Search results for: high energy materials

Authors: Pannathorn Chachvarat, Smarnjit Piromrun

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Aging is the reality for the future world. An urgent priority for the development of the elderlies’ quality living is needed. The promotion of quality the elderly to live longer in their dignity and being independence are essential. The objective of this descriptive research was to study the self-care regarding to the valuable living in Thai elderly. The randomized sample was 100 elderly who live in Muang district of Phayao province. The tools included 2 parts; 1) Personal data (gender, age, income, occupation, marital status, living condition and disease), and 2) the self-care regarding to the valuable living questionnaire consisted of 3 domains, physical (21items), spiritual (13 items) and social domain (12 items). The content validity tool was tested the IOC ranged between 0.60 – 1.00 and the reliability test, Cronbach Alpha was 0.82. The research found that; The most participants were female (60 %), Farmer (37%), and underlying disease (65 %). The range of age was 68 years. Overall of the self-care regarding to the valuable living of physical, spiritual and social were at the high level.The highest level of physical activities was self-taking bath twice a day (morning and evening), and slept at least 5-6 hours at night time.The highest level of spirit activities was a good member of the family, contributions to persons in family, good emotion. Additionally were enjoyable, accepting changes in the body such as the dry skin and the blurred vision, accepting the roles and duties in taking care of house and grandchildren, selecting the applicable activities and practice according to religious Buddhateachingfor the happiness and meditated life.The highest of the social activities were the good relationship between other elderlies and family members, happy to help social activities as of their capacity, and being happy to help other people who have problems.

Keywords: self-care, valuable living, elderly, Thai

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Authors: Kai-Jui Kou, Tzu-Ling Shen, Ying-Fang Wang

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The objectives of the present study are to characterize nanoparticles generated from the different working type in 3D printing room and the stack flue during 3D printing process. The studied laboratory (10.5 m× 7.2 m × 3.2 m) with a ventilation rate of 500 m³/H is installed a 3D metal printing machine. Direct-reading instrument of a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS, Model 3082, TSI Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA) was used to conduct static sampling for nanoparticle number concentration and particle size distribution measurements. The SMPS obtained particle number concentration at every 3 minutes, the diameter of the SMPS ranged from 11~372 nm when the aerosol and sheath flow rates were set at 0.6 and 6 L/min, respectively. The concentrations of background, printing process, clearing operation, and screening operation were performed in the laboratory. On the other hand, we also conducted nanoparticle measurement on the 3D printing machine's stack flue to understand its emission characteristics. Results show that the nanoparticles emitted from the different operation process were the same distribution in the form of the uni-modal with number median diameter (NMD) as approximately 28.3 nm to 29.6 nm. The number concentrations of nanoparticles were 2.55×10³ count/cm³ in laboratory background, 2.19×10³ count/cm³ during printing process, 2.29×10³ count/cm³ during clearing process, 3.05×10³ count/cm³ during screening process, 2.69×10³ count/cm³ in laboratory background after printing process, and 6.75×10³ outside laboratory, respectively. We found that there are no emission nanoparticles during the printing process. However, the number concentration of stack flue nanoparticles in the ongoing print is 1.13×10⁶ count/cm³, and that of the non-printing is 1.63×10⁴ count/cm³, with a NMD of 458 nm and 29.4 nm, respectively. It can be confirmed that the measured particle size belongs to easily penetrate the filter in theory during the printing process, even though the 3D printer has a high-efficiency filtration device. Therefore, it is recommended that the stack flue of the 3D printer would be equipped with an appropriate dust collection device to prevent the operators from exposing these hazardous particles.

Keywords: nanoparticle, particle emission, 3D printing, number concentration

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Authors: Pedro Ferreira, Alexandre Frugoli, Pedro Frugoli, Lucio Leonardo, Thais Cavalheri

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The teaching of fluid mechanics in engineering courses is, in general, a source of great difficulties for learning. The possibility of the use of experiments with didactic wind tunnels can facilitate the education of future professionals. The objective of this proposal is the development of a low-cost aerodynamic balance to be used in a didactic wind tunnel. The set is comprised of an Arduino microcontroller, programmed by an open source software, linked to load cells built by students from another project. The didactic wind tunnel is 5,0m long and the test area is 90,0 cm x 90,0 cm x 150,0 cm. The Weq® electric motor, model W-22 of 9,2 HP, moves a fan with nine blades, each blade 32,0 cm long. The Weq® frequency inverter, model WEGCFW 08 (Vector Inverter) is responsible for wind speed control and also for the motor inversion of the rotational direction. A flat-convex profile prototype of airfoil was tested by measuring the drag and lift forces for certain attack angles; the air flux conditions remained constant, monitored by a Pitot tube connected to a EXTECH® Instruments digital pressure differential manometer Model HD755. The results indicate a good agreement with the theory. The choice of all of the components of this proposal resulted in a low-cost product providing a high level of specific knowledge of mechanics of fluids, which may be a good alternative to teaching in countries with scarce educational resources. The system also allows the expansion to measure other parameters like fluid velocity, temperature, pressure as well as the possibility of automation of other functions.

Keywords: aerodynamic balance, wind tunnel, strain gauge, load cell, Arduino, low-cost education

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Authors: Maria Granados

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Information technology (IT) facilitates the management of knowledge in organisations through the effective leverage of collective experience and knowledge of employees. This supports information processing needs, as well as enables and facilitates sense-making activities of knowledge workers. The study of IT support for knowledge management (KM) has been carried out mainly in larger organisations where resources and competitive conditions can trigger the use of KM. However, there is still a lack of understanding on how IT can support the management of knowledge under different organisational settings influenced by: constant tensions between social and economic objectives, more focus on sustainability than competiveness, limited resources, and high levels of democratic participation and intrinsic motivations among employees. All these conditions are presented in Social Enterprises (SEs), which are normally micro and small businesses that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, and the environment. Thus, their importance to society and economies is increasing. However, there is still a need for more understanding of how these organisations operate, perform, innovate and scale-up. This knowledge is crucial to design and provide accurate strategies to enhance the sector and increase its impact and coverage. To obtain a conceptual and empirical understanding of how IT can facilitate KM in the particular organisational conditions of SEs, a quantitative study was conducted with 432 owners and senior members of SEs in UK, underpinned by 21 interviews. The findings demonstrated how IT was supporting more the recovery and storage of necessary information in SEs, and less the collaborative work and communication among enterprise members. However, it was established that SEs were using cloud solutions, web 2.0 tools, Skype and centralised shared servers to manage informally their knowledge. The possible impediments for SEs to support themselves more on IT solutions can be linked mainly to economic and human constraints. These findings elucidate new perspectives that can contribute not only to SEs and SE supporters, but also to other businesses.

