Search results for: human remains

Authors: Veliswa Nonfundo Hoho, Jabulani Gilford Kheswa

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This paper reports on teenage motherhood and its adverse outcomes on the academic performance, emotional well-being and sexual relationships that adolescent females encounter. Drawing from Ryff’s six dimensions of psychological well-being and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model which underpinned this study, teenage motherhood has been found to link with multiple factors such as poverty, negative self-esteem, substance abuse, cohabitation, intimate partner violence and ill-health. Furthermore, research indicates that in schools where educators fail to perform their duties as loco-parentis to motivate adolescent females learners who are mothers, absenteeism, poor academic performance and learned helplessness, are likely. The aim of this research was two-fold, namely; (i) to determine the impact of teenage motherhood on the psychological well-being of the teenage mothers and (ii) to investigate the policies which protect the human rights of teenage mothers attending secondary schools. In a qualitative study conducted in one secondary school, Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, South Africa, fifteen Xhosa-speaking teenage mothers, aged 15-18 years old, were interviewed. The sample was recruited by means of snow-ball sampling. To safeguard the human dignity of the respondents, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and privacy of the respondents were assured. For trustworthiness, this research ensured that credibility, neutrality, and transferability, are met. Following an axial and open coding of responses, five themes were identified; Health issues of teenage mothers, lack of support, violation of human rights, impaired sense of purpose in life and intimate partner-violence. From these findings, it is clear that teenage mothers lack resilience and are susceptible to contract sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS because they are submissive and hopeless. Furthermore, owing to stigma that the teenage mothers' experience from family members, they resort to alcohol and drug abuse, and feel demotivated to bond with their babies. In conclusion, the recommendations are that the Health and Social Development departments collaborate to empower the psychological well-being of teenage mothers. Furthermore, school policies on discrimination should be enacted and consistently implemented.

Keywords: depression, discrimination, self-esteem, teenage mothers

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Authors: Pragathi Gurumurthy, Christina Hagen, Patricia Ulloa, Martin A. Koch, Thorsten M. Buzug

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where the patient suffers a disturbed airflow during sleep due to partial or complete occlusion of the pharyngeal airway. Recently, numerical simulations have been used to better understand the mechanism of pharyngeal collapse. However, to gain confidence in the solutions so obtained, an experimental validation is required. Therefore, in this study an experimental validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) used for the study of human pharyngeal flow patterns during OSA is performed. A stationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equation solved using the finite element method was used to numerically study the flow patterns in a computed tomography-based human pharynx model. The inlet flow rate was set to 250 ml/s and such that a flat profile was maintained at the inlet. The outlet pressure was set to 0 Pa. The experimental technique used for the validation of CFD of fluid flow patterns is phase contrast-MRI (PC-MRI). Using the same computed tomography data of the human pharynx as in the simulations, a phantom for the experiment was 3 D printed. Glycerol (55.27% weight) in water was used as a test fluid at 25°C. Inflow conditions similar to the CFD study were simulated using an MRI compatible flow pump (CardioFlow-5000MR, Shelley Medical Imaging Technologies). The entire experiment was done on a 3 T MR system (Ingenia, Philips) with 108 channel body coil using an RF-spoiled, gradient echo sequence. A comparison of the axial velocity obtained in the pharynx from the numerical simulations and PC-MRI shows good agreement. The region of jet impingement and recirculation also coincide, therefore validating the numerical simulations. Hence, the experimental validation proves the reliability and correctness of the numerical simulations.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, experimental validation, phase contrast-MRI, obstructive sleep apnea

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Authors: Charlotte Lülf

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Migration flows, resulting from war, climate change or economic crisis cannot be tackled by single states but need to be addressed as a transnational and international responsibility. The traditional architecture surrounding the work of the UNHCR and the 1951 Convention, however, is not equipped to deal with these challenges. Widely excluded from legal protection are people not individually persecuted for the statutory criteria, people that flee from the indiscriminate effects of an armed conflict as well as people fleeing natural disasters. With the lack of explicit legal protection and the political reluctance of nation states worldwide to extend their commitment in new asylum laws, the judiciary must be put in focus: it plays a unique role in interpreting and potentially expanding the application of existing regulations. This paper as part of an ongoing Ph.D. Project deals with the current and partly contradicting approaches to the protection of war- and climate refugees. Changing jurisprudential practice of national and regional courts will be assessed, as will be their dialogue to interpret the international obligations of human rights law, migration laws, and asylum laws in an interacting world. In recent judgments refoulment to an armed conflict as well as countries without adequate disaster relief or health care was argued as violating fundamental human and asylum law rights and therefore prohibited – even for applicants without refugee status: The first step towards access to subsidiary protection could herewith be established. Can one observe similar developments in other parts of the world? This paper will evaluate the role of the judiciary to define, redefine and potentially expand protection for people seeking refuge from armed conflicts and natural disasters.

Keywords: human rights law, asylum-seekers, displacement, migration

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Authors: Chiedza Z. Tsvakirai, Precious M. Tshabalala, Frikkie Liebenberg, Johann F. Kirsten

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Agricultural research conducted by the Agricultural Research Council has played an important role in increasing the productivity and profitability of the South African peach and nectarine industry. However, the importance of this research remains unclear to the industry stakeholders because a rate of return for this research has never been done. As a result, funding for the research at Agricultural Research Council has been waning because it is not clear how much value has been created and how much the industry stands to gain with continued research investment. Therefore, this study seeks to calculate the benefit of research investments in a bid to motivate for an increase in funding. The study utilized the supply response function to do this. The rate of return calculation revealed that agricultural research had a marginal internal rate of return of 55.9%. This means that every R1 invested yields a 56 c increase in value in the industry. Being this high, it can be concluded that investment in agricultural research is worthwhile. Thus justifies for an increase in research funding.

Keywords: Benefits of research investment, productivity.

