Search results for: therapeutic response

Authors: Ari S. Prabowo, Nia Febriyanti, Haryono B. Santosa

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Security function that is called as Physical Protection Systems (PPS) has functions to detect, delay and response. Physical Protection Systems (PPS) in Detection and Radiation Measurement Laboratory needs to be improved continually by using internal resources. The nuclear security culture provides some potentials to support this research. The study starts by identifying the security function’s weaknesses and its strengths of security culture as a purpose. Secondly, the strengths of security culture are implemented in the laboratory management. Finally, a simulation was done to measure its effectiveness. Some changes were happened in laboratory personnel behaviors and procedures. All became more prudent. The results showed a good influence of nuclear security culture in laboratory security functions.

Keywords: laboratory, physical protection system, security culture, security function

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Felix Liedel

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The rise of artificial intelligence has numerous and far-reaching consequences. In addition to the obvious consequences for entire professions, the increasing interaction with chatbots also has a wide range of social consequences and implications. We are already increasingly used to interacting with digital chatbots, be it in virtual consulting situations, creative development processes or even in building personal or intimate virtual relationships. A media-theoretical classification of these phenomena has so far been difficult, partly because the interactive element in the exchange with artificial intelligence has undeniable similarities to human-to-human communication but is not identical to it. The proposed study, therefore, aims to reformulate the concept of symbolic interaction in the tradition of George Herbert Mead as symbolic interactivity in communication with chatbots. In particular, Mead's socio-psychological considerations will be brought into dialog with the specific conditions of digital media, the special dispositive situation of chatbots and the characteristics of artificial intelligence. One example that illustrates this particular communication situation with chatbots is so-called consensus fiction: In face-to-face communication, we use symbols on the assumption that they will be interpreted in the same or a similar way by the other person. When briefing a chatbot, it quickly becomes clear that this is by no means the case: only the bot's response shows whether the initial request corresponds to the sender's actual intention. This makes it clear that chatbots do not just respond to requests. Rather, they function equally as projection surfaces for their communication partners but also as distillations of generalized social attitudes. The personalities of the chatbot avatars result, on the one hand, from the way we behave towards them and, on the other, from the content we have learned in advance. Similarly, we interpret the response behavior of the chatbots and make it the subject of our own actions with them. In conversation with the virtual chatbot, we enter into a dialog with ourselves but also with the content that the chatbot has previously learned. In our exchanges with chatbots, we, therefore, interpret socially influenced signs and behave towards them in an individual way according to the conditions that the medium deems acceptable. This leads to the emergence of situationally determined digital identities that are in exchange with the real self but are not identical to it: In conversation with digital chatbots, we bring our own impulses, which are brought into permanent negotiation with a generalized social attitude by the chatbot. This also leads to numerous media-ethical follow-up questions. The proposed approach is a continuation of my dissertation on moral decision-making in so-called interactive films. In this dissertation, I attempted to develop a concept of symbolic interactivity based on Mead. Current developments in artificial intelligence are now opening up new areas of application.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, chatbot, media theory, symbolic interactivity

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Authors: Jade Edey, Andrew Bennett, Gareth Hathway

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Nuclear receptor-related 1 protein (also known as Nurr1 or NR4A2) is an orphan nuclear receptor which plays a vital role in the development, survival and maintenance of dopaminergic (DA) neurons particularly in the substantia nigra (SN). Increasing research has investigated Nurr1’s additional role within microglia and astrocytes where it has been suggested to act as a negative regulator of inflammation; potentially offering neuroprotection. Considering both DA neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are commonly accepted constituents of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), understanding the mechanisms by which Nurr1 regulates inflammatory processes could provide an attractive therapeutic target. Nurr1 regulates inflammation via a transrepressive mechanism possibly dependent upon SUMOylation. In addition, Nurr1 can transactivate numerous genes involved in DA synthesis, such as Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH). A C-terminal splice variant of Nurr1, Nurr-1a, has been reported in both neuronal and glial cells. However, research into its transcriptional activity is minimal. We employed in vitro methods such as SUMO-Pulldown experiments alongside Luciferase reporter assays to investigate the SUMOylation status and transactivation capabilities of Nurr1 and Nurr-1a respectively. The SUMO-Pulldown assay demonstrated Nurr-1a undergoes significantly more SUMO modification than its full-length variant. Consequently, despite having less transcriptional activation than Nurr1, Nurr1a may play a more prominent role in repression of microglial inflammation. Contrary to published literature we also identified that SUMOylation enhances transcriptional activation by Nurr1 and Nurr1a. SUMOylation-dependent increases in Nurr1 and Nurr1a transcriptional activation were only evident in neuronal SHSY5Y cells but not in HEK293 cells. This research provides novel insight into the regulation of Nurr-1a and indicates differential effects of SUMOylation dependent regulation in neuronal and inflammatory cells.

Keywords: nuclear receptors, Parkinson’s disease, inflammation, transcriptional regulation

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Authors: Wieslaw Marszalek, Zdzislaw Trzaska

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Interesting properties of various one-period loops of singularly perturbed memristive circuits with mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) are analyzed in this paper. The analysis is mixed, both analytical and numerical and focused on the properties of pinched hysteresis of the memristive element and other one-period loops formed by pairs of time-series solutions for various circuits' variables. The memristive element is the only nonlinear element in the two circuits. A theorem on periods of mixed-mode oscillations of the circuits is formulated and proved. Replacements of memristors by parallel G-C or series R-L circuits for a MMO response with equivalent RMS values is also discussed.

