ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sarvenaz Abolghassem, Shiva Molaei, Shahrzad Javanshir〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, chitin (Ch) was extracted by an optimized method from cuttlebone of the Persian Gulf cuttlefish (Sepiidae, Cephalopoda). The extracted chitin was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) which showed that the extracted chitin was in alpha form. The degree of N-acetylation (DA) and degree of substitution (DS) of α-chitin were calculated using titration method and FTIR spectroscopy and found to be 80–82% and 19.57 respectively. The α-Chitin was used as biomolecules for the preparation of nanostructured Ch/ZnO via a hydrothermal method. The obtained nanocomposite was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The antimicrobial aspect of Ch/ZnO nanocomposite was previously proposed. In this paper, attempt was made to add the catalytic feature to these traits. For this purpose, the nanostructured Ch/ZnO was used as reusable nanocatalyst in the green and efficient synthesis of Benzo[a]pyrano(2,3-c)phenazine derivatives thru a four components microwave aided domino reaction. Eco-friendly, easy work up and separation of the nanostructured catalyst are some of the highlighted features this protocol.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zurel S. Costa, Cristiano T. Meneses, Bruno Castro, Fabiane S. Serpa, Elton Franceschi, Gustavo R. Borges, Cláudio Dariva, Giancarlo R. Salazar-Banda〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The formation of scales in the petroleum industry, such as those composed of calcium and barium sulfates, may reduce productivity since these sediments can partially or totally obstruct the pipes. The mitigation of these inorganic precipitates can be accomplished by using scale inhibitors or by non-intrusive physical technologies. Here, we investigated the influence of magnetic field on the incrustations of barium sulfate by analyzing the concentration of barium and sulfate ions, the solution flow rate, the capillary tube geometry, and the magnetic field intensity in a homemade experimental unit supported on the monitoring of the dynamic differential pressure. The results show that the saline concentration and the flow rate of the solutions and the geometry of the capillary tube have a significant influence on the dynamics of barium sulfate incrustation. The presence of the magnetic field tends to prolong the induction time of the barium sulfate precipitation. A semi-empirical model was used to describe the effect of the studied variables on the barium sulfate incrustation behavior. The X-ray diffraction data of the precipitated particles analyzed using the Rietveld method suggest that the use of the magnetic field favor the formation of more crystalline particles and with smaller crystallite size than those formed in the absence of a magnetic field. Optical and scanning electron microscopy measurements also corroborate with these findings. The results from this study suggest that magnetic fields can be of interest in practical crystallization processes of barium sulfate and successfully applied to decrease the speed of barium sulfate incrustation in pipelines.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vanessa Cristina Estevam Bittencourt, Ana Maria dos Santos Moreira, Jeferson Gomes da Silva, Antônio Frederico de Freitas Gomides, Cibele Velloso-Rodrigues, Regina Gendzzelevski Kelmann, Leonardo Meneghin Mendonça, Ivana Silva Lula, Ângelo Márcio Leite Denadai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this work was to synthesize and characterize the inclusion compounds formed by the complexation of β-cyclodextrin (βCD) with insecticides from the class of benzoylphenylureas (BPUs), named novaluron (NOV) and diflubenzuron (DIF), beyond evaluate their larvicidal activity against 〈em〉Aedes aegypti〈/em〉 larvae. Solid state characterization by FTIR showed changes in the main peaks of BPUs and βCD, suggesting the formation of inclusion compounds in solid phase. DTA and TGA thermal analysis showed changes in temperatures of BPUs decomposition as result of molecular interactions. 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H NMR experiments allowed to observe the occurrence of interactions in solution through changes in chemical shifts of BPUs aromatic hydrogens. However, the presence of H–H intermolecular correlations in 2D ROESY was found only for the DIF/βCD complex, suggesting different topology for each complex. Such hypothesis was corroborated by thermodynamic analysis using ITC, which showed different profile of titration curves, beyond endothermic and exothermic interactions for NOV/βCD and DIF/βCD complexes, respectively. DLS titrations of BPUs or BPUs/βCD DMSO solutions in aqueous solution demonstrated that the spontaneously formed hydrophobic nanoprecipitates (HNPs) have different profile of sizes depending on the BPU/βCD system, corroborating also with the hypothesis about the existence of different topologies for each complex. Finally, the HNPs of inclusion compounds showed to be more efficient than free BPUs, allowing proposing a new insecticide formulation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Maiko Hayashida, Tsuyoshi Miyaoka, Keiko Tsuchie, Tomoko Araki, Muneto Izuhara, Shoko Miura, Misako Kanayama, Koji Ohtsuki, Michiharu Nagahama, Ilhamuddin Abdul Azis, Rostia Arianna Abdullah, Muhammad Alim Jaya, Ryosuke Arauchi, Sadayuki Hashioka, Rei Wake, Toshiko Tsumori, Jun Horiguchi, Arata Oh-Nishi, Masatoshi Inagaki〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A reduction of GABAergic markers in postmortem tissue is consistently found in schizophrenia. Importantly, these alterations in GABAergic neurons are not global, which means they are more prevalent among distinct subclasses of interneurons, including those that express the calcium binding protein parvalbumin.〈/p〉 〈p〉A decreased expression of parvalbumin in the hippocampus is a consistent observation not only in postmortem human schizophrenia patients, but also in a diverse number of rodent models of the disease.〈/p〉 〈p〉Meanwhile, previously we reported that the congenital hyperbilirubinemia model rats (Gunn rats), which is a mutant of the Wistar strain, showed behavioral abnormalities, for instance, hyperlocomotor activity, deficits of prepulse inhibition, inappropriate social interaction, impaired recognition memory similar with several rodent models of schizophrenia. Several animal studies linked the importance of palvalbumin in relation to abnormal hippocampal activity and schizophrenia-like behavior.〈/p〉 〈p〉Here, we show that parvalbumin positive cell density was significantly lower in the CA1, CA3 and the total hippocampus of Gunn rats (congenital hyperbilirubinemia model rats) compared to Wistar control rats. The correlations between serum UCB levels and loss of PV expression in the hippocampus were also detected. The decreases in the PV-expression in the hippocampus might suggest an association of the behavioral abnormalities as schizophrenia-like behaviors of Gunn rats, compared to the Wistar control rats.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anastasiia S. Boiko, Irina A. Mednova, Elena G. Kornetova, Arkadiy V. Semke, Nikolay A. Bokhan, Anton J.M. Loonen, Svetlana A. Ivanova〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Schizophrenia is associated with a lowered life expectancy due to cardiovascular disease. This is, at least in part, related to an increased vulnerability to the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with schizophrenia. The dysregulation of apolipoproteins (Apos) may also play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia via their effect on cerebral cholesterol processing.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aim〈/h6〉 〈p〉The aim of this study was to investigate serum Apos A1, C3, E, A2 and C2 concentration in schizophrenia patients with or without MetS in comparison to healthy donors.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉After obtaining informed consent, 53 patients with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia according to ICD-10 criteria (F20) were included. Patients were divided into two groups with (N = 26) and without (N = 27) MetS according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The control group included 20 mentally and physically healthy subjects. Serum Apos A1, A2, C2, C3 and E were measured using xMAP technology (Luminex).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Serum ApoA1 was significantly decreased in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects (p = 0.002); ApoA2 was lower in patients without MetS in comparison to patients with MetS (p = 0.017) and the levels of ApoC3 and ApoC2 were increased in patients with schizophrenia with MetS in comparison with the control group and also with patients without MetS. No other significant differences were established concerning the other assayed apolipoproteins.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉In line with literature data the results of our study suggest that while disturbances in ApoA1 level may play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, ApoA2, ApoC2, ApoC3 and ApoE may be primarily related to metabolic imbalance.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sagar S. Arya, Mansi M. Sharma, Ratul K. Das, James Rookes, David Cahill, Sangram K. Lenka〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious concern in pathogenic bacteria. As a new approach to addressing AMR, we report here the green synthesis of vanillin capped gold nanoparticles (VAuNPs) using the popular flavouring molecule vanillin (C〈sub〉8〈/sub〉H〈sub〉8〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) as a reducing and capping agent. Physicochemical characterization revealed that the synthesised VAuNPs were stable and crystalline in nature. VAuNPs were non-bactericidal even at high concentration (〉2000 μg/ml). The antibiotic potentiation activity was studied in combination with seven widely used antibiotics against extremely drug resistant (XDR) 〈em〉Pseudomonas aeruginosa〈/em〉. Major reductions in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC, 10–14-folds) of the antibiotics meropenem (10 fold) and trimethoprim (14 fold) were observed in the presence of VAuNPs (50 μg/ml). Furthermore, it was found that VAuNPs in combination with meropenem or trimethoprim provided 1.5–3-fold better potentiation effects than that of vanillin alone. Use of an ethidium bromide agar cart wheel assay indicated that VAuNPs can block the activity of efflux pumps. High reduction in the MIC of antibiotics was therefore attributed to the efflux pump repression activity of VAuNPs. Further, RT-qPCR of clinically relevant MexAB-OprM efflux pump components showed down-regulation in 〈em〉mexB〈/em〉 and 〈em〉OprM〈/em〉 transcripts in VAuNPs treated 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 clinical isolates. Our results reveal that VAuNPs impart susceptibility to the last line antibiotics meropenem, trimethoprim and few widely used antibiotics in XDR 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 clinical isolates that display resistance to these antibiotics. Therefore, this study indicate the ability of VAuNPs and vanillin to be used as antibiotic adjuvants for inhibiting bacterial efflux pumps to potentiate antibiotics for addressing AMR problem affecting human health and environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Emiliano Felici, Chien C. Wang, Cristian Casado, Ana Vicario, Víctor Pereyra, María R. Gómez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, a green analytical methodology based on fluorescence derivatization is proposed for the anti-helminthic drug monitoring ivermectin as environmental emergent contaminant. After sample clean-up, ivermectin was converted into a highly fluorescent derivative through a catalytic oxidation process followed by dehydration and tautomerization. Under optimal experimental conditions, a linear response was obtained for ivermectin within the range 0.38–600 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, with detection and quantification limits of 0.11 and 0.38 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, both values are lower than other previously reported. This method has been applied for ivermectin determination in environmental water samples at trace levels, showing its potential for contamination monitoring.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zemenu Bires, Sahil Raj〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study has investigated the factors that determine the conservation of one of the major ecosystem in Ethiopia, Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, using primarily quantitative followed by qualitative approach to provide adequate results of the problem under study. The study has employed the descriptive design and a total of 305 samples from rural households (n = 159) and tourism-related enterprises (n = 146) were selected based on a stratified random sampling technique. Samples were drawn based on their direct attachment either in their livelihood and possess a responsibility to the study area. Data were collected through questionnaires, observation, focus group discussion, unstructured interview and secondary data was consulted. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract dimensions for environmental awareness. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze data using SPSS version 23. Ten Socio-demographic variables of samples were used as an independent variable and environmental conservation dimensions as dependent variables. The result revealed that out of the 10 variables employed in the analysis, six variables were found significant. Hence, marital status, household size, income source, household income, membership to club and resident location were found to be significant. Qualitative analysis revealed wrong reports for political consumption driven little government attention and lack of integrated natural resource management policy and plan were major factors hindering conservation. A vivid and holistic destination management policy making with enough room to stakeholders' involvement shall be a prior task for the government for better conservation of the ecosystem and sustainable development.