Search results for: Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof screened hybrid functional

Authors: Bruno Vilić Belina, Ivan Župan

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Smart industry concepts and digital transformation are very popular in many industries. They develop their own digital platforms, which have an important role in innovations and transactions. The main idea of smart industry digital platforms is central data collection, industrial data integration, and data usage for smart applications and services. This paper presents the development of a digital platform for building critical infrastructure protection systems in smart industries. Different service contraction modalities in service level agreements (SLAs), customer relationship management (CRM) relations, trends, and changes in business architectures (especially process business architecture) for the purpose of developing infrastructural production and distribution networks, information infrastructure meta-models and generic processes by critical infrastructure owner demanded by critical infrastructure law, satisfying cybersecurity requirements and taking into account hybrid threats are researched.

Keywords: cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, smart industries, digital platform

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Authors: Aydin Homay, Mario de Sousa, Martin wollschlaeger

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Axiomatic design is a system design methodology that systematically analyses the transformation of customer needs into functional requirements, design parameters, and process variables. This approach aims to create high-quality product or system designs by adhering to specific design principles or axioms, namely, the independence and information axiom. The application of axiomatic design in the design of industrial control and automation software systems could be challenging due to the high flexibility exposed by the software system and the coupling enforced by the hardware part. This paper aims to present how to use axiomatic design for designing industrial control and automation software systems and how to satisfy the independence axiom within these tightly coupled systems.

Keywords: axiomatic design, decoupling, uncoupling, automation

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Authors: Lassaad Smirani

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In this paper we propose a Neurosymbolic Learning System (NLS) as a channel estimator for Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) uplink. The proposed system main idea based on Neural Network has modules capable of performing bidirectional information transfer between symbolic module and connectionist module. We demonstrate various strengths of the NLS especially the ability to integrate theoretical knowledge (rules) and experiential knowledge (examples), and to make an initial knowledge base (rules) converted into a connectionist network. Also to use empirical knowledge witch by learning will have the ability to revise the theoretical knowledge and acquire new one and explain it, and finally the ability to improve the performance of symbolic or connectionist systems. Compared with conventional SC-FDMA channel estimation systems, The performance of NLS in terms of complexity and quality is confirmed by theoretical analysis and simulation and shows that this system can make the channel estimation accuracy improved and bit error rate decreased.

Keywords: channel estimation, SC-FDMA, neural network, hybrid system, BER, LTE-A

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Authors: Auwal Ibrahim Magashi, Lawan Dan Larai Fagwalawa, Muhammad Bello Ibrahim

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A research was conducted to study genetic variability of some quantitative traits in varieties of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. [Walp]) under water stressed from Zaria, Nigeria. Seeds of seven varieties of cowpea (Sampea 1, Sampea 2, IAR1074, Sampea 7, Sampea 8, Sampea 10 and Sampea 12) collected from Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Samaru, Zaria were screened for water stressed tolerance. The seeds were then sown in poly bags containing sandy-loam arranged in Completely Randomized Design with three replications for quantitative traits evaluation. The nutritional composition of the seeds obtained from the water stress tolerant varieties of cowpea were analyzed. The result obtained revealed highly significant difference (P ≤ 0.01) in the effects of water stress on the number of wilted and dead plants at 40 days after sowing (DAS) and significant (P ≤ 0.05) 34 DAS. However, sampea 10 has the highest mean performance in terms of number of wilted plants at 34 DAS while sampea 2 and IAR 1074 has the lowest mean performance. However, sampea 7 was found to have the highest mean performance for the number of wilted plants at 40 DAS and sampea 2 is lowest. The result for quantitative traits study indicated highly significant difference (P ≤ 0.01) in the plant height, number of days to 50% flowering, number of days to maturity, number of pods per plant, pod length, number of seeds per plant and 100 seed weight; and significant (P ≤ 0.05) at seedling height and number of branches per plant. Similarly, IAR1074 was found to have high performance in terms of most of the quantitative traits under study. However, sampea 8 has the highest mean performance at nutritional level. It was therefore concluded that, all the seven cowpea genotypes were water stress tolerant and produced considerable yield that contained significant nutrients. It was recommended that IAR1074 should be grown for yield while sampea 8 should be grown for protein supplements.

Keywords: cowpea, genetic variability, quantitative traits, water stress

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Authors: Tao Peng, Jing Zhao, Yanqing Xu, Jing Cai

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Due to missing/ambiguous boundaries between the prostate and neighboring structures, the presence of shadow artifacts, as well as the large variability in prostate shapes, ultrasound prostate segmentation is challenging. To handle these issues, this paper develops a hybrid method for ultrasound prostate segmentation by combining an optimized closed principal curve-based method and the evolutionary neural network; the former can fit curves with great curvature and generate a contour composed of line segments connected by sorted vertices, and the latter is used to express an appropriate map function (represented by parameters of evolutionary neural network) for generating the smooth prostate contour to match the ground truth contour. Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results showed that our proposed method obtains accurate and robust performances.

