Search results for: system dynamic model

Authors: Wisam Ismail, Sarah Hosgood, Michael Nicholson

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The research hypothesis is that early post-transplant allograft fibrosis will be linked to donor factors and that acute rejection and/or delayed graft function in the recipient will be independent risk factors for the development of fibrosis. This research hypothesis is to explore whether acute rejection/delay graft function has an effect on the renal transplant fibrosis within the first year post live donor kidney transplant between 1998 and 2009. Methods: The study has been designed to identify five time points of the renal transplant biopsies [0 (pre-transplant), 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months] for 300 live donor renal transplant patients over 12 years period between March 1997 – August 2009. Paraffin fixed slides were collected from Leicester General Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary. These were routinely sectioned at a thickness of 4 Micro millimetres for standardization. Conclusions: Fibrosis at 1 month after the transplant was found significantly associated with baseline fibrosis (p<0.001) and HTN in the transplant recipient (p<0.001). Dialysis after the transplant showed a weak association with fibrosis at 1 month (p=0.07). The negative coefficient for HTN (-0.05) suggests a reduction in fibrosis in the absence of HTN. Fibrosis at 1 month was significantly associated with fibrosis at baseline (p 0.01 and 95%CI 0.11 to 0.67). Fibrosis at 3, 6 or 12 months was not found to be associated with fibrosis at baseline (p=0.70. 0.65 and 0.50 respectively). The amount of fibrosis at 1 month is significantly associated with graft survival (p=0.01 and 95%CI 0.02 to 0.14). Rejection and severity of rejection were not found to be associated with fibrosis at 1 month. The amount of fibrosis at 1 month was significantly associated with graft survival (p=0.02) after adjusting for baseline fibrosis (p=0.01). Both baseline fibrosis and graft survival were significant predictive factors. The amount of fibrosis at 1 month was not found to be significantly associated with rejection (p=0.64) after adjusting for baseline fibrosis (p=0.01). The amount of fibrosis at 1 month was not found to be significantly associated with rejection severity (p=0.29) after adjusting for baseline fibrosis (p=0.04). Fibrosis at baseline and HTN in the recipient were found to be predictive factors of fibrosis at 1 month. (p 0.02, p <0.001 respectively). Age of the donor, their relation to the patient, the pre-op Creatinine, artery, kidney weight and warm time were not found to be significantly associated with fibrosis at 1 month. In this complex model baseline fibrosis, HTN in the recipient and cold time were found to be predictive factors of fibrosis at 1 month (p=0.01,<0.001 and 0.03 respectively). Donor age was found to be a predictive factor of fibrosis at 6 months. The above analysis was repeated for 3, 6 and 12 months. No associations were detected between fibrosis and any of the explanatory variables with the exception of the donor age which was found to be a predictive factor of fibrosis at 6 months.

Keywords: fibrosis, transplant, renal, rejection

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Authors: Zhaojun Wang, Zongdi Sun, Qinqin Cui, Xingwan Ren

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Based on multivariate statistical analysis theory, this paper uses the principal component analysis method, Mahalanobis distance analysis method and fitting method to establish the photovoltaic health model to evaluate the health of photovoltaic panels. First of all, according to weather conditions, the photovoltaic panel variable data are classified into five categories: sunny, cloudy, rainy, foggy, overcast. The health of photovoltaic panels in these five types of weather is studied. Secondly, a scatterplot of the relationship between the amount of electricity produced by each kind of weather and other variables was plotted. It was found that the amount of electricity generated by photovoltaic panels has a significant nonlinear relationship with time. The fitting method was used to fit the relationship between the amount of weather generated and the time, and the nonlinear equation was obtained. Then, using the principal component analysis method to analyze the independent variables under five kinds of weather conditions, according to the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, it was found that three types of weather such as overcast, foggy, and sunny meet the conditions for factor analysis, while cloudy and rainy weather do not satisfy the conditions for factor analysis. Therefore, through the principal component analysis method, the main components of overcast weather are temperature, AQI, and pm2.5. The main component of foggy weather is temperature, and the main components of sunny weather are temperature, AQI, and pm2.5. Cloudy and rainy weather require analysis of all of their variables, namely temperature, AQI, pm2.5, solar radiation intensity and time. Finally, taking the variable values in sunny weather as observed values, taking the main components of cloudy, foggy, overcast and rainy weather as sample data, the Mahalanobis distances between observed value and these sample values are obtained. A comparative analysis was carried out to compare the degree of deviation of the Mahalanobis distance to determine the health of the photovoltaic panels under different weather conditions. It was found that the weather conditions in which the Mahalanobis distance fluctuations ranged from small to large were: foggy, cloudy, overcast and rainy.

Keywords: fitting, principal component analysis, Mahalanobis distance, SPSS, MATLAB

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Authors: Mohammad Anwarul Kabir, Fayezul Islam

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Language invariably is learned / taught to be used primarily as means of communications. Teaching a language for its native audience differs from teaching it to non-native audience. Moreover, teaching a language for communication only is different from teaching it for specific purposes. Arabic language is primarily regarded as the language of the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition). Arabic is, therefore, learnt and spread all over the globe. However, Arabic is also a cultural heritage shared by all Islamic nations which has used Arabic for a long period to record the contributions of Muslim thinkers made in the field of wide spectrum of knowledge and scholarship. That is why the phenomenon of teaching Arabic by different educational institutes became quite rife, and the idea of teaching Arabic for specific purposes is heavily discussed in the academic sphere. Although the number of learners of Arabic is increasing consistently, yet their purposes vary. These include religious purpose, international trade, diplomatic purpose, better livelihood in the Arab world extra. By virtue of this high demand for learning Arabic, numerous institutes have been established all over the world including Bangladesh. This paper aims at focusing on the current status of the language institutes which has been established for learning Arabic for specific purposes in Bangladesh including teaching methodology, curriculum, and teachers’ quality. Such curricula and using its materials resulted in a lot of problems. The least, it confused teachers and students as well. Islamic educationalists have been working hard to professionally meet the need. They are following a systematic approach of stating clear and achievable goals, building suitable content, and applying new technology to present these learning experiences and evaluate them. It also suggests a model for designing instructional systems that responds to the need of non-Arabic speaking Islamic communities and provide the knowledge needed in both linguistic and cultural aspects. It also puts forward a number of suggestions for the improvement of the teaching / learning Arabic for specific purposes in Bangladesh after a detailed investigation in the following areas: curriculum, teachers’ skills, method of teaching and assessment policy.