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yogendra Kumar, Panchanan Pramanik, Dipak Kumar Das〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Some electrodes for efficient detection of paracetamol and dopamine were developed from nano sized material of cobalt ferrite (np-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) and manganese ferrite (np-MnFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉). These oxides were synthesized by combustion method using cobalt nitrate, manganese acetate and ferric nitrate as precursors in the presence of sugar and ethanolamine. The crystallite size, shape and morphology of nano material were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The crystallite sizes of synthesized nano-particles (nps) were in the range from 10 to 12 nm (calculated using Debye-Scherrer equation) with cubic crystal system. These particles were utilized as electrode modified with graphite for simultaneous detection of paracetamol and dopamine through cyclic voltammetry and Differential pulse voltammetry techniques and was found to be superior to reported literatures. The minimum detection limit of paracetamol and dopamine at CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/GP electrode were 250 nM and 350 nM while at MnFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/GP electrode it was 300 nM and 400 nM, respectively. Both the electrodes exhibited the linearity range from3 μM to 200 μM & 3 μM–160 μM for paracetamol and 3 μM–180 μM & 5 μM to 200 for dopamine, respectively. Two oxidation peaks of paracetamol and dopamine were well separated in phosphate buffer (pH = 6) in mixture with 100 mVs〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 and 50 mVs〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 scan rate for cyclic voltammetry and Differential pulse voltammetry, respectively. Both the electrodes demonstrated satisfactory results in real samples of paracetamol and dopamine.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ahmed A. Abdurahman, Eshetu E. Chaka, Mohammed H. Bule, Kamal Niaz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background & aim〈/h6〉 〈p〉Concurrent estimates on the magnitude and evidence on the determinants of complementary feeding (CF) practices in Ethiopia are currently disparate. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the magnitude and determinants of CF among children age 6–23 months in Ethiopia.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Studies from various databases published until July 2018 were identified, selected, extracted and assessed for risk of bias by two authors independently. A random-effects model was used to pool the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉26 studies with 17, 383 children were included. The pooled prevalence estimate of timely initiated CF, minimum dietary diversity (DD), minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet were 61.0%, 18.0%, 56.0%, and 10.0% respectively. The pooled prevalence of timely initiation and minimum DD were higher in Northern Ethiopia. On the other hand, except for the minimum meal frequency, all the three core indicators of CF were better in urban than rural settings. Child age, maternal and/or paternal education, paternal involvement, maternal DD, antenatal and postnatal care, and place of delivery were the main determinants that can increase appropriate CF practices.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉The reported estimates of the prevalence of core CF indicators in Ethiopia remained poor. Therefore, the authors would like to acknowledge the effort that has been done by the minister of health and its partners including Alive & Thrive to improving CF practices in the country, however, these programs should be done more thoroughly, and scaled up by applying and adapting tested, proven approaches and tools in contexts.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Carolina Gonzaga Carvalho, Richard Bresler, Ying Xuan Zhi, Hisham Alshaer, John T. Granton, Clodagh M. Ryan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objectives〈/h6〉 〈p〉Our aims were to evaluate HRV in pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 1 and 4) compared to control subjects, and to assess whether the presence of sleep apnea in those with pulmonary hypertension would be deleterious and cause greater impairment in HRV.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉This retrospective case-control study analyzed electrocardiogram segments obtained from diagnostic polysomnography.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Forty-one pulmonary hypertension patients were compared to 41 age, sex and apnea-hypopnea index matched healthy controls. The pulmonary hypertension group had decreased high frequency, very low frequency, low frequency, and percentage of normal R-R intervals that differ by 〉 50 ms compared to control subjects. Moderate to severe right ventricle dysfunction on echocardiography was a predictor of lower high frequency in pulmonary hypertension patients.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉There were no differences in any HRV measures in pulmonary hypertension patients with or without sleep apnea. Impaired HRV was demonstrated in pulmonary hypertension patients however, the presence of sleep apnea did not appear to further reduce vagal modulation.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Francisco González Santa Cruz, Juan Choque Tito, Jesús Claudio Pérez-Gálvez, Miguel Jesús Medina-Viruel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Gastronomy allows tourists to discover the cultural roots of the destination, thus being one of the motivations for its choice and even becoming a fundamental factor in the analysis of the overall satisfaction of the tourist experience. This research is focused on the analysis of the gastronomic experiences of foreign tourists who visit the city of Oruro (Bolivia). The main results of this research show a segmentation of travellers on the basis of their perceptions regarding the gastronomic experiences in this city into three different groups (survivors, enjoyers, and experiencers). Additionally, the study concludes that these gastronomic experiences are highly related to the motivations that the travellers have to discover a specific destination, and that their level of satisfaction with these experiences is highly connected to the relationship that gastronomy has with the cultural heritage of the local community.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Oluwamayowa Olalekan Iredele〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper examines the quality of integrated reports of listed firms in South Africa and the associated factors. Data were obtained from a sample comprising 100 firm-year observations of 20 companies in Johannesburg Stock Exchange over the period (2013–2017). Analysis of data involves descriptive statistics, spearman rank correlation analysis and Kruskal-Wallis H test. The result shows a significant relationship between the quality and length of integrated reports. Firms vary in the level of quality of their integrated reports on the account of differences in profitability, board size, gender and firm size. No significant relationship was found between quality of integrated reports and leverage. The result of this study indicates that the length of the integrated report signals the level of quality of such report, which may be necessary in disclosing all material matters to satisfy the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Sharma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of angle of incident light on the performance of silicon solar cell. In this regard, numerical calculations have been performed to obtain the reflectance for double layer antireflection coating (DLARC) of Si〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 at various angles of incidence (i.e.〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉15〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉30〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉45〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi〉a〈/mi〉〈mi〉n〈/mi〉〈mi〉d〈/mi〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉60〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉) using transfer matrix method. Reflectances obtained, are found to increases with increase in angle of incidence. Calculated reflectances have been further used in the PC1D simulator as external reflectance files to study the performance of silicon solar cell. As a result of the simulation, the conversion efficiency (and short circuit current) of solar cell is found to decrease by 1.7% (0.062 mA/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) with increase in angle of incidence from 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi〉t〈/mi〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉60〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saleem Ali Banihani〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Testosterone is an anabolic steroid and the principal sex hormone in males. Maintaining adequate levels of testosterone throughout the life span of male is very desirable, especially it is now well-known that low levels of testosterone is associated with various aging diseases/disorders. Therefore, still, so many research studies have focused on enhancing serum levels of testosterone in males. Here, we intended to systematically discuss and present the impact of honey on serum levels of testosterone in males. This was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Embase electronic databases for research articles from May 1993 through April 2019 using the keywords “honey” and “honeybee” versus “testosterone”. Moreover, references from relevant published articles were also reviewed and cited to frame an integral discussion, conclusion, and future research needs. In conclusion, the collective evidence, which is mainly based on in vivo system studies, reveals that oral administration of honey increases serum testosterone level in males. Mechanistically, honey may increase serum level of testosterone by increasing the production of luteinizing hormone, enhancing the viability of Leydig cells, reducing oxidative damage in Leydig cells, enhancing StAR gene expression, and inhibiting aromatase activity in the testes. However, further research studies on humans, mainly clinical trials, in this specific research approach are still needed to confirm the effect of honey on testosterone.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): C. Coomansingh-Springer, V. Vishakha, A. Montanez Acuna, E. Armstrong, R.N. Sharma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉This study identified the endoparasites in Brown rat (〈em〉Rattus norvegicus)〈/em〉 during May to July 2017 in Grenada, West Indies. A total of 162 rats, 76 females and 86 males were trapped from St. George and St. David parishes in Grenada. The collected fecal samples were examined for parasitic eggs and/or oocysts using simple fecal flotation technique. Adult parasites found in the intestinal tract were examined for identification. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites among rats was 79 %.〈/p〉 〈p〉Ten helminth species were recovered, several of which were reported for the first time in rodents in Grenada. The internal parasites consist of seven nematodes (〈em〉Angiostrongylus〈/em〉 spp., 〈em〉Nippostrongylus braziliensis〈/em〉, 〈em〉Heterakis spumosa〈/em〉, 〈em〉Strongyloides ratti〈/em〉, 〈em〉Aspiculuris tetraptera〈/em〉, 〈em〉Syphacia〈/em〉 spp. and 〈em〉Protospirura〈/em〉 spp.), one cestode (〈em〉Hymenolepsis diminuta〈/em〉), one acanthocephalan (〈em〉Moniliformis moniliformis〈/em〉) and one protozoa species (〈em〉Eimeria〈/em〉 spp.). The most prevalent zoonotic species were 〈em〉Angiostrongylus〈/em〉 spp. (35.2%), 〈em〉Hymenolepsis diminuta〈/em〉 (7.4%) and 〈em〉Moniliformis moniliformis〈/em〉 (3.1%). Several nonzoonotic endoparasites; which included 〈em〉Nippostrongylus braziliensis〈/em〉 (50.6%), 〈em〉Heterakis spumosa〈/em〉 (15.4%), 〈em〉Strongyloides ratti〈/em〉 (43.2%), 〈em〉Aspiculuris tetraptera〈/em〉 (2.5%), 〈em〉Syphacia〈/em〉 spp〈em〉.〈/em〉 (1.9%), 〈em〉Protospirura〈/em〉 spp. (1.2%) and 〈em〉Eimeria〈/em〉 spp. (4.7%) were also identified. The most prevalent parasites were 〈em〉Nippostrongylus brasiliensis〈/em〉 (50.6%), 〈em〉Strongyloides ratti〈/em〉 (43.2%) and 〈em〉Angiostrongylus spp.〈/em〉 (35.2%). Co-infections occurred with up to six species per rat showing different combinations of parasitic infections.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R.M. Dodo, T. Ause, E.T. Dauda, U. Shehu, A.P.I. Popoola〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study investigates the possibility of multi-objective optimization in the transesterification of mahogany seed oil (MSO). The Taguchi method together with Grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to maximize both percent fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield and heat transfer coefficient (HTC). It was found that methanol to oil molar ratio was the factor that contributed the most in obtaining high percent FAME (ester) yield and HTC. Employing the following conditions: 32.6 wt% methanol (9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio), 0.5 wt% catalyst, 60 °C temperature and 300 rpm agitation was found to offer an improved percent ester yield and HTC. A confirmatory test resulted in an ester yield of 90.1 % and HTC up to 153.0 W/m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉K. The structure of the optimized transesterified mahogany seed oil (TM) was confirmed by FTIR analysis. In the event of comparison, TM, raw mahogany seed oil (FM) and SAE40 were analyzed by cooling curve analyses. TM identified to have superior quenching performance.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nguyen Ngoc Bao Chau, Nguyen Thi Phung Kieu, Nguyen Van Tri Dung, Nguyen Bao Quoc, Truong Kim Phuong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Parasitoids are important biological control of crop pests. In Vietnam, 〈em〉Cotesia vestalis〈/em〉 is a native wasp species that has demonstrated its applicability as a natural insect pest enemy. Many adult parasitoids require food resources such as nectar and pollen to optimize their life cycles. Potential effects of yellow cosmos (〈em〉Cosmos sulphureus〈/em〉), shrub verbena flower (〈em〉Lantana camara〈/em〉), common zinnia (〈em〉Zinnia elegans〈/em〉), and coriander flower (〈em〉Coriandrum sativum〈/em〉 L.) on the longevity and parasitism of 〈em〉C. vestalis〈/em〉 were investigated. Results showed that nutrition resources from yellow cosmos (〈em〉C. sulphureus〈/em〉) and shrub verbena flower (〈em〉Lantana camara〈/em〉) significantly increased the longevity of 〈em〉C. vestalis〈/em〉 in comparison with water (P 〈 0.001). Kaplan-Meier estimates of survival functions of female 〈em〉Cotesia vestalis〈/em〉 exposed to different food sources indicated a significant difference in the treatments (P 〈 0.01). Male and female wasps feeding on 〈em〉Cosmos sulphureus〈/em〉, 〈em〉Lantana camara〈/em〉, and 〈em〉Coriandrum sativum〈/em〉 survived significantly longer than wasps fed on water or 〈em〉Zinnia elegans.〈/em〉 Parasitism efficiency of 〈em〉C. vestalis〈/em〉 was tested on diamondback moth 〈em〉Plutella xylostella〈/em〉 (L.) larvae for different food resources. 