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Authors: Chijindu Okpalaoka, Charles Chinedu Onuselogu

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COVID-19, humanity's coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, was first detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 lacked an established conventional pharmaceutical therapy, and as a result, the outbreak quickly became an epidemic affecting the entire World. Only a qPCR assay is reliable for diagnosing COVID-19. Clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology is being researched for speedy and specific identification of COVID-19, among other therapeutic techniques. Apart from its therapeutic capabilities, the CRISPR technique is being evaluated to develop antiviral therapies; nevertheless, no CRISPR-based medication has been approved for human use to date. Prophylactic antiviral CRISPR in living being cells, a Cas 13-based approach against coronavirus, has been developed. While this method can be evolved into a treatment approach, it may face substantial obstacles in human clinical trials for licensure. This study discussed the potential applications of CRISPR-based techniques for developing a speedy and accurate feasible treatment alternative for the COVID-19 virus.

Keywords: COVID-19, CRISPR technique, Cas13, SARS-CoV-2, prophylactic antiviral

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Authors: Farah Islam, Md. Monirul Islam, Mosammat Salma Akter, Goutam Kumar Kundu

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The continuous variability of climate and the risk associated with it have a significant impact on the fisheries leading to a global concern for about half a billion fishery-based livelihoods. Though in the context of Bangladesh mounting evidence on the impacts of climate change on fishery-based livelihoods or their socioeconomic conditions are present, the country’s inland fisheries sector remains in a negligible corner as compared to the coastal areas which are spotted on the highlight due to its higher vulnerability to climatic hazards. The available research on inland fisheries, particularly river fisheries, has focussed mainly on fish production, pollution, fishing gear, fish biodiversity and livelihoods of the fishers. This study assesses the impacts of climate variability and changes on the Jamuna (a transboundary river called Brahmaputra in India) River fishing communities and their coping and adaptation strategies. This study has used primary data collected from Kalitola Ghat and Debdanga fishing communities of the Jamuna River during May, August and December 2015 using semi-structured interviews, oral history interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and impact matrix as well as secondary data. This study has found that both communities are exposed to storms, floods and land erosions which impact on fishery-based livelihood assets, strategies, and outcomes. The impact matrix shows that human and physical capitals are more affected by climate hazards which in turn affect financial capital. Both communities have been responding to these exposures through multiple coping and adaptation strategies. The coping strategies include making dam with soil, putting jute sac on the yard, taking shelter on boat or embankment, making raised platform or ‘Kheua’ and involving with temporary jobs. While, adaptation strategies include permanent migration, change of livelihood activities and strategies, changing fishing practices and making robust houses. The study shows that migration is the most common adaptation strategy for the fishers which resulted in mostly positive outcomes for the migrants. However, this migration has impacted negatively on the livelihoods of existing fishers in the communities. In sum, the Jamuna river fishing communities have been impacted by several climatic hazards and they have traditionally coped with or adapted to the impacts which are not sufficient to maintain sustainable livelihoods and fisheries. In coming decades, this situation may become worse as predicted by latest scientific research and an enhanced level of response would be needed.

Keywords: climatic hazards, impacts and adaptation, fisherfolk, the Jamuna River

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Authors: Ralph Nyadu-Addo, Francis Matambalya, Utz Dornberger

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The global music industry is a multi-billion dollar sector. The potential of Africa’s music industry is widely recognised in the socio-economic development milieu. It has impacted positively on several sectors including most especially the tourism, media and information, communication technology (ICT) among others. It is becoming increasingly clear that even in Africa (as demonstrated in Nigeria) that in addition to its intrinsic value, the sector has significant economic returns. UNCTAD observed, the creative industries offer some of the best prospects for high growth in least developed countries. The statistics from Africa may be far lower than similar sectors in developed countries but it goes to give further credence to several UNCTAD publications which say the creative industry is under researched and its potential under-estimated but holds the key to its rapid development The emerging creative economy (music in particular) has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation, and social cohesion in many countries. In line with these developments, the Ghana government recognizes the potential that the Creative Industries have to shape and reinforce Ghana’s economic growth. Creative sectors, particularly music, tend to rely less on sophisticated infrastructure or capital-intensive investment. Potential is particularly abundant in Africa, where musical creativity is rich, diverse, well-loved, and constantly evolving while drawing on strong traditions. The development of a popular music industry thus represents low-hanging fruit for most African economies says the World Bank. As we shift towards economic diversification using the creative industry, value is increasingly created at the intersection of arts, business and technology. Cultural and creative entrepreneurs are leading this trend. It is one of the areas where value is captured within the country as emerging trends have shown in Nigeria and Ghana among others. Yet, evidence shows that the potential of the cultural and creative sectors remains largely untapped. Furthermore, its socio-economic impact remains under-researched in many developing countries and its dynamics unknown. Despite its huge influence on music repertoire across the globe, most countries in Africa have not historically been significant markets for the international music industry. Today, that is beginning to change. Generally, reliable and adequate literature about music in the sub-region is difficult to obtain. The growing interests in academia and business cycles about a reliable data on the growing music industry in developing countries have called for an urgent need to undertake this research. Research questions: i. Who are the major stakeholders in the music value chain in Ghana? ii. How much of value is captured domestically iii. What is the economic impact of the Ghanaian music industry iv. How has the advent of ICT (internet) impacted on the music landscape? Research sources will be mainly through interviews of major stakeholders, baseline study of the industry by KPMG and content analysis of related newspapers and magazines.