Keywords: communication, Quran, sunnah, educational institutes, specific purposes, curriculum, method of teaching

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Authors: Kholoud Abdulaziz, Kholoud Al-Najdi, Abdullah Kadri, Konstantinos E. Kakosimos

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The Middle East area is highly affected by air pollution induced by anthropogenic and natural phenomena. There is evidence that air pollution, especially particulates, greatly affects the population health. Many studies have raised a warning of the high concentration of particulates and their affect not just around industrial and construction areas but also in the immediate working and living environment. One of the methods to study air quality is continuous and periodic monitoring using active or passive samplers. Active monitoring and sampling are the default procedures per the European and US standards. However, in many cases they have been inefficient to accurately capture the spatial variability of air pollution due to the small number of installations; which eventually is attributed to the high cost of the equipment and the limited availability of users with expertise and scientific background. Another alternative has been found to account for the limitations of the active methods that is the passive sampling. It is inexpensive, requires no continuous power supply, and easy to assemble which makes it a more flexible option, though less accurate. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the use of passive sampling for particulate matter pollution monitoring in dry tropical climates, like in the Middle East. More specifically, a number of field measurements have be conducted, both indoors and outdoors, at Qatar and the results have been compared with active sampling equipment and the reference methods. The samples have been analyzed, that is to obtain particle size distribution, by applying existing laboratory techniques (optical microscopy) and by exploring new approaches like the white light interferometry to. Then the new parameters of the well-established model have been calculated in order to estimate the atmospheric concentration of particulates. Additionally, an extended literature review will investigate for new and better models. The outcome of this project is expected to have an impact on the public, as well, as it will raise awareness among people about the quality of life and about the importance of implementing research culture in the community.

Keywords: air pollution, passive samplers, interferometry, indoor, outdoor

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Authors: Ana Lucia Molina

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Introduction: Fine motor skills refer to the use of the hands and coordination of the small muscles that control the fingers. A deficiency in fine motor skills is as important as a change in global movements, as fine motor skills directly affect activities of daily living. Fine movements are involved in some functions, such as motor control of the extremities, sensitivity, strength and tonus of the hands. A growing interest in the effects of non-invasive neuromodulation, such as transcranial stimulation technologies, through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has been observed in the scientific literature, with promising results in fine motor rehabilitation, as it provides modulation of the corresponding cortical activity in the area primary motor skills of the hands in both hemispheres (according to the International System 10-20, corresponding to C3 and C4). Objectives: to carry out a literature review about the effects of TMS on the cortical motor area corresponding to hand motricity. Methodology: This is a bibliographic survey carried out between October 2022 and March 2023 at Pubmed, Google Scholar, Lillacs and Virtual Health Library (BVS), with a national and international database. Some books on neuromodulation were included. Results: 28 articles and 5 books were initially found, and after reading the abstracts, only 14 articles and 3 books were selected, with publication dates between 2008 and 2022, to compose the literature review since it suited the purpose of this study. Conclusion: TMS has shown promising results in the treatment of fine motor rehabilitation, such as improving coordination, muscle strength and range of motion of the hands, being a complementary technique to existing treatments and thus providing more potent results for manual skills in activities of daily living. It is important to emphasize the need for more specific studies on the application of TMS for the treatment of manual disorders, which describe the uniqueness of each movement.

Keywords: transcranial magnetic stimulation, fine motor skills, motor rehabilitation, non-invasive neuromodulation

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Authors: Wondmnew Derebe Yohannis

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Farming irrigation plays a crucial role in rural development strategies, impacting both annual household income and livelihood. This research aims to evaluate the factors influencing irrigation participation and assess the impact of small-scale irrigation on rural households' annual income. The study collected data from 287 farmers in the Dahana district of northern Ethiopia. The research investigates the driving forces behind farmers' decisions to adopt small-scale irrigation and its effect on annual income gain. The findings reveal that several factors positively influence the probability of adoption, including access to credit, cultivated land size, livestock holding, extension contact, and the education level of the household head. Conversely, the distance to local markets and water schemes negatively affects the likelihood of adoption. To understand the differences in annual income between farm households that adopted irrigation and those that did not, a simultaneous equations model with endogenous switching regression is estimated. This accounts for the heterogeneity in the adoption decision and unobservable characteristics of farmers and their farms. The analysis compares the expected income gain under actual and counterfactual scenarios, considering whether the farm household adopted irrigation or not. The study reveals that the group of farm households that adopted irrigation has distinct characteristics compared to those that did not adopt it. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that the adoption of irrigation practices leads to an increase in annual income. Interestingly, the impact of small-scale irrigation on annual income is greater for the farm households that actually adopted irrigation compared to those in the counterfactual scenario where they did not adopt. Based on the findings, the researcher concludes that small-scale irrigation is a practical solution for meeting household financial needs in the study area. It is recommended that investments in small-scale irrigation continue to further improve the livelihoods of rural farming communities by enhancing annual income gains.

Keywords: small-scale irrigation, income, rural farm households, endogenous switching regression, user, non-user

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Authors: Y. Zhang, J. Perez, S. Marnier

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To date, no study on goaltending butterfly motion has been completed in real conditions, during an ice hockey game or training practice, to the author's best knowledge. This motion, performed to save score, is unnatural, intense, and repeated. The target of this research activity is to identify representative biomechanical criteria for this goaltender-specific movement pattern. Determining specific physical parameters may allow to will identify the risk of hip and groin injuries sustained by goaltenders. Four professional or academic goalies were instrumented during ice hockey training practices with five inertial measurement units. These devices were inserted in dedicated pockets located on each thigh and shank, and the fifth on the lumbar spine. A camera was also installed close to the ice to observe and record the goaltenders' activities, especially the butterfly motions, in order to synchronize the captured data and the behavior of the goaltender. Each data recorded began with a calibration of the inertial units and a calibration of the fully equipped goaltender on the ice. Three butterfly motions were recorded out of the training practice to define referential individual butterfly motions. Then, a data processing algorithm based on the Madgwick filter computed hip and knee joints joint range of motion as well as angular specific angular velocities. The developed algorithm software automatically identified and analyzed all the butterfly motions executed by the four different goaltenders. To date, it is still too early to show that the analyzed criteria are representative of the trauma generated by the butterfly motion as the research is only at its beginning. However, this descriptive research activity is promising in its ecological assessment, and once the criteria are found, the tools and protocols defined will allow the prevention of as many injuries as possible. It will thus be possible to build a specific training program for each goalie.

