energy efficiency in a smart city, named Energy Atlas. Similar products in this field focuse on a narrower approach, whereas in order to achieve its aim, this platform encompasses a wider spectrum of beneficial and important information for energy planning on a local or regional scale. GIS based interactive maps provide an extensive database on the potential, use and supply of energy and renewable energy sources along with climate, transport and spatial data of the selected municipality. Beneficiaries of Energy atlas are local communities, companies, investors, contractors as well as residents. The Energy Atlas platform consists of three modules named E-Planning, E-Indicators and E-Cooperation. The E-Planning module is a comprehensive data service, which represents a support towards optimal decision-making and offers a sum of solutions and feasibility of measures and their effects in the area of efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources. The E-Indicators module identifies, collects and develops optimal data and key performance indicators and develops an analytical application service for dynamic support in managing a smart city in regards to energy use and sustainable environment. In order to support cooperation and direct involvement of citizens of the smart city, the E-cooperation is developed with the purpose of integrating the interdisciplinary and sociological aspects of energy end-users. Interaction of all the above-described modules contributes to regional development because it enables for a precise assessment of the current situation, strategic planning, detection of potential future difficulties and also the possibility of public involvement in decision-making. From the implementation of the technology in Slovenian municipalities of Ljubljana, Piran, and Novo mesto, there is evidence to suggest that the set goals are to be achieved to a great extent. Such thorough urban energy planning tool is viewed as an important piece of the puzzle towards achieving a low-carbon society, circular economy and therefore, sustainable society.

Keywords: circular economy, energy atlas, energy management, energy planning, low-carbon society

Procedia PDF Downloads 301

Authors: Shahid Razzaq

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The governments around the globe have started taking into considerations the knowledge management dynamics while formulating, implementing, and evaluating the strategies, with or without the conscious realization, for the different public sector organizations and public policy developments. Health Department of Punjab province in Pakistan is striving to deliver quality healthcare services to the community through an efficient and effective service delivery system. Despite of this struggle some employee performance issues yet exists in the form of challenge to government. To overcome these issues department took several steps including HR strategies, use of technologies and focus of hard issues. Consequently, this study was attempted to highlight the importance of soft issue that is knowledge management in its true essence to tackle their performance issues. Knowledge management in public sector is quite an ignored area in the knowledge management-a growing multidisciplinary research discipline. Knowledge-based view of the firm theory asserts the knowledge is the most deliberate resource that can result in competitive advantage for an organization over the other competing organizations. In the context of our study it means for gaining employee performance, organizations have to increase the heterogeneous knowledge bases. The study uses the cross-sectional and quantitative research design. The data is collected from the knowledge workers of Health Department of Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan. A total of 341 sample size is achieved. The SmartPLS 3 Version 2.6 is used for analyzing the data. The data examination revealed that knowledge management processes has a strong impact on knowledge worker performance. All hypotheses are accepted according to the results. Therefore, it can be summed up that to increase the employee performance knowledge management activities should be implemented. Health Department within province of Punjab introduces the knowledge management infrastructure and systems to make effective availability of knowledge for the service staff. This knowledge management infrastructure resulted in an increase in the knowledge management process in different remote hospitals, basic health units and care centers which resulted in greater service provisions to public. This study is to have theoretical and practical significances. In terms of theoretical contribution, this study is to establish the relationship between knowledge management and performance for the first time. In case of the practical contribution, this study is to give an insight to public sector organizations and government about role of knowledge management in employ performance. Therefore, public policymakers are strongly advised to implement the activities of knowledge management for enhancing the performance of knowledge workers. The current research validated the substantial role of knowledge management in persuading and creating employee arrogances and behavioral objectives. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study contribute to the impact of knowledge management on employee performance as its originality.

