Search results for: olive leaf extract

Authors: Kaniz Roksana, Aluthgun Hewage Shaini, Cheng Zhu

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Lead is environmentally hazardous because it may persist for a long time in soil, water, and air, and it can travel large distances when carried by wind or water. Lead is toxic to many different species of organisms and has the potential to disrupt ecosystem stability. Moreover, lead can contaminate crops and livestock, which can then have an adverse effect on human health. This study was conducted to use the enzyme-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (EICP) technique from soybean crude extract urease along coconut fiber derived biochar’s (CFB) to bioremediate lead. To study the desorption rates of heavy metals from the soil, lead (Pb) was added to the soil at load ratios of 50 and 100 mg/kg. There were five separate treatment soil columns created: control sample, only CFB, only EICP, EICP with 2% (w/w) CFB, and EICP with 4% (w/w) CFB. Laboratory scale experiment demonstrates significant lead removal from soil. The amount of CaCO₃ precipitated in the soil was measured using a gravimetric acid digestion test, which related heavy metal desorption to the amount of precipitated calcium carbonate. These findings were validated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which revealed calcium carbonate and lead coprecipitation. As a result, the study reveals that the EICP technique, in conjunction with coconut fiber biochar, could be an efficient alternative in the remediation of heavy metal ion-contaminated soils.

Keywords: enzyme induced calcium carbonate precipitation (EICP), coconut fiber derived biochar’s (CFB), bioremediation, heavy metal

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Authors: S. Shankar Bharathi

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Inspection of surface defects on metallic components has always been challenging due to its specular property. Occurrences of defects such as scratches, rust, pitting are very common in metallic surfaces during the manufacturing process. These defects if unchecked can hamper the performance and reduce the life time of such component. Many of the conventional image processing algorithms in detecting the surface defects generally involve segmentation techniques, based on thresholding, edge detection, watershed segmentation and textural segmentation. They later employ other suitable algorithms based on morphology, region growing, shape analysis, neural networks for classification purpose. In this paper the work has been focused only towards detecting scratches. Global and other thresholding techniques were used to extract the defects, but it proved to be inaccurate in extracting the defects alone. However, this paper does not focus on comparison of different segmentation techniques, but rather describes a novel approach towards segmentation combined with hausdorff dilation distance. The proposed algorithm is based on the distribution of the intensity levels, that is, whether a certain gray level is concentrated or evenly distributed. The algorithm is based on extraction of such concentrated pixels. Defective images showed higher level of concentration of some gray level, whereas in non-defective image, there seemed to be no concentration, but were evenly distributed. This formed the basis in detecting the defects in the proposed algorithm. Hausdorff dilation distance based on mathematical morphology was used to strengthen the segmentation of the defects.

Keywords: metallic surface, scratches, segmentation, hausdorff dilation distance, machine vision

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Authors: Mohamed El Morsy, Gabriela Achtenová

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Research on damage of gears and gear pairs using vibration signals remains very attractive, because vibration signals from a gear pair are complex in nature and not easy to interpret. Predicting gear pair defects by analyzing changes in vibration signal of gears pairs in operation is a very reliable method. Therefore, a suitable vibration signal processing technique is necessary to extract defect information generally obscured by the noise from dynamic factors of other gear pairs. This article presents the value of cepstrum analysis in vehicle gearbox fault diagnosis. Cepstrum represents the overall power content of a whole family of harmonics and sidebands when more than one family of sidebands is present at the same time. The concept for the measurement and analysis involved in using the technique are briefly outlined. Cepstrum analysis is used for detection of an artificial pitting defect in a vehicle gearbox loaded with different speeds and torques. The test stand is equipped with three dynamometers; the input dynamometer serves as the internal combustion engine, the output dynamometers introduce the load on the flanges of the output joint shafts. The pitting defect is manufactured on the tooth side of a gear of the fifth speed on the secondary shaft. Also, a method for fault diagnosis of gear faults is presented based on order cepstrum. The procedure is illustrated with the experimental vibration data of the vehicle gearbox. The results show the effectiveness of cepstrum analysis in detection and diagnosis of the gear condition.

Keywords: cepstrum analysis, fault diagnosis, gearbox, vibration signals

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Authors: Ram Prasad Baral

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A large number of herb materials contain Essential Oils with extensive bioactivities. Acknowledging the importance of plants and its medicinal value, extraction of Essential Oil had been done using Steam Distillation method. In this project, Steam Distillation was used to extract oil from different plant materials like Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert, Artemisia Vulgaris L, Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don, Cymbopogon nardus L, Andropogon nardus, Cinnamomum tamala, Juniperus spp, Cymbopohonflexuosus flexuous, Mantha Arvensia, Nardostachys Jatamansi, Wintergreen Essential Oil, and Valeriana Officinalis. Research has confirmed centuries of practical use of essential oils, and we now know that the 'fragrant pharmacy' contains compounds with an extremely broad range of biochemical effects. Essential oils are so termed as they are believed to represent the very essence of odor and flavor. The recovery of Essential Oil from the raw botanical starting material is very important since the quality of the oil is greatly influenced during this step. There is a variety of methods for obtaining volatile oils from plants. Steam distillation method was found to be one of the promising techniques for the extraction of essential oil from plants as reputable distiller will preserve the original qualities of the plant. The distillation was conducted in Clevenger apparatus in which boiling, condensing, and decantation was done. Analysis of essential oil was done using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer apparatus, which gives evaluates essential oil qualitatively and quantitatively. The volume of essential oil obtained was changing with respect to temperature and time of heating.