Keywords: mixed-mode oscillations, memristive circuits, pinched hysteresis, one-period loops, singularly perturbed circuits

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Authors: Oluyomi Stephen Adeyemi, Kentaro Kato

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Toxoplasma gondii is the etiological agent of toxoplasmosis, a common parasitic disease capable of infecting a range of hosts, including nearly one-third of the human population. Current treatment options for toxoplasmosis patients are limited. In consequence, toxoplasmosis represents a large global burden that is further enhanced by the shortcomings of the current therapeutic options. These factors underscore the need for better anti-T. gondii agents and/or new treatment approach. In the present study, we sought to find out whether preparing and capping nanoparticles (NPs) in amino acids, would enhance specificity toward the parasite versus the host cell. The selection of amino acids was premised on the fact that T. gondii is auxotrophic for some amino acids. The amino acid-nanoparticles (amino-NPs) were synthesized, purified and characterized following established protocols. Next, we tested to determine the anti-T. gondii activity of the amino-NPs using in vitro experimental model of infection. Overall, our data show evidence that supports enhanced and excellent selective action against the parasite versus the host cells by amino-NPs. The findings are promising and provide additional support that warrants exploring the prospects of NPs as alternative anti-parasite agents. In addition, the anti-parasite action by amino-NPs indicates that nutritional requirement of parasite may represent a viable target in the development of better alternative anti-parasite agents. Furthermore, data suggest the anti-parasite mechanism of the amino-NPs involves multiple cellular processes including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), modulation of hypoxia-inducing factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) as well as the activation of kynurenine pathway. Taken together, findings highlight further, the prospects of NPs as alternative source of anti-parasite agents.

Keywords: drug discovery, infectious diseases, mode of action, nanomedicine

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Authors: Chansiri Singhtaun

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This paper proposes a mathematical model and examines the performance of an exact algorithm for a location–transportation problems in humanitarian relief. The model determines the number and location of distribution centers in a relief network, the amount of relief supplies to be stocked at each distribution center and the vehicles to take the supplies to meet the needs of disaster victims under capacity restriction, transportation and budgetary constraints. The computational experiments are conducted on the various sizes of problems that are generated. Branch and bound algorithm is applied for these problems. The results show that this algorithm can solve problem sizes of up to three candidate locations with five demand points and one candidate location with up to twenty demand points without premature termination.

Keywords: disaster response, facility location, humanitarian relief, transportation

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Authors: A. Gün Güneş

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This study aims to explicate the functionality of the responsibility to protect (R2P) in terms of order and justice within the context of the main traditions of the English School theory. The conflicts in Libya and Syria and the response of the international society to these crises are analyzed in the pluralism-solidarism dichotomy of the English School. In this regard, the intervention under R2P in Libya exemplifies the solidaristic side emphasizing justice, while the non-intervention in Syria exemplifies the pluralistic side emphasizing order. This study discusses the cases of Libya and Syria on the basis of Great Powers.

Keywords: English school theory, international society, order, justice, responsibility to protect

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Authors: Yatin Wadhawan, Clifford Neuman, Anas Al Majali

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

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

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Authors: Muhammad Umair Shahid, Abdul Rehman, Mudassir Mukhtar, Muhammad Nauman

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The smart antenna is the prominent technology that has become known in recent years to meet the growing demands of wireless communications. In an overcrowded atmosphere, its application is growing gradually. A methodical evaluation of the performance of Fixed Beamforming algorithms for smart antennas such as Multiple Sidelobe Canceller (MSC), Maximum Signal-to-interference ratio (MSIR) and minimum variance (MVDR) has been comprehensively presented in this paper. Simulation results show that beamforming is helpful in providing optimized response towards desired directions. MVDR beamformer provides the most optimal solution.

Keywords: fixed weight beamforming, array pattern, signal to interference ratio, power efficiency, element spacing, array elements, optimum weight vector

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Authors: S. M. Hamidi, M. Zamani

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Magneto-plasmonic (MP) structures have turned into essential tools for the amplification of magneto-optical (MO) responses via the combination of MO activity and surface Plasmon resonance (SPR). Both the plasmonic and the MO properties of the resulting MP structure become interrelated because the SPR of the metallic medium. This interconnection can be modified the wave vector of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) in MP multilayer [1] or enhanced the MO activity [2- 3] and also modified the sensor responses [4]. There are several types of MP structures which are studied to enhance MO response in miniaturized configuration. In this paper, we propose a new MP structure based on the nano-metal grating and we investigate the MO and optical properties of this new structure. Our new MP structure fabricate by DC magnetron sputtering method and our home made MO experimental setup use for characterization of the structure.

