Search results for: level control

Authors: Emanuela Chiarella, Annamaria Aloisio, Nisticò Clelia, Maria Mesuraca

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ZNF521 is a stem cell-associated transcription co-factor, that plays a crucial role in the homeostatic regulation of the stem cell compartment in the hematopoietic, osteo-adipogenic, and neural system. In normal hematopoiesis, primary human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells display typically a high expression of ZNF521, while its mRNA levels rapidly decrease when these progenitors progress towards erythroid, granulocytic, or B-lymphoid differentiation. However, most acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) and leukemia-initiating cells keep high ZNF521 expression. In particular, AMLs are often characterized by chromosomal translocations involving the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) gene, which MLL gene includes a variety of fusion oncogenes arisen from genes normally required during hematopoietic development; once they are fused, they promote epigenetic and transcription factor dysregulation. The chromosomal translocation t(9;11)(p21-22;q23), fusing the MLL gene with AF9 gene, results in a monocytic immune phenotype with an aggressive course, frequent relapses, and a short survival time. To better understand the dysfunctional transcriptional networks related to genetic aberrations, AML gene expression profile datasets were queried for ZNF521 expression and its correlations with specific gene rearrangements and mutations. The results showed that ZNF521 mRNA levels are associated with specific genetic aberrations: the highest expression levels were observed in AMLs involving t(11q23) MLL rearrangements in two distinct datasets (MILE and den Boer); elevated ZNF521 mRNA expression levels were also revealed in AMLs with t(7;12) or with internal rearrangements of chromosome 16. On the contrary, relatively low ZNF521 expression levels seemed to be associated with the t(8;21) translocation, that in turn is correlated with the AML1-ETO fusion gene or the t(15;17) translocation and in AMLs with FLT3-ITD, NPM1, or CEBPα double mutations. Invitro, we found that the enforced co-expression of ZNF521 in cord blood-derived CD34+ cells induced a significant proliferative advantage, improving MLL-AF9 effects on the induction of proliferation and the expansion of leukemic progenitor cells. Transcriptome profiling of CD34+ cells transduced with either MLL-AF9, ZNF521, or a combination of the two transgenes highlighted specific sets of up- or down-regulated genes that are involved in the leukemic phenotype, including those encoding transcription factors, epigenetic modulators, and cell cycle regulators as well as those engaged in the transport or uptake of nutrients. These data enhance the functional cooperation between ZNF521 and MA9, resulting in the development, maintenance, and clonal expansion of leukemic cells. Finally, silencing of ZNF521 in MLL-AF9-transformed primary CD34+ cells inhibited their proliferation and led to their extinction, as well as ZNF521 silencing in the MLL-AF9+ THP-1 cell line resulted in an impairment of their growth and clonogenicity. Taken together, our data highlight ZNF521 role in the control of self-renewal and in the immature compartment of malignant hematopoiesis, which, by altering the gene expression landscape, contributes to the development and/or maintenance of AML acting in concert with the MLL-AF9 fusion oncogene.

Keywords: AML, human zinc finger protein 521 (hZNF521), mixed lineage leukemia gene (MLL) AF9 (MLLT3 or LTG9), cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells (CB-CD34+)

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Authors: komal verma, V. S. Moholkar

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In this current study, the challenge of effectively treating and mineralizing industrial wastewater prior to its discharge into natural water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, is being addressed. Particularly, the focus is on the wastewater produced by chemical process industries, including refineries, petrochemicals, fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and dyestuff industries. These wastewaters often contain stubborn organic pollutants that conventional techniques, such as microbial processes cannot efficiently degrade. To tackle this issue, a ternary hybrid technique comprising of adsorption, heterogeneous Fenton process, and sonication has been employed. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach for treating and mineralizing wastewater from a fertilizer industry located in Northeast India. The study comprises several key components, starting with the synthesis of the Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite using the co-precipitation method. The nanocomposite is then subjected to comprehensive characterization through various standard techniques, including FTIR, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, BET surface area analysis, XRD, and magnetic property determination using VSM. Next, the process parameters of wastewater treatment are statistically optimized, focusing on achieving a high level of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) removal as the response variable. The Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite's adsorption characteristics and kinetics are also assessed in detail. The remarkable outcome of this study is the successful application of the ternary hybrid technique, combining adsorption, Fenton process, and sonication. This approach proves highly effective, leading to nearly complete mineralization (or TOC removal) of the fertilizer industry wastewater. The results highlight the potential of the Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite and the ternary hybrid technique as a promising solution for tackling challenging wastewater pollutants from various chemical process industries. This paper reports investigations in the mineralization of industrial wastewater (COD = 3246 mg/L, TOC = 2500 mg/L) using a ternary (ultrasound + Fenton + adsorption) hybrid advanced oxidation process. Fe3O4 decorated activated charcoal (Fe3O4@AC) nanocomposites (surface area = 538.88 m2/g; adsorption capacity = 294.31 mg/g) were synthesized using co-precipitation. The wastewater treatment process was optimized using central composite statistical design. At optimum conditions, viz. pH = 4.2, H2O2 loading = 0.71 M, adsorbent dose = 0.34 g/L, reduction in COD and TOC of wastewater were 94.75% and 89%, respectively. This result results from synergistic interactions among the adsorption of pollutants onto activated charcoal and surface Fenton reactions induced due to the leaching of Fe2+/Fe3+ ions from the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Micro-convection generated due to sonication assisted faster mass transport (adsorption/desorption) of pollutants between Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite and the solution. The net result of this synergism was high interactions and reactions among and radicals and pollutants that resulted in the effective mineralization of wastewater. The Fe3O4@AC showed excellent recovery (> 90 wt%) and reusability (> 90% COD removal) in 5 successive cycles of treatment. LC-MS analysis revealed effective (> 50%) degradation of more than 25 significant contaminants (in the form of herbicides and pesticides) after the treatment with ternary hybrid AOP. Similarly, the toxicity analysis test using the seed germination technique revealed ~ 60% reduction in the toxicity of the wastewater after treatment.

Keywords: chemical oxygen demand (cod), fe3o4@ac nanocomposite, kinetics, lc-ms, rsm, toxicity

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Authors: Maria Amelia V. C. Araujo, Billy J. Araujo, Brian Greenwood

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The flow over a backward-facing step is characterized by the presence of flow separation, recirculation and reattachment, for a simple geometry. This type of fluid behaviour takes place in many practical engineering applications, hence the reason for being investigated. Historically, fluid flows over a backward-facing step have been examined in many experiments using a variety of measuring techniques such as laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), hot-wire anemometry, particle image velocimetry or hot-film sensors. However, some of these techniques cannot conveniently be used in separated flows or are too complicated and expensive. In this work, the applicability of the acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) technique is investigated to such type of flows, at various Reynolds numbers corresponding to different flow regimes. The use of this measuring technique in separated flows is very difficult to find in literature. Besides, most of the situations where the Reynolds number effect is evaluated in separated flows are in numerical modelling. The ADV technique has the advantage in providing nearly non-invasive measurements, which is important in resolving turbulence. The ADV Nortek Vectrino+ was used to characterize the flow, in a recirculating laboratory flume, at various Reynolds Numbers (Reh = 3738, 5452, 7908 and 17388) based on the step height (h), in order to capture different flow regimes, and the results compared to those obtained using other measuring techniques. To compare results with other researchers, the step height, expansion ratio and the positions upstream and downstream the step were reproduced. The post-processing of the AVD records was performed using a customized numerical code, which implements several filtering techniques. Subsequently, the Vectrino noise level was evaluated by computing the power spectral density for the stream-wise horizontal velocity component. The normalized mean stream-wise velocity profiles, skin-friction coefficients and reattachment lengths were obtained for each Reh. Turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds shear stresses and normal Reynolds stresses were determined for Reh = 7908. An uncertainty analysis was carried out, for the measured variables, using the moving block bootstrap technique. Low noise levels were obtained after implementing the post-processing techniques, showing their effectiveness. Besides, the errors obtained in the uncertainty analysis were relatively low, in general. For Reh = 7908, the normalized mean stream-wise velocity and turbulence profiles were compared directly with those acquired by other researchers using the LDV technique and a good agreement was found. The ADV technique proved to be able to characterize the flow properly over a backward-facing step, although additional caution should be taken for measurements very close to the bottom. The ADV measurements showed reliable results regarding: a) the stream-wise velocity profiles; b) the turbulent shear stress; c) the reattachment length; d) the identification of the transition from transitional to turbulent flows. Despite being a relatively inexpensive technique, acoustic Doppler velocimetry can be used with confidence in separated flows and thus very useful for numerical model validation. However, it is very important to perform adequate post-processing of the acquired data, to obtain low noise levels, thus decreasing the uncertainty.

Keywords: ADV, experimental data, multiple Reynolds number, post-processing

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Authors: Emmanuel Maiyanga

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Access to sufficiently good quality freshwater has been a global challenge, but more notably in low-income countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan countries, which Nigeria is one. Urban population is soaring, especially in many low-income countries, the existing centralised water supply infrastructures are ageing and inadequate, moreover in households peoples’ lifestyles have become more water-demanding. So, people mostly device coping strategies where municipal supply is perceived to have failed. This development threatens the futures of groundwater and calls for a review of management strategy and research approach. The various issues associated with water demand management in low-income countries and Nigeria, in particular, are well documented in the literature. However, the way people use water daily in households and the reasons they do so, and how the situation is constructing demand among the middle-class population in Abuja Nigeria is poorly understood. This is what this research aims to unpack. This is achieved by using the social practices research approach (which is based on the Theory of Practices) to understand how this situation impacts on the shared groundwater resource. A qualitative method was used for data gathering. This involved audio-recorded interviews of householders and water professionals in the private and public sectors. It also involved observation, note-taking, and document study. The data were analysed thematically using NVIVO software. The research reveals the major household practices that draw on the water on a domestic scale, and they include water sourcing, body hygiene and sanitation, laundry, kitchen, and outdoor practices (car washing, domestic livestock farming, and gardening). Among all the practices, water sourcing, body hygiene, kitchen, and laundry practices, are identified to impact most on groundwater, with impact scale varying with household peculiarities. Water sourcing practices involve people sourcing mostly from personal boreholes because the municipal water supply is perceived inadequate and unreliable in terms of service delivery and water quality, and people prefer easier and unlimited access and control using boreholes. Body hygiene practices reveal that every respondent prefers bucket bathing at least once daily, and the majority bathe twice or more every day. Frequency is determined by the feeling of hotness and dirt on the skin. Thus, people bathe to cool down, stay clean, and satisfy perceived social, religious, and hygiene demand. Kitchen practice consumes water significantly as people run the tap for vegetable washing in daily food preparation and dishwashing after each meal. Laundry practice reveals that most people wash clothes most frequently (twice in a week) during hot and dusty weather, and washing with hands in basins and buckets is the most prevalent and water wasting due to soap overdose. The research also reveals poor water governance as a major cause of current inadequate municipal water delivery. The implication poor governance and widespread use of boreholes is an uncontrolled abstraction of groundwater to satisfy desired household practices, thereby putting the future of the shared aquifer at great risk of total depletion with attendant multiplying effects on the people and the environment and population continues to soar.