Keywords: Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert, Artemisia Vulgaris L, Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don, Cymbopogon nardus L, Andropogon nardus, Cinnamomum tamala, Juniperus spp, Cymbopohonflexuosus flexuous, Mantha

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Authors: Anupalli Roja Rani, Saraswathi Jaggali

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Rose-scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér.) is an erect, much-branched shrub. It is indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and it is often called Geranium. Pelargonium species are widely used by traditional healers in the areas of Southern Africa by Sotho, Xhosa, Khoi-San and Zulus for its curative and palliative effects in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, fever, respiratory tract infections, liver complaints, wounds, gastroenteritis, haemorrhage, kidney and bladder disorders. We have used Plant materials for extracting active compounds from analytical grades of solvents methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform and water by a soxhlet apparatus. The phytochemical screening reveals that extracts of Pelargonium graveolens contains alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, tannins, saponins and phenols in ethyl acetate solvent. The antioxidant activity was determined using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) bleaching method and the total phenolic content in the extracts was determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Due to the presence of different phytochemical compounds in Pelargonium the anti-microbial activity against different micro-organisms like E.coli, Streptococcus, Klebsiella and Bacillus. Fractionation of plant extract was performed by column chromatography and was confirmed with HPLC analysis, NMR and FTIR spectroscopy for the compound identification in different organic solvent extracts.

Keywords: Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér, DPPH, micro-organisms, HPLC analysis, NMR, FTIR spectroscopy

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Authors: Harshada Vaidya-Kannur, Dattatraya Naik

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Propolis, one of the beehive products also referred as bee-glue is sticky dark coloured complex mixture of compounds. The volatile oil can be isolated from the propolis by hydrodistillation. The mark that is left behind after the removal of volatile oil is referred as the de-oiled propolis. Antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties of total ethanolic extract of de-oiled propolis (TEEDP) was investigated. Another lot of deoiled propolis was successively exacted with hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol. Activities of these fractions were also determined. Antioxidant activity was determined by studying ABTS, DPPH and NO radical scavenging. Determination of anti-inflammatory activity was carried out by topical TPA induced mouse ear oedema model. It is noteworthy that ethyl acetate fraction of deoiled propolis (EAFDP) exhibited 49.45 % TEAC activity at the concentration 0.2 mg/ml which is equivalent to the activity of trolox at the concentration 0.2 mg/ml. Its DPPH scavenging activity (72.56%) was closely comparable to that of trolox (75%). However its NO scavenging activity was comparatively low. From IC50 values it could be concluded that the efficiency of scavenging ABTS radicals by the de-oiled propolis was more pronounced as compared to scavenging of other radicals. Studies by TPA induced mouse ear inflammation model indicated that the de-oiled propolis of Indian origin had significant topical anti-inflammatory activity. The EAFDP was found to be the most active fraction for this activity also. The purification of EAFP yielded six pure crystalline compounds. These compounds were identified by their physical data and spectral data.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity, anti-oxidant activity, column chromatography, de-oiled propolis

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Authors: Vasiliki Kolake, Christos Kavalaris, Sofia Megoudi, Maria Maxouri, Panagiotis A. Karas, Aris Kyparissis, Efi Levizou

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Conservation agriculture (CA), is a production system approach that can tackle the challenges of climate change mainly through facilitating carbon storage into the soil and increasing crop resilience. This is extremely important for the vulnerable Mediterranean agroecosystems, which already face adverse environmental conditions. The agronomic practices used in CA, i.e. permanent soil cover and no-tillage, result in reduced soil erosion and increased soil organic matter, preservation of water and improvement of quality and fertility of the soil in the long-term. Thus the functional characteristics and processes of the soil are considerably affected by the implementation of CA. The aim of the present work was to assess the effects of CA on soil nitrification potential and mycorrhizal colonization about the above-ground production in a wheat field. Two adjacent but independent field sites of 1.5ha each were used (Thessaly plain, Central Greece), comprising the no-till and conventional tillage treatments. The no-tillage site was covered by residues of the previous crop (cotton). Potential nitrification and the nitrate and ammonium content of the soil were measured at two different soil depths (3 and 15cm) at 20-days intervals throughout the growth period. Additionally, the leaf area index (LAI) was monitored at the same time-course. The mycorrhizal colonization was measured at the commencement and end of the experiment. At the final harvest, total yield and plant biomass were also recorded. The results indicate that wheat yield was considerably favored by CA practices, exhibiting a 42% increase compared to the conventional tillage treatment. The superior performance of the CA crop was also depicted in the above-ground plant biomass, where a 26% increase was recorded. LAI, which is considered a reliable growth index, did not show statistically significant differences between treatments throughout the growth period. On the contrary, significant differences were recorded in endomycorrhizal colonization one day before the final harvest, with CA plants exhibiting 20% colonization, while the conventional tillage plants hardly reached 1%. The on-going analyses of potential nitrification measurements, as well as nitrate and ammonium determination, will shed light on the effects of CA on key processes in the soil. These results will integrate the assessment of CA impact on certain below and above-ground processes during wheat cultivation under the Mediterranean climate.