Keywords: Magneto-plasmonic structures, magneto-optical effect, nano-garting

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Authors: Alison Brown

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Through stories, children make sense of their world, see themselves through the eyes of another, and process emotions and lived experiences in a non-threatening and indirect manner. Building on research around the use of narrative techniques with adults and families, this research looked directly at the use of narratives as a therapeutic technique with children in counseling. Based on individual therapy sessions with children over a six-year period, this work of collective case studies tells the story of a practice incorporating children’s narratives, of children’s experiences in writing and sharing their narratives, and of the clinical impact of the use of narratives with children. Not all stories were narratives of success or happiness. Children documented their fears and anger as well as their achievements and hope for the future. What emerged through this study was an awareness of recurring themes in the way children responded to the narrative process and in the benefits and limitations of story writing with children. Consistent with previous studies focusing on narrative work with adults and families, the use of narratives with children provided opportunities for healing, acceptance, developing greater understanding, externalizing, and re-authoring a preferred future. In terms of the children’s experiences in writing and sharing their narratives, consistent themes emerged again, with many children finding the experience cathartic and liberating, empowering and hopeful, but most importantly, an opportunity that allowed them to feel and understand that they were not alone. Whilst a small collection of case studies tells the stories of a limited number of children, it is hoped that this research provides both a model and inspiration for others to explore similar uses of narratives with children. As a greater number of children’s narratives are created, the potential to share and benefit from the many rich stories and experiences of other children becomes more of a reality. Across cultures, economic and social settings, rural and urban environments, and varying family structures, it is important that we hear the voices of our children – ‘In their own words’.

Keywords: narrative therapy children counselling, social, emotional, zone of proximal development, scaffolding

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Authors: Saqib Rasool, Adnan N. Mian

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Web components are introduced as the latest standard of HTML5 for writing modular web interfaces for ensuring maintainability through the isolated scope of web components. Reusability can also be achieved by sharing plug-and-play web components that can be used as off-the-shelf components by other developers. A web component encapsulates all the required HTML, CSS and JavaScript code as a standalone package which must be imported for integrating a web component within an existing web interface. It is then followed by the integration of web component with the web services for dynamically populating its content. Since web components are reusable as off-the-shelf components, these must be equipped with some mechanism for ensuring their proper integration with web services. The consistency of a service behavior can be verified through type-checking. This is one of the popular solutions for improving the quality of code in many programming languages. However, HTML does not provide type checking as it is a markup language and not a programming language. The contribution of this work is to introduce a new extension of HTML called Service Type-checking Markup Language (STML) for adding support of type checking in HTML for JSON based REST services. STML can be used for defining the expected data types of response from JSON based REST services which will be used for populating the content within HTML elements of a web component. Although JSON has five data types viz. string, number, boolean, object and array but STML is made to supports only string, number and object. This is because of the fact that both object and array are considered as string, when populated in HTML elements. In order to define the data type of any HTML element, developer just needs to add the custom STML attributes of st-string, st-number and st-boolean for string, number and boolean respectively. These all annotations of STML are used by the developer who is writing a web component and it enables the other developers to use automated type-checking for ensuring the proper integration of their REST services with the same web component. Two utilities have been written for developers who are using STML based web components. One of these utilities is used for automated type-checking during the development phase. It uses the browser console for showing the error description if integrated web service is not returning the response with expected data type. The other utility is a Gulp based command line utility for removing the STML attributes before going in production. This ensures the delivery of STML free web pages in the production environment. Both of these utilities have been tested to perform type checking of REST services through STML based web components and results have confirmed the feasibility of evaluating service behavior only through HTML. Currently, STML is designed for automated type-checking of integrated REST services but it can be extended to introduce a complete service testing suite based on HTML only, and it will transform STML from Service Type-checking Markup Language to Service Testing Markup Language.

Keywords: REST, STML, type checking, web component

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Authors: Neal Rupani

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Background: A surgical trainee has limited learning opportunities in the operating room in order to gain an ever-increasing standard of surgical skill, competency, and proficiency. These opportunities continue to decline due to numerous factors such as the European Working Time Directive and increasing requirement for service provision. It is therefore imperative to obtain the highest educational value from each educational opportunity. A measure that has yet to be validated in England on surgical trainees called the Operating Room Educational Environment Measure (OREEM) has been developed to identify and evaluate each component of the educational environment with a view to steer future change in optimising educational events in theatre. Aims: The aims of the study are to assess the reliability of the OREEM within England and to evaluate the surgical trainee’s objective perspective of the current operating room educational environment within one region within England. Methods: Using a quantitative study approach, data was collected over one month from surgical trainees within Health Education Thames Valley (Oxford) using an online questionnaire consisting of demographic data, the OREEM, a global satisfaction score. Results: 140 surgical trainees were invited to the study, with an online response of 54 participants (response rate = 38.6%). The OREEM was shown to have good internal consistency (α = 0.906, variables = 40) and unidimensionality, along with all four of its subgroups. The mean OREEM score was 79.16%. The areas highlighted for improvement predominantly focused on improving learning opportunities (average subscale score = 72.9%) and conducting pre- and post-operative teaching (average score = 70.4%). The trainee perception is most satisfactory for the level of supervision and workload (average subscale score = 82.87%). There was no differences found between gender (U = 191.5, p = 0.535) or type of hospital (U = 258.0, p = 0.099), but the learning environment was favoured towards senior trainees (U = 223.5, p = 0.017). There was strong correlation between OREEM and the global satisfaction score (r = 0.755, p<0.001). Conclusions: The OREEM was shown to be reliable in measuring the educational environment in the operating room. This can be used to identify potentially modifiable components for improvement and as an audit tool to ensure high standards are being met. The current perception of the education environment in Health Education Thames Valley is satisfactory, and modifiable internal and external factors such as reducing service provision requirements, empowering trainees to plan lists, creating a team-working ethic between all personnel, and using tools that maximise learning from each operation have been identified to improve learning in the future. There is a favourable attitude to use of such improvement tools, especially for those currently dissatisfied.

