Search results for: human skin

Authors: Tharsinithevy Kirupananthan, Thivahary Geretharan

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Since creation of agricultural enterprises going to reflect the micro and macro level development of Sri Lanka, it is vey important to study the entrepreneurial trends of Agricultural Undergraduates. Likert scale scoring method was used to assess the responses of involvement, Role model effect, aware of demands, confidence and willingness. 37.8% were strongly agreed to do full time business. The average score for to do agriculture businesses were between agree and strongly agree. The average scores for role model effects were less than agree. Average score for aware of needs of society was less than agree. 75.7% of them were able to identify the demands of the society. The demands identified were human capital, self sufficient domestic production, safe and nutritional foods. The confidence of having enough skills score was less than agree. 64.1% of them were owned special skills to carry out entrepreneurial activities. Such skills were possession of different human capitals management skills. The willingness responses scores were more than agree. 61.5% of them were discussed their business plan. Their dream plans were development of new food products, Quality planting materials, harmless method of cultivation and floricultural industry. Those were supported by government policies and other related organizations.

Keywords: agricultural undergraduates, entrepreneurial trends, likert scale Sri Lanka

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Authors: Sakshi Yadav, Sushila Shekhawat

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This study addresses different types of points of view as seen in nature documentary films with the help of three eco documentaries, and it would be significant in understanding the role of the narrative point of view as a tool for showing and telling in documentaries. Narrative analysis of a film forms an essential aspect of the discourse of scholarship in film studies. Narration is the chain of events occurring in time and space. The notion of narrative provides the idea of coherence and wholeness to the story. There are various components that the narration carries, one of which is the perspective or point of view. The narrator plays the role of a mediator between the film and the audience; thus, his perspective influences the way the audience interprets the film. Feature films have been analyzed through narrative points of view; however, this research intends to conduct it from the angle of a nature documentary film. The study will examine narrative viewpoints unique to nature documentary films using three ecological documentary films-The Cove (2009), Tale of a forest (2012), and Before the flood (2016). This research will apply the framework of narrative theory and will investigate the impact of the different types of narrative points of view, as each portrays the human-nature relationship from a different standpoint, and it will also study the effect that the narrative point of view has on the mode of these eco documentaries.

Keywords: ecodocumentary, narrative, human-nature relationship, point of view

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Authors: K. W. A. M. Kokila, Matsui Kenichi

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Sri Lanka’s disaster management policy aims to protect lives and developments in disaster affected areas by effectively using resources for disaster risk reduction, emergency management, and community awareness. However, funding for these action programs has posed a serious challenge to the country’s economy. This paper examines the extent to which private-public partnerships (PPPs) can facilitate and expedite disaster management works. In particular, it discusses the results of the questionnaire survey among policymakers, government administrators, NGOs, and private businesses. This questionnaire was conducted in 2017. All respondents were selected based on their experience in PPP projects in the past. The survey focused on clarifying the effectiveness of past PPP projects as well as their efficiency and transparency. The respondents also provided their own opinions and suggestions to improve the future PPP projects in Sri Lanka. The questionnaire was distributed to fifteen persons. The results show that almost all respondents think that PPP projects are beneficial and important for future disaster risk management in Sri Lanka. The respondents, however, showed some reservation about effectiveness and transparency of the PPP process. This paper also discusses the results on the respondents’ perceptions about their capacity regarding human resources and management. This paper, overall, sheds light on technological, financial and human resource management practices in developed countries as well as policy and legislation provisions regarding PPP projects.

Keywords: disaster management, policy, private public partnership, projects

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Authors: Shivani Yadav

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The paper illustrates dynamics of nuclear resistance movements in India and how peoples’ power rises in response to subversion of justice and suppression of human rights. The need for democratizing nuclear policy runs implicit through the demands of the people protesting against nuclear programmes. The paper analyses the rationale behind developing nuclear energy according to the mainstream development model adopted by the state. Whether the prevalent nuclear discourse includes people’s ambitions and addresses local concerns or not is discussed. Primarily, the nuclear movements across India comprise of two types of actors i.e. the local population as well as the urban interlocutors. The first type of actor is the local population comprising of the people who are residing in the vicinity of the nuclear site and are affected by its construction, presence and operation. They have very immediate concerns against nuclear energy projects but also have an ideological stand against producing nuclear energy. The other types of actors are the urban interlocutors, who are the intellectuals and nuclear activists who have a principled stand against nuclear energy and help to aggregate the aims and goals of the movement on various platforms. The paper focuses on the nuclear resistance movements at five sites in India- Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu), Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Haripur (West Bengal), Mithivirdi (Gujrat) and Gorakhpur (Haryana). The origin, development, role of major actors and mass media coverage of all these movements are discussed in depth. Major observations from the Indian case include: first, nuclear policy discussions in India are confined to elite circles; secondly, concepts like national security and national interest are used to suppress dissent against mainstream policies; and thirdly, India’s energy policies focus on economic concerns while ignoring the human implications of such policies. In conclusion, the paper observes that the anti-nuclear movements question not just the feasibility of nuclear power but also its exclusionary nature when it comes to people’s participation in policy making, endangering the ecology, violation of human rights, etc. The character of these protests is non-violent with an aim to produce more inclusive policy debates and democratic dialogues.

