Search results for: Web of Science

Authors: Gabriela Kalcikova, Gregor Marolt, Anita Jemec Kokalj, Andreja Zgajnar Gotvajn

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Since the 90’s, nanotechnology is one of the fastest growing fields of science. Nanomaterials are increasingly becoming part of many products and technologies. Metal oxide nanoparticles are among the most used nanomaterials. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) is widely used due to its versatile properties; it has been used in products including plastics, paints, food, batteries, solar cells and cosmetic products. It is also a very effective photocatalyst used for water treatment. Such expanding application of nZnO increases their possible occurrence in the environment. In the aquatic ecosystem nZnO interact with natural environmental factors such as UV radiation, and thus it is essential to evaluate possible interaction between them. In this context, the aim of our study was to evaluate combined ecotoxicity of nZnO and Zn²⁺ on duckweed Lemna minor in presence or absence UV. Inhibition of vegetative growth of duckweed Lemna minor was monitored over a period of 7 days in multi-well plates. After the experiment, specific growth rate was determined. ZnO nanoparticles used were of primary size 13.6 ± 1.7 nm. The test was conducted with nominal nZnO and Zn²⁺ (in form of ZnCl₂) concentrations of 1, 10, 100 mg/L. Experiment was repeated with presence of natural intensity of UV (8h UV, 10 W/m² UVA, 0.5 W/m² UVB). Concentration of Zn during the test was determined by ICP-MS. In the regular experiment (absence of UV) the specific growth rate was slightly increased by low concentrations of nZnO and Zn²⁺ in comparison to control. However, 10 and 100 mg/L of Zn²⁺ resulted in 45% and 68% inhibition of the specific growth rate, respectively. In case of nZnO both concentrations (10 and 100 mg/L) resulted in similar ~ 30% inhibition and the response was not dose-dependent. The lack of the dose-response relationship is often observed in case of nanoparticles. The possible explanation is that the physical impact prevails instead of chemical ones. In the presence of UV the toxicity of Zn²⁺ was increased and 100 mg/L of Zn²⁺ caused total inhibition of the specific growth rate (100%). On the other hand, 100 mg/L of nZnO resulted in low inhibition (19%) in comparison to the experiment without UV (30%). It is thus expected, that tested nZnO is low photoactive, but could have a good UV absorption and/or reflective properties and thus protect duckweed against UV impacts. Measured concentration of Zn in the test suspension decreased only about 4% after 168h in the case of ZnCl₂. On the other hand concentration of Zn in nZnO test decreased by 80%. It is expected that nZnO were partially dissolved in the medium and at the same time agglomeration and sedimentation of particles took place and thus the concentration of Zn at the water level decreased. Results of our study indicated, that nZnO combined with UV of natural intensity does not increase toxicity of nZnO, but slightly protect the plant against UV negative effects. When Zn²⁺ and ZnO results are compared it seems that dissolved Zn plays a central role in the nZnO toxicity.

Keywords: duckweed, environmental factors, nanoparticles, toxicity

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Authors: Taik Kim

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Mathematics anxiety has an important consequence for teacher practices that influence students’ attitudes and achievement. Elementary prospective teachers have the highest levels of mathematics anxiety in comparison with other college majors. In his teaching practice, the researcher developed a highly successful teaching model to reduce pre-service teachers’ higher math anxiety and simultaneously to improve their pedagogical math content knowledge. There were eighty one participants from 2015 to 2018 who took the Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and II. As the analysis data indicated, elementary prospective teachers’ math anxiety was greatly reduced with improving their math pedagogical knowledge. U.S encounters a critical shortage of well qualified educators. To solve the issue, it is essential to engage students in a long-term commitmentto shape better teachers, who will, in turn, produce k-12 school students that are better-prepared for college students. It is imperative that new instructional strategies are implemented to improve student learning and address declining interest, poor preparedness, a lack of diverse representation, and low persistence of students in mathematics. Many four year college students take math courses from the math department in the College of Arts& Science and then take methodology courses from the College of Education. Before taking pedagogy, many students struggle in learning mathematics and lose their confidence. Since the content course focus on college level math, instead of pre service teachers’ teaching area, per se elementary math, they do not have a chance to improve their teaching skills on topics which eventually they teach. The research, a joint appointment of math and math education, has been involved in teaching content and pedagogy. As the result indicated, participants were able to math content at the same time how to teach. In conclusion, the new initiative to use several teaching strategies was able not only to increase elementary prospective teachers’ mathematical skills and knowledge but also to improve their attitude toward mathematics. We need an innovative teaching strategy which implements evidence-based tactics in redesigning a education and math to improve pre service teachers’math skills and which can improve students’ attitude toward math and students’ logical and reasoning skills. Implementation of these best practices in the local school district is particularly important because K-8 teachers are not generally familiar with lab-based instruction. At the same time, local school teachers will learn a new way how to teach math. This study can be a vital teacher education model expanding throughout the State and nationwide. In summary, this study yields invaluable information how to improve teacher education in the elementary level and, eventually, how to enhance K-8 students’ math achievement.

Keywords: quality of education and improvement method, teacher education, innovative teaching and learning methodologies, math education

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Authors: Josiah Damisa, Michelle Louise Richardson, Morenike Adewuyi

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Lower back pain is a significant cause of disability worldwide and associated with great implications in terms of the well-being of affected individuals and society as a whole due to its undeniable socio-economic impact. With its prevalence on the increase as a result of an aging global population, the need for novel forms of pain management is ever paramount. This review aims to provide further insight into current research regarding a role for the endocannabinoid signaling pathway as a target in the treatment of chronic pain, with particular emphasis on its potential use as part of the treatment of lower back pain. Potential advantages and limitations of cannabis-based medicines over other forms of analgesia currently licensed for medical use are discussed in addition to areas that require ongoing consideration and research. To evaluate the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines in chronic pain, studies pertaining to the role of medical cannabis in chronic disease were reviewed. Standard searches of PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases were undertaken with peer-reviewed journal articles reviewed based on the indication for pain management, cannabis treatment modality used and study outcomes. Multiple studies suggest an emerging role for cannabis-based medicines as therapeutic agents in the treatment of chronic back pain. A potential synergistic effect has also been purported if these medicines are co-administered with opiate analgesia due to the similarity of the opiate and endocannabinoid signaling pathways. However, whilst recent changes to legislation in the United Kingdom mean that cannabis is now licensed for medicinal use on NHS prescription for a number of chronic health conditions, concerns remain as to the efficacy and safety of cannabis-based medicines. Research is lacking into both their side effect profiles and the long-term effects of cannabis use. Legal and ethical considerations to the use of these products in standardized medical practice also persist due to the notoriety of cannabis as a drug of abuse. Despite this, cannabis is beginning to gain traction as an alternative or even complementary drug to opiates, with some preclinical studies showing opiate-sparing effects. Whilst there is a paucity of clinical trials in this field, there is scope for cannabinoids to be successful anti-nociceptive agents in managing chronic back pain. The ultimate aim would be to utilize cannabis-based medicines as alternative or complementary therapies, thereby reducing opiate over-reliance and providing hope to individuals who have exhausted all other forms of standard treatment.

