Search results for: minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)

Authors: E. Karakulak, R. Yamanoğlu, M. Zeren

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In the current study, fly ash obtained from a thermal power plant was used as reinforcement in pure magnesium. The composite materials with different fly ash contents were produced with powder metallurgical methods. Powder mixtures were sintered at 540^oC under 30 MPa pressure for 15 minutes in a vacuum assisted hot press. Results showed that increasing ash content continuously increases hardness of the composite. On the other hand, minimum wear damage was obtained at 2 wt. % ash content. Addition of higher level of fly ash results with formation of cracks in the matrix and increases wear damage of the material.

Keywords: Mg composite, fly ash, wear, powder metallurgy

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Esra Yuksel, Dilek Duman, Levent Yeniay, Sezgin Ulukaya

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Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a minimal invasive technique with lower morbidity in axillary staging of breast cancer. Isosulfan blue stain is frequently used in SLNB and regarded as safe. The present case report aimed to report severe decrement in SpO2 following isosulfan blue administration, as well as skin and urine signs and inconsistency with clinical picture in a 67-year-old ,77 kg, ASA II female case that underwent SLNB under general anesthesia. Ten minutes after subcutaneous administration of 10 ml 1% isosulfan blue by the surgeons into the patient, who were hemodynamically stable, SpO2 first reduced to 87% from 99%, and then to 75% in minutes despite 100% oxygen support. Meanwhile, blood pressure and EtCO2 monitoring was unremarkable. After specifying that anesthesia device worked normally, airway pressure did not increase and the endotracheal tube has been placed accurately, the blood sample was taken from the patient for arterial gas analysis. A severe increase was thought in MetHb concentration since SpO2 persisted to be 75% although the concentration of inspired oxygen was 100%, and solution of 2500 mg ascorbic acid in 500 ml 5% Dextrose was given to the patient via intravenous route until the results of arterial blood gas were obtained. However, arterial blood gas results were as follows: pH: 7.54, PaCO2: 23.3 mmHg, PaO2: 281 mmHg, SaO2: %99, and MetHb: %2.7. Biochemical analysis revealed a blood MetHb concentration of 2%.However, since arterial blood gas parameters were good, hemodynamics of the patient was stable and methemoglobin concentration was not so high, the patient was extubated after surgery when she was relaxed, cooperated and had adequate respiration. Despite the absence of respiratory or neurological distress, SpO2 value was increased only up to 85% within 2 hours with 5 L/min oxygen support via face mask in the surgery room as the patient was extubated. At that time, the skin of particularly the upper part of her body has turned into blue, more remarkable on the face. The color of plasma of the blood taken from the patient for biochemical analysis was blue. The color of urine coming throughout the urinary catheter placed in intensive care unit was also blue. Twelve hours after 5 L/min. oxygen inhalation via a mask, the SpO2 reached to 90%. During monitoring in intensive care unit on the postoperative 1st day, facial color and urine color of the patient was still blue, SpO2 was 92%, and arterial blood gas levels were as follows: pH: 7.44, PaO2: 76.1 mmHg, PaCO2: 38.2 mmHg, SaO2: 99%, and MetHb 1%. During monitoring in clinic on the postoperative 2nd day, SpO2 was 95% without oxygen support and her facial and urine color turned into normal. The patient was discharged on the 3rd day without any problem.In conclusion, SLNB is a less invasive alternative to axillary dissection. However, false pulse oximeter reading due to pigment interference is a rare complication of this procedure. Arterial blood gas analysis should be used to confirm any fall in SpO2 reading during monitoring.

Keywords: isosulfan blue, pulse oximetry, SLNB, methemoglobinemia

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Authors: H. Li, L. Ji, J. Su

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Forward osmosis is an emerging technology for separation and has great potential in the concentration of liquid products such as protein, pharmaceutical, and natural products. In pharmacy industry, one of the very tough talks is to concentrate the product in a gentle way since some of the key components may lose bioactivity when exposed to heating or pressurization. Therefore, forward osmosis (FO), which uses inherently existed osmosis pressure instead of externally applied hydraulic pressure, is attractive for pharmaceutical enrichments in a much efficient and energy-saving way. Recently, coordination complexes have been explored as the new class of draw solutes in FO processes due to their bulky configuration and excellent performance in terms of high water flux and low reverse solute flux. Among these coordination complexes, ferric citrate complex with lots of hydrophilic groups and ionic species which make them good solubility and high osmotic pressure in aqueous solution, as well as its low toxicity, has received much attention. However, the chemistry of ferric complexation by citrate is complicated, and disagreement prevails in the literature, especially for the structure of the ferric citrate. In this study, we investigated the chemical reaction with various molar ratio of iron and citrate. It was observed that the ferric citrate complex (Fe-CA2) with molar ratio of 1:1 for iron and citrate formed at the beginning of the reaction, then Fecit would convert to ferric citrate complex at the molar ratio of 1:2 with the proper excess of citrate in the base solution. The structures of the ferric citrate complexes synthesized were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Fe-CA2 solutions exhibit osmotic pressures more than twice of that for NaCl solutions at the same concentrations. Higher osmotic pressure means higher driving force, and this is preferable for the FO process. Fe-CA2 and NaCl draw solutions were prepared with the same osmotic pressure and used in FO process for BSA protein concentration. Within 180 min, BSA concentration was enriched from 0.2 to 0.27 L using Fe-CA draw solutions. However, it was only increased from 0.20 to 0.22 g/L using NaCl draw solutions. A reverse flux of 11 g/m²h was observed for NaCl draw solutes while it was only 0.1 g/m²h for Fe-CA2 draw solutes. It is safe to conclude that Fe-CA2 is much better than NaCl as draw solute and it is suitable for the enrichment of liquid product.

