Search results for: welfare gain

Authors: F. Elhaouzi, H. Lahlali, M. Zaghrioui, I. El Aboudi A. BelfKira, A. Mdarhri

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The effect of physico chemical properties of solvents on the transport process and mechanical properties in elastomeric nano composite materials is reported. The investigated samples are formed by a semi-crystalline ethylene-co-butyl acrylate polymer filled with hard spherical carbon black (CB) nano particles. The swelling behavior was studied by immersion the dried samples in selected solvents at room temperature during 2 days. For this purpose, two chemical compounds methyl derivatives of aromatic hydrocarbons of benzene, i.e. toluene and xylene, are used to search for the mass and molar volume dependence on the absorption kinetics. Mass gain relative to the mass of dry material at specific times was recorded to probe the absorption kinetics. The transport of solvent molecules in these filled elastomeric composites is following a Fickian diffusion mechanism. Additionally, the swelling ratio and diffusivity coefficient deduced from the Fickian law are found to decrease with the CB concentration. These results indicate that the CB nano particles increase the effective path length for diffusion and consequently limit the absorption of the solvent by occupation free volumes in the material. According to physico chemical properties of the two used solvents, it is found that the diffusion is more important for the toluene molecules solvent due to their low values of the molecular weight and volume molar compared to those for the xylene. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray photo electron (XPS) were also used to probe the eventual change in the chemical composition for the swollen samples. Mechanically speaking, the stress-strain curves of uniaxial tensile tests pre- and post- swelling highlight a remarkably decrease of the strength and elongation at break of the swollen samples. This behavior can be attributed to the decrease of the load transfer density between the matrix and the CB in the presence of the solvent. We believe that the results reported in this experimental investigation can be useful for some demanding applications e.g. tires, sealing rubber.

Keywords: nanocomposite, absorption kinetics, mechanical behavior, diffusion, modelling, XPS, DSC

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Authors: Urom Scholastica Mgbo, Ifeanyichukwu, Vivian, Anaba, Uchemadu Martins, Arusiaba, Nelson Chijioke

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The study was investigated to determine the growth performance , haematological and serum biochemistry of broiler fed graded levels of cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium). One hundred and twenty (120) day old broiler chicks of Anak strain were used for the study. The birds were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups of 30 birds per group, and each group was further divided into 3 replicates of 10 birds per replicate in group. Cooked cocoyam was used to formulate diets at inclusion levels of 0.00% for T1 (control), while T2, T3 and T4 contained 10.00%, 20.00% and 30.00% inclusion of cocoyam in partial replacement of maize in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). At the end of the research, the haematological indices of broiler showed that packed cell volume (PCV) of birds fed diets 1(42.26%) and 3 (42.42%) were significantly (p<0.05) higher than birds fed diets 2 (39.72%) and 4 (38.78%).The Haemoglobin (Hb) of birds fed diets 3 (12.58g/dl) and 4 (12.26g/dl) were significantly (p<0.05) higher than birds fed diets 1 (11.60g/dl) and 2 (11.42g/dl). The values of the white blood cell (WBC) of the broiler chickens placed on cocoyam diet increased significantly (P<0.05) compared with the values obtained in the control (T1) . The serum protein value for birds fed diet I (5.45g/dl) were statistically (P>0.05) similar to those fed diets 2 (5.10g/dl) and 3 (5.38g/dl) but differ significantly (P<0.05) from diet 4 (4.97g/dl) which had the least protein value. Final weight of the birds showed that diet 4 (2370.85g) had the highest (P<0.05) value which was followed closely by diet 3 (2225.55g), while birds fed diets 1 (2165.70g) and diet 2 (2145.00g) recorded the least values Similar pattern was observed in the weight gain of the birds. Birds fed diet 4 (2270.30g) had higher (P<0.05) value, followed by birds on diet 3 (2125.45g), while birds fed diet 1 (2065.15g) and 2 (2044.90g) had the least values.. This study showed that birds fed diet 3 (50.60g) and diet 4 (54.05g) gave significantly (P<0.05) higher weight than the control diet (49.17g). There was significant (P<0.05) difference among the treatments for feed conversion ratio (FCR), were birds fed diet 4 (1.74) performed better, having the least feed conversion ratio. Economics of broiler chickens showed that Cost/kg of feed favored diet 4 (₦158.65) followed by diets 3 (₦165.95), 2 (₦178.52) and control diet 1 (₦197.14). From the result, the higher weight recorded in T4 4 showed that cocoyam meal can successfully replace maize up to 30% in the diet of broiler chickens. The low cost recorded in cocoyam based diets showed that the diets were more economical and beneficial compared to control diet 1. Therefore, feeding diet 4 (30%) cocoyam meal as replacement of maize in broiler chickens is recommended.

Keywords: cocoyam, growth, heamatology, serum biochemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Jeffrey Siphiwe Mkhize

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Twelve years of schooling for most South African children, particularly those children from disadvantaged past, are confronted with numerous and diverse challenges. These challenges range from infrastructural limitations, language of teaching, poor resources and varying family backgrounds. Likewise, schools are categorized to signify schools’ geographic location, poverty lines, societal class and type of students that the school are likely to enroll. Such categorization perpetuates particular lines of identities that are indirectly reinforced by the same system that seeks to redress. South African universities prefer point systems to determine students’ suitability to gain access to their programmes. Once students are admitted based on the qualifying points there is an assumed equity in the manner in which they receive tuition. They are assumed as equal; noting the widened access to South African universities as means to redress past inequalities. Given the challenges, inequalities, it is necessary to view higher education as a site for knowledge construction that is accessible to all students. Epistemological access is key to all students irrespective of their socio-economic status. This paper seeks to contribute to the discourse of student engagement using lecturer-student relationship as a lens to understand this phenomenon. Data were generated using South African Survey of Student Engagement, focus group interviews, semi-structured one-on-one-interviews as well as document analysis. The focus was on students registered for the first year of a Bachelor of Education degree as well as lecturers that teach high risk modules in this qualification at the same level. The findings suggest that lecturers are challenged by overcrowded classrooms and over-enrolled modules; this challenge hampers their good intentions to become more efficient and innovative in their teaching. Students lack confidence in approaching lecturers for assistance. Collaborative learning has stronger results and students believe in self-support to deal with their challenges based on their individual strengths. Collaborative learning is key to student academic performance.

Keywords: collaborative learning, consultations, student engagement, student performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Amanda J. Burridge, Keith J. Edwards, Paul A. Wilkinson, Tom Batstone, Erik H. Murchie, Lorna McAusland, Ana Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Ivan Jauregui, Tracy Lawson, Silvere R. M. Vialet-Chabrand

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The rate of genetic progress in wheat production must be improved to meet global food security targets. However, past selection for domestication traits has reduced the genetic variation in modern wheat cultivars, a fact that could severely limit the future rate of genetic gain. The genetic variation in agronomically important traits for the wild relatives and progenitors of wheat is far greater than that of the current domesticated cultivars, but transferring these traits into modern cultivars is not straightforward. Between the elite cultivars of wheat, photosynthetic capacity is a key trait for which there is limited variation. Early screening of wheat wild relative and progenitors has shown differences in photosynthetic capacity and efficiency not only between wild relative species but marked differences between the accessions of each species. By identifying wild relative accessions with improved photosynthetic traits and characterising the genetic variation responsible, it is possible to incorporate these traits into advanced breeding programmes by wide crossing and introgression programmes. To identify the potential variety of photosynthetic capacity and efficiency available in the secondary and tertiary genepool, a wide scale survey was carried out for over 600 accessions from 80 species including those from the genus Aegilops, Triticum, Thinopyrum, Elymus, and Secale. Genotype data were generated for each accession using a ‘Wheat Wild Relative’ Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array composed of 35,000 SNP markers polymorphic between wild relatives and elite hexaploid wheat. This genotype data was combined with phenotypic measurements such as gas exchange (CO₂, H₂O), chlorophyll fluorescence, growth, morphology, and RuBisCO activity to identify potential breeding material with enhanced photosynthetic capacity and efficiency. The data and associated analysis tools presented here will prove useful to anyone interested in increasing the genetic diversity in hexaploid wheat or the application of complex genotyping data to plant breeding.