Keywords: biomechanics, butterfly motion, human motion analysis, ice hockey, inertial measurement unit

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Authors: Hanna Gulema, Meaza Demissie, Alemayehu Worku, Tesfaye Assebe Yadeta, Yemane Berhane

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Background: In patriarchal societies, female caregivers decide on food allocation within a family based on prevailing gender and age norms, which may lead to inequality that does not favor young adolescent girls. This study evaluated the effect of a community-based social norm intervention involving female caregivers in West Hararghe, Ethiopia. The intervention was engaging female caregivers along with other adult influential community members to deliberate and act on food allocation social norms in a process referred to as Social Analysis and Action (SAA). Method: We used data from a large quasi-experimental study to compare family eating practices between those who participated in the Social Analyses and Action intervention and those who did not. The respondents were female caregivers in households with young adolescent girls (ages 13 and 14 years). The study’s outcome was the practice of family eating together from the same dish. The difference in difference (DID) analysis with the Mixed effect logistic regression model was used to examine the effect of the intervention. Result: The results showed improved family eating practices in both groups, but the improvement was greater in the intervention group. The DID analysis showed an 11.99 percentage points greater improvement in the intervention arm than in the control arm. The mixed-effect regression produced an adjusted odds ratio of 2.08 (95% CI [1.06–4.09]) after controlling selected covariates, p-value 0.033. Conclusions: The involvement of influential adult community members significantly improves the family practice of eating together in households where adolescent girls are present in our study. The intervention has great potential to minimize household food allocation inequalities and thus improve the nutritional status of young adolescents. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in different social norm contexts to formulate policy and guidelines for scale-up.

Keywords: family eating practice, social norm intervention, adolescence girls, caregiver

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Authors: A. Durgadevi, S. Pushpavanam

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For the past several decades, CO2 levels have been dramatically increasing in the atmosphere due to the man-made emissions such as fossil fuel-fired power plants. With the increase in CO2 emissions, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased resulting in global warming. This shows the need to study different ways to capture the emitted CO2 directly from the exhausts of power plants or atmosphere. There are several ways to remove CO2, such as absorption into a liquid solvent, adsorption into a solid, cryogenic separation, permeation through membranes and photochemical conversion. In most industries, the absorption of CO2 in chemical solvents (in absorption towers) is used for CO2 capture. In these towers, the mass transfer along with chemical reactions take place between the gas and liquid phase. This helps in the separation of CO2 from other gases. It is important to understand these processes in detail. These flow patterns are difficult to maintain in large scale industrial absorbers. So to get accurate information controlled gas-liquid absorption experiments are carried out in milli-channels in this work under controlled atmosphere. The absorption experiments of CO2 in varying concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution are carried out in T-junction glass milli-channels with a circular cross section (inner diameter of 2mm). The gas and liquid flow rates are controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC) and a Harvard syringe pump respectively. The slug flow in the channel is recorded using a camera and the videos are analysed. The gas slug of pure CO2 is found to decrease in size along the length of the channel due to absorption of gas in the liquid. This is also captured with the model developed and the mass transfer characteristics are studied. The pressure drop across the channel is determined by sum of the pressure drops from the gas slugs and the liquid plugs. A dimensionless correlation for the mass transfer coefficient is developed in terms of Sherwood number and compared with the existing correlations in the literature. They are found to be in close agreement with each other. In this case, due to the presence of chemical reaction, the enhancement of mass transfer is obtained. This is quantified with the help of an enhancement factor.

Keywords: absorption, enhancement factor, mass transfer coefficient, Sherwood number

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Authors: Elżbieta Turska

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Introduction: One of the most difficult times in a person’s life is adolescence. The experiences in this period may shape the future life of this person to a large extent. This is the reason why many young people experience sadness, dejection, hopelessness, sense of worthlessness, as well as losing interest in various activities and social relationships, all of which are often classified as mood disorders. As many as 15-40% adolescents experience depressed moods and for most of them they resolve and are not carried into adulthood. However, (5-6%) of those affected by mood disorders develop the depressive syndrome and as many as (1-3%) develop full-blown clinical depression. Materials: A large questionnaire was given to 2508 students, aged 13–16 years old, and one of its parts was the Burns checklist, i.e. the standard test for identifying depressed mood. The questionnaire asked about many aspects of the student’s life, it included a total of 53 questions, most of which had subquestions. It is important to note that the data suffered from many problems, the most important of which were missing data and collinearity. Aim: In order to identify the correlates of mood disorders we built predictive models which were then trained and validated. Our aim was not to be able to predict which students suffer from mood disorders but rather to explore the factors influencing mood disorders. Methods: The problems with data described above practically excluded using all classical statistical methods. For this reason, we attempted to use the following Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods: classification trees with surrogate variables, random forests and xgboost. All analyses were carried out with the use of the mlr package for the R programming language. Resuts: The predictive model built by classification trees algorithm outperformed the other algorithms by a large margin. As a result, we were able to rank the variables (questions and subquestions from the questionnaire) from the most to least influential as far as protection against mood disorder is concerned. Thirteen out of twenty most important variables reflect the relationships with parents. This seems to be a really significant result both from the cognitive point of view and also from the practical point of view, i.e. as far as interventions to correct mood disorders are concerned.

Keywords: mood disorders, adolescents, family, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Ahmed Chetouani

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Corrosion is a natural occurring process where it can be defined as the deterioration of materials properties due to its interaction with its environment. Corrosion can lead to failures in plant infrastructure and machines which are usually costly to repair. In terms of loss of contaminated products which will cause environmental damage and possibly costly in terms of human health. The driving force that causes metals to corrode is due to the natural consequence of their temporary existence in metallic form. There is a growing trend in utilizing plant extracts and pharmaceutical compounds as corrosion inhibitors. Exquisite identification of the essential oil of aerial parts of Pelargonium was obtained using hydrodistillation and identification using GC (gas chromatography) and GC/MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). The oil was predominated by Citronellol (22.8%). The inhibitory effect of essential oil and extract of Pelargonium was estimated on the corrosion of mild steel in 1M hydrochloric acid (HCl) using weight loss, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization curves. Inhibition was found to increase with increasing concentration of the essential oil and extract of Pelargonium. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behaviour of mild steel in 1M HCl with addition of essential oil and extract was also studied and the thermodynamic parameters were determined and discussed. Values of inhibition efficiency were calculated from weight loss, Tafel polarization curves, and EIS. All results are in good agreement. Polarization curves showed that essential oil and extract of Pelargonium behave as mixed type inhibitors in hydrochloric acid. The results obtained showed that the essential oil and extract of Pelargonium could serve as an effective inhibitor of the corrosion of mild steel in Hydrochloric acid solution. To avoid any surprise of toxicity, the majority compounds have been studied by using POM analyses.