Keywords: draw solutes, ferric citrate complex, forward osmosis, protein enrichment

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Jeong Woo Kang, MiYoung Baek, Ki-Suk Kim, Kwang-Jick Lee, ByungJae So

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Introduction: A fast, easy and sensitive detection method was developed and validated by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of marbofloxacin in pig plasma which was further applied to study the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin. Materials and Methods: The plasma sample (500 μL) was mixed with 1.5 ml of 0.1% formic acid in MeCN to precipitate plasma proteins. After shaking for 20 min, The mixture was centrifuged at 5,000 × g for 30 min. It was dried under a nitrogen flow at 50℃. 500 μL aliquot of the sample was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. Chromatographic analysis was carried out mobile phase gradient consisting 0.1% formic acid in D.W. (A) and 0.1% formic acid in MeCN (B) with C18 reverse phase column. Mass spectrometry was performed using the positive ion mode and the selected ion monitoring (MRM). Results and Conclusions: The method validation was performed in the sample matrix. Good linearities (R2>0.999) were observed and the quantified average recoveries of marbofloxacin were 87 - 92% at level of 10 ng g-1 -100 ng g-1. The percent of coefficient of variation (CV) for the described method was less than 10 % over the range of concentrations studied. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 2 and 5 ng g-1, respectively. This method has also been applied successfully to pharmacokinetic analysis of marbofloxacin after intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM) and oral administration (PO). The mean peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was 2,597 ng g-1at 0.25 h, 2,587 ng g-1at 0.44 h and 2,355 ng g-1at 1.58 h for IV, IM and PO, respectively. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0–t) was 24.8, 29.0 and 25.2 h μg/mL for IV, IM and PO, respectively. The elimination half-life (T1/2) was 8.6, 13.1 and 9.5 for IV, IM and PO, respectively. Bioavailability (F) of the marbofloxacin in pig was 117 and 101 % for IM and PO, respectively. Based on these result, marbofloxacin does not have any obstacles as therapeutics to develop the oral formulations such as tablets and capsules.

Keywords: marbofloxacin, LC-MS/MS, pharmacokinetics, chromatographic

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Authors: S. R. Nayaka, Putta Swamy

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Graph polynomial is one of the algebraic representations of the Graph. The degree polynomial is one of the simple algebraic representations of graphs. The degree polynomial of a graph G of order n is the polynomial Deg(G, x) with the coefficients deg(G,i) where deg(G,i) denotes the number of vertices of degree i in G. In this article, we investigate the behavior of the roots of some families of Graphs in the complex field. We investigate for the graphs having only integral roots. Further, we characterize the graphs having single roots or having real roots and behavior of the polynomial at the particular value is also obtained.

Keywords: degree polynomial, regular graph, minimum and maximum degree, graph operations

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Authors: Azhar Jabareen, Mahmoud Huleihel

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BRCA-1 is a multifunctional tumor suppressor, whose expression is activated by the estrogen (E2)-liganded ERα receptor. The activated ERα is a transcriptional factor which activates various genes either by direct binding to the DNA at E2-responsive elements (EREs) and indirectly associated with a range of alternative non-ERE elements. Interference with BRCA-1 expression and/or functions leads to high risk of breast or/and ovarian cancer. Our lab investigated the involvement of Human T-cell leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) in breast cancer, since HTLV-1 Tax was found to strongly inhibit BRCA-1 expression. In addition, long exposure of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which is one of the stress-inducing agents activated the HTLV-1 promoter. So here the involvement of TPA in breast cancer had been examined by testing the effect of TPA on BRCA-1 and ERE expression. The results showed that TPA activated both BRCA-1 and ERE expression. In the 12 hours TPA activated the tow promoters more than others time, and after 24 hours the level of the tow promoters was decreased. Tax inhibited BRCA-1 expression but did not succeed to inhibit the effect of TPA. Then the activation of the two promoters was not through ERα pathway because TPA had no effect on ERα binding to the two promoters of the BRCA-1 and ERE. Also, the activation was not via nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway because when the inhibitory of NF-κB had been added to the TPA, it still activated the tow promoters. However, it seems that 53BP1 may be involved in TPA activation of these promoters because ectopic high expression of 53BP1 significantly reduced the TPA activity. In addition, in the presence of Bisindolylmaleimide-I (BI)- the inhibitor of Protein Kinase C (PKC)- there was no activation for the two promoters, so the PKC is agonized BRCA-1 and ERE activation.

Keywords: BRCA-1, ERE, HTLV-1, TPA

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Authors: Feleke Terefe Fanta

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The existence of heavy metals and microbial contaminants in aquatic system of Akaki river basin, a sub city of Addis Ababa, has become a public concern as human population increases and land development continues. This is because effluents from chemical and pharmaceutical industries are directly discharged onto surrounding land, irrigation fields and surface water bodies. In the present study, we synthesised zeolites and copper- zeolite composite based adsorbent through cost effective and simple approach to mitigate the problem. The study presents determination of heavy metal content and microbial contamination level of waste water sample collected from Akaki river using zeolites and copper- doped zeolites as adsorbents. The synthesis of copper- zeolite X composite was carried out by ion exchange method of copper ions into zeolites frameworks. The optimum amount of copper ions loaded into the zeolites frameworks were studied using the pore size determination concept via iodine test. The copper- loaded zeolites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD analysis showed clear difference in phase purity of zeolite before and after copper ion exchange. The concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb were determined in waste water sample using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, and Pb in untreated sample were 0.795, 0.654 and 0.7025 mg/L respectively. The concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb decreased to 0.005, 0.052 and BDL mg/L for sample treated with bare zeolite X while a further decrease in concentration of Cd, Cr, and Pb (0.005, BDL and BDL) mg/L respectively was observed for the sample treated with copper- zeolite composite. The antimicrobial activity was investigated by exposing the total coliform to the Zeolite X and Copper-modified Zeolite X. Zeolite X and Copper-modified Zeolite X showed complete elimination of microbilas after 90 and 50 minutes contact time respectively. This demonstrates effectiveness of copper- zeolite composite as efficient disinfectant. To understand the mode of heavy metals removal and antimicrobial activity of the copper-loaded zeolites; the adsorbent dose, contact time, temperature was studied. Overall, the results obtained in this study showed high antimicrobial disinfection and heavy metal removal efficiencies of the synthesized adsorbent.