Keywords: wheat, wild relatives, pre-breeding, genomics, photosynthesis

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: M. Sakthivel, A. Devaki, D. Balasubramanyam, P. Kumarasamy, A. Raja, R. Anilkumar, H. Gopi

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The influence of inbreeding on growth traits in the New Zealand White rabbits maintained at Sheep Breeding and Research Station, Sandynallah, The Nilgiris, India was studied in a closed herd. Data were collected over a period of 15 years (1998 to 2012). The traits studied were body weights at weaning (W42), post-weaning (W70) and marketing (W135) age and growth efficiency traits viz., average daily gain (ADG), relative growth rate (RGR) and Kleiber ratio (KR) estimated on a daily basis at different age intervals (1=42 to 70 days; 2=70 to 135 days and 3=42 to 135 days) from weaning to marketing. The effects of inbreeding along with other non-genetic factors (sex of the kit, season and period of birth of the kit) were analyzed using least-squares method. The inbreeding (F) and equivalent inbreeding (EF) coefficients were taken as fixed classes as well as covariates in separate analyses. When taken as covariate, the effect was analyzed as partial regression of respective growth trait on individual inbreeding coefficient (F or EF). The mean body weights at weaning, post-weaning and marketing were 0.715, 1.276 and 2.187 kg, respectively. The maximum growth efficiency was noticed between weaning and post-weaning. Season and period had highly significant influence on all the growth parameters studied and sex of the kit had significant influence on certain growth efficiency traits only. The average coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding in the population were 13.233 and 17.585 percent, respectively. About 11.17 percent of total matings were highly inbred in which full-sib, half-sib and parent-offspring matings were 1.20, 6.30 and 3.67 percent, respectively. The regression of body weight traits on F and EF showed negative effect whereas most of the growth efficiency traits showed positive effects. Significant inbreeding depression was observed in W42 and W70. The depression in W42 was 0.214 kg and 0.139 kg and in W70 was 0.269 kg and 0.172 kg for every one unit increase in F and EF, respectively. Though the trait W135 showed positive value and ADG1 showed depression, the effects of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were non-significant in these traits. Higher values of inbreeding depression could be due to more variance of F or EF in the population. The analysis of the effect of level of inbreeding on growth traits revealed that the inbreeding class was significant on W70, ADG2, RGR2 and KR2 while EF classes had significant influence only on ADG2, RGR2 and KR2. Obviously, inbreeding does not have a positive effect, therefore, these results suggest that inbreeding had no effect on these traits.

Keywords: growth parameters, equivalent inbreeding, inbreeding effects, rabbit genetics

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Sajewicz-Krukowska Joanna, Domańska-Blicharz Katarzyna, Tarasiuk Karolina, Marzec-Kotarska Barbara

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Astroviral infections pose a significant problem in the poultry industry, leading to multiple adverse effects such as decreased egg production, breeding disorders, poor weight gain, and even increased mortality. Commonly observed chicken astrovirus (CAstV) was recently reported to be responsible for "white chicks syndrome" associated with increased embryo/chick mortality. The CAstV-mediated pathogenesis in chicken occurs due to complex interactions between the infectious pathogen and the immune system. Many aspects of CAstV-chicken interactions remain unclear, and there is no information available regarding gene expression changes in the chicken's spleen in response to CAstV infection. We aimed to investigate the molecular background triggered by CAstV infection. Ten 21-day-old SPF White Leghorn chickens were divided into two groups of 5 birds each. One group was inoculated with CAstV, and the other was used as the negative control. On 4th dpi, spleen samples were collected and immediately frozen at -70°C for RNA isolation. We analysed transcriptional profiles of the chickens' spleens at the 4th day following infection using RNA-seq to establish differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The RNA-seq findings were verified by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). A total of 31959 transcripts were identified in response to CAstV infection. Eventually 45 DEGs (p-value<0.05; Log2Foldchange>1)were recognized in the spleen after CAstV infection (26 upregulated DEGs and 19 downregulated DEGs). qRT-PCR performed on 4 genes (IFIT5, OASL, RASD1, DDX60) confirmed RNAseq results. Top differentially expressed genes belonged to novel putative IFN-induced CAstV restriction factors. Most of the DEGs were associated with RIG-I–like signalling pathway or, more generally, with an innate antiviral response(upregulated: BLEC3, CMPK2, IFIT5, OASL, DDX60, IFI6, and downregulated: SPIK5, SELENOP, HSPA2, TMEM158, RASD1, YWHAB). The study provided a global analysis of host transcriptional changes that occur during CAstV infection in vivo and proved the cell cycle in the spleen and immune signalling in chickens were predominantly affected upon CAstV infection.

Keywords: chicken astrovirus, CastV, RNA-seq, transcriptome, spleen

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Sanaz Farhangi, Habib Alipour

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The main objective of this paper is to explore how social media as a critical platform would increase the interactions between the tourism sector and stakeholders. Nowadays, human interactions through social media in many areas, especially in tourism, provide various experiences and information that users share and discuss. Organizations and firms can gain customer loyalty through social media platforms, albeit consumers' negative image of the product or services. Such a negative image can be reduced through constant communication between produces and consumers, especially with the availability of the new technology. Therefore, effective management of customer relationships in social media creates an extraordinary opportunity for organizations to enhance value and brand loyalty. In this study, we seek to develop a conceptual model for addressing factors such as social media, SCRM, and customer engagement affecting brand loyalty and diminish co-destruction. To support this model, we scanned the relevant literature using a comprehensive category of ideas in the context of marketing and customer relationship management. This will allow exploring whether there is any relationship between social media, customer engagement, social customer relationship management (SCRM), co-destruction, and brand loyalty. SCRM has been explored as a moderating factor in the relationship between customer engagement and social media to secure brand loyalty and diminish co-destruction of the company’s value. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of social media on customers and marketing behavior, there are limited studies for investigating the relationship between SCRM, brand loyalty, and negative e-WOM, which results in the reduction of the co-destruction of value by customers. This study is an important contribution to the tourism and hospitality industry in orienting customer behavior in social media using SCRM. This study revealed that through social media platforms, management can generate discussion and engagement about the product and services, which facilitates customers feeling in an appositive way towards the firm and its product. Study has also revealed that customers’ complaints through social media have a multi-purpose effect; it can degrade the value of the product, but at the same time, it will motivate the firm to overcome its weaknesses and correct its shortcomings. This study has also implications for the managers and practitioners, especially in the tourism and hospitality sector. Future research direction and limitations of the research were also discussed.

