Search results for: biological sample

Authors: Ian Heazlewood, Joe Walsh, Mike Climstein, Stephen Burke, Kent Adams, Mark DeBeliso

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Whilst there is growing evidence that activity across the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are also many changes involved with the aging process and subsequently the potential for reduced indices of health. The nexus between all forms of health, physical activity and aging is complex and has raised much interest in recent times due to the realization that a multifaceted approached is necessary in order to counteract a growing obesity epidemic. By investigating age based trends within a population adherring to competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors influencing this relationship. This study evaluated those sport psychological constructs of health, physical fitness, mental health states, and social dimension factors in sport that were associated with factors to participate in sport and physical activity based on responses from the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney. The sample consisted of 7846 athletes who competed at the games and who completed a 56 item sports participation survey using a 7-point Likert response (1 - not important to 7 - very important). Questions focuses on factors thought to promote participation, such as weight control, living longer, improving mental health (self-esteem, mood states), improving physical health and factors related to the athlete-s competitive perspective. The most significant factors related to participation with this cohort of masters athletes were the socializing environment of sport, getting physically fit and improving competitive personal best performances. Strategies to increase participation in masters sport should focus on these factors as other factors such as weight loss, improving mental health and living longer were not identified as important determinates of sports participation at the World Masters level.

Keywords: masters sport, promoting participation, sport psychology.

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Authors: Hanina M. N., Hairul Shahril M., Mohd Fazrullah Innsan M. F., Ismatul Nurul Asyikin I., Abdul Jalil A. K, Salina M. R., Ahmad I.B.

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Proteins levels produced by bacteria may be increased in stressful surroundings, such as in the presence of antibiotics. It appears that many antimicrobial agents or antibiotics, when used at low concentrations, have in common the ability to activate or repress gene transcription, which is distinct from their inhibitory effect. There have been comparatively few studies on the potential of antibiotics or natural compounds in nature as a specific chemical signal that can trigger a variety of biological functions. Therefore, this study was focusing on the effect of essential oils from Cymbopogon flexuosus and C. nardus in regulating proteins production by Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332. The Minimum Inhibition Concentrations (MICs) of both essential oils on B. subtilis were determined by using microdilution assay, resulting 0.2% and 1.56% for each C. flexuosus and C. nardus subsequently. The bacteria were further exposed to each essential oils at concentration of 0.01XMIC for 2 days. The proteins were then isolated and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Protein profile showed that a band with approximate size of 250 kD was appeared for the treated bacteria with essential oils. Thus, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332 in stressful condition with the presence of essential oils at low concentration could induce the protein production.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332, Cymbopogon essential oils, protein

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Authors: Chaiwat Kongsom, Vitoon Panyakul

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The objective of this study was to assess the production and market of certified organic products in Thailand. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify a sample group of 154 organic entrepreneurs for the study. A survey and in-depth interview were employed for data collection. Also, secondary data from organic agriculture certification body and publications was collected. Then descriptive statistics and content analysis technique were used to describe about production and market of certified organic products in Thailand. Results showed that there were 9,218 farmers on 213,183.68 Rai (83,309.2 acre) of certified organic agriculture land (0.29% of national agriculture land). A total of 57.8% of certified organic agricultural lands were certified by the international certification body. Organic farmers produced around 71,847 tons/year and worth around THB 1,914 million (Euro 47.92 million). Excluding primary producers, 471 operators involved in the Thai organic supply chains, including processors, exporters, distributors, green shops, modern trade shops (supermarket shop), farmer’s markets and food establishments were included. Export market was the major market channel and most of organic products were exported to Europe and North America. The total Thai organic market in 2014 was estimated to be worth around THB 2,331.55 million (Euro 58.22 million), of which, 77.9% was for export and 22.06% was for the domestic market. The largest exports of certified organic products were processed foods (66.1% of total export value), followed by organic rice (30.4%). In the domestic market, modern trade was the largest sale channel, accounting for 59.48% of total domestic sales, followed by green shop (29.47%) and food establishment (5.85%). To become a center of organic farming and trading within ASEAN, the Thai organic sector needs to have more policy support in regard to agricultural chemicals, GMO, and community land title. In addition, appropriate strategies need to be developed.

Keywords: Certified organic products, production, market, Thailand.

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Authors: Disciglio G., Gatta G., Libutti A., Tarantino A., Frabboni L., Tarantino E.

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Results of a field study carried out at Trinitapoli (Puglia region, southern Italy) on the irrigation of an artichoke crop with three types of water (secondary-treated wastewater, SW; tertiary-treated wastewater, TW; and freshwater, FW) are reported. Physical, chemical and microbiological analyses were performed on the irrigation water, and on soil and yield samples.

The levels of most of the chemical parameters, such as electrical conductivity, total suspended solids, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg⁺², K⁺, sodium adsorption ratio, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand over 5 days, NO₃ –N, total N, CO₃², HCO₃, phenols and chlorides of the applied irrigation water were significantly higher in SW compared to GW and TW. No differences were found for Mg²⁺, PO₄-P, K⁺ only between SW and TW. Although the chemical parameters of the three irrigation water sources were different, few effects on the soil were observed. Even though monitoring of Escherichia coli showed high SW levels, which were above the limits allowed under Italian law (DM 152/2006), contamination of the soil and the marketable yield were never observed. Moreover, no Salmonella spp. were detected in these irrigation waters; consequently, they were absent in the plants. Finally, the data on the quantitative-qualitative parameters of the artichoke yield with the various treatments show no significant differences between the three irrigation water sources. Therefore, if adequately treated, municipal wastewater can be used for irrigation and represents a sound alternative to conventional water resources.