Keywords: waste water, copper doped zeolite x, adsorption heavy metal, disinfection

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Authors: Y. Suchitra Devi, L. Hemchandra Singh

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Background: Because of its geographical location, Manipur lies in the conventional goiter endemic belt. During the post salt iodization period, endemic goiter was prevalent in the valley districts of Manipur without iodine deficiency. Objectives: The present study aim at the prevalence of goiter among school children (6-12 years) and women of reproductive age group (above 20 years) of Andro Assembly Constituency, Imphal- East, Manipur, India. Method: A total of 3992 individuals were clinically examined for thyroid enlargement. Hormones like TSH, FT₄, FT₃, and Anti-TPO, Anti-Tg were tested, UIC, USCN, testing of iodine in water and salt. Result: Total goiter prevalence was found to be 13.98%, median urinary iodine level was 166.0 µg/l, mean urinary thiocyanate concentration was 0.726 ± 0.408, mean water iodine concentration was 3.843 ± 2.291, and all the salt samples were above 15ppm. 6 out of 41 children and 93 out of 176 women were auto antibody positive. 41 children and 176 women were tested for TSH, FT₄, and FT₃, which shows disturbance in hormone level. Conclusion: The present study showed that the region is mildly goiter endemic without biochemical iodine deficiency.

Keywords: goiter, TSH, FT₄, FT₃, anti-TPO, anti-Tg, UIC, USCN, school children and women of reproductive age

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Authors: Xiang Wang, Yan Pang, Zhaomiao Liu

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Droplet-based microfluidics have been studied extensively with the development of the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) which bears the advantages of high throughput, high efficiency, low cost and low polydispersity. Droplets, worked as versatile carriers, could provide isolated chambers as the internal dispersed phase is protected from the outside continuous phase. Droplets are used to add reagents to start or end bio-chemical reactions, to generate concentration gradients, to realize hydrate crystallization or protein analyses, while droplets coalescence acts as an important control technology. In this paper, deionized water is used as the dispersed phase, and several kinds of oil are used as the continuous phase to investigate the influence of the viscosity ratio of the two phases on the coalescence process. The microchannels are fabricated by coating a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer onto another PDMS flat plate after corona treatment. All newly made microchannels are rinsed with the continuous oil phase for hours before experiments to ensure the swelling fully developed. High-speed microscope system is used to document the serial videos with a maximum speed of 2000 frames per second. The critical capillary numbers (Ca*) of droplet pairs in various junctions are studied and compared. Ca* varies with different junctions or different liquids within the range of 0.002 to 0.01. However, droplets without extra control would have the problem of synchronism which reduces the coalescence efficiency.

Keywords: coalescence, concentration, critical capillary number, droplet pair, split

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Authors: Kanokkan Titipornpun, Somphorn Sriarpanon, Apinun Titipornpun, Jan Gimsa, Tripob Bhongsuwan, Noodchanath Kongchouy

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The Phanom and Ko Pha-ngan districts of Surat Thani province are known for their high atmospheric radon concentrations from different sources. While Phanom district is located in an active fault zone, the main radon source in Ko Pha-ngan district is the high amounts of equivalent uranium in the ground surface. Survey measurements of the indoor radon concentrations have been carried out in 105 dwellings and 93 workplaces, using CR-39 detectors that were exposed to indoor radon for forty days. Alpha tracks were made visible by chemical etching and counted manually under an optical microscope. The indoor radon concentrations in the two districts were found to vary between 9 and 63 Bq m-3 (Phanom) and 12 and 645 Bq m-3 (Ko Pha-ngan). The geometric mean radon concentration in Ko Pha-ngan district (51±2 Bq m-3) was significantly higher than in the Phanom district (26±1 Bq m-3) at a significance level of p<0.05 (t-test for independent samples). Nevertheless, only in two dwellings (1%), located in Ko Pha-ngan district, radon concentrations (177 and 645 Bq m-3) were found to exceed the limit recommended by the US EPA of 148 Bq m-3. The two houses are probably located near to radon sources which, in combination with low air convection, led to increased indoor levels of radon. Our study also shows that the geometric mean radon concentration was higher in workplaces than in dwellings (0.05 significance level) in both districts.

Keywords: indoor radon, CR-39 detector, active fault zone, equivalent uranium

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Authors: Mujeeb Mohd, Aqil Mohd, A. K. Najmi, Akhtar MMohd, Vasim Mohd

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Dioscorea deltoidea belongs to the Dioscoreaceae family, is usually found in the north-western Himalayas and some other parts of the world up to an altitude of 1000–3000 m. D. deltoidea commonly known as yam and is an extensively used medicinal plant in the indigenous system of medicine. It has been reported to contain dioscine a steroidal glycoside in higher concentration. In the present investigation, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been synthesized by a simple, efficient, environmentally benevolent and economic microwave-assisted method. Callus culture of D. deltoidea was developed and maintained on Murashige and skooge basal medium supplemented with different combination and concentration of plant growth regulators. Aqueous extract of callus culture was used as the reducing and stabilizing agent. The synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD analysis. The presence of a characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption band at 430 nm in UV–Vis reveals the reduction of silver metal ions into silver nanoparticles. Whereas FTIR analysis was performed to probe the possible functional group involved in the synthesis of AgNPs. Further extract and AgNPs were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against different pathogenic microorganisms.