Keywords: brand loyalty, co-destruction, customer engagement, SCRM, tourism and hospitality

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Alaa T. Ali, Nevine H. Kheir El Din, Ehab S. Abdelhamid, Ahmed E. Amr

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Objective: Severe alveolar bone resorption is usually associated with a deficient amount of soft tissues. soft tissue expansion is introduced to provide an adequate amount of soft tissue over the grafted area. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of sub-periosteal self-inflating osmotic tissue expanders used as preparatory surgery before horizontal alveolar ridge augmentation using autogenous onlay block bone graft. Methods: A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was performed. Sixteen partially edentulous patients demanding horizontal bone augmentation in the anterior maxilla were randomly assigned to horizontal ridge augmentation with autogenous bone block grafts harvested from the mandibular symphysis. For the test group, soft tissue expanders were placed sub-periosteally before horizontal ridge augmentation. Impressions were taken before and after STE, and the cast models were optically scanned and superimposed to be used for volumetric analysis. Horizontal ridge augmentation was carried out after STE completion. For the control group, a periosteal releasing incision was performed during bone augmentation procedures. Implants were placed in both groups at re-entry surgery after six months period. A core biopsy was taken. Histomorphometric assessment for newly formed bone surface area, mature collagen area fraction, the osteoblasts count, and blood vessel count were performed. The change in alveolar ridge width was evaluated through bone caliper and CBCT. Results: Soft tissue expander successfully provides a Surplus amount of soft tissues in 5 out of 8 patients in the test group. Complications during the expansion period were perforation through oral mucosa occurred in two patients. Infection occurred in one patient. The mean soft tissue volume gain was 393.9 ± 322mm. After 6 months. The mean horizontal bone gains for the test and control groups were 3.14 mm and 3.69 mm, respectively. Conclusion: STE with a sub-periosteal approach is an applicable method to achieve an additional soft tissue and to reduce bone block graft exposure and wound dehiscence.

Keywords: soft tissue expander, ridge augmentation, block graft, symphysis bone block

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Authors: Qiuyu Chen, Bin Long, Junxi Yang

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Located in the southwest of the "roof of the world", Tibet is the origin center of Tibetan Culture.Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyantse are three famous historical and cultural cities in Tibet. They have always been prominent political, economic and cultural cities, and have accumulated the unique aesthetic orientation and value consciousness of Tibet's urban construction. "Archetype" usually refers to the theoretical origin of things, which is the collective unconscious precipitation. The archetype theory fundamentally explores the dialectical relationship between image expression, original form and behavior mode. By abstracting and describing typical phenomena or imagery of the archetype object can observe the essence of objects, explore ways in which object phenomena arise. Applying archetype theory to the field of urban planning helps to gain insight, evaluation, and restructuring of the complex and ever-changing internal structural units of cities. According to existing field investigations, it has been found that Dzong, Temple, Linka and traditional residential systems are important structural units that constitute the urban space of Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyantse. This article applies the thinking method of archetype theory, starting from the imagery expression of urban spatial pattern, using technologies such as ArcGIS, Depthmap, and Computer Vision to descriptively identify the spatial representation and plane relationship of three cities through remote sensing images and historical maps. Based on historical records, the spatial characteristics of cities in different historical periods are interpreted in a hierarchical manner, attempting to clarify the origin of the formation and evolution of urban pattern imagery from the perspectives of geopolitical environment, social structure, religious theory, etc, and expose the growth laws and key driving forces of cities. The research results can provide technical and material support for important behaviors such as urban restoration, spatial intervention, and promoting transformation in the region.

Keywords: archetype theory, urban spatial imagery, original form and pattern, behavioral driving force, Tibet

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Authors: Anita Bela, Marta Juhasz

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Adapting to the always-changing environment comes with complex determinants. The authors are zooming into one aspect only when the current workforce comes with obstacles by being less keen to stay engaged, even short or mid-term, resulting in additional challenges impacting the business performance. Seeing these occurring in practice made the researchers eager to gain a better understanding of the reasons behind. The paper aims to provide an overview of the theoretical background and research methods planned for the different stages of the research. The theoretical part takes the leadership behaviors under lens while the focus is on finding ways to attract and retain those who prefer working under more flexible employment conditions (e.g. contractor, contingent worker, etc.). These are considered as the organizational values and along with the power of people management are having their engaging relevance. The organizational culture (visible or invisible level) is clearly the mirror of the set of shared values guiding all members of the companies towards acceptable behavior. The applied research method, inductive reasoning was selected since the focus and questions raised in this research are results of specific observations made on the employees (various employment types) and leaders of start-ups and corporates. By comparing the similarities and differences, the researchers are hoping to prove the readiness and agility of the start-up culture for the desired leadership behaviours of the current and future workforce against the corporate culture. While exploring the preferences and engaging factors of the 21st-century workforce the data gathering would happen through website analysis – using ATLAS.ti qualitative software – followed by interview sessions where demographics will be collected and preferred leadership behaviors - using the Critical Incident Technique. Moreover, a short engagement survey will be administered to understand the linkage between the organizational culture type and engagement level. To conclude, after gaining theoretical understanding, we will zoom back to the employees to reveal the behaviors to be followed to achieve engagement in an environment where nothing is stable and where the companies always must keep their agile eyes and reactions vivid.

Keywords: leadership behaviours, organizational culture, qualitative analysis, workforce engagement

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Authors: David W. Taylor, Fernando Lourenço, Carolyn Branston, Paul Tucker

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There are an increasing number of students at Universities in the United Kingdom engaging in entrepreneurship role-play to explore business start-up as a career alternative to employment. These role-play activities have been shown to have a positive influence on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Universities also play a role in developing graduates’ awareness of social responsibility. However, social responsibility is often missing from these entrepreneurship role-plays. It is important that these role-play activities include the development of values that support social responsibility, in-line with those running hybrid, humane and sustainable enterprises, and not simply focus on profit. The Young Enterprise (YE) Start-Up programme is an example of a role-play activity that is gaining in popularity amongst United Kingdom Universities seeking ways to give students insight into a business start-up. A Post-92 University in the North-West of England has adapted the traditional YE Directorship roles (e.g., Marketing Director, Sales Director) by including a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Director in all of the team-based YE Start-Up businesses. The aim for introducing this Directorship was to observe if such a role would help create a more socially responsible value-system within each company and in turn shape business decisions. This paper investigates role-play as a tool to help enterprise educators develop socially responsible attitudes and values in nascent entrepreneurs. A mixed qualitative methodology approach has been used, which includes interviews, role-play, and reflection, to help students develop positive value characteristics through the exploration of unethical and selfish behaviors. The initial findings indicate that role-play helped CSR Directors learn and gain insights into the importance of corporate social responsibility, influenced the values and actions of their YE Start-Ups, and increased the likelihood that if the participants were to launch a business post-graduation, that the intent would be for the business to be socially responsible. These findings help inform educators on how to develop socially responsible nascent entrepreneurs within a traditionally profit orientated business model.

