Search results for: connective tissue growth factor

Authors: J. Tamosaitiene

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The article focuses on the identification and classification of key risk management criteria that represent the most important sustainability aspects of the construction industry. The construction sector is one of the most important sectors in Lithuania. Nowadays, the assessment of the risk level of a construction project is especially important for the quality of construction projects, the growth of enterprises and the sector. To establish the most important criteria for successful growth of the sector, a questionnaire for experts was developed. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the expert judgement method and other multicriteria decision making (MCDM) methods were used to develop the hybrid model. The results were used to develop an integrated knowledge system for the measurement of a risk level particular to construction projects. The article presents a practical case that details the developed system, sustainable aspects, and risk assessment.

Keywords: risk, system, model, construction

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Authors: Waqas Shafqat Chattha, Muhammad Iqbal, Amir Shakeel

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Transcriptional factors are proteins that play a vital role in regulating the transcription of target genes in different biological processes and are being widely studied in different plant species. In the current era of genomics, plant genomes sequencing has directed to the genome-wide identification, analyses and categorization of diverse transcription factor families and hence provide key insights into their structural as well as functional diversity. The DNA-binding with One Finger (DOF) proteins belongs to C2-C2-type zinc finger protein family. DOF proteins are plant-specific transcription factors implicated in diverse functions including seed maturation and germination, phytohormone signalling, light-mediated gene regulation, cotton-fiber elongation and responses of the plant to biotic as well as abiotic stresses. In this context, a genome-wide in-silico analysis of DOF TF family in diploid cotton species i.e. Gossypium raimondii has enabled us to identify 55 non-redundant genes encoding DOF proteins renamed as GrDofs (Gossypium raimondii Dof). Gene distribution studies have shown that all of the GrDof genes are unevenly distributed across 12 out of 13 G. raimondii chromosomes. The gene structure analysis illustrated that 34 out of 55 GrDof genes are intron-less while remaining 21 genes have a single intron. Protein sequence-based phylogenetic analysis of putative 55 GrDOFs has divided these proteins into 5 major groups with various paralogous gene pairs. Molecular evolutionary studies aided with the conserved domain as well as gene structure analysis suggested that segmental duplications were the principal contributors for the expansion of Dof genes in G. raimondii.

Keywords: diploid cotton , G. raimondii, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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Authors: Bouchiha Hanene, Rouabhi Rachid, Bouchama Khaled, Djebar Berrebbah Houraya, Djebar Mohamed Reda

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Recently, some natural products such as essentials oils (EOs) have been used in the fields as alternative to synthetic compounds, to minimize the negative impacts to the environment. This fact has led to questions about the possible impact of EOs on ecosystems. Currently in toxicology, the use of alternative models can help to understand the mechanisms of toxic action, at different levels of organization of ecosystems. Algae, protozoa and bacteria form the base of the food chain and protozoan cells are used as bioindicators often of pollution in environment. Unicellular organisms offer the possibility of direct study of independent cells with specific characteristics of individual cells and whole organisms at the same time. This unicellular facilitates the study of physiological processes, and effects of pollutants at the cellular level, which makes it widely used to assess the toxic effects of various xenobiotics. This study aimed to verify the effects of EOs of one famous plant used tremendously in our folk medicine, namely Artemisia herba alba in causing acute toxicity (24 hours) and chronic (15 days) toxicity for model cellular (Paramecium sp). To this end, cellular’s of paramecium were exposed to various concentrations (Three doses were chosen) of EOs extracted from plant (Artemisia herba alba). In the first experiment, the cellular s cultures were exposed for 48 hours to different concentrations to determine the median lethal concentration (DL50). We followed the evolution of physiological parameters (growth), biochemical (total proteins, respiratory metabolism), as well as the variations of a bio marker the GSH. Our results highlighted a light inhibition of the growth of the protozoa as well as a disturbance of the contents of total proteins and a reduction in the reduced rate of glutathione. The polarographic study revealed a stimulation of the consumption of O2 and this at the treated cells.

Keywords: essential oils, protozoa, bio indicators, toxicity, Growth, bio marker, proteins, polarographic

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Authors: Nazira Kakulia, Tsotne Zhghenti

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The institutional development is one of the actual topics in economics science. New trends and directions of institutional development mostly depend on its structure and framework. Transformation of institutions is an important problem for every economy, especially for developing countries. The first research goal is to determine the importance and interactions between different institutions in Georgia. Using World Governance Indicators and Economic Freedom indexes it can be calculated the size for each institutional group. The second aim of this research is to evaluate Georgian institutional backwardness in comparison to other post-communist economies. We use statistical and econometric methods to evaluate the difference between the levels of institutional development in Georgia and in leading post-communist economies. Within the scope of this research, major findings are coefficients which are an assessment of their deviation (i.e. lag) of institutional indicators between Georgia and leading post-communist country which should be compared. The last part of the article includes analysis around the selected coefficients.

Keywords: post-communist transition, institutions, economic growth, institutional development

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Authors: Andabayeva Dina, Avakova Raushangul, Kortabayeva Gulzhamal, Rakhymbay Bauyrzhan

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This article attempts to give an overview of the language situation and language planning in Kazakhstan. Statistical data is given and excursion to history of languages in Kazakhstan is done. Particular emphasis is placed on the national- cultural component of the Kazakh people, namely the impact of the specificity of the Kazakh language on ethnic identity. Language is one of the basic aspects of national identity. Recently, in the Republic of Kazakhstan purposeful work on language development has been conducted. Optimal solution of language problems is a factor of interethnic relations harmonization, strengthening and consolidation of the peoples and public consent. Development of languages - one of the important directions of the state policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The problem of the state language, as part of national (civil) identification play a huge role in the successful integration process of Kazakh society. And quite rightly assume that one of the foundations of a new civic identity is knowing Kazakh language by all citizens of Kazakhstan. The article is an analysis of the language situation in Kazakhstan in close connection with the peculiarities of cultural identity.