Keywords: antimicrobial, Dioscorea deltoidea, microwave, silver, nanoparticles

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Authors: Jannika Dombrowski, Sabine Ambros, Ulrich Kulozik

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Due to the increasing popularity of healthy products, probiotics are still of rising importance in food manufacturing. With the aim to amplify the field of probiotic application to non-chilled products, the cultures have to be preserved by drying. Microwave drying has proved to be a suitable technique to achieve relatively high survival rates, resulting from drying at gentle temperatures, among others. However, diffusion limitation due to compaction of cell suspension during drying can prolong drying times as well as deteriorate product properties (grindability, rehydration performance). Therefore, we aimed to embed probiotics in an aerated matrix of whey proteins (surfactants) and di-/polysaccharides (foam stabilization, probiotic protection) during drying. As a result of the manifold increased inner surface of the cell suspension, drying performance was enhanced significantly as compared to non-foamed suspensions. This work comprises investigations on suitable foam matrices, being stable under vacuum (variation of protein concentration, type and concentration of di-/polysaccharide) as well as development of an applicable microwave drying process in terms of microwave power, chamber pressure and maximum product temperatures. Performed analyses included foam characteristics (overrun, drainage, firmness, bubble sizes), and properties of the dried cultures (survival, activity). In addition, efficiency of the drying process was evaluated.

Keywords: foam structure, microwave drying, polysaccharides, probiotics

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Authors: Kenza Aida Amara, Bachir Djebbar

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We treat the two-dimensional bin packing problem which involves packing a given set of rectangles into a minimum number of larger identical rectangles called bins. This combinatorial problem is NP-hard. We propose a pretreatment for the oriented version of the problem that allows the valorization of the lost areas in the bins and the reduction of the size problem. A heuristic method based on the strategy first-fit adapted to this problem is presented. We present an approach of resolution by bee colony optimization. Computational results express a comparison of the number of bins used with and without pretreatment.

Keywords: bee colony optimization, bin packing, heuristic algorithm, pretreatment

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Authors: Yahia Massinissa, Benhouda Afaf, Benbia Souhila, Meddour Noura, Takellalet Karima, Zeroual Amina

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The present work aims to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and hemostatic activities of the methanolic extract AHMeOH of Atriplex halimus’s leaves which belongs to the chenopodiaceae family The preliminary evaluation of the phytochemical composition of the leaves made it possible to highlight the presence of some chemical groups such as polyphenols, flavonoids and alkaloids. This was confirmed by a quantitative analysis based on the determination of total polyphenols and flavonoids. Quantitative determination of total flavonoids reveals that AHMeOH is rich in flavonoids (16 ± 0.88 μg Q / mg extract) and polyphenols (20 ± 0.20 μg AG / mg extract). For anti-inflammatory activity, the tests show that AHMeOH has a significant effect (P≤0.05) of inhibiting hypotonic-induced hemolysis with concentrations (100 and 200 μg / ml) with 77.55 and 90% respectively, and heat-induced hemolysis with percentages 81.75% and 87.44% respectively with significant difference (P ≤0.05). The obtained results with this plant reveal that the inhibition of denaturation of albumin is dose dependent. The concentration of 400 μg / ml gives denaturation inhibition of 81.00 ± 17.70% and the concentration 600 μg / ml gives an effect of 82.95 ± 17.40%. About the haemostatic activity our extract with the doses 10 mg / ml, 20 mg / ml and 30 mg / ml confer a decrease of the plasma recalcification time in the tube, these concentrations could prolong the time of coagulation significantly compared to the control (P≤0.001). This result is an interesting indication in favor of haemostatic activity of AHMeOH.

Keywords: albumin, atriplex halimus, hemostatic activity, methanolic extract

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Authors: H. Abu-Ali, A. Nabok, T. Smith

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Aptamers are single-strand of DNA or RNA nucleotides sequence which is designed in vitro using selection process known as SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) were developed for the selective detection of many toxic materials. In this work, we have developed an electrochemical biosensor for highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg2+ and Pb2+ using a specific aptamer probe (SAP) labelled with ferrocene (or methylene blue) in (5′) end and the thiol group at its (3′) termini, respectively. The SAP has a specific coil structure that matching with G-G for Pb2+ and T-T for Hg2+ interaction binding nucleotides ions, respectively. Aptamers were immobilized onto surface of screen-printed gold electrodes via SH groups; then the cyclic voltammograms were recorded in binding buffer with the addition of the above metal salts in different concentrations. The resulted values of anode current increase upon binding heavy metal ions to aptamers and analyte due to the presence of electrochemically active probe, i.e. ferrocene or methylene blue group. The correlation between the anodic current values and the concentrations of Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions has been established in this work. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of using a specific DNA aptamers for electrochemical detection of heavy metals. Each increase in concentration of 0.1 μM results in an increase in the anode current value by simple DC electrochemical test i.e (Cyclic Voltammetry), thus providing an easy way of determining Hg2+ and Pb2+concentration.

Keywords: aptamer, based, biosensor, DNA, electrochemical, highly, specific

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Authors: Kefyalew Muleta, Tetemke Mehari

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Background: Human being require metallic elements such as copper and zinc up to certain limits that could cause problems if found in excess. Other metallic elements like cadmium and lead can be harmful to health if foodstuffs containing them are consumed regularly. Canned dry-milk and fish contain these metals in the journey from farm to fork. Objective: This study was designed to determine the concentration of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in four brands of canned dry-milk and fish from supermarkets in Addis Ababa. Methods: Laboratory based cross-sectional study design was used to determine the concentration of the heavy metals in four different brands of canned dry-milk and fish imported from different country from February to March 2013. The foods brands were sampled by simple random sampling method from eight supermarkets in Addis Ababa and coded. Wet oxidation using HNO3 and H2O2 was used to extract the heavy metals from the foods samples and analyzed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Conclusions: From this study, it can be concluded that the level of Cadmium and Copper residues in canned dry-milk significantly vary among brands; and the levels of copper residue significantly vary among brands of canned fish at 95 % level. The AM milk brand from Ethiopia was safe in cadmium level. The cadmium and lead level in the NF fish brands from Indonesia packed in vegetables oil, and the lead level in DF brand packed in brine are safe.