Keywords: ultrasound prostate segmentation, optimized closed polygonal segment method, evolutionary neural network, smooth mathematical model, principal curve

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Authors: Deepalekshmi Ponnamma, Erturk Alper, Pradeep Sharma, Mariam Al Ali AlMaadeed

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Integrating efficient energy harvesting materials into soft, flexible and eco-friendly substrates could yield significant breakthroughs in wearable and flexible electronics. Here we present a hybrid filler combination of titanium dioxide nanotubes and the carbon nanostructures-carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide- synthesized by hydrothermal method and then introduced into a semi crystalline polymer, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Simple mixing method is adopted for the PVDF nanocomposite fabrication after ensuring a high interaction among the fillers. The films prepared were mainly tested for the piezoelectric responses and for the mechanical stretchability. The results show that the piezoelectric constant has increased while changing the total filler concentration. We propose integration of these materials in fabricating energy conversion devices useful in flexible and wearable electronics.

Keywords: dielectric property, hydrothermal growth, piezoelectricity, polymer nanocomposite

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Authors: Shubhakar K., Nachamma S., Judy T., Jacob S. C., Melvin Lee, Kenneth Lo

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In recent years, technological advancements have ushered in a new era of education characterized by the integration of technology-enabled devices and online tools. The cyber-physical learning environment (CPLE) is a prime example of this evolution, merging remote cyber participants with in-class learners through immersive technology, interactive digital whiteboards, and online communication platforms like Zoom and MS Teams. This approach transforms the teaching and learning experience into a more seamless, immersive, and inclusive one. This paper outlines the design principles and key features of CPLE that support both teaching and group-based activities. We also explore the key characteristics and potential impact of such environments on educational practices. By analyzing user feedback, we evaluate how technology enhances teaching and learning in a cyber-physical setting, its impact on learning outcomes, user-friendliness, and areas for further enhancement to optimize the teaching and learning environment.

Keywords: cyber-physical class, hybrid teaching, online learning, remote learning, technology enabled learning

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Authors: Khaleel Saleh Al-Rababah

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Amyloid fibril forming regions, which are known as protein aggregates, in sequences of some protein families are associated with a number of diseases known as amyloidosis. Mutations play a role in forming fibrils by accelerating the fibril formation process. In this paper we want to extract diseases that caused by those mutations as a result of the impact of the mutations on structural and functional properties of the aggregated protein. We propose a text mining system, to automatically extract mutations, diseases and relations between mutations and diseases. We presented an algorithm based on finite state to cluster mutations found in the same sentence as a sentence could contain different mutation cause different diseases. Also, we presented a co reference algorithm that enables cross-link sentences.

Keywords: amyloid, amyloidosis, co reference, protein, text mining

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Authors: Yatin Wadhawan, Clifford Neuman, Anas Al Majali

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In this paper, we evaluate the resilience of the smart grid system in the presence of multiple cyber-physical attacks on its distinct functional components. We discuss attack-defense scenarios and their effect on smart grid resilience. Through contingency simulations in the Network and PowerWorld Simulator, we analyze multiple cyber-physical attacks that propagate from the cyber domain to power systems and discuss how such attacks destabilize the underlying power grid. The analysis of such simulations helps system administrators develop more resilient systems and improves the response of the system in the presence of cyber-physical attacks.

Keywords: smart grid, gas pipeline, cyber- physical attack, security, resilience

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Authors: Orestis Κ. Efthymiou, Stavros T. Ponis

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In the last decade, a new industrial revolution seems to be emerging, supported -once again- by the rapid advancements of Information Technology in the areas of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication permitting large numbers of intelligent devices, e.g. sensors to communicate with each other and take decisions without any or minimum indirect human intervention. The advent of these technologies have triggered the emergence of a new category of hybrid (cyber-physical) manufacturing systems, combining advanced manufacturing techniques with innovative M2M applications based on the Internet of Things (IoT), under the umbrella term Industry 4.0. Even though the topic of Industry 4.0 has attracted much attention during the last few years, the attempts of providing a systematic literature review of the subject are scarce. In this paper, we present the authors’ initial study of the field with a special focus on the use and applications of Industry 4.0 principles in material handling automations and in-house logistics. Research shows that despite the vivid discussion and attractiveness of the subject, there are still many challenges and issues that have to be addressed before Industry 4.0 becomes standardized and widely applicable.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, internet of things, manufacturing systems, material handling, logistics

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Authors: Marta Fonseca, Pedro Marvão, Beatriz Oliveira, Bruno Heleno, Pedro Carreiro-Martins, Nuno Neuparth, António Rendas

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Background: Concept maps (CMs) visually represent hierarchical connections among related ideas. They foster logical organization and clarify idea relationships, potentially aiding medical students in critical thinking (to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe). However, there are inconsistent claims about the use of CMs in undergraduate medical education. Our three research questions are: 1) What studies have been published on concept mapping in undergraduate medical education? 2) What was the impact of CMs on students’ critical thinking? 3) How and why have these interventions had an educational impact? Methods: Eight databases were systematically searched (plus a manual and an additional search were conducted). After eliminating duplicate entries, titles, and abstracts, and full-texts were independently screened by two authors. Data extraction and quality assessment of the studies were independently performed by two authors. Qualitative and quantitative data were integrated using mixed-methods. The results were reported using the structured approach to the reporting in healthcare education of evidence synthesis statement and BEME guidance. Results: Thirty-nine studies were included from 26 journals (19 quantitative, 8 qualitative and 12 mixed-methods studies). CMs were considered as a tool to promote critical thinking, both in the perception of students and tutors, as well as in assessing students’ knowledge and/or skills. In addition to their role as facilitators of knowledge integration and critical thinking, CMs were considered both teaching and learning methods. Conclusions: CMs are teaching and learning tools which seem to help medical students develop critical thinking. This is due to the flexibility of the tool as a facilitator of knowledge integration, as a learning and teaching method. The wide range of contexts, purposes, and variations in how CMs and instruments to assess critical thinking are used increase our confidence that the positive effects are consistent.