Keywords: Artichoke, soil chemical characteristics, fecal indicators, treated municipal wastewater, water recycling.

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Authors: Kenneth A. Ibe, Justina I. Mbonu, Godgift K. Umukoro

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The effects of wood ash from five common tropical woods on the ignition point of four common tropical woods in Nigeria were investigated. The ash and moisture contents of the wood sawdust from Mahogany (Khaya ivorensis), Opepe (Sarcocephalus latifolius), Abura (Mitragyna ciliata), Rubber (Heavea brasilensis) and Poroporo (Sorghum bicolour) used, were determined using a furnace (Vecstar furnaces, model ECF2, serial no. f3077) and oven (Genlab laboratory oven, model MINO/040) respectively. The metal contents of the five wood sawdust ash samples were determined using a Perkin Elmer optima 3000 dv atomic absorption spectrometer while the ignition points were determined using Vecstar furnaces model ECF2. Poroporo had the highest ash content, 2.263g while rubber had the least, 0.710g. The results for the moisture content range from 2.971g to 0.903g. Magnesium metal had the highest concentration of all the metals, in all the wood ash samples; with mahogany ash having the highest concentration, 9.196ppm while rubber ash had the least concentration of magnesium metal, 2.196 ppm. The ignition point results showed that the wood ashes from mahogany and opepe increased the ignition points of the test wood samples, Danta (Nesogordonia papaverifera), Ekpaya, Akomu (Pycnanthus angolensis) and Oleku when coated on them while the ashes from poroporo, rubber and abura decreased the ignition points of the test wood samples when coated on them. However, Opepe saw dust ash decreased the ignition point in one of the test wood samples, suggesting that the metal content of the test wood sample was more than that of the Opepe saw dust ash. Therefore, Mahogany and Opepe saw dust ashes could be used in the surface treatment of wood to enhance their fire resistance or retardancy. However, the caution to be exercised in this application is that the metal content of the test wood samples should be evaluated as well.

Keywords: Ash, fire, ignition point, retardant, wood saw dust.

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Authors: G. H. B. Dilhari, A. A. D. T. Saparamadu

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Sri Lanka is one of the prominent countries for the coir production. The coir is one of the by-products of the coconut and the coir industry is considered to be one of the traditional industries in Sri Lanka. Because of the inherent nature of the coir industry, labourers play a significant role in the coir production process. The study has analyzed the determinants of the income of the household level coir yarn labourers. The study was conducted in the Kumarakanda Grama Niladhari division. Simple random sampling was used to generate a sample of 100 household level coir yarn labourers and structured questionnaire, personal interviews, and discussion were performed to gather the required data. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis test were performed for mean comparison. The findings revealed that the household level coir yarn industry is dominated by the female workers and it was identified that fewer numbers of workers have engaged in this industry as the main occupation. In addition to that, elderly participation in the industry is higher than the younger participation and most of them have engaged in the industry as a source of extra income. Level of education, the methods of engagement, satisfaction, engagement in the industry by the next generation, support from the government, method of government support, working hours per day, employed as a main job, number of completed units per day, suffering from job related diseases and type of the diseases were related with income level of household level coir yarn laboures. The recommendations as to flourish in future includes, technological transformation for coir yarn production, strengthening the raw material base and regulating the raw material supply, introduction of new technologies, markets and training programmes, the establishment of the labourers’ association, the initiation of micro credit schemes and better consideration about the job oriented diseases.

Keywords: Coir, Income, Sri Lanka.

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Authors: Emine Yilmaz, Ismail Yilmaz, Harun Uran

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Food-borne problems have been placed among the most leading problems of the society especially in recent years. This state arises as a problem which affects the society wholly such as the supply of food stuffs that are necessary for an individual to perform his physiological and biological functions, their amount, compound, their effects on health and distribution by individuals. This study was conducted in order to determine the sensitivities and criteria of people, who have different socio-economic backgrounds and live in Süleymanpasa Town of Tekirdag City, in their preference of food stuffs. The research data were collected by means of Interview Technique with individuals within the scope of the study (300) and applying surveys with convenience sampling. According to the research results, quality appears in the first rank among the factors by which consumers are affected while buying food stuffs. Consumers stated that they try to be careful with not buying food sold outdoors. The most preferred food among the ones being sold outdoor were found to be breakfast food. Also, food stuff which consumers become the most selective for while buying was determined to be meat and meat products. Due to general knowledge about the food stuff consumed in human nutrition may affect their health negatively; consumers expressed that they are very relevant with their diets and this circumstances affects their purchase preferences.  

Keywords: Consumption, food safety, consumer behavior, purchase preferences.

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Authors: Hossein Soleimanzadeh

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The effect of seed inoculation by VA- mycorrhiza and different levels of phosphorus fertilizer on growth and yield of sunflower (Azargol cultivar) was studied in experiment farm of Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch during 2008 growing season. The experiment treatments were arranged in factorial based on a complete randomized block design with three replications. Four phosphorus fertilizer levels of 25%, 50% 75% and 100% P recommended with two levels of Mycorrhiza: with and without Mycorrhiza (control) were assigned in a factorial combination. Results showed that head diameter, number of seeds in head, seed yield and oil yield were significantly higher in inoculated plants than in non-inoculated plants. Head diameter, number of seeds in head, 1000 seeds weight, biological yield, seed yield and oil yield increased with increasing P level above 75% P recommended in non-inoculated plants, whereas no significant difference was observed between 75% and 100% P recommended. The positive effect of mycorrhizal inoculation decreased with increasing P levels due to decreased percent root colonization at higher P levels. According to the results of this experiment, application of mycorrhiza in present of 50% P recommended had an appropriate performance and could increase seed yield and oil production to an acceptable level, so it could be considered as a suitable substitute for chemical phosphorus fertilizer in organic agricultural systems.