Keywords: anti-nuclear movements, Koodankulam nuclear power plant, non-violent resistance, nuclear resistance movements, social movements

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Authors: Elizabeth Carthy

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There is growing recognition that sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by humanitarian workers is widespread, most recently affirmed by allegations of high-ranking Oxfam officials paying women for sex in post-earthquake Haiti. SEA covers a range of gendered abuses, including rape, sexual assault, and ‘transactional’ or ‘survival’ sex. Holding individuals legally accountable for such behaviors is difficult in all contexts even more so in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Transactional sex, for the purposes of this paper, refers to situations where humanitarian workers exchange aid or assistance for sexual services. This paper explores existing organizational accountability measures relating to transactional sex engaged in by international humanitarian workers through a descriptive and interpretive case study approach-examining the situation in Haiti. It comparatively analyses steps the United Nations has taken to combat this problem. Then it examines the possibility of domestic legal accountability for such conduct in Haiti. Finally, the paper argues that international human rights law can fill in potential gaps in domestic legal frameworks to ensure states hold humanitarian workers and potentially organizations accountable for engaging in and/or perpetuating this gendered abuse of power.

Keywords: gender-based violence, humanitarian action, international human rights law, sexual exploitation

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Authors: Fruzsina Luca Kézér, Viktor Jurkovich, Ottó Szenci, János Tőzsér, Levente Kovács

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Positive interaction between people and animals could have a favorable effect on the welfare and production by reducing stress levels. However, to the repeated contact with humans (e.g. farm staff, veterinarians or herdsmen), animals may respond with escape behavior or avoidance, which both have negative effects on the ease of handling, welfare and may lead to the expression of aggressive behaviors. Rough or aversive handling can impair health and the function of the cardiac autonomic activity due to fear and stress, which also can be determined by certain parameters of heart rate variability (HRV). Although the essential relationships between fear from humans and basal tone of the autonomic nervous system were described by the authors previously, several questions remained unclear in terms of the associations between different coping strategies (behavioral syndromes) of the animals and physiological responsiveness to humans. The main goal of this study was to find out whether human behavior and emotions to the animals have an impact on cardiac function and behavior of animals with different coping styles in response situations. Therefore, in the present study, special (fear, approaching, restraint, novel arena, novel object) tests were performed on healthy, 2-year old heifers (n = 104) differing in coping styles [reactive (passive) vs. proactive (active) coping]. Animals were categorized as reactive or proactive based on the following tests: 1) aggressive behavior at the feeding bunk, 2) avoidance from an approaching person, 3) immobility, and 4) daily activity (number of posture changes). Heart rate, the high frequency (HF) component of HRV as a measure of vagal activity and the ratio between the low frequency (LF) and HF components (LF/HF ratio) as a parameter of sympathetic nervous system activity were calculated for all individual during lying posture (baseline) and for response situations in novel object, novel arena, and unfamiliar person tests (both for 5 min), respectively. The differences between baseline and response were compared between groups. Higher sympathetic (higher heart rates and LF/HF ratios) and lower parasympathetic activity (lower HF) was found for proactive animals in response situations than for reactive (passive) animals either during the novel object, the novel arena and the unfamiliar person test. It suggests that animals with different behavioral traits differ in their immediate autonomic adaptation to novelty and people. Based on our preliminary results, it seems, that the analysis of HRV can help to understand the physiological manifestation of responsiveness to novelty and human presence in dairy cattle with different behavioral syndromes.

Keywords: behavioral syndromes, human-cattle interaction, novel arena test, physiological responsiveness, proactive coping, reactive coping

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Authors: Jatindra Lahkar

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The effect of chemical reaction on laminar mixed convection flow and heat and mass transfer along a vertical unsteady stretching sheet is investigated, in the presence of heat generation/absorption with variable viscosity and viscous dissipation. The governing non-linear partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations using similarity transformation and solved numerically using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method along with shooting technique. The effects of various flow parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions are analyzed and presented graphically. Skin-friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are derived at the sheet. It is observed that the influence of chemical reaction, the fluid flow along the sheet accelerate with the increase of chemical reaction parameter, on the other hand, temperature of the fluid increases with increase of chemical reaction parameter but concentration of the fluid reduces with it. The boundary layer decreases on the surface of the sheet for all values of unsteadiness parameter, increasing values of the chemical reaction parameter. The increases in the values of Sc cause the species concentration and its boundary layer thickness to decrease resulting in less induced flow and higher fluid temperatures. This is depicted in the decreases in the velocity and species concentration and increases in the fluid temperature as Sc increases.

Keywords: chemical reaction, heat generation/absorption, magnetic number, unsteadiness, variable viscosity

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Authors: Mohammed Fakehy, Mohammed Haggag

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The problem of test anxiety considered as one of the most important and most complex psychological problems faced by students of King Saud University, where university students in a need to bring their reassurance and psychological comfort, relieves feeling pain and difficulties of the study. Recently, there are programs and science that help human to change, including the science Linguistic Programming this neural science stems from not just the tips of the need to make the effort or continue to work, but provides the keys in which one can be controlled in the internal environment. Even human potential energy is extracted seeking to achieve success and happiness and excellence. Through the work of the researchers as members of the teaching staff at King Saud University and specialists in the field of psychology noticed the suffering of some students of King Saud University, test anxiety. In an attempt by the researchers to mitigate as much as possible of the unity of this concern, students will have a training program in Neuro Linguistic Programming. The main Question of this study is What is the effectiveness of the impact of a training program using NLP to reduce test anxiety by using a biological feedback. Therefore, the results of this study might serve as a good announcement about the usefulness of NLP programs which influence future research to significant effect of NLP on test anxiety.

