Search results for: reactive oxygen spicy

Authors: Jill Round

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In the economic system, the financial sector plays a crucial role as an intermediary between market participants, other financial institutions, and customers. Financial institutions such as banks have to make decisions to satisfy the demands of all the participants by keeping abreast of regulatory change. In recent years, progress has been made regarding frameworks, development of rules, standards, and processes to manage risks in the banking sector. The increasing focus of regulators and policymakers placed on risk management, corporate governance, and the organization’s culture is of special interest as it requires a well-resourced risk controlling function, compliance function, and internal audit function. In the past years, the relevance of these functions that make up the so-called Three Lines of Defense has moved from the backroom to the boardroom. The approach of the model can vary based on the various organizational characteristics. Due to the intense regulatory requirements, organizations operating in the financial sector have more mature models. In less regulated industries there is more cloudiness about what tasks are allocated where. All parties strive to achieve their objectives through the effective management of risks and serve the identical stakeholders. Today, the Three Lines of Defense model is used throughout the world. The research looks at trends and emerging issues in the professions of the Three Lines of Defense within the banking sector. The answers are believed to helping to explain the increasing regulatory requirements for the banking sector. While the number of supervisory practices increases the risk management requirements intensify and demand more regulatory compliance at the same time. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is applied by making use of conducted surveys in the research field. It aims to describe (i) the theoretical model regarding the applicable linearity relationships, (ii) the causal relationship between multiple predictors (exogenous) and multiple dependent variables (endogenous), (iii) taking into consideration the unobservable variables and (iv) the measurement errors. The surveys conducted on the research field suggest that the observable variables are caused by various latent variables. The SEM consists of the 1) measurement model and the 2) structural model. There is a detectable correlation regarding the cause-effect relationship among the performed supervisory practices and the increasing scope of regulation. Supervisory practices reinforce the regulatory density. In the past, controls were placed after supervisory practices were conducted or incidents occurred. In further research, it is of interest to examine, whether risk management is proactive, reactive to incidents and supervisory practices or can be both at the same time.

Keywords: risk management, structural equation model, supervisory practice, three lines of defense

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Authors: Shivam Dubey, Vinit Srivastava, Abhay Singh Thakur, Rahul Vaish

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The presence of organic dyes in water is a critical issue that poses a significant threat to the environment and human health. We have investigated the use of corona discharge as a potential method for degrading organic dyes in water. Methylene Blue dye was exposed to corona discharge, and its photo-absorbance was measured over time to determine the extent of degradation. The results depicted a decreased absorbance for the dye and the loss of the characteristic colour of methylene blue. The effects of various parameters, including current, voltage, gas phase, salinity, and electrode spacing, on the reaction rates, were investigated. The highest reaction rates were observed at the highest current and voltage (up to 10kV), lowest salinity, smallest electrode spacing, and an environment containing enhanced levels of oxygen. These findings have possible applications for science education curriculum. By investigating the use of corona discharge for destroying organic dyes, we can provide students with a practical application of scientific principles that they can apply to real-world problems. This research can demonstrate the importance of understanding the chemical and physical properties of organic dyes and the effects of corona discharge on their degradation and provide a holistic understanding of the applications of scientific research. Moreover, our study also emphasizes the importance of considering the various parameters that can affect reaction rates. By investigating the effects of current, voltage, matter phase, salinity, and electrode spacing, we can provide students with an opportunity to learn about the importance of experimental design and how to evade constraints that can limit meaningful results. In conclusion, this study has the potential to provide valuable insights into the use of corona discharge for destroying organic dyes in water and has significant implications for science education. By highlighting the practical applications of scientific principles, experimental design, and the importance of considering various parameters, this research can help students develop critical thinking skills and prepare them for future careers in science and engineering.

Keywords: dye degradation, corona discharge, science education, hands-on learning, chemical education

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Authors: Raphael Udeh, Luis García De Guadiana Romualdo, Xenia Dolje-Gore

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Background: Quite disturbing is the huge public health impact of COVID-19: As at today [25th March 2021, the COVID-19 global burden shows over 123 million cases and over 2.7 million deaths worldwide. Rationale: Recent evidence shows calprotectin’s potential as a therapeutic target, stating that tasquinimod, from the Quinoline-3-Carboxamide family is capable of blocking the interaction between calprotectin and TLR4. Hence preventing the cytokine release syndrome, that heralds the functional exhaustion in COVID-19. Early preclinical studies showed that tasquinimod inhibit tumor growth and prevent angiogenesis/cytokine storm. Phase I – III clinical studies in prostate cancer showed it has a good safety profile with good radiologic progression free survival but no effect on overall survival. Rationale/hypothesis: Strategic endeavors have been amplified globally to assess new therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 management – thus the clinical and antiviral efficacy of tasquinimod in COVID-19 remains to be explored. Hence the primary objective of this trial will be to evaluate the efficacy of tasquinimod in the treatment of adult patients with severe COVID-19 infections. Therefore, I hypothesise that among adults with COVID19 infection, tasquinimod will reduce the severe respiratory distress associated with COVID-19 compared to placebo, over a 28-day study period. Method: The setting is in Europe. Design – a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase II double-blinded trial. Trial lasts for 28 days from randomization, Tasquinimod capsule given as 0.5mg daily 1st fortnight, then 1mg daily 2nd fortnight. I0 outcome - assessed using six-point ordinal scale alongside eight 20 outcomes. 125 participants to be enrolled, data collection at baseline and subsequent data points, and safety reporting monitored via serological profile. Significance: This work could potentially establish tasquinimod as an effective and safe therapeutic agent for COVID-19 by reducing the severe respiratory distress, related time to recovery, time on oxygen/admission. It will also drive future research – as in larger multi-centre RCT.

Keywords: Calprotectin, COVID-19, Phase II Trial, Tasquinimod

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Authors: Faith Maina

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Slender leaf (Crotalaria brevidens and Crotalaria ochroleuca), African indigenous vegetables, are an important source of nutrients, income and traditional medicines in Kenya. However, their production is constrained by poor quality seed, due to lack of standardized agronomic and storage practices. Factors that affect the quality of seed in storage include the duration of storage, seed moisture, temperature, relative humidity, oxygen pressure during storage, diseases, and pests. These factors vary with the type of storage method used. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of various storage methods on seed quality of slender leaf and recommend the best methods of seed storage to the farmers in Western Kenya. Seeds from various morphotypes of slender leaf that had high germination percentage (90%) were stored in pots, jars, brown paper bags and polythene bags in Kakamega and Siaya. Other seeds were also stored in a freezer at the University of Eldoret. In Kakamega County average room temperature was 23°C and relative humidity was 85% during the storage period of May to July 2006. Between December and February 2006 the average room temperature was 26°C while relative humidity was 80% in the same county. In Siaya County, the average room temperature was 25°C and relative humidity was 80% during storage period of May to July 2006. In the same county, the average temperature was 28°C and relative humidity 65% during the period of December and February 2006. Storage duration was 90 days for each season. Seed viability and vigour, was determined for each storage method. Data obtained from storage experiments was subjected to ANOVA and T-tests using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Season of growth and storage methods significantly influenced seed quality in Kakamega and Siaya counties. Seeds from the long rains season had higher seed quality than those grown during the short rains season. Generally, seeds stored in pots, brown paper bags, jars and freezer had higher seed quality than those stored in polythene bags. It was concluded that in order to obtain high-quality seeds farmers should store slender leaf seeds in pots or brown paper bags or plastic jars or freezer.