Keywords: corrosion inhibition, mild steel, pelargonium oil, extract, electrochemical system, hydrodistillation, side effects, POM Analyses

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Authors: Krunal Thakar

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Wire ropes combine high tensile strength and flexibility as compared to other general steel products. They are used in various application areas such as cranes, mining, elevators, bridges, cable cars, etc. The earliest reported use of wire ropes was for mining hoist application in 1830s. Over the period, there have been substantial advancement in the design of wire ropes for various application areas. Under operational conditions, wire ropes are subjected to varying tensile loads and bending loads resulting in material wear and eventual structural failure due to fretting fatigue. The conventional inspection methods to determine wire failure is only limited to outer wires of rope. However, till date, there is no effective mathematical model to examine the inter wire contact forces and wear characteristics. The scope of this paper is to present a computational simulation technique to evaluate inter wire contact forces and wear, which are in many cases responsible for rope failure. Two different type of ropes, IWRC-6xFi(29) and U3xSeS(48) were taken for structural strength evaluation and wear prediction. Both ropes have a double helix twisted wire profile as per JIS standards and are mainly used in cranes. CAD models of both ropes were developed in general purpose design software using in house developed formulation to generate double helix profile. Numerical simulation was done under two different load cases (a) Axial Tension and (b) Bending over Sheave. Different parameters such as stresses, contact forces, wear depth, load-elongation, etc., were investigated and compared between both ropes. Numerical simulation method facilitates the detailed investigation of inter wire contact and wear characteristics. In addition, various selection parameters like sheave diameter, rope diameter, helix angle, swaging, maximum load carrying capacity, etc., can be quickly analyzed.

Keywords: steel wire ropes, numerical simulation, material wear, structural strength, axial tension, bending over sheave

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Authors: Mark Andrew

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Geopolitical tensions are at a thirty-year high, and the pace of technological innovation is driving asymmetry in force capabilities between nation states and between non-state actors. Technology futures are a vital component of defence capability growth, and investments in technology futures need to be informed by accurate and reliable forecasts of the options for ‘systems of systems’ innovation, development, and deployment. This paper describes a method for forecasting technology futures developed through an analysis of four key systems’ development stages, namely: technology domain categorisation, scanning results examining novel systems’ signals and signs, potential system-of systems’ implications in warfare theatres, and political ramifications in terms of funding and development priorities. The method has been applied to several technology domains, including physical systems (e.g., nano weapons, loitering munitions, inflight charging, and hypersonic missiles), biological systems (e.g., molecular virus weaponry, genetic engineering, brain-computer interfaces, and trans-human augmentation), and information systems (e.g., sensor technologies supporting situation awareness, cyber-driven social attacks, and goal-specification challenges to proliferation and alliance testing). Although the current application of the method has been team-centred using paper-based rapid prototyping and iteration, the application of autonomous language models (such as GPT-3) is anticipated as a next-stage operating platform. The importance of forecasting accuracy and reliability is considered a vital element in guiding technology development to afford stronger contingencies as ideological changes are forecast to expand threats to ecology and earth systems, possibly eclipsing the traditional vulnerabilities of nation states. The early results from the method will be subjected to ground truthing using longitudinal investigation.

Keywords: forecasting, technology futures, uncertainty, complexity

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Authors: Larissa Bolliger, Junoš Lukan, Mitja Lustrek, Dirk De Bacquer, Els Clays

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Introduction and Aim: Chronic workplace stress and its health-related consequences like mental and cardiovascular diseases have been widely investigated. This project focuses on the sources and context of psychosocial daily workplace stress in a real-world setting. The main objective is to analyze and model real-time relationships between (1) psychosocial stress experiences within the natural work environment, (2) micro-level work activities and events, and (3) physiological signals and behaviors in office workers. Methods: An Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol has been developed, partly building on machine learning techniques. Empatica® wristbands will be used for real-life detection of stress from physiological signals; micro-level activities and events at work will be based on smartphone registrations, further processed according to an automated computer algorithm. A field study including 100 office-based workers with high-level problem-solving tasks like managers and researchers will be implemented in Slovenia and Belgium (50 in each country). Data mining and state-of-the-art statistical methods – mainly multilevel statistical modelling for repeated data – will be used. Expected Results and Impact: The project findings will provide novel contributions to the field of occupational health research. While traditional assessments provide information about global perceived state of chronic stress exposure, the EMA approach is expected to bring new insights about daily fluctuating work stress experiences, especially micro-level events and activities at work that induce acute physiological stress responses. The project is therefore likely to generate further evidence on relevant stressors in a real-time working environment and hence make it possible to advise on workplace procedures and policies for reducing stress.

Keywords: ecological momentary assessment, real-time, stress, work

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Authors: Jacob T. Liberty, Wilfred I. Okonkwo

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The present study designed and constructed a post-harvest passive solar tomato dryer of dimension 176 x 152 x 54cm for drying tomato. Quality of the dried crop was evaluated and compared with the fresh ones. The solar dryer consist of solar collector (air heater), 110 x 61 x 10 x 10cm, the drying chamber, 102 x54cm, removal heat storage unit, 40 x 35 x 13cm and drying trays, 43 x 42cm. The physicochemical properties of this crop were evaluated before and after drying. Physicochemical properties evaluated includes moisture, protein, fat, fibre, ash, carbohydrate and vitamin C, contents. The fresh, open and solar dried samples were analysed for their proximate composition using the recommended method of AOAC. Also, statistical analysis of the data was conducted using analysis of variance (ANOVA) using completely Randomize Design (CRD) and means were separated by Duncan’s New Multiple Range test (DNMRT). Proximate analysis showed that solar dried tomato had significantly (P < 0.05) higher protein, fibre, ash, carbohydrate and vitamin C except for the fat content that was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for all the open sun dried samples than the solar dried and fresh product. The nutrient which is highly affected by sun drying is vitamin C. Result indicates that moisture loss in solar dried tomato was faster and lower than the open dried samples and as such makes the solar dried products of lesser tendency to mould and bacterial growth. Also, the open sun dried samples had to be carried into the sheltered place each time it rained. The solar dried produce is of high quality. Further processing of the dried crops will involve packaging for commercial purposes. This will also help in making these agricultural product available in a relatively cheap price in off season and also avert micronutrient deficiencies in diet especially among the low-income groups in Nigeria.