〈em〉Cosmos sulphureus〈/em〉, 〈em〉Lantana camara, Coriandrum sativum〈/em〉 treatments gave the different mean number of emergence parasitoids per day compared to water treatment. Results implied that food resources from flowers benefitted the longevity of 〈em〉C. vestalis〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jordan P. Howell, Katherine Schmidt, Brooke Iacone, Giavanni Rizzo, Christina Parrilla〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Reliable data about collection, volume, tonnage, stream composition, and disposal price have long been described as key components of successful solid waste management planning. Yet, concerns about data quality and quantity have continued to limit even the most sincere, progressive waste management schemes. This paper examines solid waste management data that has been collected in the US state of New Jersey starting in the 1960s. We present the origins of waste management data collection in New Jersey and trace some of the applications that have been made with the data over time. We compare the New Jersey dataset to waste management data that has been collected in other US states. We then describe our work collecting, cleaning, and preparing for public dissemination and use in a geospatial visualization exercise a digital version of the data spanning approximately 1993 to 2016, before presenting some illustrations of the type of modeling and analysis that researchers or the concerned public would be able to undertake now that the dataset is available. (We are publishing the 1993–2016 dataset alongside this paper). We argue that the New Jersey waste management dataset is much better than most other waste datasets in the US, but despite this fairly high quality, there remain significant gaps which inhibit the ability of planners to design and implement comprehensive waste management plans. That there are limits inherent to the New Jersey dataset suggests, we argue, a ceiling to the usefulness of waste management data as a category of environmental knowledge with possible implications for ‘big’ environmental data more broadly.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Daisuke Kurumazuka, Kento Kitada, Ryosuke Tanaka, Tatsuhiko Mori, Mamoru Ohkita, Masanori Takaoka, Yasuo Matsumura〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aim〈/h6〉 〈p〉α-Lipoic acid exerts a powerful antioxidant effect by acting as a free radical scavenger and inducing endogenous antioxidants such as vitamin E and glutathione. In the present study, we examined the effects of α-lipoic acid on cardiac dysfunction in rat hearts with aortocaval fistulae.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Main methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Aortocaval fistulae were created between the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava in male rats. Hemodynamic parameters were measured 14 days after surgery using an intravascular pressure transducer, and then these hearts were harvested for tissue weight measurement, pathological evaluation, and mRNA isolation.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉In vehicle-treated rats, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and left ventricular weight significantly increased at 14 days after fistula creation. Fistula-creation resulted in expression of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, NADPH oxidase subunit p67〈sup〉phox〈/sup〉 and BNP mRNA in a time-dependent manner in the left ventricle.〈/p〉 〈p〉Long-term treatment (initiated 2 days before surgery, and continued for 14 days after fistula creation; days -2 to 14) with α-lipoic acid (30 mg/kg/day) markedly suppressed the increases in left and right ventricular weight, and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. α-Lipoic acid treatment from days -2 to 14 prominently prevented the expression of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and NADPH oxidase subunit p67〈sup〉phox〈/sup〉, and significantly raised BNP mRNA levels. Short-term treatment with α-lipoic acid from day - 2 to 7 was effective in preventing cardiac enlargement and dysfunction, similar to long-term treatment, but treatment from days 7–14 was not effective.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Treatment with α-lipoic acid can prevent cardiac hyperplasia and dysfunction, probably by inhibiting superoxide production and enhancing BNP mRNA expression in an early phase after fistula creation.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Randa R. Elmorsi, Khaled S. Abou-El-Sherbini, Gamal Abdel-Hafiz Mostafa, Mohamed A. Hamed〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lake Manzala is the largest and most productive lake of Egypt's northern coastal lakes and has socio-economic impacts. Pollution by heavy metals is the most significant type of pollution worldwide, particularly in Lake Manzala, which receives mixed discharges from densely populated areas. Water samples were collected at twelve sites around the lake in winter and summer of 2015. Samples of 〈em〉Eichhornia crassipes〈/em〉 were collected in the winter, and 〈em〉Oreochromis niloticus〈/em〉 samples were collected at two sites (8 and 10). V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn were analysed in these samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The average metal concentrations were below the internationally accepted upper permissible limits and are improved compared to those in previous studies. However, the metal concentrations at the eastern and southeastern sites were higher than the allowable limits due to multiple waste discharges. Pollution assessment using pollution risk indicators indicated low to moderate concentrations of metal enrichment in the sediment and biota of the lake, except at sites near the eastern and southeastern drains; these latter sites were considered to be hazardous and should be taken into account in the current development efforts of the lake. Complete removal of floating plants transported by drains is recommended〈em〉.〈/em〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fatemeh Gh.Barkish, Rostam Jalali, Amir Jalali〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉A diagnosis of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection causes a wide range of mental challenges regarding the meaning and understanding of such a diagnosis because of the specific nature of HIV and its social consequences. AIDS patients perceived their disease as multidimensional Stigma and rejection and even discrimination and insult in receiving health services. Therefore, a deep awareness and understanding of an individual's meaning and interpretation of a HIV-positive diagnosis and their relevant experiences are essential for providing better care.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objective〈/h6〉 〈p〉This study aimed to examine the attitude, understanding, and interpretation of a positive diagnosis of HIV.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉The present qualitative study was based on the descriptive phenomenological method. Participants included 13 HIV-positive patients who had been referred to the Kermanshah Counseling Center for Behavioral Diseases in Iran and diagnosed at most 6 months before being interviewed. The data were collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉The continuous analyses of the data and the interview notes resulted in the identification of five main themes: contagious disease with two subthemes Illness and Harm to others, new self with a Crisis of identity subtheme, disappointment with the life ending and impending death subtheme, unmentionable disease with two subthemes secretive and horrifying diseases, and loss with Frustration subtheme.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉Because the attitudes and behaviors of other people, such as relatives and people in society had a negative impact on the participants' mental status, as well as on their perceptions and understanding about the positive diagnosis, the focus of care for people with HIV/AIDS should shift from therapeutic issues to socio-cultural ones. These issues play a major role in forming an individual's understanding of HIV and can be a vital factor in improving their activities and adaptations to a positive diagnosis.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): P. Ganesh Kumar, D. Sakthivadivel, M. Meikandan, V.S. Vigneswaran, R. Velraj〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The main aim of this present work is to explore the influence of dispersion of MWCNTs in a mixture of water-solar glycol (70:30) on its electrical conductivity and thermophysical properties such as density, rheology and thermal conductivity. The MWCNTs were seeded with a various weight percentage of 0.15, 0.3 and 0.45 via a common two-stage synthesis technique. The homogeneous stability of MWCNTs based nanofluids was confirmed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The density of solar glycol and H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O mixture based MWCNTs nanofluids were measured with standard borosil volumetric flask via weighing balance mechanism and the experimental findings displayed a good agreement with the well-known correlation of Pak and Cho owing to the natural packing of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O inside the nanomaterial in a limited quantity. The thermal conductivity of 0.45 wt. % MWCNTs seeding got augmented by 19.12% at ambient temperature while the electrical conductivity got augmented by 93.54% at 50 °C. Therefore, the augmentation in the thermal conductivity of water/solar glycol mixture with 0.45 wt. % MWCNTs seeding is because of the kinetics of nanomaterial accumulation and fluid layering. In addition, mathematical correlations were recommended for estimating the ratio of the thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluid at different weight fractions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sahar Zare, Abdollah Derakhshandeh, Masoud Haghkhah, Zahra Naziri, Azar Motamedi Broujeni〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈em〉Staphylococcus aureus〈/em〉 is an opportunistic bacterium which is carried as a normal flora organism but has a major role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of different staphylococcal infections in humans and animals. Fifty 〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 isolated from banknotes, foods, human infections and bovine mastitis were subjected to DNA fingerprinting by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to examine their genotypic polymorphism and investigate the amount of genetic relatedness among these various isolates. At 100% RAPD profile similarity level, isolates were classified into four, five and seven groups of the same clone, according to the RAPDPCR with OLP6, OLP11 and OLP13 primers, respectively. Amplification of the isolates resulted in several polymorphic bands ranged from 〉50 to 〉1500 bp in size. Maximum number of bands was obtained by primer OLP13 which produced seven bands in bovine mastitis isolates. Most polymorphisms were observed in isolates of bovine mastitis and the lowest were associated with human infections isolates. There was no relationship between the RAPD patterns and the sources of isolates, except the three clusters which showed host specificity and only included the strains from the same sources. The results confirm the wide genotypic diversity of the studied 〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 strains. RAPD-PCR technique can be a valuable tool for assessing the genetic relationship, detection of polymorphism in 〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 and tracing the sources and management of 〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 infections.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Ijaz, M. Ayub〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This article investigates the mixed convective flow of Jeffrey fluid near the axisymmetric stagnation point over an inclined permeable stretching cylinder. Analysis subjected to Cattaneo-Christov heat flux, thermal stratification and homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions are accounted. Suitable transformations are employed to obtain nonlinear ordinary differential system. Non-dimensional system is computed by Homotopy technique. Graphs and tables are constructed to analyze the influence of different flow parameters on temperature, concentration and velocity fields. The interpretation of skin friction coefficient is deliberated. It is noticed from obtained results that temperature is a decreasing function of thermal stratification parameter. Reverse behaviour of concentration is witnessed for higher estimations of homogeneous and heterogeneous parameters. Numerical results are compared with previous published results and found to be in good agreement for special casesof the emerging parameters.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sarita Morakul, Yuichi Otsuka, Kiyoshi Ohnuma, Motohiro Tagaya, Satoshi Motozuka, Yukio Miyashita, Yoshiharu Mutoh〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this study was to reveal the mechanism of enhancement of antibacterial properties of gray titania by plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite (HAp)–amino acid fluorescent complexes under irradiation with visible light. Although visible-light–sensitive photocatalysts are applied safely to oral cavities, their efficacy is not high because of the low energy of irradiating light. This study proposed a composite coating containing HAp and gray titania. HAp itself functioned as bacteria catchers and gray titania released antibacterial radicals by visible-light irradiation. HAp-amino acid fluorescent complexes were formed on the surface of the composite coating in order to increase light intensity to gray titania by fluorescence, based on an idea bioinspired by deep-sea fluorescent coral reefs. A cytotoxicity assay on murine osteoblastlike cells revealed that biocompatibility of the HAp–amino acid fluorescent complexes was identical with the that of HAp. Antibacterial assays involving 〈em〉Escherichia coli〈/em〉 showed that the three types of HAp–amino acid fluorescent complexes and irradiation with three types of light-emitting diodes (blue, green, and red) significantly decreased colony-forming units. Furthermore, kelvin probe force microscopy revealed that the HAp–amino acid fluorescent complexes preserved the surface potentials even after irradiation with visible light, whereas those of HAp were significantly decreased by the irradiation. Such a preservative effect of the HAp–amino acid fluorescent complexes maintained the bacterial-adhesion performance of HAp and consequently enhanced the antibacterial action of gray titania.