Keywords: social enterprises, knowledge management, information technology, collaboration, small firms

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Authors: Fatemeh Sadeghi, Peyman Sheikhzadeh

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Introduction: Block Sequential Regularized Expectation Maximization (BSREM) reconstruction algorithm was recently developed to suppress excessive noise by applying a relative difference penalty. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various strengths of noise penalization factor in the BSREM algorithm under different acquisition duration and lesion sizes in order to determine an optimum penalty factor by considering both quantitative and qualitative image evaluation parameters in clinical uses. Materials and Methods: The NEMA IQ phantom and 15 clinical whole-body patients with prostate cancer were evaluated. Phantom and patients were injected withGallium-68 Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen(68 Ga-PSMA)and scanned on a non-time-of-flight Discovery IQ Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography(PET/CT) scanner with BGO crystals. The data were reconstructed using BSREM with a β-value of 100-500 at an interval of 100. These reconstructions were compared to OSEM as a widely used reconstruction algorithm. Following the standard NEMA measurement procedure, background variability (BV), recovery coefficient (RC), contrast recovery (CR) and residual lung error (LE) from phantom data and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-background ratio (SBR) and tumor SUV from clinical data were measured. Qualitative features of clinical images visually were ranked by one nuclear medicine expert. Results: The β-value acts as a noise suppression factor, so BSREM showed a decreasing image noise with an increasing β-value. BSREM, with a β-value of 400 at a decreased acquisition duration (2 min/ bp), made an approximately equal noise level with OSEM at an increased acquisition duration (5 min/ bp). For the β-value of 400 at 2 min/bp duration, SNR increased by 43.7%, and LE decreased by 62%, compared with OSEM at a 5 min/bp duration. In both phantom and clinical data, an increase in the β-value is translated into a decrease in SUV. The lowest level of SUV and noise were reached with the highest β-value (β=500), resulting in the highest SNR and lowest SBR due to the greater noise reduction than SUV reduction at the highest β-value. In compression of BSREM with different β-values, the relative difference in the quantitative parameters was generally larger for smaller lesions. As the β-value decreased from 500 to 100, the increase in CR was 160.2% for the smallest sphere (10mm) and 12.6% for the largest sphere (37mm), and the trend was similar for SNR (-58.4% and -20.5%, respectively). BSREM visually was ranked more than OSEM in all Qualitative features. Conclusions: The BSREM algorithm using more iteration numbers leads to more quantitative accuracy without excessive noise, which translates into higher overall image quality and lesion detectability. This improvement can be used to shorter acquisition time.

Keywords: BSREM reconstruction, PET/CT imaging, noise penalization, quantification accuracy

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Authors: Tomasz Smolinski, Irena Herdzik-Koniecko, Marta Pyszynska, M. Rogowski

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Old electronic components can be easily found nowadays. Significant quantities of valuable metals such as gold, silver or copper are used for the production of advanced electronic devices. Old useless electronic device slowly became a new source of precious metals, very often more efficient than natural. For example, it is possible to recover more gold from 1-ton personal computers than seventeen tons of gold ore. It makes urban mining industry very profitable and necessary for sustainable development. For the recovery of metals from waste of electronic equipment, various treatment options based on conventional physical, hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes are available. In this group hydrometallurgy processes with their relatively low capital cost, low environmental impact, potential for high metal recoveries and suitability for small scale applications, are very promising options. Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology has great experience in hydrometallurgy processes especially focused on recovery metals from industrial and agricultural wastes. At the moment, urban mining project is carried out. The method of effective recovery of valuable metals from central processing units (CPU) components has been developed. The principal processes such as acidic leaching and solvent extraction were used for precious metals recovery from old processors and graphic cards. Electronic components were treated by acidic solution at various conditions. Optimal acid concentration, time of the process and temperature were selected. Precious metals have been extracted to the aqueous phase. At the next step, metals were selectively extracted by organic solvents such as oximes or tributyl phosphate (TBP) etc. Multistage mixer-settler equipment was used. The process was optimized.

Keywords: electronic waste, leaching, hydrometallurgy, metal recovery, solvent extraction

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Authors: Budhvin T. Withana, Sulochana Rupasinghe

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The problem of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, two learning disabilities that affect reading and writing abilities, respectively, is a major concern for the educational system. Due to the complexity and uniqueness of the Sinhala language, these conditions are especially difficult for children who speak it. The traditional risk detection methods for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia frequently rely on subjective assessments, making it difficult to cover a wide range of risk detection and time-consuming. As a result, diagnoses may be delayed and opportunities for early intervention may be lost. The project was approached by developing a hybrid model that utilized various deep learning techniques for detecting risk of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. Specifically, Resnet50, VGG16 and YOLOv8 were integrated to detect the handwriting issues, and their outputs were fed into an MLP model along with several other input data. The hyperparameters of the MLP model were fine-tuned using Grid Search CV, which allowed for the optimal values to be identified for the model. This approach proved to be effective in accurately predicting the risk of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, providing a valuable tool for early detection and intervention of these conditions. The Resnet50 model achieved an accuracy of 0.9804 on the training data and 0.9653 on the validation data. The VGG16 model achieved an accuracy of 0.9991 on the training data and 0.9891 on the validation data. The MLP model achieved an impressive training accuracy of 0.99918 and a testing accuracy of 0.99223, with a loss of 0.01371. These results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid model achieved a high level of accuracy in predicting the risk of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.

Keywords: neural networks, risk detection system, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, deep learning, learning disabilities, data science

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Authors: Mahmood Alsaadi, Alexei Lisitsa

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Nowadays, medical devices rely completely on software whether as whole software or as embedded software, therefore, the organization that develops medical device software can benefit from adopting agile practices. Using agile practices in healthcare software development industries would bring benefits such as producing a product of a high-quality with low cost and in short period. However, medical device software development companies faced challenges in adopting agile practices. These due to the gaps that exist between agile practices and the requirements of healthcare regulations such as documentation, traceability, and formality. This research paper will conduct a study to investigate the adoption rate of agile practice in medical device software development, and they will extract and outline the requirements of healthcare regulations such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Medical Device Directive (MDD) that affect directly or indirectly on software development life cycle. Moreover, this research paper will evaluate the suitability of using agile practices in healthcare industries by analyzing the most popular agile practices such as eXtream Programming (XP), Scrum, and Feature-Driven Development (FDD) from healthcare industry point of view and in comparison with the requirements of healthcare regulations. Finally, the authors propose an agile mixture model that consists of different practices from different agile methods. As result, the adoption rate of agile practices in healthcare industries still low and agile practices should enhance with regard to requirements of the healthcare regulations in order to be used in healthcare software development organizations. Therefore, the proposed agile mixture model may assist in minimizing the gaps existing between healthcare regulations and agile practices and increase the adoption rate in the healthcare industry. As this research paper part of the ongoing project, an evaluation of agile mixture model will be conducted in the near future.