Keywords: conservation agriculture, LAI, mycorrhizal colonization, potential nitrification, wheat, yield

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Authors: Akbar Esmaeili, Zahra Salarieh

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Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nano-series) are used as catalysts in industrial applications due to their free radical scavenging properties. Given that free radicals play an essential role in the pathology of many neurological diseases, we investigated the use of nanocrystals as a potential therapeutic agent for oxidative damage. This project synthesized nano-series from a new and environmentally friendly bio-pathway. Investigation of cerium nitrate in culture medium containing inoculated Lactobacillus acidophilus strain before incubation produces nano-series. Loaded with glatiramer acetate (GA) was formed by coating carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and CeO2. FE-SEM analysis showed nano-series in the 9-11 nm range, spherical shape, and uniform particle size distribution. Cubic nanoparticles containing anti-multiple sclerosis (anti-Ms) treatment called GA were used. Glycerol monostearate (GMS) was used as a fat base, and evening primrose extract was used as an anti-inflammatory in cubosomes. Design-Expert® software was used to study the effects of different formulation factors on the properties of GAloaded cubic dispersions. Thirty GA-labeled cubic dispersions were prepared with GA-labeled carboxymethylcellulose and evaluated in vitro. The results showed an average nano-series size of 89.02 and a zeta potential of -49.9. Cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 showed a stable release profile for 180 min. The results showed that cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 could be a promising drug carrier with normal release behavior.

Keywords: ciochemistry, biotechnology, molecular, biology

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Authors: Nizaha Juhaida Mohamad, David Gray, Bettina Wolf

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Chocolate is a material composite with a high fraction of solid particles dispersed in a fat phase largely composed of cocoa butter. Viscosity properties of chocolate can be manipulated by the amount of fat - increased levels of fat lead to lower viscosity. However, a high content of cocoa butter can increase the cost of the chocolate and instead surfactants are used to manipulate viscosity behaviour. Most commonly, lecithin and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) are used. Lecithin is a natural lipid emulsifier which is based on phospholipids while PGPR is a chemically produced emulsifier which based on the long continuous chain of ricinoleic acid. Lecithin and PGPR act to lower the viscosity and yield stress, respectively. Recently, natural lipid emulsifiers based on galactolipid as the functional ingredient have become of interest. Spinach lipid is found to have a high amount of galactolipid, specifically MGDG and DGDG. The aim of this research is to explore the influence of spinach lipid in comparison with PGPR and lecithin on the rheological properties of sugar/oil suspensions which serve as chocolate model system. For that purpose, icing sugar was dispersed from 40%, 45% and 50% (w/w) in oil which has spinach lipid at concentrations from 0.1 – 0.7% (w/w). Based on viscosity at 40 s-1 and yield value reported as shear stress measured at 5 s-1, it was found that spinach lipid shows viscosity reducing and yield stress lowering effects comparable to lecithin and PGPR, respectively. This characteristic of spinach lipid demonstrates great potential for it to act as single natural lipid emulsifier in chocolate.

Keywords: chocolate viscosity, lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), spinach lipid

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Authors: E. M. Hassan, A. L. Kalamkarov

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Two micromechanical models for 3D smart composite with embedded periodic or nearly periodic network of generally orthotropic reinforcements and actuators are developed and applied to cubic structures with unidirectional orientation of constituents. Analytical formulas for the effective piezothermoelastic coefficients are derived using the Asymptotic Homogenization Method (AHM). Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is subsequently developed and used to examine the aforementioned periodic 3D network reinforced smart structures. The deformation responses from the FE simulations are used to extract effective coefficients. The results from both techniques are compared. This work considers piezoelectric materials that respond linearly to changes in electric field, electric displacement, mechanical stress and strain and thermal effects. This combination of electric fields and thermo-mechanical response in smart composite structures is characterized by piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients. The problem is represented by unit-cell and the models are developed using the AHM and the FEA to determine the effective piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients. Each unit cell contains a number of orthotropic inclusions in the form of structural reinforcements and actuators. Using matrix representation of the coupled response of the unit cell, the effective piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients are calculated and compared with results of the asymptotic homogenization method. A very good agreement is shown between these two approaches.

Keywords: asymptotic homogenization method, finite element analysis, effective piezothermoelastic coefficients, 3D smart network composite structures

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Authors: Michael Zimba

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A duplicated image region may be subjected to a number of attacks such as noise addition, compression, reflection, rotation, and scaling with the intention of either merely mating it to its targeted neighborhood or preventing its detection. In this paper, we present an effective and robust method of detecting duplicated regions inclusive of those affected by the various attacks. In order to reduce the dimension of the image, the proposed algorithm firstly performs discrete wavelet transform, DWT, of a suspicious image. However, unlike most existing copy move image forgery (CMIF) detection algorithms operating in the DWT domain which extract only the low frequency sub-band of the DWT of the suspicious image thereby leaving valuable information in the other three sub-bands, the proposed algorithm simultaneously extracts features from all the four sub-bands. The extracted features are not only more accurate representation of image regions but also robust to additive noise, JPEG compression, and affine transformation. Furthermore, principal component analysis-eigenvalue decomposition, PCA-EVD, is applied to reduce the dimension of the features. The extracted features are then sorted using the more computationally efficient Radix Sort algorithm. Finally, same affine transformation selection, SATS, a duplication verification method, is applied to detect duplicated regions. The proposed algorithm is not only fast but also more robust to attacks compared to the related CMIF detection algorithms. The experimental results show high detection rates.