Keywords: neuro linguistic programming, test anxiety, biological feedback, king saud

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Authors: K. V. Venugopalan

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Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been accepted as the engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development. The major advantage of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. The labour intensity of the MSME sector is much higher than that of the large enterprises. The MSMEs constitute over 90% of total enterprises in most of the economies and are credited with generating the highest rates of employment growth and account for a major share of industrial production and exports. Kerala is a small state in India with the limited land area with high potential in educated human resources need micro, small and medium enterprises for development. Kerala has the highest Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) in India and the highest Human Development Index (HDI) at par with the developed countries SME play an important role in alleviating poverty and contribute significantly towards the growth of developing economies. Financial institutions can play a vital role for the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises in Kerala. The study entitled “Financial Institutions and its role in the promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kerala “examine the progress of MSME in Kerala and India and also the role of financial institutions and the problems faced by entrepreneurs for getting advances with reference to ‘Kerala Financial Corporation’-an agency set up by the government for promoting small and medium enterprises in the state. This study is based on both secondary and primary data. Primary data for the study was collected from those entrepreneurs who availed advances from financial institutions. The secondary data include the investment made, goods and services provided, the employment generated and the number of units registered in MSME sector for the last 10 years in Kerala. The study concluded that financial institutions providing finance with simple procedures and charging smaller interest rates will increase the number of MSME's and also contribute gross state domestic product and reduce the unemployment problem and poverty in the economy.

Keywords: gross state domestic product, human development index, micro, small and medium enterprises

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Authors: Mahfoodh Saleh Al Sabbagh, Venkoba Rao

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There is plenty of research, both in academic and consultancy circles, about the importance and benefits of employee engagement and customer engagement and how it gives organization an opportunity to reduce variability and improve performance. Customer engagement is directly related to the engagement level of the organization's employees. It is therefore important to measure both. This research drawing from the work of Human Sigma by Fleming and Asplund, attempts to assess engagement level of customer and employees - the human systems of business - in an educational setup. Student is important to an educational institute and is a customer to be served efficiently and effectively. Considering student as customer and faculty as employees serving them, in–depth interviews were conducted to analyze the relationship between faculty and student engagement in two leading colleges in Oman, one from private sector and another from public sector. The study relied mainly on secondary data sources to understand the concept of engagement. However, the search of secondary sources was extensive to compensate the limited primary data. The results indicate that high faculty engagement is likely to lead to high student engagement. Engaged students were excited about learning, loved the feeling of they being cared as a person by their faculty and advocated the organization to other. The interaction truly represents an opportunity to build emotional connection to the organization. This study could be of interest to organizations interest in building and maintaining engagement with employees and customers.

Keywords: customer engagement, consumer psychology, strategy, educational institutes

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Authors: M. V. Belubekyan, S. R. Martirosyan

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On the example of an elastic rectangular plate streamlined by a supersonic gas flow, we have investigated the phenomenon of divergence and of panel flatter of the overrunning of the gas flow at a free edge under assumption of the presence of concentrated inertial masses and moments at the free edge. We applied a new approach of finding of solution of these problems, which was developed based on the algorithm for an analytical solution finding. This algorithm is easy to use for theoretical studies for the wides circle of nonconservative problems of linear elastic stability. We have established the relation between the characteristics of natural vibrations of the plate and velocity of the streamlining gas flow, which enables one to draw some conclusions on the stability of disturbed motion of the plate depending on the parameters of the system plate-flow. Its solution shows that either the divergence or the localized divergence and the flutter instability are possible. The regions of the stability and instability in space of parameters of the problem are identified. We have investigated the dynamic behavior of the disturbed motion of the panel near the boundaries of region of the stability. The safe and dangerous boundaries of region of the stability are found. The transition through safe boundary of the region of the stability leads to the divergence or localized divergence arising in the vicinity of free edge of the rectangular plate. The transition through dangerous boundary of the region of the stability leads to the panel flutter. The deformations arising at the flutter are more dangerous to the skin of the modern aircrafts and rockets resulting to the loss of the strength and appearance of the fatigue cracks.

Keywords: stability, elastic plate, divergence, localized divergence, supersonic panels flutter

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Authors: Tripti Mishra, Shipra Shukla, Sanjeev Meena, , Ruchi Singh, Mahesh Pal, D. K. Upreti, Dipak Datta

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Roccella montagnei belongs to lichen family Roccelleceae growing luxuriantly along the coastal regions of India. As Roccella has been shown to be bioactive, we prepared methanolic extract and assessed its anticancer potential. The methanolic extract showed significant in vitro cytotoxic activity against four human cancer cell lines such as Colon (DLD-1, SW-620), Breast (MCF-7), Head and Neck (FaDu). This prompted us to isolate bioactive compounds through column chromatography. Two compounds Roccellic acid and Everninic acid have been isolated, out of which Everninic acid is reported for the first time. Both the compounds have been tested for in vitro cytotoxic activity in which Roccellic acid showed strong anticancer activity as compared to the Everninic acid. CDK-10 (Cyclin-dependent kinase) contributes to proliferation of cancer cells, and aberrant activity of these kinases has been reported in a wide variety of human cancers. These kinases, therefore, constitute biomarkers of proliferation and attractive pharmacological targets for the development of anticancer therapeutics. Therefore both the isolated compounds were tested for in silico molecular docking study against CDK-10 isomer enzyme to support the cytotoxic activity.

Keywords: cytotoxic activity, everninic acid, roccellic acid, R. montagnei

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Authors: Sana Ilyas

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Parry-Romberg syndrome is a rare condition clinically defined by slowly progressive atrophy of the skin and soft tissues. This usually effects one side of the face, although a few cases have been documented of bilateral presentation. It is more prevalent in females and usually affects the left side of the face. The syndrome can also be accompanied by neurological abnormalities. It usually occurs in the first two decades of life with a variable rate of progression. The aetiology is unknown, and the disease eventually stabilises. The treatment options usually involve surgical management. The least invasive of these options is the management of facial asymmetry, associated with Parry Romberg syndrome, through the use of tissue fillers. This paper will review the existing literature on the management of Parry Romberg syndrome with tissue filler. Aim: The aim of the study is to explore the current published literature for the management of Parry Romberg syndrome with fillers. It is to assess the development that has been made in this method of management, its benefits and limitations, and its effectiveness for the management of Parry Romberg syndrome. Methodology: There was a thorough assessment of the current literature published on this topic. PubMed database was used for search of the published literature on this method of the management. Papers were analysed and compared with one another to assess the success and limitation of the management of Parry Romberg with dermal fillers Results and Conclusion: Case reports of the use of tissue fillers discuss the varying degrees of success with the treatment. However, this procedure has it’s limitation, which are discussed in the paper in detail. However, it is still the least invasive of all the surgical options for the management of Parry Romberg Syndrome, and therefore, it is important to explore this option with patients, as they may be more comfortable with pursuingtreatment that is less invasive and can still improve their facial asymmetry