Keywords: adoption of agile, agile gaps, agile mixture model, agile practices, healthcare regulations

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Authors: Ali Masria , Abdelazim Negm, Moheb Iskander, Oliver C. Saavedra

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Estuaries play an important role in exchanging water and providing a navigational pathway for ships. These zones are very sensitive and vulnerable to any interventions in coastal dynamics. Almost major of these inlets experience coastal problems such as severe erosion, and accretion. Rosetta promontory, Egypt is an example of this environment. It suffers from many coastal problems as erosion problem along the coastline and siltation problem inside the inlet. It is due to lack of water and sediment resources as a side effect of constructing the Aswan High dam. The shoaling of the inlet leads to hindering the navigation process of fishing boats, negative impacts to estuarine and salt marsh habitat and decrease the efficiency of the cross section to transfer the flow during emergencies to the sea. This paper aims to reach a new condition of stability of Rosetta Promontory by using coastal measures to control the sediment entering, and causes shoaling inside the inlet. These coastal measures include modifying the inlet cross section by using centered jetties, eliminate the coastal dynamic in the entrance using boundary jetties. This target is achieved by using a hydrodynamic model Coastal Modeling System (CMS). Extensive field data collection (hydrographic surveys, wave data, tide data, and bed morphology) is used to build and calibrate the model. About 20 scenarios were tested to reach a suitable solution that mitigate the coastal problems at the inlet. The results show that 360 m jetty in the eastern bank with system of sand bypass from the leeside of the jetty can stabilize the estuary.

Keywords: Rosetta promontory, erosion, sedimentation, inlet stability

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Authors: Evgeny A. Ermakov, Lyudmila P. Smirnova, Valentina N. Buneva

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Schizophrenia associated with dysregulation of neurotransmitter processes in the central nervous system and disturbances in the humoral immune system resulting in the formation of antibodies (Abs) to the various components of the nervous tissue. Abs to different neuronal receptors and DNA were detected in the blood of patients with schizophrenia. Abs hydrolyzing DNA were detected in pool of polyclonal autoantibodies in autoimmune and infectious diseases, such catalytic Abs were named abzymes. It is believed that DNA-hydrolyzing abzymes are cytotoxic, cause nuclear DNA fragmentation and induce cell death by apoptosis. Abzymes with DNAase activity are interesting because of the mechanism of formation and the possibility of use as diagnostic markers. Therefore, in our work we have set following goals: to determine the level anti-DNA Abs in the serum of patients with schizophrenia and to study DNA-hydrolyzing activity of IgG of patients with schizophrenia. Materials and methods: In our study there were included 41 patients with a verified diagnosis of paranoid or simple schizophrenia and 24 healthy donors. Electrophoretically and immunologically homogeneous IgGs were obtained by sequential affinity chromatography of the serum proteins on protein G-Sepharose and gel filtration. The levels of anti-DNA Abs were determined using ELISA. DNA-hydrolyzing activity was detected as the level of supercoiled pBluescript DNA transition in circular and linear forms, the hydrolysis products were analyzed by agarose electrophoresis followed by ethidium bromide stain. To correspond the registered catalytic activity directly to the antibodies we carried out a number of strict criteria: electrophoretic homogeneity of the antibodies, gel filtration (acid shock analysis) and in situ activity. Statistical analysis was performed in ‘Statistica 9.0’ using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Results: The sera of approximately 30% of schizophrenia patients displayed a higher level of Abs interacting with single-stranded (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) compared with healthy donors. The average level of Abs interacting with ssDNA was only 1.1-fold lower than that for interacting with dsDNA. IgG of patient with schizophrenia were shown to possess DNA hydrolyzing activity. Using affinity chromatography, electrophoretic analysis of isolated IgG homogeneity, gel filtration in acid shock conditions and in situ DNAse activity analysis we proved that the observed activity is intrinsic property of studied antibodies. We have shown that the relative DNAase activity of IgG in patients with schizophrenia averaged 55.4±32.5%, IgG of healthy donors showed much lower activity (average of 9.1±6.5%). It should be noted that DNAase activity of IgG in patients with schizophrenia with a negative symptoms was significantly higher (73.3±23.8%), than in patients with positive symptoms (43.3±33.1%). Conclusion: Anti-DNA Abs of patients with schizophrenia not only bind DNA, but quite efficiently hydrolyze the substrate. The data show a correlation with the level of DNase activity and leading symptoms of patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords: anti-DNA antibodies, abzymes, DNA hydrolysis, schizophrenia

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Authors: Vinay Kumar, M. Kishor, Sathyanarayana Rao Ts

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Background: Growth of elderly people in the general population in recent years is termed as ‘greying of the world’ where there is a shift from high mortality & fertility to low mortality and fertility, resulting in an increased proportion of older people as seen in India. Improved health care promises longevity but socio-economic factors like poverty, joint families and poor services pose a psychological threat. Epidemiological data regarding the prevalence of mental disorders in geriatric population with physical illness is required for proper health planning. Methods: Sixty consecutive elderly patients aged 60 years or above of both sexes, reporting with physical illness to general outpatient registration counter of JSS Medical College and Hospital, Mysore, India, were considered for the Study. With informed consent, they were screened with General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and were further evaluated for diagnosing mental disorders according to WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) criteria. Results: Mental disorders were detected in 48.3%, predominantly depressive disorders, nicotine dependence, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol dependence and least was dementia. Most common physical illness was cardiovascular disease followed by metabolic, respiratory and other diseases. Depressive disorders, substance dependence and dementia were more associated with cardiovascular disease compared to metabolic disease and respiratory diseases were more associated with nicotine dependence. Conclusions: Depression and Substance use disorders among elderly population is of concern, which needs to be further studied with larger population. Psychiatric morbidity will adversely have an impact on physical illness which needs proper assessment and management. This will enhance our understanding and prioritize our planning for future.