Keywords: employee performance, knowledge management, public sector, soft issues

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: S. V. Kuznetsov, M. N. Mayakova, V. Yu. Proydakova, V. V. Pavlov, A. S. Nizamutdinov, O. A. Morozov, V. V. Voronov, P. P. Fedorov

Abstract:

Increase in the share of electricity received by conversion of solar energy results in the reduction of the industrial impact on the environment from the use of the hydrocarbon energy sources. One way to increase said share is to improve the efficiency of solar energy conversion in silicon-based solar panels. Such efficiency increase can be achieved by transferring energy from sunlight-insensitive areas of work of silicon solar panels to the area of their photoresistivity. To achieve this goal, a transition to new luminescent materials with the high quantum yield of luminescence is necessary. Improvement in the quantum yield can be achieved by quantum cutting, which allows obtaining a quantum yield of down conversion of more than 150% due to the splitting of high-energy photons of the UV spectral range into lower-energy photons of the visible and near infrared spectral ranges. The goal of present work is to test approach of excitation through sensibilization of 4f-4f fluorescence of Yb3+ by various RE ions absorbing in UV and Vis spectral ranges. One of promising materials for quantum cutting luminophores are fluorides. In our investigation we have developed synthesis of nano- and submicron powders of calcium fluoride and strontium doped with rare-earth elements (Yb: Ce, Yb: Pr, Yb: Eu) of controlled dimensions and shape by co-precipitation from water solution technique. We have used Ca(NO3)2*4H2O, Sr(NO3)2, HF, NH4F as precursors. After initial solutions of nitrates were prepared they have been mixed with fluorine containing solution by dropwise manner. According to XRD data, the synthesis resulted in single phase samples with fluorite structure. By means of SEM measurements, we have confirmed spherical morphology and have determined sizes of particles (50-100 nm after synthesis and 150-300 nm after calcination). Temperature of calcination appeared to be 600°C. We have investigated the spectral-kinetic characteristics of above mentioned compounds. Here the diffuse reflection and laser induced fluorescence spectra of Yb3+ ions excited at around 4f-4f and 4f-5d transitions of Pr3+, Eu3+ and Ce3+ ions in the synthesized powders are reported. The investigation of down conversion luminescence capability of synthesized compounds included measurements of fluorescence decays and quantum yield of 2F5/2-2F7/2 fluorescence of Yb3+ ions as function of Yb3+ and sensitizer contents. An optimal chemical composition of CaF2-YbF3- LnF3 (Ln=Ce, Eu, Pr), SrF2-YbF3-LnF3 (Ln=Ce, Eu, Pr) micro- and nano- powders according to criteria of maximal IR fluorescence yield is proposed. We suppose that investigated materials are prospective in solar panels improvement applications. Work was supported by Russian Science Foundation grant #17-73- 20352.

Keywords: solar cell, fluorides, down-conversion luminescence, maximum quantum yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Shashi Bhushan, Sucharita Sen

Abstract:

In India, forest and people are inextricably linked since millions of people live adjacent to or within protected areas and harvest forest products. Indian forest has their own legacy to sustain by its own climatic nature with several social, economic and cultural activities. People surrounding forest areas are not only dependent on this resource for their livelihoods but also for the other source, like religious ceremonies, social customs and herbal medicines, which are determined by the forest like agricultural land, groundwater level, and soil fertility. The assumption that fuelwood and fodder extraction, which is the part of local livelihood leads to deforestation, has so far been the dominant mainstream views in deforestation discourses. Given the occupational division across social groups in Kaimur reserve forest, the differential nature of dependence of forest resources is important to understand. This paper attempts to assess the nature of dependence and impact of forest degradation on rural households across various social groups. Also, an additional element that is added to the enquiry is the way degradation of forests leading to scarcity of forest-based resources impacts the patterns of dependence across various social groups. Change in forest area calculated through land use land cover analysis using remote sensing technique and examination of different economic activities carried out by the households that are forest-based was collected by primary survey in Kaimur reserve forest of state of Bihar in India. The general finding indicates that the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities, the most socially and economically deprived sections of the rural society are involved in a significant way in collection of fuelwood, fodder, and fruits, both for self-consumption and sale in the market while other groups of society uses fuelwood, fruit, and fodder for self-use only. Depending on the local forest resources for fuelwood consumption was the primary need for all social groups due to easy accessibility and lack of alternative energy source. In last four decades, degradation of forest made a direct impact on rural community mediated through the socio-economic structure, resulting in a shift from forest-based occupations to cultivation and manual labour in agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Thus there is a need to review the policies with respect to the ‘community forest management’ since this study clearly throws up the fact that engagement with and dependence on forest resources is socially differentiated. Thus tying the degree of dependence and forest management becomes extremely important from the view of ‘sustainable’ forest resource management. The statization of forest resources also has to keep in view the intrinsic way in which the forest-dependent population interacts with the forest.