Keywords: tomato, passive solar dryer, physicochemical properties, removal heat storage

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Authors: Djebbar Atmani, Aghiles Karim Aissat, Nadjet Debbache-Benaida, Nassima Chaher-Bazizi, Dina Atmani-Kilani, Meriem Rahmani-Berboucha, Naima Saidene, Malika Benloukil, Lila Azib

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Medicinal plants are believed to be an important source for the discovery of potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic substances. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-hyperuricemic potential of Pistacia lentiscus, as well as the identification of active compounds. The antioxidant potential of plant extracts against known radicals was measured using various standard in vitro methods. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the paw edema model in mice and by measuring the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, whereas the anti-diabetic effect was assessed in vivo on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and in vitro by inhibition of alpha-amylase. The anti-hyperuricemic activity was evaluated using the xanthine oxidase assay, whereas neuroprotective activity was investigated using an Aluminum-induced toxicity test. Pistacia lentiscus extracts and fractions exhibited high scavenging capacity against DPPH, NO. and ABTS+ radicals in a dose-dependent manner and restored blood glucose levels, in vivo, to normal values, in agreement with the in vitro anti-diabetic effect. Oral administration of plant extracts significantly decreased carrageenan-induced mice paw oedema, similar to the standard drug, diclofenac, was effective in reducing IL-1β levels in cell culture and induced a significant increase in urinary volume in mice, associated to a promising anti-hyperuricemic activity. Plant extracts showed good neuroprotection and restoration of cognitive functions in mice. HPLC-MS and NMR analyses allowed the identification of known and new phenolic compounds that could be responsible for the observed activities. Therefore, Pistacia lentiscus could be beneficial in the treatment of inflammatory conditions and diabetes complications and the enhancement of cognitive functions.

Keywords: Pistacia lentiscus, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, flavanols, neuroprotective

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Authors: Vongsathorn Ngampuak, Yutachai Chookaew, Wipawee Dejtisakdi

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Dunaliella salina has great potential as a system for generating commercially valuable products, including beta-carotene, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. Our goal is to improve this potential by enhancing growth rate and other properties of D. salina under optimal growth conditions. We used ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) to generate random mutants in D. salina KU11, a strain classified in Thailand. In a preliminary experiment, we first treated D. salina cells with 0%, 0.8%, 1.0%, 1.2%, 1.44% and 1.66% EMS to generate a killing curve. After that, we randomly picked 30 candidates from approximately 300 isolated survivor colonies from the 1.44% EMS treatment (which permitted 30% survival) as an initial test of the mutant screen. Among the 30 survivor lines, we found that 2 strains (mutant #17 and #24) had significantly improved growth rates and cell number accumulation at stationary phase approximately up to 1.8 and 1.45 fold, respectively, 2 strains (mutant #6 and #23) had significantly decreased growth rates and cell number accumulation at stationary phase approximately down to 1.4 and 1.35 fold, respectively, while 26 of 30 lines had similar growth rates compared with the wild type control. We also analyzed cell size for each strain and found there was no significant difference comparing all mutants with the wild type. In addition, mutant #24 had shown an increase of biomass accumulation approximately 1.65 fold compared with the wild type strain on day 5 that was entering early stationary phase. From these preliminary results, it could be feasible to identify D. salina mutants with significant improved growth rate, cell accumulation and biomass production compared to the wild type for the further study; this makes it possible to improve this microorganism as a platform for biotechnology application.

Keywords: Dunaliella salina, ethyl methyl sulfonate, growth rate, biomass

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Authors: A. C. Obosi, H. O. Osinowo, L. I. Okeke

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one among other prostate diseases with an increasing public health concern. The prevalence and increased psychological distress of BPH among men negatively impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Although several biomedical factors have been implicated in poor HRQoL among people with BPH, there is a dearth of research on the psychosocial factors predicting HRQoL among them especially in developing climes. This study, therefore, examined the psychosocial (knowledge, perceived stigma, depression, anxiety, perceived social support and illness acceptance) predictors of health-related quality of life among persons living with BPH in Ibadan, Nigeria. Biopsychosocial model and Health-related Quality of life guided this study which utilized ex-post facto design. Eighty-seven males living with BPH were purposively selected and actively participated in the study. Participants’ mean age was 61.77 ± 15.80 years. A standardized questionnaire comprising Socio-demographics and measures of health-related quality of life (α = 0.47); knowledge (α = 0.72); psychological distress (α = 0.95); perceived social support (α = 0.96) and Illness acceptance (α = 0.89) scales was utilized in the study. Data were content analysed, while bivariate correlation, hierarchical multiple regression and t-test for independent samples were computed at p < 0.05. Results revealed that 42.5% of the respondents reported poor HRQoL. Furthermore, age, length of illness, perceived stigma, depression, anxiety, knowledge, perceived social support and illness acceptance jointly predicted HRQoL significantly (R2=0.33, F(9,75)=4.05) and accounted for 33% variance in the total observed variance on HRQoL, while Illness acceptance (β=0.43), anxiety (β=-0.54), and perceived social support (β=0.16) had significant independent contributions to the observed variance on HRQoL. Illness acceptance, knowledge, perceived social support and psychological distress such as anxiety, depression and perceived stigma are important predictors of HRQoL. Therefore, it was recommended that urgent psychological intervention targeted at improving the quality of life of these persons be undertaken.

Keywords: benign prostatic hyperplasia, Health-related quality of life, prostate disorders, psychosocial factors

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Authors: Farangiz Davranbekova

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Subject: The study explores the impact of Over-the-Top services in the sports rights market, focusing on football games. This impact is analysed in the big five European football markets. The research entails how the pay-TV market is combating the disruptors' entry, how the fans are adjusting to these changes and how leagues and football clubs are orienting in the transitional period of more choice. Aims and methods: The research aims to offer a general overview of the impact of OTT players in the football rights market. A theoretical framework of Jenkins’ five layers of convergence is implemented to analyse the transition the sports rights market is witnessing from various angles. The empirical analysis consists of secondary research data as and seven expert interviews from three different clusters. The findings are bound by the combination of the two methods offering general statements. Findings: The combined secondary data as well as expert interviews, conducted on five layers of convergence found: 1. Technological convergence presents that football content is accessible through various devices with innovative digital features, unlike the traditional TV set box. 2. Social convergence demonstrates that football fans multitask using various devices on social media when watching the games. These activities are complementary to traditional TV viewing. 3. Cultural convergence points that football fans have a new layer of fan engagement with leagues, clubs and other fans using social media. Additionally, production and consumption lines are blurred. 4. Economic convergence finds that content distribution is diversifying and/or eroding. Consumers now have more choices, albeit this can be harmful to them. Entry barriers are decreased, and bigger clubs feel more powerful. 5. Global convergence shows that football fans are engaging with not only local fans but with fans around the world that social media sites enable. Recommendation: A study on smaller markets such as Belgium or the Netherlands would benefit the study on the impact of OTT. Additionally, examination of other sports will shed light on this matter. Lastly, once the direct-to-consumer model is fully taken off in Europe, it will be of importance to examine the impact of such transformation in the market.