Keywords: Geriatric, mental disorders, physical illness, psychiatry

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Authors: Hassan Mohmed, Mohamed Ismail, Aiman Rezk

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Introduction: This project aims to document and preserve decorated wooden coffins which were discovered in Luxor by Egyptian mission at Luxor, (SR Numbers:2514,2519,2520,2521,5469).These decorated wooden coffins dates back to Egyptian New Kingdom period and has been transferred to the Cairo Museum, to be displayed at the museum. These decorated wooden coffins discovered in the cache-tomb of Bab el-gasus at Deir el-Bahari, Luxor. This site has been dictated for the burials of priests of Amun through 18th Dynasty the coffins owners held these titles, which are as follows: "the embalmer of the beautiful-house (the place of embalming)" and "the servant in the place of truth". Methodology: Methodology: The project objectives making such decorated wooden coffins more visible to visitors through the use of 3D reconstructed coffins and high resolution photos which describe the history of using the wooden coffins during the Ancient Egyptian history Especially, The Cairo Museum is going to exhibit decorated wooden coffins in New kingdom. The project goals is to document decorated wooden coffins and arrange an exhibition, where such decorated wooden coffins going to be displayed next to the Ramses 2nd coffin, This research focuses on the text analyses and the technology. Paleographic information found on these objects. Conclusion: The project shows the importance of using coffins in Ancient Egypt, and connecting their usage through Ancient Egyptian periods; the coffins had a unique Symbolized in ancient Egypt and connect the public with their kings. The Egyptian put coffins in their tombs that they hope to save their bodies’ afterlife. This research will be beneficial and useful for the heritage and ancient civilizations, Indeed this study will open a destination in order to know how to identify these collections and how to exhibit them commensurate with the natural of the ancient Egyptian history and heritage.

Keywords: archaeology, decorated wooden coffins, 3D digital tools for heritage management, museums

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Authors: Jahangir Ahmad Rather, Emad A. Khudaish, Ahsanulhaq Qurashi, Palanisamy Kannan

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Chemical modification and assembling of fullerenes are fundamentally important for the application of fullerenes as functional molecules and in molecular devices and organic electronic devices. We have synthesized fullerene nanorods C60NRs conjugate via liquid-liquid interface and the synthesized C60NRs was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The C60NRs were immobilized on glassy carbon electrode via surface bound diazonium salts as an impact strategy. This method involves electrografting of p–nitrophenyl to give GCE–Ph–NO2 and then the terminal nitro-group was chemically reduced to GCE–Ph–NH2 in a presence of sodium borohydride/gold–polyaniline nanocomposite (NaBH4/Au–PANI). The Au–PANI composite was synthesized and characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, SEM and EDX techniques. The C60NRs were immobilized on GCE–Ph–NH2 via amination reaction which involves N-H addition across a π-bond on [60] fullerene. The immobilized C60NRs/GCE was subjected to electrochemical reduction in 1.0 M KOH to yield ERC60NRs/GCE sensor. The developed sensor shows high electrocatalytic activity for the detection of ethylparaben (EP) over a concentration range from 0.01 to 0.52 µM with a detection limit (LOD) 3.8 nM. The amount of EP present in the nourishing repair cream (OlAY®) was determined by standard addition method at the developed ERC60NRs/GCE sensor. The total concentration of EP was found to be 0.011 µM (0.1%) and is within the permissible limit of 0.19 % EP in cosmetics according to the European scientific committee (SCCS) on consumer safety on 22 March 2011 (SCCS/1348/11).

Keywords: diazonium salt reduction, ethylparaben (EP), endocrine disruptor, fullerene nanorods (C60NRs), gold–polyaniline nanocomposite (Au–PANI)

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Authors: Bryony Davies

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Many cell and tissue culture practices ignore the effects of gravity on cell biology, and little is known about how cell components may move in response to gravitational forces. Starfish oocytes provide an excellent model for interrogating the movement of cell components due to their unusually large size, ease of handling, and high transparency. Chromosomes from starfish oocytes can be visualised by microinjection of the histone-H2B-mCherry plasmid into the oocytes. The movement of the chromosomes can then be tracked by live-cell fluorescence microscopy. The results from experiments using these methods suggest that there is a replicable downward movement of centrally located chromosomes at a median velocity of 0.39 μm/min. Chromosomes nearer the nuclear boundary showed more restricted movement. Chromosome density and shape could also be altered by microinjection of restriction enzymes, primarily Alu1, before imaging. This was found to alter the speed of chromosome movement, with chromosomes from Alu1-injected nuclei showing a median downward velocity of 0.60 μm/min. Overall, these results suggest that there is a non-negligible movement of chromosomes in response to gravitational forces and that this movement can be altered by enzyme activity. Future directions based on these results could interrogate if this observed downward movement extends to other cell components and to other cell types. Additionally, it may be important to understand whether gravitational orientation and vertical positioning of cell components alter cell behaviour. The findings here may have implications for current cell culture practices, which do not replicate cell orientations or external forces experienced in vivo. It is possible that a failure to account for gravitational forces in 2D cell culture alters experimental results and the accuracy of conclusions drawn from them. Understanding possible behavioural changes in cells due to the effects of gravity would therefore be beneficial.

Keywords: starfish, oocytes, live-cell imaging, microinjection, chromosome dynamics

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Authors: Ian O'Loughlin

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Memory networks aim to integrate some of the recent successes in machine learning with a dynamic memory base that can be updated and deployed in artificial reasoning tasks. These models involve training networks to identify, update, and operate over stored elements in a large memory array in order, for example, to ably perform question and answer tasks parsing real-world and simulated discourses. This family of approaches still faces numerous challenges: the performance of these network models in simulated domains remains considerably better than in open, real-world domains, wide-context cues remain elusive in parsing words and sentences, and even moderately complex sentence structures remain problematic. This innovation, employing an array of stored and updatable ‘memory’ elements over which the system operates as it parses text input and develops responses to questions, is a compelling one for at least two reasons: first, it addresses one of the difficulties that standard machine learning techniques face, by providing a way to store a large bank of facts, offering a way forward for the kinds of long-term reasoning that, for example, recurrent neural networks trained on a corpus have difficulty performing. Second, the addition of a stored long-term memory component in artificial reasoning seems psychologically plausible; human reasoning appears replete with invocations of long-term memory, and the stored but dynamic elements in the arrays of memory networks are deeply reminiscent of the way that human memory is readily and often characterized. However, this apparent psychological plausibility is belied by a recent turn in the study of human memory in cognitive science. In recent years, the very notion that there is a stored element which enables remembering, however dynamic or reconstructive it may be, has come under deep suspicion. In the wake of constructive memory studies, amnesia and impairment studies, and studies of implicit memory—as well as following considerations from the cognitive neuroscience of memory and conceptual analyses from the philosophy of mind and cognitive science—researchers are now rejecting storage and retrieval, even in principle, and instead seeking and developing models of human memory wherein plasticity and dynamics are the rule rather than the exception. In these models, storage is entirely avoided by modeling memory using a recurrent neural network designed to fit a preconceived energy function that attains zero values only for desired memory patterns, so that these patterns are the sole stable equilibrium points in the attractor network. So although the array of long-term memory elements in memory networks seem psychologically appropriate for reasoning systems, they may actually be incurring difficulties that are theoretically analogous to those that older, storage-based models of human memory have demonstrated. The kind of emergent stability found in the attractor network models more closely fits our best understanding of human long-term memory than do the memory network arrays, despite appearances to the contrary.