Keywords: phosphorus fertilizer, seed yield, sunflower, VA-mycorrhiza

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Authors: Beata Ślusarczyk, Sebastian Kot

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In subjective terms, Polish SME sector occupies a prominent position in the national economic development, in which planning of the management strategies should be primarily based on identifying and meeting the innovation needs. As a research sample, there is chosen a printing sector of industry. SMEs share in printing sector in Poland is estimated at the level of 81% of all enterprises. In recent years, the printing industry achieved one of the highest levels of EU support in Poland. There is a relatively high increase in the development of technological innovations in equipment and the associated significant increase in production capacity. It can be also noticed that on average, every third enterprise belonging to the printing industry has implemented innovations, but not all of them effected in better economic results. Therefore, the aim of this article is to evaluate the impact of the implementation of innovation projects financed from the EU funds for performance of SMEs in the printing industry. As the results of research of EU funds co-financing effects on the development of innovation in the printing industry, it was specified that examined SMEs prefer to implement product innovation to receive a grant to the project at a level between 40% to 60%, the remaining part of the investment is usually covered with equity. The most common type of innovation had indicated a single implementation, related only to the change in process, technology, or organization. The relationship between variables of the EU funds and management of innovative activities was verified. It has been observed that the identified variables arising from the support in a form of the EU funds had a positive effect on the level of earned revenue, the increase in margin and in increase in employment as well. It was confirmed that the implemented innovations supported by the European funds have a positive impact on the performance of the printing companies. Although there is a risk that due to the decreasing demand for printing services such a high level of funding the companies in this sector will significantly increase competition in the long term, that may also contribute to the economic problems of the enterprises belonging to the analyzed branch.

Keywords: Innovations, SMEs, performance, results.

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Authors: W. Samruan, A. Oonsivilai, R. Oonsivilai

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Today, people are more interested in the foods beneficial on their health. However, there are still lacks of accurate knowledge in the field of biological properties, functional properties, including the application of legume in foods. This study focused on antioxidant activity of soybean (SB) and fermented soybean (FSB) crude extracts evaluating to have more information in fortification SB and FSB crude extracts in food products and/or dietary supplement. SB and FSB crude extracts were prepared by infusion with water and ethanol. The antioxidant activity of crude extracts was studied with DPPH and ABTS assay including commercial standard. From both DPPH and ABTS assay, the antioxidant activity of SB and FSB water crude extract showed higher antioxidant activity than ethanol crude extract, and FSB crude extract showed higher antioxidant activity than SB crude extract. In DPPH assay, BHT and vitamin C showed IC50 values at 0.241, 0.039 mg/ml, in ABTS assay. In addition, Trolox showed IC50 at 0.058 mg/ml respectively. FSB water crude extract showed high antioxidant activity. Finally, the functional properties study of both water and ethanol crude extracts should be done for beneficial in application of these extracts in food products and dietary supplement in the near future.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, Fermented soybean (FSB) crude extracts, soybean (SB) crude extracts.

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Authors: V. Maciuc, Şt. Creangă, I. Gîlcă, V. Ujică

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The paper makes part from a complex research project on Romanian Grey Steppe, a unique breed in terms of biological and cultural-historical importance, on the verge of extinction and which has been included in a preservation programme of genetic resources from Romania. The study of genetic polymorphism of protean fractions, especially kappa-casein, and the genotype relations of these lactoproteins with some quantitative and qualitative features of milk yield represents a current theme and a novelty for this breed. In the estimation of the genetic parameters we used R.E.M.L. (Restricted Maximum Likelihood) method. The main lactoprotein from milk, kappa - casein (K-cz), characterized in the specialized literature as a feature having a high degree of hereditary transmission, behaves as such in the nucleus under study, a value also confirmed by the heritability coefficient (h2 = 0.57 %). We must mention the medium values for milk and fat quantity (h2=0.26, 0.29 %) and the fat and protein percentage from milk having a high hereditary influence h2 = 0.71 - 0.63 %. Correlations between kappa-casein and the milk quantity are negative and strong. Between kappa-casein and other qualitative features of milk (fat content 0.58-0.67 % and protein content 0.77- 0.87%), there are positive and very strong correlations. At the same time, between kappa-casein and β casein (β-cz), β lactoglobulin (β- lg) respectively, correlations are positive having high values (0.37 – 0.45 %), indicating the same causes and determining factors for the two groups of features.