Keywords: endocannabinoids, cannabis-based medicines, chronic pain, lower back pain

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Authors: Bello Muhammad Dogon Kade

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The study was conducted to determine the effect of a treated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) shell in a complete diet on blood metabolites and microbial load in fattening Yankasa rams. The study was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm (Small Ruminants Unit of Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Each kilogram of groundnut shell was treated with 5% urea and 5% lime for treatments 2 (UTGNS) and 3 (LTGNS), respectively. For treatment 4 (ULTGNS), 1 kg of groundnut shell was treated with 2.5% urea and 2.5% lime, but the shell in treatment 1 was not treated (UNTGNS). Sixteen Yankasa rams were used and randomly assigned to the four treatment diets with four animals per treatment in a completely randomized design (CRD). The diet was formulated to have 14% crude protein (CP) content. Rumen fluid was collected from each ram at the end of the experiment at 0 and 4 hours post-feeding. The samples were then put in a 30 ml bottle and acidified with 5 drops of concentrated sulphuric (0.1N H₂SO4) acid to trap ammonia. The results of the blood metabolites showed that the mean values of NH₃-N differed significantly (P<0.05) among the treatment groups, with rams in the ULTGNS diet having the highest significant value (31.96 mg/L). TVFs were significantly (P<0.05) higher in rams fed UNTGNS diet and higher in total nitrogen; the effect of sampling periods revealed that NH3N, TVFs and TP were significantly (P<0.05) higher in rumen fluid collected 4hrs post feeding among the rams across the treatment groups, but rumen fluid pH was significantly (p<0.05) higher in 0-hour post-feeding in all the rams in the treatment diets. In the treatment and sampling period’s interaction effects, animals on the ULTGNS diet had the highest mean values of NH3N in both 0 and 4 hours post-feeding and were significantly (P<0.5) higher compared to rams on the other treatment diets. Rams on the UTGNS diet had the highest bacteria load of 4.96X105/ml, which was significantly (P<0.05) higher than a microbial load of animals fed UNTGNS, LTGNS and ULTGNS diets. However, protozoa counts were significantly (P<0.05) higher in rams fed the UTGNS diet than those followed by the ULTGNS diet. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the bacteria count of the animals at both 0 and 4 hours post-feeding. But rumen fungi and protozoa load at 0 hours were significantly (P<0.05) higher than at 4 hours post-feeding. The use of untreated ground groundnut shells in the diet of fattening Yankasa ram is therefore recommended.

Keywords: blood metabolites, microbial load, volatile fatty acid, ammonia, total protein

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Authors: Malahat Rezaee, Mahiran Basri, Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abdul Rahman, Abu Bakar Salleh

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Sodium diclofenac is one of the most commonly used drugs of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It is especially effective in the controlling the severe conditions of inflammation and pain, musculoskeletal disorders, arthritis, and dysmenorrhea. Formulation as nanoemulsions is one of the nanoscience approaches that have been progressively considered in pharmaceutical science for transdermal delivery of drug. Nanoemulsions are a type of emulsion with particle sizes ranging from 20 nm to 200 nm. An emulsion is formed by the dispersion of one liquid, usually the oil phase in another immiscible liquid, water phase that is stabilized using surfactant. Palm kernel oil esters (PKOEs), in comparison to other oils; contain higher amounts of shorter chain esters, which suitable to be applied in micro and nanoemulsion systems as a carrier for actives, with excellent wetting behavior without the oily feeling. This research was aimed to study the effect of O/S ratio on stability and rheological behavior of sodium diclofenac loaded and unloaded palm kernel oil esters nanoemulsion systems. The effect of different O/S ratio of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 on stability of the drug-loaded and unloaded nanoemulsion formulations was evaluated by centrifugation, freeze-thaw cycle and storage stability tests. Lecithin and cremophor EL were used as surfactant. The stability of the prepared nanoemulsion formulations was assessed based on the change in zeta potential and droplet size as a function of time. Instability mechanisms including coalescence and Ostwald ripening for the nanoemulsion system were discussed. In comparison between drug-loaded and unloaded nanoemulsion formulations, drug-loaded formulations represented smaller particle size and higher stability. In addition, the O/S ratio of 0.5 was found to be the best ratio of oil and surfactant for production of a nanoemulsion with the highest stability. The effect of O/S ratio on rheological properties of drug-loaded and unloaded nanoemulsion systems was studied by plotting the flow curves of shear stress (τ) and viscosity (η) as a function of shear rate (γ). The data were fitted to the Power Law model. The results showed that all nanoemulsion formulations exhibited non-Newtonian flow behaviour by displaying shear thinning behaviour. Viscosity and yield stress were also evaluated. The nanoemulsion formulation with the O/S ratio of 0.5 represented higher viscosity and K values. In addition, the sodium diclofenac loaded formulations had more viscosity and higher yield stress than drug-unloaded formulations.

Keywords: nanoemulsions, palm kernel oil esters, sodium diclofenac, rheoligy, stability

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Authors: Stefan Papastefanou

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is an interdisciplinary field of computer science with the aim of creating intelligent machine behavior. Early approaches to AI have been configured to operate in very constrained environments where the behavior of the AI system was previously determined by formal rules. Knowledge was presented as a set of rules that allowed the AI system to determine the results for specific problems; as a structure of if-else rules that could be traversed to find a solution to a particular problem or question. However, such rule-based systems typically have not been able to generalize beyond the knowledge provided. All over the world and especially in IT-heavy industries such as the United States, the European Union, Singapore, and China, machine learning has developed to be an immense asset, and its applications are becoming more and more significant. It has to be examined how such products of machine learning models can and should be protected by IP law and for the purpose of this paper patent law specifically, since it is the IP law regime closest to technical inventions and computing methods in technical applications. Genetic breeding models are currently less popular than recursive neural network method and deep learning, but this approach can be more easily described by referring to the evolution of natural organisms, and with increasing computational power; the genetic breeding method as a subset of the evolutionary algorithms models is expected to be regaining popularity. The research method focuses on patentability (according to the world’s most significant patent law regimes such as China, Singapore, the European Union, and the United States) of AI inventions and machine learning. Questions of the technical nature of the problem to be solved, the inventive step as such, and the question of the state of the art and the associated obviousness of the solution arise in the current patenting processes. Most importantly, and the key focus of this paper is the problem of patenting inventions that themselves are developed through machine learning. The inventor of a patent application must be a natural person or a group of persons according to the current legal situation in most patent law regimes. In order to be considered an 'inventor', a person must actually have developed part of the inventive concept. The mere application of machine learning or an AI algorithm to a particular problem should not be construed as the algorithm that contributes to a part of the inventive concept. However, when machine learning or the AI algorithm has contributed to a part of the inventive concept, there is currently a lack of clarity regarding the ownership of artificially created inventions. Since not only all European patent law regimes but also the Chinese and Singaporean patent law approaches include identical terms, this paper ultimately offers a comparative analysis of the most relevant patent law regimes.

Keywords: algorithms, inventor, genetic breeding models, machine learning, patentability

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Authors: Ruchirat Patanathabutr

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This applied research has adopted descriptive social science research methodology to interpret, analyze and assess the data and used descriptive analysis to present the research results. The objective of this research is to investigate the behaviors and opinions on the service and construction of cable car system at the Upper Esaan Wild Animal Adventure Park (Khon Kaen – Udon Thani) in Khao Suan Kwang District, Khon Kaen Province (Khon Kaen Zoo) of people in the local and distant communities as well as the service users. The research results have revealed that the main target group is the residents in the upper northeastern region of Thailand, especially those who have resided in the immediate vicinity of the cable car project and in nearby districts for more than 10 years. They are men and women at the age of 20-60 with high school diploma and higher levels of education, working as traders/entrepreneurs, government officers/state enterprise employees, and freelancers/self-employed, with the average monthly income of no more than 30,000 baht. Khon Kaen Zoo should improve its 4 organizational images as a tourist attraction, an animal display enclosure, an educational institution and as a provincial symbol; however, the zoo should mainly be presented as an important tourist attraction. The service should focus on maintaining the service standards in both the animal display area and the ocean park. The attention should also be directed at the types and numbers of animals, service quality, service fee, convenient access and transportation, promotions and the standards of other services. Regarding the community involvement in the cable car system construction project, it is strongly agreed that there should be a cable car service between the animal display area and the ocean park and a round-trip ticket should cost 20 baht, 50 baht or 100 baht, respectively. Khon Kaen Zoo or responsible entity must provide related groups of people, such as people in the local and distant communities as well as the service users, with accurate information about the community management guidelines. This is because the community opinions have showed the uncertainty about the cable car system construction at Khon Kaen Zoo and the 4 principles of management, including planning, organizing, leading and controlling, are indicated as uncertain as there is no statistically significant difference at 0.05. In addition, the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the cable car system construction at Khon Kaen Zoo on the communities must be considered carefully.