Keywords: economic impact, information communications technology (ICT), music-industry, value chain

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Authors: Leonard Lipovich, Pattaraporn Thepsuwan, Anton-Scott Goustin, Juan Cai, Donghong Ju, James B. Brown

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Two-thirds of human genes do not encode any known proteins. Aside from long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes with recently-discovered functions, the ~40,000 non-protein-coding human genes remain poorly understood, and a role for their transcripts as de-facto unconventional messenger RNAs has not been formally excluded. Ribosome profiling (Riboseq) predicts translational potential, but without independent evidence of proteins from lncRNA open reading frames (ORFs), ribosome binding of lncRNAs does not prove translation. Previously, we mass-spectrometrically documented translation of specific lncRNAs in human K562 and GM12878 cells. We now examined lncRNA translation in human MCF7 cells, integrating strand-specific Illumina RNAseq, Riboseq, and deep mass spectrometry in biological quadruplicates performed at two core facilities (BGI, China; City of Hope, USA). We excluded known-protein matches. UCSC Genome Browser-assisted manual annotation of imperfect (tryptic-digest-peptides)-to-(lncRNA-three-frame-translations) alignments revealed three peptides hypothetically explicable by 'stop-to-nonstop' in-frame replacement of stop codons by amino acids in two ORFs of the lncRNA MMP24-AS1. To search for this phenomenon genomewide, we designed and implemented a novel pipeline, matching tryptic-digest spectra to wildcard-instead-of-stop versions of repeat-masked, six-frame, whole-genome translations. Along with singleton putative stop-to-nonstop events affecting four other lncRNAs, we identified 24 additional peptides with stop-to-nonstop in-frame substitutions from multiple positive-strand MMP24-AS1 ORFs. Only UAG and UGA, never UAA, stop codons were impacted. All MMP24-AS1-matching spectra met the same significance thresholds as high-confidence known-protein signatures. Targeted resequencing of MMP24-AS1 genomic DNA and cDNA from the same samples did not reveal any mutations, polymorphisms, or sequencing-detectable RNA editing. This unprecedented apparent gene-specific violation of the genetic code highlights the importance of matching peptides to whole-genome, not known-genes-only, ORFs in mass-spectrometry workflows, and suggests a new mechanism enhancing the combinatorial complexity of the proteome. Funding: NIH Director’s New Innovator Award 1DP2-CA196375 to LL.

Keywords: genetic code, lncRNA, long non-coding RNA, mass spectrometry, proteogenomics, ribo-seq, ribosome, RNAseq

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Authors: Irene Yi

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Machine learning, natural language processing, and neural network models of language are becoming more and more prevalent in the fields of technology and linguistics today. Training data for machines are at best, large corpora of human literature and at worst, a reflection of the ugliness in society. Machines have been trained on millions of human books, only to find that in the course of human history, derogatory and sexist adjectives are used significantly more frequently when describing females in history and literature than when describing males. This is extremely problematic, both as training data, and as the outcome of natural language processing. As machines start to handle more responsibilities, it is crucial to ensure that they do not take with them historical sexist and misogynistic notions. This paper gathers data and algorithms from neural network models of language having to deal with syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, and text classification. Results are significant in showing the existing intentional and unintentional misogynistic notions used to train machines, as well as in developing better technologies that take into account the semantics and syntax of text to be more mindful and reflect gender equality. Further, this paper deals with the idea of non-binary gender pronouns and how machines can process these pronouns correctly, given its semantic and syntactic context. This paper also delves into the implications of gendered grammar and its effect, cross-linguistically, on natural language processing. Languages such as French or Spanish not only have rigid gendered grammar rules, but also historically patriarchal societies. The progression of society comes hand in hand with not only its language, but how machines process those natural languages. These ideas are all extremely vital to the development of natural language models in technology, and they must be taken into account immediately.

Keywords: gendered grammar, misogynistic language, natural language processing, neural networks

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Authors: Olga Novitskaya

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The emerging markets of post-USSR countries have attracted Western multinational companies; however, weak institutions and unstable host country environments have hindered the implementation of successful management practices. The Ukrainian market, in light of recent events, is particularly interesting to study for its compatibility with Western businesses. This paper focuses on factors that can facilitate or inhibit the transfer of human resource management practices from Western headquarters to Ukrainian subsidiaries. To explain the national context’s effects better, a business systems approach has been applied to a qualitative study of 16 wholly owned Western subsidiaries, dissecting the reasons for a weak integration of Western practices in Ukraine. Results show that underdeveloped institutions have forced companies to develop additional practices that compensate for national weaknesses, as well as to adjust to a constantly changing environment. Flexibility and local responsiveness were observed as vital for success in Ukraine.

Keywords: human resource management, Ukraine, business system, multinational companies, HR practices

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Authors: Lanchi Xie, Zhihui Li, Zhigang Li, Guiqiang Wang, Lei Xu, Yuwen Yan

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Image-based facial features can be classified into category recognition features and individual recognition features. Current automated face recognition systems extract a specific feature vector of different dimensions from a facial image according to their pre-trained neural network. However, to improve the efficiency of parameter calculation, an algorithm generally reduces the image details by pooling. The operation will overlook the details concerned much by forensic experts. In our experiment, we adopted a variety of face recognition algorithms based on deep learning, compared a large number of naturally collected face images with the known data of the same person's frontal ID photos. Downscaling and manual handling were performed on the testing images. The results supported that the facial recognition algorithms based on deep learning detected structural and morphological information and rarely focused on specific markers such as stains and moles. Overall performance, distribution of genuine scores and impostor scores, and likelihood ratios were tested to evaluate the accuracy of biometric systems and forensic experts. Experiments showed that the biometric systems were skilled in distinguishing category features, and forensic experts were better at discovering the individual features of human faces. In the proposed approach, a fusion was performed at the score level. At the specified false accept rate, the framework achieved a lower false reject rate. This paper contributes to improving the interpretability of the objective method of facial comparison and provides a novel method for human-machine collaboration in this field.

Keywords: likelihood ratio, automated facial recognition, facial comparison, biometrics

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Authors: Indranil Chakraborty, Kalyan Mandal

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Herein, we synthesize MnFe₂O₄ nano−hollow spheres (NHSs) of average diameter 100 nm through a facile template free solvothermal process and carry out a time dependent morphological study to investigate their process of core excavation. Further, a surface engineering of as−synthesized MnFe₂O₄ NHSs has been executed with organic disodium tartrate dihydrate ligand and interestingly, the surface modified MnFe₂O₄ NHSs are found to capable of emerging multicolor fluorescence starting from blue, green to red. The magnetic measurements through vibrating sample magnetometer demonstrate that room temperature superparamagnetic nature of MnFe₂O₄ NHSs remains unaltered after surface modification. Moreover, functionalized MnFe₂O₄ NHSs are found to exhibit excellent reusable photocatalytic efficiency in the degradation of cationic dye, methylene blue with rate constant of 2.64×10−2 min.