Keywords: Kazakhstan, mentality, language policy, ethnolinguistics, language planning, language personality

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Authors: Saha Saradindu, Das Payel, Somdeb BoseDasgupta

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Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacteria tuberculosis is a dreadful disease and more so with the advent of extreme and total drug-resistant species. Mycobacterial pathogenesis is an ever-changing paradigm from phagosome maturation block to phagosomal escape into macrophage cytosol and finally acid tolerance and survival inside the lysosome. Mycobacteria are adept at subverting the host immune response by highjacking host cell signaling and secreting virulence factors. One such virulence factor is a ser/thr kinase; Protein kinase G (PknG), which is known to prevent phagosome maturation. The host substrates of PknG, allowing successful pathogenesis still remain an enigma. Hence we carried out a comparative phosphoproteomic screen and identified a number of substrates phosphorylated by PknG. We characterized some of these substrates in vivo and in vitro and observed that PknG mediated phosphorylation of these substrates leads to reduced TNFa production as well as decreased response to TNFa induced macrophage necroptosis, thus enabling mycobacterial survival and proliferation.

Keywords: mycobacteria, Protein kinase G, phosphoproteomics, necroptosis

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Authors: H. M. Ferreira, H. Cockings, D. F. Gordon

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Climate change is driving a transition in the energy sector, with low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen (H2) emerging as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the successful implementation of a hydrogen economy requires an expansion of hydrogen production, transportation and storage capacity. The costs associated with this transition are high but can be partly mitigated by adapting the current oil and natural gas networks, such as pipeline, an important component of the hydrogen infrastructure, to transport pure or blended hydrogen. Steel pipelines are designed to withstand fatigue, one of the most common causes of pipeline failure. However, it is well established that some materials, such as steel, can fail prematurely in service when exposed to hydrogen-rich environments. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate how defects (e.g. inclusions, dents, and pre-existing cracks) will interact with hydrogen under cyclic loading and, ultimately, to what extent hydrogen induced failure will limit the service conditions of steel pipelines. This presentation will explore how the exposure of API 5L X65 to a hydrogen-rich environment and cyclic loads will influence its susceptibility to hydrogen induced failure. That evaluation will be performed by a combination of several techniques such as hydrogen permeation testing (ISO 17081:2014), fatigue crack growth (FCG) testing (ISO 12108:2018 and AFGROW modelling), combined with microstructural and fractographic analysis. The development of a FCG test setup coupled with an electrochemical cell will be discussed, along with the advantages and challenges of measuring crack growth rates in electrolytic hydrogen environments. A detailed assessment of several electrolytic charging conditions will also be presented, using hydrogen permeation testing as a method to correlate the different charging settings to equivalent hydrogen concentrations and effective diffusivity coefficients, not only on the base material but also on the heat affected zone and weld of the pipelines. The experimental work is being complemented with AFGROW, a useful FCG modelling software that has helped inform testing parameters and which will also be developed to ultimately help industry experts perform structural integrity analysis and remnant life characterisation of pipeline steels under representative conditions. The results from this research will allow to conclude if there is an acceleration of the crack growth rate of API 5L X65 under the influence of a hydrogen-rich environment, an important aspect that needs to be rectified instandards and codes of practice on pipeline integrity evaluation and maintenance.

Keywords: AFGROW, electrolytic hydrogen charging, fatigue crack growth, hydrogen, pipeline, steel

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Authors: Mlondi Ndovela

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Globally, the manufacturing employment has been declining and the South African manufacturing sector experiences the very same trend. Despite the commonality between the global and South African manufacturing trend, there is an understanding that local areas provide distinct contributions to the provincial/national economy. Therefore, the growth/decline of a particular manufacturing division in one local area may not be evident in another area since economic performances vary from region to region. In view of the above, the study employed the Esteban-Marquillas model of shift-share analysis (SSA) to conduct an empirical analysis of manufacturing employment performance at uMhlathuze Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The study set out two objectives; those are, to quantify uMhlathuze manufacturing jobs that are attributed to the provincial manufacturing employment trends and identify manufacturing divisions are growing/declining in terms of employment. To achieve these objectives, the study sampled manufacturing employment data from 2010 to 2017 and this data was categorised into ten manufacturing divisions. Furthermore, the Esteban-Marquillas model calculated manufacturing employment in terms of two effects, namely; provincial growth effect (PGE) and industrial mix effect (IME). The results show that even though uMhlathuze manufacturing sector has a positive PGE (+230), the municipality performed poorly in terms of IME (-291). A further analysis included other economic sectors of the municipality to draw employment performance comparison and the study found that agriculture; construction; trade, catering and accommodation; and transport, storage and communication, performed well above manufacturing sector in terms of PGE (+826) and IME (+532). This suggests that uMhlathuze manufacturing sector is not necessarily declining; however, other economic sectors are growing faster and bigger than it is, therefore, reducing the employment share of the manufacturing sector. To promote manufacturing growth from a policy standpoint, the government could create favourable macroeconomic policies such as import substitution policies and support labour-intensive manufacturing divisions. As a result, these macroeconomic policies can help to protect local manufacturing firms and stimulate the growth of manufacturing employment.