Keywords: education environment, surgery, post-graduate education, OREEM

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Authors: Alese Boniface K., Adu Michael K., Owa Victor K.

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Security can be defined as the degree of resistance to, or protection from harm. It applies to any vulnerable and valuable assets, such as persons, dwellings, communities, nations or organizations. Cybercrime is any crime committed or facilitated via the Internet. It is any criminal activity involving computers and networks. It can range from fraud to unsolicited emails (spam). It includes the distant theft of government or corporate secrets through criminal trespass into remote systems around the globe. Nigeria like any other nations of the world is currently having their own share of the menace that has been used even as tools by terrorists. This paper is an attempt at presenting cyber security as an issue that requires a coordinated national response. It also acknowledges and advocates the key roles to be played by stakeholders and the importance of forging strong partnerships to prevent and tackle cybercrime in Nigeria.

Keywords: security, cybercrime, internet, government, stakeholders, partnerships

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Authors: Amin Mojiri, Akiyoshi Ohashi, Tomonori Kindaichi

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Synthetic domestic wastewater was treated via combining treatment methods, including electrochemical oxidation, adsorption, and sequencing batch reactor (SBR). In the upper part of the reactor, an anode and a cathode (Ti/RuO₂-IrO₂) were organized in parallel for the electrochemical oxidation procedure. Sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) with a concentration of 2.5 g/L was applied as the electrolyte. The voltage and current were fixed on 7.50 V and 0.40 A, respectively. Then, 15% working value of the reactor was filled by activated sludge, and 85% working value of the reactor was added with synthetic wastewater. Powdered cockleshell, 1.5 g/L, was added in the reactor to do ion-exchange. Response surface methodology was employed for statistical analysis. Reaction time (h) and pH were considered as independent factors. A total of 97.0% biochemical oxygen demand, 99.9% phosphorous and 88.6% cadmium were eliminated at the optimum reaction time (80.0 min) and pH (6.4).

Keywords: adsorption, electrochemical oxidation, metals, SBR

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Authors: Tewfik Bouchaour, Salah Hamri, Yasmina Houda Bendahma, Ulrich Maschke

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Stimuli-responsive materials based on UV crosslinked acrylic polymer networks are fabricated. A various kinds of polymeric systems, hydrophilic polymers based on 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate have been widely studied because of their ability to simulate biological tissues, which leads to many applications. The acrylic polymer network PHEMA developed by UV photopolymerization has been used for dye retention. For these so-called smart materials, the properties change in response to an external stimulus. In this contribution, we report the influence of some parameters (initial composition, temperature, and nature of components) in the properties of final materials. Optimization of different parameters is examined by experimental design.

Keywords: UV photo-polymerization, PHEMA, external stimulus, optimization

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Authors: Houssam A. Toutanji, Meng Han

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This study focuses on the development of a fracture mechanics based-model that predicts the debonding behavior of FRP strengthened RC beams. In this study, a database includes 351 concrete prisms bonded with FRP plates tested in single and double shear were prepared. The existing fracture-mechanics-based models are applied to this database. Unfortunately the properties of adhesive layer, especially a soft adhesive layer, used on the specimens in the existing studies were not always able to found. Thus, the new model’s proposal was based on fifteen newly conducted pullout tests and twenty four data selected from two independent existing studies with the application of a soft adhesive layers and the availability of adhesive properties.

Keywords: carbon fiber composite materials, interface response, fracture characteristics, maximum shear stress, ultimate transferable load

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Markus Bredel, Sindhu Nair, Hoa Q. Trummell, Rajani Rajbhandari, Christopher D. Willey, Lewis Z. Shi, Zhuo Zhang, William J. Placzek, James A. Bonner