Keywords: sports rights, OTT, pay TV, football

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Errol J. Haarhoff

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Housing in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, is dominated by low-density suburbs. Over the past 20 years, housing intensification policies aimed to curb outward low-density sprawl and to concentrate development within an urban boundary have been implemented. This requires the greater deployment of attached housing typologies such apartments, duplexes and terrace housing. There has been strong market response and uptake for higher density development, with the number of building approvals received by the Auckland Council for attached housing units increasing from around 15 percent in 2012/13, to 54 percent in 2017/18. A key question about intensification and strong market uptake in a city where lower density has been the norm, is whether higher density neighborhoods will deliver necessary housing satisfaction? This paper reports on the findings to a questionnaire survey and focus group discussions probing resident perceptions to living at higher density in relation to their dwellings, the neighborhood and their sense of community. The findings reveal strong overall housing satisfaction, including key aspects such as privacy, noise and living in close proximity to neighbors. However, when residents are differentiated in terms of length of tenure, age or whether they are bringing up children, greater variation in satisfaction is detected. For example, residents in the 65-plus age cohort express much higher levels of satisfaction, when compared to the 18-44 year cohorts who more likely to be binging up children. This suggests greater design sensitivity to better accommodate the range of household types. Those who have live in the area longer express greater satisfaction than those with shorter duration, indicating time for adaption to living at higher density. Findings strongly underpin the instrumental role that the public amenities play in overall housing satisfaction and the emergence of a strong sense of community. This underscores the necessity for appropriate investment in the public amenities often lacking in market-led higher density housing development. We conclude with an evaluation of the PPP model, and its part in delivering housing satisfaction. The findings should be of interest to cities, housing developers and built environment professional pursuing housing policies promoting intensification and higher density.

Keywords: medium density, housing satisfaction, neighborhoods, sense of community

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Authors: Ravinder Kaur

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Introduction Global cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) mapping is a promising clinical assessment for stress-testing the brain using physiological challenges, such as CO₂, to elicit changes in perfusion. It enables real-time assessment of cerebrovascular integrity and health. Conventional imaging approaches solely use steady-state parameters, like cerebral blood flow (CBF), to evaluate the integrity of the resting parenchyma and can erroneously show a healthy brain at rest, despite the underlying pathogenesis in the presence of cerebrovascular disease. Conversely, coupling CO₂ inhalation with phase-contrast MRI neuroimaging interrogates the capacity of the vasculature to respond to changes under stress. It shows promise in providing prognostic value as a novel health marker to measure neurovascular function in disease and to detect early brain vasculature dysfunction. Objective This exploratory study was established to:(a) quantify the CBF response to CO₂ in hypocapnia and hypercapnia,(b) evaluate disparities in CVR between internal carotid (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA), and (c) assess sex-specific variation in CVR. Methodology Phase-contrast MRI was employed to measure the cerebrovascular reactivity to CO₂ (±10 mmHg). The respiratory interventions were presented using the prospectively end-tidal targeting RespirActTM Gen3 system. Post-processing and statistical analysis were conducted. Results In 9 young, healthy subjects, the CBF increased from hypocapnia to hypercapnia in all vessels (4.21±0.76 to 7.20±1.83 mL/sec in ICA, 1.36±0.55 to 2.33±1.31 mL/sec in VA, p < 0.05). The CVR was quantitatively higher in ICA than VA (slope of linear regression: 0.23 vs. 0.07 mL/sec/mmHg, p < 0.05). No statistically significant effect was observed in CVR between male and female (0.25 vs 0.20 mL/sec/mmHg in ICA, 0.09 vs 0.11 mL/sec/mmHg in VA, p > 0.05). Conclusions The principal finding in this investigation validated the modulation of CBF by CO₂. Moreover, it has indicated that regional heterogeneity in hemodynamic response exists in the brain. This study provides scope to standardize the quantification of CVR prior to its clinical translation.

Keywords: cerebrovascular disease, neuroimaging, phase contrast MRI, cerebrovascular reactivity, carbon dioxide

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Authors: Qirat Naz

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The aim of this research study is to explore the perspectives of migrants and interpreters from diverse backgrounds on language barriers, their English language proficiency and access to health care facilities. A qualitative research methodology was used including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data was collected from 20 migrants who have difficulty conversing in the English language and 12 interpreters including family members and friends who provide translation services as part of accessing health care. The findings seek to address three key research questions: how language is a barrier for non-national language speakers to access the health care facilities, what is the impact of various socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds on health compliance, and what is the role of interpreters in providing access to, usage of, and satisfaction with health-care facilities. The most crucial component of providing care was found to be effective communication between patient and health care professionals. Language barrier was the major concern for healthcare professionals in providing and for migrants in accessing sufficient, suitable, and productive health care facilities. Language and sociocultural background play a significant role in health compliance as this research reported; respondents believe that patients who interact with the doctors who have same sociocultural and linguistic background benefit from receiving better medical care than those who do not. Language limitations and the socio-cultural gap make it difficult for patients and medical staff to communicate clearly with one another, which has a negative effect on quality of care and patient satisfaction. The use of qualified interpreters was found to be beneficial but there were also drawbacks such as accessibility and availability of them in a timely manner for patient needs. The findings of this research can help health care workers and policy makers working to improve health care delivery system and to create appropriate strategies to overcome this challenge.