Keywords: allocation effect, Esteban-Marquillas model, manufacturing employment, regional competitive effect, shift-share analysis

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Authors: Soumen Mitra, Aparna Saha

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The perceived link between the city and the countryside is evolving rapidly and is getting shifted away from the assumptions of mainstream paradigms to new conceptual networks where rural-urban links are being redefined. In this conceptual field, the fringe interface is still considered as a transitional zone between city and countryside, and is defined as a diffused area rather than a discrete territory. In developing countries fringe areas are said to have both rural and urban characteristics but are devoid of basic municipal facilities. Again, when the urban core areas envelopes the fringe areas along with it the character of fringe changes but services are not well facilitated which in turn results to uneven growth, rapid and haphazard development. One of the major services present in fringe areas is inter-linkages in terms of transit corridors. Planning for the appropriate and sustainable future of fringe areas requires a sheer focus on these corridors pertaining to transit facility, for better accessibility and mobility. Inducing a transit facility plan enhances the various facilities and also increases their proximity for user groups. The study focuses on the western fringe region of Kolkata metropolis which is a major source of industrial hub and housing sector, thus converting the agricultural lands into non-agricultural use. The study emphasizes on providing transit facilities both physical (stops, sheds, terminals, etc.) and operational (ticketing system, route prioritization, integration of transit modes, etc.), to facilitate the region as well as accelerate the growth pattern systematically. Hence, the scope of this work is on the basis of prevailing conditions in fringe areas and attempts for an effective transit facility plan. The strategies and recommendations are in terms of road widening, service coverage, feeder route prioritization, bus stops facilitation, pedestrian facilities, etc, which in turn enhances the region’s growth pattern. Thus, this context of transit facility planning acts as a catalytic agent to avoid the future unplanned growth and accelerates it towards an integrated development.

Keywords: feeder route, fringe, municipal planning, transit facility

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Authors: Aqsa Kanwal, Min Zhang, Faisal Sharaf, Li Chengtao

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The globe is facing increasing challenges of plastic pollution due to single-use of plastic-based packaging material. The plastic material is continuously being dumped into the natural environment, which causes serious harm to the entire ecosystem. Polymer degradation in nature is very difficult, so the use of biodegradable polymers instead of conventional polymers can mitigate this issue. Due to the good mechanical properties and biodegradability, aliphatic-aromatic polymers are being widely commercialized. Due to the advancement in molecular biology, many studies have reported specific microbes that can effectively degrade PBAT. Aliphatic polyesters undergo hydrolytic cleavage of ester groups, so they can be easily degraded by microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the enzymatic degradation of poly (butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) copolymer using lipase B from Candida Antarctica (CALB). Results of the study displayed approximately 5.16 % loss in PBAT mass after 2 days which significantly increased to approximately 15.7 % at the end of the experiment (12 days) as compared to blank. The pH of the degradation solution also displayed significant reduction and reached the minimum value of 6.85 at the end of the experiment. The structure and morphology of PBAT after degradation were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TGA. FTIR analysis showed that after degradation many peaks become weaker and the peak at 2950 cm-1 almost disappeared after 12 days. The XRD results indicated that as the degradation time increases the intensity of diffraction peaks slightly increases as compared to the blank PBAT. TGA analysis also confirmed the successful degradation of PBAT with time. SEM micrographs further confirmed that degradation has occurred. Hence, biodegradable polymers can widely be used. The effect of PBAT biodegradation on plant growth was also studied and it was found that PBAT has no toxic effect on the growth of plants. Hence PBAT can be employed in a wide range of applications.

Keywords: aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, lipase (CALB), biodegradation, plant growth

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Authors: Chika C. Ogueke, Ijeoma M. Agunwah

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The antimicrobial activities and preservative potentials of crude extracts of Alstonia boonei stem bark and Euphorbia hirta leaves were studied. Soxhlet extraction and cold ethanol extraction methods were used for the extraction of the dried and ground plant samples. Well in agar diffusion method was used for the antimicrobial screening at different concentrations of 25mg/ml, 50mg/ml, 100mg/ml and 200mg/ml on E.coli and B.subtilis. The preservative effects of the extracts at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% singly and in combination were determined in minced meat using E. coli and B. subtilis as test isolates. Phytochemical analysis was also conducted on the extracts using standard analytical methods. E.hirta cold and A.boonei cold extracts gave the highest zone of growth inhibition on E. coli and B.substilis with 20mm zone diameter at 200mg/ml concentration. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and cardiac glycosides. A.boonei at 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% produced a log cycle reduction on the growth of E.coli. Mixture of A. boonei and E. hirta extracts (1:1) at 0.1% and 0.2% also produced a log cycle reduction on the growth of E.coli and B. subtilis, however the A. boonei extracts had more significant effect on the isolates. The observed antimicrobial activities are attributed to the phytochemicals identified in the extracts. The results reveal the potentials of plant extracts as natural antimicrobial preservatives in minced meat. Thus the crude extracts can act as inhibitors of bacteria in a food system. Upon further purification better results may be obtained.