Keywords: student entrepreneurship, young enterprise, social responsibility, role-play, values

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Elsa Reethu, S. Karthik Babu, N. Syed

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Background: Studies in the past focused on the additional benefits of action observation in improving upper and lower limb functions and improving activities of daily living when administered along with conventional therapy. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of literature proving the effects of motor imagery of truncal exercise in improving trunk control in patients with stroke. Aims/purpose: To study the effect of motor imagery of truncal exercises on trunk function and balance in early stroke. Methods: A total of 24 patients were included in the study. 12 were included in the experimental group and 12 were included in control group Trunk function was measured using Trunk Control Test (TCT), Trunk Impairment Scale Verheyden (TIS Verheyden) and Trunk Impairment Scale Fujiwara (TIS Fujiwara). The balance was assessed using Brunel Balance Assessment (BBA) and Tinetti POMA. For the experimental group, each session was for 30 minutes of physical exercises and 15 minutes of motor imagery, once a day, six times a week for 3 weeks and prior to the exercise session, patients viewed a video tape of all the trunk exercises to be performed for 15minutes. The control group practiced the trunk exercises alone for the same duration. Measurements were taken before, after and 4 weeks after intervention. Results: The effect of treatment in motor imagery group showed better improvement when compared with control group when measured after 3 weeks on values of static sitting balance, dynamic balance, total TIS (Verheyden) score, BBA, Tinetti balance and gait with a large effect size of 0.86, 1.99, 1.69, 1.06, 1.63 and 0.97 respectively. The moderate effect size was seen in values of TIS Fujiwara (0.58) and small effect size was seen on TCT (0.12) and TIS coordination component (0.13).at the end of 4 weeks after intervention, the large effect size was identified on values of dynamic balance (2.06), total TIS score (1.59) and Tinetti balance (1.24). The moderate effect size was observed on BBA (0.62) and Tinetti gait (0.72). Conclusion: Trunk motor imagery is effective in improving trunk function and balance in patients with stroke and has a carryover effect in the aspects of mobility. The therapy gain that was observed during the time of discharge was seen to be maintained at the follow-up levels.

Keywords: stroke, trunk rehabilitation, trunk function, balance, motor imagery

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Fahad Al Yahyaey, Ihab Shaat, Russell Bush

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This study was conducted at the Livestock Research Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Oman, on two local goat breeds (Jabbali and Sahrawi) due to their importance to Omani livestock production and food security. The Jabbali is characterized by increased growth rates and a higher twinning rate, while the Sahrawi has increased milk production. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Spirulina supplementation on live weight (BWT), average daily gain (ADG), and body conformation measurements; chest girth (CG), wither height (WH), body length (BL), and body condition score (BCS). Thirty-six males (approximately nine-months-old and 16.44 ± 0.33 kg average of initial body weight) were used across an eleven-week study from November–February 2019-2020. Each breed was divided into three groups (n = 6/group) and fed one of three rations: (1) concentrate mixture (Control) with crude protein 14% and energy 11.97% MJ/kg DM; (2) the same concentrate feed with the addition of 2 gm /capita daily Spirulina platensis (Treatment 1) and (3) the same concentrate feed with the addition of 4 gm /capita daily Spirulina platensis (Treatment 2). Analysis of weekly data collections for all traits indicated a significant effect of feeding Spirulina on all the studied traits except WH and BL. Analysis of variance for fixed effects in this study (damage and kid birth type i.e., single, twin or triple) were not significant for all studied traits. However, the breed effect was highly significant (P < 0.001) on BWT, ADG, BCS, and CG traits. On the other hand, when the analysis was done for the treatment effect within breeds for ADG, the Sahrawi breed had a significant effect (P < 0.05) at 56.52, 85.51, and 85.50 g/day for control, treatment 1 and treatment 2, respectively. This is a 51% difference between the control and treatment 1 (2 gm /capita). Whereas for the Jabbali breed, the treatment effect was not significant for ADG (P =0.55), and the actual ADG was 104.59, 118.84, and 114.25 g/day for control, treatment 1, and treatment 2, respectively, providing a 14% difference between the control group and the treated group (4 gm /capita). These findings indicate using Spirulina supplementation in Omani goat diets is recommended at 2 gm per capita as there was no benefit in feeding at 4 gm per capita for either breed. Farmers feeding Spirulina supplementation to kids after weaning at six-months could increase their herd performance and growth rate and facilitate buck selection at an earlier age.

Keywords: body conformation, goats, live weight, spirulina

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Authors: Zinaida Shelkovnikova

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The language in science is changing and meets the demands of the society. We shall argue that in the varied modern world there are important reasons for the integration of narratives into scientific discourse. As far as nowadays scientists are faced with extremely prompt science development and progress; modern scientific society lives in the conditions of tough competition. The integration of narratives into scientific discourse is thus a good way to prompt scientific experience to different audiences and to express covert prestige of the discourse. Narratives also form the identity of the persuasive narrator. Using the narrative approach to the scientific discourse analysis we reveal the sociocultural diversity of the scientists. If you want to attract audience’s attention to your scientific research, narratives should be integrated into your scientific discourse. Those who understand this consistent pattern are considered the leading scientists. Taking into account that it is prestigious to be renowned, celebrated in science, it is a covert prestige to write narratives in science. We define a science narrative as the intentional, consequent, coherent, event discourse or a discourse fragment, which contains the author creativity, in some cases intrigue, and gives mostly qualitative information (compared with quantitative data) in order to provide maximum understanding of the research. Science narratives also allow the effective argumentation and consequently construct the identity of the persuasive narrator. However, skills of creating appropriate scientific discourse reflect the level of prestige. In order to teach postgraduate students to be successful in English scientific writing and to be prestigious in the scientific society, we have defined the science narrative and outlined its main features and characteristics. Narratives contribute to audience’s involvement with the narrator and his/her narration. In general, the way in which a narrative is performed may result in (limited or greater) contact with the audience. To gain these aim authors use emotional fictional elements; descriptive elements: adjectives; adverbs; comparisons and so on; author’s evaluative elements. Thus, the features of science narrativity are the following: descriptive tools; authors evaluation; qualitative information exceeds the quantitative data; facts take the event status; understandability; accessibility; creativity; logics; intrigue; esthetic nature; fiction. To conclude, narratives function covert prestige of the scientific discourse and shape the identity of the persuasive scientist.

Keywords: covert prestige, narrativity, scientific discourse, scientific narrative

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Authors: Tekalign Gidi Kure

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This paper addresses a range of serious problems involving higher education in Ethiopia. In spite of increased enrollment in higher education, educational quality is deteriorating afterwards. Thus, this paper tried to assess the role of social infrastructure in education for economic development of the country and examined major critical problems in higher education of Ethiopia such as higher education finance, curriculum development, and instructor’s career development. Primarily the paper discusses the fundamental contributions of social infrastructure in higher education to economic development; namely development of human capital, improved health, life expectancy, increased productivity, and personal saving, then, the paper examines critically higher education in three regimes of Ethiopia (Emperor Regime, Derg Regime and EPDRF/current government). Thus, four main questions were raised during this research: "What are the antecedents of Ethiopia Higher Education System under three regimes?", " what are the current and emerging higher educational needs in Ethiopia economic development?", " what are the role of private sector in addressing the gaps in the higher education of the country and its adverse effect on quality issues? ", and "what improvements are needed in higher education system of Ethiopia?". Documents from Ministry of Education in Ethiopia, National Statistical Abstracts, and Reports from the World Bank and other recognized institutions were used in addition to recent empirical researches conducted in the country. In doing so, care had been taken to reduce prejudiced reports by involving different reports from multiple sources. The paper concludes that during emperor system higher education enrollment was among the very lowest in the world, therefore, the skilled human resource available to guide development were little, but the cost was very high. During the Derg regime where an ideological change in the system penetrated into higher education resulted with the lack of a large amount of resources to support higher education; the war inside and outside the country diverts resources from the sector. The main purpose of this paper is not only to discuss the problems and issues of higher education in the past, but it also investigates the influence that the current expansion of higher education has on the finance, staff, and other resources for the quality of education. The paper concludes that higher education in Ethiopia are financed by government, outdated curriculum and lagging behind the standard regarding qualified staff. Finally, it provided inevitable solutions if the country wants to gain well record in quality of education as well.