Keywords: breed, genetic preservation, lactoproteins, Romanian Grey Steppe

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Authors: Natalia Koltovaya, Nadezhda Zhuchkina, Ksenia Lyubimova

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We study the biological effects induced by ionizing radiation in view of therapeutic exposure and the idea of space flights beyond Earth's magnetosphere. In particular, we examine the differences between base pair substitution induction by ionizing radiation in model haploid and diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Such mutations are difficult to study in higher eukaryotic systems. In our research, we have used a collection of six isogenic trp5-strains and 14 isogenic haploid and diploid cyc1-strains that are specific markers of all possible base-pair substitutions. These strains differ from each other only in single base substitutions within codon-50 of the trp5 gene or codon-22 of the cyc1 gene. Different mutation spectra for two different haploid genetic trp5- and cyc1-assays and different mutation spectra for the same genetic cyc1-system in cells with different ploidy — haploid and diploid — have been obtained. It was linear function for dose-dependence in haploid and exponential in diploid cells. We suggest that the differences between haploid yeast strains reflect the dependence on the sequence context, while the differences between haploid and diploid strains reflect the different molecular mechanisms of mutations.

Keywords: Base pair substitutions, γ-rays, haploid and diploid cells, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

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Authors: Mark Kaahwa, Chang Zhu, Moses Muhumuza

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This study investigates the satisfaction of distance education university students (DEUS) with the use of audio media as a medium of instruction. Studying students’ satisfaction is vital because it shows whether learners are comfortable with a certain instructional strategy or not. Although previous studies have investigated the use of audio media, the satisfaction of students with an instructional strategy that combines radio teaching and podcasts as an independent teaching strategy has not been fully investigated. In this study, all lectures were delivered through the radio and students had no direct contact with their instructors. No modules or any other material in form of text were given to the students. They instead, revised the taught content by listening to podcasts saved on their mobile electronic gadgets. Prior to data collection, DEUS received orientation through workshops on how to use audio media in distance education. To achieve objectives of the study, a survey, naturalistic observations and face-to-face interviews were used to collect data from a sample of 211 undergraduate and graduate students. Findings indicate that there was no statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction between male and female students. The results from post hoc analysis show that there is a statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction regarding the use of audio media between diploma and graduate students. Diploma students are more satisfied compared to their graduate counterparts. T-test results reveal that there was no statistically significant difference in the general satisfaction with audio media between rural and urban-based students. And ANOVA results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction with the use of audio media across age groups. Furthermore, results from observations and interviews reveal that DEUS found learning using audio media a pleasurable medium of instruction. This is an indication that audio media can be considered as an instructional strategy on its own merit.

Keywords: Audio media, distance education, distance education university students, medium of instruction, satisfaction.

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Authors: Michael Moeti, Khuliso Sigama, Thapelo Samuel Matlala

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One of the principal challenges that the world is confronted with is insecurity. The crime rate is increasing exponentially, and protecting our physical assets, especially in the motorist sector, is becoming impossible when applying our own strength. The need to develop technological solutions that detect and report theft without any human interference is inevitable. This is critical, especially for vehicle owners, to ensure theft detection and speedy identification towards recovery efforts in cases where a vehicle is missing or attempted theft is taking place. The vehicle theft detection system uses Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to recognize the driver's face captured using an installed mobile phone device. The location identification function uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine the real-time location of the vehicle. Upon identification of the location, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology is used to report or notify the vehicle owner about the whereabouts of the vehicle. The installed mobile app was implemented by making use of Python as it is undoubtedly the best choice in machine learning. It allows easy access to machine learning algorithms through its widely developed library ecosystem. The graphical user interface was developed by making use of JAVA as it is better suited for mobile development. Google's online database (Firebase) was used as a means of storage for the application. The system integration test was performed using a simple percentage analysis. 60 vehicle owners participated in this study as a sample, and questionnaires were used in order to establish the acceptability of the system developed. The result indicates the efficiency of the proposed system, and consequently, the paper proposes that the use of the system can effectively monitor the vehicle at any given place, even if it is driven outside its normal jurisdiction. More so, the system can be used as a database to detect, locate and report missing vehicles to different security agencies.

Keywords: Convolutional Neural Network, CNN, location identification, tracking, GPS, GSM.

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Authors: Abimbola M. Enitan, John O. Odiyo, Feroz M. Swalaha

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The study of microbial ecology and their function in anaerobic digestion processes are essential to control the biological processes. This is to know the symbiotic relationship between the microorganisms that are involved in the conversion of complex organic matter in the industrial wastewater to simple molecules. In this study, diversity and quantity of bacterial community in the granular sludge taken from the different compartments of a full-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery wastewater was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The phylogenetic analysis showed three major eubacteria phyla that belong to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi in the full-scale UASB reactor, with different groups populating different compartment. The result of qPCR assay showed high amount of eubacteria with increase in concentration along the reactor’s compartment. This study extends our understanding on the diverse, topological distribution and shifts in concentration of microbial communities in the different compartments of a full-scale UASB reactor treating brewery wastewater. The colonization and the trophic interactions among these microbial populations in reducing and transforming complex organic matter within the UASB reactors were established.

Keywords: Bacteria, brewery wastewater, real-time quantitative PCR, UASB reactor.

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Authors: Fatma N. Talkhan, H. H. Abo-Assy, K. A. Soliman, Marwa M. Azzam, A. Z. E. Abdelsalam, A. S. Abdel-Razek

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The Egyptian Bacillus thuringiensis isolate (M5) produce crystal proteins that is toxic against insects was irradiated with UV light to induce mutants. Upon testing 10 of the resulting mutants for their toxicity against cotton leafworm larvae, the three mutants 62, 64 and 85 proved to be the most toxic ones. Upon testing these mutants along with their parental isolate by SDS-PAGE analysis of spores-crystals proteins as well as vegetative cells proteins, new induced bands appeared in the three mutants by UV radiation and also they showed disappearance of some other bands as compared with the wild type isolate. Multiplex PCR technique, with five sets of specific primers, was used to detect the three types of cryI genes cryIAa, cryIAb and cryIAc. Results showed that these three genes exist, as distinctive bands, in the wild type isolate (M5) as well as in mutants 62 and 85, while the mutant 64 had two distinctive bands of cryIAb and cryIAc genes, and a faint band of cryI Aa gene. Finally, these results revealed that mutant 62 is considered as the promising mutant since it is UV resistant, highly toxic against Spodoptera littoralis and active against a wide range of Lepidopteran insects.

Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis, biological control, cry1 genes, multiplex PC, SDS- PAGE analysis.

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Authors: Karolina Patora

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This article investigates liquidity risk management by banks, which has gained significant importance since the global financial crisis of 2008. The issue is of particular interest for countries like Poland, in which foreign capital plays a dominant role. Such an ownership structure poses certain risks to the local banking sector, which faces an increased probability of the withdrawal of funding or assets’ transfers abroad in case of a crisis. Both these factors can have a detrimental influence on the liquidity position of foreign-owned banks and hence negatively affect the financial stability of the whole banking sector. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a dominating share of foreign investors in the Polish banking sector on the liquidity position of commercial banks. The study hypothesizes that the ownership structure of the Polish banking sector, in which there are banks predominantly controlled by foreign investors, does not pose a threat to the liquidity position of Polish banks. A supplementary research hypothesis is that the liquidity risk profile of foreign-owned banks differs from that of domestic banks. The sample consists of 14 foreign-owned banks and 5 domestic banks owned by local investors, which together constitute approximately 87% of the banking sector’s assets. The data covers the period of 2004–2014. The results of the regression models show no evidence of significant differences in terms of the dynamics of changes of the liquidity buffers between the foreign-owned and domestic banks, although the signs of the coefficients might suggest that the foreign-owned banks were decreasing the holdings of liquid assets at a slower pace over the examined period, compared to the domestic banks. However, no proof of the statistical significance of these findings has been found. The supplementary research hypothesis that the liquidity risk profile of foreign-controlled banks differs from that of domestic banks was rejected.

Keywords: Financial stability, foreign-owned banks, liquidity position, liquidity risk.

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Authors: Sarkar M. A. Kawsar, Sarkar M. A. Mamun, Md S. Rahman, Hidetaro Yasumitsu, Yasuhiro Ozeki

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Lectins have a good scope in current clinical microbiology research. In the present study evaluated the antimicrobial activities of a D-galactose binding lectin (PnL) was purified from the annelid, Perinereis nuntia (polychaeta) by affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the lectin was determined to be 32 kDa as a single polypeptide by SDS-PAGE under both reducing and non-reducing conditions. The hemagglutinating activity of the PnL showed against trypsinized and glutaraldehyde-fixed human erythrocytes was specifically inhibited by D-Gal, GalNAc, Galβ1-4Glc and Galα1-6Glc. PnL was evaluated for in vitro antibacterial screening studies against 11 gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. From the screening results, it was revealed that PnL exhibited significant antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria. Bacillus megaterium showed the highest growth inhibition by the lectin (250 μg/disc). However, PnL did not inhibit the growth of gram-negative bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae and Pseudomonas sp. PnL was also examined for in vitro antifungal activity against six fungal phytopathogens. PnL (100 μg/mL) inhibited the mycelial growth of Alternaria alternata (24.4%). These results indicate that future findings of lectin applications obtained from annelids may be of importance to life sciences.

Keywords: Perinereis nuntia, Lectin, Inhibition zone, Mycelial growth.

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Authors: Swapnoneel Roy, Minhazur Rahman, Ashok Kumar Thakur

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Bioinformatics and computational biology involve the use of techniques including applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, chemistry, and biochemistry to solve biological problems usually on the molecular level. Research in computational biology often overlaps with systems biology. Major research efforts in the field include sequence alignment, gene finding, genome assembly, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, prediction of gene expression and proteinprotein interactions, and the modeling of evolution. Various global rearrangements of permutations, such as reversals and transpositions,have recently become of interest because of their applications in computational molecular biology. A reversal is an operation that reverses the order of a substring of a permutation. A transposition is an operation that swaps two adjacent substrings of a permutation. The problem of determining the smallest number of reversals required to transform a given permutation into the identity permutation is called sorting by reversals. Similar problems can be defined for transpositions and other global rearrangements. In this work we perform a study about some genome rearrangement primitives. We show how a genome is modelled by a permutation, introduce some of the existing primitives and the lower and upper bounds on them. We then provide a comparison of the introduced primitives.

Keywords: Sorting Primitives, Genome Rearrangements, Transpositions, Block Interchanges, Strip Exchanges.

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Authors: Komeil Jahanifar, Zahra Abedi, Yaghob Zeraatkish

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This research was conducted for the first time at the southeastern coasts of the Caspian Sea in order to evaluate the performance of osteichthyes cooperatives through production (catch) function. Using one of the indirect valuation methods in this research, contributory factors in catch were identified and were inserted into the function as independent variables. In order to carry out this research, the performance of 25 Osteichthyes catching cooperatives in the utilization year of 2009 which were involved in fishing in Miankale wildlife refuge region. The contributory factors in catch were divided into groups of economic, ecological and biological factors. In the mentioned function, catch rate of the cooperative were inserted into as the dependant variable and fourteen partial variables in terms of nine general variables as independent variables. Finally, after function estimation, seven variables were rendered significant at 99 percent reliably level. The results of the function estimation indicated that human resource (fisherman quantity) had the greatest positive effect on catch rate with an influence coefficient of 1.7 while weather conditions had the greatest negative effect on the catch rate of cooperatives with an influence coefficient of -2.07. Moreover, factors like member's share, experience and fisherman training and fishing effort played the main roles in the catch rate of cooperative with influence coefficients of 0.81, 0.5 and 0.21, respectively.