Keywords: migration, migrants, language barrier, healthcare access

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Chang Li Yu

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Resistances commonly happened during sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), and removing resistances was one of the treatment goals on it. Studies concerning treatment effectiveness relied on pre- and post-treatment evaluations, however, no significant difference on resistance revealed after treatment, and the above consequences generally contributed to the low motivation for change instead. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the resistance across each stage of change among sexual offenders (SO). The present study recruited prisoned SO in Taiwan, excluding those with literacy difficulties; finally, 272 participants were included. Of all participants completed revised version of URICA (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment) and resistance scale specifically for SO. The former included four stages of change: pre-contemplation (PC), contemplation (C), action (A), and maintain (M); the later composed eight types of resistance: system blaming, victims blaming, problems with treatment alliance, social justification, hopelessness, isolation, psychological reactance, and passive reactance. Both of the instruments were with well reliability and validity. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were performed. All of 272 participants, age under 25 were 18(6.6%), 25-39 were 133(48.9%), 40-54 were 102(37.5%), and age over 55 were 19(7.0%); college level and above were 53(19.5%), high school level were 110(40.4%), and under high school level were 109(40.1%); first offended were 117(43.0%), and recidivist were 23(8.5%). Further deleting data with missing values and invalid questionnaires, SO with stage of change on PC were 43(18.9%), C were 109(47.8%), A were 70(30.7%), and on M were 6(2.6%). One-way ANOVA showed significant differences on every kind of resistances, excepting isolation and passive reactance. Post-hoc analysis showed that SO with different stages had their main resistance. There are two contributions to the present study. First, this study provided a clinical and theoretical measurement of evaluation that was never used in the past. Second, this study used an evidence-based methodology to prove a clinical perspective differed from the past, suggesting that resistances to treatment on SO appear the whole therapeutic process, when SO progress into the next stage of change, clinicians have to deal with their main resistance for working through the therapy.

Keywords: resistance, sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), motivation for change, prisoned sexual offender

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Authors: Shihab Ibrahim

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Geopolymer binders as an alternative binder system to ordinary Portland cement are the focus of the past 2 decades of researches. In order to eliminate CO2 emission by cement manufacturing and utilizing construction waste as a source material, clean waste clay bricks which are the waste from Levent Brick factory was activated with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution. 12 molarity of sodium hydroxide solution was used and the ratio of sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide was 2.5. Alkaline solution to clay brick powder ratio of 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, and 0.5 was studied. Alkaline solution to powder ratio of 0.4 was found to be optimum ratio to have the same workability as ordinary Portland cement paste. Compressive strength of the clay brick based geopolymer paste samples was evaluated under different curing temperatures and curing durations. One day compressive strength of 57.3 MPa after curing at 85C for 24 hours was obtained which was higher than 7 days compressive strength of ordinary Portland cement paste. The highest compressive strength 71.4 MPa was achieved at seventh day age for the geopolymer paste samples cured at 85C for 24 hours. It was found that 8 hour curing at elevated temperature 85C, is sufficient to get 96% of total strength. 37.4 MPa strength at seventh day of clay brick based geopolymer sample cured at room temperature was achieved. Water absorption around 10% was found for clay brick based geopolymer samples cured at different temperatures with compare to 9.14% water absorption of ordinary Portland cement paste. The clay brick based geopolymer binder can have the potentiality to be used as an alternative binder to Portland cement in a case that the heat treatment provided. Further studies are needed in order to produce the binder in a way that can harden and gain strength without any elevated curing.

Keywords: construction and demolition waste, geopolymer, clay brick, compressive strength.

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Authors: Huang Wei-Chi, Li Wei, Yu Tien-Chieh

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Medication adherence is crucial for treatment success. Adherence problem is common in patients with polypharmacy, especially in the geriatric population who are vulnerable to multiple chronic conditions but averagely less knowledgeable about diseases and medications. In order to help patients take medications appropriately and enhance the understanding of diseases or medications, a Line official account named e-Pharmacist was designed. The line is a popular freeware app with the highest penetration rate (95.7%) in Taiwan. The interface of e-Pharmacist is user-friendly for easy-to-read and convenient operating. Differ from other medication adherence apps, users just added e-Pharmacist as a LINE friend without installing any more apps and the drug lists were automatically downloaded from the personal electronic medical records with security permission. Over and above medication reminder, several additional capabilities were set up and engaged in the platform of e-Pharmacist including prescription refill reservation, laboratory examination consultation, medical appointment registration, and “Daily Health Log” where patients can record and track data of blood pressure/blood sugar and daily meals for self-health management as well as can share the important information to clinical professionals when seeking medical help. Additionally, a Line chatbot was utilized to provide tailored medicine information for the individual user. From July 2020 to March 2022, around 3000 patients added e-pharmacist as Line friends. Every day more than 1500 patients receive messages from e-pharmacist to notify them to take medicine. Thanks to the e-pharmacist alert system and Chatbot, the low-compliance patients (defined by Program on Adherence to Medication, PAM) significantly dropped from 36% to 6%, whereas the high-compliance patients dramatically increased from 13% to 77%. The user satisfaction is 98%. In brief, an e-pharmacist is not only a medication reminder but also a tailored personal assistant with value-added service for health management.

Keywords: e-pharmacist, self-health management, medication reminder, value-added service

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Authors: M. Zareh, H. Mohammadi, B. Naser

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Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is the main trigger of heart attack and brain stroke which are the leading cause of death in developed countries. Better understanding of rupture-prone plaque can help clinicians detect vulnerable plaques- rupture prone or instable plaques- and apply immediate medical treatment to prevent these life-threatening cardiovascular events. Therefore, there are plenty of studies addressing disclosure of vulnerable plaques properties. Necrotic core and fibrous tissue are two major tissues constituting atherosclerotic plaque; using histopathological and numerical approaches, many studies have demonstrated that plaque rupture is strongly associated with a large necrotic core and a thin fibrous cap, two morphological characteristic which can be acquired by two-dimensional imaging of atherosclerotic plaque present in coronary and carotid arteries. Plaque rupture is widely considered as a mechanical failure inside plaque tissue; this failure occurs when the stress within plaque excesses the strength of tissue material; hence, finite element method, a strong numerical approach, has been extensively applied to estimate stress distribution within plaques with different compositions which is then used for assessment of various vulnerability characteristics including plaque morphology, material properties and blood pressure. This study aims to evaluate significance of three-dimensional morphology on vulnerability degree of atherosclerotic plaque. To reach this end, different two-dimensional geometrical models of atherosclerotic plaques are considered based on available data and named Main 2D Models (M2M). Then, for each of these M2Ms, two three-dimensional idealistic models are created. These two 3D models represent two possible three-dimensional morphologies which might exist for a plaque with similar 2D morphology to one of M2Ms. Finite element method is employed to estimate stress, von-Mises stress, within each 3D models. Results indicate that for each M2Ms stress can significantly varies due to possible 3D morphological changes in that plaque. Also, our results show that an atherosclerotic plaque with thick cap may experience rupture if it has a critical 3D morphology. This study highlights the effect of 3D geometry of plaque on its instability degree and suggests that 3D morphology of plaque might be necessary to more effectively and accurately assess atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque, plaque rupture, finite element method, 3D model