Keywords: social infrastructure, higher education, ethiopia, education quality

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Authors: Katerina H. Takova, Ivan N. Minkov, Gergana G. Zahmanova

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Molecular farming is the production of recombinant proteins in plants with the aim to use the protein as a purified product, crude extract or directly in the planta. Plants gain more attention as expression systems compared to other ones due to the cost effective production of pharmaceutically important proteins, appropriate post-translational modifications, assembly of complex proteins, absence of human pathogens to name a few. In addition, transient expression in plant leaves enables production of recombinant proteins within few weeks. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a causative agent of acute hepatitis. HEV causes epidemics in developing countries and is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Presently, all efforts for development of Hepatitis E vaccine are focused on the Open Read Frame 2 (ORF2) capsid protein as it contains epitopes that can induce neutralizing antibodies. For our purpose, we used the CMPV-based vector-pEAQ-HT for transient expression of HEV ORF2 in Nicotiana benthamina. Different molecular analysis (Western blot and ELISA) showed that HEV ORF2 capsid protein was expressed in plant tissue in high-yield up to 1g/kg of fresh leaf tissue. Electron microscopy showed that the capsid protein spontaneously assembled in low abundance virus-like particles (VLPs), which are highly immunogenic structures and suitable for vaccine development. The expressed protein was recognized by both human and swine HEV positive sera and can be used as a diagnostic reagent for the detection of HEV infection. Production of HEV capsid protein in plants is a promising technology for further HEV vaccine investigations. Here, we reported for a rapid high-yield transient expression of a recombinant protein in plants suitable for vaccine production as well as a diagnostic reagent. Acknowledgments -The authors’ research on HEV is supported with grants from the Project PlantaSYST under the Widening Program, H2020 as well as under the UK Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Institute Strategic Programme Grant ‘Understanding and Exploiting Plant and Microbial Secondary Metabolism’ (BB/J004596/1). The authors want to thank Prof. George Lomonossoff (JIC, Norwich, UK) for his contribution.

Keywords: hepatitis E virus, plant molecular farming, transient expression, vaccines

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Authors: Adi Levy

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Military and security personnel defections during nonviolent resistance (NVR) campaigns are recognized as an effective way of undermining the regime’s power, but they also may generate moral dilemmas that contradict the moral standing of NVR tactics. NVR campaigns have been primarily praised for their adherence to moral and legal norms, yet some of NVR tactics raise serious ethical concerns. This paper focuses on NVR tactics that seek to promote defections and disobedience within military and security personnel to sustain their campaign. Academic literature regarding NVR tactics indicates that compared to violent forms of resistance, defections are more likely to occur when security forces confront nonviolent activists. Indeed, defections play a strategically fundamental role in nonviolent campaigns, particularly against authoritarian regimes, as it enables activists to undermine the regime’s central pillars of support. This study examines the events of the Arab Spring and discusses the ethical problems that arise in nonviolent activists’ promotion of defections and disobedience. The cases of Syria and Egypt suggest that the strategic promotion of defections and disobedience was significantly effective in sustaining the campaign. Yet, while such defections enhance nonviolent activists’ resilience, how they are promoted can be morally contentious and the consequences can be dire. Defections are encouraged by social, moral and emotional appeals that use the power disparities between unarmed civilians and powerful regimes to affect soldiers and security personnel’s process of decision-making. In what is commonly referred to as dilemma action, nonviolent activists deliberately entangle security forces in a moral dilemma that compels them to follow a moral code to protect unarmed civilians. In this way, activists sustain their struggle and even gain protection. Nonviolent activists are likely to be completely defeated when confronted with armed forces. Therefore they rely on the military and security personnel’s moral conscious of convincing them to refrain from using force against them. While this is effective, it also leaves soldiers and security forces exposed to the implications and punishments that might follow their disobedience or defection. As long as they remain nonviolent, activists enjoy civilian immunity despite using morally contentious tactics. But the severe implications brought upon defectors. As a result, demand a deep examination of this tactic’s moral permissibility and a discussion that assesses culpability for the moral implications of its application.

Keywords: culpability, defections, nonviolence, permissibility

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Authors: Asowata Osamede

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Optimized gain in respect to output power of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems is one of the major focus of PV in recent times. This is evident to its low carbon emission and efficiency. Power failure or outage from commercial providers in general does not promote development to the public and private sector, these basically limit the development of industries. The need for a well-structured PV system is of importance for an efficient and cost-effective monitoring system. The purpose of this paper is to validate the maximum power point of an off-grid PV system taking into consideration the most effective tilt and orientation angles for PV's in the southern hemisphere. This paper is based on analyzing the system using a solar charger with MPPT from a pulse width modulation (PWM) perspective. The power conditioning device chosen is a solar charger with MPPT. The practical setup consists of a PV panel that is set to an orientation angle of 0o north, with a corresponding tilt angle of 36 o, 26o and 16o. The load employed in this set-up are three Lead Acid Batteries (LAB). The percentage fully charged, charging and not charging conditions are observed for all three batteries. The results obtained in this research is used to draw the conclusion that would provide a benchmark for researchers and scientist worldwide. This is done so as to have an idea of the best tilt and orientation angles for maximum power point in a basic off-grid PV system. A quantitative analysis would be employed in this research. Quantitative research tends to focus on measurement and proof. Inferential statistics are frequently used to generalize what is found about the study sample to the population as a whole. This would involve: selecting and defining the research question, deciding on a study type, deciding on the data collection tools, selecting the sample and its size, analyzing, interpreting and validating findings Preliminary results which include regression analysis (normal probability plot and residual plot using polynomial 6) showed the maximum power point in the system. The best tilt angle for maximum power point tracking proves that the 36o tilt angle provided the best average on time which in turns put the system into a pulse width modulation stage.

Keywords: power-conversion, meteonorm, PV panels, DC-DC converters

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Authors: E. Ielegems, J. Herssens, J. Vanrie

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Designers require knowledge and data about a diversity of users throughout the design process to create inclusive design solutions which are usable, understandable and desirable by everyone. Besides understanding users’ needs and expectations, the ways in which users perceive and experience the built environment contain valuable knowledge for architects. Since users’ perceptions and experiences are mainly tacit by nature, they are much more difficult to express in words and therefore more difficult to externalise. Nevertheless, literature confirms the importance of articulating embodied knowledge from users throughout the design process. Hence, more insight is needed into the ways architects can build knowledge on Universal Design through direct user contact. In a project called ‘light up for all’ architecture students are asked to design a light switch and socket, elegant, usable and understandable to the greatest extent possible by everyone. Two workshops with user/experts are organised in the first stages of the design process in which students could gain insight into users’ experiences through direct contact. Three data collection techniques are used to analyse the teams’ design processes. First, students were asked to keep a design diary, reporting design activities, personal experiences, and thoughts about users throughout the design process. Second, one of the authors observed workshops taking field notes. Finally, focus groups are conducted with the design teams after the design process was finished. By means of analysing collected qualitative data, we first identify different design aspects that make the teams’ proposals more inclusive than standard design solutions. For this paper, we specifically focus on aspects that externalise embodied user knowledge from users’ experiences. Subsequently, we look at designers’ approaches to learn about these specific aspects throughout the design process. Results show that in some situations, designers perceive contradicting knowledge between observations and verbal conversations, which shows the value of direct user contact. Additionally, findings give indications on values and limitations of working with selected prototypes as ‘boundary objects’ when externalising users’ experiences. These insights may help researchers to better understand designers’ process of eliciting embodied user knowledge. This way, research can offer more effective support to architects, which may result in better incorporating users’ experiences so that the built environment gradually can become more inclusive for all.