Keywords: Production Function, Coefficient, Variable, Osteichthyes, Caspian Sea

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Authors: E. Satoh, R. Kasahara, T. Aoki, K. Fukatsu, D. Venkata Ramanarao, H. Harayama, T. Murata, A. Suwa

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Rice plant hoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) have been causing extensive economic damage in rice and are considered as serious threat in rice producing countries of Asia. They have developed resistance to major groups of chemical insecticide, and severe outbreaks occur commonly throughout Asia. To control these nuisance pests, Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd., recently discovered an insecticide, benzpyrimoxan (proposed ISO name), which is under development as NNI-1501 (development code). Benzpyrimoxan has a unique chemical structure which contains benzyloxy and cyclic acetal groups on pyrimidine moiety (5-(1,3-dioxan-2-yl)-4-[4- (trifluoromethyl)benzyloxy]pyrimidine). In order to clarify the biological properties of benzpyrimoxan, we conducted several experiments and found the following results. Benzpyrimoxan has high activity against nymphal stages of rice plant hoppers without any adulticidal activity. It provides excellent and long lasting control against rice plant hoppers, including populations that have developed resistance to several other chemical groups of insecticide. The study on its mode of action is undergoing. These features highlight the versatility of this insecticide as an effective and valuable tool from the viewpoints of insecticide resistance management and integrated pest management program. With the use of benzpyrimoxan, farmers shall be able to lead the best yield potential by keeping the population density of rice plant hoppers and associated virus diseases under control.

Keywords: Acetal, benzpyrimoxan, insecticide, NNI-1501, pyrimidine, rice plant hoppers.

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Authors: A. A. Aiyeloja, G.A. Adedeji, S. L. Larinde

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Termites have been observed as major pre-colonisation and post-colonisation pest insect of honeybees’ wooden hives in Nigeria. However, pest situation studies in modern beekeeping have been largely directed towards those pests that affect honeybees rather than the biological structure (wood) which houses the honeybees and the influence of seasons on the pests’ activities against the hives. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of seasons on the intensity of hives attacks by termites for 2 years in University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State using visual inspection. The Experimental Apiary was established with 15 Kenyan’s top bar hives made of Triplochiton scleroxylon wood that were strategically placed and observed within the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management arboretum. The colonies hives consistently showed comparatively lower termite’s infestation levels in the dry season and, consequently, also lower attacks on the colonized hives. The result indicated raining season as a distinct period for more destructive activities of termites on the hives and strongly associated with dryness of the hives. Since previous study and observations have linked colonization with dry season coupled with minimal attacked on colonized hives; the non-colonised hives should be removed from the field at the onset of raining season and returned two weeks prior to dry season to reduce hives degradation by pests.

Keywords: Attack, hives degradation, Nigeria, seasons, termites.

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Authors: Tamer A. Tabet, Fauziah Abdul Aziz, Shahidan Radiman

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The spiral angle of the elementary cellulose fibril in the wood cell wall, often called microfibril angle, (MFA). Microfibril angle in hardwood is one of the key determinants of solid timber performance due to its strong influence on the stiffness, strength, shrinkage, swelling, thermal-dynamics mechanical properties and dimensional stability of wood. Variation of MFA (degree) in the S2 layer of the cell walls among Acacia mangium trees was determined using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The length and orientation of the microfibrils of the cell walls in the irradiated volume of the thin samples are measured using SAXS and optical microscope for 3D surface measurement. The undetermined parameters in the analysis are the MFA, (M) and the standard deviation (σФ) of the intensity distribution arising from the wandering of the fibril orientation about the mean value. Nine separate pairs of values are determined for nine different values of the angle of the incidence of the X-ray beam relative to the normal to the radial direction in the sample. The results show good agreement. The curve distribution of scattered intensity for the real cell wall structure is compared with that calculated with that assembly of rectangular cells with the same ratio of transverse to radial cell wall length. It is demonstrated that for β = 45°, the peaks in the curve intensity distribution for the real and the rectangular cells coincide. If this peak position is Ф45, then the MFA can be determined from the relation M = tan-1 (tan Ф45 / cos 45°), which is precise for rectangular cells. It was found that 92.93% of the variation of MFA can be attributed to the distance from pith to bark. Here we shall present our results of the MFA in the cell wall with respect to its shape, structure and the distance from pith to park as an important fast check and yet accurate towards the quality of wood, its uses and application.

Keywords: Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering, Microfibril Angle, MFA, rectangular cell wall and real cell wall, Acacia mangium.