Keywords: community opinion, cable car system, Khon Kaen Zoo, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Zainab Atia, Hongwei He, Panagiotis Sarantopoulos

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Over the past few years, firms have witnessed a massive increase in sophisticated algorithmic deployment, which has become quite pervasive in today’s modern society. With the wide availability of data for retailers, the ability to track consumers using algorithmic pricing has become an integral option in online platforms. As more companies are transforming their businesses and relying more on massive technological advancement, pricing algorithmic systems have brought attention and given rise to its wide adoption, with many accompanying benefits and challenges to be found within its usage. With the overall aim of increasing profits by organizations, algorithmic pricing is becoming a sound option by enabling suppliers to cut costs, allowing better services, improving efficiency and product availability, and enhancing overall consumer experiences. The adoption of algorithms in retail has been pioneered and widely used in literature across varied fields, including marketing, computer science, engineering, economics, and public policy. However, what is more, alarming today is the comprehensive understanding and focus of this technology and its associated ethical influence on consumers’ perceptions and behaviours. Indeed, due to algorithmic ethical concerns, consumers are found to be reluctant in some instances to share their personal data with retailers, which reduces their retention and leads to negative consumer outcomes in some instances. This, in its turn, raises the question of whether firms can still manifest the acceptance of such technologies by consumers while minimizing the ethical transgressions accompanied by their deployment. As recent modest research within the area of marketing and consumer behavior, the current research advances the literature on algorithmic pricing, pricing ethics, consumers’ perceptions, and price fairness literature. With its empirical focus, this paper aims to contribute to the literature by applying the distinction of the two common types of algorithmic pricing, dynamic and personalized, while measuring their relative effect on consumers’ behavioural outcomes. From a managerial perspective, this research offers significant implications that pertain to providing a better human-machine interactive environment (whether online or offline) to improve both businesses’ overall performance and consumers’ wellbeing. Therefore, by allowing more transparent pricing systems, businesses can harness their generated ethical strategies, which fosters consumers’ loyalty and extend their post-purchase behaviour. Thus, by defining the correct balance of pricing and right measures, whether using dynamic or personalized (or both), managers can hence approach consumers more ethically while taking their expectations and responses at a critical stance.

Keywords: algorithmic pricing, dynamic pricing, personalized pricing, price ethicality

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Ram Mohan, Mahendran Samykano, Shyam Aravamudhan

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Metallic nanowires with sub-micron and hundreds of nanometer diameter have a diversity of applications in nano/micro-electromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS). Characterizing the mechanical properties of such sub-micron and nano-scale metallic nanowires are tedious; require sophisticated and careful experimentation to be performed within high-powered microscopy systems (scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM)). Also, needed are nanoscale devices for placing the nanowires; loading them with the intended conditions; obtaining the data for load–deflection during the deformation within the high-powered microscopy environment poses significant challenges. Even picking the grown nanowires and placing them correctly within a nanoscale loading device is not an easy task. Mechanical characterizations through experimental methods for such nanowires are still very limited. Various techniques at different levels of fidelity, resolution, and induced errors have been attempted by material science and nanomaterial researchers. The methods for determining the load, deflection within the nanoscale devices also pose a significant problem. The state of the art is thus still at its infancy. All these factors result and is seen in the wide differences in the characterization curves and the reported properties in the current literature. In this paper, we discuss and present our experimental method, results, and discussions of uniaxial tensile loading and the development of subsequent stress–strain characteristics curves for Nickel nanowires. Nickel nanowires in the diameter range of 220–270 nm were obtained in our laboratory via an electrodeposition method, which is a solution based, template method followed in our present work for growing 1-D Nickel nanowires. Process variables such as the presence of magnetic field, its intensity; and varying electrical current density during the electrodeposition process were found to influence the morphological and physical characteristics including crystal orientation, size of the grown nanowires1. To further understand the correlation and influence of electrodeposition process variables, associated formed structural features of our grown Nickel nanowires to their mechanical properties, careful experiments within scanning electron microscope (SEM) were conducted. Details of the uniaxial tensile characterization, testing methodology, nanoscale testing device, load–deflection characteristics, microscopy images of failure progression, and the subsequent stress–strain curves are discussed and presented.

Keywords: uniaxial tensile characterization, nanowires, electrodeposition, stress-strain, nickel

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Authors: Taru Hakanen, Mervi Murtonen

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This study aims to increase understanding of the transition of business models in servitization. The significance of service in all business has increased dramatically during the past decades. Service-dominant logic (SDL) describes this change in the economy and questions the goods-dominant logic on which business has primarily been based in the past. A business model canvas is one of the most cited and used tools in defining end developing business models. The starting point of this paper lies in the notion that the traditional business model canvas is inherently goods-oriented and best suits for product-based business. However, the basic differences between goods and services necessitate changes in business model representations when proceeding in servitization. Therefore, new knowledge is needed on how the conception of business model and the business model canvas as its representation should be altered in servitized firms in order to better serve business developers and inter-firm co-creation. That is to say, compared to products, services are intangible and they are co-produced between the supplier and the customer. Value is always co-created in interaction between a supplier and a customer, and customer experience primarily depends on how well the interaction succeeds between the actors. The role of service experience is even stronger in service business compared to product business, as services are co-produced with the customer. This paper provides business model developers with a service business model canvas, which takes into account the intangible, interactive, and relational nature of service. The study employs a design science approach that contributes to theory development via design artifacts. This study utilizes qualitative data gathered in workshops with ten companies from various industries. In particular, key differences between Goods-dominant logic (GDL) and SDL-based business models are identified when an industrial firm proceeds in servitization. As the result of the study, an updated version of the business model canvas is provided based on service-dominant logic. The service business model canvas ensures a stronger customer focus and includes aspects salient for services, such as interaction between companies, service co-production, and customer experience. It can be used for the analysis and development of a current service business model of a company or for designing a new business model. It facilitates customer-focused new service design and service development. It aids in the identification of development needs, and facilitates the creation of a common view of the business model. Therefore, the service business model canvas can be regarded as a boundary object, which facilitates the creation of a common understanding of the business model between several actors involved. The study contributes to the business model and service business development disciplines by providing a managerial tool for practitioners in service development. It also provides research insight into how servitization challenges companies’ business models.

Keywords: boundary object, business model canvas, managerial tool, service-dominant logic

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Authors: Maria Ostroukhova, Zhanneta Zalutskaya, Elena Ermilova

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The alternative oxidase (AOX) mediates cyanide-resistant respiration, which bypasses proton-pumping complexes III and IV of the cytochrome pathway to directly transfer electrons from reduced ubiquinone to molecular oxygen. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, AOX is a monomeric protein that is encoded by two genes of discrete subfamilies, AOX1 and AOX2. Although AOX has been proposed to play essential roles in stress tolerance of organisms, the role of subfamily AOX2 is largely unknown. In C. reinhardtii, AOX2 was initially identified as one of constitutively low expressed genes. Like other photosynthetic organisms C. reinhardtii cells frequently experience periods of hypoxia. To examine AOX2 transcriptional regulation and role of AOX2 in hypoxia adaptation, real-time PCR analysis and artificial microRNA method were employed. Two experimental approaches have been used to induce the anoxic conditions: dark-anaerobic and light-anaerobic conditions. C. reinhardtii cells exposed to the oxygen deprivation have shown increased AOX2 mRNA levels. By contrast, AOX1 was not an anoxia-responsive gene. In C. reinhardtii, a subset of genes is regulated by transcription factor CRR1 in anaerobic conditions. Notable, the AOX2 promoter region contains the potential motif for CRR1 binding. Therefore, the role of CRR1 in the control of AOX2 transcription was tested. The CRR1-underexpressing strains, that were generated and characterized in this work, exhibited low levels of AOX2 transcripts under anoxic conditions. However, the transformants still slightly induced AOX2 gene expression in the darkness. These confirmed our suggestions that darkness is a regulatory stimulus for AOX genes in C. reinhardtii. Thus, other factors must contribute to AOX2 promoter activity under dark-anoxic conditions. Moreover, knock-down of CRR1 caused a complete reduction of AOX2 expression under light-anoxic conditions. These results indicate that (1) CRR1 is required for AOX2 expression during hypoxia, and (2) AOX2 gene is regulated by CRR1 together with yet-unknown regulatory factor(s). In addition, the AOX2-underexpressing strains were generated. The analysis of amiRNA-AOX2 strains suggested a role of this alternative oxidase in hypoxia adaptation of the alga. In conclusion, the results reported here show that C. reinhardtii AOX2 gene is stress inducible. CRR1 transcriptional factor is involved in the regulation of the AOX2 gene expression in the absence of oxygen. Moreover, AOX2 but not AOX1 functions under oxygen deprivation. This work was supported by Russian Science Foundation (research grant № 16-14-10004).