Keywords: concept map, medical education, undergraduate, critical thinking, meaningful learning

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Authors: Hyung Jun Ahn

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With the growing importance of social media, it is imperative to analyze it to understand the users. Users share useful information and their experience through social media, where much of what is shared is in the form of texts. This study focused on blogs and aimed to test whether the psycho-linguistic characteristics of blog texts vary with the subject or the type of experience of the texts. For this goal, blog texts about four different types of experience, Go, skiing, reading, and musical were collected through the search API of the Tistory blog service. The analysis of the texts showed that various psycholinguistic characteristics of the texts are different across the four categories of the texts. Moreover, the machine learning experiment using the characteristics for automatic text classification showed significant performance. Specifically, the ensemble method, based on functional tree and bagging appeared to be most effective in classification.

Keywords: blog, social media, text analysis, psycholinguistics

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Authors: F. A. Thomas, M. Schrafl-Altermatt, R. Treier, S. Kaufmann

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Stroke is the main cause of adult disability. Especially upper limb function is affected in most patients. Recently, cooperative hand movements have been shown to be a promising type of upper limb training in stroke rehabilitation. In these movements, which are frequently found in activities of daily living (e.g. opening a bottle, winding up a blind), the force of one upper limb has to be equally counteracted by the other limb to successfully accomplish a task. The use of standardized and reliable clinical assessments is essential to evaluate the efficacy of therapy and the functional outcome of a patient. Many assessments for upper limb function or impairment are available. However, the evaluation of cooperative hand movement tasks are rarely included in those. Thus, the aim of this study was (i) to develop a novel clinical assessment (CASA - Cooperative Activity Stroke Assessment) for the evaluation of patients’ capacity to perform cooperative hand movements and (ii) to test its inter- and interrater reliability. Furthermore, CASA scores were compared to current gold standard assessments for upper extremity in stroke patients (i.e. Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Box & Blocks Test). The CASA consists of five cooperative activities of daily living including (1) opening a jar, (2) opening a bottle, (3) open and closing of a zip, (4) unscrew a nut and (5) opening a clipbox. Here, the goal is to accomplish the tasks as fast as possible. In addition to the quantitative rating (i.e. time) which is converted to a 7-point scale, also the quality of the movement is rated in a 4-point scale. To test the reliability of CASA, fifteen stroke subjects were tested within a week twice by the same two raters. Intra-and interrater reliability was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for total CASA score and single items. Furthermore, Pearson-correlation was used to compare the CASA scores to the scores of Fugl-Meyer upper limb assessment and the box and blocks test, which were assessed in every patient additionally to the CASA. ICC scores of the total CASA score indicated an excellent- and single items established a good to excellent inter- and interrater reliability. Furthermore, the CASA score was significantly correlated to the Fugl-Meyer and Box & Blocks score. The CASA provides a reliable assessment for cooperative hand movements which are crucial for many activities of daily living. Due to its non-costly setup, easy and fast implementation, we suggest it to be well suitable for clinical application. In conclusion, the CASA is a useful tool in assessing the functional status and therapy related recovery in cooperative hand movement capacity in stroke patients.

Keywords: activitites of daily living, clinical assessment, cooperative hand movements, reliability, stroke

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Authors: Vipresh Mehta , Aman Abhishek, Jatin Batra, Gautam Iyer

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Huge amount of solar radiation reaching the earth can be harnessed to provide electricity through Photo voltaic (PV) panels. The solar PV is an exciting technology but suffers from low efficiency. A study on low efficiency in multi MW solar power plants reveals that the electric yield of the PV modules is reduced due to reflection of the irradiation from the sun and when a module’s temperature is elevated, as there is decrease in the voltage and efficiency. We intend to alter the structure of the PV system, We also intend to improve the efficiency of the Solar Photo Voltaic Panels by active cooling to reduce the temperature losses considerably and decrease reflection losses to some extent. Reflectors/concentrators and anti-reflecting coatings are also used to intensify the amount of output produced from the system. Apart from this, transformer-less Grid-tied Inverter. And also, a T-LCL immitance circuit is used to reduce the harmonics and produce a constant output from the entire system.

Keywords: PV panels, efficiency improvement, active cooling, quantum dots, organic-inorganic hybrid 3D panel, ground water tunneling

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Authors: Sanghyeon Kim, Cheolung Cheong

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Savonius wind turbines are a drag-type of vertical-axis wind turbine that has been used most commonly as a small-scale wind generator. However, noise is a main hindrance to wide spreading of Savonius wind turbines, just like other wind turbines. Although noise levels radiating from Savonius wind turbines may be relatively low because of their small size, they induce relatively high annoyance due to their prolonged noise exposure to the near community. Therefore, aerodynamic noise of small vertical-axis wind turbines is one of most important design parameters. In this paper, aerodynamic noise characteristics of Savonius wind turbines are investigated using the hybrid CAA techniques, and their low noise designs are proposed based on understanding of noise generation mechanism. First, flow field around the turbine are analyzed by solving 3-D unsteady incompressible RANS equations. Then, noise radiation is predicted using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings equation. Two distinct harmonic noise components, the well-know BPF components and the harmonics whose fundamental frequency is much higher than the BPF are identified. On a basis of this finding, S-shaped blades are proposed as low noise designs and it can reduce the noise levels of Savonius wind turbines by up to 2.7 dB.