Keywords: Crotalaria sp, seed, quality, storage

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Authors: Robert Pellerin, Michel Gamache, Remi Trudeau, Nathalie Perrier

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The context of large engineering projects is particularly favorable to the appearance of engineering changes and contractual modifications. These elements are potential causes for claims. In this paper, we investigate one of the critical components of the claim management process: the calculation of the impacts of changes in terms of losses of productivity due to the need to accelerate some project activities. When project changes are initiated, delays can arise. Indeed, project activities are often executed in fast-tracking in an attempt to respect the completion date. But the acceleration of project execution and the resulting rework can entail important costs as well as induce productivity losses. In the past, numerous methods have been proposed to quantify the duration of delays, the gains achieved by project acceleration, and the loss of productivity. The calculation related to those changes can be divided into two categories: direct cost and indirect cost. The direct cost is easily quantifiable as opposed to indirect costs which are rarely taken into account during the calculation of the cost of an engineering change or contract modification despite several research projects have been made on this subject. However, proposed models have not been accepted by companies yet, nor they have been accepted in court. Those models require extensive data and are often seen as too specific to be used for all projects. These techniques are also ignoring the resource constraints and the interdependencies between the causes of delays and the delays themselves. To resolve this issue, this research proposes a simulation model that mimics how major engineering changes or contract modifications are handled in large construction projects. The model replicates the use of overtime in a reactive scheduling mode in order to simulate the loss of productivity present when a project change occurs. Multiple tests were conducted to compare the results of the proposed simulation model with statistical analysis conducted by other researchers. Different scenarios were also conducted in order to determine the impact the number of activities, the time of occurrence of the change, the availability of resources, and the type of project changes on productivity loss. Our results demonstrate that the number of activities in the project is a critical variable influencing the productivity of a project. When changes occur, the presence of a large number of activities leads to a much lower productivity loss than a small number of activities. The speed of reducing productivity for 30-job projects is about 25 percent faster than the reduction speed for 120-job projects. The moment of occurrence of a change also shows a significant impact on productivity. Indeed, the sooner the change occurs, the lower the productivity of the labor force. The availability of resources also impacts the productivity of a project when a change is implemented. There is a higher loss of productivity when the amount of resources is restricted.

Keywords: engineering changes, indirect costs overtime, productivity, scheduling, simulation

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Authors: Ardak Myrzabekova

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Sentinel epidemiological surveillance (SES) of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) was introduced in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2008. The purpose of this study was to analyze SES of flu among SARI patients in the Republic of Kazakhstan during last two flu seasons. Comparative analysis was conducted of SARI morbidity during 40 – 23 weeks of 2014/2015 (season 2014) and 2015/2016 (season 2015) in online base (http:\\ses.dec.kz). In the database during season 2014 were 1,398 SARI patients and 1,985 patients during season 2015. Individual data (clinical, epidemiological and laboratory) of SARI cases were collected based on the questionnaire and were put into the flu electronic system. The studied population was residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan who addressed for medical help in 24 sentinel in-patient clinics in 9 sentinel regions of the country. Swabs from nose and throat were taken for laboratory testing from SARI patients who met the standard case definition. The samples were examined in virology labs of sentinel regions using PCR and 'AmpliSens' test systems made in Russia. The first positive results for flu during season 2014 were obtained on 48 week, during season 2015 – on 46 week. The increase of the number of hospitalized SARI patients was observed during 42 week of 2015 – 01 week of 2016, and during 03 - 06 weeks of 2016, with fluctuating SARI incidence rate from 171 to 444 per 1,000 hospitalized. The highest SARI incidence rate during season 2014 were observed during 01 - 03 weeks of 2015: from 389 to 466 per 1,000 hospitalized. Patients admitted to the ICU during season 2015 were 3.0% (60) SARI patients, compared to 2.7% (38) in 2014 (p=0.3), obtaining oxygen therapy 1.0% (21) compared to 0.3% (5), accordingly, (р=0.009); with shortness of breath 74.8% (1,486) compared to 72.6% (1,015), (р=0.07); with impairment of consciousness 1.0% (21) compared to 0.6% (9), (р=0.11); with muscle pain 19.3% (384) compared to 13.6% (191), (р < 0.001); with joint pain 13.3% (265) compared to 9.3% (131), (p < 0.001). During season 2015 the prevailing subtype of flu А was А/Н1N1-09, it was observed mainly in the age group 30-64: 32.5% (169/520). During season 2014 flu А/Н3N2 was observed mainly in the age group 15-29: 43.6% (106/243). Among children under 14 flu А/Н1N1-09 during season 2015 was 37.3% (194/520), during season 2014 flu А/Н3N2 – 34.9% (85/243). Earlier beginning of the flu season was noted in 2015-2016 and a longer period of hospitalization of SARI patients, with high SARI morbidity rates, unlike season 2014-2015. Season 2015-2016 was characterized by prevailing circulation of virus of flu А/Н1N1-09, mainly in the age group 30-64, and also among children under 14. During season 2014-2015 the virus circulating in the country was А/Н3N2, which was observed mainly in the age group 15-29 and among children under 14.

Keywords: flu, electronic system, sentinel epidemiological surveillance, severe acute respiratory infections

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Authors: Gabrielle Peck, Ryan Hayes

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Current large scale fire tests focus on flammability and heat release measurements. Smoke toxicity isn’t considered despite it being a leading cause of death and injury in unwanted fires. A key reason could be that the practical difficulties associated with quantifying individual toxic components present in a fire effluent often require specialist equipment and expertise. Fire effluent contains a mixture of unreactive and reactive gases, water, organic vapours and particulate matter, which interact with each other. This interferes with the operation of the analytical instrumentation and must be removed without changing the concentration of the target analyte. To mitigate the need for expensive equipment and time-consuming analysis, a portable gas analysis system was designed, constructed and tested for use in large-scale fire tests as a simpler and more robust alternative to online FTIR measurements. The novel equipment aimed to be easily portable and able to run on battery or mains electricity; be able to be calibrated at the test site; be capable of quantifying CO, CO2, O2, HCN, HBr, HCl, NOx and SO2 accurately and reliably; be capable of independent data logging; be capable of automated switchover of 7 bubblers; be able to withstand fire effluents; be simple to operate; allow individual bubbler times to be pre-set; be capable of being controlled remotely. To test the analysers functionality, it was used alongside the ISO/TS 19700 Steady State Tube Furnace (SSTF). A series of tests were conducted to assess the validity of the box analyser measurements and the data logging abilities of the apparatus. PMMA and PA 6.6 were used to assess the validity of the box analyser measurements. The data obtained from the bench-scale assessments showed excellent agreement. Following this, the portable analyser was used to monitor gas concentrations during large-scale testing using the ISO 9705 room corner test. The analyser was set up, calibrated and set to record smoke toxicity measurements in the doorway of the test room. The analyser was successful in operating without manual interference and successfully recorded data for 12 of the 12 tests conducted in the ISO room tests. At the end of each test, the analyser created a data file (formatted as .csv) containing the measured gas concentrations throughout the test, which do not require specialist knowledge to interpret. This validated the portable analyser’s ability to monitor fire effluent without operator intervention on both a bench and large-scale. The portable analyser is a validated and significantly more practical alternative to FTIR, proven to work for large-scale fire testing for quantification of smoke toxicity. The analyser is a cheaper, more accessible option to assess smoke toxicity, mitigating the need for expensive equipment and specialist operators.

Keywords: smoke toxicity, large-scale tests, iso 9705, analyser, novel equipment

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Authors: Su Yin Chiam, Zhipeng Ding, Guang Yang, Danny Jian Hang Tng, Peiyi Song, Geok Ing Ng, Ken-Tye Yong, Qing Xin Zhang

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Brain-machine interfaces (BMI) is a ground rich of exploration opportunities where manipulation of neural activity are used for interconnect with myriad form of external devices. These research and intensive development were evolved into various areas from medical field, gaming and entertainment industry till safety and security field. The technology were extended for neurological disorders therapy such as obsessive compulsive disorder and Parkinson’s disease by introducing current pulses to specific region of the brain. Nonetheless, the work to develop a real-time observing, recording and altering of neural signal brain-machine interfaces system will require a significant amount of effort to overcome the obstacles in improving this system without delay in response. To date, feature size of interface devices and the density of the electrode population remain as a limitation in achieving seamless performance on BMI. Currently, the size of the BMI devices is ranging from 10 to 100 microns in terms of electrodes’ diameters. Henceforth, to accommodate the single cell level precise monitoring, smaller and denser Nano-scaled nanowire electrode arrays are vital in fabrication. In this paper, we would like to showcase the fabrication of high aspect ratio of vertical silicon nanowire electrodes arrays using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) method. Nanofabrication of the nanowire electrodes involves in deep reactive ion etching, thermal oxide thinning, electron-beam lithography patterning, sputtering of metal targets and bottom anti-reflection coating (BARC) etch. Metallization on the nanowire electrode tip is a prominent process to optimize the nanowire electrical conductivity and this step remains a challenge during fabrication. Metal electrodes were lithographically defined and yet these metal contacts outline a size scale that is larger than nanometer-scale building blocks hence further limiting potential advantages. Therefore, we present an integrated contact solution that overcomes this size constraint through self-aligned Nickel silicidation process on the tip of vertical silicon nanowire electrodes. A 4 x 4 array of vertical silicon nanowires electrodes with the diameter of 290nm and height of 3µm has been successfully fabricated.