Keywords: artificial reasoning, human memory, machine learning, neural networks

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Authors: N. Valderrama, W. Albarracín, N. Algecira

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It was studied the effect of the inclusion of thyme and rosemary essential oils into chitosan films, as well as the microbiological and physical properties when storing chitosan film with and without the mentioned inclusion. The film forming solution was prepared by dissolving chitosan (2%, w/v), polysorbate 80 (4% w/w CH) and glycerol (16% w/w CH) in aqueous lactic acid solutions (control). The thyme (TEO) and rosemary (REO) essential oils (EOs) were included 1:1 w/w (EOs:CH) on their combination 50/50 (TEO:REO). The films were stored at temperatures of 5, 20, 33°C and a relative humidity of 75% during four weeks. The films with essential oil inclusion did not show an antimicrobial activity against strains. This behavior could be explained because the chitosan only inhibits the growth of microorganisms in direct contact with the active sites. However, the inhibition capacity of TEO was higher than the REO and a synergic effect between TEO:REO was found for S. enteritidis strains in the chitosan solution. Some physical properties were modified by the inclusion of essential oils. The addition of essential oils does not affect the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation), the water solubility, the swelling index nor the DSC behavior. However, the essential oil inclusion can significantly decrease the thickness, the moisture content, and the L* value of films whereas the b* value increased due to molecular interactions between the polymeric matrix, the loosing of the structure, and the chemical modifications. On the other hand, the temperature and time of storage changed some physical properties on the chitosan films. This could have occurred because of chemical changes, such as swelling in the presence of high humidity air and the reacetylation of amino groups. In the majority of cases, properties such as moisture content, tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation, a*, b*, chrome, ΔE increased whereas water resistance, swelling index, L*, and hue angle decreased.

Keywords: chitosan, food additives, modified films, polymers

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Authors: Umair Shoukat Ali, Rashna Hoshang Sukhia, Mubassar Fida

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Introduction: The objective of the study was to compare outcomes in terms of Bleeding index (BI), Gingival Index (GI), and Orthodontic Plaque Index (OPI) with video graphics and plaque disclosing tablets (PDT) versus verbal instructions in adult orthodontic patients undergoing fixed appliance treatment (FAT). Materials and Methods: Adult orthodontic patients have recruited from outpatient orthodontic clinics who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were randomly allocated to three groups i.e., video, PDT, and verbal groups. We included patients undergoing FAT for six months of both genders with all teeth bonded mesial to first molars having no co-morbid conditions such as rheumatic fever and diabetes mellitus. Subjects who had gingivitis as assessed by Bleeding Index (BI), Gingival Index (GI), and Orthodontic Plaque Index (OPI) were recruited. We excluded subjects having > 2 mm of clinical attachment loss, pregnant and lactating females, any history of periodontal therapy within the last six months, and any consumption of antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs within the last one month. Pre- and post-interventional measurements were taken at two intervals only for BI, GI, and OPI. The primary outcome of this trial was to evaluate the mean change in the BI, GI, and OPI in the three study groups. A computer-generated randomization list was used to allocate subjects to one of the three study groups using a random permuted block sampling of 6 and 9 to randomize the samples. No blinding of the investigator or the participants was performed. Results: A total of 99 subjects were assessed for eligibility, out of which 96 participants were randomized as three of the participants declined to be part of this trial. This resulted in an equal number of participants (32) that were analyzed in all three groups. The mean change in the oral hygiene indices score was assessed, and we found no statistically significant difference among the three interventional groups. Pre- and post-interventional results showed statistically significant improvement in the oral hygiene indices for the video and PDT groups. No statistically significant difference for age, gender, and education level on oral hygiene indices were found. Simple linear regression showed that the video group produced significantly higher mean OPI change as compared to other groups. No harm was observed during the trial. Conclusions: Visual aids performed better as compared to the verbal group. Gender, age, and education level had no statistically significant impact on the oral hygiene indices. Longer follow-ups will be required to see the long-term effects of these interventions. Trial Registration: NCT04386421 Funding: Aga Khan University and Hospital (URC 183022)

Keywords: oral hygiene, orthodontic treatment, adults, randomized clinical trial

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Authors: Chamilani Nikapitiya, Mahanama De Zoysa, Jehee Lee

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Most of the bacterial diseases are associated with high mortalities in aquaculture species and causing huge economic losses. Different approaches have been taken to prevent or control of bacterial diseases including use of vaccines, probiotics, chemotherapy, water quality management, etc. Antibiotics are widely applying as chemotherapy to control bacterial diseases, however, it has been shown that frequent use of antibiotics is favored to develop multi-drug resistance bacteria. Therefore, phages and phage encoded lytic proteins are known to be one of the most promising alternatives for antibiotics to avoid the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We isolated and characterized the two lytic phages, namely pAh-1 and pAs-1 against pathogenic Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas salmonicida, respectively. Morphological characteristics were analyzed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and host strain specificities were tested with Aeromonas and other closely related bacterial strains. TEM analysis revealed that both pAh-1 and pAsm-1 are composed of an icosahedral head and a segmented tail, and we suggest that, they are new members of Myoviridae family. Genome sizes of isolated phages were estimated by restriction enzyme digestion of genomic DNA using selected endonucleases followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Estimated genome size of pAh-1 and pAs-1 were approximately 64 Kbp and 120 Kbp, respectively. Both pAh-1 and pAs-1 have shown narrow host specificity. Moreover, protective effects of phage therapy against fish pathogenic A. hydrophila were investigated in zebrafish model. The survival rate was 40% higher when zebrafish received intra-peritoneal injection (i.p.) of pAh-1 were simultaneously challenge A. hydrophila (2 x 106 CFU/fish) compared to that without phage treatment. Overall results suggest that both pAh-1 and pAs-1 can be used as a potential phage therapy to control Aeromonas infections in aquaculture.