Keywords: dermal fillers, facial asymmetry, parry romberg syndrome, tissue fillers

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Authors: Zahra Khoshnood, Reza Khoshnood

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The aim of present study was to monitor the presence of Trichodina sp. in Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss collected from various fish farms in the western provinces of Iran during January, 2013- January, 2014. Out of 675 sampled fish 335, (49.16%) were infested with Trichodina. The highest prevalence was observed in the spring and winter followed by autumn and summer. In general, the intensity of infection was low except in cases where outbreaks of Trichodiniasis endangered the survival of fish in some ponds. In light infestation Trichodina is usually present on gills, fins and skin of apparently healthy fish. Clinical signs of Trichodiniasis only appear on fish with heavy infections and cases of moderate ones that are usually exposed to one or more stress factors including, rough handling during transportation from ponds, overcrowdness, malnutrition, high of free ammonia and low of oxygen concentration. Clinical signs of Trichodiniasis in sampled fish were sluggish movement, loss of appetite, black coloration, necrosis and ulcer on different parts of the body, detached scales and excessive accumulation of mucous in gill pouches. The most obvious histopathological changes in diseased fish were sloughing of the epidermal layer, aggregation of leucocytes and melanine-carrying cells (between the dermis and hypodermis) and proliferative changes including hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the epithelial lining cells of gill filaments which resulted in fusion of secondary lamellae. Control of Trichodiniasis, has been achieved by formalin bath treatment at a concentration of 250 ppm for one hour.

Keywords: gill, histopathology, rainbow trout, Trichodina

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Authors: Ipsita Biswas, Arnab Sarkar, Ashikur Rahaman, Gopeswar Mukherjee, Subhrangsu Chatterjee, Shamee Bhattacharjee, Deba Prasad Mandal

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One of the major reasons for the high mortality rate of lung cancer is the substantial delays in disease detection at late metastatic stages. It is of utmost importance to understand the detailed molecular signaling and detect the molecular markers that can be used for the early diagnosis of cancer. Several studies explored the emerging roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various cancers as well as lung cancer. A long non-coding RNA LINC00273 was recently discovered to promote cancer cell migration and invasion, and its positive correlation with the pathological stages of metastasis may prove it to be a potential target for inhibiting cancer cell metastasis. Comparing real-time expression of LINC00273 in various human clinical cancer tissue samples with normal tissue samples revealed significantly higher expression in cancer tissues. This long intergenic noncoding RNA was found to be highly expressed in human liver tumor-initiating cells, human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cell line, as well as human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cell line. SiRNA and shRNA-induced knockdown of LINC00273 in both in vitro and in vivo nude mice significantly subsided AGS and A549 cancer cell migration and invasion. LINC00273 knockdown also reduced TGF-β induced SNAIL, SLUG, VIMENTIN, ZEB1 expression, and metastasis in A549 cells. Plenty of reports have suggested the role of microRNAs of the miR200 family in reversing epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) by inhibiting ZEB transcription factors. In this study, hsa-miR-200a-3p was predicted via IntaRNA-Freiburg RNA tools to be a potential target of LINC00273 with a negative free binding energy of −8.793 kcal/mol, and this interaction was verified as a confirmed target of LINC00273 by RNA pulldown, real-time PCR and luciferase assay. Mechanistically, LINC00273 accelerated TGF-β induced EMT by sponging hsa-miR-200a-3p which in turn liberated ZEB1 and promoted prometastatic functions in A549 cells in vitro as verified by real-time PCR and western blotting. The similar expression patterns of these EMT regulatory pathway molecules, viz. LINC00273, hsa-miR-200a-3p, ZEB1 and TGF-β, were also detected in various clinical samples like breast cancer tissues, oral cancer tissues, lung cancer tissues, etc. Overall, this LINC00273 mediated EMT regulatory signaling can serve as a potential therapeutic target for the prevention of lung cancer metastasis.

Keywords: epithelial to mesenchymal transition, long noncoding RNA, microRNA, non-small-cell lung carcinoma

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Authors: Milena Trevisan Pelegrino, Bruna De Araujo Lima, Mônica H. M. Do Nascimento, Christiane B. Lombello, Marcelo Brocchi, Amedea B. Seabra

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Nitric oxide (NO) is a small molecule involved in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes, including vasodilatation, control of inflammatory pain, wound healing, and antibacterial activities. As NO is a free radical, the design of drugs that generates therapeutic amounts of NO in controlled spatial and time manners is still a challenge. In this study, the NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was incorporated into the thermoresponsive Pluronic F-127 (PL) - chitosan (CS) hydrogel, in an easy and economically feasible methodology. CS is a polysaccharide with known antimicrobial and biocompatibility properties. Scanning electron microscopy, rheology and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were used for hydrogel characterization. The results demonstrated that the hydrogel has a smooth surface, thermoresponsive behavior, and good mechanical stability. The kinetics of NO release and GSNO diffusion from GSNO-containing PL/CS hydrogel demonstrated a sustained NO/GSNO release, in concentrations suitable for biomedical applications, at physiological and skin temperatures. The GSNO-PL/CS hydrogel demonstrated a concentration-dependent toxicity to Vero cells, and antimicrobial activity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of 0.5 µg·mL-1 of hydrogel, which correspondents to 1 mmol·L-1 of GSNO). Interesting, the concentration range in which the NO-releasing hydrogel demonstrated antibacterial effect was not found toxic to Vero mammalian cell. Thus, GSNO-PL/CS hydrogel is suitable biomaterial for topical NO delivery applications.