Keywords: nano hollow sphere, tartrate modification, multiple fluorescence, catalytic property

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Authors: Souradip Paul, Arijit Paramanick, M. Suheshkumar Singh

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Traumatic injury is the leading worldwide health problem. Annually, millions of surgical wounds are created for the sake of routine medical care. The healing of these unintended injuries is always monitored based on visual inspection. The maximal restoration of tissue functionality remains a significant concern of clinical care. Although minor injuries heal well with proper care and medical treatment, large injuries negatively influence various factors (vasculature insufficiency, tissue coagulation) and cause poor healing. Demographically, the number of people suffering from severe wounds and impaired healing conditions is burdensome for both human health and the economy. An incomplete understanding of the functional and molecular mechanism of tissue healing often leads to a lack of proper therapies and treatment. Hence, strong and promising medical guidance is necessary for monitoring the tissue regeneration processes. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), is a non-invasive, hybrid imaging modality that can provide a suitable solution in this regard. Light combined with sound offers structural, functional and molecular information from the higher penetration depth. Therefore, molecular and structural mechanisms of tissue repair will be readily observable in PAI from the superficial layer and in the deep tissue region. Blood vessel formation and its growth is an essential tissue-repairing components. These vessels supply nutrition and oxygen to the cell in the wound region. Angiogenesis (formation of new capillaries from existing blood vessels) contributes to new blood vessel formation during tissue repair. The betterment of tissue healing directly depends on angiogenesis. Other optical microscopy techniques can visualize angiogenesis in micron-scale penetration depth but are unable to provide deep tissue information. PAI overcomes this barrier due to its unique capability. It is ideally suited for deep tissue imaging and provides the rich optical contrast generated by hemoglobin in blood vessels. Hence, an early angiogenesis detection method provided by PAI leads to monitoring the medical treatment of the wound. Along with functional property, mechanical property also plays a key role in tissue regeneration. The wound heals through a dynamic series of physiological events like coagulation, granulation tissue formation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. Therefore tissue elasticity changes, can be identified using non-contact photoacoustic elastography (PAE). In a nutshell, angiogenesis and biomechanical properties are both critical parameters for tissue healing and these can be characterized in a single imaging modality (PAI).

Keywords: PAT, wound healing, tissue coagulation, angiogenesis

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Authors: Jessica M. Black

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Although much of natural and social science research aims to enhance human flourishing and address social problems, the training within the two fields is significantly different across theory, methodology, and implementation of results. Social scientists are trained in social, psychological, and to the extent that it is relevant to their discipline, spiritual development, theory, and accompanying methodologies. They tend not to receive training or learn about accompanying methodology related to interrogating human development and social problems from a biological perspective. On the other hand, those in the natural sciences, and for the purpose of this work, human biological sciences specifically – biology, neuroscience, genetics, epigenetics, and physiology – are often trained first to consider cellular development and related methodologies, and may not have opportunity to receive formal training in many of the foundational principles that guide human development, such as systems theory or person-in-environment framework, methodology related to tapping both proximal and distal psycho-social-spiritual influences on human development, and foundational principles of equity, justice and inclusion in research design. There is a need for disciplines heretofore siloed to know one another, to receive streamlined, easy to access training in theory and methods from one another and to learn how to build interdisciplinary teams that can speak and act upon a shared research language. Team science is more essential than ever, as are transdisciplinary approaches to training and research design. This study explores the use of a methodological toolbox that natural and social scientists can use by employing a decision-making tree regarding project aims, costs, and participants, among other important study variables. The decision tree begins with a decision about whether the researcher wants to learn more about social sciences approaches or biological approaches to study design. The toolbox and platform are flexible, such that users could also choose among modules, for instance, reviewing epigenetics or community-based participatory research even if those are aspects already a part of their home field. To start, both natural and social scientists would receive training on systems science, team science, transdisciplinary approaches, and translational science. Next, social scientists would receive training on grounding biological theory and the following methodological approaches and tools: physiology, (epi)genetics, non-invasive neuroimaging, invasive neuroimaging, endocrinology, and the gut-brain connection. Natural scientists would receive training on grounding social science theory, and measurement including variables, assessment and surveys on human development as related to the developing person (e.g., temperament and identity), microsystems (e.g., systems that directly interact with the person such as family and peers), mesosystems (e.g., systems that interact with one another but do not directly interact with the individual person, such as parent and teacher relationships with one another), exosystems (e.g., spaces and settings that may come back to affect the individual person, such as a parent’s work environment, but within which the individual does not directly interact, macrosystems (e.g., wider culture and policy), and the chronosystem (e.g., historical time, such as the generational impact of trauma). Participants will be able to engage with the toolbox and one another to foster increased transdisciplinary work

Keywords: methodology, natural science, social science, transdisciplinary

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Authors: Vanja Skoric

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The paper examines whether the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) can be meaningfully addressed through the rights-based approach to AI design, investigating in particular how the inclusive, participatory process of assessing the AI impact would make this viable. There is a significant gap between envisioning rights-based AI systems and their practical application. Plausibly, internalizing human rights approach within AI design process might be achieved through identifying and assessing implications of AI features human rights, especially considering the case of vulnerable individuals and communities. However, there is no clarity or consensus on how such an instrument should be operationalised to usefully identify the impact, mitigate harms and meaningfully ensure relevant stakeholders’ participation. In practice, ensuring the meaningful inclusion of those individuals, groups, or entire communities who are affected by the use of the AI system is a prerequisite for a process seeking to assess human rights impacts and risks. Engagement in the entire process of the impact assessment should enable those affected and interested to access information and better understand the technology, product, or service and resulting impacts, but also to learn about their rights and the respective obligations and responsibilities of developers and deployers to protect and/or respect these rights. This paper will provide an overview of the study and practice of the participatory design process for AI, including inclusive impact assessment, its main elements, propose a framework, and discuss the lessons learned from the existing theory. In addition, it will explore pathways for enhancing and promoting individual and group rights through such engagement by discussing when, how, and whom to include, at which stage of the process, and what are the pre-requisites for meaningful and engaging. The overall aim is to ensure using the technology that works for the benefit of society, individuals, and particular (historically marginalised) groups.