Keywords: forest degradation, livelihood, social groups, tribal community

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Irina Mizeva, Elena Potapova, Viktor Dremin, Mikhail Mezentsev, Valeri Shupletsov

Abstract:

The local tissue perfusion is regulated by the microvascular tone which is under the control of a number of physiological mechanisms. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) together with wavelet analyses is the most commonly used technique to study the regulatory mechanisms of cutaneous microcirculation. External factors such as temperature, local pressure of the probe on the skin, etc. influence on the blood flow characteristics and are used as physiological tests to evaluate microvascular regulatory mechanisms. Local probe pressure influences on the microcirculation parameters measured by optical methods: diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and LDF. Therefore, further study of probe pressure effects can be useful to improve the reliability of optical measurement. During pressure tests variation of the mean perfusion measured by means of LDF usually is estimated. An additional information concerning the physiological mechanisms of the vascular tone regulation system in response to local pressure can be obtained using spectral analyses of LDF samples. The aim of the present work was to develop protocol and algorithm of data processing appropriate for study physiological response to the local pressure test. Involving 6 subjects (20±2 years) and providing 5 measurements for every subject we estimated intersubject and-inter group variability of response of both averaged and oscillating parts of the LDF sample on external surface pressure. The final purpose of the work was to find special features which further can be used in wider clinic studies. The cutaneous perfusion measurements were carried out by LAKK-02 (SPE LAZMA Ltd., Russia), the skin loading was provided by the originally designed device which allows one to distribute the pressure around the LDF probe. The probe was installed on the dorsal part of the distal finger of the index figure. We collected measurements continuously for one hour and varied loading from 0 to 180mmHg stepwise with a step duration of 10 minutes. Further, we post-processed the samples using the wavelet transform and traced the energy of oscillations in five frequency bands over time. Weak loading leads to pressure-induced vasodilation, so one should take into account that the perfusion measured under pressure conditions will be overestimated. On the other hand, we revealed a decrease in endothelial associated fluctuations. Further loading (88 mmHg) induces amplification of pulsations in all frequency bands. We assume that such loading leads to a higher number of closed capillaries, higher input of arterioles in the LDF signal and as a consequence more vivid oscillations which mainly are formed in arterioles. External pressure higher than 144 mmHg leads to the decrease of oscillating components, after removing the loading very rapid restore of the tissue perfusion takes place. In this work, we have demonstrated that local skin loading influence on the microcirculation parameters measured by optic technique; this should be taken into account while developing portable electronic devices. The proposed protocol of local loading allows one to evaluate PIV as far as to trace dynamic of blood flow oscillations. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation under project N 18-15-00201.