Keywords: brain-machine interfaces, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanowire, nickel silicide

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Authors: Aditi Madan, Jayant Kumar Routray

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Purpose: Over the years flood related risks have compounded due to increasing vulnerability caused by rapid urbanisation and growing population. This increase is an indication of the need for enhancing the preparedness of institutions to respond to floods. The study describes disaster management structure and its linkages with institutions involved in managing disasters. It addresses issues and challenges associated with readiness of disaster management institutions to respond to floods. It suggests policy options for enhancing the current state of readiness of institutions to respond by considering factors like institutional, manpower, financial, technical, leadership & networking, training and awareness programs, monitoring and evaluation. Methodology: The study is based on qualitative data with statements and outputs from primary and secondary sources to understand the institutional framework for disaster management in India. Primary data included field visits, interviews with officials from institutions managing disasters and the affected community to identify the challenges faced in engaging national, state, district and local level institutions in managing disasters. For focus group discussions, meetings were held with district project officers and coordinators, local officials, community based organisation, civil defence volunteers and community heads. These discussions were held to identify the challenges associated with preparedness to respond of institutions to floods. Findings: Results show that disasters are handled by district authority and the role of local institutions is limited to a reactive role during disaster. Data also indicates that although the existing institutional setup is well coordinated at the district level but needs improvement at the local level. Wide variations exist in awareness and perception among the officials engaged in managing disasters. Additionally, their roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined with adequate budget and dedicated permanent staff for managing disasters. Institutions need to utilise the existing manpower through proper delegation of work. Originality: The study suggests that disaster risk reduction needs to focus more towards inclusivity of the local urban bodies. Wide variations exist in awareness and perception among the officials engaged in managing disasters. In order to ensure community participation, it is important to address their social and economic problems since such issues can overshadow attempts made for reducing risks. Thus, this paper suggests development of direct linkages among institutions and community for enhancing preparedness to respond to floods.

Keywords: preparedness, response, disaster, flood, community, institution

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Authors: E. Nemes-Nagy, E. Fogarasi, M. Croitoru, A. Nyárádi, K. Komlódi, S. Pál, A. Kovács, O. Kopácsy, R. Tripon, Z. Fazakas, C. Uzun, Z. Simon-Szabó, V. Balogh-Sămărghițan, E. Ernő Nagy, M. Szabó, M. Tilinca

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Intense oxidative stress, increased glycated hemoglobin and mineral imbalance represent risk factors for complications in diabetic patients. Cardiovascular complications are most common in these patients, including nephropathy. This study was conducted in 2015 at the Procardia Laboratory in Tîrgu Mureș, Romania on 40 type 2 diabetic adults. Routine biochemical tests were performed on the Konleab 20XTi analyzer (serum glucose, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, creatinine, urea). We also measured serum uric acid, magnesium and calcium concentration by photometric procedures, potassium, sodium and chloride by ion selective electrode, and chromium by atomic absorption spectrometry in a group of patients. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) dosage was made by reflectometry. Urine analysis was performed using the HandUReader equipment. The level of oxidative stress was measured by serum malondialdehyde dosage using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances method. MDRD (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease) formula was applied for calculation of creatinine-derived glomerular filtration rate. GraphPad InStat software was used for statistical analysis of the data. The diabetic subject included in the study presented high MDA concentrations, showing intense oxidative stress. Calcium was deficient in 5% of the patients, chromium deficiency was present in 28%. The atherogenic cholesterol fraction was elevated in 13% of the patients. Positive correlation was found between creatinine and MDRD-creatinine values (p<0.0001), 68% of the patients presented increased creatinine values. The majority of the diabetic patients had good control of their diabetes, having optimal HbA1c values, 35% of them presented fasting serum glucose over 120 mg/dl and 18% had glucosuria. Intense oxidative stress and mineral deficiencies can increase the risk of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients in spite of their good metabolic balance. More than two third of the patients present biochemical signs of nephropathy, cystatin C dosage and microalbuminuria could reveal better the kidney disorder, but glomerular filtration rate calculation formulas are also useful for evaluation of renal function.

Keywords: cardiovascular risk, homocysteine, malondialdehyde, metformin, minerals, type 2 diabetes, vitamin B12

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Authors: Timothy Quinn, Ronald Croce, Aliaksandr Leuchanka, Justin Walker

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Many endurance athletes train at or just below an intensity associated with their lactate threshold (LT) and often the heart rate (HR) that these athletes use for their LT are above their true LT-HR measured in a laboratory. Training above their true LT-HR may lead to overtraining and injury. Few athletes have the capability of measuring their LT in a laboratory and rely on perception to guide them, as accurate field tests to determine LT are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if an 8-minute field test could accurately define the HR associated with LT as measured in the laboratory. On Day 1, fifteen male runners (mean±SD; age, 27.8±4.1 years; height, 177.9±7.1 cm; body mass, 72.3±6.2 kg; body fat, 8.3±3.1%) performed a discontinuous treadmill LT/maximal oxygen consumption (LT/VO2max) test using a portable metabolic gas analyzer (Cosmed K4b2) and a lactate analyzer (Analox GL5). The LT (and associated HR) was determined using the 1/+1 method, where blood lactate increased by 1 mMol•L-1 over baseline followed by an additional 1 mMol•L-1 increase. Days 2 and 3 were randomized, and the athletes performed either an 8-minute run on the treadmill (TM) or on a 160-m indoor track (TR) in an effort to cover as much distance as possible while maintaining a high intensity throughout the entire 8 minutes. VO2, HR, ventilation (VE), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were measured using the Cosmed system, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE; 6-20 scale) was recorded every minute. All variables were averaged over the 8 minutes. The total distance covered over the 8 minutes was measured in both conditions. At the completion of the 8-minute runs, blood lactate was measured. Paired sample t-tests and pairwise Pearson correlations were computed to determine the relationship between variables measured in the field tests versus those obtained in the laboratory at LT. An alpha level of <0.05 was required for statistical significance. The HR (mean +SD) during the TM (167+9 bpm) and TR (172+9 bpm) tests were strongly correlated to the HR measured during the laboratory LT (169+11 bpm) test (r=0.68; p<0.03 and r=0.88; p<0.001, respectively). Blood lactate values during the TM and TR tests were not different from each other but were strongly correlated with the laboratory LT (r=0.73; p<0.04 and r=0.66; p<0.05, respectively). VE (Lmin-1) was significantly greater during the TR (134.8+11.4 Lmin-1) as compared to the TM (123.3+16.2 Lmin-1) with moderately strong correlations to the laboratory threshold values (r=0.38; p=0.27 and r=0.58; p=0.06, respectively). VO2 was higher during TR (51.4 mlkg-1min-1) compared to TM (47.4 mlkg-1min-1) with correlations of 0.33 (p=0.35) and 0.48 (p=0.13), respectively to threshold values. Total distance run was significantly greater during the TR (2331.6+180.9 m) as compared to the TM (2177.0+232.6 m), but they were strongly correlated with each other (r=0.82; p<0.002). These results suggest that an 8-minute running field test can accurately predict the HR associated with the LT and may be a simple test that athletes and coaches could implement to aid in training techniques.

Keywords: blood lactate, heart rate, running, training

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Authors: R. A. Shahmiri, O. Standard, J. Hart, C. C. Sorrell

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Yttrium stabilized tetragonal zirconium polycrystalline (Y-TZP) has been used as a dental biomaterial. The strength and toughness of zirconia can be accounted for by its toughening mechanisms, such as crack deflection, zone shielding, contact shielding, and crack bridging. Prevention of crack propagation is of critical importance in high-fatigue situations, such as those encountered in mastication and para-function. However, the poor translucency of Y-TZP means that it may not meet the aesthetic requirements due to its white/grey appearance in polycrystalline form. To improve optical property of the Zirconia, precise evaluation of its refractive index is of significance. Zirconia`s optical properties need to be studied more in depth. Number of studies assumed, scattered light is isotropically distributed over all angles from biological media when defining optical parameters. Nevertheless, optical behaviour of real biological material depends on angular scattering of light by anisotropy material. Therefore, the average cosine of the scattering angle (which represent recovery phase function in the scattering angular distribution) usually characterized by anisotropy material. It has been identified that yttrium anti-sites present in the space charge layer have no significant role in the absorption of light in the visible range. Addition of cation dopant to polycrystalline zirconia results in segregate to grain boundaries and grain growth. Intrinsic and extrinsic properties of ZrO2 and their effect on optical properties need to be investigated. Intrinsic properties such as chemical composition, defect structure (oxygen vacancy), phase configuration (porosity, second phase) and distribution of phase need to be studied to comprehend their effect on refraction index, absorption/reflection and scattering. Extrinsic properties such as surface structure, thickness, underlying tooth structure, cement layer (type, thickness), and light source (natural, curing, artificial) of ZrO2 need to be studied to understand their effect on colour and translucency of material. This research reviewed effect of stabilization of tetragonal zirconia on optical property of zirconia for dental application.