Keywords: boreholes, groundwater, household water practices, self-supply

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Authors: Sarah Mueller-Saegebrecht, André Brendler

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Business model innovation (BMI) as an intentional change of an existing business model (BM) or the design of a new BM is essential to a firm's development in dynamic markets. The relevance of BMI is also evident in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in which start-ups, in particular, are affected by limited access to resources. However, first studies also show that they react faster to the pandemic than established firms. A strategy to successfully handle such threatening dynamic changes represents BMI. Entrepreneurship literature shows how and when firms should utilize BMI in times of crisis and which barriers one can expect during the BMI process. Nevertheless, research merging BMI barriers and crises is still underexplored. Specifically, further knowledge about antecedents and the effect of moderators on the BMI process is necessary for advancing BMI research. The addressed research gap of this study is two-folded: First, foundations to the subject on how different crises impact BM change intention exist, yet their analysis lacks the inclusion of barriers. Especially, entrepreneurship literature lacks knowledge about the individual perception of BMI barriers, which is essential to predict managerial reactions. Moreover, internal BMI barriers have been the focal point of current research, while external BMI barriers remain virtually understudied. Second, to date, BMI research is based on qualitative methodologies. Thus, a lack of quantitative work can specify and confirm these qualitative findings. By focusing on the crisis context, this study contributes to BMI literature by offering a first quantitative attempt to embed BMI barriers into a structural equation model. It measures managers' perception of BMI development and implementation barriers in the BMI process, asking the following research question: How does a manager's perception of BMI barriers influence BMI development and implementation in times of crisis? Two distinct research streams in economic literature explain how individuals react when perceiving a threat. "Prospect Theory" claims that managers demonstrate risk-seeking tendencies when facing a potential loss, and opposing "Threat-Rigidity Theory" suggests that managers demonstrate risk-averse behavior when facing a potential loss. This study quantitively tests which theory can best predict managers' BM reaction to a perceived crisis. Out of three in-depth interviews in the German chemical industry, 60 past BMIs were identified. The participating start-up managers gave insights into their start-up's strategic and operational functioning. After, each interviewee described crises that had already affected their BM. The participants explained how they conducted BMI to overcome these crises, which development and implementation barriers they faced, and how severe they perceived them, assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. In contrast to current research, results reveal that a higher perceived threat level of a crisis harms BM experimentation. Managers seem to conduct less BMI in times of crisis, whereby BMI development barriers dampen this relation. The structural equation model unveils a mediating role of BMI implementation barriers on the link between the intention to change a BM and the concrete BMI implementation. In conclusion, this study confirms the threat-rigidity theory.

Keywords: barrier perception, business model innovation, business model innovation barriers, crises, prospect theory, start-ups, structural equation model, threat-rigidity theory

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Authors: Deon Bezuidenhout

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Pre-seeding with autologous endothelial cells improves the long-term patency of synthetic vascular grafts levels obtained with autografts, but is limited to a single centre due to resource, time and other constraints. Spontaneous in vivo endothelialization would obviate the need for pre-seeding, but has been shown to be absent in man due to limited transanastomotic and fallout healing, and the lack of transmural ingrowth due to insufficient porosity. Two types of graft scaffolds with increased interconnected porosity for improved tissue ingrowth and healing are thus proposed and described. Foam-type polyurethane (PU) scaffolds with small, medium and large, interconnected pores were made by phase inversion and spherical porogen extraction, with and without additional surface modification with covalently attached heparin and subsequent loading with and delivery of growth factors. Fibrillar scaffolds were made either by standard electrospinning using degradable PU (Degrapol®), or by dual electrospinning using non-degradable PU. The latter process involves sacrificial fibres that are co-spun with structural fibres and subsequently removed to increased porosity and pore size. Degrapol samples were subjected to in vitro degradation, and all scaffold types were evaluated in vivo for tissue ingrowth and vascularization using rat subcutaneous model. The foam scaffolds were additionally evaluated in a circulatory (rat infrarenal aortic interposition) model that allows for the grafts to be anastomotically and/or ablumenally isolated to discern and determine endothelialization mode. Foam-type grafts with large (150 µm) pores showed improved subcutaneous healing in terms of vascularization and inflammatory response over smaller pore sizes (60 and 90µm), and vascularization of the large porosity scaffolds was significantly increased by more than 70% by heparin modification alone, and by 150% to 400% when combined with growth factors. In the circulatory model, extensive transmural endothelialization (95±10% at 12 w) was achieved. Fallout healing was shown to be sporadic and limited in groups that were ablumenally isolated to prevent transmural ingrowth (16±30% wrapped vs. 80±20% control; p<0.002). Heparinization and GF delivery improved both mural vascularization and lumenal endothelialization. Degrapol electrospun scaffolds showed decrease in molecular mass and corresponding tensile strength over the first 2 weeks, but very little decrease in mass over the 4w test period. Studies on the effect of tissue ingrowth with and without concomitant degradation of the scaffolds, are being used to develop material models for the finite element modelling. In the case of the dual-spun scaffolds, the PU fibre fraction could be controlled shown to vary linearly with porosity (P = −0.18FF +93.5, r2=0.91), which in turn showed inverse linear correlation with tensile strength and elastic modulus (r2 > 0.96). Calculated compliance and burst pressures of the scaffolds increased with fibre fraction, and compliances matching the human popliteal artery (5-10 %/100 mmHg), and high burst pressures (> 2000 mmHg) could be achieved. Increasing porosity (76 to 82 and 90%) resulted in increased tissue ingrowth from 33±7 to 77±20 and 98±1% after 28d. Transmural endothelialization of highly porous foamed grafts is achievable in a circulatory model, and the enhancement of porosity and tissue ingrowth may hold the key the development of spontaneously endothelializing electrospun grafts.

Keywords: electrospinning, endothelialization, porosity, scaffold, vascular graft

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Authors: Nalika S. Rajapaksha, James Airton, Amina Aboobakar, Nick Chappell, Andy Dyer

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Nutrient pollution and their impact on water quality is a key concern in England. Many water quality issues originate from multiple sources of pollution spread across the catchment. The river water quality in England has improved since 1990s and wastewater effluent discharges into rivers now contain less phosphorus than in the past. However, excess phosphorus is still recognised as the prevailing issue for rivers failing Water Framework Directive (WFD) good ecological status. To achieve WFD Phosphorus objectives, Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) permit limits are becoming increasingly stringent. Nevertheless, in some rural catchments, the apportionment of Phosphorus pollution can be greater from agricultural runoff and other sources such as septic tanks. Therefore, the challenge of meeting the requirements of watercourses to deliver WFD objectives often goes beyond water company activities, providing significant opportunities to co-deliver activities in wider catchments to reduce nutrient load at source. The aim of this study was to apply the United Utilities' Catchment Systems Thinking (CaST) strategy and pilot an innovative permitting approach - Catchment Nutrient Balancing (CNB) in a rural catchment in Cumbria (the River Petteril) in collaboration with the regulator and others to achieve WFD objectives and multiple benefits. The study area is mainly agricultural land, predominantly livestock farms. The local ecology is impacted by significant nutrient inputs which require intervention to meet WFD obligations. There are a range of Phosphorus inputs into the river, including discharges from wastewater assets but also significantly from agricultural contributions. Solely focusing on the WwTW discharges would not have resolved the problem hence in order to address this issue effectively, a CNB trial was initiated at a small WwTW, targeting the removal of a total of 150kg of Phosphorus load, of which 13kg were to be reduced through the use of catchment interventions. Various catchment interventions were implemented across selected farms in the upstream of the catchment and also an innovative polonite reactive filter media was implemented at the WwTW as an alternative to traditional Phosphorus treatment methods. During the 3 years of this trial, the impact of the interventions in the catchment and the treatment works were monitored. In 2020 and 2022, it respectively achieved a 69% and 63% reduction in the phosphorus level in the catchment against the initial reduction target of 9%. Phosphorus treatment at the WwTW had a significant impact on overall load reduction. The wider catchment impact, however, was seven times greater than the initial target when wider catchment interventions were also established. While it is unlikely that all the Phosphorus load reduction was delivered exclusively from the interventions implemented though this project, this trial evidenced the enhanced benefits that can be achieved with an integrated approach, that engages all sources of pollution within the catchment - rather than focusing on a one-size-fits-all solution. Primarily, the CNB approach and the act of collaboratively engaging others, particularly the agriculture sector is likely to yield improved farm and land management performance and better compliance, which can lead to improved river quality as well as wider benefits.