Keywords: aerodynamic noise, Savonius wind turbine, vertical-axis wind turbine

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Authors: Krittapast Dara-Opast, Sureeporn Ruengsangtongkul, Jumreang Tummatorn, Kittipong Chainok, Onrapak Reamtong, Somsak Ruchirawat, Charnsak Thongsornkleeb

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Selective synthesis of gem-dihalo spiroisobenzofuran and spiroisocoumarin can be performed via halogenative double cyclization of methyl 2-(hydroxyalk-1-yn-1-yl) benzoates in the presence of either N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) or N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and chlorotrimethylsilane (TMSCl). The combination of NCS and TMSCl led to the generation of electrophilic chlorine in situ, which activated the alkyne functional group of the substrate leading to the cyclization via either 5-exo-dig or 6-endo-dig mode of cyclization to produce the target compounds in moderate yields. The protocol could be carried on a broad scope of substrates under mild conditions (0 °C to rt). The parent compounds showed good antiparasitic activity compared to standard drug albendazole. Further investigation of the scope of the reaction and their antiparasitic activities is underway.

Keywords: antiparasitic activities, halogenative annulation, spirocycles, spirocyclization

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Authors: Y. R. Adullayev, О. О. Karimzada

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Analytical expressions for inductances, current, ampere-turns, excitation winding, maximum width, coordinates of the levitation screen (LS) are derived for the calculation of electromagnetic devices based on tracking systems with levitation elements (TS with LS). Taking into account the expression of the complex magnetic resistance of the screen, the dependence of the screen width on the heating temperature of the physical and technical characteristics of the screen material and the relationship of the geometric dimensions of the magnetic circuit is established. Analytic expressions for a number of functional dependencies characterizing complex parameter relationships in explicit form are obtained and analyzed.

Keywords: tracking systems, levitation screens, electromagnetic levitation, excitation windings, magnetic cores, defining converter, receiving converter, electromagnetic force, electrical and magnetic resistance

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Authors: Radu Soflau, Lia-Ecaterina Oltean

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Background: Increasing evidence supports the efficacy of psychological interventions for psychosis. However, it is unclear which one of these interventions is most likely to address negative psychotic symptoms and related outcomes. We aimed to determine the relative efficacy of psychological and psychosocial interventions for negative symptoms, overall psychotic symptoms, and related outcomes. Methods: To attain this goal, we conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis. We searched for potentially eligible trials in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases up until February 08, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy of psychological for adults with psychosis. We excluded interventions for prodromal or “at risk” individuals, as well as patients with serious co-morbid medical or psychiatric conditions (others than depressive and/or anxiety disorders). Two researchers conducted study selection and performed data extraction independently. Analyses were run using STATA network and mvmeta packages, applying a random effect model under a frequentist framework in order to compute standardized mean differences or risk ratio. Findings: We identified 47844 records and screened 29466 records for eligibility. The majority of eligible interventions were delivered in addition to pharmacological treatment. Treatment as usual (TAU) was the most frequent common comparator. Theoretically driven psychological interventions generally outperformed TAU at post-test and follow-up, displaying small and small-to-medium effect sizes. A similar pattern of results emerged in sensitivity analyses focused on studies that employed an inclusion criterion for relevant negative symptom severity. Conclusion: While the efficacy of some psychological interventions is promising, there is a need for more high-quality studies, as well as more trials directly comparing psychological treatments for negative psychotic symptoms.

Keywords: psychosis, network meta-analysis, psychological interventions, efficacy, negative symptoms

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Authors: Divya SY. Ang, Mark B. Tan, Nicholas EM. Yeo, Siti RB. Sudirman, Khong Yik Chew

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Introduction: The importance of the amalgamation of technological and engineering advances with surgical principles of reconstruction cannot be overemphasized. With earlier detection of cancer, consequences of high-speed living and neglect, like traumatic injuries and infection, resulting in increasingly younger patients with bone defects. This may result in malformations and suboptimal function that is more noticeable and palpable in the younger, active demographic. Our team proposes a technique that encapsulates a mesh of multidisciplinary effort, tissue engineering and reconstructive principles. Methods/Materials: Our patient was a young competitive footballer in his early 30s who was diagnosed with submandibular adenoid cystic carcinoma with bony involvement. He was thus counselled for a right hemi mandibulectomy, the floor of mouth resection, right selective neck dissection, tracheostomy, and free fibular flap reconstruction of his mandible and required post-operative radiotherapy. Being young and in his prime sportsman years, he was unable to accept the morbidities associated with using his fibula to reconstruct his mandible despite it being the gold standard reconstructive option. The fibula is an ideal vascularized bone flap because it’s reliable and easily shaped with relatively minimal impact on functional outcomes. The fibula contributes to 30% of weightbearing and is the attachment for the lateral compartment muscles; it is stronger in footballers concerning lateral bending. When harvesting the fibula, the distal 6-8cm and up to 10% of the total length is preserved to maintain the ankle’s stability, thus, minimizing the impact on daily activities. There are studies that have noted gait variability post-operatively. Therefore, returning to a premorbid competitive level may be doubtful. To improve his functional outcomes, the decision was made to try and restore the fibula's form and function. Using the concept of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), our team comprising of Plastics, Otolaryngology, Orthopedics and Radiology, worked with Osteopore to design a 3D bioresorbable implant to regenerate the fibula defect (14.5cm). Bone marrow was harvested via reaming the contralateral hip prior to the wide resection. 30mls of his blood was obtained for extracting platelet rich plasma. These were packed into the Osteopore 3D-printed bone scaffold. This was then secured into the fibula defect with titanium plates and screws. The flexor hallucis longus and soleus were anchored along the construct and intraosseous membrane, done in a single setting. Results: He was reviewed closely as an outpatient over 10 months post operatively. He reported no discernable loss or difference in ankle function. He is satisfied and back in training and our team has video and photographs that substantiate his progress. Conclusion: FDM allows regeneration of long bone defects. However, we aimed to also restore his eversion and inversion that is imperative for footballers and hence reattached his previously dissected muscles along the length of the Osteopore implant. We believe that the reattachment of the muscle stabilizes not only the construct but allows optimum muscle tensioning when moving his ankle. This is a simple but effective technique in restoring complete function and form in a young patient whose minute muscle control is imperative to life.