Keywords: alternative oxidase 2, artificial microRNA approach, chlamydomonas reinhardtii, hypoxia

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Authors: Laura Canagueral-Pellice, Antonio Munar-Frau, Adaia Valls-Ontanon, Joao Carames, Federico Hernandez-Alfaro, Jordi Caballe-Serrano

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Objective: Guided bone regeneration (GBR) aims to replace the missing bone with a new structure to achieve long-term stability of rehabilitations. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the effect of barrier membranes on histological outcomes after GBR procedures. Moreover, the effect of the grafting material and tissue gain were analyzed. Materials & methods: Two independent reviewers performed an electronic search in Pubmed and Scopus, identifying all eligible publications up to March 2020. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing a histological analysis of augmented areas were included. Results: A total of 6 publications were included for the present systematic review. A total of 110 biopsied sites were analysed; 10 corresponded to vertical bone augmentation procedures, whereas 100 analysed horizontal regeneration procedures. A mean tissue gain of 3 ± 1.48mm was obtained for horizontal defects. Histological assessment of new bone formation, residual particle and sub-epithelial connective tissue (SCT) was reported. The four main barrier membranes used were natural collagen membranes, e-PTFE, polylactic resorbable membranes and acellular dermal matrix membranes (AMDG). The analysis demonstrated that resorbable membranes result in higher values of new bone formation and lower values of residual particles and SCT. Xenograft resulted in lower new bone formation compared to allograft; however, no statistically significant differences were observed regarding residual particle and SCT. Overall, regeneration procedures adding autogenous bone, plasma derivate or growth factors achieved in general greater new bone formation and tissue gain. Conclusions: There is limited evidence favoring the effect of a certain type of barrier membrane in GBR. Data needs to be evaluated carefully; however, resorbable membranes are correlated with greater new bone formation values, especially when combined with allograft materials and/or the addition of autogenous bone, platelet reach plasma (PRP) or growth factors in the regeneration area. More studies assessing the histological outcomes of different GBR protocols and procedures testing different biomaterials are needed to maximize the clinical and histological outcomes in bone regeneration science.

Keywords: barrier membrane, graft material, guided bone regeneration, implant surgery, histology

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Authors: Edson Pierre, Gustavo de Jesus Lopez Nunez

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The objective of this work is to analyze how physics can be taught remotely through the use of platforms and software to attract the attention of 2nd-year high school students at Colégio Cívico Militar Professor Carmelita Souza Dias and point out how remote teaching can be a teaching-learning strategy during the period of social distancing. Teaching physics has been a challenge for teachers and students, permeating common sense with the great difficulty of teaching and learning the subject. The challenge increased in 2020 and 2021 with the impact caused by the new coronavirus pandemic (Sars-Cov-2) and its variants that have affected the entire world. With these changes, a new teaching modality emerged: remote teaching. It brought new challenges and one of them was promoting distance research experiences, especially in physics teaching, since there are learning difficulties and it is often impossible for the student to relate the theory observed in class with the reality that surrounds them. Teaching physics in schools faces some difficulties, which makes it increasingly less attractive for young people to choose this profession. Bearing in mind that the study of physics is very important, as it puts students in front of concrete and real situations, situations that physical principles can respond to, helping to understand nature, nourishing and nurturing a taste for science. The use of new platforms and software, such as PhET Interactive Simulations from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is a virtual laboratory that has numerous simulations of scientific experiments, which serve to improve the understanding of the content taught practically, facilitating student learning and absorption of content, being a simple, practical and free simulation tool, attracts more attention from students, causing them to acquire greater knowledge about the subject studied, or even a quiz, bringing certain healthy competitiveness to students, generating knowledge and interest in the themes used. The present study takes the Theory of Social Representations as a theoretical reference, examining the content and process of constructing the representations of teachers, subjects of our investigation, on the evaluation of teaching and learning processes, through a methodology of qualitative. The result of this work has shown that remote teaching was really a very important strategy for the process of teaching and learning physics in the 2nd year of high school. It provided greater interaction between the teacher and the student. Therefore, the teacher also plays a fundamental role since technology is increasingly present in the educational environment, and he is the main protagonist of this process.

Keywords: physics teaching, technologies, remote learning, pandemic

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Authors: M. S. Stepanova, V. V. Zakharov, P. D. Khavlyuk, I. D. Skurlov, A. Y. Dubovik, A. L. Rogach

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Carbon dots are small carbon-based spherical nanoparticles, which are typically less than 10 nm in size that can be modified with surface passivation and heteroatoms doping. The light-absorbing ability of carbon dots has attracted a significant amount of attention in photoluminescence for bioimaging and fluorescence sensing applications owing to their advantages, such as tunable fluorescence emission, photo- and thermostability and low toxicity. In this study, carbon dots were synthesized by the solvothermal method from citric acid and ethylenediamine dissolved in water. The solution was heated for 5 hours at 200°C and then cooled down to room temperature. The carbon dots films were obtained by evaporation from a high-concentration aqueous solution. The increase of both luminescence intensity and light transmission was obtained as a result of a 405 nm laser exposure to a part of the carbon dots film, which was detected using a confocal laser scanning microscope (LSM 710, Zeiss). Blueshift up to 35 nm of the luminescence spectrum is observed as luminescence intensity, which is increased more than twofold. The exact value of the shift depends on the time of the laser exposure. This shift can be caused by the modification of surface groups at the carbon dots, which are responsible for long-wavelength luminescence. In addition, a shift of the absorption peak by 10 nm and a decrease in the optical density at the wavelength of 350 nm is detected, which is responsible for the absorption of surface groups. The obtained sample was also studied with time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscope (MicroTime 100, PicoQuant), which made it possible to receive a time-resolved photoluminescence image and construct emission decays of the laser-exposed and non-exposed areas. 5 MHz pulse rate impulse laser has been used as a photoluminescence excitation source. Photoluminescence decay was approximated by two exhibitors. The laser-exposed area has the amplitude of the first-lifetime component (A1) twice as much as before, with increasing τ1. At the same time, the second-lifetime component (A2) decreases. These changes evidence a modification of the surface groups of carbon dots. The detected effect can be used to create thermostable fluorescent marks, the physical size of which is bounded by the diffraction limit of the optics (~ 200-300 nm) used for exposure and to improve the optical properties of carbon dots or in the field of optical encryption. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation, goszadanie no. 2019-1080 and financially supported by Government of Russian Federation, Grant 08-08.

Keywords: carbon dots, photoactivation, optical properties, photoluminescence and absorption spectra

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Authors: Mohammed Khalil Ur Rahman, Mohammed Alsharon, Arshad Muktar, Zahid Shaik

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Any ailment can go into terminal stages, cancer being one such disease which is many times detected in latent stages. Cancer is often characterized by constitutional symptoms which are agonizing in nature which disturbs patients and their family as well. In order to relieve such intolerable symptoms treatment modality employed is known to be ‘Palliative Care’. The goal of palliative care is to enhance patient’s quality of life by relieving or rather reducing the distressing symptoms of patients such as pain, nausea/ vomiting, anorexia/loss of appetite, excessive salivation, mouth ulcers, weight loss, constipation, oral thrush, emaciation etc. which are due to the effect of disease or due to the undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation etc. Ayurveda and Unani as well as other traditional medicines is getting more and more international attention in recent years and Ayurveda and Unani holistic perspective of the disease, it seems that there are many herbs and herbomineral preparation which can be employed in the treatment of malignancy and also in palliative care. Though many of them have yet to be scientifically proved as anti-cancerous but there is definitely a positive lead that some of these medications relieve the agonising symptoms thereby making life of the patient easy. Health is viewed in Islam in a holistic way. One of the names of the Quran is al-shifa' meaning ‘that which heals’ or ‘the restorer of health’ to refer to spiritual, intellectual, psychological, and physical health. The general aim of medical science, according to Islam, is to secure and adopt suitable measures which, with Allah’s permission, help to preserve or restore the health of the human body. Islam motivates the Physician to view the patient as one organism. The patient has physical, social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions that must be considered in synthesis with an integrated, holistic approach. Aims & Objectives: - To suggest herbs which are mentioned in Ayurveda Unani with potential palliative activity in case of Cancer patients. - Most of tibb nabawi [Prophetic Medicine] is preventive medicine and must have been divinely inspired. - Spiritual Aspects of Healing: Prayer, dua, recitation of the Quran - Remembrance of Allah play a central role.Materials & Method: Literary review of the herbs supported with experiential evidence will be discussed. Discussion: On the basis of collected data subject will be discussed in length. Conclusion: Will be presented in paper.