Keywords: antimicrobial, chitosan, biocompatibility, S-nitrosothiols

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Authors: Wu Peiqin

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Flexible thermoelectric devices are light and flexible, which can be in close contact with any shape of heat source surfaces to minimize heat loss and achieve efficient energy conversion. Among the wide application fields, energy harvesting via flexible thermoelectric generators can adapt to a variety of curved heat sources (such as human body, circular tubes, and surfaces of different shapes) and can drive low-power electronic devices, exhibiting one of the most promising technologies in self-powered systems. The heat flux along the cross-section of the flexible thin-film generator is limited by the thickness, so the temperature difference decreases during the generation process, and the output power is low. At present, most of the heat flow directions of the thin film thermoelectric generator are along the thin-film plane; however, this method is not suitable for attaching to the human body surface to generate electricity. In order to make the film generator more suitable for thermoelectric generation, it is necessary to apply a flexible heatsink on the air sides with the film to maintain the temperature difference. In this paper, Bismuth telluride thermoelectric paste was deposited on polyimide flexible substrate by a screen printing method, and the flexible thermoelectric film was formed after drying. There are ten pairs of thermoelectric legs. The size of the thermoelectric leg is 20 x 2 x 0.1 mm, and adjacent thermoelectric legs are spaced 2 mm apart. A phase change material-based flexible heatsink was designed and fabricated. The flexible heatsink consists of n-octadecane, polystyrene, and expanded graphite. N-octadecane was used as the thermal storage material, polystyrene as the supporting material, and expanded graphite as the thermally conductive additive. The thickness of the flexible phase change material-based heatsink is 2mm. A thermoelectric performance testing platform was built, and its output performance was tested. The results show that the system can generate an open-circuit output voltage of 3.89 mV at a temperature difference of 10K, which is higher than the generator without a heatsink. Therefore, the flexible heatsink can increase the temperature difference between the two ends of the film and improve the output performance of the flexible film generator. This result promotes the application of the film thermoelectric generator in collecting human heat for power generation.

Keywords: flexible thermoelectric generator, screen printing, PCM, flexible heatsink

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Authors: S. B. Bhandare, K. S. Laddha

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Podphyllum hexandrum belonging to family berberidaceae has gained attention in phytochemical and pharmacological research as it shows excellent anticancer activity and has been used in treatment of skin diseases, sunburns and radioprotection. Chemically it contains lignans and flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin and their glycosides. Objective: To isolate and identify Kaempferol and Quercetin from Podophyllum rhizome. Method: The powdered rhizome of Podophyllum hexandrum was subjected to soxhlet extraction with methanol. This methanolic extract is used to obtain podophyllin. Podohyllin was extracted with ethyl acetate and this extract was then concentrated and subjected to column chromatography to obtain purified kaempferol and quercetin. Result: Isolated kaempferol, quercetin were light yellow and dark yellow in colour respectively. TLC of the isolated compounds was performed using chloroform: methanol (9:1) which showed single band on silica plate at Rf 0.6 and 0.4 for kaempferol and quercetin. UV spectrometric studies showed UV maxima (methanol) at 259, 360 nm and 260, 370 nm which are identical with standard kaempferol and quercetin respectively. Both IR spectra exhibited prominent absorption bands for free phenolic OH at 3277 and 3296.2 cm-1 and for conjugated C=O at 1597 and 1659.7 cm-1 respectively. The mass spectrum of kaempferol and quercetin showed (M+1) peak at m/z 287 and 303.09 respectively. 1H NMR analysis of both isolated compounds exhibited typical four-peak pattern of two doublets at δ 6.86 and δ 8.01 which was assigned to H-3’,5’ and H-2’,6’ respectively. Absence of signals less than δ 6.81 in the 1H NMR spectrum supported the aromatic nature of compound. Kaempferol and Quercetin showed 98.1% and 97% purity by HPLC at UV 370 nm. Conclusion: Easy and simple method for isolation of Kaempferol and Quercetin was developed and their structures were confirmed by UV, IR, NMR and mass studies. Method has shown good reproducibility, yield and purity.

Keywords: flavonoids, kaempferol, podophyllum rhizome, quercetin

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Authors: Jake Tempo, Taylor Smithurst, Jen Leah, Skye Waddingham, Amanda Catlin, Richard Cetti

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Introduction: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the gold-standard procedure for removing large or complex renal stones. Many operating positions can be used, and the debate over the ideal position continues. PCNL can be a long procedure during which patients can sustain pressure injuries. These injuries are often underreported in the literature. Interface pressure mapping records the pressure loading between a surface and the patient. High pressures with prolonged loading result in ischaemia, muscle deformation, and reperfusion which can cause skin breakdown and muscular injury. We compared the peak pressure indexes of common PCNL positions to identify positions which may be at high risk of pressure injuries. We hope the data can be used to adapt high-risk positions so that the PPI can be lessened by either adapting the positions or by using adjuncts to lower PPI. Materials and Methods: We placed a 23-year-old male subject in fourteen different PCNL positions while performing interface pressure mapping. The subject was 179 cm with a weight of 63.3 kg, BMI 19.8kg/m². Results: Supine positions had a higher mean PPI (119mmHg (41-137)) compared to prone positions (64mmHg (32-89)) (p=0.046 two tailed t-test). The supine flexed position with a bolster under the flank produced the highest PPI (194mmHg), and this was at the sacrum. Peak pressure indexes >100mmHg were recorded in eight PCNL positions. Conclusion: Supine PCNL positions produce higher PPI than prone PCNL positions. Our study shows where ‘at risk’ bony prominences are for each PCNL position. Surgeons must ensure these areas are protected during prolonged operations.