Keywords: optical properties, zirconia dental biomaterial, chemical composition, phase composition

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Authors: Shian Guan, Marie Bourdin, Isabelle Trenque, Younes Messaddeq, Thierry Cardinal, Nicolas Penin, Issam Mjejri, Aline Rougier, Etienne Duguet, Stephane Mornet, Manuel Gaudon

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At the interface of the studies performed by 3 Ph.D. students: Shian Guan (2017-2020), Marie Bourdin (2016-2019) and Isabelle Trenque (2012-2015), a single synthesis route: polyol-mediated process, was used with success for the preparation of different inorganic oxides. Both of these inorganic oxides were elaborated for their potential application as smart optical compounds. This synthesis route has allowed us to develop nanoparticles of zinc oxide, vanadium oxide or tungsten oxide. This route is with easy implementation, inexpensive and with large-scale production potentialities and leads to materials of high purity. The obtaining by this route of nanometric particles, however perfectly crystalline, has notably led to the possibility of doping these matrix materials with high doping ion concentrations (high solubility limits). Thus, Al3+ or Ga3+ doped-ZnO powder, with high doping rate in comparison with the literature, exhibits remarkable infrared absorption properties thanks to their high free carrier density. Note also that due to the narrow particle size distribution of the as-prepared nanometric doped-ZnO powder, the original correlation between crystallite size and unit-cell parameters have been established. Also, depending on the annealing atmosphere use to treat vanadium precursors, VO2, V2O3 or V2O5 oxides with thermochromic or electrochromic properties can be obtained without any impurity, despite the versatility of the oxidation state of vanadium. This is of more particular interest on vanadium dioxide, a relatively difficult-to-prepare oxide, whose first-order metal-insulator phase transition is widely explored in the literature for its thermochromic behavior (in smart windows with optimal thermal insulation). Finally, the reducing nature of the polyol solvents ensures the production of oxygen-deficient tungsten oxide, thus conferring to the nano-powders exotic colorimetric properties, as well as optimized photochromic and electrochromic behaviors.

Keywords: inorganic oxides, electrochromic, photochromic, thermochromic

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Authors: N. Demertzis, J. L. Bowen

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Sepsis is a complex and rapidly evolving condition, resulting from uncontrolled prolonged activation of host immune system due to pathogenic insult. The aim of this study is the development of a multiplex electrochemical sensing platform, capable of detecting both pathogen associated and host immune markers to enable the rapid and definitive diagnosis of sepsis. A combination of aptamers and molecular imprinting approaches have been employed to generate sensing systems for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), c-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT). Gold working electrodes were mechanically polished and electrochemically cleaned with 0.1 M sulphuric acid using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Following activation, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was generated, by incubating the electrodes with a thiolated anti-LPS aptamer / dithiodibutiric acid (DTBA) mixture (1:20). 3-aminophenylboronic acid (3-APBA) in combination with the anti-LPS aptamer was used for the development of the hybrid molecularly imprinted sensor (apta-MIP). Aptasensors, targeting PCT and CRP were also fabricated, following the same approach as in the case of LPS, with mercaptohexanol (MCH) replacing DTBA. In the case of the CRP aptasensor, the SAM was formed following incubation of a 1:1 aptamer: MCH mixture. However, in the case of PCT, the SAM was formed with the aptamer itself, with subsequent backfilling with 1 μM MCH. The binding performance of all systems has been evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The apta-MIP’s polymer thickness is controlled by varying the number of electropolymerisation cycles. In the ideal number of polymerisation cycles, the polymer must cover the electrode surface and create a binding pocket around LPS and its aptamer binding site. Less polymerisation cycles will create a hybrid system which resembles an aptasensor, while more cycles will be able to cover the complex and demonstrate a bulk polymer-like behaviour. Both aptasensor and apta-MIP were challenged with LPS and compared to conventional imprinted (absence of aptamer from the binding site, polymer formed in presence of LPS) and non-imprinted polymers (NIPS, absence of LPS whilst hybrid polymer is formed). A stable LPS aptasensor, capable of detecting down to 5 pg/ml of LPS was generated. The apparent Kd of the system was estimated at 17 pM, with a Bmax of approximately 50 pM. The aptasensor demonstrated high specificity to LPS. The apta-MIP demonstrated superior recognition properties with a limit of detection of 1 fg/ml and a Bmax of 100 pg/ml. The CRP and PCT aptasensors were both able to detect down to 5 pg/ml. Whilst full binding performance is currently being evaluated, there is none of the sensors demonstrate cross-reactivity towards LPS, CRP or PCT. In conclusion, stable aptasensors capable of detecting LPS, PCT and CRP at low concentrations have been generated. The realisation of a multiplex panel such as described herein, will effectively contribute to the rapid, personalised diagnosis of sepsis.

Keywords: aptamer, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, molecularly imprinted polymers, sepsis

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Authors: Ariadne C. Catto, Luis F. da Silva, Khalifa Aguir, Valmor Roberto Mastelaro

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Zinc oxide (ZnO) pure or doped are one of the most promising metal oxide semiconductors for gas sensing applications due to the well-known high surface-to-volume area and surface conductivity. It was shown that ZnO is an excellent gas-sensing material for different gases such as CO, O2, NO2 and ethanol. In this context, pure and doped ZnO exhibiting different morphologies and a high surface/volume ratio can be a good option regarding the limitations of the current commercial sensors. Different studies showed that the sensitivity of metal-doped ZnO (e.g. Co, Fe, Mn,) enhanced its gas sensing properties. Motivated by these considerations, the aim of this study consisted on the investigation of the role of Co ions on structural, morphological and the gas sensing properties of nanostructured ZnO samples. ZnO and Zn1-xCoxO (0 < x < 5 wt%) thin films were obtained via the polymeric precursor method. The sensitivity, selectivity, response time and long-term stability gas sensing properties were investigated when the sample was exposed to a different concentration range of ozone (O3) at different working temperatures. The gas sensing property was probed by electrical resistance measurements. The long and short-range order structure around Zn and Co atoms were investigated by X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement was performed in order to identify the elements present on the film surface as well as to determine the sample composition. Microstructural characteristics of the films were analyzed by a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Zn1-xCoxO XRD patterns were indexed to the wurtzite ZnO structure and any second phase was observed even at a higher cobalt content. Co-K edge XANES spectra revealed the predominance of Co2+ ions. XPS characterization revealed that Co-doped ZnO samples possessed a higher percentage of oxygen vacancies than the ZnO samples, which also contributed to their excellent gas sensing performance. Gas sensor measurements pointed out that ZnO and Co-doped ZnO samples exhibit a good gas sensing performance concerning the reproducibility and a fast response time (around 10 s). Furthermore, the Co addition contributed to reduce the working temperature for ozone detection and improve the selective sensing properties.

Keywords: cobalt-doped ZnO, nanostructured, ozone gas sensor, polymeric precursor method

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Saad Mohamed Elsaid Onaizah

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One of the reasons for the intensive use of pesticides is to protect agricultural crops and orchards from pests or agricultural worms. The period of time that pesticides stay inside the soil is estimated at about (2) to (12) weeks. Perhaps the most important reason that led to groundwater pollution is the easy leakage of these harmful pesticides from the soil into the aquifers. This research aims to find the best ways to use trated activated charcoal with gold nitrate solution; For the purpose of removing the deadly pesticides from the aqueous solution by adsorption phenomenon. The most used pesticides in Egypt were selected, such as Malathion, Methomyl Abamectin and, Thiamethoxam. Activated charcoal doped with gold ions was prepared by applying chemical and thermal treatments to activated charcoal using gold nitrate solution. Adsorption of studied pesticide onto activated carbon /Au was mainly by chemical adsorption forming complex with the gold metal immobilised on activated carbon surfaces. Also, gold atom was considered as a catalyst to cracking the pesticide molecule. Gold activated charcoal is a low cost material due to the use of very low concentrations of gold nitrate solution. its notice the great ability of activated charcoal in removing selected pesticides due to the presence of the positive charge of the gold ion, in addition to other active groups such as functional oxygen and lignin cellulose. The presence of pores of different sizes on the surface of activated charcoal is the driving force for the good adsorption efficiency for the removal of the pesticides under study The surface area of the prepared char as well as the active groups were determined using infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Some factors affecting the ability of activated charcoal were applied in order to reach the highest adsorption capacity of activated charcoal, such as the weight of the charcoal, the concentration of the pesticide solution, the time of the experiment, and the pH. Experiments showed that the maximum limit revealed by the batch adsorption study for the adsorption of selected insecticides was in contact time (80) minutes at pH (7.70). These promising results were confirmed, and by establishing the practical application of the developed system, the effect of various operating factors with equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies is evident, using the Langmuir application on the effectiveness of the absorbent material with absorption capacities higher than most other adsorbents.