Keywords: palliative care, holistic, Ayurvedic and Unani traditional system of medicine, Quran, hadith

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Heba Salama, Barry Gibson, Jennifer Burr

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Introduction: It is often argued that better oral health leads to better wellbeing, and the goal of dental care is to improve wellbeing. Notwithstanding, to our best knowledge, there is a lack of evidence to support the relationship between oral health and wellbeing. Aim: The scoping review aims to examine current definitions of health and wellbeing as well as map the evidence to examine the relationship between oral health and wellbeing. Methods: The scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR). A two-phase search strategy was followed because of the unmanageable number of hits returned. The first phase was to identify how well-being was conceptualised in oral health literacy, and the second phase was to search for extracted keywords. The extracted keywords were searched in four databases: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. To limit the number of studies to a manageable amount, the search was limited to the open-access studies that have been published in the last five years (from 2018 to 2022). Results: Only eight studies (0.1%) of the 5455 results met the review inclusion criteria. Most of the included studies defined wellbeing based on the hedonic theory. And the Satisfaction with Life Scale is the most used. Although the research results are inconsistent, it has generally been shown that there is a weak or no association between oral health and wellbeing. Interpretation: The review revealed a very important point about how oral health literature uses loose definitions that have significant implications for empirical research. That results in misleading evidence-based conclusions. According to the review results, improving oral health is not a key factor in improving wellbeing. It appears that investing in oral health care to improve wellbeing is not a top priority to tell policymakers about. This does not imply that there should be no investment in oral health care to improve oral health. That could have an indirect link to wellbeing by eliminating the potential oral health-related barriers to quality of life that could represent the foundation of wellbeing. Limitation: Only the most recent five years (2018–2022), peer-reviewed English-language literature, and four electronic databases were included in the search. These restrictions were put in place to keep the volume of literature at a manageable level. This suggests that some significant studies might have been omitted. Furthermore, the study used a definition of wellbeing that is currently being evolved and might not everyone agrees with it. Conclusion: Whilst it is a ubiquitous argument that oral health is related to wellbeing, and this seems logical, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. This question, therefore, requires much more detailed consideration. Funding: This project was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Libya and Tripoli University.

Keywords: oral health, wellbeing, satisfaction, emotion, quality of life, oral health related quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Filomena Lopes, Miguel Magalhaes, Carla Santos Pereira, Natercia Durao, Cristina Costa-Lobo

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The option to implement curricular internships with undergraduate students is a pedagogical option with some good results perceived by academic staff, employers, and among graduates in general and IT (Information Technology) in particular. Knowing that this type of exercise has never been so relevant, as one tries to give meaning to the future in a landscape of rapid and deep changes. We have as an example the potential disruptive impact on the jobs of advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and 3-D printing, which is a focus of fierce debate. It is in this context that more and more students and employers engage in the pursuit of career-promoting responses and business development, making their investment decisions of training and hiring. Three decades of experience and research in computer science degree and in information systems technologies degree at the Portucalense University, Portuguese private university, has provided strong evidence of its advantages. The Human Interaction Skills development as well as the attractiveness of such experiences for students are topics assumed as core in the Ccnception and management of the activities implemented in these study cycles. The objective of this paper is to gather evidence of the Human Interaction Skills explained and valued within the curriculum internship experiences of IT students employability. Data collection was based on the application of questionnaire to intern counselors and to students who have completed internships in these undergraduate courses in the last decade. The trainee supervisor, responsible for monitoring the performance of IT students in the evolution of traineeship activities, evaluates the following Human Interaction Skills: Motivation and interest in the activities developed, interpersonal relationship, cooperation in company activities, assiduity, ease of knowledge apprehension, Compliance with norms, insertion in the work environment, productivity, initiative, ability to take responsibility, creativity in proposing solutions, and self-confidence. The results show that these undergraduate courses promote the development of Human Interaction Skills and that these students, once they finish their degree, are able to initiate remunerated work functions, mainly by invitation of the institutions in which they perform curricular internships. Findings obtained from the present study contribute to widen the analysis of its effectiveness in terms of future research and actions in regard to the transition from Higher Education pathways to the Labour Market.

Keywords: human interaction skills, employability, internships, information technology, higher education

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: G. Zakharov, Z. Aslamazashvili, M. Chikhradze, D. Kvaskhvadze, N. Khidasheli, S. Gvazava

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Traditional technologies for processing iron-containing industrial waste, including steel-rolling production, are associated with significant energy costs, the long duration of processes, and the need to use complex and expensive equipment. Waste generated during the industrial process negatively affects the environment, but at the same time, it is a valuable raw material and can be used to produce new marketable products. The study of the effectiveness of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) methods, which are characterized by the simplicity of the necessary equipment, the purity of the final product, and the high processing speed, is under the wide scientific and practical interest to solve the set problem. The work presents technological aspects of the production of Ferro boron by the method of SHS - metallurgy from iron-containing wastes of rolled production for alloying of cast iron and results of the effect of alloying element on the degree of boron assimilation with liquid cast iron. Features of Fe-B system combustion have been investigated, and the main parameters to control the phase composition of synthesis products have been experimentally established. Effect of overloads on patterns of cast ligatures formation and mechanisms structure formation of SHS products was studied. It has been shown that an increase in the content of hematite Fe₂O₃ in iron-containing waste leads to an increase in the content of phase FeB and, accordingly, the amount of boron in the ligature. Boron content in ligature is within 3-14%, and the phase composition of obtained ligatures consists of Fe₂B and FeB phases. Depending on the initial composition of the wastes, the yield of the end product reaches 91 - 94%, and the extraction of boron is 70 - 88%. Combustion processes of high exothermic mixtures allow to obtain a wide range of boron-containing ligatures from industrial wastes. In view of the relatively low melting point of the obtained SHS-ligature, the positive dynamics of boron absorption by liquid iron is established. According to the obtained data, the degree of absorption of the ligature by alloying gray cast iron at 1450°C is 80-85%. When combined with the treatment of liquid cast iron with magnesium, followed by alloying with the developed ligature, boron losses are reduced by 5-7%. At that, uniform distribution of boron micro-additives in the volume of treated liquid metal is provided. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli Georgian National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRGNSFG) under the GENIE project (grant number № CARYS-19-802).

Keywords: self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, cast iron, industrial waste, ductile iron, structure formation

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Barna Arnold Keserű

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In the last few years (what is called by many scholars the big data era) artificial intelligence (hereinafter AI) get more and more attention from the public and from the different branches of sciences as well. What previously was a mere science-fiction, now starts to become reality. AI and robotics often walk hand in hand, what changes not only the business and industrial life, but also has a serious impact on the legal system. The main research of the author focuses on these impacts in the field of private law, with special regards to liability and intellectual property issues. Many questions arise in these areas connecting to AI and robotics, where the boundaries are not sufficiently clear, and different needs are articulated by the different stakeholders. Recognizing the urgent need of thinking the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament adopted a Motion for a European Parliament Resolution A8-0005/2017 (of January 27th, 2017) in order to take some recommendations to the Commission on civil law rules on robotics and AI. This document defines some crucial usage of AI and/or robotics, e.g. the field of autonomous vehicles, the human job replacement in the industry or smart applications and machines. It aims to give recommendations to the safe and beneficial use of AI and robotics. However – as the document says – there are no legal provisions that specifically apply to robotics or AI in IP law, but that existing legal regimes and doctrines can be readily applied to robotics, although some aspects appear to call for specific consideration, calls on the Commission to support a horizontal and technologically neutral approach to intellectual property applicable to the various sectors in which robotics could be employed. AI can generate some content what worth copyright protection, but the question came up: who is the author, and the owner of copyright? The AI itself can’t be deemed author because it would mean that it is legally equal with the human persons. But there is the programmer who created the basic code of the AI, or the undertaking who sells the AI as a product, or the user who gives the inputs to the AI in order to create something new. Or AI generated contents are so far from humans, that there isn’t any human author, so these contents belong to public domain. The same questions could be asked connecting to patents. The research aims to answer these questions within the current legal framework and tries to enlighten future possibilities to adapt these frames to the socio-economical needs. In this part, the proper license agreements in the multilevel-chain from the programmer to the end-user become very important, because AI is an intellectual property in itself what creates further intellectual property. This could collide with data-protection and property rules as well. The problems are similar in the field of liability. We can use different existing forms of liability in the case when AI or AI led robotics cause damages, but it is unsure that the result complies with economical and developmental interests.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, intellectual property, liability, robotics