Keywords: PCNL, pressure ulcer, interface pressure mapping, surgery

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Authors: Ana M. Guzman, Claudia M. Rodriguez, Pedro F. B. Brandao, Elianna Castillo

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Cadmium (Cd) is a carcinogenic metal to which humans are exposed mainly due to its presence in the food chain. Lactic acid bacteria have the capability to bind cadmium and thus the potential to be used as probiotics to treat this metal toxicity in the human body. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of native lactic acid bacteria, isolated from Colombian fermented cocoa, to remove cadmium from aqueous solutions. An initial screening was made with the Lactobacillus plantarum JCM 1055 type strain, and Cd was quantified by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Lb. plantarum JCM 1055 was grown in ½ MRS medium to follow growth kinetics during 32 h at 37 °C, by measuring optical density at 600 nm. Washed cells, grown for 18 h, were adjusted to obtain dry biomass concentrations of 1.5 g/L and 0.5 g/L for removal assays in 10 mL of Cd(NO₃)₂ solution with final concentrations of 10 mg/Kg or 1.0 mg/Kg. The assays were performed at two different pH values (2.0 and 5.0), and results showed better adsorption abilities at higher pH. After incubation for 1 h at 37 °C and 150 rpm, the removal percentages for 10 mg/Kg Cd with 1.5 g/L and 0.5 g/L biomass concentration at pH 5.0 were, respectively, 71% and 50%, while the efficiency was 9.15 and 4.52 mg Cd/g dry biomass, respectively. For the assay with 1.0 mg/Kg Cd at pH 5.0, the removal was 100% and 98%, respectively for the same biomass concentrations, and the efficiency was 1.63 and 0.56 mg Cd/g dry biomass, respectively. These results suggest the efficiency of Lactobacillus strains to remove cadmium and their potential to be used as probiotics to treat cadmium toxicity and reduce its accumulation in the human body.

Keywords: cadmium removal, fermented cocoa, lactic acid bacteria, probiotics

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Authors: Jawad Alzeer

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Natural products are well recognized as sources of drugs in several human ailments. To investigate the impact of variable extraction techniques on the cytotoxic effects of medicinal plant extracts, 5 well-known medicinal plants from Palestine were extracted with 90% ethanol, 80% methanol, acetone, coconut water, apple vinegar, grape vinegar or 5% acetic acid. The resulting extracts were screened for cytotoxic activities against three different cancer cell lines (B16F10, MCF-7, and HeLa) using a standard resazurin-based cytotoxicity assay and Nile Blue A as the positive control. Highly variable toxicities and tissue sensitivity were observed, depending upon the solvent used for extraction. Acetone consistently gave lower extraction yields but higher cytotoxicity, whereas other solvent systems gave much higher extraction yields with lower cytotoxicity. Interestingly, coconut water was found to offer a potential alternative to classical organic solvents; it gave consistently highest extraction yields, and in the case of S. officinalis L., highly toxic extracts towards MCF-7 cells derived from human breast cancer. These results demonstrate how the cytotoxicity of plant extracts can be inversely proportional to the yield, and that solvent selection plays an important role in both factors.

Keywords: plant extract, natural products, anti cancer drug, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Agatha Bebbington, Terry Tetley, Kathryn Hadler

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Background: Astronauts will set foot on the Moon later this decade, and are at high risk of lunar dust inhalation. Freshly-fractured lunar dust produces reactive oxygen species in solution, which are known to cause cellular damage and inflammation. Cytotoxicity and inflammatory mediator release was measured in pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells (cells that line the gas-exchange zone of the lung) exposed to a lunar dust simulant, LMS-1. It was hypothesised that freshly-fractured LMS-1 would result in increased cytotoxicity and inflammatory mediator release, owing to the angular morphology and high reactivity of fractured particles. Methods: A human alveolar epithelial type 1-like cell line (TT1) and a human macrophage-like cell line (THP-1) were exposed to 0-200μg/ml of unground, aged-ground, and freshly-ground LMS-1 (screened at <22μm). Cell viability, cytotoxicity, and inflammatory mediator release (IL-6, IL-8) were assessed using MMT, LDH, and ELISA assays, respectively. LMS-1 particles were characterised for their size, surface area, and morphology before and after grinding. Results: Exposure to LMS-1 particles did not result in overt cytotoxicity in either TT1 epithelial cells or THP-1 macrophage-like cells. A dose-dependent increase in IL-8 release was observed in TT1 cells, whereas THP-1 cell exposure, even at low particle concentrations, resulted in increased IL-8 release. Both cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory responses were most marked and significantly greater in TT1 and THP-1 cells exposed to freshly-fractured LMS-1. Discussion: LMS-1 is a novel lunar dust simulant; this is the first study to determine its toxicological effects on respiratory cells in vitro. An increased inflammatory response in TT1 and THP-1 cells exposed to ground LMS-1 suggests that low particle size, increased surface area, and angularity likely contribute to toxicity. Conclusions: Evenlow levels of exposure to LMS-1 could result in alveolar inflammation. This may have pathological consequences for astronauts exposed to lunar dust on future long-duration missions. Future research should test the effect of low-dose, intermittent lunar dust exposure on the respiratory system.