Keywords: fused deposition modelling, functional reconstruction, lower limb bony defects, regenerative surgery, 3D printing, tissue engineering

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Authors: Benedetta Caglioti

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The ecclesiastical complex of San Paolo in Ferrara represents a monument of great historical, religious and architectural importance. Its long and articulated story, over time, is already manifested by the mere reading of its planimetric and altimetric configuration, apparently unitary but, in reality, marked by modifications and repeated additions, even of high quality. It follows, in terms of protection, restoration and enhancement, a commitment of due respect for how the ancient building was built and enriched over its centuries of life. Hence a rigorous methodological approach, while being aware of the fact that every monument, in order to live and make use of the indispensable maintenance, must always be enjoyed and visited, therefore it must enjoy, in the right measure and compatibly with its nature, the possibility of improvements and functional, distributive, technological adjustments and related to the safety of people and things. The methodological approach substantiates the different elements of the project (such as distribution functionality, safety, structural solidity, environmental comfort, the character of the site, building and urban planning regulations, financial resources and materials, the same organization methods of the construction site) through the guiding principles of restoration, defined for a long time: the 'minimum intervention,' the 'recognisability' or 'distinguishability' of old and new, the Physico-chemical and figurative 'compatibility,' the 'durability' and the, at least potential, 'reversibility' of what is done, leading to the definition of appropriate "critical choices." The project tackles, together with the strictly functional ones, also the directly conservative and restoration issues, of a static, structural and material technology nature, with special attention to precious architectural surfaces, In order to ensure the best architectural quality through conscious enhancement, the project involves a redistribution of the interior and service spaces, an accurate lighting system inside and outside the church and a reorganization of the adjacent urban space. The reorganization of the interior is designed with particular attention to the issue of accessibility for people with disabilities. To accompany the community to regain possession of the use of the church's own space, already in its construction phase, the project proposal has hypothesized a permeability and flexibility in the management of the works such as to allow the perception of the found Monument to gradually become more and more familiar at the citizenship. Once the interventions have been completed, it is expected that the Church of San Paolo, second in importance only to the Cathedral, from which it is a few steps away, will be inserted in an already existing circuit of use of the city which over the years has systematized the different aspects of culture, the environment and tourism for the creation of greater awareness in the perception of what Ferrara can offer in cultural terms.

Keywords: conservation, accessibility, regeneration, urban space

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Authors: Mahsa Moteshakeri

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Morinda citrifolia L., a miracle fruit with common name of Noni, has been widely used as food and traditional medicine in the Polynesians culture. Current scientific evidences have proved the therapeautical and nutritional properties of this fruit so that its extensive production in tropical regions in recent years has emerged a competitive global Noni market mainly as a dietary supplement in the form of juice or tablet. However, there is not much record on the processing method applied on fresh fruit postharvest or even its mechanism of action in controlling diseases. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive data on phytochemicals, technical, and nutritional advances on Noni fruit and recent patents published, as well as medicinal properties of the fruit in order to benefit future investigations on this precious fruit either in industrial or therapeautical section.

Keywords: noni fruit, phytochemicals, therapeautic properties of fruit, nutritional properties of fruit

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Authors: Kamyar Tolouei, Ehsan Moosavi