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Rocío González-Sánchez, Sara Alonso-Muñoz

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Food waste implies an inefficient management of the final stages in the food supply chain. Referring to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by United Nations, the SDG 12.3 proposes to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level and to reduce food losses. In the linear system, food waste is disposed and, to a lesser extent, recovery or reused after consumption. With the negative effect on stocks, the current food consumption system is based on ‘produce, take and dispose’ which put huge pressure on raw materials and energy resources. Therefore, greater focus on the circular management of food waste will mitigate the environmental, economic, and social impact, following a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach and consequently the SDGs fulfilment. A mixed methodology is used. A total sample of 311 publications from Web of Science database were retrieved. Firstly, it is performed a bibliometric analysis by SciMat and VOSviewer software to visualise scientific maps about co-occurrence analysis of keywords and co-citation analysis of journals. This allows for the understanding of the knowledge structure about this field, and to detect research issues. Secondly, a systematic literature review is conducted regarding the most influential articles in years 2020 and 2021, coinciding with the most representative period under study. Thirdly, to support the development of this field it is proposed an agenda according to the research gaps identified about circular economy and food waste management. Results reveal that the main topics are related to waste valorisation, the application of waste-to-energy circular model and the anaerobic digestion process towards fossil fuels replacement. It is underlined that the use of food as a source of clean energy is receiving greater attention in the literature. There is a lack of studies about stakeholders’ awareness and training. In addition, available data would facilitate the implementation of circular principles for food waste recovery, management, and valorisation. The research agenda suggests that circularity networks with suppliers and customers need to be deepened. Technological tools for the implementation of sustainable business models, and greater emphasis on social aspects through educational campaigns are also required. This paper contributes on the application of circularity to food waste management by abandoning inefficient linear models. Shedding light about trending topics in the field guiding to scholars for future research opportunities.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, circular economy, food waste management, future research lines

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Magdalena Maria Rost-Roszkowska, Alina Chachulska-Żymełka, Monika Tarnawska, Maria Augustyniak, Alina Kafel, Agnieszka Babczyńska

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Autophagy is a form of cell remodeling in which an internalization of organelles into vacuoles that are called autophagosomes occur. Autophagosomes are the targets of lysosomes, thus causing digestion of cytoplasmic components. Eventually, it can lead to the death of the entire cell. However, in response to several stress factors, e.g., starvation, heavy metals (e.g., cadmium) autophagy can also act as a pro-survival factor, protecting the cell against its death. The main aim of our studies was to check if the process of autophagy, which could appear in the midgut epithelium after Cd treatment, can be fixed during the following generations of insects. As a model animal, we chose the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a well-known polyphagous pest of many vegetable crops. We analyzed specimens at final larval stage (5th larval stage), due to its hyperfagy, resulting in great amount of cadmium assimilate. The culture consisted of two strains: a control strain (K) fed a standard diet, and a cadmium strain (Cd), fed on standard diet supplemented with cadmium (44 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food) for 146 generations, both strains. In addition, the control insects were transferred to the Cd supplemented diet (5 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 10 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 20 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 44 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food). Therefore, we obtained Cd1, Cd2, Cd3 and KCd experimental groups. Autophagy has been examined using transmission electron microscope. During this process, degenerated organelles were surrounded by a membranous phagophore and enclosed in an autophagosome. Eventually, after the autophagosome fused with a lysosome, an autolysosome was formed and the process of the digestion of organelles began. During the 1st year of the experiment, we analyzed specimens of 6 generations in all the lines. The intensity of autophagy depends significantly on the generation, tissue and cadmium concentration in the insect rearing medium. In the Ist, IInd, IIIrd, IVth, Vth and VIth generation the intensity of autophagy in the midguts from cadmium-exposed strains decreased gradually according to the following order of strains: Cd1, Cd2, Cd3 and KCd. The higher amount of cells with autophagy was observed in Cd1 and Cd2. However, it was still higher than the percentage of cells with autophagy in the same tissues of the insects from the control and multigenerational cadmium strain. This may indicate that during 6-generational exposure to various Cd concentration, a preserved tolerance to cadmium was not maintained. The study has been financed by the National Science Centre Poland, grant no 2016/21/B/NZ8/00831.

Keywords: autophagy, cell death, digestive system, ultrastructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 233

Authors: Umer Malik, David Armstrong, Mark Ashworth, Alex Dregan, Veline L'Esperance, Lucy McDonnell, Mariam Molokhia, Patrick White

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Introduction: The microbiota lining epithelial surfaces is thought to play an important role in many human physiological functions including defense against pathogens and modulation of immune response. The microbiota is susceptible to disruption from external influences such as exposure to antibiotic medication. It is thought that antibiotic-induced disruption of the microbiota could predispose to pathogen overgrowth and invasion. We hypothesized that antibiotic use would be associated with increased risk of future infections. We carried out a systematic review of evidence of associations between antibiotic use and subsequent risk of community-acquired infections. Methods: We conducted a review of the literature for observational studies assessing the association between antibiotic use and subsequent community-acquired infection. Eligible studies were published before April 29th, 2016. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science and screened titles and abstracts using a predefined search strategy. Infections caused by Clostridium difficile, drug-resistant organisms and fungal organisms were excluded as their association with prior antibiotic use has been examined in previous systematic reviews. Results: Eighteen out of 21,518 retrieved studies met the inclusion criteria. The association between past antibiotic exposure and subsequent increased risk of infection was reported in 16 studies, including one study on Campylobacter jejuni infection (Odds Ratio [OR] 3.3), two on typhoid fever (ORs 5.7 and 12.2), one on Staphylococcus aureus skin infection (OR 2.9), one on invasive pneumococcal disease (OR 1.57), one on recurrent furunculosis (OR 16.6), one on recurrent boils and abscesses (Risk ratio 1.4), one on upper respiratory tract infection (OR 2.3) and urinary tract infection (OR 1.1), one on invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infection (OR 1.51), one on infectious mastitis (OR 5.38), one on meningitis (OR 2.04) and five on Salmonella enteric infection (ORs 1.4, 1.59, 1.9, 2.3 and 3.8). The effect size in three studies on Salmonella enteric infection was of marginal statistical significance. A further two studies on Salmonella infection did not demonstrate a statistically significant association between prior antibiotic exposure and subsequent infection. Conclusion: We have found an association between past antibiotic exposure and subsequent risk of a diverse range of infections in the community setting. Our findings provide evidence to support the hypothesis that prior antibiotic usage may predispose to future infection risk, possibly through antibiotic-induced alteration of the microbiota. The findings add further weight to calls to minimize inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions.

Keywords: antibiotic, infection, risk factor, side effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Bistra Kunovska, Kremena Ivanova, Jana Djounova, Desislava Djunakova, Zdenka Stojanovska

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The carcinogenic effects of radon as a radioactive noble gas have been studied and show a strong correlation between radon exposure and lung cancer occurrence, even in the case of low radon levels. The major part of the natural radiation dose in humans is received by inhaling radon and its progenies, which originates from the decay chain of U-238. Indoor radon poses a substantial threat to human health when build-up occurs in confined spaces such as homes, mines and caves and the risk increases with the duration of radon exposure and is proportional to both the radon concentration and the time of exposure. Tourist caves are a case of special environmental conditions that may be affected by high radon concentration. Tourist caves are a recognized danger in terms of radon exposure to cave workers (guides, employees working in shops built above the cave entrances, etc.), but due to the sensitive nature of the cave environment, high concentrations cannot be easily removed. Forced ventilation of the air in the caves is considered unthinkable due to the possible harmful effects on the microclimate, flora and fauna. The risks to human health posed by exposure to elevated radon levels in caves are not well documented. Various studies around the world often detail very high concentrations of radon in caves and exposure of employees but without a follow-up assessment of the overall impact on human health. This study was developed in the implementation of a national project to assess the potential health effects caused by exposure to elevated levels of radon in buildings with public access under the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, in the framework of grant No КП-06-Н23/1/07.12.2018. The purpose of the work is to assess the radon level in Bulgarian caves and the exposure of the visitors and workers. The number of caves (sampling size) was calculated for simple random selection from total available caves 65 (sampling population) are 13 caves with confidence level 95 % and confidence interval (margin of error) approximately 25 %. A measurement of the radon concentration in air at specific locations in caves was done by using CR-39 type nuclear track-etch detectors that were placed by the participants in the research team. Despite the fact that all of the caves were formed in karst rocks, the radon levels were rather different from each other (97–7575 Bq/m3). An assessment of the influence of the orientation of the caves in the earth's surface (horizontal, inclined, vertical) on the radon concentration was performed. Evaluation of health hazards and radon risk exposure causing by inhaling the radon and its daughter products in each surveyed caves was done. Reducing the time spent in the cave has been recommended in order to decrease the exposure of workers.