Keywords: rights-based design, AI impact assessment, inclusion, harm mitigation

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Authors: Richa Sharma, Uma Nahar, Sadhna Sharma, Indu Verma

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Counteracting the deadly pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) effectively is still a global challenge. Scrutinizing alternative weapons like antimicrobial peptides to strengthen existing tuberculosis artillery is urgently required. Considering the antimycobacterial potential of Human Beta Defensin 1 (HBD-1) along with isoniazid, the present study was designed to explore the ability of HBD-1 to act against active and dormant M. tb. HBD-1 was screened in silico using antimicrobial peptide prediction servers to identify its short antimicrobial motif. The activity of both HBD-1 and its selected motif (Pep B) was determined at different concentrations against actively growing M. tb in vitro and ex vivo in monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs). Log phase M. tb was grown along with HBD-1 and Pep B for 7 days. M. tb infected MDMs were treated with HBD-1 and Pep B for 72 hours. Thereafter, colony forming unit (CFU) enumeration was performed to determine activity of both peptides against actively growing in vitro and intracellular M. tb. The dormant M. tb models were prepared by following two approaches and treated with different concentrations of HBD-1 and Pep B. Firstly, 20-22 days old M. tbH37Rv was grown in potassium deficient Sauton media for 35 days. The presence of dormant bacilli was confirmed by Nile red staining. Dormant bacilli were further treated with rifampicin, isoniazid, HBD-1 and its motif for 7 days. The effect of both peptides on latent bacilli was assessed by colony forming units (CFU) and most probable number (MPN) enumeration. Secondly, human PBMC granuloma model was prepared by infecting PBMCs seeded on collagen matrix with M. tb(MOI 0.1) for 10 days. Histopathology was done to confirm granuloma formation. The granuloma thus formed was incubated for 72 hours with rifampicin, HBD-1 and Pep B individually. Difference in bacillary load was determined by CFU enumeration. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of HBD-1 and Pep B restricting growth of mycobacteria in vitro were 2μg/ml and 20μg/ml respectively. The intracellular mycobacterial load was reduced significantly by HBD-1 and Pep B at 1μg/ml and 5μg/ml respectively. Nile red positive bacterial population, high MPN/ low CFU count and tolerance to isoniazid, confirmed the formation of potassium deficienybaseddormancy model. HBD-1 (8μg/ml) showed 96% and 99% killing and Pep B (40μg/ml) lowered dormant bacillary load by 68.89% and 92.49% based on CFU and MPN enumeration respectively. Further, H&E stained aggregates of macrophages and lymphocytes, acid fast bacilli surrounded by cellular aggregates and rifampicin resistance, indicated the formation of human granuloma dormancy model. HBD-1 (8μg/ml) led to 81.3% reduction in CFU whereas its motif Pep B (40μg/ml) showed only 54.66% decrease in bacterial load inside granuloma. Thus, the present study indicated that HBD-1 and its motif are effective antimicrobial players against both actively growing and dormant M. tb. They should be further explored to tap their potential to design a powerful weapon for combating tuberculosis.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides, dormant, human beta defensin 1, tuberculosis

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Authors: C. Gallottini, W. Di Mari, C. De Carolis, A. Dolci, G. Dolci, L. Gallottini, G. Barraco, S. Eramo

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The aim of this paper is to summarize the literature on micromorphology and composition of the enamel of the cat and present an original experiment by SEM on how it responds to the etching with ortophosphoric acid for the time recommended in the veterinary literature (30", 45", 60"), derived from research and experience on human enamel; 21 teeth of cat were randomly divided into three groups of 7 (A, B, C): Group A was subjected to etching for 30 seconds by means of orthophosphoric acid to 40% on a circular area with diameter of about 2mm of the enamel coronal; the Groups B and C had the same treatment but, respectively, for 45 and 60 seconds. The samples obtained were observed by SEM to constant magnification of 1000x framing, in particular, the border area between enamel exposed and not exposed to etching to highlight differences. The images were subjected to the analysis of three blinded experienced operators in electron microscopy. In the enamel of the cat the etching for the times considered is not optimally effective for the purpose adhesives and the presence of a thick prismless layer could explain this situation. To improve this condition may clinically in the likeness of what is proposed for the enamel of human deciduous teeth: a bevel or a chamfer of 1 mm on the contour of the cavity to discover the prismatic enamel and increase the bonding surface.

Keywords: cat enamel, SEM, veterinary dentistry, acid etching

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Authors: Pratibha Goyal, Nupur Mathur, Anuradha Singh

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Antibiotic resistance is the worldwide threat to human health in this century. Excessive use of antibiotic after their discovery in 1940 makes certain bacteria to become resistant against antibiotics. Most common antibiotic-resistant bacteria include Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, E.coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Streptococcus pneumonia. Among all Staphylococcus resistant strain called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for several lives threatening infection in human commonly found in the hospital environment. Our study aimed to isolate bacteriophage against MRSA from the hospital sewage treatment plant and to analyze its efficiency In Vivo in Swiss albino mice model. Sewage sample for the isolation of bacteriophages was collected from SDMH hospital sewage treatment plant in Jaipur. Bacteriophages isolated by the use of enrichment technique and after characterization, isolated phages used to determine phage treatment efficiency in mice. Mice model used to check the safety and suitability of phage application in human need which in turn directly support the use of natural bacteriophage rather than synthetic chemical to kill pathogens. Results show the plaque formation in-vitro and recovery of MRSA infected mice during the experiment. Favorable lytic efficiency determination of MRSA and Salmonella presents a natural way to treat lethal infections caused by Multidrug-resistant bacteria by using their natural host-pathogen relationship.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, bacteriophages, methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus, pathogens, phage therapy, Salmonella typhi