Keywords: waste water, pesticides pollution, adsorption, activated carbon

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: G. F. Okunade, M. O. Lawal, R. E. Uwadiae, D. Portnoy

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The diversity, physico-chemical, biochemical and genomics assessment of Macrofauna species of Ologe and Badagry Lagoons were carried out between August 2016 and July 2018. The concentrations of Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Cr, and Pb in water were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Particle size distribution was determined with wet-sieving and sedimentation using hydrometer method. Genomics analyses were carried using 25 P. fusca (quadriseriata) and 25 P.fusca from each lagoon due to abundance in both lagoons all through the two years of collection. DNA was isolated from each sample using the Mag-Bind Blood and Tissue DNA HD 96 kit; a method designed to isolate high quality. The biochemical characteristics were analysed in the dominanat species (P.aurita and T. fuscatus) using ELISA kits. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and TDS were analysed using APHA standard protocols. The Physico-chemical parameters of the water quality recorded with mean values of 32.46 ± 0.66mg/L and 41.93 ± 0.65 for COD, 27.28 ± 0.97 and 34.82 ± 0.1 mg/L for BOD, 0.04 ± 4.71 mg/L for DO, 6.65 and 6.58 for pH in Ologe and Badagry lagoons with significant variations (p ≤ 0.05) across seasons. The mean and standard deviation of salinity for Ologe and Badagry Lagoons ranged from 0.43 ± 0.30 to 0.27 ± 0.09. A total of 4210 species belonging to a phylum, two classes, four families and a total of 2008 species in Ologe lagoon while a phylum, two classes, 5 families and a total of 2202 species in Badagry lagoon. The percentage composition of the classes at Ologe lagoon had 99% gastropod and 1% bivalve, while Gastropod contributed 98.91% and bivalve 1.09% in Badagry lagoon. Particle size was distributed in 0.002mm to 2.00mm, particle size distribution in Ologe lagoon recorded 0.83% gravels, 97.83% sand, and 1.33% silt particles while Badagry lagoon recorded 7.43% sand, 24.71% silt, and 67.86% clay particles hence, the excessive dredging activities going on in the lagoon. Maximum percentage of sand (100%) was seen in station 6 in Ologe lagoon while the minimum (96%) was found in station 1. P. aurita (Ologe Lagoon) and T. fuscastus (Badagry Lagoon) were the most abundant benthic species in which both contributed 61.05% and 64.35%, respectively. The enzymatic activities of P. aurita observed with mean values of 21.03 mg/dl for AST, 10.33 mg/dl for ALP, 82.16 mg/dl for ALT and 73.06 mg/dl for CHO in Ologe Lagoon While T. fuscatus observed mean values of Badagry Lagoon) recorded mean values 29.76 mg/dl, ALP with 11.69mg/L, ALT with 140.58 mg/dl and CHO with 45.98 mg/dl. There were significant variations (P < 0.05) in AST and CHO levels of activities in the muscles of the species.

Keywords: benthos, biochemical responses, genomics, metals, particle size

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Authors: Himani Sharma, Amit Agrawal

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Stability of the Cassie and Wenzel wetting states depends on intrinsic contact angle and geometric features on a surface that was exploited in capturing biofluids in microwells. However, the mechanism of imbibition of biofluids in the microwells is not well implied in terms of wettability of a substrate. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated filling dynamics in hydrophilic and hydrophobic microwells by protein solutions. Towards this, we utilized lotus leaf as a mold to fabricate microwells on a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface. Lotus leaf containing micrometer-sized blunt-conical shaped pillars with a height of 8-15 µm and diameter of 3-8 µm were transferred on to PDMS. Furthermore, PDMS surface was treated with oxygen plasma to render the hydrophilic nature. A 10µL droplets containing fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) - labelled bovine serum albumin (BSA) were rested on both hydrophobic (θa = 108o, where θa is the apparent contact angle) and hydrophilic (θa = 60o) PDMS surfaces. A time-dependent fluorescence microscopy was conducted on these modified PDMS surfaces by recording the fluorescent intensity over a 5 minute period. It was observed that, initially (at t=1 min) FITC-BSA was accumulated on the periphery of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic microwells due to incomplete penetration of liquid-gas meniscus. This deposition of FITC-BSA on periphery of microwell was not changed with time for hydrophobic surfaces, whereas, a complete filling was occurred in hydrophilic microwells (at t=5 mins). This attributes to a gradual movement of three-phase contact line along the vertical surface of the hydrophilic microwells as compared to stable pinning in the hydrophobic microwells as confirmed by Surface Evolver simulations. In addition, if the cavities are presented on hydrophobic surfaces, air bubbles will be trapped inside the cavities once the aqueous solution is placed over these surfaces, resulting in the Cassie-Baxter wetting state. This condition hinders trapping of proteins inside the microwells. Thus, it is necessary to impart hydrophilicity to the microwell surfaces so as to induce the Wenzel state, such that, an entire solution will be fully in contact with the walls of microwells. Imbibition of microwells by protein solutions was analyzed in terms fluorescent intensity versus time. The present work underlines the importance of geometry of microwells and surface wettability of substrate in wetting and effective capturing of solid sub-phases in biofluids.

Keywords: BSA, microwells, surface evolver, wettability

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Authors: L. Kanoksak, N. Sukanya, L. Napatsorn, T. Siriporn

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A growing population and demand for packaging are driving up the usage of natural resources as raw materials in the pulp and paper industry. Long-term effects of environmental is disrupting people's way of life all across the planet. Finding pulp sources to replace wood pulp is therefore necessary. To produce wood pulp, various other potential plants or plant parts can be employed as substitute raw materials. For example, pulp and paper were made from agricultural residue that mainly included pulp can be used in place of wood. In this study, cocoa pod husks were an agricultural residue of the cocoa and chocolate industries. To develop composite materials to replace wood pulp in packaging materials. The paper was coated with polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT). By selecting and cleaning fresh cocoa pod husks, the size was reduced. And the cocoa pod husks were dried. The morphology and elemental composition of cocoa pod husks were studied. To evaluate the mechanical and physical properties, dried cocoa husks were extracted using the soda-pulping process. After selecting the best formulations, paper with a PBAT bioplastic coating was produced on a paper-forming machine Physical and mechanical properties were studied. By using the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (FESEM/EDS) technique, the structure of dried cocoa pod husks showed the main components of cocoa pod husks. The appearance of porous has not been found. The fibers were firmly bound for use as a raw material for pulp manufacturing. Dry cocoa pod husks contain the major elements carbon (C) and oxygen (O). Magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) were minor elements that were found in very small levels. After that cocoa pod husks were removed from the soda-pulping process. It found that the SAQ5 formula produced pulp yield, moisture content, and water drainage. To achieve the basis weight by TAPPI T205 sp-02 standard, cocoa pod husk pulp and modified starch were mixed. The paper was coated with bioplastic PBAT. It was produced using bioplastic resin from the blown film extrusion technique. It showed the contact angle, dispersion component and polar component. It is an effective hydrophobic material for rigid packaging applications.