Keywords: universal design, architecture, design process, embodied user knowledge

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Authors: Parisa Gharibi Khoshkar

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The global outbreak of Covid-19 forced a swift shift in the education sector, transitioning from traditional in-person settings to remote online setups in a short period. This abrupt change, coupled with health risks and other stressors such as the lack of social interaction, has had a negative impact on academic staff, leading to increased job-related stress and psychological pressures that can result in burnout. To address this, the current research aims to investigate the relationship between job stress and burnout among academic staff in Hebron, Palestine. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of emotional intelligence to gain a deeper understanding of its effects in reducing burnout among academic staff and teachers. This research posits that emotional intelligence plays a vital role in helping individuals manage job-related stress and anxiety, thereby preventing burnout. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the study gathered data from 185 samples comprising teachers and administrative staff from two universities in Hebron. The data was analyzed using moderated regression analysis, ANOVA model, and interaction plots. The findings indicate that work-related stress has a direct and significant influence on burnout. Moreover, the current results highlight that emotional intelligence serves as a key determinant in managing the negative effects of the pandemic-induced stress that can lead to burnout among individuals. Given the high-demand nature of the education sector, this research strongly recommends that school authorities take proactive measures to provide much-needed support to academic staff, enabling them to better cope with job stress and fostering an environment that prioritizes individuals' wellbeing. The results of this study hold practical implications for both scholars and practitioners, as they highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in managing stress and anxiety effectively. Understanding the significance of emotional intelligence can aid in implementing targeted interventions and support systems to promote the well-being and resilience of academic staff amidst challenging circumstances.

Keywords: job stress, burnout, employee wellbeing, emotional intelligence, industrial organizational psychology, human resource management, organizational psychology

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Authors: Mayuresh Thombre, Prajyot Borkar, Mangirish Bhobe

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New advancement of technology and never satisfying demands of the civilization are putting huge pressure on the natural fuel resources and these resources are at a constant threat to its sustainability. To get the best out of the automobile, the optimum balance between performance and fuel economy is important. In the present state of art, either of the above two aspects are taken into mind while designing and development process which puts the other in the loss as increase in fuel economy leads to decrement in performance and vice-versa. In-depth observation of the vehicle dynamics apparently shows that large amount of energy is lost during braking and likewise large amount of fuel is consumed to reclaim the initial state, this leads to lower fuel efficiency to gain the same performance. Current use of Kinetic Energy Recovery System is only limited to sports vehicles only because of the higher cost of this system. They are also temporary in nature as power can be squeezed only during a small time duration and use of superior parts leads to high cost, which results on concentration on performance only and neglecting the fuel economy. In this paper Kinetic Energy Recovery System for storing the power and then using the same while accelerating has been discussed. The major storing element in this system is a Flat Spiral Spring that will store energy by compression and torsion. The use of spring ensure the permanent storage of energy until used by the driver unlike present mechanical regeneration system in which the energy stored decreases with time and is eventually lost. A combination of internal gears and spur gears will be used in order to make the energy release uniform which will lead to safe usage. The system can be used to improve the fuel efficiency by assisting in overcoming the vehicle’s inertia after braking or to provide instant acceleration whenever required by the driver. The performance characteristics of the system including response time, mechanical efficiency and overall increase in efficiency are demonstrated. This technology makes the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) more flexible and economical allowing specific application while at the same time increasing the time frame and ease of usage.

Keywords: electric control unit, energy, mechanical KERS, planetary gear system, power, smart braking, spiral spring

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Authors: Chia-Pei Chen, Yu-Ju Chen, Yu-Juei Hsu

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The prevalence and incidence of end-stage renal disease in Taiwan ranks the highest in the world. According to the statistical survey of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2019, kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in Taiwan. It leads to autonomic dysfunction, inflammatory response and symptom distress, and further increases the damage to the structure and function of the kidneys, leading to increased demand for renal replacement therapy and risks of cardiovascular disease, which also has medical costs for the society. If we can intervene in a feasible manual to effectively regulate the autonomic nerve function of CKD patients, reduce the inflammatory response and symptom distress. To prolong the progression of the disease, it will be the main goal of caring for CKD patients. This study aims to test the effect of heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVBF) on improving autonomic nerve function (Heart Rate Variability, HRV), inflammatory response (Interleukin-6 [IL-6], C reaction protein [CRP] ), symptom distress (Piper fatigue scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI], and Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II] ) in patients with chronic kidney disease. This study was experimental research, with a convenience sampling. Participants were recruited from the nephrology clinic at a medical center in northern Taiwan. With signed informed consent, participants were randomly assigned to the HRVBF or control group by using the Excel BINOMDIST function. The HRVBF group received four weekly hospital-based HRVBF training, and 8 weeks of home-based self-practice was done with StressEraser. The control group received usual care. We followed all participants for 3 months, in which we repeatedly measured their autonomic nerve function (HRV), inflammatory response (IL-6, CRP), and symptom distress (Piper fatigue scale, PSQI, and BDI-II) on their first day of study participation (baselines), 1 month, and 3 months after the intervention to test the effects of HRVBF. The results were analyzed by SPSS version 23.0 statistical software. The data of demographics, HRV, IL-6, CRP, Piper fatigue scale, PSQI, and BDI-II were analyzed by descriptive statistics. To test for differences between and within groups in all outcome variables, it was used by paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Thirty-four patients with chronic kidney disease were enrolled, but three of them were lost to follow-up. The remaining 31 patients completed the study, including 15 in the HRVBF group and 16 in the control group. The characteristics of the two groups were not significantly different. The four-week hospital-based HRVBF training combined with eight-week home-based self-practice can effectively enhance the parasympathetic nerve performance for patients with chronic kidney disease, which may against the disease-related parasympathetic nerve inhibition. In the inflammatory response, IL-6 and CRP in the HRVBF group could not achieve significant improvement when compared with the control group. Self-reported fatigue and depression significantly decreased in the HRVBF group, but they still failed to achieve a significant difference between the two groups. HRVBF has no significant effect on improving the sleep quality for CKD patients.

Keywords: heart rate variability biofeedback, autonomic nerve function, inflammatory response, symptom distress, chronic kidney disease

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Authors: K. Masera, A. K. Hossain