Keywords: AAS, canned dry milk, canned fish, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn

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Authors: Joseph Amponsah

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This research proposes an equation to predict and determine the momentum source equation term after factoring in the radial friction between the fluid and the blades and the impeller's propulsive power. This research aims to look at how CFD software can be used to predict the effect of flows in nuclear reactor stirred tanks through a momentum source equation and the concentration distribution of tracers that have been introduced in reactor tanks. The estimated findings, including the dimensionless concentration curves, power, and pumping numbers, dimensionless velocity profiles, and mixing times 4, were contrasted with results from tests in stirred containers. The investigation was carried out in Part I for vessels that were agitated by one impeller on a central shaft. The two types of impellers employed were an ordinary Rushton turbine and a 6-bladed 45° pitched blade turbine. The simulations made use of numerous reference frame techniques and the common k-e turbulence model. The impact of the grid type was also examined; unstructured, structured, and unique user-defined grids were looked at. The CFD model was used to simulate the flow field within the Rushton turbine nuclear reactor stirred tank. This method was validated using experimental data that were available close to the impeller tip and in the bulk area. Additionally, analyses of the computational efficiency and time using MRF and SM were done.

Keywords: Ansys fluent, momentum equation, CFD, prediction

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Authors: Sihem Benmimoune, Abdelbaki Lemgharbi, Ahmed Ait Yahia, Abdelkrim Kameli

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Our study is based on chemical and phytochemical characterization of Artemisia absinthium L and in vitro tests to demonstrate the biological activities of essential oil and natural extract. A qualitative and quantitative comparison of the essential oil extracted by two extraction procedures was performed by analysis of CG/SM and the yield calculation. The method of hydrodistillation has a chemical composition and provides oil content than the best training water vapor. These oils are composed mainly of thujone followed chamazulene and ρ-cymene. The antimicrobial activity of wormwood oil was tested in vitro by two methods (agar diffusion and microdilution) on four plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus sp, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium culmorum and Helminthosporium sp). The study of the antifungal effect showed that this oil has an inhibitory effect counterpart the microorganisms tested in particular the strain Botrytis cinerea. Otherwise, this activity depends on the nature of the oil and the germ itself. The antioxidant activity in vitro was studied with the DPPH method. The activity test shows that the oil and extract of Artemisia absinthium have a very low antioxidant capacity compared to the antioxidants used as a reference. The extract has a potentially high antiradical power not from its oil. The quantitative determinations of phenolic compounds by the Folin-Ciocalteu revealed that absinthe is low in total polyphenols and tannins.

Keywords: artemisia absinthium, biological activities, essential oil, extraction processes

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Authors: Andrey V. Timofeev, Dmitry V. Egorov

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This paper introduces an original method of parametric optimization of the structure for multimodal decision-level fusion scheme which combines the results of the partial solution of the classification task obtained from assembly of the mono-modal classifiers. As a result, a multimodal fusion classifier which has the minimum value of the total error rate has been obtained.

Keywords: classification accuracy, fusion solution, total error rate, multimodal fusion classifier

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Authors: Anjana Goel, Ashok Kumar Bhatia

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Ocimum sanctum, a well known medicinal plant is used for various alignments in Ayurvedic medicines. It was found to be effective in treating the humans suffering from different viral infections like chicken pox, small pox, measles and influenza. In addition, curative effect of the plant in malignant patients was also reported. In the present study, leaves of this plant were screened against animal viruses i.e. Bovine Herpes Virus-type-1 (BHV-1), Foot and Mouth disease virus (FMDV) and Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV). BHV-1 and FMDV were screened in MDBK and BHK cell lines respectively using cytopathic inhibition test. While NDV was propagated in chick embryo fibroblast culture and tested by haemagglutination inhibition test. Maximum non toxic dose of aqueous extract of Ocimum sanctum leaves was calculated by MTT assay in all the cell cultures and nontoxic doses were used for antiviral activity against viruses. 98.4% and 85.3% protection were recorded against NDV and BHV-1 respectively. However, Ocimum sanctum extract failed to show any inhibitory effect on the cytopathic effect caused by FMD virus. It can be concluded that Ocimum sanctum is a very effective remedy for curing viral infections in animals also.

Keywords: bovine herpes virus-type-1, foot and mouth disease virus, newcastle disease virus, Ocimum sanctum

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Authors: Livy Febria Tedjamulia, Aas Nurasyiah, Ivana Josephin Purnama, Monika Diah Maharani Kusumastuti, Achmad Ridwan Ariyantoro

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Papua's candy is one of Indonesia’s indigenous consumption consisting of areca nut (Areca catechu), forest betel fruit (Piper aduncum), and CaCO3. This research aims to determine the concentration of tannins in areca nut, alkaloids in areca nut, flavonoids in forest betel fruit; detect their interaction and CaCO3; also toform a standardize consumption recommendation. The research methodwas includingDPPH assay for papua’s candy mixture, which resulted in IC50 value. Data analysis used is mathematical linear regression for each experiment. The test result of alkaloid is a Rf value of 0.773, while concentration of tannin and flavonoidare 0.603 mgGAE/g and 125.402 gQE/g, respectively. The IC50 value shows number of 3.0403, showing high antioxidant capacity.Other antioxidant assays were being studied using literature review, namely trolox and oxygen radical absorbance capacity, to figure out interaction among the bioactive compounds. It turned out that the interaction detected is antagonistic, which means the compound that is joined already has a stable molecular structure so that could reduce free radicals by donating hydrogen atoms. The recommendation consumptions given are 4 areca nuts, 5 forest betels, and 1 gram of lime betel. Therefore, papua's candy has its potential to be developed into functional food.