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Purpose: EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) provide clinical benefit in some patients with H&N squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but others progress with minimal response. Missense mutations in the EGFR ectodomain (ECD) can be acquired under mAb therapy by mimicking the effect of large deletions on receptor untethering and activation. Little is known about the contribution of EGFR ECD mutations to EGFR activation and anti-EGFR response in HNSCC. Methods: We selected patient-derived HNSCC cells (UM-SCC-1) for resistance to mAb Cetuximab (CTX) by repeated, stepwise exposure to mimic what may occur clinically and identified two concurrent EGFR ECD mutations (UM-SCC-1R). We examined the competence of the mutants to bind EGF ligand or CTX. We assessed the potential impact of the mutations through visual analysis of space-filling models of the native sidechains in the original structures vs. their respective side-chain mutations. We performed CRISPR in combination with site-directed mutagenesis to test for the effect of the mutants on ligand-independent EGFR activation and sorting. We determined the effects on receptor internalization, endocytosis, downstream signaling, and radiation sensitivity. Results: UM-SCC-1R cells carried two non-synonymous missense mutations (G33S and N56K) mapping to domain I in or near the EGF binding pocket of the EGFR ECD. Structural modeling predicted that these mutants restrict the adoption of a tethered, inactive EGFR conformation while not permitting association of EGFR with the EGF ligand or CTX. Binding studies confirmed that the mutant, untethered receptor displayed a reduced affinity for both EGF and CTX but demonstrated sustained activation and presence at the cell surface with diminished internalization and sorting for endosomal degradation. Single and double-mutant models demonstrated that the G33S mutant is dominant over the N56K mutant in its effect on EGFR activation and EGF binding. CTX-resistant UM-SCC-1R cells demonstrated cross-resistance to mAb Panitumuab but, paradoxically, remained sensitive to the reversible receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor Erlotinib. Conclusions: HNSCC cells can select for EGFR ECD mutations under EGFR mAb exposure that converge to trap the receptor in an open, constitutively activated state. These mutants impede the receptor’s competence to bind mAbs and EGF ligand and alter its endosomal trafficking, possibly explaining certain cases of clinical mAb and radiation resistance.

Keywords: head and neck cancer, EGFR mutation, resistance, cetuximab

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Authors: Neha Batra Bali, Monika Tomar, Vinay Gupta

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A reagentless biosensor for detection of urea based on ZnO-CuO composite thin film is presented in following work. Biosensors have immense potential for varied applications ranging from environmental to clinical testing, health care, and cell analysis. Immense growth in the field of biosensors is due to the huge requirement in today’s world to develop techniques which are both cost effective and accurate for prevention of disease manifestation. The human body comprises of numerous biomolecules which in their optimum levels are essential for functioning. However mismanaged levels of these biomolecules result in major health issues. Urea is one of the key biomolecules of interest. Its estimation is of paramount significance not only for healthcare sector but also from environmental perspectives. If level of urea in human blood/serum is abnormal, i.e., above or below physiological range (15-40mg/dl)), it may lead to diseases like renal failure, hepatic failure, nephritic syndrome, cachexia, urinary tract obstruction, dehydration, shock, burns and gastrointestinal, etc. Various metal nanoparticles, conducting polymer, metal oxide thin films, etc. have been exploited to act as matrix to immobilize urease to fabricate urea biosensor. Amongst them, Zinc Oxide (ZnO), a semiconductor metal oxide with a wide band gap is of immense interest as an efficient matrix in biosensors by virtue of its natural abundance, biocompatibility, good electron communication feature and high isoelectric point (9.5). In spite of being such an attractive candidate, ZnO does not possess a redox couple of its own which necessitates the use of electroactive mediators for electron transfer between the enzyme and the electrode, thereby causing hindrance in realization of integrated and implantable biosensor. In the present work, an effort has been made to fabricate a matrix based on ZnO-CuO composite prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique in order to incorporate redox properties in ZnO matrix and to utilize the same for reagentless biosensing applications. The prepared bioelectrode Urs/(ZnO-CuO)/ITO/glass exhibits high sensitivity (70µAmM⁻¹cm⁻²) for detection of urea (5-200 mg/dl) with high stability (shelf life ˃ 10 weeks) and good selectivity (interference ˂ 4%). The enhanced sensing response obtained for composite matrix is attributed to the efficient electron exchange between ZnO-CuO matrix and immobilized enzymes, and subsequently fast transfer of generated electrons to the electrode via matrix. The response is encouraging for fabricating reagentless urea biosensor based on ZnO-CuO matrix.

Keywords: biosensor, reagentless, urea, ZnO-CuO composite

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Authors: Fhatuwani Herman Nndwambi, P. W. Mashela

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Salinity is a major constraint limiting crop productivity. It has been predicted that by the year 2050, more than 50% of the arable land will be affected by salinity. Two similar salinity experiments were conducted in two seasons under greenhouse condition. Six levels of salinity plus control (viz; control, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 % NaCl and CaCl2 at 3:1 ratio) were applied in a form of irrigation water in a single factor experiment arranged in a complete block design with 20 replications. Plant growth and yield were negatively affected by salinity treatments especially at the high levels of salinity. For example, our results suggest that the 32 and 64% of NaCl and CaCl2 treatment were too much for the plant to withstand as determined by reduced dry shoot mass, stem diameter and plant height in both seasons. On the other hand, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content increased with an increased level of salinity.

Keywords: growth, salinity, season, yield

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Authors: Ying Sun, Biao Cheng, Qing Lu, Xuefei Tao, Xiaoyu Lai, Cheng Guo, Dan Wang