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Authors: Nadia H. Mohammed, Anmar Al-Taie, Fadia H. Al-Sultany

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Although breast cancer prevalence continues to increase, mortality has been decreasing as a result of early detection and improvement in adjuvant systemic therapy. Nevertheless, this disease required further efforts to understand and identify the associated potential risk factors that could play a role in the prevalence of this malignancy among Iraqi women. The objective of this study was to assess the perception of certain predictive risk factors on the prevalence of breast cancer types among a sample of Iraqi women diagnosed with breast cancer. This was a retrospective observational study carried out at National Cancer Research Center in College of Medicine, Baghdad University from November 2017 to January 2018. Data of 100 patients with breast cancer whose biopsies examined in the National Cancer Research Center were included in this study. Data were collected to structure a detailed assessment regarding the patients’ demographic, medical and cancer records. The majority of study participants (94%) suffered from ductal breast cancer with mean age 49.57 years. Among those women, 48.9% were obese with body mass index (BMI) 35 kg/m². 68.1% of them had positive family history of breast cancer and 66% had low parity. 40.4% had stage II ductal breast cancer followed by 25.5% with stage III. It was found that 59.6% and 68.1% had positive oestrogen receptor sensitivity and positive human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu) receptor sensitivity respectively. In regard to the impact of prediction of certain variables on the incidence of ductal breast cancer, positive family history of breast cancer (P < 0.0001), low parity (P< 0.0001), stage I and II breast cancer (P = 0.02) and positive HER2/neu status (P < 0.0001) were significant predictive factors among the study participants. The results from this study provide relevant evidence for a significant positive and potential association between certain risk factors and the prevalence of breast cancer among Iraqi women.

Keywords: Ductal breast cancer, hormone sensitivity, Iraq, risk factors.

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Authors: Ni Ni Soe , Masahiro Nakagawa

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Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a practical non-invasive optical technique to detect characteristic of hemoglobin density dynamics response during functional activation of the cerebral cortex. In this paper, fNIRS measurements were made in the area of motor cortex from C4 position according to international 10-20 system. Three subjects, aged 23 - 30 years, were participated in the experiment. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effects of different motor activation tasks of the hemoglobin density dynamics of fNIRS signal. The chaotic concept based on deterministic dynamics is an important feature in biological signal analysis. This paper employs the chaotic properties which is a novel method of nonlinear analysis, to analyze and to quantify the chaotic property in the time series of the hemoglobin dynamics of the various motor imagery tasks of fNIRS signal. Usually, hemoglobin density in the human brain cortex is found to change slowly in time. An inevitable noise caused by various factors is to be included in a signal. So, principle component analysis method (PCA) is utilized to remove high frequency component. The phase pace is reconstructed and evaluated the Lyapunov spectrum, and Lyapunov dimensions. From the experimental results, it can be conclude that the signals measured by fNIRS are chaotic.

Keywords: Chaos, hemoglobin, Lyapunov spectrum, motorimagery, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), principal componentanalysis (PCA).

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Authors: Juliana A. Galhardi, Daniel M. Bonotto

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Coal is an important non-renewable energy source of and can be associated with radioactive elements. In Figueira city, Paraná state, Brazil, it was recorded high uranium activity near the coal mine that supplies a local thermoelectric power plant. In this context, the radon activity (Rn-222, produced by the Ra-226 decay in the U-238 natural series) was evaluated in groundwater, river water and effluents produced from the acid mine drainage in the coal reject dumps. The samples were collected in August 2013 and in February 2014 and analyzed at LABIDRO (Laboratory of Isotope and Hydrochemistry), UNESP, Rio Claro city, Brazil, using an alpha spectrometer (AlphaGuard) adjusted to evaluate the mean radon activity concentration in five cycles of 10 minutes. No radon activity concentration above 100 Bq.L-1, which was a previous critic value established by the World Health Organization. The average radon activity concentration in groundwater was higher than in surface water and in effluent samples, possibly due to the accumulation of uranium and radium in the aquifer layers that favors the radon trapping. The lower value in the river waters can indicate dilution and the intermediate value in the effluents may indicate radon absorption in the coal particles of the reject dumps. The results also indicate that the radon activities in the effluents increase with the sample acidification, possibly due to the higher radium leaching and the subsequent radon transport to the drainage flow. The water samples of Laranjinha River and Ribeirão das Pedras stream, which, respectively, supply Figueira city and receive the mining effluent, exhibited higher pH values upstream the mine, reflecting the acid mine drainage discharge. The radionuclides transport indicates the importance of monitoring their activity concentration in natural waters due to the risks that the radioactivity can represent to human health.

Keywords: Radon, radium, acid mine drainage, coal

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Authors: Cholpassorn Sitthiwarongchai, Chutikarn Sriviboon

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The two primary objectives of this research were (1)  to examine the current knowledge and actual circumstance of  agricultural workers about mangosteen product processing; and (2) to  analyze and evaluate ways to develop capacity of mangosteen  product processing. The population of this study was 15,125 people  who work in the agricultural sector, in this context, mangosteen  production, in the eastern part of Thailand that included Chantaburi  Province, Rayong Province, Trad Province and Pracheenburi  Province. The sample size based on Yamane’s calculation with 95%  reliability was therefore 392 samples. Mixed method was employed  included questionnaire and focus group discussion with  Connoisseurship Model used in order to collect quantitative and  qualitative data. Key informants were used in the focus group  including agricultural business owners, academic people in agro food  processing, local academics, local community development staff,  OTOP subcommittee, and representatives of agro processing  industry professional organizations. The study found that the  majority of the respondents agreed with a high level (in five- rating  scale) towards most of variables of knowledge management in agro  food processing. The result of the current knowledge and actual  circumstance of agricultural human resource in an arena of  mangosteen product processing revealed that mostly, the respondents  agreed at a high level to establish 7 variables. The guideline to  developing the body of knowledge in order to enhance the capacity  of the agricultural workers in mangosteen product processing was  delivered in the focus group discussion. The discussion finally  contributed to an idea to produce manuals for mangosteen product  processing methods, with 4 products chosen: (1) mangosteen soap;  (2) mangosteen juice; (3) mangosteen toffee; and (4) mangosteen  preserves or jam.