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Authors: Karen Armstrong

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Recent concerns about the value of teaching cursive handwriting in the classroom are based on the belief that cursive handwriting or penmanship is an outdated and unnecessary skill in today’s online world. The discussion of this issue begins with a description of current initiatives to eliminate handwriting instruction in schools. This is followed by a brief history of cursive writing through the ages. Next considered is a description of its benefits as a preliminary process for younger children as compared with immediate instruction in keyboarding, particularly in the areas of vision, cognition, motor skills and automatic fluency. Also considered, is cursive’s companion, paper itself, and the impact of a paperless, “screen and keyboard” environment. The discussion concludes with a consideration of the unique contributions of cursive and keyboarding as written forms of communication, along with their respective surfaces, paper and screen. Finally, an assessment of the practical utility of each skill is followed by an informal assessment of what is lost and what remains as we move from a predominantly paper and pen world of handwriting to texting and keyboarding in an environment of screens.

Keywords: asemic writing, cursive, handwriting, keyboarding, paper

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Authors: Saravanan R.

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The landscape of Kerala was paved way for the growth of maritime contacts with foreigners. Pepper was the important exported item from here because this region only having pepper production on the West Coast of India. The paper is attempting to analysis the available references of ancient port town in Kerala. It is merely preliminary investigation about Early Historic urban centres with the available literary evidences and excavations reports that would help us to understand the ancient port town in Kerala coast. There were number of ancient port towns mentioned in classical Greek and Sangam literatures. For instance, Naura, Tyndis, Nelcynda, Bacare and Muziris were the major sites of Kerala which represented only in the text but not able to locate these sites on the ground so far. There are lot of studies on site based as well as state based regarding the various aspects of ancient port towns. But, it is mainly focussed on factual narration and theoretical interpretation.

Keywords: urban centre, amphora, Muziris, port town, Sangam text and trade

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Authors: G. Wojcik, J. Gindlhuber, A. Syarif, K. Hoetzenecker, P. Bohm, P. Vesely, V. Biasin, G. Kwapiszewska

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Pulmonary fibrosis is a rare disease where uncontrolled wound healing processes damage the lung structure. Intensive changes within the extracellular matrix (ECM) and its interaction with fibroblasts have a major role in pulmonary fibrosis development. Among others, collagen is one of the main components of the ECM, and it is important for lung structure. In IPF, constant production of collagen by fibroblast, through TGFβ1-SMAD2/3 pathways, leads to an uncontrolled deposition of matrix and hence lung remodeling. Abnormal changes in lipid production, alterations in fatty acids (FAs) metabolism, enhanced oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation in fibrotic lung and fibrotic fibroblasts have been reported; however, the interplay between the collagen and lipids is not yet established. One of the FAs influx regulators is Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), which inhibits lipoprotein lipase work, decreasing the availability of FAs. We hypothesized that altered lipid composition or availability could have the capability to influence the phenotype of different fibroblast populations in the lung and hence influence lung fibrosis. To prove our hypothesis, we aim to investigate lipids and their influence on human, animal, and in vitro levels. In the bleomycin model, treatment with the well-known metabolic drugs Rosiglitazone or Metformin significantly lower collagen production. Similar results were noticed in ANGPTL4 KO animals, where the KO of ANGPTL4 leads to an increase of FAs availability and lower collagen deposition after the bleomycin challenge. Currently, we study the treatment of different FAs on human lung para fibroblasts (hPF) isolated from donors. To understand the lipid composition, we are collecting human lung tissue from donors and pulmonary fibrosis patients for Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. In conclusion, our results suggest the lipid influence on collagen deposition during lung fibrosis, but further research needs to be conducted to understand the matter of this relationship.

Keywords: collagen, fibroblasts, lipidomics, lung, pulmonary fibrosis

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Authors: Michael R. Shurin, Galina Shurin, Vladimir A. Kirichenko

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Background. Visibility of hepatic malignancies is poor on non-contrast imaging for daily verification of liver malignancies prior to radiation therapy on MRI-guided Linear Accelerators (MR-Linac). Ferumoxytol® (Feraheme, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA) is a SPION agent that is increasingly utilized off-label as hepatic MRI contrast. This agent has the advantage of providing a functional assessment of the liver based upon its uptake by hepatic Kupffer cells proportionate to vascular perfusion, resulting in strong T1, T2 and T2* relaxation effects and enhanced contrast of malignant tumors, which lack Kupffer cells. The latter characteristic has been recently utilized for MRI-guided radiotherapy planning with precision targeting of liver malignancies. However potential radiotoxicity of SPION has never been addressed for its safe use as an MRI-contrast agent during liver radiotherapy on MRI-Linac. This study defines the radiomodulating properties of SPIONs in vitro on human monocyte and macrophage cell lines exposed to 60Go gamma-rays within clinical radiotherapy dose range. Methods. Human monocyte and macrophages cell line in cultures were loaded with a clinically relevant concentration of Ferumoxytol (30µg/ml) for 2 and 24 h and irradiated to 3Gy, 5Gy and 10Gy. Cells were washed and cultured for additional 24 and 48 h prior to assessing their phenotypic activation by flow cytometry and function, including viability (Annexin V/PI assay), proliferation (MTT assay) and cytokine expression (Luminex assay). Results. Our results reveled that SPION affected both human monocytes and macrophages in vitro. Specifically, iron oxide nanoparticles decreased radiation-induced apoptosis and prevented radiation-induced inhibition of human monocyte proliferative activity. Furthermore, Ferumoxytol protected monocytes from radiation-induced modulation of phenotype. For instance, while irradiation decreased polarization of monocytes to CD11b+CD14+ and CD11bnegCD14neg phenotype, Ferumoxytol prevented these effects. In macrophages, Ferumoxytol counteracted the ability of radiation to up-regulate cell polarization to CD11b+CD14+ phenotype and prevented radiation-induced down-regulation of expression of HLA-DR and CD86 molecules. Finally, Ferumoxytol uptake by human monocytes down-regulated expression of pro-inflammatory chemokines MIP-1α (Macrophage inflammatory protein 1α), MIP-1β (CCL4) and RANTES (CCL5). In macrophages, Ferumoxytol reversed the expression of IL-1RA, IL-8, IP-10 (CXCL10) and TNF-α, and up-regulates expression of MCP-1 (CCL2) and MIP-1α in irradiated macrophages. Conclusion. SPION agent Ferumoxytol increases resistance of human monocytes to radiation-induced cell death in vitro and supports anti-inflammatory phenotype of human macrophages under radiation. The effect is radiation dose-dependent and depends on the duration of Feraheme uptake. This study also finds strong evidence that SPIONs reversed the effect of radiation on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in initiation and development of radiation-induced liver damage. Correlative translational work at our institution will directly assess the cyto-protective effects of Ferumoxytol on human Kupfer cells in vitro and ex vivo analysis of explanted liver specimens in a subset of patients receiving Feraheme-enhanced MRI-guided radiotherapy to the primary liver tumors as a bridge to liver transplant.