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Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) has recently been identified to play an important role in inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis through a thrombin-dependent manner. Here, a murine monoclonal antibody was raised against the critical residue Ser(89) of FGL2, and the effects of the anti-FGL2 mAb (SPF89) were analyzed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and THP-1 cells. Firstly, it was proved that SPF89, which belongs to the IgG1 subtype with a KD value of 44.5 pM, could specifically show the expression levels of protein FGL2 in different cell lines of known target gene status. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated endothelial cell proliferation was significantly inhibited with a decline of phosphorylation nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in a dose-dependent manner after SPF89 treatment. Furthermore, SPF89 reduced LPS-induced expression of adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, Matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2, Integrin αvβ3, and interleukin-6 in HUVECs. In macrophage-like THP-1 cells, SPF89 effectively inhibited LPS and low-density lipoprotein-induced foam cell formation. However, these anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects of anti-FGL2 mAb in HUVECs and THP-1 cells were significantly reduced after treatment with an NF-κB inhibitor PDTC. All the above suggest, by efficiently inhibiting LPS-induced pro-inflammatory effects in vascular endothelial cells by attenuating NF-κB dependent pathway, the new anti-FGL2 mAb SPF89 could to be a potential therapeutic candidate for protecting the vascular endothelium against inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. This work was supported by the Program of Sichuan Science and Technology Department (2017FZ0069) and Collaborative Innovation Program of Sichuan for Elderly Care and Health(YLZBZ1511).

Keywords: monoclonal antibody, fibrinogen like protein 2, inflammation, endothelial cells

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Authors: Mohanaad Talal Shakir, Saad AJAJ Khalaf, Nawar Ahmed Aljumaily, Mustafa Talal Shakere

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Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Objectives of this paper are to investigate the role of the Enterprise System and Cloud Computing Services to assist and guide him to ensure the initiative become successful. The cloud computing technology offers great potential for Enterprise such as the speed of dealing with data and product introductions, innovations and speed of response. The use of cloud computing technology leads to the rapid development and competitiveness of enterprises in various fields.

Keywords: cloud computing, information management, marketing, enterprise systems

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Authors: Wallia Majeed

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Humidity sensors based on doped ZnO-rGO composites have shown promise due to their sensitivity to humidity changes. Here, it report on the hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO-rGO and doped ZnO-rGO nanocomposites, incorporating cobalt and iron dopants at 2% concentration. X-ray diffraction confirmed successful doping, while scanning electron microscopy revealed the composite's layered structure with embedded ZnO rods. To evaluate their performance, humidity sensors were fabricated by depositing aluminum electrodes on silicon substrates coated with the composites. The Fe-doped ZnO-rGO sensor exhibited rapid response (27 s) and recovery times (24 s) across a wide humidity range (11% to 97% RH), surpassing ZnO-rGO and Co-doped ZnO-rGO variants in sensitivity (2.2k at 100 Hz). These findings highlight Fe-doped ZnO-rGO composites as ideal candidates for humidity sensing applications, offering enhanced performance crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial processes.

Keywords: humidity sensors, nanocomposites, hydrothermal synthesis, sensitivity

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Authors: Yesim Tumsek, Erkan Celebi

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In order to simulate the infinite soil medium for soil-foundation interaction problem, the essential geotechnical parameter on which the foundation stiffness depends, is the value of soil shear modulus. This parameter directly affects the site and structural response of the considered model under earthquake ground motions. Strain-dependent shear modulus under cycling loads makes difficult to estimate the accurate value in computation of foundation stiffness for the successful dynamic soil-structure interaction analysis. The aim of this study is to discuss in detail how to use the appropriate value of soil shear modulus in the computational analyses and to evaluate the effect of the variation in shear modulus with strain on the impedance functions used in the sub-structure method for idealizing the soil-foundation interaction problem. Herein, the impedance functions compose of springs and dashpots to represent the frequency-dependent stiffness and damping characteristics at the soil-foundation interface. Earthquake-induced vibration energy is dissipated into soil by both radiation and hysteretic damping. Therefore, flexible-base system damping, as well as the variability in shear strengths, should be considered in the calculation of impedance functions for achievement a more realistic dynamic soil-foundation interaction model. In this study, it has been written a Matlab code for addressing these purposes. The case-study example chosen for the analysis is considered as a 4-story reinforced concrete building structure located in Istanbul consisting of shear walls and moment resisting frames with a total height of 12m from the basement level. The foundation system composes of two different sized strip footings on clayey soil with different plasticity (Herein, PI=13 and 16). In the first stage of this study, the shear modulus reduction factor was not considered in the MATLAB algorithm. The static stiffness, dynamic stiffness modifiers and embedment correction factors of two rigid rectangular foundations measuring 2m wide by 17m long below the moment frames and 7m wide by 17m long below the shear walls are obtained for translation and rocking vibrational modes. Afterwards, the dynamic impedance functions of those have been calculated for reduced shear modulus through the developed Matlab code. The embedment effect of the foundation is also considered in these analyses. It can easy to see from the analysis results that the strain induced in soil will depend on the extent of the earthquake demand. It is clearly observed that when the strain range increases, the dynamic stiffness of the foundation medium decreases dramatically. The overall response of the structure can be affected considerably because of the degradation in soil stiffness even for a moderate earthquake. Therefore, it is very important to arrive at the corrected dynamic shear modulus for earthquake analysis including soil-structure interaction.