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Aykut Zongur〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, a rasterized mesh construction of our 3D solid-state model is generated to achieve an improved rasterization of a rigid-body surface using a series of polygonal model transfers. In the field of remodeling, auxiliary starters have been obtained from either ready-made or fabricated input point datasets. Building 3D solid meshes from clusters of inbound points to model objects is made possible by our method. Demonstrative illustrations of how the initial series of points can be transferred to mesh models by passing through the boundary conditions are presented using a customized method. A handmade weaving technique combines each different cluster of points, yielding a relevant transformation result. Additionally, newer remodeling methods involve more than the adaptation of boundary values to generate solid surfaces via finite restructuring of geometrical building blocks; our remodeling methods have been optimized in terms of both realism and computational costs. Our reconstructions are highly optimized to achieve high-quality and realistic results within a reasonable time. In higher-order creative restorations, our boundary conditions are regularized by quadratic equalizer functions. Areal-based regularizations are combined within mixed boundary values over 3D multigrids of finite differential combinations. Newly created solid models are reshaped by exclusive reconstructions to form our final models. Equally distributed multidimensional grids are seamlessly rebuilt via an ideal model-driven process with our tri-variational remodeling method that is constrained by a mixture of boundary conditions. Here, our remodeling method continuously triangulates the discrete topological structures as solid models. The final model shapes are triangulated as a consequence of postpolygonization by our unique reconstructors. An exact solution can be obtained via a convex hulling process on the preliminary finite fields by means of high-resolution configurations. Our 3D remodeling method using solid-state tessellation has opened the field to wider ranges of complete-gridding plans to achieve matchless enriched reformation capability, which makes our new solidification remeshing of models better than the majority of currently available methods.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Achchhelal Yadav, Arti Bhatia, Sudesh Yadav, Vinod Kumar, Bhupinder Singh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Global food security is challenged by increasing levels of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 and temperature trough their impacts on production and grain quality of wheat, one of the major C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 crops and staple food across the world. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of elevated levels of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (EC; 550 ppm) and tropospheric O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (EO; 70 ppb) as well as of combined interactive treatment [EC X EO; ECO] on plant growth, yield and grain quality of two wheat cultivars (HD-2967 and C-306) grown during 2016–17 and 2017–18 using free air ozone and carbon dioxide enrichment (FAOCE) facility under field conditions. Individually, EC, increased leaf area index (LAI; 15.9–28.2%), photosynthetic rate (Pn; 11.4–20.3%) and yield (8.2–20.9%) whereas EO declined LAI (5.1–12.5%), Pn (2.8–11.8%) and yield (2.2–14.2%) over ambient conditions (Amb: 405.2 ppm CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and 30.7 ppb O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉). Under ECO condition, EC increased LAI (2.2–17.1%), Pn (2.8–17.6%) and grain yield parameters (4.4–24.3%) across the cultivars in both years, but reduced the positive effects of EO on quality as compared to Amb. Dilution effect of increased yield under EC condition have reduced total protein, micro- and macro-nutrient concentrations whereas EO increased them notably compared to Amb. Starch in grains increased under EC but reduced under EO as compared to Amb. AOT40, the sum of averaged difference of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 concentration beyond 40 ppb for 7 hours (31233 ppb h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) in FAOCEs rings during the crop growth period led to reduction in average grain yield of HD-2967 and C-306 by 11.6 and 8.5% or by 1.6 and 1.3% yield loss per ppb increase of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, respectively. The growth, yield and quality parameters of both wheat cultivars responded similarly but to different extent to all treatments. EC was able to offset the negative effects of EO on yield and yield components only, but not those concerning the quality of grains. To stabilize global food security, precursor gases forming tropospheric ozone must be constrained.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Stephanie Braun-Galleani, Maria-José Henríquez, Darren N. Nesbeth〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We have engineered strain BG-10 of the methylotrophic yeast 〈em〉Komagataella phaffii〈/em〉 for use as an effective whole cell biocatalyst. We introduced into the yeast a transgene encoding a 〈em〉Chromobacterium violaceum〈/em〉 ω-transaminase for transcription in response to methanol induction. The strain was then assessed with respect to its growth performance and biotransformation of a fed ketoalcohol substrate to an amino-alcohol. In the resultant strain, BG-TAM, methanol induction did not compromise cell growth. Successful bioconversion of fed substrates to the by-product, acetophenone, indicated transaminase activity in shake flask-cultivated BG-TAM cells. We then used bioreactor cultivation to exploit the high levels of biomass achievable by 〈em〉Komagataella phaffii〈/em〉. In a 900 μL reaction the BG-TAM strain at OD〈sub〉600〈/sub〉 = 1024 achieved up to 0.41 mol mol〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 (mol〈sub〉product〈/sub〉 mol〈sub〉substrate〈/sub〉〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) yield on substrate (Yp/s) for production of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine and a space time yield (STY) of 0.29 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 for production of 2-amino-1,3,4-butanetriol. We have shown that transamination, an important step for bespoke synthesis of small molecule medicines, is biologically realisable using enzymes with a broad substrate range, such as ω-transaminases, within living yeast cells that are fed low-cost substrates for bioconversion.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Natalia Hernández-Arango, Valeria Pinto, Deicy Muñoz-Sanchez, Fabiana Lora-Suarez, Jorge Enrique Gómez-Marín〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Methods to detect protozoa are needed for food safety monitoring. We evaluated protocols to recover 〈em〉Giardia spp.〈/em〉 cysts in 〈em〉Brassica oleracea〈/em〉 (cabbage) and 〈em〉Lactuca sativa〈/em〉 (lettuce) and then detection was performed by concentrating with formalin/ether solutions and microscopy or immunofluorescence or DNA amplification via PCR. To evaluate this methodology, 〈em〉G. duodenalis〈/em〉 cysts were inoculated in triplicate (10 cysts) in 35-g samples of lettuce and cabbage. The method obtaining the highest percentage of recovery in cabbage was sulfamic acid solution plus stirring with stomacher (47.7% ± 7.5). For lettuce, the best method was glycine solution plus stirring with stomacher (46.6% ± 5.3). Inter-observer agreement was of 0.99. 〈em〉Giardia〈/em〉 was detected by amplifying specific sequences for the DNA coding SSU rRNA. In 27 lettuce samples and 27 cabbage samples, obtained from supermarkets and street vendors, two lettuce samples (7.4%) and one cabbage sample (3.7%) were positive for 〈em〉Giardia〈/em〉 via PCR assay and were sequenced, determining that they were two of assemblage B and one of lettuce to assemblage E. This method is proposed to detect 〈em〉Giardia〈/em〉 in vegetables by PCR detection, enabling public health authorities to identify genotypes circulating in food, which will help to establish measures that reduce outbreaks of parasitic diseases associated with contaminated food.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hung Tseng, Henry Small〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Quantitative analysis of knowledge content of a significant technological innovation is a novel approach to understand the scientific discovery process. Here we describe such an analysis applied to the invention of recombinant DNA technology in the early 1970's. Two focal papers are selected, i.e., Jackson et al., 1972 and Cohen et al., 1973. A knowledge framework called EApc is described to categorize knowledge types and their quantification. The focal papers, along with their reference lists, are used to determine the minimal scientific knowledge necessary for generating the notions central to each focal paper. Attempts are made to trace how each type of knowledge was generated by various research communities. The results are discussed in terms of their potential implications in measuring, evaluating, understanding and managing the scientific research process.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zheng Zhao, Changbin Chu, Deping Zhou, Zhimin Sha, Shuhang Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Soil nutrient characteristics are key factors that regulate grape growth and fruit quality. To investigate soil nutrient characteristics, 73 typical vineyards in Shanghai suburbs were selected for this study. The impacts of different planting areas, planting ages and grape varieties on soil characteristics were studied. The Agro Services International (ASI) analysis method was adopted to measure the levels of soil nutrients. The results indicated that soil nutrient characteristics varied greatly across the 73 selected vineyards in Shanghai suburbs. Planting area and planting age were the major factors that significantly affected soil nutrient characteristics. However, no significant differences were observed among the 5 major cultivated grape varieties. Significant differences in soil pH were only observed in different planting areas. Soil nutrients in the selected vineyards were mainly at a high level or extra-high level, which means that the current amount of fertilizer in these vineyards exceeds the actual demands of the grapevines and should be reduced. Meanwhile, the intermediate soil organic matter (OM) content indicated that more organic fertilizer should be applied to the soil in these vineyards. Optimized fertilization based on soil nutrient levels plays an essential role in sustaining production resources, increasing economic benefits and improving environmental conditions of vineyards.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lekan Taofeek Popoola〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study attempted to investigate the use of nanomagnetic activated carbon prepared from walnut shell and rice husk wastes for removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution via application of ANN and design expert as adsorbent preparation design and optimization tools. The novel adsorbent was characterized using SEM, FTIR, EDS and BET. The result from 2-level factorial design expert revealed 78.58% Cd(II) sorption efficiency could be achieved for adsorbent prepared at optimum calcination temperature, calcination time, SS-RH mixing ratio and magnetite loading of 859.20 °C, 2.32 h, 2.54 and 5.56 wt% respectively. Sensitivity analysis by both proposed methodologies revealed calcination temperature as most influential factor in adsorbent preparation. Average relative errors and R〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 values of 1.2931% and 4.806%; and 0.9967 and 0.9055 obtained respectively for developed ANN model with 4-9-1 architecture and 2-level factorial design expert revealed ANN model as better prediction and optimization tool for Cd(II) sorption using NM-WS-RH-AC. Laboratory analysis revealed presence of –OH, –NH and COO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 groups on adsorbent surface; presence of Cd(II) after adsorption; change in adsorbent textural and morphological structure after Cd(II) adsorption; and increase in its surface area and average pore diameter due to magnetization. Average relatively stable desorption strength of 62.74% towards Cd(II) was exhibited by adsorbent for four consecutive cycles using 0.1M HNO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. Prepared adsorbent is effective in removing Cd(II) from solution than commercial activated carbon with economically viable regeneration attribute.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Federica Valeriani, Lory Marika Margarucci, Gianluca Gianfranceschi, Antonello Ciccarelli, Filippo Tajani, Nicolina Mucci, Maurizio Ripani, Vincenzo Romano Spica〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Synthetic fibres are used in place of the natural grass worldwide, for realizing playgrounds, soccer fields and even domestic gardens or recreational structures. An intensive use of artificial turf is currently observed in sports facilities, due to lower costs, higher sustainability in recycling of materials, and advantages related to athletic practice and performance. However, even if chemical and physical risks were studied, the microbiological component was not fully addressed, especially considering a comprehensive evaluation of the microbiota in synthetic vs natural playground surfaces. Here, we investigated the microbial community present on soccer fields, using Next Generation Sequencing and a 16S amplicon sequencing approach. Artificial and natural turfs show own ecosystems with different microbial profiles and a mean Shannon's diversity value of 2.176 and 2.475, respectively. The bacterial community is significantly different between facilities (ANOSIM: R = 0.179; p 〈 0.001) and surface materials (ANOSIM: R = 0.172; p 〈 0.005). The relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacterial OTUs was higher in synthetic than in natural samples (ANOVA, F = 2.2). Soccer fields are characterized by their own microbiota, showing a different 16S amplicon sequencing signature between natural and artificial turfs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Morteza Alizadeh, Leila Rezakhani, Mostafa Soleimannejad, Esmaeel Sharifi, Maryam Anjomshoa, Akram Alizadeh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aims〈/h6〉 〈p〉The aim of this study was to present a new method for removing Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent from decellularized bovine pericardium using vacuum.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Materials and Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉The cows’ pericardia were collected and decellularized. The samples were incubated with SDS1% for 48 h at 40 °C. To perform vacuum washing (VW: negative pressure was used to wash and remove detergents), every decellularized tissue was cut in 75mm diameter and fixed via a stainless-steel ring with 60mm diameter in the center of filtration Buchner Funnel which was connected to glass filtration flask The system was connected to a vacuum pump by a hose, and a negative pressure of -100 mmHg was applied for 15 min. Then, the samples were shaken and washed at 40-rpm in 100 ml of distilled water for 45 min. This process was repeated for samples of each group (6 times for sample VW6h, 12 times for sample VW12h, and 24 times for sample VW24h). At the end of every cycle, the effluent was collected to take a sample for SDS measurement. The normal washing (NW) group containing distilled water (NWd) and PBS (Phosphate buffered saline) (NWp) were used to wash and remove detergents. SDS measurements, MTT Assay, histological and tensile test, to compare two methods were used.