Keywords: tourist caves, radon concentration, exposure, Bulgaria

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Kimuel Suyat, Francis Aldrine Uy, John Paul Carreon

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The Philippines, composed of many islands, is connected with approximately 8030 bridges. Continuous evaluation of the structural condition of these bridges is needed to safeguard the safety of the general public. With most bridges reaching its design life, retrofitting and replacement may be needed. Concerned government agencies allocate huge costs for periodic monitoring and maintenance of these structures. The rising volume of traffic and aging of these infrastructures is challenging structural engineers to give rise for structural health monitoring techniques. Numerous techniques are already proposed and some are now being employed in other countries. Vibration Analysis is one way. The natural frequency and vibration of a bridge are design criteria in ensuring the stability, safety and economy of the structure. Its natural frequency must not be so high so as not to cause discomfort and not so low that the structure is so stiff causing it to be both costly and heavy. It is well known that the stiffer the member is, the more load it attracts. The frequency must not also match the vibration caused by the traffic loads. If this happens, a resonance occurs. Vibration that matches a systems frequency will generate excitation and when this exceeds the member’s limit, a structural failure will happen. This study presents a method for calculating dynamic fragility through the use of vibration-based monitoring system. Dynamic fragility is the probability that a structural system exceeds a limit state when subjected to dynamic loads. The bridge is modeled in SAP2000 based from the available construction drawings provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways. It was verified and adjusted based from the actual condition of the bridge. The bridge design specifications are also checked using nondestructive tests. The approach used in this method properly accounts the uncertainty of observed values and code-based structural assumptions. The vibration response of the structure due to actual loads is monitored using installed sensors on the bridge. From the determinacy of these dynamic characteristic of a system, threshold criteria can be established and fragility curves can be estimated. This study conducted in relation with the research project between Department of Science and Technology, Mapúa Institute of Technology, and the Department of Public Works and Highways also known as Mapúa-DOST Smart Bridge Project deploys Structural Health Monitoring Sensors at Zamora Bridge. The bridge is selected in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways. The structural plans for the bridge are also readily available.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, dynamic characteristic, threshold criteria, traffic loads

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Aleksandr I. Korobov, Natalia V. Shirgina, Aleksey I. Kokshaiskiy

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The transformation of two types of acoustic waves can occur on a flat interface between two solids at oblique incidence of longitudinal and shear bulk acoustic waves (BAW). This paper presents the results of experimental studies of the properties of reflection and propagation of longitudinal wave and generation of second and third longitudinal and shear harmonics of BAW at oblique incidence of longitudinal BAW on a flat rough boundary between two solids. The experimental sample was a rectangular isosceles pyramid made of D16 aluminum alloy with the plane parallel bases cylinder made of D16 aluminum alloy pressed to the base. The piezoelectric lithium niobate transducer with a resonance frequency of 5 MHz was secured to one face of the pyramid to generate a longitudinal wave. Longitudinal waves emitted by this transducer felt at an angle of 45° to the interface between two solids and reflected at the same angle. On the opposite face of the pyramid, and on the flat side of the cylinder was attached longitudinal transducer with resonance frequency of 10 MHz or the shear transducer with resonance frequency of 15 MHz. These transducers also effectively received signal at a frequency of 5 MHz. In the spectrum of the transmitted and reflected BAW was observed shear and longitudinal waves at a frequency of 5 MHz, as well as longitudinal harmonic at a frequency harmonic of 10 MHz and a shear harmonic at frequency of 15 MHz. The effect of reversing changing of external pressure applied to the rough interface between two solids on the value of the first and higher harmonics of the BAW at oblique incidence on the interface of the longitudinal BAW was experimentally investigated. In the spectrum of the reflected signal from the interface, there was a decrease of amplitudes of the first harmonics of the signal, and non-monotonic dependence of the second and third harmonics of shear wave with an increase of the static pressure applied to the interface. In the spectrum of the transmitted signal growth of the first longitudinal and shear harmonic amplitude and non-monotonic dependence - first increase and then decrease in the amplitude of the second and third longitudinal shear harmonic with increasing external static pressure was observed. These dependencies were hysteresis at reversing changing of external pressure. When pressure applied to the border increased, acoustic contact between the surfaces improves. This increases the energy of the transmitted elastic wave and decreases the energy of the reflected wave. The second longitudinal acoustic harmonics generation was associated with the Hertz nonlinearity on the interface of two pressed rough surfaces, the generation of the third harmonic was caused by shear hysteresis nonlinearity due to dry friction on a rough interface. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project №14-22-00042).

Keywords: generation of acoustic harmonics, hysteresis nonlinearity, Hertz nonlinearity, transformation of acoustic waves

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Authors: Meri Khakhutaishvili, Indira Djaparidze, Maia Vanidze, Aleko Kalandia

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Cultivation of blueberry in Georgia started in 21st century. There are more than 20 species of blueberry cultivated in this region from all other the world. The species are mostly planted on acidic soil, previously occupied by tea plantations. Many of the plantations have pretty good yield. It is known that changing the location of a plant to a new soil or climate effects chemical compositions of the plant. However, even though these plants are brought from other countries, no research has been conducted to fully examine the blueberry fruit cultivated in Georgia. Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation Grant FR/335/10-160/14, gave us an opportunity to continue our previous works and conduct research on several berries, among them of course the chemical composition of stored Blueberry. We were able to conduct the first study that included examining qualitative and quantitative features of bioactive compounds in Georgian Blueberry. This experiments were held in the ‘West Georgia Regional Chromatography center’ (Grant AP/96/13) of our university, that is equipped with modern equipment like HPLC UV-Vis, RI-detector, HPLC-conductivity detector, UPLC-MS-detector. Biochemical analysis was conducted using different physico-chemical and instrumental methods. Separation-identification and quantitative analysis were conducted using UPLC-MS (Waters Acquity QDa detector), HPLC (Waters Brceze 1525, UV-Vis 2489 detectors), pH-meters (Mettler Toledo). Refractrometer -Misco , Spectrometer –Cuvette Changer (Mettler Toledo UV5A), C18 Cartridge Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Waters Sep-Pak C18 (500 mg), Chemicals – stability radical- 2,2-Diphenil-1-picrilhydrazyl (Aldrich-germany), Acetonitrile, Methanol, Acetic Acid (Merck-Germany), AlCl3, Folin Ciocalteu reagent (preparation), Standarts –Callic acid, Quercetin. Carbohydrate HPLC-RI analysis used systems acetonitrile-water (80-20). UPLC-MS analysis used systems- solvent A- Water +1 % acetic acid და solvent -B Methanol +1% acetic acid). It was concluded that the amount of sugars was in range of 5-9 %, mostly glucose and fructose. Also, the amount of organic acids was 0.2-1.2% most of which was malic and citric acid. Anthocians were also present in the sample 200-550mg/100g. We were able to identify up to 15 different compounds, most of which were products of delphinidine and cyanide. All species have high antioxidant level(DPPH). By rapidly freezing the sample and then keeping it in specific conditions allowed us to keep the sample for 12 months.