Keywords: superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, radioprotection, magnetic resonance imaging, liver

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Authors: Sofia G. Meirinho, Luis G. Dias, António M. Peres, Lígia R. Rodrigues

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The emerging development of electrochemical aptasen sors has enabled the easy and fast detection of protein biomarkers in standard and real samples. Biomarkers are produced by body organs or tumours and provide a measure of antigens on cell surfaces. When detected in high amounts in blood, they can be suggestive of tumour activity. These biomarkers are more often used to evaluate treatment effects or to assess the potential for metastatic disease in patients with established disease. Osteopontin (OPN) is a protein found in all body fluids and constitutes a possible biomarker because its overexpression has been related with breast cancer evolution and metastasis. Currently, biomarkers are commonly used for the development of diagnostic methods, allowing the detection of the disease in its initial stages. A previously described RNA aptamer was used in the current work to develop a simple and sensitive electrochemical aptasensor with high affinity for human OPN. The RNA aptamer was biotinylated and immobilized on a gold electrode by avidin-biotin interaction. The electrochemical signal generated from the aptamer–target molecule interaction was monitored electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry in the presence of [Fe (CN) 6]−3/− as a redox probe. The signal observed showed a current decrease due to the binding of OPN. The preliminary results showed that this aptasensor enables the detection of OPN in standard solutions, showing good selectivity towards the target in the presence of others interfering proteins such as bovine OPN and bovine serum albumin. The results gathered in the current work suggest that the proposed electrochemical aptasensor is a simple and sensitive detection tool for human OPN and so, may have future applications in cancer disease monitoring.

Keywords: osteopontin, aptamer, aptasensor, screen-printed electrode, cyclic voltammetry

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Authors: Alberto Sanchidrián, José A. Parra, Jesús Alonso, Julián Pecharromán, Antonia Pacios, Consuelo Huerta

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Glass is a commonly used material in building; there is not a unique design solution as plates with a different number of layers and interlayers may be used. In most façades, a security glazing have to be used according to its performance in the impact pendulum. The European Standard EN 12600 establishes an impact test procedure for classification under the point of view of the human security, of flat plates with different thickness, using a pendulum of two tires and 50 kg mass that impacts against the plate from different heights. However, this test does not replicate the actual dimensions and border conditions used in building configurations and so the real stress distribution is not determined with this test. The influence of different boundary conditions, as the ones employed in construction sites, is not well taking into account when testing the behaviour of safety glazing and there is not a detailed procedure and criteria to determinate the glass resistance against human impact. To reproduce the actual boundary conditions on site, when needed, the pendulum test is arranged to be used "in situ", with no account for load control, stiffness, and without a standard procedure. Fracture stress of small and large glass plates fit a Weibull distribution with quite a big dispersion so conservative values are adopted for admissible fracture stress under static loads. In fact, test performed for human impact gives a fracture strength two or three times higher, and many times without a total fracture of the glass plate. Newest standards, as for example DIN 18008-4, states for an admissible fracture stress 2.5 times higher than the ones used for static and wing loads. Now two working areas are open: a) to define a standard for the ‘in situ’ test; b) to prepare a laboratory procedure that allows testing with more real stress distribution. To work on both research lines a laboratory that allows to test medium size specimens with different border conditions, has been developed. A special steel frame allows reproducing the stiffness of the glass support substructure, including a rigid condition used as reference. The dynamic behaviour of the glass plate and its support substructure have been characterized with finite elements models updated with modal tests results. In addition, a new portable impact machine is being used to get enough force and direction control during the impact test. Impact based on 100 J is used. To avoid problems with broken glass plates, the test have been done using an aluminium plate of 1000 mm x 700 mm size and 10 mm thickness supported on four sides; three different substructure stiffness conditions are used. A detailed control of the dynamic stiffness and the behaviour of the plate is done with modal tests. Repeatability of the test and reproducibility of results prove that procedure to control both, stiffness of the plate and the impact level, is necessary.

Keywords: glass plates, human impact test, modal test, plate boundary conditions

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Authors: Abbas Fazelinia

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Terrorism is not a new phenomenon to the world, yet it remains difficult to define and to counter. Countering terrorism requires several measures that must be taken at the same time. Counterterrorism strategies of most countries depend on military measures. However, those strategies should also focus on nonlethal measures, such as economic, political, and social measures. The psychological dimensions of terrorism must be understood, evaluated, and used in countering terrorism. This study suggests that psychological operations, as nonlethal military operations, can be used to influence individuals not to join terrorist organizations and to facilitate defections from terrorist organizations. However, in order to implement effective psychological operations, one has to have appropriate intelligence about terrorist organizations. Examining terrorist organizations help us to identify their vulnerabilities and obtain this intelligence. This article concludes that terrorists’ motivations, terrorist organizations’ radicalization, recruitment, and conversion processes, ideology, goals, strategies, and general structure form the intelligence requirement for psychological operations in counterterrorism. The methodology used in this article is a mixed method.