Keywords: antimicrobial preservative, crude extracts, minced meat, test isolates

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Authors: Haizhong Zhang, Yan-Gang Zhao

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Fundamental period, mode shape, and participation factor are important basic information for the understanding of earthquake response of ground. In this study, a simple approach is presented to calculate these basic information of layered soil profiles. To develop this method, closed form equations are derived for analysis of free vibration of layered soil profiles firstly, based on equilibrium between inertia and elastic forces. Then, by further associating with the Madera procedure developed for estimation of fundamental period, a simple method that can directly determine the fundamental period, mode shape and participation factor is proposed. The proposed approach can be conveniently implemented in simple spreadsheets and easily used by practicing engineers. In addition, the accuracy of the proposed approach is investigated by analyzing first vibration mode of 67 representative layered soil profiles, it is found that results by the proposed method agree very well with accurate results.

Keywords: layered soil profile, natural vibration, fundamental period, fundamental mode shape

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Authors: Sarah Kalaouze, Maxine Iannucelli, Kristen Dunfield

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Children’s implicit beliefs regarding intelligence (i.e., intelligence mindsets) influence their motivation, perseverance, and success. Previous research suggests that the way parents perceive failure influences the development of their child’s intelligence mindsets. We invited 151 children-parent dyads (Age= 5–6 years) to complete a series of difficult puzzles over zoom. We assessed parents’ intelligence and failure mindsets using questionnaires and recorded parents’ person/performance-oriented (e.g., “you are smart” or "you were almost able to complete that one) and process-oriented (e.g., “you are trying really hard” or "maybe if you place the bigger pieces first") failure feedback. We were interested in observing the relation between parental mindsets and the type of feedback provided. We found that parents’ intelligence mindsets were not predictive of the feedback they provided children. Failure mindsets, on the other hand, were predictive of failure feedback. Parents who view failure-as-debilitating provided more person-oriented feedback, focusing on performance and personal ability. Whereas parents who view failure-as-enhancing provided process-oriented feedback, focusing on effort and strategies. Taken all together, our results allow us to determine that although parents might already have a growth intelligence mindset, they don’t necessarily have a failure-as-enhancing mindset. Parents adopting a failure-as-enhancing mindset would influence their children to view failure as a learning opportunity, further promoting practice, effort, and perseverance during challenging tasks. The focus placed on a child’s learning, rather than their performance, encourages them to perceive intelligence as malleable (growth mindset) rather than fix (fixed mindset). This implies that parents should not only hold a growth mindset but thoroughly understand their role in the transmission of intelligence beliefs.

Keywords: mindset(s), failure, intelligence, parental feedback, parents

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Authors: Ilma Robo, Saimir Heta, Greta Plaka, Vera Ostreni

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Purpose: Drug gingival hyperplasia is an uncommon pathology encountered during routine work in dental units. The purpose of this paper is to present the clinical appearance of gingival hyperplasia caused by medications. There are already three classes of medications that cause hyperplasia and based on data from the literature, the clinical cases encountered and included in this study have been compared. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a total of 311 patients, out of which 182 patients were included in our study, meeting the inclusion criteria. After each patient's history was recorded and it was found that patients were in their knowledge of chronic illness, undergoing treatment of gingivitis hypertrophic drugs was performed with a clinical examination of oral cavity and assessment by vertical and horizontal evaluation according to the periodontal indexes. Results: Of the data collected during the study, it was observed that 97% of patients with gingival hyperplasia are treated with nifedipine. 84% of patients treated with selected medicines and gingival hyperplasia in the oral cavity has been exposed at time period for more than 1 year and 1 month. According to the GOI, in the first rank of this index are about 21% of patients, in the second rank are 52%, in the third rank are 24% and in the fourth grade are 3%. According to the horizontal growth index of gingival hyperplasia, grade 1 included about 61% of patients and grade 2 included about 39% of patients with gingival hyperplasia. Bacterial index divides patients by degrees: grading 0 - 8.2%, grading 1 - 32.4%, grading 2 - 14% and grading 3 - 45.1%. Conclusions: The highest percentage of gingival hyperplasia caused by drugs is due to dosing of nifedipine for a duration of dosing and application for systemic healing for more than 1 year.

Keywords: drug gingival hyperplasia, horizontal growth index, vertical growth index

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Authors: Abdul Manan

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Dielectric Resonators (DRs) have revolutionized the microwave wireless communication industry globally. There are three directions for research in ceramics for application in telecommunication industry Three key properties of ceramic dielectrics that determine their functionality at microwave and millimetrewave frequencies include relative permittivity (εr), unloaded quality factor Qu- the inverse of the dielectric loss (tanδ) and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf). Each direction requires specific properties. These dielectric properties are affected by a number of factors. These includes tolerance factor, onset of structural phase transitions, dark core formation, processing conditions, raw materials and impurities, order/disorder behavior, compositional ordering, porosity, humidity, grain size, orientation of the crystallites, and grain boundaries. The data related to these factors is scattered. The main purpose of this review is to bring these together and present the effects of these factors on the microwave dielectric properties. Control of these factors is important for improvement in the microwave properties. This review would be very helpful to the novice researchers and technologists in the field.