Keywords: cocoa pod husks, agricultural residue, composite material, rigid packaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Alan N. A. Heberle, Salatiel W. Da Silva, Valentin Perez-Herranz, Andrea M. Bernardes

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Contaminants of emerging concern are substances widely used, such as pharmaceutical products. These compounds represent risk for both wild and human life since they are not completely removed from wastewater by conventional wastewater treatment plants. In the environment, they can be harm even in low concentration (µ or ng/L), causing bacterial resistance, endocrine disruption, cancer, among other harmful effects. One of the most common taken medicine to treat cardiocirculatory diseases is the Atenolol (ATL), a β-Blocker, which is toxic to aquatic life. In this way, it is necessary to implement a methodology, which is capable to promote the degradation of the ATL, to avoid the environmental detriment. A very promising technology is the advanced electrochemical oxidation (AEO), which mechanisms are based on the electrogeneration of reactive radicals (mediated oxidation) and/or on the direct substance discharge by electron transfer from contaminant to electrode surface (direct oxidation). The hydroxyl (HO•) and sulfate (SO₄•⁻) radicals can be generated, depending on the reactional medium. Besides that, at some condition, the peroxydisulfate (S₂O₈²⁻) ion is also generated from the SO₄• reaction in pairs. Both radicals, ion, and the direct contaminant discharge can break down the molecule, resulting in the degradation and/or mineralization. However, ATL molecule and byproducts can still remain in the treated solution. On this wise, some efforts can be done to implement the AEO process, being one of them the use of a cationic membrane to separate the cathodic (reduction) from the anodic (oxidation) reactor compartment. The aim of this study is investigate the influence of the implementation of a cationic membrane (Nafion®-117) to separate both cathodic and anodic, AEO reactor compartments. The studied reactor was a filter-press, with bath recirculation mode, flow 60 L/h. The anode was an Nb/BDD2500 and the cathode a stainless steel, both bidimensional, geometric surface area 100 cm². The solution feeding the anodic compartment was prepared with ATL 100 mg/L using Na₂SO₄ 4 g/L as support electrolyte. In the cathodic compartment, it was used a solution containing Na₂SO₄ 71 g/L. Between both solutions was placed the membrane. The applied currents densities (iₐₚₚ) of 5, 20 and 40 mA/cm² were studied over 240 minutes treatment time. Besides that, the ATL decay was analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV/Vis). The mineralization was determined performing total organic carbon (TOC) in TOC-L CPH Shimadzu. In the cases without membrane, the iₐₚₚ 5, 20 and 40 mA/cm² resulted in 55, 87 and 98 % ATL degradation at the end of treatment time, respectively. However, with membrane, the degradation, for the same iₐₚₚ, was 90, 100 and 100 %, spending 240, 120, 40 min for the maximum degradation, respectively. The mineralization, without membrane, for the same studied iₐₚₚ, was 40, 55 and 72 %, respectively at 240 min, but with membrane, all tested iₐₚₚ reached 80 % of mineralization, differing only in the time spent, 240, 150 and 120 min, for the maximum mineralization, respectively. The membrane increased the ATL oxidation, probably due to avoid oxidant ions (S₂O₈²⁻) reduction on the cathode surface.

Keywords: contaminants of emerging concern, advanced electrochemical oxidation, atenolol, cationic membrane, double compartment reactor

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Tejinder Singh Sidhu

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Hot corrosion has been recognized as a severe problem in steam-powered electricity generation plants and industrial waste incinerators as it consumes the material at an unpredictably rapid rate. Consequently, the load-carrying ability of the components reduces quickly, eventually leading to catastrophic failure. The inability to either totally prevent hot corrosion or at least detect it at an early stage has resulted in several accidents, leading to loss of life and/or destruction of infrastructures. A number of countermeasures are currently in use or under investigation to combat hot corrosion, such as using inhibitors, controlling the process parameters, designing a suitable industrial alloy, and depositing protective coatings. However, the protection system to be selected for a particular application must be practical, reliable, and economically viable. Due to the continuously rising cost of the materials as well as increased material requirements, the coating techniques have been given much more importance in recent times. Coatings can add value to products up to 10 times the cost of the coating. Among the different coating techniques, thermal spraying has grown into a well-accepted industrial technology for applying overlay coatings onto the surfaces of engineering components to allow them to function under extreme conditions of wear, erosion-corrosion, high-temperature oxidation, and hot corrosion. In this study, the hot corrosion performances of Ni-20Cr and Cr₃C₂-NiCr coatings developed by High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) process have been studied. The coatings were developed on a Fe-based superalloy, and experiments were performed in an actual industrial environment of a coal-fired boiler. The cyclic study was carried out around the platen superheater zone where the temperature was around 1000°C. The study was conducted for 10 cycles, and one cycle was consisting of 100 hours of heating followed by 1 hour of cooling at ambient temperature. Both the coatings deposited on Fe-based superalloy imparted better hot corrosion resistance than the uncoated one. The Ni-20Cr coated superalloy performed better than the Cr₃C₂-NiCr coated in the actual working conditions of the coal fired boiler. It is found that the formation of chromium oxide at the boundaries of Ni-rich splats of the coating blocks the inward permeation of oxygen and other corrosive species to the substrate.

Keywords: hot corrosion, coating, HVOF, oxidation

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Authors: Diana F. Lopes, Jorge Simoes, José Martins, Eduardo Castro

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Health professionals are the keystone of any health system, by delivering health services to the population. Given the time and cost involved in training new health professionals, the planning process of the health workforce is particularly important as it ensures a proper balance between the supply and demand of these professionals and it plays a central role on the Health 2020 policy. In the past 40 years, the planning of the health workforce in Portugal has been conducted in a reactive way lacking a prospective vision based on an integrated, comprehensive and valid analysis. This situation may compromise not only the productivity and the overall socio-economic development but the quality of the healthcare services delivered to patients. This is even more critical given the expected shortage of the health workforce in the future. Furthermore, Portugal is facing an aging context of some professional classes (physicians and nurses). In 2015, 54% of physicians in Portugal were over 50 years old, and 30% of all members were over 60 years old. This phenomenon associated to an increasing emigration of young health professionals and a change in the citizens’ illness profiles and expectations must be considered when planning resources in healthcare. The perspective of sudden retirement of large groups of professionals in a short time is also a major problem to address. Another challenge to embrace is the health workforce imbalances, in which Portugal has one of the lowest nurse to physician ratio, 1.5, below the European Region and the OECD averages (2.2 and 2.8, respectively). Within the scope of the HEALTH 2040 project – which aims to estimate the ‘Future needs of human health resources in Portugal till 2040’ – the present study intends to get a comprehensive dynamic approach of the problem, by (i) estimating the needs of physicians and nurses in Portugal, by specialties and by quinquenium till 2040; (ii) identifying the training needs of physicians and nurses, in medium and long term, till 2040, and (iii) estimating the number of students that must be admitted into medicine and nursing training systems, each year, considering the different categories of specialties. The development of such approach is significantly more critical in the context of limited budget resources and changing health care needs. In this context, this study presents the drivers of the healthcare needs’ evolution (such as the demographic and technological evolution, the future expectations of the users of the health systems) and it proposes a Bayesian methodology, combining the best available data with experts opinion, to model such evolution. Preliminary results considering different plausible scenarios are presented. The proposed methodology will be integrated in a user-friendly decision support system so it can be used by politicians, with the potential to measure the impact of health policies, both at the regional and the national level.

Keywords: bayesian estimation, health economics, health workforce planning, human health resources planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: H. Ishii, S. Araki, H. Yamamoto

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In recent years, the carbon dioxide (CO2) separation technology is required in terms of the reduction of emission of global warming gases and the efficient use of fossil fuels. Since the emission amount of CO2 gas occupies the large part of greenhouse effect gases, it is considered that CO2 have the most influence on global warming. Therefore, we need to establish the CO2 separation technologies with high efficiency at low cost. In this study, we focused on the membrane separation compared with conventional separation technique such as distillation or cryogenic separation. In this study, we prepared carbonate-ceramic dual-phase membranes to separate CO2 at high temperature. As porous ceramic substrate, the (Pr0.9La0.1)2(Ni0.74Cu0.21Ga0.05)O4+σ, La0.6Sr0.4Ti0.3 Fe0.7O3 and Ca0.8Sr0.2Ti0.7Fe0.3O3-α (PLNCG, LSTF and CSTF) were examined. PLNCG, LSTF and CSTF have the perovskite structure. The perovskite structure has high stability and shows ion-conducting doped by another metal ion. PLNCG, LSTF and CSTF have perovskite structure and has high stability and high oxygen ion diffusivity. PLNCG, LSTF and CSTF powders were prepared by a solid-phase process using the appropriate carbonates or oxides. To prepare porous substrates, these powders mixed with carbon black (20 wt%) and a few drops of polyvinyl alcohol (5 wt%) aqueous solution. The powder mixture were packed into stainless steel mold (13 mm) and uniaxially pressed into disk shape under a pressure of 20 MPa for 1 minute. PLNCG, LSTF and CSTF disks were calcined in air for 6 h at 1473, 1573 and 1473 K, respectively. The carbonate mixture (Li2CO3/Na2CO3/K2CO3: 42.5/32.5/25 in mole percent ratio) was placed inside a crucible and heated to 793 K. Porous substrates were infiltrated with the molten carbonate mixture at 793 K. Crystalline structures of the fresh membranes and after the infiltration with the molten carbonate mixtures were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. We confirmed the crystal structure of PLNCG and CSTF slightly changed after infiltration with the molten carbonate mixture. CO2 permeation experiments with PLNCG-carbonate, LSTF-carbonate and CSTF-carbonate membranes were carried out at 773-1173 K. The gas mixture of CO2 (20 mol%) and He was introduced at the flow rate of 50 ml/min to one side of membrane. The permeated CO2 was swept by N2 (50 ml/min). We confirmed the effect of ceramic materials and temperature on the CO2 permeation at high temperature.