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In open-pit mines, the long-term production scheduling optimization problem (LTPSOP) is a complicated problem that contains constraints, large datasets, and uncertainties. Uncertainty in the output is caused by several geological, economic, or technical factors. Due to its dimensions and NP-hard nature, it is usually difficult to find an ideal solution to the LTPSOP. The optimal schedule generally restricts the ore, metal, and waste tonnages, average grades, and cash flows of each period. Past decades have witnessed important measurements of long-term production scheduling and optimal algorithms since researchers have become highly cognizant of the issue. In fact, it is not possible to consider LTPSOP as a well-solved problem. Traditional production scheduling methods in open-pit mines apply an estimated orebody model to produce optimal schedules. The smoothing result of some geostatistical estimation procedures causes most of the mine schedules and production predictions to be unrealistic and imperfect. With the expansion of simulation procedures, the risks from grade uncertainty in ore reserves can be evaluated and organized through a set of equally probable orebody realizations. In this paper, to synthesize grade uncertainty into the strategic mine schedule, a stochastic integer programming framework is presented to LTPSOP. The objective function of the model is to maximize the net present value and minimize the risk of deviation from the production targets considering grade uncertainty simultaneously while satisfying all technical constraints and operational requirements. Instead of applying one estimated orebody model as input to optimize the production schedule, a set of equally probable orebody realizations are applied to synthesize grade uncertainty in the strategic mine schedule and to produce a more profitable and risk-based production schedule. A mixture of metaheuristic procedures and mathematical methods paves the way to achieve an appropriate solution. This paper introduced a hybrid model between the augmented Lagrangian relaxation (ALR) method and the metaheuristic algorithm, the Harris Hawks optimization (HHO), to solve the LTPSOP under grade uncertainty conditions. In this study, the HHO is experienced to update Lagrange coefficients. Besides, a machine learning method called Random Forest is applied to estimate gold grade in a mineral deposit. The Monte Carlo method is used as the simulation method with 20 realizations. The results specify that the progressive versions have been considerably developed in comparison with the traditional methods. The outcomes were also compared with the ALR-genetic algorithm and ALR-sub-gradient. To indicate the applicability of the model, a case study on an open-pit gold mining operation is implemented. The framework displays the capability to minimize risk and improvement in the expected net present value and financial profitability for LTPSOP. The framework could control geological risk more effectively than the traditional procedure considering grade uncertainty in the hybrid model framework.

Keywords: grade uncertainty, metaheuristic algorithms, open-pit mine, production scheduling optimization

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Authors: Lina Wu

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The excessive discharge of nitrogen in sewage greatly intensifies the eutrophication of water bodies and threatens water quality. Nitrogen pollution control has become a global concern. The concentration of nitrogen in water is reduced by converting ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen into nitrogen-containing gas through biological treatment, physicochemical treatment and oxidation technology. However, some wastewater containing high ammonia nitrogen including landfill leachate, is difficult to be treated by traditional nitrification and denitrification because of its high COD content. The core process of denitrification is that denitrifying bacteria convert nitrous acid produced by nitrification into nitrite under anaerobic conditions. Still, its low-carbon nitrogen does not meet the conditions for denitrification. Many studies have shown that the natural autotrophic anammox bacteria can combine nitrous and ammonia nitrogen without a carbon source through functional genes to achieve total nitrogen removal, which is very suitable for removing nitrogen from leachate. In addition, the process also saves a lot of aeration energy consumption than the traditional nitrogen removal process. Therefore, anammox plays an important role in nitrogen conversion and energy saving. The short-range nitrification and denitrification coupled with anaerobic ammoX ensures total nitrogen removal. It improves the removal efficiency, meeting the needs of society for an ecologically friendly and cost-effective nutrient removal treatment technology. In recent years, research has found that the symbiotic system has more water treatment advantages because this process not only helps to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment but also allows carbon dioxide reduction and resource recovery. Microalgae use carbon dioxide dissolved in water or released through bacterial respiration to produce oxygen for bacteria through photosynthesis under light, and bacteria, in turn, provide metabolites and inorganic carbon sources for the growth of microalgae, which may lead the algal bacteria symbiotic system save most or all of the aeration energy consumption. It has become a trend to make microalgae and light-avoiding anammox bacteria play synergistic roles by adjusting the light-to-dark ratio. Microalgae in the outer layer of light particles block most of the light and provide cofactors and amino acids to promote nitrogen removal. In particular, myxoccota MYX1 can degrade extracellular proteins produced by microalgae, providing amino acids for the entire bacterial community, which helps anammox bacteria save metabolic energy and adapt to light. As a result, initiating and maintaining the process of combining dominant algae and anaerobic denitrifying bacterial communities has great potential in treating landfill leachate. Chlorella has a brilliant removal effect and can withstand extreme environments in terms of high ammonia nitrogen, high salt and low temperature. It is urgent to study whether the algal mud mixture rich in denitrifying bacteria and chlorella can greatly improve the efficiency of landfill leachate treatment under an anaerobic environment where photosynthesis is stopped. The optimal dilution concentration of simulated landfill leachate can be found by determining the treatment effect of the same batch of bacteria and algae mixtures under different initial ammonia nitrogen concentrations and making a comparison. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes in microbial diversity, related functional genera and functional genes under optimal conditions, providing a theoretical and practical basis for the engineering application of novel bacteria-algae symbiosis system in biogas slurry treatment and resource utilization.

Keywords: nutrient removal and recovery, leachate, anammox, Partial nitrification, Algae-bacteria interaction

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Authors: O. Elkana, O Heyman, S. Hamdan, M. Franko, J. Vatine

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Objective: To investigate whether a direct link exists between perceived pain (PP) and executive functions (EF), above and beyond the influence of depression symptoms, in the context of medical rehabilitation. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants: 125 medical records of hospitalized patients were screened for matching to our inclusion criteria. Only 60 patients were found fit and were asked to participate. 19 decline to participate on personal basis. The 41 neurologically intact patients (mean age 46, SD 14.96) that participated in this study were in their sub-acute stage of recovery, with fluent Hebrew, with intact upper limb (to neutralize influence on psychomotor performances) and without an organic brain damage. Main Outcome Measures: EF were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Stop-Signal Test (SST). PP was measured using 3 well-known pain questionnaires: Pain Disability Index (PDI), The Short-Form McGill Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Perceived pain index (PPI) was calculated by the mean score composite from the 3 pain questionnaires. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results: The results indicate that irrespective of the presence of depression symptoms, PP is directly correlated with response inhibition (SST partial correlation: r=0.5; p=0.001) and mental flexibility (WSCT partial correlation: r=-0.37; p=0.021), suggesting decreased performance in EF as PP severity increases. High correlations were found between the 3 pain measurements: SF-MPQ with PDI (r=0.62, p<0.001), SF-MPQ with PCS (r=0.58, p<0.001) and PDI with PCS (r=0.38, p=0.016) and each questionnaire alone was also significantly associated with EF; thus, no specific questionnaires ‘pulled’ the results obtained by the general index (PPI). Conclusion: Examining the direct association between PP and EF, beyond the contribution of depression symptoms, provides further clinical evidence suggesting that EF and PP share underlying mediating neuronal mechanisms. Clinically, the importance of assessing patients' EF abilities as well as PP severity during rehabilitation is underscored.