Keywords: order disorder, sintering, defect, porosity, grain boundaries

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Authors: Adriana Garcia-Gurrola, Carlos Adrian Peña Natividad, Ana Laura Martinez Martinez, Alberto Abraham Escobar Puentes, Estefania Ochoa Ruiz, Aracely Serrano Medina, Abraham Wall Medrano, Simon Yobanny Reyes Lopez

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. Quercetin is a natural flavonoid with a hypoglycemic effect, but reported data are inconsistent due mainly to the structural instability and low solubility of quercetin. Nanoencapsulation is a distinct strategy to overcome the intrinsic limitations of quercetin. Therefore, this work aims to develop a quercetin nano-formulation based on biopolymeric starch nanoparticles to enhance the release and hypoglycemic effect of quercetin in T2DM induced mice model. Starch-quercetin nanoparticles were synthesized using high-intensity ultrasonication, and structural and colloidal properties were determined by FTIR and DLS. For in vivo studies, CD1 male mice (n=25) were divided into five groups (n=5). T2DM was induced using a high-fat and high-sugar diet for 32 weeks and streptozotocin injection. Group 1 consisted of healthy mice fed with a normal diet and water ad libitum; Group 2 were diabetic mice treated with saline solution; Group 3 were diabetic mice treated with glibenclamide; Group 4 were diabetic mice treated with empty nanoparticles; and Group 5 was diabetic mice treated with quercetin nanoparticles. Quercetin nanoparticles had a hydrodynamic size of 232 ± 88.45 nm, a PDI of 0.310 ± 0.04 and a zeta potential of -4 ± 0.85 mV. The encapsulation efficiency of nanoparticles was 58 ± 3.33 %. No significant differences (p = > 0.05) were observed in biochemical parameters (lipids, insulin, and peptide C). Groups 3 and 5 showed a similar hypoglycemic effect, but quercetin nanoparticles showed a longer-lasting effect. Histopathological studies reveal that T2DM mice groups showed degenerated and fatty liver tissue; however, a treated group with quercetin nanoparticles showed liver tissue like that of the healthy mice group. These results demonstrate that quercetin nano-formulations based on starch nanoparticles are effective alternatives with hypoglycemic effects.

Keywords: quercetin, diabetes mellitus tipo 2, in vivo study, nanoparticles

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Authors: Lukas J. Evans, Danilo D. Fernando

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Shrub willows (Salix spp.) have many characteristics which make them suitable for a variety of applications such as riparian zone buffers, environmental contaminant sequestration, living snow fences, and biofuel production. In some cases, these functions are limited due to physical or financial obstacles associated with the number of individuals needed to reasonably satisfy that purpose. One way to increase the efficiency of willows is to bioengineer them with the genetic improvements suitable for the desired use. To accomplish this goal, an optimized in vitro transformation protocol via Agrobacterium tumefaciens is necessary to reliably express genes of interest. Therefore, the aim of this study is to observe the influence of tissue culture with different willow cultivars, hormones, and explants on the percentage of calli expressing reporter gene green florescent protein (GFP) to find ideal transformation conditions. Each callus was produced from 1 month old open-pollinated seedlings of three Salix miyabeana cultivars (‘SX61’, ‘WT1’, and ‘WT2’) from three different explants (lamina, petiole, and internodes). Explants were cultured for 1 month on an MS media with different concentrations of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (No hormones, 1 mg⁻¹L BAP only, 3 mg⁻¹L NAA only, 1 mg⁻¹L BAP and 3 mg⁻¹L NAA, and 3 mg⁻¹L BAP and 1 mg⁻¹L NAA) to produce a callus. Samples were then treated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens at an OD600 of 0.6-0.8 to insert the transgene GFP for 30 minutes, co-cultivated for 72 hours, and selected on the same media type they were cultured on with added 7.5 mg⁻¹L of Hygromycin for 1 week before GFP visualization under a UV dissecting scope. Percentage of GFP expressing calli as well as the average number of fluorescing GFP units per callus were recorded and results were evaluated through an ANOVA test (α = 0.05). The WT1 internode-derived calli on media with 3 mg-1L NAA+1 mg⁻¹L BAP and mg⁻¹L BAP alone produced a significantly higher percentage of GFP expressing calli than each other group (19.1% and 19.4%, respectively). Additionally, The WT1 internode group cultured with 3 mg⁻¹L NAA+1 mg⁻¹L BAP produced an average of 2.89 GFP units per callus while the group cultivated with 1 mg⁻¹L BAP produced an average of 0.84 GFP units per callus. In conclusion, genotype, explant choice, and hormones all play a significant role in increasing successful transformation in willows. Future studies to produce whole callus GFP expression and subsequent plantlet regeneration are necessary for a complete willow transformation protocol.

Keywords: agrobacterium, callus, Salix, tissue culture

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Authors: Bercem Kiran-Yildirim, Volker Gaukel

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Ice recrystallization (IR) which occurs especially during frozen storage is an undesired process due to the possible influence on the quality of products. As a result of recrystallization, the total volume of ice remains constant, but the size, number, and shape of ice crystals change. For instance, as indicated in the literature, the size of ice crystals in ice cream increases due to recrystallization. This results in texture deterioration. Therefore, the inhibition of ice recrystallization is of great importance, not only for food industry but also for several other areas where sensitive products are stored frozen, like pharmaceutical products or organs and blood in medicine. Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) have the unique ability to inhibit ice growth and in consequence inhibit recrystallization. This effect is based on their ice binding affinity. In the presence of IBP in a solution, ice crystal growth is inhibited during temperature decrease until a certain temperature is reached. The melting during temperature increase is not influenced. The gap between melting and freezing points is known as thermal hysteresis (TH). In literature, the TH activity is usually investigated under laboratory conditions in IBP buffer solutions. In product applications (e.g., food) there are many other solutes present which may influence the TH activity. In this study, a subset of IBPs, so-called antifreeze proteins (AFPs), is used for the investigation of the influence of sucrose solution concentration on the TH activity. For the investigation, a polarization microscope (Nikon Eclipse LV100ND) equipped with a digital camera (Nikon DS-Ri1) and a cold stage (Linkam LTS420) was used. In a first step, the equipment was established and validated concerning the accuracy of TH measurements based on literature data.