Keywords: affine transformation, discrete wavelet transform, radix sort, SATS

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Authors: Jéssica F. Rodrigues, Amanda C. Andrade, Sabrina C. Bastos, Sandra B. Coelho, Ana Carla M. Pinheiro

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Currently, there is a great demand for the use of natural sweeteners due to the harmful effects of the high sugar and artificial sweeteners consumption on the health. Miracle fruit, which is known for its unique ability to modify the sour taste in sweet taste, has been shown to be a good alternative sweetener. However, it has a high production cost, being important to optimize lower contents to be used. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of different miracle fruit contents on the temporal (Time-intensity - TI and Temporal Dominance of Sensations - TDS) sensory profile and overall linking of lemonade, to determine the better content to be used as a natural sweetener in sour beverages. TI and TDS results showed that the concentrations of 150 mg, 300 mg and 600 mg miracle fruit were effective in reducing the acidity and promoting the sweet perception in lemonade. Furthermore, the concentrations of 300 mg and 600 mg obtained similar profiles. Through the acceptance test, the concentration of 300 mg miracle fruit was shown to be an efficient substitute for sucrose and sucralose in lemonade, once they had similar hedonic values between ‘I liked it slightly’ and ‘I liked it moderately’. Therefore, 300mg miracle fruit consists in an adequate content to be used as a natural sweetener of lemonade. The results of this work will help the food industry on the efficient application of a new natural sweetener- the Miracle fruit extract in sour beverages, reducing costs and providing a product that meets the consumer desires.

Keywords: acceptance, natural sweetener, temporal dominance of sensations, time-intensity

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Merzak Siham, Benguerine Zohra, Si Tayeb Fatima, Bouzian Chaimaa Affaf, Jou Siham, Belkessam Nafissa

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Introduction: Medicinal plants, particularly spices, are essential for pharmacological research due to their health benefits. This study focuses on Curcuma longa, a spice recognized for its therapeutic properties. Materials and Methods: This study is based on a thorough search conducted on Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. From an initial selection of 25 articles, five were chosen to extract relevant information on Curcuma longa. Results and Discussions: Clinical studies have indicated that curcumin is well tolerated at doses up to 12 g/day. Its anti-rheumatic efficacy was compared to phenylbutazone in 18 individuals. Each participant received a daily dose of either 1200 mg of curcumin or 300 mg of phenylbutazone for 2 weeks. Curcumin was well tolerated at this dose and demonstrated activity comparable to phenylbutazone. Additionally, a study on 62 patients showed that curcumin sustainably relieved symptoms without toxicity. Its effects included reduced itching, lesions, and pain. In ten volunteers, administering 500 mg of curcumin for seven days resulted in a 33% decrease in lipid peroxidation, a 29% increase in HDL cholesterol, and a 12% decrease in total cholesterol. It is important to note that curcumin is a potent, selective inhibitor of phosphorylase kinase, an increased marker in psoriasis. Conclusion: Curcumin is promising as a future drug for various diseases, but its bioavailability must be improved through techniques such as nano encapsulation. Additionally, exploring chemical derivatives of curcumin could lead to more potent and targeted molecules.

Keywords: turmeric, spice, medicinal plants, pharmacological activities.

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Authors: Zineb Touati Hamad, Mohamed Ridda Laouar, Issam Bendib

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With the massive development of technology today, the Arabic language has gained a prominent position among the languages most used for writing articles, expressing opinions, and also for citing in many websites, defying its growing sensitivity in terms of structure, language skills, diacritics, writing methods, etc. In the context of the spread of the Arabic language, the Holy Quran represents the most prevalent Arabic text today in many applications and websites for citation purposes or for the reading and learning rituals. The Quranic verses / surahs are published quickly and without cost, which may cause great concern to ensure the safety of the content from tampering and alteration. To protect the content of texts from distortion, it is necessary to refer to the original database and conduct a comparison process to extract the percentage of distortion. The disadvantage of this method is that it takes time, in addition to the lack of any guarantee on the integrity of the database itself as it belongs to one central party. Blockchain technology today represents the best way to maintain immutable content. Blockchain is a distributed database that stores information in blocks linked to each other through encryption, where the modification of each block can be easily known. To exploit these advantages, we seek in this paper to justify the use of this technique in preserving the integrity of Arabic texts sensitive to change by building a decentralized framework to authenticate and verify the integrity of the digital Quranic verses/surahs spread on websites.

Keywords: arabic text, authentication, blockchain, integrity, quran, verification

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Authors: Saurabh Satija, Munish Garg

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Present work reports an efficient extraction method using microwaves based solvent–sample duo-heating mechanism, for the extraction of an important anti-diabetic plant Tinospora cordifolia from AYUSH system for estimation of berberine content. The process is based on simultaneous heating of sample matrix and extracting solvent under microwave energy. Methanol was used as the extracting solvent, which has excellent berberine solubilizing power and warms up under microwave attributable to its great dispersal factor. Extraction conditions like time of irradition, microwave power, solute-solvent ratio and temperature were optimized using Taguchi design and berberine was quantified using high performance thin layer chromatography. The ranked optimized parameters were microwave power (rank 1), irradiation time (rank 2) and temperature (rank 3). This kind of extraction mechanism under dual heating provided choice of extraction parameters for better precision and higher yield with significant reduction in extraction time under optimum extraction conditions. This developed extraction protocol will lead to extract higher amounts of berberine which is a major anti-diabetic moiety in Tinospora cordifolia which can lead to development of cheaper formulations of the plant Tinospora cordifolia and can help in rapid prevention of diabetes in the world.