Keywords: antioxidant, bioactive compounds interaction, free radical, papua’s candy

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Authors: Mohammad M. Khan, Gajendra Dixit

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Partially lubricated sliding wear behaviour of a zinc-based alloy reinforced with 10wt% SiC particles has been studied as a function of applied load and solid lubricant particle size and has been compared with that of matrix alloy and conventionally used grey cast iron. The wear tests were conducted at the sliding velocities of 2.1m/sec in various partial lubricated conditions using pin on disc machine as per ASTM G-99-05. Base oil (SAE 20W-40) or mixture of the base oil with 5wt% graphite of particle sizes (7-10 µm) and (100 µm) were used for creating lubricated conditions. The matrix alloy revealed primary dendrites of a and eutectoid a + h and Î phases in the Inter dendritic regions. Similar microstructure has been depicted by the composite with an additional presence of the dispersoid SiC particles. In the case of cast iron, flakes of graphite were observed in the matrix; the latter comprised of (majority of) pearlite and (limited quantity of) ferrite. Results show a large improvement in wear resistance of the zinc-based alloy after reinforcement with SiC particles. The cast iron shows intermediate response between the matrix alloy and composite. The solid lubrication improved the wear resistance and friction behaviour of both the reinforced and base alloy. Moreover, minimum wear rate is obtained in oil+ 5wt % graphite (7-10 µm) lubricated environment for the matrix alloy and composite while for cast iron addition of solid lubricant increases the wear rate and minimum wear rate is obtained in case of oil lubricated environment. The cast iron experienced higher frictional heating than the matrix alloy and composite in all the cases especially at higher load condition. As far as friction coefficient is concerned, a mixed trend of behaviour was noted. The wear rate and frictional heating increased with load while friction coefficient was affected in an opposite manner. Test duration influenced the frictional heating and friction coefficient of the samples in a mixed manner.

Keywords: solid lubricant, sliding wear, grey cast iron, zinc based metal matrix composites

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Authors: Dorota Zielińska, Monika Trząskowska, Anna Łepecka, Katarzyna Neffe-Skocińska, Beata Bilska, Marzena Tomaszewska, Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska

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Minimum durability date (MDD) labeled food is known to have a long shelf life. A properly stored or transported food retains its physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties up to MDD. The aim of the study was to assess the sensory quality and microbiological safety of selected thermally processed products,i.e., mayonnaise, jam, and canned tuna within and after MDD. The scope of the study was to determine the markers of microbiological quality, i.e., the total viable count (TVC), the Enterobacteriaceae count and the total yeast and mold (TYMC) count on the last day of MDD and after 1 and 3 months of storage, after the MDD expired. In addition, the presence of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes was examined on the last day of MDD. The sensory quality of products was assessed by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), the intensity of differentiators (quality features), and overall quality were defined and determined. It was found that during three months storage of tested food products, after the MDD expired, the microbiological quality slightly decreased, however, regardless of the tested sample, TVC was at the level of <3 log cfu/g, similarly, the Enterobacretiaceae, what indicates the good microbiological quality of the tested foods. The TYMC increased during storage but did not exceed 2 logs cfu/g of product. Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes were not found in any of the tested food samples. The sensory quality of mayonnaise negatively changed during storage. After three months from the expiry of MDD, a decrease in the "fat" and "egg" taste and aroma intensity, as well as the "density" were found. The "sour" taste intensity of blueberry jam after three months of storage was slightly higher, compared to the jam tested on the last day of MDD, without affecting the overall quality. In the case of tuna samples, an increase in the "fishy" taste and aroma intensity was observed during storage, and the overall quality did not change. Tested thermally processed products (mayonnaise, jam, and canned tuna) were characterized by good microbiological and sensory quality on the last day of MDD, as well as after three months of storage under conditions recommended by the producer. These findings indicate the possibility of reducing food losses by extending or completely abolishing the MDD of selected thermal processed food products.

Keywords: food wastes, food quality and safety, mayonnaise, jam, tuna

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Authors: Oluwafemi Ojo, Omotade Oloyede

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This study seeks to investigate the antioxidative properties and the ability of aqueous, ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts from Ocimum gratissimum (OG) leaves to inhibit some pro-oxidants (Fe2+ and sodium nitroprusside) induced lipid peroxidation in rat’s liver homogenates in vitro. The ability of the extracts to inhibit 25 µM FeSO4 and 7.0 µM sodium nitroprusside induced lipid peroxidation in isolated rat’s liver was determined. The results of the study revealed that both pro-oxidants caused a significantly decrease in (p < 0.05) accumulation of lipid peroxides. However, aqueous extract of OG shows a high ability to inhibit lipid production in the liver induced with SNP than Fe2+. Ethanolic and ethyl acetate extract of OG which shows a high ability to inhibit lipid production more when induced with Fe2+ than SNP. However, ethyl acetate fraction of OG shows a higher inhibitory effect on both Fe2+ and SNP induced lipid peroxidation in rat’s liver. This applies to its significantly higher extractable phytochemicals. Therefore, Fe II and sodium nitroprusside induced oxidative stress could be managed by dietary intake of Ocimum gratissimum leaves.