Keywords: Aeromonas infections, antibiotic resistance, bacteriophage, bio-control, lytic phage

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Authors: Maritza Estela Garay-Rodriguez, Mirella Gutierrez-Arzaluz, Miguel Torres-Rodriguez, Violeta Mugica-Alvarez

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Arsenic is an element present in the earth's crust and is dispersed in the environment through natural processes and some anthropogenic activities. Naturally released into the environment through the weathering and erosion of sulphides mineral, some activities such as mining, the use of pesticides or wood preservatives potentially increase the concentration of arsenic in air, water, and soil. The natural arsenic release of a geological material is a threat to the world's drinking water sources. In aqueous phase is found in inorganic form, as arsenate and arsenite mainly, the contamination of groundwater by salts of this element originates what is known as endemic regional hydroarsenicism. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorizes the inorganic As within group I, as a substance with proven carcinogenic action for humans. It has been found the presence of As in groundwater in several countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Bangladesh, Canada and the United States. Regarding the concentration of arsenic in drinking water according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish maximum concentrations of 10 μg L⁻¹. In Mexico, in some states as Hidalgo, Morelos and Michoacán concentrations of arsenic have been found in bodies of water around 1000 μg L⁻¹, a concentration that is well above what is allowed by Mexican regulations with the NOM-127- SSA1-1994 that establishes a limit of 25 μg L⁻¹. Given this problem in Mexico, this research proposes the use of a natural Mexican zeolite (clinoptilolite type) native to the district of Etla in the central valley region of Oaxaca, as an adsorbent for the removal of arsenic. The zeolite was subjected to a conditioning with iron oxide by the precipitation-impregnation method with 0.5 M iron nitrate solution, in order to increase the natural adsorption capacity of this material. The removal of arsenic was carried out in a column with a fixed bed of conditioned zeolite, since it combines the advantages of a conventional filter with those of a natural adsorbent medium, providing a continuous treatment, of low cost and relatively easy to operate, for its implementation in marginalized areas. The zeolite was characterized by XRD, SEM/EDS, and FTIR before and after the arsenic adsorption tests, the results showed that the modification methods used are adequate to prepare adsorbent materials since it does not modify its structure, the results showed that with a particle size of 1.18 mm, an initial concentration of As (V) ions of 1 ppm, a pH of 7 and at room temperature, a removal of 98.7% was obtained with an adsorption capacity of 260 μg As g⁻¹ zeolite. The results obtained indicated that the conditioned zeolite is favorable for the elimination of arsenate in water containing up to 1000 μg As L⁻¹ and could be suitable for removing arsenate from pits of water.

Keywords: adsorption, arsenic, iron conditioning, natural zeolite

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Authors: Reva Sharan Thakur, Mrinalini Tiwari, Jyoti das

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Cerebral malaria-associated over expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines ultimately results in the up-regulation of adhesion molecules in the brain endothelium leading to sequestration of mature parasitized RBCs in the brain. The high-parasitic load subsequently results in increased mortality or development of neurological symptoms within a week of infection. Studies in the human and experimental cerebral malaria have implicated the breakdown of the integrity of blood-brain barrier during the lethal course of infection, cerebral dysfunction, and fatal organ pathologies that result in multi-organ failure. In the present study, using Plasmodium berghei Anka as a mouse model and in vitro conditions, we have investigated the effect of MSCs to attenuate cerebral malaria pathogenesis by diminishing the effect of inflammation altered organ morphology, reduced parasitemia, and increased survival of the mice. MSCs are also validated for their role in preventing BBB dysfunction and reducing malarial toxins. It was observed that administration of MSCs significantly reduced parasitemia and increased survival in Pb A infected mice. It was further demonstrated that MSCs play a significant role in reversing neurological complexities associated with cerebral malaria. Infusion of MSCs in infected mice decreased hemozoin deposition; oedema, and haemorrhagic lesions in vascular organs. MSCs administration also preserved the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and reduced neural inflammation. Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential of MSCs as an emerging anti-malarial candidate.

Keywords: cerebral malaria, mesenchymal stem cells, erythropoesis, cell death

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Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Sae Kyul Kim, Seung Il Ahn, Jae Hee Choi, Heejung Jung, Yejin Choi, Byung Yong Kim, Young Tae Hahm

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Opuntia ficus-indica is a member of the Cactaceae family that is widely grown in all the semiarid countries throughout the world. Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten (OFS), commonly known as prickly pear cactus, is commercially cultivated as a dietary foodstuffs and medicinal stuffs in Jeju Island, Korea. Owing to high viscosity of OFS’ pad, its application to the commercial field has been limited. When the low viscosity of OFS’s pad is obtained, it is useful for the manufacture of healthy food in the related field. This study was performed to obtain the optimal digestion conditions of food-grade enzymes (Pectinex, Viscozyme and Celluclast) with the powder of OFS stem. And also, the contents of water-soluble dietary fiber (WSDF) of the dried powder prepared by the extraction of OFS stem were monitored and optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM), which included 20 experimental points with 3 replicates for two independent variables (fermentation temperature and time). A central composite design was used to monitor the effect of fermentation temperature (30-90 °C, X1) and fermentation time (1-10h, X2) on dependent variables, such as viscosity (Y1), water-soluble dietary fiber (Y2) and dietary fiber yield (Y3). Estimated maximum values at predicted optimum conditions were in agreement with experimental values. Optimum temperature and duration were 50°C and 12 hours, respectively. Viscosity value reached 3.4 poise. Yield of water-soluble dietary fiber is determined in progress.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten, enzymatic fermentation, response surface methodology, water-soluble dietary fiber, viscosity

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Authors: Jawad Zakir, Syed Irtiza Ali Shah, Rana Shaharyar, Sidra Mahmood

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Y-force equation comprises aerodynamic forces, drag and side force with side slip angle β and weight component along with the coupled roll (φ) and pitch angles (θ). This research deals with the linearization of Y-force equation using Small Disturbance theory assuming equilibrium flight conditions for different state variables of aircraft. By using assumptions of Small Disturbance theory in non-linear Y-force equation, finally reached at linearized lateral rigid body equation of motion; which says that in linearized Y-force equation, the lateral acceleration is dependent on the other different aerodynamic and propulsive forces like vertical tail, change in roll rate (Δp) from equilibrium, change in yaw rate (Δr) from equilibrium, change in lateral velocity due to side force, drag and side force components due to side slip, and the lateral equation from coupled rotating frame to decoupled rotating frame. This paper describes implementation of this lateral linearized equation for aircraft control systems. Another significant parameter considered on which y-force equation depends is ‘c’ which shows that any change bought in the weight of aircrafts wing will cause Δφ and cause lateral force i.e. Y_c. This simplification also leads to lateral static and dynamic stability. The linearization of equations is required because much of mathematics control system design for aircraft is based on linear equations. This technique is simple and eases the linearization of the rigid body equations of motion without using any high-speed computers.