Keywords: berberine, microwave, optimization, Taguchi

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Authors: Andri Andri, Susanthy Djajalaksana, Iin Noor Chozin

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Background: Despite advances in asthma therapies, a proportion of patients with asthma continue to have difficulty in gaining adequate asthma control. Complex immunological mechanisms and oxidative stress affect this condition, including the role of malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker of inflammation. This research aimed to determine the effect of polyphytopharmaca administration on the value of asthma control test (ACT), blood eosinophils level and markers of MDA serum inflammation in patients with asthma. Method: Quasi experimental approach was conducted toward 15 stable asthma patients who were not fully controlled in outpatient pulmonary clinic, Public Hospital of Dr. Saiful Anwar Malang. Assessments of ACT values, eosinophil levels, and serum MDA levels were carried out before and after administration of polyphytopharmaca which contained a combination of 100 mg Nigella sativa extract, Kleinhovia hospita 100 mg, Curcuma xanthorrhiza 75 mg, and Ophiocephalus striatus 100 mg, three times daily with two capsules for 12 weeks. The ACT value was determined by the researcher by asking the patient directly, blood eosinophil levels were calculated by analyzing blood type counts, and serum MDA levels were detected by the qPCR method. Result: There was a significant enhancement of ACT value (18.07 ± 2.57 to 22.06 ± 1.83, p = 0.001) (from 60% uncontrolled ACT to 93.3% controlled ACT), a significant decrease in blood eosinophils levels (653.15 ± 276.15 pg/mL to 460.66 ± 202.04 pg/mL, p = 0.038), and decreased serum MDA levels (109.64 ± 53.77 ng / ml to 78.68 ± 64.92 ng/ml, p = 0.156). Conclusion: Administration of polyphytopharmaca can increase ACT value, decrease blood eosinophils levels and reduce MDA serum in stable asthma patients who are not fully controlled.

Keywords: asthma control test, eosinophils levels, malondialdehyde, polyphytopharmaca

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Authors: Naoum Abderrahmane, Boumehed Meriem, Alshaqaqi Belal

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Background subtraction algorithm is a larger used technique for detecting moving objects in video surveillance to extract the foreground objects from a reference background image. There are many challenges to test a good background subtraction algorithm, like changes in illumination, dynamic background such as swinging leaves, rain, snow, and the changes in the background, for example, moving and stopping of vehicles. In this paper, we propose an efficient and accurate background subtraction method for moving object detection in video surveillance. The main idea is to use a developed fast-independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm to separate background, noise, and foreground masks from an image sequence in practical environments. The fast-ICA algorithm is adapted and adjusted with a matrix calculation and searching for an optimum non-quadratic function to be faster and more robust. Moreover, in order to estimate the de-mixing matrix and the denoising de-mixing matrix parameters, we propose to convert all images to YCrCb color space, where the luma component Y (brightness of the color) gives suitable results. The proposed technique has been verified on the publicly available datasets CD net 2012 and CD net 2014, and experimental results show that our algorithm can detect competently and accurately moving objects in challenging conditions compared to other methods in the literature in terms of quantitative and qualitative evaluations with real-time frame rate.

Keywords: background subtraction, moving object detection, fast-ICA, de-mixing matrix

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Authors: Nazanin Ahmadi Daryakenari

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Background: Diabetes significantly influences the risk of heart failure. The interplay between distinct types of diabetes, heart failure, and their distribution across various age groups remains an area of active exploration. This study endeavors to scrutinize the age group distribution in publications addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and heart failure on PubMed while also examining the evolving publication trends. Methods: We leveraged E-utilities and RegEx to search and extract publication data from PubMed using various mesh terms. Subsequently, we conducted descriptive statistics and t-tests to discern the differences between the two diabetes types and the distribution across age groups. Finally, we analyzed the temporal trends of publications concerning both types of diabetes and heart failure. Results: Our findings revealed a divergence in the age group distribution between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes within heart failure publications. Publications discussing Type 2 diabetes and heart failure were more predominant among older age groups, whereas those addressing Type 1 diabetes and heart failure displayed a more balanced distribution across all age groups. The t-test revealed no significant difference in the means between the two diabetes types. However, the number of publications exploring the relationship between Type 2 diabetes and heart failure has seen a steady increase over time, suggesting an escalating interest in this area. Conclusion: The dissection of publication patterns on PubMed uncovers a pronounced association between Type 2 diabetes and heart failure within older age groups. This highlights the critical need to comprehend the distinct age group differences when examining diabetes and heart failure to inform and refine targeted prevention and treatment strategies.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, heart failure, age groups, publication patterns, PubMed

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Authors: Raz Flieshman, Adam Michael Altenbuchner, Jörg Krüger

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This paper presents an approach to optimizing the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing process through a preprocess calibration routine of printing parameters. The core of this method involves the use of a low-cost thermal sensor capable of measuring tempera-tures within the range of -20 to 500 degrees Celsius for detailed process observation. The calibration process is conducted by printing a predetermined path while varying the process parameters through machine instructions (g-code). This enables the extraction of critical thermal, dimensional, and surface properties along the printed path. The calibration routine utilizes computer vision models to extract features and metrics from the thermal images, in-cluding temperature distribution, layer adhesion quality, surface roughness, and dimension-al accuracy and consistency. These extracted properties are then analyzed to optimize the process parameters to achieve the desired qualities of the printed material. A significant benefit of this calibration method is its potential to create printing parameter profiles for new polymer and composite materials, thereby enhancing the versatility and application range of FDM 3D printing. The proposed method demonstrates significant potential in enhancing the precision and reliability of FDM 3D printing, making it a valuable contribution to the field of additive manufacturing.