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉The highest SDS in the effluent was in groups VW12h and VW24h (P ≤ 0.001) and the lowest residual SDS in scaffold was in two groups of VW12h and VW24h (P ≤ 0.001). MTT assay showed that cell survival in the VW12h and VW24h groups was higher than other groups and there' was no significant difference between cell survival in the VW12h and VW24h groups. Histological study showed destruction of tissue in the VW24h group. The results of the tensile test were shown that the native group had the highest module and the lowest amount was the VW24h sample which was reported with P ≤ 0.001 significance for all groups.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉VW12h can be used as an effective method for SDS removal from decellularized pericardium which morphologically demonstrated a good structure in ECM.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Dachyar, Teuku Yuri M. Zagloel, L. Ranjaliba Saragih〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The term "Internet of Things" first appeared in publication paper since 2006, describing the paradigm of evolution concept that brought about by the presence of internet technology (Vermesan and Friess, 2015) which is very important in contemporary circumstances. This study conducted an in-depth analysis of the research material written on 26420 papers which focused on the published Internet of Things (IoT) research, starting from the firstly year IoT keyword appeared in 2006 until 2018. The selected paper is a combination of various disciplines and publications which are all indexed by Scopus wherein the article discusses IoT. IoT articles are classified using key attributes in sequence: the methodology used, general knowledge and applied concepts, and various general exploration topics. By using the Scientometrics method, this method will group the overall terms that appear frequently from the Scopus paper database according to keywords, titles, and abstracts. The resulting data is then studied to understand and distinguish trends that occur in the time span along with the general characteristics of the paper, in the mathematics visual scheme. All various issues that are considered in the paper's methodology selection, their studied and services innovations, and continuing discoveries on the characteristics, concepts, and processes applied to IoT success. Although it only involves scopus indexed paper, this study found a remarkable increase in the number of articles on IoT in each category of the paper. This study also reveals the direction of the regular discipline of knowledge. The use of the Scientometrics method makes the analysis able to focus on the movement of characteristics and IoT themes to researcher's direction that has not found at this time, as a comprehensive guide to further research and industry strategy that is more directed on concepts that support the 4th industrial revolution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Majdah M. Badr〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉An important problem in statistics is to obtain information about the form of the population from which the sample is drawn. Goodness of fit (GOF) tests is employed to determine how well the observed sample data “fits” some proposed model. The well known standard goodness of fit tests; Kolomogorov-Smirnov (KS), Cramer von Mises (CVM) and Anderson-(AD) tests are used for continuous distributions. When the parameters are unknown, the standard tables for these tests are not valid. The complete sample procedures of goodness of fit tests are inappropriate for use with censored samples. The critical values obtained from published tables of the complete sample test statistic are necessarily conservative.〈/p〉 〈p〉In this paper, we obtain the tables of critical values of modified Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test, Cramer-Von Mises (CVM) test and Anderson-Darling (AD) test for the Compound Rayleigh (CR) distribution with unknown parameters in the case of complete and type II censored samples. Furthermore, we present power comparison between KS test, CVM test and AD test for a number of alternative distributions. Applications of the considered distribution to real medical data sets given by Stablein et al. (1981) are presented.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Martínez-Mera Eliana Andrea, Torregroza-Espinosa Ana Carolina, Crissien-Borrero Tito José, Marrugo-Negrete José Luis, González-Márquez Luis Carlos〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study evaluated the concentration and distribution of heavy metals (HM) (Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd, Hg, and Zn) and pesticides (organochlorine and organophosphorus) and the relationship of these pollutants with the physicochemical properties of agricultural soils in an Irrigation District (ID) in Colombia. Soils samples were analyzed for pH, humidity, organic matter, P total, N total, electric conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity, and texture (% sand, clay and silt). Canonical correlation was used to determined relationship between soil properties and HM. Soil pollution were evaluated with geoaccumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), degree of contamination (Cdeg) and pollution load index (PLI). The results indicated that, in general, the soils had adequate physicochemical conditions for the establishment and development of crops. The presence of pesticides in the soils was not reported. However, concentrations HM was detected (Zn 〉 Cr 〉 Ni 〉 Pb 〉 Hg 〉 Cd). The soil characteristics (silt, clay, pH and EC) contributed to explain HM concentrations. The Igeo indicated that the soils are heavily contaminated with Hg (3 〈 Igeo〈4). The CF was very high for Hg (〉6). The Cdeg presented moderate to considerable variations (〉6Cdeg〈24). The PLI indicated that the soils are contaminated (1.308). The presence of HM may be associated with the agricultural and quarries activities carried out near the ID. The impact caused by high concentrations of HM can lead environmental, economic and social impacts in the study zone.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Norma Flores-Holguín, Juan Frau, Daniel Glossman-Mitnik〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A methodology based on the concepts that arise from Density Functional Theory (CDFT) was chosen for the calculation of the global and local reactivity descriptors of the Phallotoxin family of fungal peptides. The determination of the active sites for the molecules has been achieved by resorting some descriptors within Molecular Electron Density Theory (MEDT) like the Dual Descriptor and the Parr functions. Phallosacin has been found as the most reactive of the peptides on the basis of the calculated Global Reactivity Descriptors. The pKas of the seven studied peptides were established using a proposed relationship between this property and the calculated Global Hardness. The bioactivity properties of the peptides considered in this study were obtained by resorting to a homology model by comparison with the bioactivity of related molecules in their interaction with different receptors.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Obindah Gershon, Nnaemeka Emmanuel Ezenwa, Romanus Osabohien〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The study examines the implications of oil price shocks on developing net oil-importing countries. The study considers the casual relationship, impulse response function, and vector decomposition between oil prices and macroeconomic variables using an unrestricted vector autoregressive (VAR) model. In addition, other robust econometric techniques were applied to the time series of oil prices, GDP per capita (GDPC), and energy consumption from 1980 to 2015. Mix results were obtained for the selected African countries - Cape Verde, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. Evidence from the granger test shows that oil prices cause GDPC in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Furthermore, analyses from the VAR model and Impulse response indicate that oil price increase will temporarily increase GDP per capita in the short run for the selected countries. The study recommends policies that can effectively mitigate the adverse effect of the oil price increase.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bayu Arie Fianto, Hayu Maulida, Nisful Laila〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper investigates the determining factors of non-performing financing in Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Indonesia. Using logistic regression, the study sample comprises data from 140 clients; 90 with a good financing status and 50 with a poor financing status. The results show that age, gender, occupation, and type of contract influence the non-performance of clients of Islamic MFIs in Indonesia. Probit regression confirmed the results.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Abdulkhaliq Alazzawie〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Adopting the Cartography research program (Rizzi, 1997, 2001, 2004), the present work investigates the CP layer in Standard Arabic (SA); specifically, the nature and position of topicalized and object focused phrases in the left periphery. The paper also seeks to establish that in fact subjects, like objects and obliques, can also topicalize, the difference being that the pronoun is optionally lexically expressed in subject-topicalization. The ‘Subject’ initial-DP will be treated as a topic located high up in the clausal structure - in the specifier position of the Top node above Foc. Elements in this position fill a special pragmatic sense and discourse role of being presumed, given and identifiable topics rather than an argument or a thematic function.〈/p〉 〈p〉Building on Rizzi's (2004) and Ouhalla's (1997) proposals that generate moved objects and 〈em〉wh〈/em〉-phrases in [Spec, Foc], two focus positions will be posited for SA – one is located immediately above 〈em〉v〈/em〉P and the second is right below TopP. It will be proposed that object movement over the subject is triggered by the [F] feature on Foc and derives the VOS order. Triggered by the higher [F] feature, the raised object and the raised 〈em〉wh〈/em〉-word can raise again to the higher [Spec, Foc]. It is concluded that the position occupied by topicalized DP's differs from that of focused DP's. In particular, SA topics occupy a higher position in the left periphery, namely [Spec, TopP].〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Poushpi Dwivedi, P.K. Mishra, Manoj Kumar Mondal, Neha Srivastava〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nowadays, increasing population, widespread urbanization, rise in living standards together with versatile use of polymers have caused non-biodegradable polymeric wastes affecting the environment a chronic global problem, simultaneously, the existing high energy demand in our society is a matter of great concern. Hence forth, this review article provides an insight into the technological approach of pyrolysis emphasizing catalytic pyrolysis for conversion of polymeric wastes into energy products and presents an alternative waste management technique which is a leap towards developing sustainable environment. Pyrolysis of waste non-biodegradable polymer materials involves controlled thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen, cracking their macromolecules into lower molecular weight ones, resulting into the formation of a wide range of products from hydrogen, hydrocarbons to coke. Nanocatalyzed pyrolysis is a recommended solution to the low thermal conductivity of polymers, promoting faster reactions in breaking the C-C bonds at lower temperatures, denoting less energy consumption and enabling enhancement in the process selectivity, whereby higher value added products are generated with increased yield. Nanotechnology plays an indispensable role in academic research as well as in industrial applications. Existing reviews illustrate that one of the oldest application field of nanotechnology is in the arena of nanocatalysis. Nanocatalysis closes the gap between homo and heterogeneous catalyses while combines their advantageous characteristics and positive aspects, reducing the respective drawbacks. During the current nanohype, nanostructured catalysts are esteemed materials and their exploration provide promising solutions for challenges from the perspective of cost and factors influencing catalytic activity, due to their featured high surface area to volume ratio which render enhanced properties with respect to the bulk catalyst.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alaa M.M.A. Mahgoub〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The study of the extent of variability and the order of importance for the impact of environmental factors on species distribution and weed community structure from one region to the other is an interesting research subject. The present study aimed to discuss the issue to give a comparative view with the author's findings about the impact of the prevailing climate, soil type, crop type, crop sustainability and urbanization on species distribution and weed community structure in the coastal farmland and adjacent territories in northwest delta region (Mahgoub, 2019). A new sample area selected and comprised the reclaimed land of El Ballah region in Isthmus of Suez and adjoining farmland east Nile delta. A total of 245 species were recorded. Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) identified four vegetative sociation groups (VSG). The diversity of the four identified VSG or weed communities was evaluated at different levels. Parincipal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated the influence of the five eco factors on species distribution and variability of weed community structure, summarized the relationships among variables and investigated the proximity among samples and how they related to variables. ANOVA followed by Tukey's test were applied twice for the resulted VSG, one depending on soil variables as explanatory variables and the other on sampling site's indicative scores for the five eco factors. The results of ANOVA (R〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, F, P), sample variance (S〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) and other multivariate analyses indicated a different order of importance for the impact of the five eco factors in comparable to the former study denoted above. The soil type was the most impacting factor on species distribution and weed community structure, followed by crop type, crop sustainability, prevailing climate and urbanization, respectively.