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Authors: Ahmed Stifi, Sascha Gentes

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The German nuclear industry, while implementing the German policy, believes that the journey towards the green-field, namely phasing out of nuclear energy, should be achieved through green techniques. The most important techniques required for the wide range of decommissioning activities are decontamination techniques, cutting techniques, radioactivity measuring techniques, remote control techniques, techniques for worker and environmental protection and techniques for treating, preconditioning and conditioning nuclear waste. Many decontamination techniques are used for removing contamination from metal, concrete or other surfaces like the scales inside pipes. As the pipeline system is one of the important components of nuclear power plants, the process of decontamination in tubing is of more significance. The development of energy sectors like oil sector, gas sector and nuclear sector, since the middle of 20th century, increased the pipeline industry and the research in the decontamination of tubing in each sector is found to serve each other. The extraction of natural products and material through the pipeline can result in scale formation. These scales can be radioactively contaminated through an accumulation process especially in the petrochemical industry when oil and gas are extracted from the underground reservoir. The radioactivity measured in these scales can be significantly high and pose a great threat to people and the environment. At present, the decontamination process involves using high pressure water jets with or without abrasive material and this technology produces a high amount of secondary waste. In order to overcome it, the research team within Karlsruhe Institute of Technology developed a new sustainable method to carry out the decontamination of tubing without producing any secondary waste. This method is based on vibration technique which removes scales and also does not require any auxiliary materials. The outcome of the research project proves that the vibration technique used for decontamination of tubing is environmental friendly in other words a sustainable technique.

Keywords: sustainable technologies, decontamination, pipeline, nuclear industry

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Authors: Matthew Cameron, Stephen Yang, Latifa Al Kharusi, Adam Gosselin, Anissa Chirico, Pouya Gholipour Baradari

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Background: Iron supplementation has been evaluated in several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the potential to increase baseline hemoglobin and decrease the incidence of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion during cardiac surgery. This study's main objective was to evaluate the evidence for iron administration in cardiac surgery patients for its effect on the incidence of perioperative RBC transfusion. Methods: This systematic review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020161927) on Dec. 19th, 2019, and was prepared as per the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Web of Science databases, and Google Scholar were searched for RCTs evaluating perioperative iron administration in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Each abstract was independently reviewed by two reviewers using predefined eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was perioperative RBC transfusion, with secondary outcomes of the number of RBC units transfused, change in ferritin level, reticulocyte count, hemoglobin, and adverse events, after iron administration. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool, and the primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed with a random-effects model. Results: Out of 1556 citations reviewed, five studies (n = 554 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The use of iron demonstrated no difference in transfusion incidence (RR 0.86; 95% CI 0.65 to 1.13). There was a low heterogeneity between studies (I²=0%). The trial sequential analysis suggested an optimal information size of 1132 participants, which the accrued information size did not reach. Conclusion: The current literature does not support the routine use of iron supplementation before cardiac surgery; however, insufficient data is available to draw a definite conclusion. A critical knowledge gap has been identified, and more robust RCTs are required on this topic.

Keywords: cardiac surgery, iron, iron supplementation, perioperative medicine, meta-analysis, systematic review, randomized controlled trial

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Authors: Henry O. Udeha, Kwaku G. Duodub, Afam I. O. Jideanic

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Finger millet (FM) [Eleusine coracana] is considered as a potential ‘‘super grain’’ by the United States National Academies as one of the most nutritious among all the major cereals. The regular consumption of FM-based diets has been associated with reduced risk of diabetes, cataract and gastrointestinal tract disorder. Hyperglycaemic, hypocholesterolaemic and anticataractogenic, and other health improvement properties have been reported. This study examined the effect of fermentation time and microbial source on physicochemical properties, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of two finger millet (FM) malt flours. Sorghum was used as an external reference. The grains were malted, mashed and fermented using the grain microflora and Lactobacillus fermentum. The phenolic compounds of the resulting beverage were identified and quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and mass spectrometer system (MS). A fermentation-time dependent decrease in pH and viscosities of the beverages, with a corresponding increase in sugar content were noted. The phenolic compounds found in the FM beverages were protocatechuic acid, catechin and epicatechin. Decrease in total phenolics of the beverages was observed with increased fermentation time. The beverages exhibited 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2, 2՛-azinobis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging action and iron reducing activities, which were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced at 96 h fermentation for both microbial sources. The 24 h fermented beverages retained a higher amount of total phenolics and had higher antioxidant activity compared to other fermentation periods. The study demonstrates that FM could be utilised as a functional grain in the production of non-alcoholic beverage with important phenolic compounds for health promotion and wellness.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, eleusine coracana, fermentation, phenolic compounds

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Authors: Marcio Mesquita, Diogo Henrique Morato de Moraes, Henrique Fonseca Elias de Oliveira, Rilner Alves Flores, Mateus Rodrigues Ferreira, Dalva Graciano Ribeiro

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This study aimed to analyze the movement of water in irrigated and non-irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves, from the xylem to the stomata, through numerical simulations. Through three-dimensional modeling, it was possible to determine how the spacing of parenchyma cells and the permeability of these cells influence the apoplastic flow and the opening of the stomata. The thickness of the cuticle and the number of vascular bundles are greater in plants subjected to water stress, indicating an adaptive response of plants to environments with water deficit. In addition, numerical simulations revealed that the opening of the stomata, the permeability of the parenchyma cells and the cell spacing have significant impacts on the energy loss and the speed of water movement. It was observed that a more open stoma facilitates water flow, decreasing the resistance and energy required for transport, while higher levels of permeability reduce energy loss, indicating that a more permeable tissue allows for more efficient water transport. Furthermore, it was possible to note that stomatal aperture, parenchyma permeability and cell spacing are crucial factors in the efficient water management of plants, especially under water stress conditions. These insights are essential for the development of more effective agricultural management strategies and for the breeding of plant varieties that are more resistant to adverse growing conditions. Computed fluid dynamics has allowed us to overcome the limitations of conventional techniques by providing a means to visualize and understand the complex hydrodynamic processes within the vascular system of plants.

Keywords: numerical modeling, vascular anatomy, vascular hydrodynamics, xylem, Oryza sativa L.

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