Keywords: FDM 3D printing, preprocess calibration, thermal sensor, process optimization, additive manufacturing, computer vision, material profiles

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Authors: Thilivhali Emmanuel Tshikalange, Darky Cheron Modishane, Frederick Tawi Tabit

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The fruit pulp extracts of twelve selected ethnobotanical wild edible fruits from Mutale local municipality in Venda (Limpopo Province, South Africa) were investigated for their antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities. Methanol extracts were prepared and tested against six micro-organisms (Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Prevotella intermedia and Candida albicans). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined using the micro-dilution method, while for antioxidant activity the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method was used. Of the 12 extracts tested, Adonsonia digitata, Berchemia discolor, Manilkara mochisia, Xanthocercis zambesiaca, Landolphia kirkii and Garcinia livingstonei showed antimicrobial activity, with MIC values ranging from 12.5 to 0.4 mg/ml. Gram negative bacteria were more resistant to the extracts in comparison to Gram positive bacteria. Antioxidant activity was only detected in Adonsonia digitata extract and the IC50 (substrate concentration to produce 50% reduction) was found to be 16.18µg/ml. The cytotoxicity of the extracts that showed antimicrobial and antioxidant activities was also determined. All plant extracts tested were non-toxic against human kidney cells (HEK293), with IC50 values of >400 µg/ml. The results presented in this study provide support to some traditional uses of wild edible fruits.

Keywords: antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, ethnobotanical, fruits

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Authors: K. H. Teng, A. Shaw, M. Ateeq, A. Al-Shamma'a, S. Wylie, S. N. Kazi, B. T. Chew

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Numerical and experimental of using novel electromagnetic wave technique to detect water hardness concentration has been presented in this paper. Simulation is powerful and efficient engineering methods which allow for a quick and accurate prediction of various engineering problems. The RF module is used in this research to predict and design electromagnetic wave propagation and resonance effect of a guided wave to detect water hardness concentration in term of frequency domain, eigenfrequency, and mode analysis. A cylindrical cavity resonator is simulated and designed in the electric field of fundamental mode (TM010). With the finite volume method, the three-dimensional governing equations were discretized. Boundary conditions for the simulation were the cavity materials like aluminum, two ports which include transmitting and receiving port, and assumption of vacuum inside the cavity. The design model was success to simulate a fundamental mode and extract S21 transmission signal within 2.1 – 2.8 GHz regions. The signal spectrum under effect of port selection technique and dielectric properties of different water concentration were studied. It is observed that the linear increment of magnitude in frequency domain when concentration increase. The numerical results were validated closely by the experimentally available data. Hence, conclusion for the available COMSOL simulation package is capable of providing acceptable data for microwave research.

Keywords: electromagnetic wave technique, frequency domain, signal spectrum, water hardness concentration

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Authors: Azita Ramezani, Ghazal Mashhadiagha, Bahareh Sanabakhsh

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This study researches the combination of Random. Forest classifiers with large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) to improve diagnostic accuracy in chest X-ray analysis using the Indiana University dataset. Utilizing advanced NLP techniques, the research preprocesses textual data from radiological reports to extract key features, which are then merged with image-derived data. This improved dataset is analyzed with Random Forest classifiers to predict specific clinical results, focusing on the identification of health issues and the estimation of case urgency. The findings reveal that the combination of NLP, LLMs, and machine learning not only increases diagnostic precision but also reliability, especially in quickly identifying critical conditions. Achieving an accuracy of 99.35%, the model shows significant advancements over conventional diagnostic techniques. The results emphasize the large potential of machine learning in medical imaging, suggesting that these technologies could greatly enhance clinician judgment and patient outcomes by offering quicker and more precise diagnostic approximations.

Keywords: natural language processing (NLP), large language models (LLMs), random forest classifier, chest x-ray analysis, medical imaging, diagnostic accuracy, indiana university dataset, machine learning in healthcare, predictive modeling, clinical decision support systems

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Authors: Mohammad Abdollahi

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Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is one of the most popular, widely grown and the second most important vegetable crop, after potatoes. Nematodes have been identified as one of the major pests affecting tomato production throughout the world. The most destructive nematodes are the genus Meloidogyne. Most widespread and devastating species of this genus are M. incognita, M. javanica, and M. arenaria. These species can cause complete crop loss under adverse growing conditions. There are several potential methods for management of the root knot nematodes. Although the chemicals are widely used against the phytonematodes, because of hazardous effects of these compounds on non-target organisms and on the environment, there is a need to develop other control strategies. Nowadays, non-chemical measures are widely used to control the plant parasitic nematodes. Biocontrol of phytonematodes is an important method among environment-friendly measures of nematode management. There are some soil-inhabiting fungi that have biocontrol potential on phytonematodes, which can be used in nematode management program. The fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, originally is an entomopathogenic bioagent. Biocontrol potential of this fungus on some phytonematodes has been reported earlier. Recently, use of organic soil amendments as well as the use of bioagents is under special attention in sustainable agriculture. This research aimed to reduce the pesticide use in control of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica in tomato. The effects of M. anisopliae IMI 330189 and different levels of oak tree debris on M. javanica were determined. The combination effect of the fungus as well as the different rates of soil amendments was determined. Pots were filled with steam pasteurized soil mixture and the six leaf tomato seedlings were inoculated with 3000 second stage larvae of M. javanica/kg of soil. After eight weeks, plant growth parameters and nematode reproduction factors were compared. Based on the results of our experiment, combination of M. anisopliae IMI 330189 and oak debris caused more than 90% reduction in reproduction factor of nematode, at the rates of 100 and 150 g/kg soil (P ≤ 0.05). As compared to control, the reduction in number of galls was 76%. It was 86% for nematode reproduction factor, showing the significance of combined effect of both tested agents. Our results showed that plant debris can increase the biological activity of the tested bioagent. It was also proved that there was no adverse effect of oak debris, which potentially has antimicrobial activity, on antagonistic power of applied bioagent.