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Youssef Elrhayam, Ahmed Elharfi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The models of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) are indeed useful for understanding the mechanism of chemical modification of wood by the method of acetylation. This study shows that the electrophile index ω in combination with other descriptors, namely LUMO energy, HOMO, hardness (η) and chemical potential (μ), prove their utility in predicting the chemical modification of wood (gain in mass). The QSAR models are developed through use of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) methods. The statistical results indicate that the multiple correlation coefficient R〈sup〉〈strong〉2〈/strong〉〈/sup〉 = 0.987, R〈sup〉〈strong〉2〈/strong〉〈/sup〉 adjusted = 0.981 and RMCE = 0.012. This shows both the favorable estimation stability and the appropriate predictive power. The results also indicate that there are significant correlations between the weight gain and the highest occupied molecular orbital HOMO. They also show that the chemical potential μ which are useful for modeling the wood modification are characterized by large hydrophobic properties and high electrophilic powers and therefore could be applied effectively in estimating the acetylation of wood. Finally, the developed model shows that cellulose and hemicellulose are mostly affected by the chemical modification of hydroxyl groups.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): B.V. Dharmendra, Shyam Prasad Kodali, B. Nageswara Rao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is a need for heavy-duty machining equipment and tooling to minimize chatter due to work-hardening of the INCONEL materials ahead of cutting. Optimum EDM parameters are to be identified to produce quality products of INCONEL800. Modified Taguchi approach is adopted in the multi-objective optimization to identify the optimum peak current, pulse-on-time and pulse-off-time in the nano powder mixed EDM (n-PMEDM) of INCONEL800 with copper electrode for high material removal rate (MRR) and low surface roughness (SR). Empirical relations for MRR and SR are developed easily in terms of the EDM parameters without use of the MINITAB Release-16 software and validated with test results. Test results are found to be within the expected range. It also demonstrates the advantages of opting Taguchi approach to get complete information through few experiments.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Godshelp Osas Egharevba, Omotayo O. Dosumu, Stephen O. Oguntoye, Ngaitad S. Njinga, Samuel Olatunde Dahunsi, A. Abdulmumeen Hamid, Ajay Anand, Zehra Amtul, Priyanka Ujjukuri〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aims〈/h6〉 〈p〉Plant extracts have long been used for the ethnomedical treatment of diabetes, microbial infections and as a source of antioxidant. This study was aimed at investigating the antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of the n-hexane and ethyl acetate extract of 〈em〉Tephrosia bracteolata〈/em〉 leaves (TBL) as associated with the ethnobotanical knowledge of the local people of Nigeria.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Main methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉The phytochemical composition of the n-hexane and ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of 〈em〉T. bracteolata〈/em〉 were determined following standard procedures in literature, and it's 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉 inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase enzyme. 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS〈sup〉.+〈/sup〉) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH〈sup〉+〈/sup〉) antioxidant activities were also examined. Well diffusion method was employed in evaluating the antimicrobial property of the extracts.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Key findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉The ethyl acetate extract of 〈em〉T. bracteolata〈/em〉 leaves had the greatest inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase, followed by the n-hexane with IC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 43.95 μg/ml and IC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 ˃50 μg/ml respectively. The ethyl acetate also exhibited significant DPPH〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 and ABTS〈sup〉.+〈/sup〉 antioxidant activity with IC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 of 24.96 μg/ml and 6.48 μg/ml as compared to Ascorbic acid and Trolox (12.24 μg/ml and 5.91 μg/ml) respectively. The zones of inhibition of the ethyl acetate extract of 〈em〉T. bracteolata〈/em〉 leaves ranges from 10 – 25 mm at a concentration of 6.25–200 mg/ml, and it showed a greater antibacterial activity than the n-hexane extract, having a zone of inhibition from 10 – 20 mm at concentration of 12.5–200 mg/ml when compared to the standard Gentamycin. Similarly, the ethyl acetate extract of 〈em〉T. bracteolata〈/em〉 showed a better anti fungi activity at concentration range 12.5–200 mg/ml than the n-hexane extract at concentration range of 25–200 mg/ml with reference to Tioconazole. These results indicated for the first time that the ethyl acetate extract of 〈em〉T. bracteolata〈/em〉 leaves extracts exerted potent inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase, actively scavenge DPPH〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 and ABTS〈sup〉.+〈/sup〉 free radicals and successfully inhibits the proliferation of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganism.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Significance〈/h6〉 〈p〉TBL is an important source of antidiabetic, antimicrobial and antioxidant agent.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Florencia Cattaneo, Julieta Roco, Gabriela Alarcón, María Inés Isla, Susana Jeréz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aims〈/h6〉 〈p〉〈em〉Prosopis alba〈/em〉 flour is a natural source of nutrient and phytochemicals with potential effects on cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this work was to examine the effects of dietary supplementation with 〈em〉Prosopis alba〈/em〉 seed flour (Pr-Feed) on a high fat diet (FD)-induced rabbit model of metabolic syndrome.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Main methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Rabbits were separated in four groups: fed regular diet (CD); CD supplemented with Pr-Feed; fed on 18 % FD; FD supplemented with Pr-Feed. All diets were administrated for 6 weeks. After the feeding period body weights, mean blood pressure, heart rate and visceral abdominal fat (VAF) were determined; glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed; total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose (FG), aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, bilirubin and creatinine were measured in serum. Abdominal aorta was excised and vascular function was assessed by acetylcholine relaxation and contractile response to KCl, norepinephrine and angiotensin II.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Key findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉Phytochemical analyses showed that the main compounds of Pr-Feed were apigenin C-glycosides. FD increased VAF, FG, TG, reduced HDL-cholesterol and induced abnormal GTT. Pr-Feed addition to FD did not modify these alterations. Aortic rings from rabbits fed on FD exhibited an impaired relaxation-response to acetylcholine and increased agonist vasoconstrictor responses. Pr Feed-supplemented FD improved the response to acetylcholine, and prevented the increase of the contractile response to KCl, norepinephrine and angiotensin II.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Significance〈/h6〉 〈p〉Results suggest that dietary supplementation with Pr-Feed, rich in apigenin C-glycosides, has vascular protector properties and could be used to prevent vascular alterations characterizing the metabolic syndrome.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mahmoud O. Hassan, Yasser M. Hassan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Human impact in newly urbanized deserts creates new environments that may favor the establishment/dominance of certain plant species. In this study, we showed how the human activities during desert urbanization do affect distribution, composition and diversity of plant species in a new urban ecosystem. In a field study during 2015–2016 and 2017–2018 growing seasons, we investigated these vegetation criteria in three new habitats created recently due to human manipulations in addition to the old habitat of such area (i.e. the desert). We also compared vegetation criteria comprising the floristic cover, composition and diversity between the desert locations inside and on the outskirts of the city. The detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) successfully separated the different habitats studied. Besides, the floristic composition and diversity were significantly varied amongst these habitats. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed an apparent correlation between floristic composition and soil criteria across the study area. For the desert vegetation, the cover values of both 〈em〉Tamarix nilotica〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Zygophyllum coccineum〈/em〉, in addition to the whole diversity indices, were significantly suppressed in the desert fragments inside the newly constructed city in comparison with their cover in the desert adjacent to it. Moreover, the cover of both species was significantly declined in 2018 compared with their cover in 2015. On converse, the covering areas of 〈em〉Phragmites australis〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Bassia indica〈/em〉 were increased after intensive constructions in 2018. These results suggest that the human activities and, consequently, urbanization may influence plant life in newly urbanized desert ecosystems, leading to dispersal of new species and destruction of plant cover in some parts of the desert. Efforts and conservation strategies should be devoted to save the desert species that are vulnerable to elimination due to expansion of urbanization.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dalal Z. Husein, Reda Hassanien, Mostafa F. Al-Hakkani〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The release of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Ibuprofen (Ibu), Naproxen (Nab) and Diclofenac (Dic) to the aquatic system cause serious environmental problems. In this study, green-synthesized copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) have been used as nano-adsorbent for the removal of Ibu, Nab, and Dic from wastewater samples. Formation of Cu NPs was confirmed by different analytical techniques. The adsorption parameters such as temperature, pH, adsorbate concentration, adsorbent dose and contact time were studied. The best removal results were obtained at these conditions: temperature 298 K, pH = 4.5, 10.0 mg Cu NPs, 60 min. At these conditions, the removal percentage of Ibu, Nap, and Dic were found to be 74.4, 86.9 and 91.4% respectively. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities were calculated as 36.0, 33.9 and 33.9 mg/g for Dic, Nap, and Ibu respectively. The kinetic studies conducted that the sorption process obeyed the second order kinetic model, while the thermodynamic results revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic (+23.8, +40.8 and +38.3 kJ/mol for Ibu, Nap and Dic respectively). The results revealed that green-synthesized copper nano-adsorbent may be used for the removal of the anti-inflammatory drugs from real wastewater efficiently.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Andrea Carpentieri, Angelo Sebastianelli, Chiara Melchiorre, Gabriella Pinto, Marco Trifuoggi, Vincenzo Lettera, Angela Amoresano〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The biomolecular characterization of edible products is gaining an increasing importance in food chemistry. The characteristic aroma or bouquet of a wine is the result of complex interactions of volatile molecules and odor receptors. Its characterization is the subject of many different studies, aimed at the development of new methods to be used for the discovery of frauds and for the typization of Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) or Protected Geographic Indication (P.G.I.) wines.〈/p〉 〈p〉We previously outlined the proteomic profile of three cultivars of 〈em〉Vitis vinifera〈/em〉 from South Italy (Campania) used for white wine production (Fiano, Greco and Falanghina) during the ripening. In this work, we present a mass spectrometry based study aimed at obtaining the profile of volatiles on the same samples using solid phase micro extraction coupled to gas chromatography.〈/p〉 〈p〉We demonstrated that some of the main constituents of aroma (namely terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes, etc.) were characteristic of certain grapes and absent in others.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): N.K. Udaya Prakash, N. Sripriya, K. Gowtham, S. Suresh, B. Sampathkumar, S. Bhuvaneswari〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Diwali is celebrated widely in Asian countries, with a custom of firing crackers. Crackers pollute the environment with noise, particulate matter and chemicals. There are reports on the variation of particulates during firing crackers but none on airborne microbes. The present study was conducted to know the impact of fire crackers on airborne microflora. The air samples were collected 3 days prior to Diwali, on Diwali and 3 days after Diwali during the year 2017 at 15 different areas in Chennai, India. Andersen N-6 viable particle air sampler was exposed with petridishes containing nutrient agar and potato dextrose agar for the isolation of bacteria and fungi respectively. An average of 1,904 ± 2.5 CFU/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 of bacteria recorded prior Diwali was reduced by 53.23% on Diwali and increased by 27.37% after Diwali. This reduction on Diwali is attributed to the exposure of bacteria to chemicals emitted by the crackers. For fungi, an average of 235.57 ± 1.67 CFU/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 was recorded prior Diwali, with an increase of 78.5% on Diwali. The increase in fungal count might be due to the release of spores by ground crackers. The study shows that bacteria are susceptible to the chemicals emitted by fire crackers when compared with fungi.