Keywords: Y-force linearization, small disturbance theory, side slip, aerodynamic force drag, lateral rigid body equation of motion

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Authors: Ronald Villamar-Torres, Michael Staudt, Christopher Viot

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Cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. is one of the most important industrial crops, producing the world leading natural textile fiber, but is very prone to arthropod attacks that reduce crop yield and quality. Cotton cultivation, therefore, makes an outstanding use of chemical pesticides. In reaction to herbivorous arthropods, cotton plants nevertheless show natural defense reactions, in particular through volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. These natural defense mechanisms are nowadays underutilized but have a very high potential for cotton cultivation, and elucidating their genetic bases will help to improve their use. Simulating herbivory attacks by mechanical wounding of cotton plants in greenhouse, we studied by qPCR the changes in gene expression for genes of the terpenoids biosynthesis pathway. Differentially expressed genes corresponded to higher levels of the terpenoids biosynthesis pathway and not to enzymes synthesizing particular terpenoids. The genes were mapped on the G. hirsutum L. reference genome; their global relationships inside the general metabolic pathways and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were visualized with iPath2. The chromatographic profiles of VOCs emissions indicated first monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes emissions, dominantly four molecules known to be involved in plant reactions to arthropod attacks. As a result, the study permitted to identify potential key genes for the emission of volatile terpenoids by cotton plants in reaction to an arthropod attack, opening possibilities for molecular-assisted cotton breeding in benefit of smallholder cotton growers.

Keywords: biosynthesis pathways, cotton, mechanisms of plant defense, terpenoids, volatile organic compounds

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Authors: Miroslav Mrlik, Marketa Ilcikova, Martin Cvek, Josef Osicka, Michal Sedlacik, Vladimir Pavlinek, Jaroslav Mosnacek

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Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are a unique type of materials consisting of two components, magnetic filler, and elastomeric matrix. Their properties can be tailored upon application of an external magnetic field strength. In this case, the change of the viscoelastic properties (viscoelastic moduli, complex viscosity) are influenced by two crucial factors. The first one is magnetic performance of the particles and the second one is off-state stiffness of the elastomeric matrix. The former factor strongly depends on the intended applications; however general rule is that higher magnetic performance of the particles provides higher MR performance of the MRE. Since magnetic particles possess low stability properties against temperature and acidic environment, several methods how to improve these drawbacks have been developed. In the most cases, the preparation of the core-shell structures was employed as a suitable method for preservation of the magnetic particles against thermal and chemical oxidations. However, if the shell material is not single-layer substance, but polymer material, the magnetic performance is significantly suppressed, due to the in situ polymerization technique, when it is very difficult to control the polymerization rate and the polymer shell is too thick. The second factor is the off-state stiffness of the elastomeric matrix. Since the MR effectivity is calculated as the relative value of the elastic modulus upon magnetic field application divided by elastic modulus in the absence of the external field, also the tuneability of the cross-linking reaction is highly desired. Therefore, this study is focused on the controllable modification of magnetic particles using a novel monomeric system based on 2-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)ethyl methacrylate. In this case, the short polymer chains of different chain lengths and low polydispersity index will be prepared, and thus tailorable stability properties can be achieved. Since the relatively thin polymer chains will be grafted on the surface of magnetic particles, their magnetic performance will be affected only slightly. Furthermore, also the cross-linking density will be affected, due to the presence of the short polymer chains. From the application point of view, such MREs can be utilized for, magneto-resistors, piezoresistors or pressure sensors especially, when the conducting shell on the magnetic particles will be created. Therefore, the selection of the pyrrole-based monomer is very crucial and controllably thin layer of conducting polymer can be prepared. Finally, such composite particle consisting of magnetic core and conducting shell dispersed in elastomeric matrix can find also the utilization in shielding application of electromagnetic waves.

Keywords: atom transfer radical polymerization, core-shell, particle modification, electromagnetic waves shielding

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Authors: Thepnarintra Praphanphat

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The purposes of this study were to investigate garment industry’s condition, problems, and need for assistance. The population of the study was 504 managers or managing directors of garment establishments finished apparel industrial manager and permission of the Department of Industrial Works 28, Ministry of Industry until January 1, 2012. In determining the sample size with the opening of the Taro Yamane finished at 95% confidence level is ± 5% deviation was 224 managers. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. Percentage, frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, and LSD were used to analyze the data. It was found that most establishments were of a large size, operated in a form of limited company for more than 15 years most of which produced garments for working women. All investment was made by Thai people. The products were made to order and distributed domestically and internationally. The total sale of the year 2010, 2011, and 2012 was almost the same. With respect to the problems of operating the business, the study indicated, as a whole, by- aspects, and by-items, that they were at a high level. The comparison of the level of problems of operating garment business as classified by general condition showed that problems occurring in business of different sizes were, as a whole, not different. In taking aspects into consideration, it was found that the level of problem in relation to production was different; medium establishments had more problems in production than those of small and large sizes. According to the by-items analysis, five problems were found different; namely, problems concerning employees, machine maintenance, number of designers, and price competition. Such problems in the medium establishments were at a higher level than those in the small and large establishments. Regarding business age, the examination yielded no differences as a whole, by-aspects, and by-items. The statistical significance level of this study was set at .05.

Keywords: garment industry, garment, fashion, competitive enhancement project

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Authors: Michael Wright, Tiago Costa

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The construction industry in SE Asia has been relying on S355 MPa “as rolled” H-beams for many years now. It is an easily sourced, metallurgically simple, reliable product that all designers, fabricators and constructors are familiar with. However, as the Global demand to better use our finite resources gets stronger, the need for an as-rolled S460 MPa H-Beam is becoming more apparent. The Financial benefits of an “as-rolled” S460 MPa H-beam are obvious. The S460 MPa beam which is currently available and used is fabricated from rolled strip. However, making H-beam from 3 x 460 MPa strips requires costly equipment, valuable welding skills & production time, all of which can be in short supply or better used for other purposes. The Metallurgical benefits of an “as-rolled” S460 MPa H-beam are consistency in the product. Fabricated H-beams have inhomogeneous areas where the strips have been welded together - parent metal, heat affected zone and weld metal all in the one body. They also rely heavily on the skill of the welder to guarantee a perfect, defect free weld. If this does not occur, the beam is intrinsically flawed and could lead to failure in service. An as-rolled beam is a relatively homogenous product, with the optimum strength and ductility produced by delivering steel with as fine as possible uniform cross sectional grain size. This is done by cost effective alloy design coupled with proper metallurgical process control implemented into an existing mill’s equipment capability and layout. This paper is designed to highlight the benefits of bring an “as-rolled” S460 MPa H-beam to the construction market place in SE Asia, and hopefully encourage the current “as-rolled” H-beam producers to rise to the challenge and produce an innovative high quality product for the local market.