Keywords: biological control, nematode management, organic soil, Quercus branti, root knot nematode, soil amendment

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Authors: Mohammad A. Bani-Khaled

Abstract:

In this work we use the Discrete Proper Orthogonal Decomposition transform to characterize the properties of coupled dynamics in thin-walled beams by exploiting numerical simulations obtained from finite element simulations. The outcomes of the will improve our understanding of the linear and nonlinear coupled behavior of thin-walled beams structures. Thin-walled beams have widespread usage in modern engineering application in both large scale structures (aeronautical structures), as well as in nano-structures (nano-tubes). Therefore, detailed knowledge in regard to the properties of coupled vibrations and buckling in these structures are of great interest in the research community. Due to the geometric complexity in the overall structure and in particular in the cross-sections it is necessary to involve computational mechanics to numerically simulate the dynamics. In using numerical computational techniques, it is not necessary to over simplify a model in order to solve the equations of motions. Computational dynamics methods produce databases of controlled resolution in time and space. These numerical databases contain information on the properties of the coupled dynamics. In order to extract the system dynamic properties and strength of coupling among the various fields of the motion, processing techniques are required. Time- Proper Orthogonal Decomposition transform is a powerful tool for processing databases for the dynamics. It will be used to study the coupled dynamics of thin-walled basic structures. These structures are ideal to form a basis for a systematic study of coupled dynamics in structures of complex geometry.

Keywords: coupled dynamics, geometric complexity, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), thin walled beams

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Authors: Zhifei Hu, Feng Xia

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In recent years, Graph neural network has been widely used in knowledge graph recommendation. The existing recommendation methods based on graph neural network extract information from knowledge graph through entity and relation, which may not be efficient in the way of information extraction. In order to better propose useful entity information for the current recommendation task in the knowledge graph, we propose an end-to-end Neural network Model based on multi-stream graph attentional Mechanism (MSGAT), which can effectively integrate the knowledge graph into the recommendation system by evaluating the importance of entities from both users and items. Specifically, we use the attention mechanism from the user's perspective to distil the domain nodes information of the predicted item in the knowledge graph, to enhance the user's information on items, and generate the feature representation of the predicted item. Due to user history, click items can reflect the user's interest distribution, we propose a multi-stream attention mechanism, based on the user's preference for entities and relationships, and the similarity between items to be predicted and entities, aggregate user history click item's neighborhood entity information in the knowledge graph and generate the user's feature representation. We evaluate our model on three real recommendation datasets: Movielens-1M (ML-1M), LFM-1B 2015 (LFM-1B), and Amazon-Book (AZ-book). Experimental results show that compared with the most advanced models, our proposed model can better capture the entity information in the knowledge graph, which proves the validity and accuracy of the model.

Keywords: graph attention network, knowledge graph, recommendation, information propagation

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Authors: J. K. D. M. P. Madara, R. B. L. Dharmawickreme, Linu John, Ivee Boiss

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Flemingia vestita, commonly known as ‘Sohphlang’ is an important medicinal plant found in the North-Eastern region of India, which is traditionally recognized for its anthelmintic properties. This study was aimed to evaluate the phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity of the tuber skin extracts of the plant species. Methanol, acetone, and water were used to obtain the solvent extractions of the skin peel extracts. Concentrated extracts of skin peel were tested using previously established qualitative phytochemical assays. The antibacterial efficacy of methanol tuber skin extract was tested against Gram-negative and positive microorganisms, namely, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the zone of inhibition of the plant extracts. Obtained data were statistically analyzed. Methanol extracts of Flemingia vestita were found to be effective against Bacillus subtilis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis at concentrations of 0.5 mg/ml. The reported zone of inhibition for the two strains was 13.3mm ± 0.57 and 16.3mm ± 4.9, respectively. However Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were resistant to the plant extracts with no zone of inhibition. Alkaloids, glycosides, and phenols were found to be present in aqueous, methanol, and acetone extracts of the plant in qualitative phytochemical analysis.

Keywords: flemingia vestita, antibacterial activity, phytochemical screening, well diffusion method

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Authors: Babak Safaei, A. M. Fattahi

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Polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposites have a wide range of promising applications Due to their enhanced properties. In this work, free vibration analysis of single-walled carbon nanotube-reinforced composite plates is conducted in which carbon nanotubes are embedded in an amorphous polyethylene. The rule of mixture based on various types of plate model namely classical plate theory (CLPT), first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), and higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) was employed to obtain fundamental frequencies of the nanocomposite plates. Generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method was used to discretize the governing differential equations along with the simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. The material properties of the nanocomposite plates were evaluated using molecular dynamic (MD) simulation corresponding to both short-(10,10) SWCNT and long-(10,10) SWCNT composites. Then the results obtained directly from MD simulations were fitted with those calculated by the rule of mixture to extract appropriate values of carbon nanotube efficiency parameters accounting for the scale-dependent material properties. The selected numerical results are presented to address the influences of nanotube volume fraction and edge supports on the value of fundamental frequency of carbon nanotube-reinforced composite plates corresponding to both long- and short-nanotube composites.