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Simon Svanborg Kjeldsen, Erhard Trillingsgaard Næss-Schmidt, Gunhild Mo Hansen, Jørgen Feldbæk Nielsen, Peter William Stubbs〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Blood flow restriction training (BFRT) has been proposed for elderly and clinical populations with weakness. Before being used in these populations it is important to understand the neurological effects of, and subject perceptions to, BFRT. Seventeen healthy subjects were recruited and performed 2 experimental sessions, BFRT and training without blood flow restriction (TR-only), on separate days. Four sets of concentric/eccentric dorsiflexion contractions against theraband resistance were performed. Surface electromyography of the tibialis anterior was recorded during exercise and for the electrophysiological measures. At baseline, immediately-post, 10-min-post and 20-min-post exercise, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), paired-pulse TMS with interstimulus intervals of 2-ms (SICI) and 15-ms (ICF), and the M-max amplitude were recorded in the resting TA. Following training, subjects provided a numerical rating of the levels of pain, discomfort, fatigue, focus and difficulty during training. Muscle activation was higher in the last 20 contractions during BFRT compared to TR. There was no difference (time × condition interaction) between BFRT and TR for single-pulse MEP, SICI, ICF or M-max amplitude. There was a significant main effect of timepoint for single-pulse MEP and M-max amplitudes with both significantly reduced for 20-min-post exercise. No reductions were observed for SICI and ICF amplitudes. Taken together, BFRT and TR-only were only different during exercise and both regimes induced similar significant reductions in M-Max and MEP-amplitude post-training. Due to the lack of changes in SICI and ICF, it is unlikely that changes occurred in cortical sites related to these pathways. The increased surface electromyography activity in the last 20 contractions, indicate that the training regimes are different and that BFRT possibly induces more fatigue than TR. As such, BFRT could be used as an adjunct to conventional training. However, as subjects perceived BFRT as more painful, difficult and uncomfortable than TR-only, people should be selected carefully to undertake BFRT.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Andualem Merga, H.C.Ananda Murthy, Enyew Amare, Kalid Ahmed, Eshetu Bekele〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Electrical porcelain insulator was fabricated from local ceramic raw materials, Bombowha kaolin/clay, Arero feldspar and Arero quartz available in Ethiopia. The raw materials mineralogy, chemical composition, and thermal properties were characterized by using x-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and thermogravimetry (TGA), respectively. Plasticity of clay was determined according to Atterberg plasticity test. Based on the raw materials chemical composition, five different porcelain insulator test bodies were prepared at firing temperature of 1000 °C, 1100 °C, 1200 °C and 1300 °C. Water absorbance, apparent porosity, bulk density, dielectric strength and microstructure of fired porcelain insulators were studied as a function of firing temperature. The XRD and AAS results revealed that in Bombowha clay, kaolinite mineral was found to be a major mineral constituent with appreciable silica (46.84 wt%) and alumina (36.74 wt%) content with moderate plasticity (PI = 19–21%). The Arero feldspar belongs to anorthoclase feldspar minerals with less alkali content (Na〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O + K〈sub〉2〈/sub〉0) of 〈7wt %. Among the tested porcelain insulator bodies, the test body with composition of 45% kaolin, 45% feldspar and 10 % quartz exhibited superior properties of having a water absorbance of 0.010%, porosity of 0.088%, density of 2.466 g/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉, dielectric strength of 8 Kv/mm at firing temperature of 1300 °C with mullite and quartz phase embedded in sufficient glassy phase. Therefore, the experimental result confirmed that standard porcelain insulator can be fabricated from locally available ceramic raw materials (clay and quartz) in Ethiopia at optimized condition.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Soukhyarani Gopal Nayak, Boja Poojary〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pursuing our recent interest regarding the antimicrobial activity of Schiff bases derivatives, we have synthesized a series of 6-(substitutedphenyl)-〈em〉N'〈/em〉-((〈em〉E〈/em〉)-(substitutedphenyl)methylidene)-2-methylpyridine-3-carbohydrazides (〈strong〉5a-n〈/strong〉) and evaluated their antibacterial activity. Structures of these compounds were confirmed by standard studies of FTIR, 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H NMR, 〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C NMR, MS and elemental analysis. Antibacterial activity of synthesized molecules was tested against Gram-positive (〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 and 〈em〉E. faecalis〈/em〉) and Gram-negative (〈em〉E. coli〈/em〉 and 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉) bacterial strains. Synthesized compounds showed good antibacterial activity at a lower concentration than standard. Most of the compounds (〈strong〉5a〈/strong〉, 〈strong〉5c〈/strong〉, 〈strong〉5i〈/strong〉, 〈strong〉5j〈/strong〉 and 〈strong〉5n〈/strong〉) are potent against all the tested bacterial strains with MIC values ranging from 1.56-12.5 μg/mL.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mohamed Hawashi, Ali Altway, Tri Widjaja, Setiyo Gunawan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cassava leaves are a crucial source of alternative protein resources for both humans and livestock in developing societies in African and Asian countries that do not have easy access to available protein sources. Hence, cassava has the capacity to promote the economic development of these countries and provide food security. However, it has some disadvantages due to the anti-nutrient compounds present in its tissues, which limits the nutritional value of cassava leaves. Thus, proper processing of cassava leaves is essential in order to reduce the anti-nutrients to a safer limit before utilization. This study focuses on reducing the tannin content of cassava leaves during solid-state fermentation using 〈em〉Saccharomyces cerevisiae〈/em〉. In addition, the Box-Behnken design of the Response Surface Methodology was applied to optimize various process parameters, such as carbon concentration, nitrogen concentration, moisture content, and incubation time for maximum reduction of tannin content in cassava leaves. A quadratic model was developed for the reduction of tannin content, which resulted in a perfect fit of the experimental data (p 〈 0.01). The optimal conditions were found at 1.4% (w/w) of carbon concentration, 0.55% (w/w) of nitrogen concentration, 57% (v/w) moisture content, and an incubation time of 96 h. The minimum tannin content obtained under these conditions was 0.125%, which indicated a reduction of 89.32 % in tannin content. Conversely, the protein content was increased with a further increase in fermentation time from 24 to 96 h (from 10.08 to 14.11–16.07 %). Furthermore, the ability of 〈em〉Saccharomyces cerevisiae〈/em〉 to produce tannase under solid-state fermentation of cassava leaves was also studied. The maximum yield was obtained with an enzyme activity of 0.53 U/gds after 72 h of incubation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Paula Valentina Polania-Guzmán, Juan Fernando Vélez-García〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The northern tamandua (〈em〉Tamandua mexicana〈/em〉) is a xenarthran mammal with a distribution from Mexico to Peru. This species arrives to wildlife care centres due to illegal trafficking and attacks by domestic dogs, both of which are situations where the northern tamandua's thoracic limbs (forelimbs) can be affected. As such, it is necessary to have anatomical studies that allow us to perform better medical and surgical procedures. Among these, studies about the musculoskeletal system also aid in the muscular reconstructions of extinct species. The aim of this study was to characterize the craniolateral muscles of the forearm in 〈em〉Tamandua mexicana〈/em〉 and compare them with other Xenarthrans to determine their gross adaptations. Six dead specimens were used, and none were sacrificed for the purpose of this investigation. In five specimens, arterial repletion was done. Four were fixed with 10% formaldehyde and 5% glycerin, and two were dissected in fresh. All were dissected in the Veterinary Anatomy Laboratory of the Universidad del Tolima. The weights of the muscles from seven forearms were taken and divided in three functional groups for comparison with non-parametric statistics. Two muscular groups were found: one superficial formed by the brachioradialis, brachioradialis accesorius, extensor carpi radialis, extensor digitorum communis, extensor digitorum lateralis and extensor carpi ulnaris; and one deep muscular group formed by the supinator, extensor digiti III et IV, abductor digiti I longus, and extensor digiti I et II. They were supplied by different branches of the cranial interosseous, transverse cubital and superficial brachial arteries, which had the shape of 〈em〉rete mirabile〈/em〉; and all muscles were innervated by the deep branch of the radial nerve. The presence of the brachioradialis accesorius muscle in this species allows its hand to remain in semi-supination when it is mobilized in a quadrupedal manner. It must also support elbow flexion together with the action of the brachioradialis and the extensor carpi radialis muscles. All the antebrachial digital muscles sent tendons for the digit III making it the most functional for different grip activities such as climbing trees and searching for its food, however, the most strength was directed to supination and carpal extension, and therefore also to the flexion of the elbow.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): U.G. Spizzirri, G. Carullo, L. De Cicco, A. Crispini, F. Scarpelli, D. Restuccia, F. Aiello〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Tea (〈em〉Camellia Sinensis〈/em〉) is one of the most popular drink, consumed as infusion or bottled ready to drink beverages. Although tea leaves contain many antioxidants compounds, after processing they can drastically decrease, sometimes up to a full degradation, as in the case of catechin, a very healthy flavan-3-ol. In this context, the synthesis of a cocrystal between (+)-catechin and L-(+)-ascorbic acid, was proved to be a useful strategy to make a new ingredient able to ameliorate the antioxidant profile of both infusions and bottled teas. The obtained cocrystal showed a three-fold higher solubility than (+)catechin and its formation was elucidated unambiguously by FT-IR, thermal (DSC) and diffraction (PXRD) analyses. Antioxidant characteristics of the samples were evaluated by colorimetric assays. As expected, infusions showed much better antioxidant features than ready-to-use lemon and peach teas. The same trend was confirmed after the addition of the cocrystal at two concentration levels. In particular, supplementation at concentration of 2 mg mL〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 improved the bottled tea antioxidant values to the level showed by the not-added infusion tea.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ekarat Tangsiriratana, Wanwisa Skolpap, Robert J. Patterson, Kobsak Sriprapha〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, a micro-encapsulated phase change material (PCM) was composed of sugarcane wax−Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉composite as the core material and gelatin−gum Arabic as the polymer shell materials prepared by complex coacervation. The thermal behavior of solar panels integrated with this encapsulated PCM (EPCM) was investigated. The heat storage-dissipation performance and thermal stability of the sugarcane wax−based composite PCM layer with the heat capacity of 2.86 J/g·°C was influenced by its thickness. Increasing the composite PCM layer thickness from 4 mm to 7 mm could lower the module's front-facing glass temperature by 4% resulting in enhanced the photovoltaic power generation by 12% at the peak, because of the temperature storage ability of the composite PCM. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of the microencapsulated sugarcane wax was calculated using a steady-state one-dimensional energy balance equation. The thermal conductivities estimated across the composite PCM layer depth were found to be temperature dependent. A nonlinear regression of the power law thermal conductivity model gave a good agreement with the observed EPCM-surface temperatures.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sulayman T. Balogun, Umar K. Sandabe, Kenneth O. Okon, Ayodele O. Akanmu, Fatai A. Fehintola〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The study re-visited malaria burden and pre-hospital medication among malarious subjects in Maiduguri, Northeast Nigeria. A total of 1,657 febrile subjects were screened for malaria by microscopy at two health institutions. Giemsa-stained blood smears were examined for parasitaemia and gametocytaemia; and parasite density (PD), gametocyte density (GD) and gametocyte sex ratio (GSR) were determined. The mean age of the 1,657 subjects was 27.5 ± 12.2 years and 7.8% (130/1,657) of the subjects aged 〈5 years. Sex distribution showed 47.0% (778/1,657) males and 53.0% (879/1657) females. Parasitaemia was recorded in 22.6% (375/1,657) with geometric mean PD of 8,925 (320–275,000) parasites/μl blood. The prevalence of parasitaemia was highest among subjects 〈5 years (χ〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 = 401.1; df = 5; p 〈 0.0001) and in August and September (χ〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 = 406.9; df = 11; p 〈 0.0001). Prevalence of gametocytaemia was 12.8% (48/375) with geometric mean GD of 109 (8–464) gametocytes/μl blood. The prevalence was higher in dry (16.5%, 29/176) than wet (9.5%, 19/199) months (χ〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 = 4.0; df = 1; p = 0.045). The weighted mean GSR was 0.4 ± 0.1 with highest value in March (0.7 ± 0.2). Pre-hospital medication was recorded in 74.1% (278/375) of the subjects with parasitaemia. Analgesics (51.7%; 194/375) accounted for the highest proportion of drug consumed while 9.3% (35/375) of the subjects took antimalarial drugs. Malaria persisted in Maiduguri especially among subjects 〈5 years during wet months and pre-hospital medication is a common practice. These findings could serve as guide for policy decision that could contribute to effective treatment and control of malaria in the region.