Keywords: depression, executive functions, mental-flexibility, neuropsychology, pain perception, perceived pain, response inhibition

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Authors: Yakup Ulusu, Numan Eczacıoğlu, İsa Gökçe, Helen Waller, Jeremy H. Lakey

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Besides having the appropriate amino acid sequence to perform the function of proteins, it is important to have correct conformation after this sequence to process. To consist of this conformation depends on the amino acid sequence at the primary structure, hydrophobic interaction, chaperones and enzymes in charge of folding etc. Misfolded proteins are not functional and tend to be aggregated. Cysteine originating disulfide cross-links make stable this conformation of functional proteins. When two of the cysteine amino acids come side by side, disulfide bond is established that forms a cystine bridge. Due to this feature cysteine plays an important role on the formation of three-dimensional structure of many proteins. There are two cysteine amino acids (C44, C69) in the Tol-A-III protein. Unlike protein disulfide bonds from within his own, any non-specific cystine bridge causes a change in the three dimensional structure of the protein. Proteins can be expressed in various host cells as directly or fusion (chimeric). As a result of overproduction of the recombinant proteins, aggregation of insoluble proteins in the host cell can occur by forming a crystal structure called inclusion body. In general fusion proteins are produced for provide affinity tags to make proteins more soluble and production of some toxic proteins via fusion protein expression system like pTolT. Proteins can be modified by using a site-directed mutagenesis. By this way, creation of non-specific disulfide crosslinks can be prevented at fusion protein expression system via the present cysteine replaced by another amino acid such as serine, glycine or etc. To do this, we need; a DNA molecule that contains the gene that encodes for the target protein, required primers for mutation to be designed according to site directed mutagenesis reaction. This study was aimed to be replaced cysteine encoding codon TGT with serine encoding codon AGT. For this sense and reverse primers designed (given below) and used site-directed mutagenesis reaction. Several new copy of the template plasmid DNA has been formed with above mentioned mutagenic primers via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR product consists of both the master template DNA (wild type) and the new DNA sequences containing mutations. Dpn-l endonuclease restriction enzyme which is specific for methylated DNA and cuts them to the elimination of the master template DNA. E. coli cells obtained after transformation were incubated LB medium with antibiotic. After purification of plasmid DNA from E. coli, the presence of the mutation was determined by DNA sequence analysis. Developed this new plasmid is called PtolT-δ.

Keywords: site directed mutagenesis, Escherichia coli, pTolT, protein expression

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Authors: Gerhardt Boukes, Maryna Van De Venter, Sharlene Govender

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Macrofungi have been used for the past two thousand years in Asian countries, and more recently in Western countries, for their medicinal properties. Biological activities include antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticancer and immunomodulatory to name a few. Several biologically active compounds have been identified and isolated. Macrofungal research in Africa is poorly documented and to the best of our knowledge non-existent. South Africa has a rich macrofungal biodiversity, which includes endemic and exotic macrofungal species. Ethanolic extracts of 13 macrofungal species, including mushrooms, bracket fungi and puffballs, were prepared and screened for cytotoxicity against a panel of seven cell lines, including A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma), HeLa (human cervical adenocarcinoma), HT-29 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma), MCF7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), MIA PaCa-2 (human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), PC-3 (human prostate adenocarcinoma) and Vero (African green monkey kidney epithelial) cells using MTT. Cell lines were chosen according to the most prevalent cancer types affecting males and females in South Africa and globally, and the mutations they contain. Preliminary results have shown that three of the macrofungal genera, i.e. Fomitopsis, Gymnopilus and Pycnoporus, have shown cytotoxic activity, ranging between IC50 ~20 and 200 µg/mL. The molecular mechanism of action contributing to cell death investigated and being investigated include apoptosis (i.e. DNA cell cycle arrest, caspase-3 activation and mitochondrial membrane potential), autophagy (i.e. acridine orange and LC3B staining) and ER stress (i.e. thioflavin T staining and caspase-12) in the presence of melphalan, chloroquine and thapsigargin/tuncamycin as positive controls, respectively. The genus, Pycnoporus, has shown the best cytotoxicity of the three macrofungal genera. Future work will focus on the identification and isolation of novel active compounds and elucidating the mechanism/s of action.