Keywords: nanocomposites, molecular dynamics simulation, free vibration, generalized, differential quadrature (GDQ) method

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Authors: Deepak Kumar, Ravi Rajwanshi, Mohd. Aslam Yusuf, Nisha Kant Pandey, Preeti Singh, Mukesh Saxena, Neera Bhalla Sarin

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Global issues are leading to concerns over food security. These include climate change, urbanization, increase in population subsequently leading to greater energy and water demand. Futuristic approach for crop improvement involves gene pyramiding for agronomic traits that empower the plants to withstand multiple stresses. In an earlier study from the laboratory, the efficacy of overexpressing γ-tocopherol methyl transferase (γ-TMT) gene from the vitamin E biosynthetic pathway has been shown to result in six-fold increase of the most biologically active form, the α-tocopherol in Brassica juncea which resulted in alleviation of salt, heavy metal and osmoticum induced stress by the transgenic plants. The glyoxalase I (gly I) gene from the glyoxalase pathway has also been earlier shown by us to impart tolerance against multiple abioitc stresses by detoxification of the cytotoxic compound methylglyoxal in Brassica juncea. Recently, both the transgenes were pyramided in Brassica juncea lines through sexual crosses involving two stable Brassica juncea lines overexpressing γ-TMT and gly I genes respectively. The transgene integration was confirmed by PCR analysis and their mRNA expression was evident by RT-PCR analysis. Preliminary physiological investigations showed ~55% increased seed germination under 200 mM NaCl stress in the pyramided line and 81% higher seed germination under 200 mM mannitol stress as compared to the WT control plants. The pyramided lines also retained more chlorophyll content when the leaf discs were floated on NaCl (200, 400 and 600 mM) or mannitol (200, 400 and 600 mM) compared to the WT control plants. These plants had higher Relative Water Content and greater solute accumulation under stress compared to the parental plants having γ-TMT or the glyI gene respectively. The studies revealed the synergy of two components from different metabolic pathways in enhancing stress hardiness of the transgenic B. juncea plants. It was concluded that pyramiding of genes (γ-TMT and glyI) from diverse pathways can lead to enhanced tolerance to salt and mannitol stress (simulating drought conditions). This strategy can prove useful in enhancing the crop yields under various abiotic stresses.

Keywords: abiotic stress, brassica juncea, glyoxalase I, α-tocopherol

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Authors: Abobaker Mohammed Qasem Farhan, Shangming Yang, Mohammed Al-Nehari

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Pneumonia is a kind of lung disease that creates congestion in the chest. Such pneumonic conditions lead to loss of life of the severity of high congestion. Pneumonic lung disease is caused by viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, or Covidi-19 induced pneumonia. The early prediction and classification of such lung diseases help to reduce the mortality rate. We propose the automatic Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system in this paper using the deep learning approach. The proposed CAD system takes input from raw computerized tomography (CT) scans of the patient's chest and automatically predicts disease classification. We designed the Hybrid Deep Learning Algorithm (HDLA) to improve accuracy and reduce processing requirements. The raw CT scans have pre-processed first to enhance their quality for further analysis. We then applied a hybrid model that consists of automatic feature extraction and classification. We propose the robust 2D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to extract the automatic features from the pre-processed CT image. This CNN model assures feature learning with extremely effective 1D feature extraction for each input CT image. The outcome of the 2D CNN model is then normalized using the Min-Max technique. The second step of the proposed hybrid model is related to training and classification using different classifiers. The simulation outcomes using the publically available dataset prove the robustness and efficiency of the proposed model compared to state-of-art algorithms.

Keywords: CT scan, Covid-19, deep learning, image processing, lung disease classification

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Authors: Kothuri Sriraman, Mattupalli Komal Teja

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In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed for the recognition of hulls in a hand written images that might be irregular or digit or character shape. Identification of objects and internal objects is quite difficult to extract, when the structure of the image is having bulk of clusters. The estimation results are easily obtained while going through identifying the sub-regional objects by using the SASK algorithm. Focusing mainly to recognize the number of internal objects exist in a given image, so as it is shadow-free and error-free. The hard clustering and density clustering process of obtained image rough set is used to recognize the differentiated internal objects, if any. In order to find out the internal hull regions it involves three steps pre-processing, Boundary Extraction and finally, apply the Hull Detection system. By detecting the sub-regional hulls it can increase the machine learning capability in detection of characters and it can also be extend in order to get the hull recognition even in irregular shape objects like wise black holes in the space exploration with their intensities. Layered hulls are those having the structured layers inside while it is useful in the Military Services and Traffic to identify the number of vehicles or persons. This proposed SASK algorithm is helpful in making of that kind of identifying the regions and can useful in undergo for the decision process (to clear the traffic, to identify the number of persons in the opponent’s in the war).

Keywords: chain code, Hull regions, Hough transform, Hull recognition, Layered Outline Extraction, SASK algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 348