Keywords: membrane, perovskite structure, dual-phase, carbonate

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Authors: Vilma Sasyte, Vilma Viliene, Asta Raceviciute-Stupeliene, Agila Dauksiene, Romas Gruzauskas, Virginijus Slausgalvis, Jamal Al-Saifi

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of butyrate, acids, medium-chain fatty acids and plant extract mixture on performance, blood and gastrointestinal tract characteristics of laying hens’. For the period of 8 weeks, 24 Hisex Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to 2 dietary treatments: 1) control wheat-corn-soybean meal based diet (Control group), 2) control diet supplemented with the mixture of butyrate, acids, medium chain fatty acids and plant extract (Lumance®) at the level of 1.5 g/kg of feed (Experimental group). Hens were fed with a crumbled diet at 125 g per day. Housing and feeding conditions were the same for all groups and met the requirements of growth for laying hens of Hisex Brown strain. In the blood serum total protein, bilirubin, cholesterol, DTL- and MTL- cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, GGT, GOT, GPT, alkaline phosphatase, alpha amylase, contents of c-reactive protein, uric acid, and lipase were analyzed. Development of intestines and internal organs (intestinal length, intestinal weight, the weight of glandular and muscular stomach, pancreas, heart, and liver) were determined. The concentration of short chain fatty acids in caecal content was measured using the method of HPLC. The results of the present study showed that 1.5 g/kg supplementation of feed additive affected egg production and feed conversion ratio for the production of 1 kg of egg mass. Dietary supplementation of analyzed additive in the diets increased the concentration of triglycerides, GOT, alkaline phosphatase and decreased uric acid content compared with the control group (P<0.05). No significant difference for others blood indices in comparison to the control was observed. The addition of feed additives in laying hens’ diets increased intestinal weight by 11% and liver weight by 14% compared with the control group (P<0.05). The short chain fatty acids (propionic, acetic and butyric acids) in the caecum of laying hens in experimental groups decreased compared with the control group. The supplementation of the mixture of butyrate, acids, medium-chain fatty acids and plant extract at the level of 1.5 g/kg in the laying hens’ diets had the effect on the performance, some gastrointestinal tract function and blood parameters of laying hens.

Keywords: acids, butyrate, laying hens, MCFA, performance, plant extract, psysiological state

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Authors: Saddam Husain Dhobi, Bikrant Karki

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The main objective of this paper is save money, balance ecosystem of the terrestrial organism, control global warming, and enhancing the storage capacity of the battery with requiring weight and thinness by using Cyanobacteria in the battery. To fulfill this purpose of paper we can use different methods: Analysis, Biological, Chemistry, theoretical and Physics with some engineering design. Using this different method, we can produce the special type of battery that has the long life, high storage capacity, and clean environment, save money so on and by using the byproduct of Cyanobacteria i.e. glucose. Cyanobacteria are a special type of bacteria that produces different types of extracellular glucoses and oxygen with the help of little sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and can survive in freshwater, marine and in the land as well. In this process, O₂ is more in the comparison to plant due to rapid growth rate of Cyanobacteria. The required materials are easily available in this process to produce glucose with the help of Cyanobacteria. Since CO₂, is greenhouse gas that causes the global warming? We can utilize this gas and save our ecological balance and the byproduct (glucose) C₆H₁₂O₆ can be utilized for raw material for the battery where as O₂ escape is utilized by living organism. The glucose produce by Cyanobateria goes on Krebs's Cycle or Citric Acid Cycle, in which glucose is complete, oxidizes and all the available energy from glucose molecule has been release in the form of electron and proton as energy. If we use a suitable anodes and cathodes, we can capture these electrons and protons to produce require electricity current with the help of byproduct of Cyanobacteria. According to "Virginia Tech Bio-battery" and "Sony" 13 enzymes and the air is used to produce nearly 24 electrons from a single glucose unit. In this output power of 0.8 mW/cm, current density of 6 mA/cm, and energy storage density of 596 Ah/kg. This last figure is impressive, at roughly 10 times the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries in your mobile devices. When we use Cyanobacteria in battery, we are able to reduce Carbon dioxide, Stop global warming, and enhancing the storage capacity of battery more than 10 times that of lithium battery, saving money, balancing ecology. In this way, we can produce energy from the Cyanobacteria and use it in battery for different benefits. In addition, due to the mass, size and easy cultivation, they are better to maintain the size of battery. Hence, we can use Cyanobacteria for the battery having suitable size, enhancing the storing capacity of battery, helping the environment, portability and so on.

Keywords: anode, byproduct, cathode, cyanobacteri, glucose, storage capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: Vladimir Hovhannisyan, Chen Yuan Dong

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Recently nanoparticles (NPs) have been introduced in biomedicine as effective agents for cancer-targeted drug delivery and noninvasive tissue imaging. The most important requirements to these agents are their non-toxicity, biocompatibility and stability. In view of these criteria, the zeolite (ZL) nanoparticles (NPs) may be considered as perfect candidates for biomedical applications. ZLs are crystalline aluminosilicates consisting of oxygen-sharing SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedral groups united by common vertices in three-dimensional framework and containing pores with diameters from 0.3 to 1.2 nm. Generally, the behavior and physical properties of ZLs are studied by SEM, X-ray spectroscopy, and AFM, whereas optical spectroscopic and microscopic approaches are not effective enough, because of strong scattering in common ZL bulk materials and powders. The light scattering can be reduced by using of ZL NPs. ZL NPs have large external surface area, high dispersibility in both aqueous and organic solutions, high photo- and thermal stability, and exceptional ability to adsorb various molecules and atoms in their nanopores. In this report, using multiphoton microscopy and nonlinear spectroscopy, we investigate nonlinear optical properties of clinoptilolite type of ZL micro- and nanoparticles with average diameters of 2200 nm and 240 nm, correspondingly. Multiphoton imaging is achieved using a laser scanning microscope system (LSM 510 META, Zeiss, Germany) coupled to a femtosecond titanium:sapphire laser (repetition rate- 80 MHz, pulse duration-120 fs, radiation wavelength- 720-820 nm) (Tsunami, Spectra-Physics, CA). Two Zeiss, Plan-Neofluar objectives (air immersion 20×∕NA 0.5 and water immersion 40×∕NA 1.2) are used for imaging. For the detection of the nonlinear response, we use two detection channels with 380-400 nm and 435-700 nm spectral bandwidths. We demonstrate that ZL micro- and nanoparticles can produce nonlinear optical response under the near-infrared femtosecond laser excitation. The interaction of hypericine, chlorin e6 and other dyes with ZL NPs and their photodynamic activity is investigated. Particularly, multiphoton imaging shows that individual ZL NPs particles adsorb Zn-tetraporphyrin molecules, but do not adsorb fluorescein molecules. In addition, nonlinear spectral properties of ZL NPs in native biotissues are studied. Nonlinear microscopy and spectroscopy may open new perspectives in the research and application of ZL NP in biomedicine, and the results may help to introduce novel approaches into the clinical environment.