Keywords: antioxidative, pro-oxidants, lipid peroxidation, Ocimum gratissimum

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Authors: Amir Shouri, Fereshteh Tabe

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Master planning and urban infrastructure’s thoughtful and sequential design strategies will play the major role in reducing the damages of natural disasters, war and or social/population related conflicts for cities. Defensive strategies have been revised during the history of mankind after having damages from natural depressions, war experiences and terrorist attacks on cities. Lessons learnt from Earthquakes, from 2 world war casualties in 20th century and terrorist activities of all times. Particularly, after Hurricane Sandy of New York in 2012 and September 11th attack on New York’s World Trade Centre (WTC) in 21st century, there have been series of serious collaborations between law making authorities, urban planners and architects and defence related organizations to firstly, getting prepared and/or prevent such activities and secondly, reduce the human loss and economic damages to minimum. This study will work on developing a model of planning for New York City, where its citizens will get minimum impacts in threat-full time with minimum economic damages to the city after the stress is passed. The main discussion in this proposal will focus on pre-hazard, hazard-time and post-hazard transformative policies and strategies that will reduce the “Life casualties” and will ease “Economic Recovery” in post-hazard conditions. This proposal is going to scrutinize that one of the key solutions in this path might be focusing on all overlaying possibilities on architectural platforms of three fundamental infrastructures, the transportation, the power related sources and defensive abilities on a dynamic-transformative framework that will provide maximum safety, high level of flexibility and fastest action-reaction opportunities in stressful periods of time. “Planning Fore Stress” is going to be done in an analytical, qualitative and quantitative work frame, where it will study cases from all over the world. Technology, Organic Design, Materiality, Urban forms, city politics and sustainability will be discussed in deferent cases in international scale. From the modern strategies of Copenhagen for living friendly with nature to traditional approaches of Indonesian old urban planning patterns, the “Iron Dome” of Israel to “Tunnels” in Gaza, from “Ultra-high-performance quartz-infused concrete” of Iran to peaceful and nature-friendly strategies of Switzerland, from “Urban Geopolitics” in cities, war and terrorism to “Design of Sustainable Cities” in the world, will all be studied with references and detailed look to analysis of each case in order to propose the most resourceful, practical and realistic solutions to questions on “New City Divisions”, “New City Planning and social activities” and “New Strategic Architecture for Safe Cities”. This study is a developed version of a proposal that was announced as winner at MoMA in 2013 in call for ideas for Rockaway after Sandy Hurricane took place.

Keywords: urban scale, city safety, natural disaster, war and terrorism, city divisions, architecture for safe cities

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Authors: Etienne Sugewe

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Purpose: The establishment of a positive HIV serologic status of an individual could have been an inhibitory factor to prevent risk behaviours in people living with HIV/AIDS. We conducted a cross-sectional study in order to assess the prevalence and predictors of risk behaviors among HIV-positive people in Douala-Cameroon. Methods: We used pre-checked questionnaires to systematically collect data from four HIV treatment centers in Douala. This was done to some of them during the distribution of drugs and to others during their classical rendezvous between the months of May and July 2012. The Chi-Square and Student t-test were used for cross tabulation of variables; multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of risky sexual behaviours. Results: Of the 330 persons interviewed, sixty percent were reported to have had sexual intercourse after the diagnosis of HIV. We obtained 37% HIV-positive partners, and 63% had HIV- negative partners or partners with unknown status. Among our patients, 45% of the subjects with regular partners reported to have had anal or vaginal sex. Those whose score on the knowledge about HIV/AIDS was < 50% and where 90% of them were less susceptible to the condom during intercourse (p: 0.01). About 74% of patients on ARV were less susceptible to the use of condoms during sexual intercourse (p: 0.03). Conclusion: Risk sexual behaviours among people living with HIV/AIDS are common and potentially expose their partners. For HIV-positive partners, these habits pose a real risk of suprainfection by other strains of HIV. The need to increase awareness and education among people living with HIV is therefore highly recommended.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, behaviours, HIV positive, Douala, 2012

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Authors: Jing Jiang, Wenhuan XU, Lei Zhang, Shiyi Zhang, Tongli Wang

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Climate data quality significantly affects the reliability of ecological modeling. In the Asia Pacific (AP) region, low-quality climate data hinders ecological modeling. ClimateAP, a software developed in 2017, generates high-quality climate data for the AP region, benefiting researchers in forestry and agriculture. However, its adoption remains limited. This study aims to confirm the validity of biologically relevant variable data generated by ClimateAP during the normal climate period through comparison with the currently available gridded data. Climate data from 2,366 weather stations were used to evaluate the prediction accuracy of ClimateAP in comparison with the commonly used gridded data from WorldClim1.4. Univariate regressions were applied to 48 monthly biologically relevant variables, and the relationship between the observational data and the predictions made by ClimateAP and WorldClim was evaluated using Adjusted R-Squared and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). Locations were categorized into mountainous and flat landforms, considering elevation, slope, ruggedness, and Topographic Position Index. Univariate regressions were then applied to all biologically relevant variables for each landform category. Random Forest (RF) models were implemented for the climatic niche modeling of Cunninghamia lanceolata. A comparative analysis of the prediction accuracies of RF models constructed with distinct climate data sources was conducted to evaluate their relative effectiveness. Biologically relevant variables were obtained from three unpublished Chinese meteorological datasets. ClimateAPv3.0 and WorldClim predictions were obtained from weather station coordinates and WorldClim1.4 rasters, respectively, for the normal climate period of 1961-1990. Occurrence data for Cunninghamia lanceolata came from integrated biodiversity databases with 3,745 unique points. ClimateAP explains a minimum of 94.74%, 97.77%, 96.89%, and 94.40% of monthly maximum, minimum, average temperature, and precipitation variances, respectively. It outperforms WorldClim in 37 biologically relevant variables with lower RMSE values. ClimateAP achieves higher R-squared values for the 12 monthly minimum temperature variables and consistently higher Adjusted R-squared values across all landforms for precipitation. ClimateAP's temperature data yields lower Adjusted R-squared values than gridded data in high-elevation, rugged, and mountainous areas but achieves higher values in mid-slope drainages, plains, open slopes, and upper slopes. Using ClimateAP improves the prediction accuracy of tree occurrence from 77.90% to 82.77%. The biologically relevant climate data produced by ClimateAP is validated based on evaluations using observations from weather stations. The use of ClimateAP leads to an improvement in data quality, especially in non-mountainous regions. The results also suggest that using biologically relevant variables generated by ClimateAP can slightly enhance climatic niche modeling for tree species, offering a better understanding of tree species adaptation and resilience compared to using gridded data.