Keywords: ice binding proteins, ice crystals, sucrose solution, thermal hysteresis

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Authors: Sun Jin Park, Kyung-Ja Cho

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This study focused on characteristics related to hasty behaviour. To investigate the relation between personal characteristics and hasty behaviour, 601 data were collected, 335 males and 256 females answered their own 'social avoidance and distress’, ‘anxiety’, ‘sensation seeking', 'hope', and ' hasty behaviour. And then 591 data were used for the analysis. The factor analysis resulted hasty behaviour consisted of 5 factors, time pressure, isolation, uncomfortable situation, boring condition, and expectation of reward. The result showed anxiety, sensation seeking, and hope related to hasty behaviour. Specifically, anxiety was involved in every hasty behaviour. This result means that psychological tension and worry are related to hasty behaviour in common. 'Social avoidance and distress', 'sensation seeking' and 'hope' influenced on hasty behaviour under time pressure, in isolation, in expectation of rewards respectively. This means that each factor of hasty behaviour has anxiety as its basis, expressed through a varied nature.

Keywords: hasty behaviour, social avoidance and distress, anxiety, sensation seeking, hope

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Authors: Pranab Kumar Goswami

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According to WHO, over 1000 million people worldwide are employed in small-scale industries. The ‘garment’ industry’ is one such industry in developing countries. These garment SMEs are mostly run by private establishments in the unorganized sector to avoid legal obligations of OSH provisions. The OSH standards are very poor and even basic health and safety provisions are not provided in such units. The study has been conducted in India among workers employed in the ‘garment’ industry with the objectives to analyze the types and extent of occupational health hazards of the garment workers and to assess the relationship of sociodemographic and occupational factors with various health hazards. The survey method, the tabular method followed by applying simple statistical technique, has been taken into account to analyze the data collected from three SME garment industries in Delhi (India-Asia). The study was conducted in Delhi from August-2019 to October-2020. A random sampling of 70 workers from three factories has been chosen for this study. The study shows that most of the workers were males (82%) and were in the 18-50 age group (78%), with none below 18 years of age. It was found that 26% of the workers were illiterate and most of them belonged to poor socioeconomic status. The study revealed that the nature of the hazards in garment industries in India is mostly physical and mechanical. We found that musculoskeletal problems (54%) were the commonest health problem. The body areas commonly affected were neck, low back, hand, wrist, finger, and shoulder. If garment workers’ health is affected by occupational hazards, it will impact on national health and economic growth of developing countries. Health is a joint responsibility of both government and employing authority.

Keywords: garment, MSD, health hazard, social factor

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Authors: Nükhet Konuk, N. Gamze Turan, Yüksel Ardalı

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Cities play a vital role in the social fabric of countries and in national and regional economic growth worldwide; however, the environmental effects of such growth need to be assessed and managed better. The critical and most immediate problems faced by cities of developing countries are the health impacts of urban pollution that derive from inadequate water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste services, poor urban and industrial waste management, and air pollution. As globalization continues, earth's natural processes transform local problems into international issues. The aim of this study is to provide a broad overview of the pollution from urban wastes and emissions in Turkey which is a developing country. It is aimed to underline the significance of reorganizing the institutional tools in a worldwide perspective in order to generate coherent solutions to urban problems, and to enhance urban quality.

Keywords: environmental pollution, developing countries, environmental degradation, urban environmental problems

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Authors: Chih-Chung Huang, Po-Hsun Peng

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Ultrasound transient elastography has become a valuable tool for many clinical diagnoses, such as liver diseases and breast cancer. The pathological tissue can be distinguished by elastography due to its stiffness is different from surrounding normal tissues. An ultrafast frame rate of ultrasound imaging is needed for transient elastography modality. The elastography obtained in the ultrafast system suffers from a low quality for resolution, and affects the robustness of the transient elastography. In order to overcome these problems, a coherent plane wave compounding technique has been proposed for conventional ultrasound system which the operating frequency is around 3-15 MHz. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel beamforming technique for high frequency ultrasound coherent plane-wave compounding imaging and the simulated results will provide the standards for hardware developments. Plane-wave compounding imaging produces a series of low-resolution images, which fires whole elements of an array transducer in one shot with different inclination angles and receives the echoes by conventional beamforming, and compounds them coherently. Simulations of plane-wave compounding image and focused transmit image were performed using Field II. All images were produced by point spread functions (PSFs) and cyst phantoms with a 64-element linear array working at 35MHz center frequency, 55% bandwidth, and pitch of 0.05 mm. The F number is 1.55 in all the simulations. The simulated results of PSFs and cyst phantom which were obtained using single, 17, 43 angles plane wave transmission (angle of each plane wave is separated by 0.75 degree), and focused transmission. The resolution and contrast of image were improved with the number of angles of firing plane wave. The lateral resolutions for different methods were measured by -10 dB lateral beam width. Comparison of the plane-wave compounding image and focused transmit image, both images exhibited the same lateral resolution of 70 um as 37 angles were performed. The lateral resolution can reach 55 um as the plane-wave was compounded 47 angles. All the results show the potential of using high-frequency plane-wave compound imaging for realizing the elastic properties of the microstructure tissue, such as eye, skin and vessel walls in the future.