Keywords: agriculture, catchment nutrient balancing, phosphorus pollution, water quality, wastewater

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Authors: Kimberly Samaha

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The Bio-Hub Ecosystem model was developed to address a critical area of concern within the global energy market regarding biomass as a feedstock for power plants. Yet the lack of an economically-viable business model for bioenergy facilities has resulted in the continuation of idled and decommissioned plants. This study analyzed data and submittals to the Born Global Maine Innovation Challenge. The Innovation Challenge was a global innovation challenge to identify process innovations that could address a ‘whole-tree’ approach of maximizing the products, byproducts, energy value and process slip-streams into a circular zero-waste design. Participating companies were at various stages of developing bioproducts and included biofuels, lignin-based products, carbon capture platforms and biochar used as both a filtration medium and as a soil amendment product. This case study shows the QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) methodology of the prequalification process and the resulting techno-economic model that was developed for the maximizing profitability of the Bio-Hub Ecosystem through continuous expansion of system waste streams into valuable process inputs for co-hosts. A full site plan for the integration of co-hosts (biorefinery, land-based shrimp and salmon aquaculture farms, a tomato green-house and a hops farm) at an operating forestry-based biomass to energy plant in West Enfield, Maine USA. This model and process for evaluating the profitability not only proposes models for integration of forestry, aquaculture and agriculture in cradle-to-cradle linkages of what have typically been linear systems, but the proposal also allows for the early measurement of the circularity and impact of resource use and investment risk mitigation, for these systems. In this particular study, profitability is assessed at two levels CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) and in OPEX (Operating Expenditures). Given that these projects start with repurposing facilities where the industrial level infrastructure is already built, permitted and interconnected to the grid, the addition of co-hosts first realizes a dramatic reduction in permitting, development times and costs. In addition, using the biomass energy plant’s waste streams such as heat, hot water, CO₂ and fly ash as valuable inputs to their operations and a significant decrease in the OPEX costs, increasing overall profitability to each of the co-hosts bottom line. This case study utilizes a proprietary techno-economic model to demonstrate how utilizing waste streams of a biomass energy plant and/or biorefinery, results in significant reduction in OPEX for both the biomass plants and the agriculture and aquaculture co-hosts. Economically viable Bio-Hubs with favorable environmental and community impacts may prove critical in garnering local and federal government support for pilot programs and more wide-scale adoption, especially for those living in severely economically depressed rural areas where aging industrial sites have been shuttered and local economies devastated.

Keywords: bio-economy, biomass energy, financing, zero-waste

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Authors: Priyanka Mokashi, Aparna Khanna, Nancy Pandita

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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder which will be the 7th leading cause of death by 2030. The current line of treatment for the diabetes mellitus is oral antidiabetic drugs (biguanides, sulfonylureas, meglitinides, thiazolidinediones and alpha-glycosidase inhibitors) and insulin therapy depending upon the type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. But, these treatments have their disadvantages, ranging from the developing of resistance to the drugs and adverse effects caused by them. Alternative to these synthetic agents, natural products provides a new insight for the development of more efficient and safe drugs due to their therapeutic values. Enicostema littorale blume (A. Raynal) is a traditional Indian plant belongs to the Gentianaceae family. It is widely distributed in Asia, Africa, and South America. There are few reports on Swrtiamarin, major component of this plant for its antidiabetic activity. However, the antidiabetic activity of flavonoids from E. littorale and their mechanism of action have not yet been elucidated. Flavonoids have a positive relationship with disease prevention and can act on various molecular targets and regulate different signaling pathways in pancreatic β-cells, adipocytes, hepatocytes and skeletal myofibers. They may exert beneficial effects in diabetes by (i) improving hyperglycemia through regulation of glucose metabolism in hepatocytes; (ii) enhancing insulin secretion and reducing apoptosis and promoting proliferation of pancreatic β-cells; (iii) increasing glucose uptake in hepatocytes, skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue (iv) reducing insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress. Therefore, we have isolated four flavonoid rich fractions, Fraction A (FA), Fraction B (FB), Fraction C (FC), Fraction D (FD) from crude alcoholic hot (AH) extract from E. littorale, identified by LC/MS. Total eight flavonoids were identified on the basis of fragmentation pattern. Flavonoid FA showed the presence of swertisin, isovitexin, and saponarin; FB showed genkwanin, quercetin, isovitexin, FC showed apigenin, swertisin, quercetin, 5-O-glucosylswertisin and 5-O-glucosylisoswertisin whereas FD showed the presence of swertisin. Further, these fractions were assessed for their antidiabetic activity on stimulating glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cell line model (IR/HepG2). The results showed that FD containing C-glycoside Swertisin has significantly increased the glucose uptake rate of IR/HepG2 cells at the concentration of 10 µg/ml as compared to positive control Metformin (0.5mM) which was determined by glucose oxidase- peroxidase method. It has been reported that enhancement of glucose uptake of cells occurs due the translocation of Glut4 vesicles to cell membrane through IR/IRS1/AKT pathway. Therefore, we have studied expressions of three genes IRS1, AKT and Glut4 by real-time PCR to evaluate whether they follow the same pathway or not. It was seen that the glucose uptake rate has increased in FD treated IR/HepG2 cells due to the activation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1) followed by protein kinase B (AKT) through phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) leading to translocation of Glut 4 vesicles to cell membrane, thereby enhancing glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity of insulin resistant HepG2 cells. Hence, the up-regulation indicated the mechanism of action through which FD (Swertisin) acts as antidiabetic candidate in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: E. littorale, glucose transporter, glucose uptake rate, insulin resistance

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Authors: Dana Zelicha

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A 6-week mindfulness programme was launched to improve the well being and performance of 20 managers (including the supervisor) of an international corporation in London. A unique assessment methodology was customised to the organisation’s needs, measuring four parameters: prioritising skills, listening skills, mindfulness levels and happiness levels. All parameters showed significant improvements (p < 0.01) post intervention, with a remarkable increase in listening skills and mindfulness levels. Although corporate mindfulness programmes have proven to be effective, the challenge remains the low engagement levels at home and the implementation of these tools beyond the scope of the intervention. This study has offered an innovative approach to enforce home engagement levels, which yielded promising results. The programme launched with a 2-day introduction intervention, which was followed by a 6-week training course (1 day a week; 2 hours each). Participants learned all basic principles of mindfulness such as mindfulness meditations, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) practices to incorporate into their professional and personal lives. The programme contained experiential mindfulness meditations and innovative mindfulness tools (OWBA-MT) created by OWBA - The Well Being Agency. Exercises included Mindful Meetings, Unitasking and Mindful Feedback. All sessions concluded with guided discussions and group reflections. One fundamental element of this programme was engagement level outside of the workshop. In the office, participants connected with a mindfulness buddy - a team member in the group with whom they could find support throughout the programme. At home, participants completed online daily mindfulness forms that varied according to weekly themes. These customised forms gave participants the opportunity to reflect on whether they made time for daily mindfulness practice, and to facilitate a sense of continuity and responsibility. At the end of the programme, the most engaged team member was crowned the ‘mindful maven’ and received a special gift. The four parameters were measured using online self-reported questionnaires, including the Listening Skills Inventory (LSI), Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Time Management Behaviour Scale (TMBS) and a modified version of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ). Pre-intervention questionnaires were collected at the start of the programme, and post-intervention data was collected 4-weeks following completion. Quantitative analysis using paired T-tests of means showed significant improvements, with a 23% increase in listening skills, a 22% improvement in mindfulness levels, a 12% increase in prioritising skills, and an 11% improvement in happiness levels. Participant testimonials exhibited high levels of satisfaction and the overall results indicate that the mindfulness programme substantially impacted the team. These results suggest that 6-week mindfulness programmes can improve employees’ capacities to listen and work well with others, to effectively manage time and to experience enhanced satisfaction both at work and in life. Limitations noteworthy to consider include the afterglow effect and lack of generalisability, as this study was conducted on a small and fairly homogenous sample.

Keywords: corporate mindfulness, listening skills, organisational well being, prioritising skills, mindful leadership

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Authors: Ana Violante, Jodie Maccarrone, Maria Fimiani

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In the United States, over 30 million people are hospitalized annually for conditions that require acute, 24-hour, supervised care. The experience of hospitalization can be traumatic, exposing the patient to loss of control, autonomy, and productivity. Furthermore, 40% of patients admitted to hospitals for general medical illness have a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Research suggests individuals admitted with psychiatric comorbidities experience poorer health outcomes, higher utilization rates and increased overall cost of care. Empirical work suggests hospital settings that include a consultation liaison (CL) service report reduced length of stay, lower costs per patient, improved medical staff and patient satisfaction and reduced readmission after 180 days. Despite the overall positive impact CL services can have on patient care, it is estimated that only 1% - 2.8% of hospital admits receive these services, and most research has been conducted by the field of psychiatry. Health psychologists could play an important role in increasing access to this valuable service, though the extent to which health psychologists participate in CL settings is not well known. Objective: Outline the preliminary findings from an empirical study to understand how many APPIC internship training programs offer adult consultation liaison rotations within inpatient hospital settings nationally, as well as describe the specific nature of these training experiences. Research Method/Design: Data was exported into Excel from the 2022-2023 APPIC Directory categorized as “health psychology” sites. It initially returned a total of 537 health training programs out 1518 total programs (35% of all APPIC programs). A full review included a quantitative and qualitative comprehensive review of the APPIC program summary, the site website, and program brochures. The quantitative review extracted the number of training positions; amount of stipend; location or state of program, patient, population, and rotation. The qualitative review examined the nature of the training experience. Results: 29 (5%) of all APPIC health psychology internship training programs (2%) respectively of all APPIC training internship programs offering internship CL training were identified. Of the 29 internship training programs, 16 were exclusively within a pediatric setting (55%), 11 were exclusively within an adult setting (38%), and two were a mix of pediatric and adult settings (7%). CL training sites were located to 19 states, offering a total of 153 positions nationally, with Florida containing the largest number of programs (4). Only six programs offered 12-month training opportunities while the rest offered CL as a major (6 month) to minor (3-4 month) rotation. The program’s stipend for CL training positions ranged from $25,000 to $62,400, with an average of $32,056. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest CL training and services are currently limited. Training opportunities that do exist are mostly limited to minor, short rotations and governed by psychiatry. Health psychologists are well-positioned to better define the role of psychology in consultation liaison services and enhance and formalize existing training protocols. Future research should explore in more detail empirical outcomes of CL services that employ psychology and delineate the contributions of psychology from psychiatry and other disciplines within an inpatient hospital setting.