Keywords: clay soil, impedance functions, soil-foundation interaction, sub-structure approach, reduced shear modulus

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Authors: Abejide Dorcas Ropo, , Falusi Olamide Ahmed, Daudu Oladipupo Abdulazeez Yusuf, Salihu Bolaji Zuluquri Neen, Muhammad Liman Muhammad, Gado Aishatu Adamu

Abstract:

Water stress is a major factor limiting the productivity of crops in the world today. This study evaluated the morpho-agronomic response of twenty-four (24) Nigerian Bambara groundnut landraces to water stress and genetic diversity of some selected accessions using SSR markers. The studies was carried out in the Botanical garden of the Department of Plant Biology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria in a randomized complete block design using three replicates. Molecular analysis using SSR primers was carried out at the Centre for Bio- Science, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, Nigeria in order to characterize ten selected accessions comprising of the seven most drought tolerant and the three most susceptible accessions detected from the morpho-agronomic studies. Results revealed that water stress decreased morpho-agronomic traits such as plant height, leaf area, number of leaves per plant and seed yield etc. A total of 22 alleles were detected by the SSR markers used with a mean number of 4 allelles. Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers MBamCO33, Primer 65 and G358B2-D15 each detected 4 allelles while Primer 3FR and 4FR detected 5 allelles each. The study revealed significantly high polymorphisms in 10 Loci. The mean value of Polymorpic information content was 0.6997 implying the usefulness of the primers used in identifying genetic similarities and differences among the Bambara groundnut genotypes. The SSR analysis revealed a comparable pattern between genetic diversity and drought tolerance of the genotypes. The Unweighted Paired Group Method with Arithmethic Mean (UPGMA) dendrogram showed that at a genetic distance of 0.1, the accessions were grouped into three groups according to their level of tolerance to drought. The two most drought tolerant accessions were grouped together and the 5th and 6th most drought tolerant accession were also grouped together. This suggests that the genotypes grouped together may be genetically close, may possess similar genes or have a common origin. The degree of genetic variants obtained could be useful in bambara groundnut breeding for drought tolerance. The identified drought tolerant bambara groundnut landraces are important genetic resources for drought stress tolerance breeding programme of bambara groundnut. The genotypes are also useful for germplasm conservation and global implications.

Keywords: bambara groundnut, genetic diversity, germplasm, SSR markers, water stress

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Authors: Navpreet Kaur, Randhir Singh

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Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus which affects more than 50% of diabetic patients. The present study targeted oxidative stress mediated nerve damage in diabetic rats using a hydro-alcohol extract of Cucurbita pepo L. (Family: Cucurbitaceae) and its potential in treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Diabetes neuropathy was induced in Wistar rats by injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, i.p.) 15 min after Nicotinamide (230 mg/kg, i.p.) administration. Hydro-alcohol extract of C. pepo seeds was assessed by oral administration at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg in STZ-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats. Thermal hyperalgesia (Eddy's hot plate and tail immersion), mechanical hyperalgesia (Randall-Selitto) and tactile allodynia (Von Frey hair tests) were evaluated in all groups of streptozotocin diabetic rats to assess the extent of neuropathy. Tissue (sciatic nerve) antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GSH and LPO) levels were measured along with the formation of AGEs in serum to assess the effect of hydro-alcohol extract of C. pepo in ameliorating oxidative stress. Diabetic rats exhibited significantly decreased tail-flick latency in the tail-immersion test and decreased paw withdrawal threshold in both Randall-Selitto and von-Frey hair test. A decrease in the nociceptive threshold was accompanied by significantly increased oxidative stress in sciatic nerve of diabetic rats. Treatment with the C. pepo hydro-alcohol extract significantly attenuated all the behavioral and biochemical alterations in a dose-dependent manner. C. pepo attenuated the diabetic condition and also reversed neuropathic pain through modulation of oxidative stress and thus it may find application as a possible therapeutic agent against diabetic neuropathy.

Keywords: advanced glycation end products, antioxidant enzymes, cucurbita pepo, hyperglycemia

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Authors: Bara M Yousef, Naresh B Raj, Nadiah W Arfah, Brightlin N Dhas

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Background: Executive function (EF) impairment is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EF strategies are considered effective in improving the therapeutic outcomes of children with ASD. Aims: This study primarily aims to explore whether integrating EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy intervention is more effective in improving daily life skills (DLS) and sensory integration/processing (SI/SP) skills than regular occupational therapy alone in children with ASD and secondarily aims to assess treatment outcomes on improving visual motor integration (VMI) skills. Procedures: A total of 92 children with ASD will be recruited and, following baseline assessments, randomly assigned to the treatment group (45-min once weekly individual occupational therapy plus EF strategies) and control group (45-min once weekly individual therapy sessions alone). Results and Outcomes: All children will be evaluated systematically by assessing SI/SP, DLS, and VMI, skills at baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks of treatment. Data will be analyzed using ANCOVA and T-test. Conclusions and Implications: This single-blind, randomized controlled trial will provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of EF strategies when combined with regular occupational therapy programs. Based on trial results, EF strategies could be recommended in multidisciplinary programs for children with ASD. Trial Registration: The trial has been registered in the clinicaltrail.gov for a registry, protocol ID: MRC-01-22-509 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05829577, registered 25th April 2023

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, executive function strategies, daily life skills, sensory integration/processing, visual motor integration, occupational therapy, effectiveness

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Authors: L. Kloetzer, M. Poştaru, A. I. Galaction, D. Caşcaval

Abstract:

Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic industrially obtained by biosynthesis of Micromonospora purpurea or echinospora, the product being a complex mixture of components with very similar structures. Among them, three exhibit the most important biological activity: gentamicins C1, C1a, C2, and C2a. The separation of gentamicin from the fermentation broths at industrial scale is rather difficult and it does not allow the fractionation of the complex mixture of gentamicins in order to increase the therapeutic activity of the product. The aim of our experiments is to analyze the possibility to selectively separate the less active gentamicin, namely gentamicin C1, from the biosynthetic mixture by reactive extraction with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) dissolved in dichloromethane, followed selective re-extraction of the most active gentamicins C1a, C2, and C2a. The experiments on the reactive extraction of gentamicins indicated the possibility to separate selectively the gentamicin C1 from the mixture obtained by biosynthesis. The extraction selectivity is positively influenced by increasing the pH-value of an aqueous solution and by using a D2EHPA concentration in organic phase closer to the value needed for an equimolecular ratio between the extractant and this gentamicin. For quantifying the selectivity of separation, the selectivity factor, calculated as the ratio between the degree of reactive extraction of gentamicin C1 and the overall extraction degree of gentamicins were used. The possibility to remove the gentamicin C1 at an extractant concentration of 10 g l-1 and pH = 8 is presented. In these conditions, it was obtained the maximum value of the selectivity factor of 2.14, which corresponds to the modification of the gentamicin C1 concentration from 31.92% in the biosynthetic mixture to 72% in the extract. The re-extraction of gentamicins C1, C1a, C2, and C2a with sulfuric acid from the extract previously obtained by reactive extraction (mixture A – extract obtained by non-selective reactive extraction; mixture B – extract obtained by selective reactive extraction) allows for separating selectively the most active gentamicins C1a, C2, and C2a. For recovering only the active gentamicins C1a, C2, and C2a, the re-extraction must be carried out at very low acid concentrations, far below those corresponding to the stoichiometry of its chemical reactions with these gentamicins. Therefore, the mixture resulted by re-extraction contained 92.6% gentamicins C1a, C2, and C2a. By bringing together the aqueous solutions obtained by reactive extraction and re-extraction, the overall content of the active gentamicins in the final product becomes 89%, their loss reaching 0.3% related to the initial biosynthetic product.

Keywords: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid, gentamicin, reactive extraction, selectivity factor

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Authors: Kang Kun Lee

Abstract:

New I-slab system with polystyrene forms and precast concrete deck is proposed to reduce the construction period and the self-weight of the slab. This paper presents experimental works on the bending and shear of the I-slabs. Five specimens were tested. The main parameters of experiments are diameters of the holes made by polystyrene form and the thickness of slab. Structural performance of I-slab is evaluated on the basis of failure mode, load-displacement curve, and ultimate strengths. Based on the test results, it is found that the critical punching shear sections are changed as the test variables are different, hence resulting in the varied punching shear strengths. Test results indicate that the developed I-slab is very effective to increase the strength due to self-weight reduction.

Keywords: hollowcore slab, section force-deformation response, precast concrete deck

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Authors: Ioannis Panagiotopoulos, Efstathios Kastritis, Anastasia Katinioti, Georgios Efthymiadis, Argyrios Doumas, Maria Koutelou

Abstract:

Introduction: Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) is a rare but serious infiltrative disease. Myocardial scintigraphy with DPD has emerged as the most effective, non-invasive, highly sensitive, and highly specific diagnostic method for cardiac ATTR amyloidosis. However, there are cases in which additional laboratory investigations reveal AL amyloidosis or other diseases despite a positive DPD scintigraphy. We describe the experience from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center and the monitoring center for infiltrative myocardial diseases of the cardiology clinic at AHEPA. Materials and Methods: All patients with clinical suspicion of cardiac or extracardiac amyloidosis undergo a myocardial scintigraphy scan with Tc-99m DPD. In this way, over 500 patients have been examined. Further diagnostic approach based on clinical and imaging findings includes laboratory investigation and invasive techniques (e.g., biopsy). Results: Out of 76 patients in total with positive myocardial scintigraphy Grade 2 or 3 according to the Perugini scale, 8 were proven to suffer from AL Amyloidosis during the investigation of paraproteinemia. Among these patients, 3 showed Grade 3 uptake, while the rest were graded as Grade 2, or 2 to 3. Additionally, one patient presented diffuse and unusual radiopharmaceutical uptake in soft tissues throughout the body without cardiac involvement. These findings raised suspicions, leading to the analysis of κ and λ light chains in the serum, as well as immunostaining of proteins in the serum and urine of these specific patients. The final diagnosis was AL amyloidosis. Conclusion: The value of DPD scintigraphy in the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis from transthyretin is undisputed. However, positive myocardial scintigraphy with DPD should not automatically lead to the diagnosis of ATTR amyloidosis. Laboratory differentiation between ATTR and AL amyloidosis is crucial, as both prognosis and therapeutic strategy are dramatically altered. Laboratory exclusion of paraproteinemia is a necessary and essential step in the diagnostic algorithm of ATTR amyloidosis for all positive myocardial scintigraphy with diphosphonate tracers since >20% of patients with Grade 3 and 2 uptake may conceal AL amyloidosis.

Keywords: AL amyloidosis, amyloidosis, ATTR, myocardial scintigraphy, Tc-99m DPD

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