Keywords: fine grained, As-rolled, long products, process control, metallurgy

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Authors: Zouhair Haddi, Stephane Delliaux, Jean-Francois Pons, Ismail Kechaf, Jean-Claude De Haro, Mustapha Ouladsine

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been considered as the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and a major public health burden associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Nowadays, telemedical approaches targeting cardiac outpatients situate AF among the most challenged medical issues. The automatic, early, and fast AF detection is still a major concern for the healthcare professional. Several algorithms based on univariate analysis have been developed to detect atrial fibrillation. However, the published results do not show satisfactory classification accuracy. This work was aimed at resolving this shortcoming by proposing multivariate data analysis methods for automatic AF detection. Four publicly-accessible sets of clinical data (AF Termination Challenge Database, MIT-BIH AF, Normal Sinus Rhythm RR Interval Database, and MIT-BIH Normal Sinus Rhythm Databases) were used for assessment. All time series were segmented in 1 min RR intervals window and then four specific features were calculated. Two pattern recognition methods, i.e., Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) neural network were used to develop classification models. PCA, as a feature reduction method, was employed to find important features to discriminate between AF and Normal Sinus Rhythm. Despite its very simple structure, the results show that the LVQ model performs better on the analyzed databases than do existing algorithms, with high sensitivity and specificity (99.19% and 99.39%, respectively). The proposed AF detection holds several interesting properties, and can be implemented with just a few arithmetical operations which make it a suitable choice for telecare applications.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, multivariate data analysis, automatic detection, telemedicine

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Authors: Jana Djounova

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The World Health Organization proposes an average annual reference level of 100 Bq/m³ to minimize health risks due to radon exposure in buildings. However, if this cannot be achieved under the country's specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq/m³. The World Health Organization recognized the relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, even at low doses. Radon in buildings is one of the most important indoor air pollutants, with harmful effects on the health of the population and especially children. This study presents the assessment of indoor radon concentration as air pollution and analyzes the exposure to radon of children and workers. Assessment of air pollution and exposure to indoor radon concentrations under the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, in the framework of grant No КП-06-Н23/1/07.12.2018 in kindergartens in two districts of Bulgaria (Razgrad and Silistra). Kindergartens were considered for the following reasons: 1these buildings are generally at the ground and/or the first floor, where radon concentration is generally higher than at upper floors; 2these buildings are attended by children, a population generally considered more sensitive to ionizing radiation, although little data is available for radon exposure. The measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed with passive methods (CR-39 track detectors) for the period from February to May 2015. One hundred fifty-six state kindergartens on the territories of two districts in Bulgaria have been studied. The variations of radon in the children's premises vary from 9 to 1087 Bq/m³. The established arithmetic mean value of radon levels in the kindergartens in Silistra is 139 Bq/m³ and in Razgrad 152 Bq/m³, respectively. The percentage of kindergarteners, where the radon in premises exceeds the Bulgarian reference level of 300 Bq/m³, was 19%. The exposure of children and workers in those kindergartens is high, so remediation measures of air pollution had been recommended. The difference in radon concentration in kindergartens in two districts was statistically analyzed to assess the influence of geography and geology and the difference

Keywords: air pollution, radon, kindergartens, detectors

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Authors: Teka Haile, Behailu Hawulte, Solomon Alemayehu

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Background: HIV virological failure still remains a problem in HV/AIDS treatment and care. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and identify the factors associated with viral non-suppression among HIV-positive adult patients on antiretroviral therapy in Woliso Town, Oromia, Ethiopia. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 424 HIV-positive patient’s attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Woliso Town during the period from August 25, 2020 to August 30, 2020. Data collected from patient medical records were entered into Epi Info version 2.3.2.1 and exported to SPSS version 21.0 for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with viral load non-suppression, and statistical significance of odds ratios were declared using 95% confidence interval and p-value < 0.05. Results: A total of 424 patients were included in this study. The mean age (± SD) of the study participants was 39.88 (± 9.995) years. The prevalence of HIV viral load non-suppression was 55 (13.0%) with 95% CI (9.9-16.5). Second-line ART treatment regimen (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 8.98, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.64, 30.58) and routine viral load testing (AOR = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.02) were significantly associated with virological non-suppression. Conclusion: Virological non-suppression was high, which hinders the achievement of the third global 95 target. The second-line regimen and routine viral load testing were significantly associated with virological non-suppression. It suggests the need to assess the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs for epidemic control. It also clearly shows the need to decentralize third-line ART treatment for those patients in need.

Keywords: virological non-suppression, HIV-positive, ART, Woliso town, Ethiopia

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Authors: Kidane workelul, Li xu, Xiaoyang Pang, Jiaping Lv

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Dairy products are exceptionally ideal media for the growth of microorganisms because of their high nutritional content. There are several ways that milk might get contaminated throughout the milking process, including how the raw milk is transported and stored, as well as how long it is kept before being processed. Psychrotrophic bacteria are among the one which can deteriorate the quality of milk mainly their heat resistance proteas and lipase enzyme. For this research purpose 8 selected strains of Psychrotrophic bacteria (Entrococcus hirae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas azotoformans, Pseudomonas putida, Exiguobacterium indicum, Pseudomonas paralactice, Acinetobacter indicum, Serratia liquefacients)are chosen and try to determine their characteristics based on the research methodology protocol. Thus, the 8 selected strains are cultured, plated incubate, extracted their genomic DNA and genome DNA was amplified, the purpose of the study was to identify their Psychrotrophic properties, lipase hydrolysis positive test, their optimal incubation temperature, designed primer using the noble strain P,flourescens conserved region area in target with lipA gene, optimized primer specificity as well as sensitivity and PCR detection for lipase positive strains using the design primers. Based on the findings both the selected 8 strains isolated from stored raw milk are Psychrotrophic bacteria, 6 of the selected strains except the 2 strains are positive for lipase hydrolysis, their optimal temperature is 20 to 30 OC, the designed primer specificity is very accurate and amplifies for those strains only with lipase positive but could not amplify for the others. Thus, the result is promising and could help in detecting the Psychrotrophic bacteria producing heat resistance enzymes (lipase) at early stage before the milk is processed and this will safe production loss for the dairy industry.

Keywords: dairy industry, heat-resistant, lipA, milk, primer and psychrotrophic

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