Keywords: consultation liaison, health psychology, hospital setting, training

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Authors: Jessica Kate Simonds

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The last successful hijacking perpetrated by Somali pirates in 2012 represented a critical turning point for the identity and brand of Indian Ocean (IO) insecurity, coined in this paper as the era of the post-piratical. This paper explores the broadening of the PMSC business model to account and contribute to the design of a new IO security environment that prioritises foreign and insurgency drone activity and Houthi rebel operations as the main threat to merchant shipping in the post-2012 era. This study is situated within a longer history of analysing maritime insecurity and also contributes a bespoke conceptual framework that understands the sea as a space that is produced and reproduced relative to existing and emerging threats to merchant shipping based on bespoke models of information sharing and intelligence acquisition. This paper also makes a prominent empirical contribution by drawing on a post-positivist methodology, data drawn from original semi-structured interviews with senior maritime insurers and active merchant seafarers that is triangulated with industry-produced guidance such as the BMP series as primary data sources. Each set is analysed through qualitative discourse and content analysis and supported by the quantitative data sets provided by the IMB Piracy Reporting center and intelligence networks. This analysis reveals that mechanisms such as the IGP&I Maritime Security Committee and intelligence divisions of PMSC’s have driven the exchanges of knowledge between land and sea and thus the reproduction of the maritime security environment through new regulations and guidance to account dones, rebels and bombs as the key challenges in the IO, beyond piracy. A contribution of this paper is the argument that experts who may not be in the highest-profile jobs are the architects of maritime insecurity based on their detailed knowledge and connections to vessels in transit. This paper shares the original insights of those who have served in critical decision making spaces to demonstrate that the development and refinement of industry produced deterrence guidance that has been accredited to the mitigation of piracy, have shaped new editions such as BMP 5 that now serve to frame a new security environment that prioritises the mitigation of risks from drones and WBEID’s from both state and insurgency risk groups. By highlighting the experiences and perspectives of key players on both land and at sea, the key finding of this paper is outlining that as pirates experienced a financial boom by profiteering from their bespoke business model during the peak of successful hijackings, the private security market encountered a similar level of financial success and guaranteed risk environment in which to prospect business. Thus, the reproduction of the Indian Ocean as a maritime security environment reflects a new found purpose for PMSC’s as part of the broader conglomerate of maritime insurers, regulators, shipowners and managers who continue to redirect the security consciousness and IO brand of insecurity.

Keywords: maritime security, private security, risk intelligence, political geography, international relations, political economy, maritime law, security studies

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Authors: Khelladi Hadj Mostefa, Krouf Djamil, Taleb-Dida Nawel

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Background: Obesity results from a prolonged imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, as depending on basal metabolic rate. Oils and proteins from sea have important therapeutic (such as obesity and hypercholesterolemia) and antioxidant effects. Sardine are a widely consumed fish in the Mediterranean region. Its consumption provides humans with various nutrients such as oils (rich in omega 3 plyunsaturated fatty acids)) and proteins. Methods: Sardine oil (SO) and sardine proteins (SP) were extracted and purified. Mixture of vegetable oils (olive-walnut-sunflower) were prepared from oils produced in Algeria. Eighteen wistar rats are fed a high fat diet enriched with 1% cholesterol for 30 days to induce obesity and hypercholesterolemia. The rats are divided into 3 groups. The first group consumes 20% sardine protein combined with 5% sardine oil (38% SFA (saturated fatty acids), 31% MIFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) and 31% PIFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids)) (SPso). The second group consumes 20% sardine protein combined with 5% of a mixture of vegetable oils (VO) containing 13% SFA, 58% MIFA and 29% PIFA (PSvo), and the third group consuming 20% casein combined with 5% of the mixture of vegetable oils and serves as a semi-synthetic reference (CASvo). Body weights and glycaemia are measured weekly After 28 days of experimentation, the rats are sacrificed, the blood and the liver removed. Serum assays of total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) were performed by enzymatic colorimetric methods. Evaluation of lipid peroxidation was performed by assaying thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) and hydroperoxides values. The protein oxidation was performed by assaying carbonyl derivatives values. Finally, evaluation of antioxidant defense is made by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the catalase (CAT).Results: After 28 days, the body weight (BW) of the rats increased significantly in SPso and SPvo groups compared to CAS group, by +11% and 7%, respectively. Cholesterolemia (TC) increased significantly in the SPso and SPvo groups compared to the CAS group (P<0.01), while triglyceridemia (TG) decreased significantly in the SPso group compared to SPvo and CAS groups (P<0.01). Albumin (marker of inflammation) increased in the PSs group compared to SPvo and CAS groups by +35% and +13%, respectively. The serum TBARS levels are -40% lower in SPso group compared to SPvo group, and they are -80% and -76% lower in SPso compared to SPvo and CAS groups, respectively. The level of carbonyls derivatives in the serum and liver are significantly reduced in the SPso group compared to the SPvo and CAS groups. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased in liver of SPso group compared to SPvo group (P<0.01). While that of CAT is increased in liver tissue of SPso group compared to SPvo group (P<0.01). Conclusion: Sardine oil combined with sardine protein has a hypotriglyceridemic effect, reduces body weight, attenuates inflammation and seems to protect against lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation and increases antioxidant defense in hypercholesterolemic and obese rats. This could be in favor of a protective effect against obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: rat, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, sardine protein, sardine oil, vegetable oils mixture, lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, antioxidant defense

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Authors: Yuliya Y. Gavrichenko

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Background and Aims: The increasing bacterial resistance to almost all the available antibiotics has encouraged scientists to search for alternative sources of antibacterial agents. Nowadays, it is known that many plant secondary metabolites have diverse biological activity. These compounds can be potentially active against human bacterial and viral infections. Extended research has been carried out to explore the use of the luminescent bacterial test as a rapid, accurate and inexpensive method to assess the antibacterial properties and to predict the biological activity spectra for plant origin substances. Method: Botanical material of fifteen species was collected from their natural and cultural habitats on the Crimean peninsula. The aqueous extracts of following plants were tested: Robinia pseudoacacia L., Sideritis comosa, Cotinus coggygria Scop., Thymus serpyllum L., Juglans regia L., Securigera varia L., Achillea millefolium L., Phlomis taurica, Corylus avellana L., Sambucus nigra L., Helichrysum arenarium L., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Elytrigia repens L., Echium vulgare L., Conium maculatum L. The test was carried out using luminous strains of marine bacteria Photobacterium leiognathi, which was isolated from the Sea of Azov as well as four Escherichia coli MG1655 recombinant strains harbouring Vibrio fischeri luxCDABE genes. Results: The bactericidal capacity of plant extracts showed significant differences in the study. Cotinus coggygria, Phlomis taurica, Juglans regia L. proved to be the most toxic to P. leiognathi. (EC50 = 0.33 g dried plant/l). Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Sideritis comosa and Helichrysum arenarium L. had moderate inhibitory effects (EC50 = 3.3 g dried plant/l). The rest of the aqueous extracts have decreased the luminescence of no more than 50% at the lowest concentration (16.5 g dried plant/l). Antibacterial activity of herbal extracts against constitutively luminescent E. coli MG1655 (pXen7-lux) strain was observed at approximately the same level as for P. leiognathi. Cotinus coggygria and Conium maculatum L. extracts have increased light emission in the mutant E. coli MG1655 (pFabA-lux) strain which is associated with cell membranes damage. Sideritis comosa, Phlomis taurica, Juglans regia induced SOS response in E. coli (pColD-lux) strain. Glycyrrhiza glabra L. induced protein damage response in E. coli MG1655 (pIbpA-lux) strain. Conclusion: The received results have shown that the plants’ extracts had nonspecific antimicrobial effects against both E. coli (pXen7-lux) and P. leiognathi biosensors. Mutagenic, cytotoxic and protein damage effects have been observed. In general, the bioluminescent inhibition test result correlated with the traditional use of screened plants. It leads to the following conclusion that whole-cell luminescent biosensors could be the indicator of overall plants antibacterial capacity. The results of the investigation have shown a possibility of bioluminescent method in medicine and pharmacy as an approach to research the antibacterial properties of medicinal plants.

Keywords: antibacterial property, bioluminescence, medicinal plants, whole-cell biosensors

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Authors: Babak Forouraghi

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A genetic circuit is a collection of interacting genes and proteins that enable individual cells to implement and perform vital biological functions such as cell division, growth, death, and signaling. In cell engineering, synthetic gene circuits are engineered networks of genes specifically designed to implement functionalities that are not evolved by nature. These engineered networks enable scientists to tackle complex problems such as engineering cells to produce therapeutics within the patient's body, altering T cells to target cancer-related antigens for treatment, improving antibody production using engineered cells, tissue engineering, and production of genetically modified plants and livestock. Construction of computational models to realize genetic circuits is an especially challenging task since it requires the discovery of flow of genetic information in complex biological systems. Building synthetic biological models is also a time-consuming process with relatively low prediction accuracy for highly complex genetic circuits. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the utility of a pre-trained bidirectional encoder transformer that can accurately predict gene expressions in genetic circuit designs. The main reason behind using transformers is their innate ability (attention mechanism) to take account of the semantic context present in long DNA chains that are heavily dependent on spatial representation of their constituent genes. Previous approaches to gene circuit design, such as CNN and RNN architectures, are unable to capture semantic dependencies in long contexts as required in most real-world applications of synthetic biology. For instance, RNN models (LSTM, GRU), although able to learn long-term dependencies, greatly suffer from vanishing gradient and low-efficiency problem when they sequentially process past states and compresses contextual information into a bottleneck with long input sequences. In other words, these architectures are not equipped with the necessary attention mechanisms to follow a long chain of genes with thousands of tokens. To address the above-mentioned limitations of previous approaches, a transformer model was built in this work as a variation to the existing DNA Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (DNABERT) model. It is shown that the proposed transformer is capable of capturing contextual information from long input sequences with attention mechanism. In a previous work on genetic circuit design, the traditional approaches to classification and regression, such as Random Forrest, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Networks, were able to achieve reasonably high R2 accuracy levels of 0.95 to 0.97. However, the transformer model utilized in this work with its attention-based mechanism, was able to achieve a perfect accuracy level of 100%. Further, it is demonstrated that the efficiency of the transformer-based gene expression classifier is not dependent on presence of large amounts of training examples, which may be difficult to compile in many real-world gene circuit designs.