Keywords: blood microcirculation, laser Doppler flowmetry, pressure-induced vasodilation, wavelet analyses blood

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Claudia Norambuena, Myissa Weiss, Maria Ruiz Maya, Matthew Straley, Elijah Hammond, Benjamin Chesebrough, David Grow

Abstract:

The purpose of this project is to develop a low-cost, portable sensor device that can be used at home for long-term analysis of gait and balance abnormalities. One area of particular concern involves the asymmetries in movement and balance that can accompany certain types of injuries and/or the associated devices used in the repair and rehabilitation process (e.g. the use of splints and casts) which can often increase chances of falls and additional injuries. This device has the capacity to monitor a patient during the rehabilitation process after injury or operation, increasing the patient’s access to healthcare while decreasing the number of visits to the patient’s clinician. The sensor device may thereby improve the quality of the patient’s care, particularly in rural areas where access to the clinician could be limited, while simultaneously decreasing the overall cost associated with the patient’s care. The device consists of nine interconnected accelerometer/ gyroscope/compass chips (9-DOF IMU, Adafruit, New York, NY). The sensors attach to and are used to determine the orientation and acceleration of the patient’s lower abdomen, C7 vertebra (lower neck), L1 vertebra (middle back), anterior side of each thigh and tibia, and dorsal side of each foot. In addition, pressure sensors are embedded in shoe inserts with one sensor (ESS301, Tekscan, Boston, MA) beneath the heel and three sensors (Interlink 402, Interlink Electronics, Westlake Village, CA) beneath the metatarsal bones of each foot. These sensors measure the distribution of the weight applied to each foot as well as stride duration. A small microntroller (Arduino Mega, Arduino, Ivrea, Italy) is used to collect data from these sensors in a CSV file. MATLAB is then used to analyze the data and output the hip, knee, ankle, and trunk angles projected on the sagittal plane. An open-source program Processing is then used to generate an animation of the patient’s gait. The accuracy of the sensors was validated through comparison to goniometric measurements (±2° error). The sensor device was also shown to have sufficient sensitivity to observe various gait abnormalities. Several patients used the sensor device, and the data collected from each represented the patient’s movements. Further, the sensors were found to have the ability to observe gait abnormalities caused by the addition of a small amount of weight (4.5 - 9.1 kg) to one side of the patient. The user-friendly interface and portability of the sensor device will help to construct a bridge between patients and their clinicians with fewer necessary inpatient visits.

Keywords: biomedical sensing, gait analysis, outpatient, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Peter Burggräf, Matthias Dannapfel, Hanno Voet, Patrick-Benjamin Bök, Jérôme Uelpenich, Julian Hoppe

Abstract:

The increasing digitalization of value chains can help companies to handle rising complexity in their processes and thereby reduce the steadily increasing planning and control effort in order to raise performance limits. Due to technological advances, companies face the challenge of smart value chains for the purpose of improvements in productivity, handling the increasing time and cost pressure and the need of individualized production. Therefore, companies need to ensure quick and flexible decisions to create self-optimizing processes and, consequently, to make their production more efficient. Lean production, as the most commonly used paradigm for complexity reduction, reaches its limits when it comes to variant flexible production and constantly changing market and environmental conditions. To lift performance limits, which are inbuilt in current value chains, new methods and tools must be applied. Digitalization provides the potential to derive these new methods and tools. However, companies lack the experience to harmonize different digital technologies. There is no practicable framework, which instructs the transformation of current value chains into digital pervasive value chains. Current research shows that a connection between lean production and digitalization exists. This link is based on factors such as people, technology and organization. In this paper, the introduced method for the determination of digitally pervasive value chains takes the factors people, technology and organization into account and extends existing approaches by a new dimension. It is the first systematic approach for the digital transformation of lean production and consists of four steps: The first step of ‘target definition’ describes the target situation and defines the depth of the analysis with regards to the inspection area and the level of detail. The second step of ‘analysis of the value chain’ verifies the lean-ability of processes and lies in a special focus on the integration capacity of digital technologies in order to raise the limits of lean production. Furthermore, the ‘digital evaluation process’ ensures the usefulness of digital adaptions regarding their practicability and their integrability into the existing production system. Finally, the method defines actions to be performed based on the evaluation process and in accordance with the target situation. As a result, the validation and optimization of the proposed method in a German company from the electronics industry shows that the digital transformation of current value chains based on lean production achieves a raise of their inbuilt performance limits.

Keywords: digitalization, digital transformation, Industrie 4.0, lean production, value chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 305