Keywords: antioxidants, bioactive, blueberry, storage

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Authors: Maryam Mostafaee, Hassan Sadeghi Naeini, Sara Mostowfi

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Today’s Knowledge management (KM), plays an important role in organizations. Basically, knowledge management is in the relation of using it for taking advantage of work forces in an organization for forwarding the goals and demand of that organization used at the most. The purpose of knowledge management is not only to manage existing documentation, information, and Data through an organization, but the most important part of KM is to control most important and key factor of those information and Data. For sure it is to chase the information needed for the employees in the right time of needed to take from genuine source for bringing out the best performance and result then in this matter the performance of organization will be at most of it. There are a lot of definitions over the objective of management released. Management is the science that in force the accurate knowledge with repeating to the organization to shape it and take full advantages for reaching goals and targets in the organization to be used by employees and users, but the definition of Knowledge based on Kalinz dictionary is: Facts, emotions or experiences known by man or group of people is ‘ knowledge ‘: Based on the Merriam Webster Dictionary: the act or skill of controlling and making decision about a business, department, sport team, etc, based on the Oxford Dictionary: Efficient handling of information and resources within a commercial organization, and based on the Oxford Dictionary: The art or process of designing manufactured products: the scale is a beautiful work of industrial design. When knowledge management performed executive in universities, discovery and create a new knowledge be facilitated. Make procedures between different units for knowledge exchange. College's officials and employees understand the importance of knowledge for University's success and will make more efforts to prevent the errors. In this strategy, is explored factors and affective trends and manage of it in University. In this research, Iranian universities for a time being analyzed that over usage of knowledge management, how they are behaving and having understood this matter: 1. Discovery of knowledge management in Iranian Universities, 2. Transferring exciting knowledge between faculties and unites, 3. Participate of employees for getting and using and transferring knowledge, 4.The accessibility of valid sources, 5. Researching over factors and correct processes in the university. We are pointing in some examples that we have already analyzed which is: -Enabling better and faster decision-making, -Making it easy to find relevant information and resources, -Reusing ideas, documents, and expertise, -Avoiding redundant effort. Consequence: It is found that effectiveness of knowledge management in the Industrial design field is low. Based on filled checklist by Education officials and professors in universities, and coefficient of effectiveness Calculate, knowledge management could not get the right place.

Keywords: knowledge management, industrial design, educational curriculum, learning performance

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Authors: Brenda Thean I. Lim, Safurah Jaafar

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Augmented reality (AR) in the healthcare industry has been gaining popularity in recent years, principally in areas of medical education, patient care and digital health solutions. One of the drivers in deciding to invest in AR technology is the potential economic benefits it could bring for patients and healthcare providers, including the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. Works of literature have shown that the benefits and impact of AR technologies have left trails of achievements in improving medical education and patient health outcomes. However, little has been published on the economic impact of AR in healthcare, a very resource-intensive industry. This systematic review was performed on studies focused on the benefits and impact of AR in healthcare to appraise if they meet the founded quality criteria so as to identify relevant publications for an in-depth analysis of the economic impact assessment. The literature search was conducted using multiple databases such as PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct and Nature. Inclusion criteria include research papers on AR implementation in healthcare, from education to diagnosis and treatment. Only papers written in English language were selected. Studies on AR prototypes were excluded. Although there were many articles that have addressed the benefits of AR in the healthcare industry in the area of medical education, treatment and diagnosis and dental medicine, there were very few publications that identified the specific economic impact of technology within the healthcare industry. There were 13 publications included in the analysis based on the inclusion criteria. Out of the 13 studies, none comprised a systematically comprehensive cost impact evaluation. An outline of the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit framework was made based on an AR article from another industry as a reference. This systematic review found that while the advancements of AR technology is growing rapidly and industries are starting to adopt them into respective sectors, the technology and its advancements in healthcare were still in their early stages. There are still plenty of room for further advancements and integration of AR into different sectors within the healthcare industry. Future studies will require more comprehensive economic analyses and costing evaluations to enable economic decisions for or against implementing AR technology in healthcare. This systematic review concluded that the current literature lacked detailed examination and conduct of economic impact and benefit analyses. Recommendations for future research would be to include details of the initial investment and operational costs for the AR infrastructure in healthcare settings while comparing the intervention to its conventional counterparts or alternatives so as to provide a comprehensive comparison on impact, benefit and cost differences.

Keywords: augmented reality, benefit, economic impact, healthcare, patient care

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Authors: Ibitoye Olabode Clement

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The huge amount of grants for infrastructures development in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria calls for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, questions have been raised concerning the judicious and appropriate use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This paper examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services through either direct or indirect processes of procurement, mostly in Tertiary Institutions of State government subvention institutions in Nigeria. Nigeria has over 120 public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of Education. This paper will take samples of some selected Institutions in southwest Nigeria. The institutions comprise 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the tremendous investment through grants and interventions for infrastructure development in Tertiary Education Institutions (TEI) in Nigeria call for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, there are a lot of questions have been raised as to the judicious use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This study examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services in most State Government Public Institutions in Southwest Nigeria. Over, 120 public institutions comprising 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology were used for the study. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the causes of non-compliance with the Act in their procurement process were sought using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that non-independent of Procurement Officers, non-compliance with the Act by some at the managerial level, claiming inadequate knowledge of the Act, non-employment of qualified and experienced Procurement officers, insufficient publicity of the Act, and non-existence of corporate governance led to poor management of procurement record and non-provision of incentive, Inability to separate the duties of Internal Auditors and Procurement Officers, Inability to translate procurement entity at large which makes nearly all at departmental level believe they procurement officers. Conclusively, on taking the Procurement Officers through interviewing having it that: the right educational and professional qualifications, understanding of the Act, sufficient cognate working experience, recruiting most professionals needed if not all, and occupying management position will enhance compliance. Hence, in addition, adopting an external empowered department from the Bureau should raise for monitoring the compliance mostly in State Government Tertiary Education Institution. Also, an organizational culture with a corporate governance structure that supports the engagement of the right and qualified personnel to handle procurement, encourages them to perform at their best and rewards excellent service by giving incentives, and operates within an administrative environment devoid of corruption.

Keywords: non compliance of procurement act, tertiary education institution, university, polytechnic and college of education/ health science and technology, Nigeria

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Authors: Alejandro Adorjan

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Universities are motivated to understand the factor contributing to low retention of engineering undergraduates. While precollege students for engineering increases, the number of engineering graduates continues to decrease and attrition rates for engineering undergraduates remains high. Calculus 1 (C1) is the entry point of most undergraduate Engineering Science and often a prerequisite for Computing Curricula courses. Mathematics continues to be a major hurdle for engineering students and many students who drop out from engineering cite specifically Calculus as one of the most influential factors in that decision. In this context, creating course activities that increase retention and motivate students to obtain better final results is a challenge. In order to develop several competencies in our students of Software Engineering courses, Calculus 1 at Universidad ORT Uruguay focuses on developing several competencies such as capacity of synthesis, abstraction, and problem solving (based on the ACM/AIS/IEEE). Every semester we try to reflect on our practice and try to answer the following research question: What kind of teaching approach in Calculus 1 can we design to retain students and obtain better results? Since 2010, Universidad ORT Uruguay offers a six-week summer noncompulsory bridge course of preparatory math (to bridge the math gap between high school and university). Last semester was the first time the Department of Mathematics offered the course while students were enrolled in C1. Traditional lectures in this bridge course lead to just transcribe notes from blackboard. Last semester we proposed a Hands On Lab course using Geogebra (interactive geometry and Computer Algebra System (CAS) software) as a Math Driven Development Tool. Students worked in a computer laboratory class and developed most of the tasks and topics in Geogebra. As a result of this approach, several pros and cons were found. It was an excessive amount of weekly hours of mathematics for students and, as the course was non-compulsory; the attendance decreased with time. Nevertheless, this activity succeeds in improving final test results and most students expressed the pleasure of working with this methodology. This teaching technology oriented approach strengthens student math competencies needed for Calculus 1 and improves student performance, engagement, and self-confidence. It is important as a teacher to reflect on our practice, including innovative proposals with the objective of engaging students, increasing retention and obtaining better results. The high degree of motivation and engagement of participants with this methodology exceeded our initial expectations, so we plan to experiment with more groups during the summer so as to validate preliminary results.

Keywords: calculus, engineering education, PreCalculus, Summer Program

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