Keywords: transformers, generative ai, gene expression design, classification

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Authors: Swadha Singh

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International Solar Alliance is the foremost treaty-based global organization concerned with tapping the potential of sun-abundant nations between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and enables co-operation among them. As a founding member of the International Solar Alliance, India exhibits its positioning as an upcoming leader in clean energy. India has set ambitious goals and targets to expand the share of solar in its energy mix and is playing a proactive role both at the regional and global levels. ISA aims to serve multiple goals- bring about scale commercialization of solar power, boost domestic manufacturing, and leverage solar diplomacy in African countries, amongst others. Against this backdrop, this paper attempts to examine the ways in which ISA as an intergovernmental organization under Indian leadership can leverage the cause of clean energy (solar) diplomacy and effectively shape partnerships and collaborations with other developing countries in terms of sharing solar technology, capacity building, risk mitigation, mobilizing financial investment and providing an aggregate market. A more specific focus of ISA is on the developing countries, which in the absence of a collective, are constrained by technology and capital scarcity, despite being naturally endowed with solar resources. Solar rich but finance-constrained economies face political risk, foreign exchange risk, and off-taker risk. Scholars argue that aligning India’s climate change discourse and growth prospects in its engagements, collaborations, and partnerships at the bilateral, multilateral and regional level can help promote trade, attract investments, and promote resilient energy transition both in India and in partner countries. For developing countries, coming together in an action-oriented way on issues of climate and clean energy is particularly important since it is developing and underdeveloped countries that face multiple and coalescing challenges such as the adverse impact of climate change, uneven and low access to reliable energy, and pressing employment needs. Investing in green recovery is agreed to be an assured way to create resilient value chains, create sustainable livelihoods, and help mitigate climate threats. If India is able to ‘green its growth’ process, it holds the potential to emerge as a climate leader internationally. It can use its experience in the renewable sector to guide other developing countries in balancing multiple similar objectives of development, energy security, and sustainability. The challenges underlying solar expansion in India have lessons to offer other developing countries, giving India an opportunity to assume a leadership role in solar diplomacy and expand its geopolitical influence through inter-governmental organizations such as ISA. It is noted that India has limited capacity to directly provide financial funds and support and is not a leading manufacturer of cheap solar equipment, as does China; however, India can nonetheless leverage its large domestic market to scale up the commercialization of solar power and offer insights and learnings to similarly placed abundant solar countries. The paper examines the potential of and limits placed on India’s solar diplomacy.

Keywords: climate diplomacy, energy security, solar diplomacy, renewable energy

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Authors: Alfredo Fortunato, Carmelofrancesco Origlia, Sara Laurita, Rossella Nicoletti

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In the post-pandemic recovery phase of tourism, the role of a Destination Management Organization (DMO) as a coordinated management system of all the elements that make up a destination (attractions, access, marketing, human resources, brand, pricing, etc.) is also becoming relevant for local territories. The objective of a DMO is to maximize the visitor's perception of value and quality while ensuring the competitiveness and sustainability of the destination, as well as the long-term preservation of its natural and cultural assets, and to catalyze benefits for the local economy and residents. In carrying out the multiple functions to which it is called, the DMO can leverage a collective intelligence that comes from the ability to pool information, explicit and tacit knowledge, and relationships of the various stakeholders: policymakers, public managers and officials, entrepreneurs in the tourism supply chain, researchers, data journalists, schools, associations and committees, citizens, etc. The DMO potentially has at its disposal large volumes of data and many of them at low cost, that need to be properly processed to produce value. Based on these assumptions, the paper presents a conceptual framework for building an information system to support the DMO in the intelligent management of a tourist destination tested in an area of southern Italy. The approach adopted is data-informed and consists of four phases: (1) formulation of the knowledge problem (analysis of policy documents and industry reports; focus groups and co-design with stakeholders; definition of information needs and key questions); (2) research and metadatation of relevant sources (reconnaissance of official sources, administrative archives and internal DMO sources); (3) gap analysis and identification of unconventional information sources (evaluation of traditional sources with respect to the level of consistency with information needs, the freshness of information and granularity of data; enrichment of the information base by identifying and studying web sources such as Wikipedia, Google Trends, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, websites of accommodation facilities and online newspapers); (4) definition of the set of indicators and construction of the information base (specific definition of indicators and procedures for data acquisition, transformation, and analysis). The framework derived consists of 6 thematic areas (accommodation supply, cultural heritage, flows, value, sustainability, and enabling factors), each of which is divided into three domains that gather a specific information need to be represented by a scheme of questions to be answered through the analysis of available indicators. The framework is characterized by a high degree of flexibility in the European context, given that it can be customized for each destination by adapting the part related to internal sources. Application to the case study led to the creation of a decision support system that allows: •integration of data from heterogeneous sources, including through the execution of automated web crawling procedures for data ingestion of social and web information; •reading and interpretation of data and metadata through guided navigation paths in the key of digital story-telling; •implementation of complex analysis capabilities through the use of data mining algorithms such as for the prediction of tourist flows.

Keywords: collective intelligence, data framework, destination management, smart tourism

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Authors: Yasmin A. M. Ferreira, Ana C. K. Pelissari, Sofia De C. F. Vicente, Raquel M. Da S. Campos, Deborah C. L. Masquio, Lian Tock, Lila M. Oyama, Flavia C. Corgosinho, Valter T. Boldarine, Ana R. Dâmaso

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The prevalence of overweight and obesity is growing around the world and currently considered a global epidemic. Food and nutrition are essential requirements for promoting health and protecting non-communicable chronic diseases, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. Specific dietary components may modulate the inflammation and oxidative stress in obese individuals. Few studies have investigated the dietary Inflammation Factor Rating (IFR) in obese adolescents. The IFR was developed to characterize an individual´s diet on anti- to pro-inflammatory score. This evaluation contributes to investigate the effects of inflammatory diet in metabolic profile in several individual conditions. Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the effects of a multidisciplinary weight loss therapy on inflammation factor rating and cardiometabolic risk in obese adolescents. Methods: A total of 26 volunteers (14-19 y.o) were recruited and submitted to 20 weeks interdisciplinary therapy allied to health education website- Ciclo do Emagrecimento®, including clinical, nutritional, psychological counseling and exercise training. The body weight was monitored weekly by self-report and photo. The adolescents answered a test to evaluate the knowledge of the topics covered in the videos. A 24h dietary record was applied at the baseline and after 20 weeks to assess the food intake and to calculate IFR. A negative IFR suggests that diet may have inflammatory effects and a positive IFR indicates an anti-inflammatory effect. Statistical analysis was performed using the program STATISTICA version 12.5 for Windows. The adopted significant value was α ≤ 5 %. Data normality was verified with the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Data were expressed as mean±SD values. To analyze the effects of intervention it was applied test t. Pearson´s correlations test was performed. Results: After 20 weeks of treatment, body mass index (BMI), body weight, body fat (kg and %), abdominal and waist circumferences decreased significantly. The mean of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) increased after the therapy. Moreover, it was found an improvement of inflammation factor rating from -427,27±322,47 to -297,15±240,01, suggesting beneficial effects of nutritional counselling. Considering the correlations analysis, it was found that pro-inflammatory diet is associated with increase in the BMI, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL), triglycerides, insulin and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR); while an anti-inflammatory diet is associated with improvement of HDL-c and insulin sensitivity Check index (QUICKI). Conclusion: The 20-week blended multidisciplinary therapy was effective to reduce body weight, anthropometric circumferences and improve inflammatory markers in obese adolescents. In addition, our results showed that an increase in inflammatory profile diet is associated with cardiometabolic parameters, suggesting the relevance to stimulate anti-inflammatory diet habits as an effective strategy to treat and control of obesity and related comorbidities. Financial Support: FAPESP (2017/07372-1) and CNPq (409943/2016-9)

Keywords: cardiometabolic risk, inflammatory diet, multidisciplinary therapy, obesity

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Authors: Jacqueline Eleonora Ek, Michael Spiteri, Chris Giordimaina, Pierre Agius

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Background: Malta is known for being a key player as a frontline country with regard to irregular immigration from Africa to Europe. Every year the island experiences an influx of migrants as boat movement across the Mediterranean continues to be a humanitarian challenge. Irregular immigration and applying for asylum is both a lengthy and mentally demanding process. Those doing so are often faced with multiple challenges, which can adversely affect their mental health. Between January and August 2020, Malta disembarked 2 162 people rescued at sea, 463 of them between July & August. Given the small size of the Maltese islands, this regulation places a disproportionately large burden on the country, creating a backlog in the processing of asylum applications resulting in increased time periods of detention. These delays reverberate throughout multiple management pathways resulting in prolonged periods of detention and challenging access to health services. Objectives: To better understand the spatial dimensions of this humanitarian crisis, this study aims to assess disparities in the acute medical management of migrants presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute mental health presentations as compared to that of local and non-local residents. Method: In this retrospective study, 17795 consecutive ED attendances were reviewed to look for acute mental health presentations. These were further evaluated to assess discrepancies in transportation routes to hospital, nature of presenting complaint, effects of language barriers, use of CT brain, treatment given at ED, availability of psychiatric reviews, and final admission/discharge plans. Results: Of the ED attendances, 92.3% were local residents, and 7.7% were non-locals. Of the non-locals, 13.8% were migrants, and 86.2% were other-non-locals. Acute mental health presentations were seen in 1% of local residents; this increased to 20.6% in migrants. 56.4% of migrants attended with deliberate self-harm; this was lower in local residents, 28.9%. Contrastingly, in local residents, the most common presenting complaint was suicidal thought/ low mood 37.3%, the incidence was similar in migrants at 33.3%. The main differences included 12.8% of migrants presenting with refused oral intake while only 0.6% of local residents presented with the same complaints. 7.7% of migrants presented with a reduced level of consciousness, no local residents presented with this same issue. Physicians documented a language barrier in 74.4% of migrants. 25.6% were noted to be completely uncommunicative. Further investigations included the use of a CT scan in 12% of local residents and in 35.9% of migrants. The most common treatment administered to migrants was supportive fluids 15.4%, the most common in local residents was benzodiazepines 15.1%. Voluntary psychiatric admissions were seen in 33.3% of migrants and 24.7% of locals. Involuntary admissions were seen in 23% of migrants and 13.3% of locals. Conclusion: Results showed multiple disparities in health management. A meeting was held between entities responsible for migrant health in Malta, including the emergency department, primary health care, migrant detention services, and Malta Red Cross. Currently, national quality-improvement initiatives are underway to form new pathways to improve patient-centered care. These include an interpreter unit, centralized handover sheets, and a dedicated migrant health service.