Keywords: lunar dust, LMS-1, lunar dust simulant, long-duration space travel, lunar dust toxicity

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Authors: Ifigeneia V. Mavragani, Zacharenia Nikitaki, George Kalantzis, George Iliakis, Alexandros G. Georgakilas

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Complex DNA damage consisting of a combination of DNA lesions, such as Double Strand Breaks (DSBs) and non-DSB base lesions occurring in a small volume is considered as one of the most important biological endpoints regarding ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. Strong theoretical (Monte Carlo simulations) and experimental evidence suggests an increment of the complexity of DNA damage and therefore repair resistance with increasing linear energy transfer (LET). Experimental detection of complex (clustered) DNA damage is often associated with technical deficiencies limiting its measurement, especially in cellular or tissue systems. Our groups have recently made significant improvements towards the identification of key parameters relating to the efficient detection of complex DSBs and non-DSBs in human cellular systems exposed to IR of varying quality (γ-, X-rays 0.3-1 keV/μm, α-particles 116 keV/μm and 36Ar ions 270 keV/μm). The induction and processing of DSB and non-DSB-oxidative clusters were measured using adaptations of immunofluorescence (γH2AX or 53PB1 foci staining as DSB probes and human repair enzymes OGG1 or APE1 as probes for oxidized purines and abasic sites respectively). In the current study, Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) values for DSB and non-DSB induction have been measured in different human normal (FEP18-11-T1) and cancerous cell lines (MCF7, HepG2, A549, MO59K/J). The experimental results are compared to simulation data obtained using a validated microdosimetric fast Monte Carlo DNA Damage Simulation code (MCDS). Moreover, this simulation approach is implemented in two realistic clinical cases, i.e. prostate cancer treatment using X-rays generated by a linear accelerator and a pediatric osteosarcoma case using a 200.6 MeV proton pencil beam. RBE values for complex DNA damage induction are calculated for the tumor areas. These results reveal a disparity between theory and experiment and underline the necessity for implementing highly precise and more efficient experimental and simulation approaches.

Keywords: complex DNA damage, DNA damage simulation, protons, radiotherapy

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Authors: Xi Wang, Xiaoming Tao, Raymond C. H. So

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As one of the convenient and noninvasive sensing approaches, the automatic limb girth measurement has been applied to detect intention behind human motion from muscle deformation. The sensing validity has been elaborated by preliminary researches but still need more fundamental study, especially on kinetic contraction modes. Based on the novel fabric strain sensors, a soft and smart limb girth measurement system was developed by the authors’ group, which can measure the limb girth in-motion. Experiments were carried out on elbow isometric flexion and elbow isokinetic flexion (biceps’ isokinetic contractions) of 90°/s, 60°/s, and 120°/s for 10 subjects (2 canoeists and 8 ordinary people). After removal of natural circumferential increments due to elbow position, the joint torque is found not uniformly sensitive to the limb circumferential strains, but declining as elbow joint angle rises, regardless of the angular speed. Moreover, the maximum joint torque was found as an exponential function of the joint’s angular speed. This research highly contributes to the application of the automatic limb girth measuring during kinetic contractions, and it is useful to predict the contraction level of voluntary skeletal muscles.

Keywords: fabric strain sensor, muscle deformation, isokinetic contraction, joint torque, limb girth strain

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Authors: Diba Arjmandi

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The notion of power and gender domination is one of the inseparable aspects of themes in postmodern literature. The reason of its importance has been discussed frequently since the rise of Michel Foucault and his vantage point toward the circulation of power and the transgression of forces. The language and society act as the basic grounds for the study, as all human beings are bound to the set of rules and norms which shape them in the acceptable way in the macrocosm. How different genders in different positions behave and show reactions to the provocation of social forces and superiority of one another, is of great interest to writers and literary critics. Mamet’s works are noticeable for their controversial but timely themes which illustrate the human conflict with the community and greed for power. Many critics like Christopher Bigsby and Harold Bloom have been discussing Mamet and his ideas during recent years. This paper is the study of Oleanna, Mamet’s masterpiece about teacher-student relationship and the circulation of power between a man and woman. He shows the very breakable boundaries in domination of a gender and the downfall of speech as the consequence of transgression and freedom. The failure of the language the teacher uses and the abuses of his own words by a student who seeks superiority and knowledge are the main subjects of discussion. Supported by the ideas of Foucault, the language Mamet uses to represent his characters becomes the fundamental element of this survey. As a result, language becomes both the means of achievement and also downfall.

Keywords: domination, foucault, language, mamet, oleanna, power, transgression

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Authors: Liu Xiaohan

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Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus and is closely related to many malignancies of lymphocyte and epithelial origins, such as gastric cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). NPC is a malignant epithelial tumor which is 100% associated with EBV latent infection. Most of the NPC cases are densely populated in southern China, especially in Guangdong and Hong Kong. To our knowledge, overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines may result in a loss of balance of the immune system and cause damage to human bodies. Interleukin-6 (IL6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in tumor progression. In addition, gene expression is regulated by both transcriptional and post-transcriptional pathways, while post-transcriptional regulation is an important mechanism to modulate the mature mRNA level in mammalian cells. AU-rich element binding factor 1 (AUF1)/heterogeneous nuclear RNP D (hnRNP D) is known for its function in destabilizing mRNAs, including cytokines and cell cycle regulators. Previous studies have found that overexpression of hnRNP D would lead to tumorigenesis. In this project, our aim is to determine the role played by hnRNP D in EBV-infected cells and how our anti-EBV agents can affect the function of hnRNP D. The results of this study will provide a new insight into how the pro-inflammatory cytokine expression can be regulated by EBV.