Keywords: climate data validation, data quality, Asia pacific climate, climatic niche modeling, random forest models, tree species

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Authors: Sidali Khedidji, Noureddine Yassaa, Riad Ladji

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In this study, n-alkanes which are hazardous for the environment and human health were investigated in Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere at a sampling point from April 2013 to Mai 2013. Ambient concentration measurements of n-Alkanes were carried out at a regional study of the cement industry in Sour El Ghozlane. During sampling, the airborne particulate matter was enriched onto PTFE filters by using a two medium volume samplers with or without a size-selective inlet for PM10 and TSP were used and each sampling period lasted approximately 24 h. The organic compounds were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). Total concentrations for n-Alkanes recorded in Sour El Ghozlane suburban ranged from 42 to 69 ng m-3. Gravimeter method was applied to the black smoke concentration data for Springer seasons. The 24 h average concentrations of n-alkanes contain the PM10 and TSP of Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere were found in the range 0.50–7.06 ng/m3 and 0.29–6.97 ng/m3, respectively, in the sampling period. Meteorological factors, such as (relative humidity and temperature) were typically found to be affecting PMs, especially PM10. Air temperature did not seem to be significantly affecting TSP and PM10 mass concentrations. The guide value fixed by the European Community, 40 μg/m3 was not to exceed 35 days, was exceeded in some samples. However, it should be noted that the value limit fixed by the Algerian regulations 80 μg/m3 has been exceeded in 1 sampler during the period study.

Keywords: n-alkanes, PM10, TSP, particulate matter, cement industry

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Authors: Kanogkan Leerojanaprapa

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Textile and garment industry is used to a major exporting industry of Thailand. According to lacking of the nation's price-competitiveness by stopping the EU's GSP (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) and ‘Nationwide Minimum Wage Policy’ that Thailand’s employers must pay all employees at least 300 baht (about $10) a day, the supply chains of the Thai textile and garment industry is affected and need to be reformed. Therefore, either Thai textile or garment industry will be existed or not would be concerned. This is also challenged for the government to decide which industries should be promoted the future industries of Thailand. Recently Thai government launch The Cluster-based Special Economic Development Zones Policy for promoting business cluster (effect on September 16, 2015). They define a cluster as the concentration of interconnected businesses and related institutions that operate within the same geographic areas and textiles and garment is one of target industrial clusters and 9 provinces are targeted (Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Chachoengsao, Prachinburi, and Sa Kaeo). The cluster zone are defined to link west-east corridor connected to manufacturing source in Cambodia and Mynmar to Bangkok where are promoted to be design, sourcing, and trading hub. The Thai government will provide tax and non-tax incentives for targeted industries within the clusters and expects these businesses are scattered to where they can get the most benefit which will identify future industrial cluster. This research will show the difference between the current cluster and future cluster following the target provinces of the textile and garment. The current cluster is analysed from secondary data. The four characteristics of the numbers of plants in Spinning, weaving and finishing of textiles, Manufacture of made-up textile articles, except apparel, Manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics, and Manufacture of other textiles, not elsewhere classified in particular 77 provinces (in total) are clustered by K-means cluster analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. In addition, the cluster can be confirmed and showed which variables contribute the most to defined cluster solution with ANOVA test. The results of analysis can identify 22 provinces (which the textile or garment plants are located) into 3 clusters. Plants in cluster 1 tend to be large numbers of plants which is only Bangkok, Next plants in cluster 2 tend to be moderate numbers of plants which are Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom. Finally plants in cluster 3 tend to be little numbers of plants which are other 18 provinces. The same methodology can be implemented in other industries for future study.

Keywords: ANOVA, hierarchical cluster analysis, industrial clusters, K -means cluster analysis, textile and garment industry

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Authors: Yufan Mu

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High salinity process water (HSPW) is often applied in copper ore flotation to alleviate freshwater shortage; however, it is detrimental to copper flotation as it strongly enhances copper activation of pyrite. In this study, the depression effect of a strong oxidiser, potassium ferrate (𝐾₂𝐹₄), on the flotation of copper-activated pyrite was tested to realise the selective separation of pyrite from copper minerals (e.g., chalcopyrite) in flotation using HSPW. The flotation results show that when (𝐾₂𝐹₄) was added in the flotation cell during conditioning, (𝐾₂𝐹₄) could selectively depress copper-activated pyrite while improving chalcopyrite flotation. The depression mechanism of (𝐾₂𝐹₄) on pyrite was ascribed to the significant increase in the pulp potential (Eₕ), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and the amount of ferric oxyhydroxides as a result of ferrate decomposition. In the flotation cell, the high Eh and DO concentration promoted the oxidation of low valency metal species (𝐶⁺𝐹e²⁺) released from mineral surfaces and forged steel grinding media, and the resultant high valency metal oxyhydroxides 𝐶u(𝑂H)₂⁄Fe(OH)₃ together with the ferric oxyhydroxides from ferrate decomposition preferentially precipitated on pyrite surface due to its more cathodic nature compared with chalcopyrite, which increased pyrite surface hydrophilicity and reduced its floatability. This study reveals that (𝐾₂𝐹₄) is a highly efficient depressant for pyrite when separating copper minerals from pyrite in flotation using HSPW if dosed properly.

Keywords: copper flotation, pyrite depression, copper-activated pyrite, potassium ferrate, high salinity process water

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