Keywords: emergency department, communication, health, migration

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Authors: Andrew Laming, John Hattie, Mark Wilson

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Nine Queensland Independent high schools provided deidentified student-matched ATAR and NAPLAN data for all 1217 ATAR graduates since 2020 who also sat NAPLAN at the school. Graduating cohorts from the nine schools contained a mean 100 ATAR graduates with previous NAPLAN data from their school. Excluded were vocational students (mean=27) and any ATAR graduates without NAPLAN data (mean=20). Based on Index of Community Socio-Educational Access (ICSEA) prediction, all schools had larger that predicted proportions of their students graduating with ATARs. There were an additional 173 students not releasing their ATARs to their school (14%), requiring this data to be inferred by schools. Gain was established by first converting each student’s strongest NAPLAN domain to a statewide percentile, then subtracting this result from final ATAR. The resulting ‘percentile shift’ was corrected for plausible ATAR participation at each NAPLAN level. Strongest NAPLAN domain had the highest correlation with ATAR (R2=0.58). RESULTS School mean NAPLAN scores fitted ICSEA closely (R2=0.97). Schools achieved a mean cohort gain of two ATAR rankings, but only 66% of students gained. This ranged from 46% of top-NAPLAN decile students gaining, rising to 75% achieving gains outside the top decile. The 54% of top-decile students whose ATAR fell short of prediction lost a mean 4.0 percentiles (or 6.2 percentiles prior to correction for regression to the mean). 71% of students in smaller schools gained, compared to 63% in larger schools. NAPLAN variability in each of the 13 ICSEA1100 cohorts was 17%, with both intra-school and inter-school variation of these values extremely low (0.3% to 1.8%). Mean ATAR change between years in each school was just 1.1 ATAR ranks. This suggests consecutive school cohorts and ICSEA-similar schools share very similar distributions and outcomes over time. Quantile analysis of the NAPLAN/ATAR revealed heteroscedasticity, but splines offered little additional benefit over simple linear regression. The NAPLAN/ATAR R2 was 0.33. DISCUSSION Standardised data like NAPLAN and ATAR offer educators a simple no-cost progression metric to analyse performance in conjunction with their internal test results. Change is expressed in percentiles, or ATAR shift per student, which is layperson intuitive. Findings may also reduce ATAR/vocational stream mismatch, reveal proportions of cohorts meeting or falling short of expectation and demonstrate by how much. Finally, ‘crashed’ ATARs well below expectation are revealed, which schools can reasonably work to minimise. The percentile shift method is neither value-add nor a growth percentile. In the absence of exit NAPLAN testing, this metric is unable to discriminate academic gain from legitimate ATAR-maximizing strategies. But by controlling for ICSEA, ATAR proportion variation and student mobility, it uncovers progression to ATAR metrics which are not currently publicly available. However achieved, ATAR maximisation is a sought-after private good. So long as standardised nationwide data is available, this analysis offers useful analytics for educators and reasonable predictivity when counselling subsequent cohorts about their ATAR prospects.  

Keywords: NAPLAN, ATAR, analytics, measurement, gain, performance, data, percentile, value-added, high school, numeracy, reading comprehension, variability, regression to the mean

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Authors: Sara Mosteller, Larissa K. Samuelson, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar, John P. Spencer

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This study was designed to examine how humans are able to teach and learn semantic information as well as cooperate in order to jointly achieve sophisticated goals. Specifically, we are measuring individual differences in how these abilities develop from foundational building blocks in early childhood. The current study adopts a paradigm for novel noun learning developed by Samuelson, Smith, Perry, and Spencer (2011) to a hyperscanning paradigm [Cui, Bryant and Reiss, 2012]. This project measures coordinated brain activity between a parent and child using simultaneous functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in pairs of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5-year-old children and their parents. We are also separately testing pairs of adult friends. Children and parents, or adult friends, are seated across from one another at a table. The parent (in the developmental study) then teaches their child the names of novel toys. An experimenter then tests the child by presenting the objects in pairs and asking the child to retrieve one object by name. Children are asked to choose from both pairs of familiar objects and pairs of novel objects. In order to explore individual differences in cooperation with the same participants, each dyad plays a cooperative game of Jenga, in which their joint score is based on how many blocks they can remove from the tower as a team. A preliminary analysis of the noun-learning task showed that, when presented with 6 word-object mappings, children learned an average of 3 new words (50%) and that the number of objects learned by each child ranged from 2-4. Adults initially learned all of the new words but were variable in their later retention of the mappings, which ranged from 50-100%. We are currently examining differences in cooperative behavior during the Jenga playing game, including time spent discussing each move before it is made. Ongoing analyses are examining the social dynamics that might underlie the differences between words that were successfully learned and unlearned words for each dyad, as well as the developmental differences observed in the study. Additionally, the Jenga game is being used to better understand individual and developmental differences in social coordination during a cooperative task. At a behavioral level, the analysis maps periods of joint visual attention between participants during the word learning and the Jenga game, using head-mounted eye trackers to assess each participant’s first-person viewpoint during the session. We are also analyzing the coherence in brain activity between participants during novel word-learning and Jenga playing. The first hypothesis is that visual joint attention during the session will be positively correlated with both the number of words learned and with the number of blocks moved during Jenga before the tower falls. The next hypothesis is that successful communication of new words and success in the game will each be positively correlated with synchronized brain activity between the parent and child/the adult friends in cortical regions underlying social cognition, semantic processing, and visual processing. This study probes both the neural and behavioral mechanisms of learning and cooperation in a naturalistic, interactive and developmental context.

Keywords: communication, cooperation, development, interaction, neuroscience

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Authors: Tzipi Eshet

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The primary objectives of this work are the examination of public preferences and attributed importance to different characteristics of coastal cliff protection alternatives, and drawing conclusions about the applicable alternative in Beit-Yanai beach. Erosion of coastal cliffs is a natural phenomenon that occurs in many places in the world. This creates problems along the coastlines, which are densely populated areas with highly developed economic activity. In recent years, various aspects of the aeolianite cliffs along the Israeli coast have been studied extensively. There is a consensus among researchers regarding a general trend of cliff retreat. This affects civilian infrastructure, wildlife habitats and heritage values, as well as Increases the risk to human life. The Israeli government, committed to the integrated coastal zones management approach, decided on a policy and guidelines to deal with cliff erosion, which includes establishing physical protection on land and in the sea, sand nourishment and runoff drainage. Physical protection solutions to reduce the rate of retreat of the cliffs are considerably important both for planning authorities and visitors to the beach. Direct costs of different protection alternatives, as well as external costs and benefits, may vary, thus affecting consumer preferences. Planning and execution of sustainable coastal cliff protection alternatives must take into account the different characteristics and their impact on aspects of economics, environment and leisure. The rocky shore of Beit-Yanai Beach was chosen as a case study to examine the nature of the influence of various protective solutions on consumer preferences. This beach is located in the center of Israel's coastline, and acts as a focus of attraction for recreation, land and sea sports, and educational activities as well. If no action will be taken, cliff retreat will continue. A survey was conducted to reveal the importance of coastal protection alternatives characteristics and the visual preferences to visitors at beach Beit-Yanai and residents living on the cliff (N=287). Preferences and willingness-to-pay were explored using Contingent-Ranking and Choice-Experiments techniques. Results show that visitors’ and residents’ willingness-to-pay for coastal cliff protection alternatives is affected both by financial and environmental aspects, as well as leisure. They prefer coastal cliff protection alternatives that are not visible and do not need constant maintenance, do not affect the quality of seawater or the habitats of wildlife and do not lower the security level of the swimmers. No significant difference was found comparing willingness-to-pay among local and non-local users. Additionally, they mostly prefer a protection solution which is integrated in the coastal landscape and maintains the natural appearance of the beach. Of the possible protection alternatives proposed for the protection of the cliff in Beit Yanai beach are two techniques that meet public preferences: rock revetments and submerged detached breakwaters. Results indicate that the visiting public prefer the implementation of these protection alternatives and will be willing to pay for them. Future actions to reduce retreat rate in Beit-Yanai have to consider implications on the economic, environmental and social conditions, along with weighting public interest against the interest of the individual.