Keywords: Capacity Enhancement, Agricultural Workers, Mangosteen Product Processing.

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Authors: Mahsa Tavakoli, Seyed Mohammad Hojjati, Yahya Kooch

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In this study, the effect of coal mining activities on lead and cadmium concentrations and distribution in soil was investigated in Hyrcanian forest, North Iran. 16 plots (20×20 m²) were established by systematic-randomly (60×60 m²) in an area of 4 ha (200×200 m²-mine entrance placed at center). An area adjacent to the mine was not affected by the mining activity; considered as the controlled area. In order to investigate soil lead and cadmium concentration, one sample was taken from the 0-10 cm in each plot. To study the spatial pattern of soil properties and lead and cadmium concentrations in the mining area, an area of 80×80m² (the mine as the center) was considered and 80 soil samples were systematic-randomly taken (10 m intervals). Geostatistical analysis was performed via Kriging method and GS⁺ software (version 5.1). In order to estimate the impact of coal mining activities on soil quality, pollution index was measured. Lead and cadmium concentrations were significantly higher in mine area (Pb: 10.97±0.30, Cd: 184.47±6.26 mg.kg^-1) in comparison to control area (Pb: 9.42±0.17, Cd: 131.71±15.77 mg.kg^-1). The mean values of the PI index indicate that Pb (1.16) and Cd (1.77) presented slightly polluted. Results of the NIPI index showed that Pb (1.44) and Cd (2.52) presented slight pollution and moderate pollution respectively. Results of variography and kriging method showed that it is possible to prepare interpolation maps of lead and cadmium around the mining areas in Hyrcanian forest. According to results of pollution and risk assessments, forest soil was contaminated by heavy metals (lead and cadmium); therefore, using reclamation and remediation techniques in these areas is necessary.

Keywords: Traditional coal mining, heavy metals, pollution indicators, geostatistics, caspian forest.

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Authors: Makhlouf Mourad, Messabih Sidi Mohamed, Bouchher Omar, Houali Farida, Benrachedi Khaled

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Mesoporous materials are very commonly used as adsorbent materials for removing phenolic compounds. However, the adsorption mechanism of these compounds is still poorly controlled. However, understanding the interactions mesoporous materials/adsorbed molecules is very important in order to optimize the processes of liquid phase adsorption. The difficulty of synthesis is to keep an orderly and cubic pore structure and achieve a homogeneous surface modification. The grafting of Si(CH₃)₃ was chosen, to transform hydrophilic surfaces hydrophobic surfaces. The aim of this work is to study the kinetics and thermodynamics of two volatile organic compounds VOC phenol (PhOH) and P hydroxy benzoic acid (4AHB) on a mesoporous material of type MCM-48 grafted with an organosilane of the Trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) type, the material thus grafted or functionalized (hereinafter referred to as MCM-48-G). In a first step, the kinetic and thermodynamic study of the adsorption isotherms of each of the VOCs in mono-solution was carried out. In a second step, a similar study was carried out on a mixture of these two compounds. Kinetic models (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order) were used to determine kinetic adsorption parameters. The thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption isotherms were determined by the adsorption models (Langmuir, Freundlich). The comparative study of adsorption of PhOH and 4AHB proved that MCM-48-G had a high adsorption capacity for PhOH and 4AHB; this may be related to the hydrophobicity created by the organic function of TMCS in MCM-48-G. The adsorption results for the two compounds using the Freundlich and Langmuir models show that the adsorption of 4AHB was higher than PhOH. The values ​​obtained by the adsorption thermodynamics show that the adsorption interactions for our sample with the phenol and 4AHB are of a physical nature. The adsorption of our VOCs on the MCM-48 (G) is a spontaneous and exothermic process.

Keywords: Adsorption, kinetics, isotherm, mesoporous materials, TMCS, phenol, P-hydroxy benzoic acid.

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Authors: Hasan Kalyoncu, Füsun Kılçık, Hatice Gülboy Akyıldırım, Aynur Özen, Mehmet Acar, Nur Yoluk

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For evaluation of water quality of the river systems in Antalya Basin, macrozoobenthos samples were taken from 22 determined stations by a hand net and identified at family level. Water quality of Antalya Basin was determined according to Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) system, by using macrozoobenthic invertebrates and physicochemical parameters. As a result of the evaluation, while Aksu Stream was determined as the most polluted stream in Antalya Basin, Isparta Stream was determined as the most polluted tributary of Aksu Stream. Pollution level of the Isparta Stream was determined as quality class V and it is the extremely polluted part of stream. Pollution loads at the sources of the streams were determined in low levels in general. Due to some parts of the streams have passed through deep canyons and take their sources from nonresidential and non-arable regions, majority of the streams that take place in Antalya Basin are at high quality level. Waste water, which comes from agricultural and residential regions, affects the lower basins of the streams. Because of the waste water, lower parts of the stream basins exposed to the pollution under anthropogenic effects. However, in Aksu Stream, which differs by being exposed to domestic and industrial wastes of Isparta City, extreme pollution was determined, particularly in the Isparta Stream part.

Keywords: Antalya Basin, biomonitoring, BMWP, water quality.

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