Keywords: interleukin 6 (IL6), epstein-barr virus (EBV), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC, epstein-barr nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1)

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Authors: Poonam Singh, Surendra Prasad, William Aalbersberg

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Iron the most essential trace element in human nutrition. Its deficiency has serious health consequences and is a major public health threat worldwide. The common deficiencies in Fiji population reported are of Fe, Ca and Zn. It has also been reported that 40% of women in Fiji are iron deficient. Therefore, we have been studying the bioavailability of iron in commonly consumed Fiji foods. To study the bioavailability it is essential to assess the iron contents in raw foods. This paper reports the iron contents and its bioavailability in commonly consumed foods by multicultural population of Fiji. The food samples (rice, breads, wheat flour and breakfast cereals) were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer for total iron and its bioavailability. The white rice had the lowest total iron 0.10±0.03 mg/100g but had high bioavailability of 160.60±0.03%. The brown rice had 0.20±0.03 mg/100g total iron content but 85.00±0.03% bioavailable. The white and brown breads showed the highest iron bioavailability as 428.30±0.11 and 269.35 ±0.02%, respectively. The Weetabix and the rolled oats had the iron contents 2.89±0.27 and 1.24.±0.03 mg/100g with bioavailability of 14.19±0.04 and 12.10±0.03%, respectively. The most commonly consumed normal wheat flour had 0.65±0.00 mg/100g iron while the whole meal and the Roti flours had 2.35±0.20 and 0.62±0.17 mg/100g iron showing bioavailability of 55.38±0.05, 16.67±0.08 and 12.90±0.00%, respectively. The low bioavailability of iron in certain foods may be due to the presence of phytates/oxalates, processing/storage conditions, cooking method or interaction with other minerals present in the food samples.

Keywords: iron, bioavailability, Fiji foods, in vitro technique, human nutrition

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Authors: Aarthi Mariappan, Janani Selvaraj, P. B. Harathi, M. Prashanthi Devi

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Anthropogenic modification of the urban environment has largely increased in the recent years in order to sustain the growing human population. Intense industrial activity, permanent and high traffic on the roads, a developed subterranean infrastructure network, land use patterns are just some specific characteristics. Every day, the urban environment is polluted by more or less toxic emissions, organic or metals wastes discharged from specific activities such as industrial, commercial, municipal. When these eventually deposit into the soil, the physical and chemical properties of the surrounding soil is changed, transforming it into a human exposure indicator. Metals are non-degradable and occur cumulative in soil due to regular deposits are a result of permanent human activity. Due to this, metals are a contaminant factor for soil when persistent over a long period of time and a possible danger for inhabitant’s health on prolonged exposure. Metals accumulated in contaminated soil may be transferred to humans directly, by inhaling the dust raised from top soil, or by ingesting, or by dermal contact and indirectly, through plants and animals grown on contaminated soil and used for food. Some metals, like Cu, Mn, Zn, are beneficial for human’s health and represent a danger only if their concentration is above permissible levels, but other metals, like Pb, As, Cd, Hg, are toxic even at trace level causing gastrointestinal and lung cancers. In urban areas, metals can be emitted from a wide variety of sources like industrial, residential, commercial activities. Our study interrogates the spatial distribution of heavy metals in soil in relation to their permissible levels and their association with the health risk to the urban population in Coimbatore, India. Coimbatore region is a high cancer risk zone and case records of gastro intestinal and respiratory cancer patients were collected from hospitals and geocoded in ArcGIS10.1. The data of patients pertaining to the urban limits were retained and checked for their diseases history based on their diagnosis and treatment. A disease map of cancer was prepared to show the disease distribution. It has been observed that in our study area Cr, Pb, As, Fe and Mg exceeded their permissible levels in the soil. Using spatial overlay analysis a relationship between environmental exposure to these potentially toxic elements in soil and cancer distribution in Coimbatore district was established to show areas of cancer risk. Through this, our study throws light on the impact of prolonged exposure to soil contamination in soil in the urban zones, thereby exploring the possibility to detect cancer risk zones and to create awareness among the exposed groups on cancer risk.

Keywords: soil contamination, cancer risk, spatial analysis, India

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Authors: Abid Khan

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A recognized engineering challenge is related to personnel protection from fatal arc flash incident energy in the line side of the 480-volt switchgear incomer breakers during maintenance activities. The incident energy is typically high due to slow fault clearance, and it can be higher than the available personnel protective equipment (PPE) ratings. A fault in this section of the switchgear is cleared by breakers or fuses in the upstream higher voltage system (4160 Volt or higher). The current reflection in the higher voltage upstream system for a fault in the 480-volt switchgear is low, the clearance time is slower, and the inversely proportional incident energy is hence higher. The installation of overcurrent protection at a 480-volt system upstream of the incomer breaker will operate fast enough and trips the upstream higher voltage breaker when a fault develops at the incomer breaker. Therefore, fault current reduction as reflected in the upstream higher voltage system is eliminated. Since the fast overcurrent protection is permanently installed, it is always functional, does not require human interventions, and eliminates exposure to human errors. It is installed at the maintenance activities location, and its operations can be locally monitored by craftsmen during maintenance activities.

Keywords: arc flash, mitigation, maintenance switch, energy level

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Authors: C. C. Igwe

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Several parts of Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) are used in traditional medicine in many West African countries for the treatment of various human diseases. The leaf, stem - bark and seed were air dried for 8, 5 and 7 days, respectively. The shells were carfully separated from the seeds, each powdered sample obtained with mechanical miller and 250 mm sieve. The neem samples were individually subjected to extraction with acetone, n-hexane for 48hr and 72 hr, respectively. Physico-chemical and antibacterial evaluation were carried out using standard methods. Results of physico - chemical analyses of the extracted oil from the seed shows that it has a brownish colour, with a smell similar to garlic while the moisture content, refractive index are 0.76% and 1.47 respectively. Other vital chemical results obtained from the neem oil such as saponification value (234.62), acid value (10.84 %), free fatty acid (5.84 %) and peroxide value (10.52%) indicated the oil extracted satisfied standard oils parameters for quality soap and cosmetics production. The antibacterial screening by disc diffusion revealed the oil demonstrated high activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Both the physio-chemical and antibacterial of samples have been certified by National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control. The preliminary results of this study may validate the medicinal value of the plant. Further studies are in progress to clarify the in vivo potentials of neem extracts in the management of human communicable diseases and this is a subject of investigation in our group.

Keywords: anti-bacterial, neem extract, physico-chemical analyses, staphylococcus aureus

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