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Hardly any neat biodiesel satisfies the European EN14214 standard for compression ignition engine application. To satisfy the EN14214 standard, various additives are doped into biodiesel; however, biodiesel additives might cause other problems such as increase in the particular emission and increased specific fuel consumption. In addition, the additives could be expensive. Considering the increasing level of greenhouse gas GHG emissions and fossil fuel depletion, it is forecasted that the use of biodiesel will be higher in the near future. Hence, the negative aspects of the biodiesel additives will likely to gain much more importance and need to be replaced with better solutions. This study aims to satisfy the European standard EN14214 by blending the biodiesels derived from sustainable feedstocks. Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) and Animal Fat Oil (AFO) are two sustainable feedstocks in the EU (including the UK) for producing biodiesels. In the first stage of the study, these oils were transesterified separately and neat biodiesels (W100 & A100) were produced. Secondly, the biodiesels were blended together in various ratios: 80% WCO biodiesel and 20% AFO biodiesel (W80A20), 60% WCO biodiesel and 40% AFO biodiesel (W60A40), 50% WCO biodiesel and 50% AFO biodiesel (W50A50), 30% WCO biodiesel and 70% AFO biodiesel (W30A70), 10% WCO biodiesel and 90% AFO biodiesel (W10A90). The prepared samples were analysed using Thermo Scientific Trace 1300 Gas Chromatograph and ISQ LT Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). The GS-MS analysis gave Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) breakdowns of the fuel samples. It was found that total saturation degree of the samples was linearly increasing (from 15% for W100 to 54% for A100) as the percentage of the AFO biodiesel was increased. Furthermore, it was found that WCO biodiesel was mainly (82%) composed of polyunsaturated FAMEs. Cetane numbers, iodine numbers, calorific values, lower heating values and the densities (at 15 ^oC) of the samples were estimated by using the mass percentages data of the FAMEs. Besides, kinematic viscosities (at 40 °C and 20 °C), densities (at 15 °C), heating values and flash point temperatures of the biomixture samples were measured in the lab. It was found that estimated and measured characterisation results were comparable. The current study concluded that biomixture fuel samples W60A40 and W50A50 were perfectly satisfying the European EN 14214 norms without any need of additives. Investigation on engine performance, exhaust emission and combustion characteristics will be conducted to assess the full feasibility of the proposed biomixture fuels.

Keywords: biodiesel, blending, characterisation, CI engine

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Authors: Saeyoung Lee

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As the enthusiasm for education in Korea is too much high, it is well known by others that children in Korea get good scores in Mathematics. However, behind of this good reputation, children in Korea are easy to get lose self-confidence, tend to complaint and rarely participate in the class because of too much competition which leads to lack of competences. In this regard, the main goals of this paper are, by applying the programme based on peer-communication on Mathematics education field, it would like to improve self-managemental competence to make children gain self-confidence, communicative competence to make them deal with complaint and communitive competence to make them participated in the class for the age of 10 children to solve this problem. 14 children the age of 10 in one primary school in Gangnam, Seoul, Korea had participated in the research from March 2018 to October 2018. They were under the programme based on peer-communication during the period. Every Mathematics class maintained the same way. Firstly a problem was given to children. Secondly, children were asked to find many ways to solve the problem as much as they could by themselves. Thirdly all ways to solve the problem by children were posted on the board and three of the children made a group to distinguish the ways from valid to invalid. Lastly, all children made a discuss to find one way which is the most efficient among valid ways. Pre-test was carried out by the questionnaire based on Likert scale before applying the programme. The result of the pre-test was 3.89 for self-managemental competence, 3.91 for communicative competence and 4.19 for communitive competence. Post-test was carried out by the same questionnaire after applying the programme. The result of the post-test was 3.93 for self-managemental competence, 4.23 for communicative competence and 4.20 for communitive competence. That means by applying the programme based on peer-communication on Mathematics education field, the age of 10 children in Korea could improve self-managemental, communicative and communitive competence. Especially it works very well on communicative competence by increasing 0.32 points as it marked. Considering this research, Korean Mathematics education based on competition which leads to lack of competences should be changed to cooperative structure to make students more competent rather than just getting good scores. In conclusion, innovative teaching methods which are focused on improving competences such as the programme based on peer-communication which was applied in this research are strongly required to be studied and widely used.

Keywords: competences, mathematics education, peer-communication, primary education

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Authors: Omoruyi G. Idemudia, Alexander P. Sadimenko

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The need for the development of new sustainable bioactive compounds with unique properties that can become potential replacement for commonly used medicinal drugs has continued to gain tremendous research concerns because of the problems of disease resistant to these medicinal drugs and their toxicity effects. NOS-donor heterocycles are particularly of interest as they have showed good pharmacological activities in the midst of their interesting chelating properties towards metal ions, an important characteristic for transition metal based drugs design. These new compounds have also gained application as dye sensitizers in solar cell panels for the generation of renewable solar energy, as greener water purification polymer for supply and management of clean water and as catalysts which are used to reduce the amount of pollutants from industrial reaction processes amongst others, because of their versatile properties. Di-ketone acylpyrazolones and their azomethine schiff bases have been employed as pharmaceuticals as well as analytical reagents, and their application as transition metal complexes have being well established. In this research work, a new 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one-thiosemicarbazone was synthesized from the reaction of 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one and thiosemicarbazide in methanol. The pure isolate of the thiosemicarbazone was further reacted with aqueous solutions of palladium and platinum salts to obtain their metal complexes, in an effort towards the discovery of transition metal based synthetic drugs. These compounds were characterized by means of analytical, spectroscopic, thermogravimetric analysis TGA, as well as x-ray crystallography. 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one thiosemicarbazone crystallizes in a triclinic crystal system with a P-1 (No. 2) space group according to x-ray crystallography. The tridentate NOS ligand formed a tetrahedral geometry on coordinating with metal ions. Reported compounds showed varying antioxidant free radical scavenging activities against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl DPPH radical at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µg/ml concentrations. The platinum complex have shown a very good antioxidant property against DPPH with an IC50 of 76.03 µg/ml compared with standard ascorbic acid (IC50 of 74.66 µg/ml) and as such have been identified as a potential anticancer candidate.

Keywords: acylpyrazolone, free radical scavenging activities, tridentate ligand, x-ray crystallography

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Authors: Paul Essel, Eric T. Glover, Gustav Gbeddy, Yaw Adjei-Kyereme, Abdallah M. A. Dawood, Evans M. Ameho, Emmanuel A. Aberikae

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Radioactive materials mainly in the form of Sealed Radioactive Sources are being used in various sectors (medicine, agriculture, industry, research, and teaching) for the socio-economic development of Ghana. The use of these beneficial radioactive materials has resulted in an inventory of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) in storage. Most of the DSRS are legacy/historic sources which cannot be returned to their manufacturer or country of origin. Though small in volume, DSRS can be intensively radioactive and create a significant safety and security liability. They need to be managed in a safe and secure manner in accordance with the fundamental safety objective. The Radioactive Waste Management Center (RWMC) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) is currently storing a significant volume of DSRS. The initial activities of the DSRS range from 7.4E+5 Bq to 6.85E+14 Bq. If not managed properly, such DSRS can represent a potential hazard to human health and the environment. Storage is an important interim step, especially for DSRS containing very short-lived radionuclides, which can decay to exemption levels within a few years. Long-term storage, however, is considered an unsustainable option for DSRS with long half-lives hence the need for a disposal facility. The GAEC intends to use the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Borehole Disposal System (BDS) to provide a safe, secure, and cost-effective disposal option to dispose of its DSRS in storage. The proposed site for implementation of the BDS is on the GAEC premises at Kwabenya. The site has been characterized to gain a general understanding in terms of its regional setting, its past evolution and likely future natural evolution over the assessment time frame. Due to the long half-lives of some of the radionuclides to be disposed of (Ra-226 with half-life of 1600 years), the engineered barriers of the system must be robust to contain these radionuclides for this long period before they decay to harmless levels. There is the need to assess the safety related functions of the engineered barriers of this disposal system.