Keywords: multiphoton microscopy, nanoparticles, nonlinear optics, zeolite

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Authors: Anaelle Gabet, Helene Metivier, Christine De Brauer, Gilles Mailhot, Marcello Brigante

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The presence of micropollutants in surface waters has been widely reported around the world, particularly downstream from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Rural WWTPs constitute more than 90 % of the total WWTPs in France. Like conventional ones, they are not able to fully remove micropollutants. Estrogens are excreted by human beings every day and several studies have highlighted their endocrine disruption properties on river wildlife. They are mainly estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Rural WWTPs require cheap and robust tertiary processes. UVC activation of H₂O₂ for HO· generation, a very reactive molecule, has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, UVC rays are dangerous to manipulate and energy-consuming. This is why the ability of UVA rays was investigated in this study. Moreover, the use of S₂O₈²⁻ for SO₄·- generation as an alternative to HO· has emerged in the last few years. Such processes have been widely studied on a lab scale. However, pilot-scale works constitute fewer studies. This study was carried out on a 20-L pilot composed of a 1.12-L UV reactor equipped with a polychromatic UVA lamp or a monochromatic (254 nm) UVC lamp fed in recirculation. Degradation rates of a mixture of spiked E1, E2 and EE2 (5 µM each) were followed by HPLC-UV. Results are expressed in UV dose (mJ.cm-2) received by the compounds of interest to compare UVC and UVA. In every system, estrogen degradation rates followed pseudo-first-order rates. First, experiments were carried out in tap water. All estrogens underwent photolysis under UVC rays, although E1 photolysis is higher. However, only very weak photolysis was observed under UVA rays. Preliminary studies on both oxidants have shown that S₂O₈²⁻ photolysis constants are higher than H₂O₂ under both UVA and UVC rays. Therefore, estrogen degradation rates are about ten times higher in the presence of 1 mM of S₂O₈²⁻ than with one mM of H₂O₂ under both radiations. In the same conditions, the mixture of interest required about 40 times higher UV dose when using UVA rays compared to UVC. However, the UVA/S₂O₈²⁻ system only requires four times more UV dose than the conventional UVC/H₂O₂ system. Further studies were carried out in WWTP effluent with the UVC lamp. When comparing these results to the tap water ones, estrogen degradation rates were more inhibited in the S₂O₈²⁻ system than with H₂O₂. It seems that SO₄·- undergo higher quenching by a real effluent than HO·. Preliminary experiments have shown that natural organic matter is mainly responsible for the radical quenching and that HO and SO₄ both had similar second-order reaction rate constants with dissolved organic matter. However, E1, E2 and EE2 second-order reaction rate constants are about ten times lower with SO₄ than with HO. In conclusion, the UVA/S₂O₈²⁻ system showed encouraging results for the use of UVA rays but further studies in WWTP effluent have to be carried out to confirm this interest. The efficiency of other pollutants in the real matrix also needs to be investigated.

Keywords: AOPs, decontamination, estrogens, radicals, wastewater

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Roberta Facchinetti, Sara Corrizzato, Silvia Cavalieri

Abstract:

Increasing interconnection between data digitalization and linguistic investigation has given rise to unprecedented potentialities and challenges for corpus linguists, who need to master IT tools for data analysis and text processing, as well as to develop techniques for efficient and reliable annotation in specific mark-up languages that encode documents in a format that is both human and machine-readable. In the present paper, the challenges emerging from the compilation of a linguistic corpus will be taken into consideration, focusing on the English language in particular. To do so, the case study of the InterDiplo corpus will be illustrated. The corpus, currently under development at the University of Verona (Italy), represents a novelty in terms both of the data included and of the tag set used for its annotation. The corpus covers media interviews and debates with diplomats and international operators conversing in English with journalists who do not share the same lingua-cultural background as their interviewees. To date, this appears to be the first tagged corpus of international institutional spoken discourse and will be an important database not only for linguists interested in corpus analysis but also for experts operating in international relations. In the present paper, special attention will be dedicated to the structural mark-up, parts of speech annotation, and tagging of discursive traits, that are the innovational parts of the project being the result of a thorough study to find the best solution to suit the analytical needs of the data. Several aspects will be addressed, with special attention to the tagging of the speakers’ identity, the communicative events, and anthropophagic. Prominence will be given to the annotation of question/answer exchanges to investigate the interlocutors’ choices and how such choices impact communication. Indeed, the automated identification of questions, in relation to the expected answers, is functional to understand how interviewers elicit information as well as how interviewees provide their answers to fulfill their respective communicative aims. A detailed description of the aforementioned elements will be given using the InterDiplo-Covid19 pilot corpus. The data yielded by our preliminary analysis of the data will highlight the viable solutions found in the construction of the corpus in terms of XML conversion, metadata definition, tagging system, and discursive-pragmatic annotation to be included via Oxygen.

Keywords: spoken corpus, diplomats’ interviews, tagging system, discursive-pragmatic annotation, english linguistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Nabiyeva Jamala

Abstract:

We divide water into drinking, mineral, industrial, technical and thermal-energetic types according to its use and purpose. Drinking water must comply with sanitary requirements and norms according to organoleptic devices and physical and chemical properties. Mineral water - must comply with the norms due to some components having therapeutic properties. Industrial water must fulfill its normative requirements by being used in the industrial field. Technical water should be suitable for use in the field of agriculture, household, and irrigation, and the normative requirements should be met. Heat-energy water is used in the national economy, and it consists of thermal and energy water. Water is a filter-accumulator of all types of pollutants entering the environment. This is explained by the fact that it has the property of dissolving compounds of mineral and gaseous water and regular water circulation. Environmentally clean, pure, non-toxic water is vital for the normal life activity of humans, animals and other living beings. Chemical pollutants enter water basins mainly with wastewater from non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy, oil, gas, chemical, stone, coal, pulp and paper and forest materials processing industries and make them unusable. Wastewater from the chemical, electric power, woodworking and machine-building industries plays a huge role in the pollution of water sources. Chlorine compounds, phenols, and chloride-containing substances have a strong lethal-toxic effect on organisms when mixed with water. Heavy metals - lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, copper, selenium, chromium, tin, etc. water mixed with ingredients cause poisoning in humans, animals and other living beings. Thus, the mixing of selenium with water causes liver diseases in people, the mixing of mercury with the nervous system, and the mixing of cadmium with kidney diseases. Pollution of the World's ocean waters and other water basins with oil and oil products is one of the most dangerous environmental problems facing humanity today. So, mixing even the smallest amount of oil and its products in drinking water gives it a bad, unpleasant smell. Mixing one ton of oil with water creates a special layer that covers the water surface in an area of 2.6 km2. As a result, the flood of light, photosynthesis and oxygen supply of water is getting weak and there is a great danger to the lives of living beings.

Keywords: chemical pollutants, wastewater, SSAM, polyacrylamide

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Authors: Catarina Bento, Ana Carolina Gonçalves, Fábio Jesus, Luís Rodrigues Silva

Abstract:

Increasing evidence suggests that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables plays important roles in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, among others. Fruits and vegetables gained prominence due their richness in bioactive compounds, being the focus of many studies due to their biological properties acting as health promoters. Prunus avium Linnaeus (L.), commonly known as sweet cherry has been the centre of attention due to its health benefits, and has been highly studied. In Portugal, most of the cherry production comes from the Fundão region. The Saco is one of the most important cultivar produced in this region, attributed with geographical protection. In this work, we prepared 3 extracts through solid-phase extraction (SPE): a whole extract, fraction I (non-coloured phenolics) and fraction II (coloured phenolics). The three extracts were used to determine the phenolic profile of Saco cultivar by liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC-DAD) technique. This was followed by the evaluation of their biological potential, testing the extracts’ capacity to scavenge free-radicals (DPPH•, nitric oxide (•NO) and superoxide radical (O2●-)) and to inhibit α-glucosidase enzyme of all extracts. Additionally, we evaluated, for the first time, the protective effects against peroxyl radical (ROO•)-induced hemoglobin oxidation and hemolysis in human erythrocytes. A total of 16 non-coloured phenolics were detected, 3-O-caffeoylquinic and ρ-coumaroylquinic acids were the main ones, and 6 anthocyanins were found, among which cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside represented the majority. In respect to antioxidant activity, Saco showed great antioxidant potential in a concentration-dependent manner, demonstrated through the DPPH•,•NO and O2●-radicals, and greater ability to inhibit the α-glucosidase enzyme in comparison to the regular drug acarbose used to treat diabetes. Additionally, Saco proved to be effective to protect erythrocytes against oxidative damage in a concentration-dependent manner against hemoglobin oxidation and hemolysis. Our work demonstrated that Saco cultivar is an excellent source of phenolic compounds which are natural antioxidants that easily capture reactive species, such as ROO• before they can attack the erythrocytes’ membrane. In a general way, the whole extract showed the best efficiency, most likely due to a synergetic interaction between the different compounds. Finally, comparing the two separate fractions, the coloured fraction showed the most activity in all the assays, proving to be the biggest contributor of Saco cherries’ biological activity.

Keywords: biological potential, coloured phenolics, non-coloured phenolics, sweet cherry

Procedia PDF Downloads 247