Keywords: cancer, cytotoxicity, macrofungi, mechanism/s of action

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Authors: Tahira Pirzada, Zahra Ashrafi, Saad Khan

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We present a facile and sustainable solid templating approach to fabricate highly porous, flexible and superhydrophobic aerogels of composite nanofibers of cellulose diacetate and silica which are produced through sol gel electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurement, and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry are used to understand the structural features of the resultant aerogels while thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry demonstrate their thermal stability. These aerogels exhibit a self-supportive three-dimensional network abundant in large secondary pores surrounded by primary pores resulting in a highly porous structure. Thermal crosslinking of the aerogels has further stabilized their structure and flexibility without compromising on the porosity. Ease of processing, thermal stability, high porosity and oleophilic nature of these aerogels make them promising candidate for a wide variety of applications including acoustic and thermal insulation and oil and water separation.

Keywords: hybrid aerogels, sol-gel electrospinning, oil-water separation, nanofibers

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Authors: Panayiota Romios

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Greek diaspora communities with their specific cultural identity are found throughout the world and exist on a continuum of redefinition and renewal. This paper investigates Greek migration to Australia, followed by a discussion of findings from a qualitative study of sixteen third generation Greek Australians conducted by the author in Melbourne, Australia, in 2021. The Greek-born population in Australia increased from 15,000 in 1930 to well over 300,000 by 1970. Over the next decades, first-generation Greek migrants successfully sustain a Greek identity that promotes difference within Australia. Their Australian-born children, while constructing Greek Australian hybrid identities through an encounter with difference, integrate successfully into Australian society and maintain strong connections to Greece. This study explores the third generation Greek Australian identities, the children of the second generation, and their having horizontal and vertical orientations, where the former designates transgression of borders and space and the latter is connected to the movement across time. This approach is particularly interesting in the context of Greek Australian migrant and diasporic experience as hybridity understood as movement and translocation can offer new perspectives on migrant identities in multi-and transcultural worlds.

Keywords: diaspora, migration, hybridity, ethnicty

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Authors: Johanna Bapela, Heino Heyman, Marion Meyer

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Regardless of the significant advances accomplished in reducing the burden of malaria and other tropical diseases in recent years, malaria remains a major cause of mortality in endemic countries. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa where 99% of the estimated global malaria deaths occurs on an annual basis. The emergence of resistant Plasmodium species and the lack of diversified chemotherapeutic agents provide the rationale for bioprospecting for antiplasmodial scaffolds. Crude extracts from twenty indigenous antimalarial plant species were screened for antimalarial activity and then subjected to 1H NMR-based metabolomic analysis. Ten plant extracts exhibited significant in vitro antiplasmodial activity (IC50 ≤ 5 µg/ml). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the acquired 1H NMR spectra could not separate the analyzed plant extracts according to the detected antiplasmodial bioactivity. Application of supervised Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures–Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) to the 1H NMR profiles resulted in a discrimination pattern that could be correlated to bioactivity. A contribution plot generated from the OPLS-DA scoring plot illustrated the classes of compounds responsible for the observed grouping. Given the preliminary in vitro results, Tabernaemontana elegans Stapf. (Apocynaceae) and Vangueria infausta Burch. subsp. infausta (Rubiaceae) were subjected to further phytochemical investigations. Two indole alkaloids, dregamine and tabernaemontanine possessing antiplasmodial activity were isolated from T. elegans. Two compounds were isolated from V. infausta subsp. infausta and identified as friedelin (IC50 = 3.01 µg/ml) and morindolide (IC50 = 18.5 µg/ml). While these compounds have been previously identified, this is the first account of their occurrence in the genus Vangueria and their antiplasmodial activity. Based on the results of the study, metabolomics can be used to globally identify classes of plant secondary metabolites that are responsible for antiplasmodial activity.

Keywords: ethnopharmacology, Malaria, medicinal plants, metabolomics

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Authors: Pankaj Singh Rawat, Rajeew Kumar, Pradeep Ram, Priyanka Pandey

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Wheat is an important cereal crop for food security. Boosting the wheat production and productivity is the major challenge across the nation. Good quality of seed is required for maintaining optimum plant stand which ultimately increases grain yield. Ensuring a good germination is one of the key steps to ensure proper plant stand and moisture assurance during seed germination may help to speed up the germination. The tiny size of nanoparticles may help in entry of water into seed without disturbing their internal structure. Considering above, a laboratory experiment was conducted during 2012-13 at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India. The completely randomized design was used for statistical analysis. The experiment was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the appropriate concentration of nanoparticles for seed treatment was screened. In second phase seed soaking hours of nanoparticles for better seed germination were standardized. Wheat variety UP2526 was taken as test crop. Four nanoparticles (TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan) were taken for study. The crop germination studies were done in petri dishes and standard package and practices were used to raise the seedlings. The germination studies were done by following standard procedure. In first phase of the experiment, seeds were treated with 50 and 300 ppm of nanoparticles and control was also maintained for comparison. In the second phase of experiment, seeds were soaked for 4 hours, 6 hours and 8 hours with 50 ppm nanoparticles of TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan along with control treatment to identify the soaking time for better seed germination. Experiment revealed that the application of nanoparticles help to enhance seed germination. The study revealed that seed treatment with  nanoparticles at 50 ppm concentration increases root length, shoot length, seedling length, shoot dry weight, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index I and seedling vigour index II as compared to seed soaking at 300 ppm concentration. This experiment showed that seed soaking up to 4 hr was better as compared to 6 and 8 hrs. Seed soaking with nanoparticles specially TiO₂, ZnO, and chitosan proved to enhance germination and seedling growth indices of wheat crop.

Keywords: nanoparticles, seed germination, seed soaking, wheat

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