Keywords: radionuclides, disposal, radioactive waste, engineered barrier

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Authors: Amela Ajanovic, Reinhard Haas

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Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered as an important means to cope with current environmental problems in transport. However, their high capital costs and limited driving ranges state major barriers to a broader market penetration. The core objective of this paper is to investigate the future market prospects of various types of EVs from an economic and ecological point of view. Our method of approach is based on the calculation of total cost of ownership of EVs in comparison to conventional cars and a life-cycle approach to assess the environmental benignity. The most crucial parameters in this context are km driven per year, depreciation time of the car and interest rate. The analysis of future prospects it is based on technological learning regarding investment costs of batteries. The major results are the major disadvantages of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the high capital costs, mainly due to the battery, and a low driving range in comparison to conventional vehicles. These problems could be reduced with plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and range extenders (REXs). However, these technologies have lower CO₂ emissions in the whole energy supply chain than conventional vehicles, but unlike BEV they are not zero-emission vehicles at the point of use. The number of km driven has a higher impact on total mobility costs than the learning rate. Hence, the use of EVs as taxis and in car-sharing leads to the best economic performance. The most popular EVs are currently full hybrid EVs. They have only slightly higher costs and similar operating ranges as conventional vehicles. But since they are dependent on fossil fuels, they can only be seen as energy efficiency measure. However, they can serve as a bridging technology, as long as BEVs and fuel cell vehicle do not gain high popularity, and together with PHEVs and REX contribute to faster technological learning and reduction in battery costs. Regarding the promotion of EVs, the best results could be reached with a combination of monetary and non-monetary incentives, as in Norway for example. The major conclusion is that to harvest the full environmental benefits of EVs a very important aspect is the introduction of CO₂-based fuel taxes. This should ensure that the electricity for EVs is generated from renewable energy sources; otherwise, total CO₂ emissions are likely higher than those of conventional cars.

Keywords: costs, mobility, policy, sustainability,

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Authors: S. Al-Khalasi, O. Mahgoub, H. Yaakub

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This study evaluated the use of raw or processed Prosopis juliflora (Meskit) pods as a major ingredient in a formulated ration to provide an alternative non-conventional concentrate for livestock feeding in Oman. Dry Meskit pods were reduced to lengths of 0.5- 1.0 cm to ensure thorough mixing into three diets. Meskit pods were subjected to two types of treatments; roasting and soaking. They were roasted at 150оC for 30 minutes using a locally-made roasting device (40 kg barrel container rotated by electric motor and heated by flame gas cooker). Chopped pods were soaked in tap water for 24 hours and dried for 2 days under the sun with frequent turning. The Meskit-pod-based diets (MPBD) were formulated and pelleted from 500 g/kg ground Meskit pods, 240 g/kg wheat bran, 200 g/kg barley grain, 50 g/kg local dried sardines and 10 g/kg of salt. Twenty four 10 months-old intact Omani male lambs with average body weight of 27.3 kg (± 0.5 kg) were used in a feeding trial for 84 days. They were divided (on body weight basis) and allocated to four diet combination groups. These were: Rhodes grass hay (RGH) plus a general ruminant concentrate (GRC); RGH plus raw Meskit pods (RMP) based concentrate; RGH plus roasted Meskit pods (ROMP) based concentrate; RGH plus soaked Meskit pods (SMP) based concentrate Daily feed intakes and bi-weekly body weights were recorded. MPBD had higher contents of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) than the GRC. Animals fed various types of MPBD did not show signs of ill health. There was a significant effect of feeding ROMP on the performance of Omani sheep compared to RMP and SMP. The ROMP fed animals had similar performance to those fed the GRC in terms of feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR).This study indicated that roasted Meskit pods based diet may be used instead of the commercial concentrate for feeding Omani sheep without adverse effects on performance. It offers a cheap alternative source of protein and energy for feeding Omani sheep. Also, it might help in solving the spread impact of Meskit trees, maintain the ecosystem and helping in preserving the local tree species.

Keywords: growth, Meskit, Omani sheep, Prosopis juliflora

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Authors: Jianzhou Ni, Hua Fan

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It has been determined that supervisor support has a major influence on postgraduate students' academic emotions and is considered a method of successfully anticipating postgraduates' good psychological well-being levels. As a result, by assessing the mediating influence upon academic emotions for contemporary postgraduates in China, this study investigated the tight reciprocal relationship between psychological empowerment and positive mental well-being among postgraduates. To that end, a help enables a theoretical analysis of role clarity, academic emotion, and positive psychological health was developed, and its validity and reliability were demonstrated for the first time using the normalized postgrad relationship with supervisor scale, academic emotion scale, and positive mental scale, as well as questionnaire data from Chinese postgraduate students. This study used the cross-lagged (ARCL) panel model data to longitudinally measure 798 valid data from two survey questions polls taken in 2019 (T1) and 2021 (T2) to investigate the link between supervisor support and positive graduate student mental well-being in a bidirectional relationship of influence. The study discovered that mentor assistance could have a considerable beneficial impact on graduate students' academic emotions and, as a result, indirectly help learners attain positive mental health development. This verifies the theoretical premise that academic emotions partially mediate the effect of mentor support on positive mental health development and argues for the coexistence of the two. The outcomes of this study can help researchers gain a better knowledge of the dynamic interplay among three different research variables: supervisor support, academic emotions, and positive mental health, as well as fill gaps in previous research. In this regard, the study indicated that mentor assistance directly stimulates students' academic drive and assists graduate students in developing good academic emotions, which contributes to the development of positive mental health. However, given the restricted measurement time in this study's cross-lagged panel data and the potential effect of moderating effects other than academic mood on graduate students' good mental health, the results of this study need to be more fully understood and validated.

Keywords: supervisor support, academic emotions, positive mental health, interaction effects, longitudinal cross-lagged measurements

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Authors: Maria Luisa de la Torre, Javier Aroba, Jose Miguel Davila, Aguasanta M. Sarmiento

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Steel is one of the most widely used materials in polymetallic sulfide mining installations. One of the main problems suffered by these facilities is the economic losses due to the corrosion of this material, which is accelerated and aggravated by the contact with acid waters generated in these mines when sulfides come into contact with oxygen and water. This generation of acidic water, in turn, is accelerated by the presence of acidophilic bacteria. In order to gain a more detailed understanding of this corrosion process and the interaction between steel and acidic water, a laboratory experiment was carried out in which carbon steel plates were introduced into four different solutions for 27 days: distilled water (BK), which tried to assimilate the effect produced by rain on this material, an acid solution from a mine with a high Fe2+/Fe3+ (PO) content, another acid solution of water from another mine with a high Fe3+/Fe2+ (PH) content and, finally, one that reproduced the acid mine water with a high Fe2+/Fe3+ content but in which there were no bacteria (ST). Every 24 hours, physicochemical parameters were measured and water samples were taken to carry out an analysis of the dissolved elements. The results of these measurements were processed using an explainable AI model based on fuzzy logic. It could be seen that, in all cases, there was an increase in pH, as well as in the concentrations of Fe and, in particular, Fe(II), as a consequence of the oxidation of the steel plates. Proportionally, the increase in Fe concentration was higher in PO and ST than in PH because Fe precipitates were produced in the latter. The rise of Fe(II) was proportionally much higher in PH and, especially in the first hours of exposure, because it started from a lower initial concentration of this ion. Although to a lesser extent than in PH, the greater increase in Fe(II) also occurred faster in PO than in ST, a consequence of the action of the catalytic bacteria. On the other hand, Cu concentrations decreased throughout the experiment (with the exception of distilled water, which initially had no Cu, as a result of an electrochemical process that generates a precipitation of Cu together with Fe hydroxides. This decrease is lower in PH because the high total acidity keeps it in solution for a longer time. With the application of an artificial intelligence tool, it has been possible to evaluate the effects of steel corrosion in mining environments, corroborating and extending what was obtained by means of classical statistics. Acknowledgments: This work has been supported by MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE, throughout the project PID2021-123130OB-I00.

Keywords: carbon steel, corrosion, acid mine drainage, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic

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