Keywords: contingent-ranking, choice-experiments, coastal cliff protection, erosion of coastal cliffs, environment

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Authors: Mei Chen, Yingping Hou, Michelle Hao, Soheil Aghamohammadzadeh, Esteban Terzo, Roger Clark, Vijay Modur

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Background: Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) is a genetic skin condition characterized by skin tearing and unremitting blistering upon minimal trauma. Repeated blistering, fibrosis, and scarring lead to aggressive squamous cell carcinoma later in life. RDEB is caused by mutations in the COL7A1 gene encoding collagen type VII (C7), the major component of anchoring fibrils mediating epidermis-dermis adherence. Nonsense mutations in the COL7A1 gene of a subset of RDEB patients leads to premature termination codons (PTC). Similarly, most Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa (JEB) cases are caused by nonsense mutations in the LAMB3 gene encoding the β3 subunit of laminin 332. Currently, there is an unmet need for the treatment of RDEB and JEB. Zikani Therapeutics has discovered an array of macrocyclic compounds with ring structures similar to macrolide antibiotics that can facilitate readthrough activity of nonsense mutations in the COL7A1 and LAMB3 genes by acting as Ribosome Modulating Agents (RMAs). The medicinal chemistry synthetic advancements of these macrocyclic compounds have allowed targeting the human ribosome while preserving the structural elements responsible for the safety and pharmacokinetic profile of clinically used macrolide antibiotics. Methods: C7 expression was used as a measure of readthrough activity by immunoblot assays in two primary human fibroblasts from RDEB patients (R578X/R578X and R163X/R1683X-COL7A1). Similarly, immunoblot assays in C325X/c.629-12T > A-LAMB3 keratinocytes were used to measure readthrough activity for JEB. The relative readthrough activity of each compound was measured relative to Gentamicin. An imaging-based fibroblast migration assay was used as an assessment of C7 functionality in RDEB-fibroblasts over 16-20 hrs. The incubation period for the above experiments was 48 hrs for RDEB fibroblasts and 72 hours for JEB keratinocytes. Results: 9 RMAs demonstrated increased protein expression in both patient RDEB fibroblasts. The highest readthrough activity at tested concentrations without cytotoxicities increased protein expression up to 179% of Gentamicin (400 µg/ml), with favored readthrough activity in R163X/R1683X-COL7A1 fibroblasts. Concurrent with protein expression, fibroblast hypermotility phenotype observed in RDEB was rescued by reducing motility by ~35% to WT levels (the same level as 690 µM Gentamicin treated cells). Laminin β3 expression was also shown to be increased by 6 RMAs in keratinocytes to 33-83% of (400 µg/ml) Gentamicin. Conclusions: To date, 9 RMAs have been identified that enhance the expression of functional C7 in a mutation-dependent manner in two different RDEB patient fibroblast backgrounds (R578X/R578X and R163X/R1683X-COL7A1). A further 6 RMAs have been identified that enhance the readthrough of C325X-LAMB3 in JEB patient keratinocytes. Based on the clinical trial conducted by us with topical gentamycin in 2017, Zikani’s RMAs achieve clinically significant levels of read-through for the treatment of recessive dystrophic and Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Keywords: epidermolysis bullosa, nonsense mutation, readthrough, ribosome modulation

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Authors: Lynn Sheridan, Dennis Alonzo, Hoa Nguyen, Andy Gao, Tracy Durksen

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Disruptions to teaching (e.g., COVID-related) have increased work demands for teachers. There is an opportunity for research to explore evidence-informed steps to support teachers. Collective evidence informs data on teachers’ personal attributes (e.g., self-efficacy beliefs) in the workplace are seen to promote success in teaching and support teacher engagement. Teacher engagement plays a role in students’ learning and teachers’ effectiveness. Engaged teachers are better at overcoming work-related stress, burnout and are more likely to take on active roles. Teachers’ commitment is influenced by a host of personal (e.g., teacher well-being) and environmental factors (e.g., job stresses). The job demands-resources model provided a conceptual basis for examining how teachers’ well-being, and is influenced by job demands and job resources. Job demands potentially evoke strain and exceed the employee’s capability to adapt. Job resources entail what the job offers to individual teachers (e.g., organisational support), helping to reduce job demands. The application of the job demands-resources model involves gathering an evidence-base of and connection to personal attributes (job resources). The study explored the association between constructs (resilience, adaptability, commitment, self/collective efficacy) and a teacher’s engagement with the job. The paper sought to elaborate on the model and determine the associations between key constructs of well-being (resilience, adaptability), commitment, and motivation (self and collective-efficacy beliefs) to teachers’ engagement in teaching. Data collection involved online a multi-dimensional instrument using validated items distributed from 2020-2022. The instrument was designed to identify construct relationships. The participant number was 170. Data Analysis: The reliability coefficients, means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis statistics for the six variables were completed. All scales have good reliability coefficients (.72-.96). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) were performed to provide measurement support and to obtain latent correlations among factors. The final analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. Several fit indices were used to evaluate the model fit, including chi-square statistics and root mean square error of approximation. The CFA and SEM analysis was performed. The correlations of constructs indicated positive correlations exist, with the highest found between teacher engagement and resilience (r=.80) and the lowest between teacher adaptability and collective teacher efficacy (r=.22). Given the associations; we proceeded with CFA. The CFA yielded adequate fit: CFA fit: X (270, 1019) = 1836.79, p < .001, RMSEA = .04, and CFI = .94, TLI = .93 and SRMR = .04. All values were within the threshold values, indicating a good model fit. Results indicate that increasing teacher self-efficacy beliefs will increase a teacher’s level of engagement; that teacher ‘adaptability and resilience are positively associated with self-efficacy beliefs, as are collective teacher efficacy beliefs. Implications for school leaders and school systems: 1. investing in increasing teachers’ sense of efficacy beliefs to manage work demands; 2. leadership approaches can enhance teachers' adaptability and resilience; and 3. a culture of collective efficacy support. Preparing teachers for now and in the future offers an important reminder to policymakers and school leaders on the importance of supporting teachers’ personal attributes when faced with the challenging demands of the job.

Keywords: collective teacher efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, job demands, teacher engagement

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Authors: Md. Abu Sufian, Robiqul Islam, Imam Hossain Shajid, Mahesh Hanumanthu, Jarasree Varadarajan, Md. Sipon Miah, Mingbo Niu

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Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) remains a principal cause of global morbidity and mortality, characterized by atherosclerosis—the build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries. The study introduces an innovative methodology that leverages cloud-based platforms like AWS Live Streaming and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to early detect and prevent CHD symptoms in web applications. By employing novel simulation processes and AI algorithms, this research aims to significantly mitigate the health and societal impacts of CHD. Methodology: This study introduces a novel simulation process alongside a multi-phased model development strategy. Initially, health-related data, including heart rate variability, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and ECG readings, were collected through user interactions with web-based applications as well as API Integration. The novel simulation process involved creating synthetic datasets that mimic early-stage CHD symptoms, allowing for the refinement and training of AI algorithms under controlled conditions without compromising patient privacy. AWS Live Streaming was utilized to capture real-time health data, which was then processed and analysed using advanced AI techniques. The novel aspect of our methodology lies in the simulation of CHD symptom progression, which provides a dynamic training environment for our AI models enhancing their predictive accuracy and robustness. Model Development: it developed a machine learning model trained on both real and simulated datasets. Incorporating a variety of algorithms including neural networks and ensemble learning model to identify early signs of CHD. The model's continuous learning mechanism allows it to evolve adapting to new data inputs and improving its predictive performance over time. Results and Findings: The deployment of our model yielded promising results. In the validation phase, it achieved an accuracy of 92% in predicting early CHD symptoms surpassing existing models. The precision and recall metrics stood at 89% and 91% respectively, indicating a high level of reliability in identifying at-risk individuals. These results underscore the effectiveness of combining live data streaming with AI in the early detection of CHD. Societal Implications: The implementation of cloud-based AI for CHD symptom detection represents a significant step forward in preventive healthcare. By facilitating early intervention, this approach has the potential to reduce the incidence of CHD-related complications, decrease healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes. Moreover, the accessibility and scalability of cloud-based solutions democratize advanced health monitoring, making it available to a broader population. This study illustrates the transformative potential of integrating technology and healthcare, setting a new standard for the early detection and management of chronic diseases.

Keywords: coronary heart disease, cloud-based ai, machine learning, novel simulation techniques, early detection, preventive healthcare

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Authors: E. Locatelli, I. Monaco, R. C. Martin, Y. Li, R. Pini, M. Chiariello, M. Comes Franchini

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Despite the many advantages of application of nanomaterials in the field of nanomedicine, increasing concerns have been expressed on their potential adverse effects on human health. There is urgency for novel green strategies toward novel materials with enhanced biocompatibility using safe reagents. Photothermal ablation therapy, which exploits localized heat increase of a few degrees to kill cancer cells, has appeared recently as a non-invasive and highly efficient therapy against various cancer types; anyway new agents able to generate hyperthermia when irradiated are needed and must have precise biocompatibility in order to avoid damage to healthy tissues and prevent toxicity. Recently, there has been increasing interest in magnesium as a biomaterial: it is the fourth most abundant cation in the human body, and it is essential for human metabolism. However magnesium nanoparticles (Mg NPs) have had limited diffusion due to the high reduction potential of magnesium cations, which makes NPs synthesis challenging. Herein, we report the synthesis of Mg NPs and their surface functionalization for the obtainment of a stable and biocompatible nanomaterial suitable for photothermal ablation therapy against cancer. We synthesized the Mg crystals by reducing MgCl2 with metallic lithium and exploiting naphthalene as an electron carrier: the lithium–naphthalene complex acts as the real reducing agent. Firstly, the nanocrystal particles were coated with the ligand 12-ethoxy ester dodecanehydroxamic acid, and then entrapped into water-dispersible polymeric micelles (PMs) made of the FDA-approved PLGA-b-PEG-COOH copolymer using the oil-in-water emulsion technique. Lately, we developed a more straightforward methodology by introducing chitosan, a highly biocompatible natural product, at the beginning of the process, simultaneously using lithium–naphthalene complex, thus having a one-pot procedure for the formation and surface modification of MgNPs. The obtained MgNPs were purified and fully characterized, showing diameters in the range of 50-300 nm. Notably, when coated with chitosan the particles remained stable as dry powder for more than 10 months. We proved the possibility of generating a temperature rise of a few to several degrees once MgNPs were illuminated using a 810 nm diode laser operating in continuous wave mode: the temperature rise resulted significant (0-15 °C) and concentration dependent. We then investigated potential cytotoxicity of the MgNPs: we used HN13 epithelial cells, derived from a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the hepa1-6 cell line, derived from hepatocellular carcinoma and very low toxicity was observed for both nanosystems. Finally, in vivo photothermal therapy was performed on xenograft hepa1-6 tumor bearing mice: the animals were treated with MgNPs coated with chitosan and showed no sign of suffering after the injection. After 12 hours the tumor was exposed to near-infrared laser light. The results clearly showed an extensive damage to tumor tissue after only 2 minutes of laser irradiation at 3Wcm-1, while no damage was reported when the tumor was treated with the laser and saline alone in control group. Despite the lower photothermal efficiency of Mg with respect to Au NPs, we consider MgNPs a promising, safe and green candidate for future clinical translations.