Keywords: plane wave imaging, high frequency ultrasound, elastography, beamforming

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Authors: Zakaria Boual, Abdellah Kemassi, Toufik Chouana, Philippe Michaud, Mohammed Didi Ould El Hadj

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In order to investigate the prebiotic potential of oligosaccharides prepared by chemical hydrolysis of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) from Zizyphus lotus leaves, the effect of oligosaccharides on bacterial growth was studied. The chemical composition of WSP was evaluated by colorimetric assays revealed the average values: 7.05±0.73% proteins and 86.21±0.74% carbohydrates, among them 64.81±0.42% are neutral sugar and the rest 16.25±1.62% are uronic acids. The characterization of monosaccharides was determined by high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) was found to be composed of galactose (23.95%), glucose (21.30%), rhamnose (20.28%), arabinose (9.55%), and glucuronic acid (22.95%). The effects of oligosaccharides on the growth of lactic acid bacteria were compared with those of fructo-oligosaccharide (RP95). The oligosaccharides concentration was 1g/L of man rogosa sharpe broth. Bacterial growth was assessed during 2, 4.5, 6.5, 9, 12, 16 and 24 h by measuring the optical density of the cultures at 600 nm (OD600) and pH values. During fermentation, pH in broth cultures decreased from 6.7 to 5.87±0.15. The enumeration of lactic acid bacteria indicated that oligosaccharides led to a significant increase in bacteria (P≤0.05) compared to the control. The fermentative metabolism appeared to be faster on RP95 than on oligosaccharides from Zizyphus lotus leaves. Both RP95 and oligosaccharides showed clear prebiotic effects, but had differences in fermentation kinetics because of to the different degree of polymerization. This study shows the prebiotic effectiveness of oligosaccharides, and provides proof for the selection of leaves of Zizyphus lotus for use as functional food ingredients.

Keywords: Zizyphus lotus, polysaccharides, characterization, prebiotic effects

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Authors: L. Bouqbis, H.W. Koyro, M. C. Harrouni, S. Daoud, L. F. Z. Ainlhout, C. I. Kammann

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The application of biochar to soils is becoming more and more common. Its application which is generally reported to improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils, has an indirect effect on soil health and increased crop yields. However, many of the previous results are highly variable and dependent mainly on the initial soil properties, biochar characteristics, and production conditions. In this study, two biochars which are biochar II (BC II) derived from a blend of paper sludge and wheat husks and biochar 005 (BC 005) derived from sewage sludge with a KCl additive, are used, and the physical and chemical properties of BC II are characterized. To determine the potential impact of salt stress and toxic and volatile substances, the second part of this study focused on the effect biochars have on germination of salad (Lactuca sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and cress (Lepidium sativum) respectively. Our results indicate that Biochar II showed some unique properties compared to the soil, such as high EC, high content of K, Na, Mg, and low content of heavy metals. Concerning salad and barley germination test, no negative effect of BC II and BC 005 was observed. However, a negative effect of BC 005 at 8% level was revealed. The test of the effect of volatile substances on germination of cress revealed a positive effect of BC II, while a negative effect was observed for BC 005. Moreover, the water holding capacities of biochar-sand mixtures increased with increasing biochar application. Collectively, BC II could be safely used for agriculture and could provide the potential for a better plant growth.

Keywords: biochar, phytotoxic tests, seedlings growth, water holding capacity

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Authors: Koirala Abarodh, Maghaiya Ujjwal, Guragain Phani Raj

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This analysis focuses on defining the spectrum evaluation model for telecom operators in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO). A quantitative approach for specific case analysis research methodology was used for identifying the results. Specific input parameters like target User experience, year on year traffic growth, capacity site limit per year, target additional spectrum type, bandwidth, spectrum efficiency, UE penetration have been used for the spectrum evaluation process and desired outputs in terms of the number of sites, capex in USD and required spectrum bandwidth have been calculated. Furthermore, this study gives a comparison of capex investment for target growth with and without addition spectrum. As a result, the combination of additional spectrum bands of 700 and 2600 MHz has a better evaluation in terms of TCO and performance. It is our recommendation to use these bands for expansion rather than expansion in the current 1800 and 2100 bands.

Keywords: spectrum, capex planning, case study methodology, TCO

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Authors: Inaki Maulida Hakim, T. Yuri M. Zagloel, Astari Wulandari

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Six sigma is a framework that is used to identify inefficiency so that the cause of inefficiency will be known and right improvement to overcome cause of inefficiency can be conducted. This paper presents result of implementing six sigma to improve piston assembly line in Manufacturing Laboratory, Universitas Indonesia. Six sigma framework will be used to analyze the significant factor of inefficiency that needs to be improved which causes bottleneck in assembly line. After analysis based on six sigma framework conducted, line balancing method was chosen for improvement to overcome causative factor of inefficiency which is differences time between workstation that causes bottleneck in assembly line. Then after line balancing conducted in piston assembly line, the result is increase in efficiency. Efficiency is shown in the decreasing of Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO) from 900,000 to 700,000, the increasing of level of labor productivity from 0.0041 to 0.00742, the decreasing of idle time from 121.3 seconds to 12.1 seconds, and the increasing of output, which is from 1 piston in 5 minutes become 3 pistons in 5 minutes.