Keywords: psychological operations, terrorist, counterterrorism, terrorism

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Authors: Ainur Mukhambetova, Miras Karzhauov, Vyacheslav Ogay

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Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity to be differentiated into several cell lineages and are a promising source for cell therapy and tissue engineering. However, currently most MSCs culturing protocols use media supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS), which limits their application in clinic due to the possibility of zoonotic infections, contamination and immunological reactions. Consequently, formulating effective serum free culture medium becomes one of the important problems in contemporary cell biotechnology. Objectives: The aim of this study was to define an optimal serum-free medium for culturing of periosteum derived MSCs. Materials and methods: The MSCs were extracted from human periosteum and transferred to the culture flasks pretreated with CELLstart™. Immunophenotypic characterization, proliferation and in vitro differentiation of cells grown on STEM PRO® MSC SFM were compared to the cells cultured in the standard FBS containing media. Chromosome analysis and flow cytometry were also performed. Results: We have shown that cells were grown on STEM PRO® MSC SFM retained all the morphological, immunophenotypic (CD73, CD90, CD105, vimentin and Stro-1) and cell differentiation characteristics specific to MSCs. Chromosome analysis indicated no anomalies in the chromosome structure. Flow cytometry showed a high expression of cell adhesion molecules CD44 (98,8%), CD90 (97,4%), CD105 (99,1%). In addition, we have shown that cell is grown on STEM PRO® MSC SFM have higher proliferation capacity compared to cell expanded on standard FBS containing the medium. Conclusion: We have shown that STEM PRO® MSC SFM is optimal for culturing periosteum derived human MSCs which subsequently can be safely used in cell therapy.

Keywords: cell technologies, periosteum-derived MSCs, regenerative medicine, serum-free medium

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Authors: Yuyun, Fritz Akhmad Nuzir, Bart Julien Dewancker

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Check-in locations on social media provide information about an individual’s location. The millions of units of data generated from these sites provide knowledge for human activity. In this research, we used a geolocation service and users’ texts posted on Twitter social media to analyze human mobility. Our research will answer the questions; what are the movement patterns of a citizen? And, how far do people travel in the city? We explore the people trajectory of 201,118 check-ins and 22,318 users over a period of one month in Makassar city, Indonesia. To accommodate individual mobility, the authors only analyze the users with check-in activity greater than 30 times. We used sampling method with a systematic sampling approach to assign the research sample. The study found that the individual movement shows a high degree of regularity and intensity in certain places. The other finding found that the average distance an urban inhabitant can travel per day is as far as 9.6 km.

Keywords: mobility, check-in, distance, Twitter

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Authors: K. Krishna Milan Rao, Nelvin Joseph, Praveen Dwarakanath

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Augmented and Virtual Realties is quickly becoming a hotbed of activity with millions of dollars being spent on R & D and companies such as Google and Microsoft rushing to stake their claim. Augmented reality (AR) is however marching ahead due to the spread of the ideal AR device – the smartphone. Despite its potential, there remains a deep digital divide between the Developed and Developing Countries. The Technological Acceptance Model (TAM) and Hofstede cultural dimensions also predict the behaviour intention to uptake AR in India will be large. This paper takes a quantified approach by collecting 340 survey responses to AR scenarios and analyzing them through statistics. The Survey responses show that the Intention to Use, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Enjoyment dimensions are high among the urban population in India. This along with the exponential smartphone indicates that India is on the cusp of a boom in the AR sector.

Keywords: mobile augmented reality, technology acceptance model, Hofstede, cultural dimensions, India

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Authors: Kyung-Soon Choi, Ji-Young Hwang, Young-Hee Pyo

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Vinegars have been used as an alternative remedy for treating gout, but the scientific basis remains to be elucidated. In this study, acetic acid fermentation was applied for the first time to Monascus-fermented soybeans to examine its effect on the bioactive components together with the xanthine oxidase inhibitory (XOI) activity of the soy vinegar. The content of total phenols (0.47~0.97 mg gallic acid equivalents/mL) and flavonoids (0.18~0.39 mg quercetin equivallents/mL) were spectrophotometrically determined, and the content of organic acid (10.22~59.76 mg/mL) and isoflavones (6.79~7.46 mg/mL) were determined using HPLC-UV. The analytical method for ubiquinones (0.079~0.276 μg/mL) employed saponification before solvent extraction and quantification using LC-MS. Soy vinegar also showed significant XOI (95.3%) after 20 days of acetic acid fermentation at 30 °C. The results suggest that soy vinegar has potential as a novel medicinal food.

Keywords: acetic acid fermentation, bioactive component, soy vinegar, xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity

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Authors: Mohammed Qasim, Kyoung-Dae Kim

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In this paper, we present the design of the super-ellipsoidal potential function (SEPF), that can be used for autonomous collision avoidance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a 3-dimensional space. In the design of SEPF, we have the full control over the shape and size of the potential function. In particular, we can adjust the length, width, height, and the amount of flattening at the tips of the potential function so that the collision avoidance motion vector generated from the potential function can be adjusted accordingly. Based on the idea of the SEPF, we also propose an approach for the local autonomy of a UAV for its collision avoidance when the UAV is teleoperated by a human operator. In our proposed approach, a teleoperated UAV can not only avoid collision autonomously with other surrounding objects but also track the operator’s control input as closely as possible. As a result, an operator can always be in control of the UAV for his/her high-level guidance and navigation task without worrying too much about the UAVs collision avoidance while it is being teleoperated. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a human-in-the-loop simulation of quadrotor UAV teleoperation using virtual robot experimentation platform (v-rep) and Matlab programs.

Keywords: artificial potential function, autonomous collision avoidance, teleoperation, quadrotor

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