Keywords: chitosan, magnesium nanoparticles, nanomedicine, photothermal therapy

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Authors: Lacramioara Ochiuz, Aurelia Vasile, Iulian Stoleriu, Cristina Ghiciuc, Maria Ignat

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Topical administration of chemotherapeutic agents (eg. carmustine, bexarotene, mechlorethamine etc.) in local treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is accompanied by multiple side effects, such as contact hypersensitivity, pruritus, skin atrophy or even secondary malignancies. A known method of reducing the side effects of anticancer agent is the development of modified drug release systems using drug incapsulation in biocompatible nanoporous inorganic matrices, such as mesoporous MCM-41 silica. Mesoporous MCM-41 silica is characterized by large specific surface, high pore volume, uniform porosity, and stable dispersion in aqueous medium, excellent biocompatibility, in vivo biodegradability and capacity to be functionalized with different organic groups. Therefore, MCM-41 is an attractive candidate for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as controlled drug release, bone regeneration, protein immobilization, enzymes, etc. The main advantage of this material lies in its ability to host a large amount of the active substance in uniform pore system with adjustable size in a mesoscopic range. Silanol groups allow surface controlled functionalization leading to control of drug loading and release. This study shows (I) the amino-grafting optimization of mesoporous MCM-41 silica matrix by means of co-condensation during synthesis and post-synthesis using APTES (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane); (ii) loading the therapeutic agent (carmustine) obtaining a modified drug release systems; (iii) determining the profile of in vitro carmustine release from these systems; (iv) assessment of carmustine release kinetics by fitting on four mathematical models. Obtained powders have been described in terms of structure, texture, morphology thermogravimetric analysis. The concentration of the therapeutic agent in the dissolution medium has been determined by HPLC method. In vitro dissolution tests have been done using cell Enhancer in a 12 hours interval. Analysis of carmustine release kinetics from mesoporous systems was made by fitting to zero-order model, first-order model Higuchi model and Korsmeyer-Peppas model, respectively. Results showed that both types of highly ordered mesoporous silica (amino grafted by co-condensation process or post-synthesis) are thermally stable in aqueous medium. In what regards the degree of loading and efficiency of loading with the therapeutic agent, there has been noticed an increase of around 10% in case of co-condensation method application. This result shows that direct co-condensation leads to even distribution of amino groups on the pore walls while in case of post-synthesis grafting many amino groups are concentrated near the pore opening and/or on external surface. In vitro dissolution tests showed an extended carmustine release (more than 86% m/m) both from systems based on silica functionalized directly by co-condensation and after synthesis. Assessment of carmustine release kinetics revealed a release through diffusion from all studied systems as a result of fitting to Higuchi model. The results of this study proved that amino-functionalized mesoporous silica may be used as a matrix for optimizing the anti-cancer topical therapy by loading carmustine and developing prolonged-release systems.

Keywords: carmustine, silica, controlled, release

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Diana Reckien

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Vulnerability assessments are increasingly used to support policy-making in complex environments, like urban areas. Usually, vulnerability studies include the construction of aggregate (sub-) indices and the subsequent mapping of indices across an area of interest. Vulnerability studies show a couple of advantages: they are great communication tools, can inform a wider general debate about environmental issues, and can help allocating and efficiently targeting scarce resources for adaptation policy and planning. However, they also have a number of challenges: Vulnerability assessments are constructed on the basis of a wide range of methodologies and there is no single framework or methodology that has proven to serve best in certain environments, indicators vary highly according to the spatial scale used, different variables and metrics produce different results, and aggregate or composite vulnerability indicators that are mapped easily distort or bias the picture of vulnerability as they hide the underlying causes of vulnerability and level out conflicting reasons of vulnerability in space. So, there is urgent need to further develop the methodology of vulnerability studies towards a common framework, which is one reason of the paper. We introduce a social vulnerability approach, which is compared with other approaches of bio-physical or sectoral vulnerability studies relatively developed in terms of a common methodology for index construction, guidelines for mapping, assessment of sensitivity, and verification of variables. Two approaches are commonly pursued in the literature. The first one is an additive approach, in which all potentially influential variables are weighted according to their importance for the vulnerability aspect, and then added to form a composite vulnerability index per unit area. The second approach includes variable reduction, mostly Principal Component Analysis (PCA) that reduces the number of variables that are interrelated into a smaller number of less correlating components, which are also added to form a composite index. We test these two approaches of constructing indices on the area of New York City as well as two different metrics of variables used as input and compare the outcome for the 5 boroughs of NY. Our analysis yields that the mapping exercise yields particularly different results in the outer regions and parts of the boroughs, such as Outer Queens and Staten Island. However, some of these parts, particularly the coastal areas receive the highest attention in the current adaptation policy. We imply from this that the current adaptation policy and practice in NY might need to be discussed, as these outer urban areas show relatively low social vulnerability as compared with the more central parts, i.e. the high dense areas of Manhattan, Central Brooklyn, Central Queens and the Southern Bronx. The inner urban parts receive lesser adaptation attention, but bear a higher risk of damage in case of hazards in those areas. This is conceivable, e.g., during large heatwaves, which would more affect more the inner and poorer parts of the city as compared with the outer urban areas. In light of the recent planning practice of NY one needs to question and discuss who in NY makes adaptation policy for whom, but the presented analyses points towards an under representation of the needs of the socially vulnerable population, such as the poor, the elderly, and ethnic minorities, in the current adaptation practice in New York City.

Keywords: vulnerability mapping, social vulnerability, additive approach, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), New York City, United States, adaptation, social sensitivity

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Authors: Vijaya Dixit Aasheesh Dixit

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Shipbuilding industry operates in Engineer Procure Construct (EPC) context. Product mix of a shipyard comprises of various types of ships like bulk carriers, tankers, barges, coast guard vessels, sub-marines etc. Each order is unique based on the type of ship and customized requirements, which are engineered into the product right from design stage. Thus, to execute every new project, a shipyard needs to upgrade its production expertise. As a result, over the long run, holistic learning occurs across different types of projects which contributes to the knowledge base of the shipyard. Simultaneously, in the short term, during execution of a project comprising of multiple sister ships, repetition of similar tasks leads to learning at activity level. This research aims to capture above learnings of a shipyard and incorporate learning curve effect in project scheduling and materials procurement to improve project performance. Extant literature provides support for the existence of such learnings in an organization. In shipbuilding, there are sequences of similar activities which are expected to exhibit learning curve behavior. For example, the nearly identical structural sub-blocks which are successively fabricated, erected, and outfitted with piping and electrical systems. Learning curve representation can model not only a decrease in mean completion time of an activity, but also a decrease in uncertainty of activity duration. Sister ships have similar material requirements. The same supplier base supplies materials for all the sister ships within a project. On one hand, this provides an opportunity to reduce transportation cost by batching the order quantities of multiple ships. On the other hand, it increases the inventory holding cost at shipyard and the risk of obsolescence. Further, due to learning curve effect the production scheduled of each consequent ship gets compressed. Thus, the material requirement schedule of every next ship differs from its previous ship. As more and more ships get constructed, compressed production schedules increase the possibility of batching the orders of sister ships. This work aims at integrating materials management with project scheduling of long duration projects for manufacturing of multiple sister ships. It incorporates the learning curve effect on progressively compressing material requirement schedules and addresses the above trade-off of transportation cost and inventory holding and shortage costs while satisfying budget constraints of various stages of the project. The activity durations and lead time of items are not crisp and are available in the form of probabilistic distribution. A Stochastic Mixed Integer Programming (SMIP) model is formulated which is solved using evolutionary algorithm. Its output provides ordering dates of items and degree of order batching for all types of items. Sensitivity analysis determines the threshold number of sister ships required in a project to leverage the advantage of learning curve effect in materials management decisions. This analysis will help materials managers to gain insights about the scenarios: when and to what degree is it beneficial to treat a multiple ship project as an integrated one by batching the order quantities and when and to what degree to practice distinctive procurement for individual ship.

Keywords: learning curve, materials management, shipbuilding, sister ships

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Authors: Sara Saboonian, Pierre Filion

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The dispersed-suburban model has been the dominant one across North America for the past seventy years, characterized by automobile reliance, low density, and land-use specialization. Two planning models have emerged as possible alternatives to address the ills inflicted by this development pattern. First, there is intensification, which promotes efficient infrastructure by connecting high-density, multi-functional, and walkable nodes with public transit services within the suburban landscape. Second is green infrastructure, which provides environmental health and human well-being by preserving and restoring ecosystem services. This research studies incompatibilities and the possibility of amalgamating the two alternatives in an attempt to develop a comprehensive alternative to suburban model that advocates density, multi-functionality and transit- and pedestrian-conduciveness, with measures capable of mitigating the adverse environmental impacts of compactness. The research investigates three Canadian urban growth centers, where intensification is the current planning practice, and the awareness of green infrastructure benefits is on the rise. However, these three centers are contrasted by their development stage, the presence or absence of protected natural land, their environmental approach, and their adverse environmental consequences according to the planning cannons of different periods. The methods include reviewing the literature on green infrastructure planning, criticizing the Ontario provincial plans for intensification, surveying residents’ preferences for alternative models, and interviewing officials who deal with the local planning for the centers. Moreover, the research draws on recalling debates between New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. The case studies expose the difficulties in creating urban growth centres that accommodate green infrastructure while adhering to intensification principles. First, the dominant status of intensification and the obstacles confronting intensification have monopolized the planners’ concerns. Second, the tension between green infrastructure and intensification explains the absence of the green infrastructure typologies that correspond to intensification-compatible forms and dynamics. Finally, the lack of highlighted social-economic benefits of green infrastructure reduces residents’ participation. Moreover, the results from the research provide insight into predominating urbanization theories, New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. In order to understand political, planning, and ecological dynamics of such blending, dexterous context-specific planning is required. Findings suggest the influence of the following factors on amalgamating intensification and green infrastructure. Initially, producing ecosystem services-based justifications for green infrastructure development in the intensification context provides an expert-driven backbone for the implementation programs. This knowledge-base should be translated to effectively imbue different urban stakeholders. Moreover, due to the limited greenfields in intensified areas, spatial distribution and development of multi-level corridors such as pedestrian-hospitable settings and transportation networks along green infrastructure measures are required. Finally, to ensure the long-term integrity of implemented green infrastructure measures, significant investment in public engagement and education, as well as clarification of management responsibilities is essential.

Keywords: ecosystem services, green infrastructure, intensification, planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 323