Keywords: assembly line, line balancing, productivity, six sigma

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Authors: Shaleeza Sohail

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Self, and peer evaluations are some of the main components in almost all group assignments and projects in higher education institutes. These evaluations provide students an opportunity to better understand the learning outcomes of the assignment and/or project. A number of online systems have been developed for this purpose that provides automated assessment and feedback of students’ contribution in a group environment based on self and peer evaluations. All these systems lack a progressive aspect of these assessments and feedbacks which is the most crucial factor for ongoing improvement and life-long learning. In addition, a number of assignments and projects are designed in a manner that smaller or initial assessment components lead to a final assignment or project. In such cases, the evaluation and feedback may provide students an insight into their performance as a group member for a particular component after the submission. Ideally, it should also create an opportunity to improve for next assessment component as well. Self and Peer Progressive Assessment and Feedback System encourages students to perform better in the next assessment by providing a comparative analysis of the individual’s contribution score on an ongoing basis. Hence, the student sees the change in their own contribution scores during the complete project based on smaller assessment components. Self-Assessment Factor is calculated as an indicator of how close the self-perception of the student’s own contribution is to the perceived contribution of that student by other members of the group. Peer-Assessment Factor is calculated to compare the perception of one student’s contribution as compared to the average value of the group. Our system also provides a Group Coherence Factor which shows collectively how group members contribute to the final submission. This feedback is provided for students and teachers to visualize the consistency of members’ contribution perceived by its group members. Teachers can use these factors to judge the individual contributions of the group members in the combined tasks and allocate marks/grades accordingly. This factor is shown to students for all groups undertaking same assessment, so the group members can comparatively analyze the efficiency of their group as compared to other groups. Our System provides flexibility to the instructors for generating their own customized criteria for self and peer evaluations based on the requirements of the assignment. Students evaluate their own and other group members’ contributions on the scale from significantly higher to significantly lower. The preliminary testing of the prototype system is done with a set of predefined cases to explicitly show the relation of system feedback factors to the case studies. The results show that such progressive feedback to students can be used to motivate self-improvement and enhanced team skills. The comparative group coherence can promote a better understanding of the group dynamics in order to improve team unity and fair division of team tasks.

Keywords: effective group work, improvement of team skills, progressive feedback, self and peer assessment system

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Authors: Amira M. Attia, Karim H. Youssef, Nabil H. Abbasi

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Demand Side Management (DSM) is an essential characteristic of current and future smart grid systems. As one of DSM functions, load management aims to control customers’ total electric consumption and utility’s load factor by using various load shaping techniques. However, applying load shaping techniques such as load shifting, peak clipping, or strategic conservation individually does not provide the desired level of improvement for load factor increment and/or customer’s bill reduction. In this paper, two load shaping techniques will be simulated as constrained optimization problems. The purpose is to reflect the application of combined load shifting and strategic conservation model together at the same time, and the application of combined load shifting and peak clipping model as well. The problem will be formulated and solved by using disciplined convex programming (CVX) based MATLAB® R2013b. Simulation results will be evaluated and compared for studying the most impactful multi-techniques model in improving load curve.

Keywords: convex programing, demand side management, load shaping, multiple, building energy optimization

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Authors: Shyam, G. N. Tiwari

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Energy matrices of flate plate water collectors partially covered by PV module have been estimated in the present study. Photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collector assembly is consisting of 5 water collectors having 2 m^2 area which are partially covered by photovoltaic module at its lower portion (inlet) and connected in series. The annual overall thermal energy and exergy are computed by using climatic data of New Delhi provided by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Pune, India. The Energy payback time on overall thermal and exergy basis are found to be 1.6 years and 17.8 years respectively. For 25 years of life time of system the energy production factor and life cycle conversion efficiency are estimated to be 15.8 and 0.04 respectively on overall thermal energy basis whereas for the same life time the energy production factor and life cycle conversion efficiency on exergy basis are obtained as 1.4 and 0.001.

Keywords: overall thermal energy, exergy, energy payback time, PVT water collectors

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Authors: A. Jéglot, F. Plauborg, M. K. Schnorr, R. S. Sørensen, L. Elsgaard

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Artificial wetlands such as woodchip bioreactors are efficient tools to remove nitrate from agricultural wastewater with a minimized environmental impact. However, the temperature dependence of the microbiological nitrate removal prevents the woodchip bioreactors from being an efficient system when the water temperature drops below 8℃. To quantify and describe the temperature effects on nitrate removal efficiency, we studied nitrate-reducing enrichments from a woodchip bioreactor in Denmark based on samples collected in Spring and Fall. Growth was quantified as optical density, and nitrate and nitrous oxide concentrations were measured in time-course experiments to compare the growth of the microbial population and the nitrate conversion efficiencies at different temperatures. Ammonia was measured to indicate the importance of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) in nitrate conversion for the given denitrifying community. The temperature responses observed followed the increasing trend proposed by the Arrhenius equation, indicating higher nitrate removal efficiencies at higher temperatures. However, the growth and the nitrous oxide production observed at low temperature provided evidence of the psychrotolerance of the microbial community under study. The assays conducted showed higher nitrate removal from the microbial community extracted from the woodchip bioreactor at the cold season compared to the ones extracted during the warmer season. This indicated the ability of the bacterial populations in the bioreactor to evolve and adapt to different seasonal temperatures.

Keywords: agricultural waste water treatment, artificial wetland, denitrification, psychrophilic conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 119