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chunlian Tian, Yu Chang, Zehui Zhang, Hong Wang, Shibo Xiao, Cancan Cui, Mingchun Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Research on the extraction technology, component analysis, and antioxidant, antibacterial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoids fraction from 〈em〉Tribulus terrestris〈/em〉 L. leaves was carried out. The extraction process was optimized by response surface method, and the maximum yield 0.27% for flavonoids fraction was achieved with concentration of ethanol solution 25.87%, ratio of solvent to material 30:1 ml/g, and ultrasonic extraction time 27.93 min. Moreover, 14 compositions were identified separately from flavonoids fraction by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS〈sup〉2〈/sup〉. In addition, flavonoids fraction exhibited a better antioxidant activity demonstrated by assays of ABTS, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power activity. Furthermore, the antibacterial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoids fraction were also proved to be stronger. Therefore, the present findings suggest that flavonoids fraction from 〈em〉Tribulus terrestris〈/em〉 L. leaves can be a very interesting candidate for the research and development of natural and healthy herbal medicine for the pharmaceutical and food industries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jamilah Borjac, Manal El Joumaa, Rawan Kawach, Lobna Youssef, Diane A. Blake〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Environmental pollution generated from uncontrolled dumping is a major problem in Lebanon due to the lack of proper waste management plans. Deir Kanoun Ras El Ain is the village that harbors the worst dumps in Lebanon. Wastewater leachates of this dump influx into an adjacent nearby canal used for irrigation and drinking purposes. The aim of this study is to assess the concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, and Hg) and the presence of organic compounds (phthalates, bisphenol A, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) in water samples collected from two different sites around the dump and two canal sites during winter and summer seasons. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, while the identification of the extracted organic compounds was performed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (HPLC–MS). The carried analyses revealed that water samples collected from dump and canal were heavily polluted by Cd, As, Hg, phthalates, bisphenol A, and PAHs caused by pyrogenic and petrogenic sources. The concentrations of the found heavy metals were far above the maximum tolerable levels set by different guidelines. The findings suggest that the studied water sources are not safe for irrigation and drinking. The serious implications of dumping wastes on the health of inhabitants recall for an immediate employment of efficient waste management policies to resolve this problem.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Keisuke Okubo, Takashi Ito, Yasuyoshi Shiota, Yusuke Kawata, Tadashi Yamamoto, Shogo Takashiba〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Contamination of dental unit waterlines (DUWL) with heterotrophic bacteria can cause problems in immune compromised patients (aged, tumor and organ transplantation-patients). We focused on the use of low-concentrated ozonized water (OZW) as the biofilm formation restraint system for DUWL. Here, we examined the effects of low-concentrated OZW on the growth of bacteria and related biofilm formation and harmfulness to dental unit components (DUCs) 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objectives〈/h6〉 〈p〉To evaluate the bactericidal effects of OZW on biofilms in DUWL and DUC 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Low-concentrated OZW (0.4 mg/L) was generated using an OZS-PTDX generator. Heterotrophic bacterial biofilms in old DUWL tubes and 〈em〉Candia albicans〈/em〉 solution (control microbe) were treated with OZW for 1 h with gentle agitation before static culturing for 96 h in Reasoner's 2A liquid media. The control solutions were 0.1% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), chlorinated tap water (TW), and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) amounts of the microbes were measured and the biofilms of these microbes were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, surfaces of DUC soaked in OZW and TW were observed by SEM.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉The OZW reduced ATP levels in microbes to 50% compared to TW and PBS treatment, although CPC reduced it below detection limits. SEM observation revealed deformation of microbes cultured with OZW, whereas no changes were seen on DUC surfaces.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Low-concentrated OZW is bactericidal against heterotrophic bacteria biofilms and it is not harmful to DUC, suggesting that it might be useful in preventing DUWL contamination.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Christian Baresel, Vincent Schaller, Christian Jonasson, Christer Johansson, Romain Bordes, Vinay Chauhan, Abhilash Sugunan, Jens Sommertune, Sebastian Welling〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, we have taken the concept of water treatment by functionalized magnetic particles one step forward by integrating the technology into a complete proof of concept, which included the preparation of surface modified beads, their use as highly selective absorbents for heavy metals ions (Zinc, Nickel), and their performance in terms of magnetic separation. The separation characteristics were studied both through experiments and by simulations. The data gathered from these experimental works enabled the elaboration of various scenarios for Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The LCA showed that the environmental impact of the system is highly dependent on the recovery rate of the magnetic particles. The absolute impact on climate change varied significantly among the scenarios studied and the recovery rates. The results support the hypothesis that chelation specificity, magnetic separation and bead recovery should be optimized to specific targets and applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): C.S. Martinez, D.E. Igartúa, I. Czarnowski, D.A. Feas, S.delV. Alonso, M.J. Prieto〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The development and use of nanomaterials are increasing significantly. Among nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes are of particular interest due to its distinctive physicochemical properties. This material composed of sheets of graphite has very high thermal conductivity, metallic-type electrical conductivity, stiffness, toughness and unique ability to bond to itself in an extended network with extraordinary strength. Its application in the industry is continuously growing, which could lead to the accumulation in the environment and a consequent impact on both humans and ecosystems. Considering that environmental systems are dynamic, it is difficult to predict the risks associated with the release of nanomaterials to the environment. Bioindicators are useful tools as primary signals of environmental risk, and their responses reveal the organism and ecosystem health.〈/p〉 〈p〉In the present study, we evaluated the impact of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with different dimensions and agglomeration pattern on zebrafish embryo and larvae; mainly, studies were focused on physiological and behavioral responses. In embryos, measurements were hatching rate, morphology changes, and viability. In larvae, locomotor activity, heart rate, innate inflammatory response, general and tissue-specific morphology were measured. MWCNT-S (short, wide and mostly dispersed) caused depression of the locomotor activity of larvae, indicating an alteration of the central nervous system, and depression of neutrophil migration activity. MWCNT-L (long, thin and agglomerated) caused malformations during larval development, a decrease of neutrophil migration and alteration of cardiac rhythm. Results obtained for both carbon nanotubes were different, highlighting the importance of dimensions of the same nanomaterial, and also the kind of agglomeration and shape adopted, for the toxic effects on organisms.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): V.L. Lozano, C.E. Miranda, A.L. Vinocur, C. González, F. Unrein, M.J. Wolansky, H.N. Pizarro〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We evaluated the effect of AsiMax 50®, a commercial formulation of 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), on the structure of both micro + nano phytoplankton (〉2 μm; species composition and abundance) and cytometric populations (photosynthetic picoplankton (PPP, 0.2–2 μm), which included prokaryotic phycocyanin-rich picocyanobacteria (PC-Pcy), phycoerythrin-rich picocyanobacteria (PE-Pcy) and eukaryotic phototrophs (PEuk); and bacterioplankton (HB), heterotrophic bacteria), using a microcosms-based approach and a single 7-day exposure. Assays were performed on two different microbial assemblages sampled from freshwater bodies of two contrasting turbidity status: clear (chlorophyll 〈em〉a〈/em〉 = 7.6 μgL〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉, turbidity = 1 NTU) and organic turbid systems (chlorophyll 〈em〉a〈/em〉 = 25.0 μgL〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉, turbidity = 9 NTU). For each system, the herbicide was applied to 500 mL-Erlenmeyer flasks, at seven concentration levels of the active ingredient (a.i.): 0 (control = no addition), 0.02, 0.2, 2, 20, 200 and 2,000 mg a.i.L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The impact of AsiMax 50® seemed to be greater in the turbid system. In this system, total abundance of living (live) micro + nano phytoplankton showed a significant increase at lower concentrations and data were fitted to a humped-shaped curve. For both clear and organic turbid systems, micro + nano phytoplankton decreased in species richness and abundance at higher herbicide concentrations. These results suggest that 2,4-D may mimic hormonal function. Some species, such as 〈em〉Ochromonas〈/em〉 sp. and 〈em〉Chlamydomonas〈/em〉 sp., showed different responses to herbicide exposure between water systems. In the turbid system, the increase in abundance of the PPP fraction observed at 7-d exposure was probably due to either an increase in PE-Pcy (thus suggesting the existence of auxin pathways) or a reduction in competitive pressure by micro + nano plankton. Our results provide some evidence of the importance of using community-scale approaches in ecotoxicological studies to predict changes in freshwater ecosystems exposed to a 2,4-D-based formulation. However, caution must be taken when extrapolating these effects to real scenarios, as assays were based on a laboratory microcosm experiment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Engy Mohamed El-Ghitany, Azza Galal Farghaly〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial epidemiological methods may provide a basis for disease investigation through which hotspots and disease determinants can be identified. Applying these methods for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Egypt would support a more effective strategy to control its transmission. Therefore, this study used GIS software to draw one of the first HCV maps in Egypt elucidating and analyzing geographical and epidemiological differences in HCV distribution within the country.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉A cross-sectional survey of 21 governorates (n = 12169, 8080 rural, 3733 urban and 356 slums areas) was completed. All participants were interviewed regarding potential exposures to HCV. Third generation ELISA was used to test serum for HCV antibody. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to test anti-HCV positive subjects for HCV-RNA.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉The participants ranged in age from 14-90 years. Overall, anti-HCV sero-prevalence was 14.8%. The prevalence of HCV-RNA, was 9.5%. Proportionally, 65.8% of anti-HCV positives were positive for HCV-RNA. The map of Egyptian governorates highlighted the darkest spot of HCV infection in Menoufeya (37.8%) followed by Beni Suef (29.2%) and Minya (28.6%). Anti-HCV prevalence was higher among males and logistic regression models revealed a strong independent association with increasing age, rural residence and parenteral anti-schistosomal therapy.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Rural residences and HCV hotspots should be prioritized for HCV prevention programs. The unique age distribution first shown in this study shows that the older age groups (≥60 years old) constitutes a considerable reservoir of infection and must not be neglected.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zheng Tan, Ziqin Yan, Guangwei Zhu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In recent years, a variety of research fields, including finance, have begun to place great emphasis on machine learning techniques because they exhibit broad abilities to simulate more complicated problems. In contrast to the traditional linear regression scheme that is usually used to describe the relationship between the stock forward return and company characteristics, the field of finance has experienced the rapid development of tree-based algorithms and neural network paradigms when illustrating complex stock dynamics. These nonlinear methods have proved to be effective in predicting stock prices and selecting stocks that can outperform the general market. This article implements and evaluates the robustness of the random forest (RF) model in the context of the stock selection strategy. The model is trained for stocks in the Chinese stock market, and two types of feature spaces, fundamental/technical feature space and pure momentum feature space, are adopted to forecast the price trend in the long run and the short run, respectively. It is evidenced that both feature paradigms have led to remarkable excess returns during the past five out-of-sample period years, with the Sharpe ratios calculated to be 2.75 and 5 for the portfolio net value of the multi-factor space strategy and momentum space strategy, respectively. Although the excess return has weakened in recent years with respect to the multi-factor strategy, our findings point to a less efficient market that is far from equilibrium.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): El Hadji Malick Sarr, Marie-Hélène Mayrand, François Coutlée, Joseph Niyibizi, Louise Laporte, Patricia Monnier, Ana Maria Carceller, Jacques Lacroix, François Audibert, Marie-Josée Bédard, Isabelle Girard, Paul Brassard, William D. Fraser, Helen Trottier, Marie-Hélène Mayrand, François Coutlée, Patricia Monnier, Louise Laporte, Joseph Niyibizi, Monica Zahreddine〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉HPV vaccination efficacy has been shown in clinical trials but it is important to verify population level vaccine effectiveness (VE). We aimed to explore VE and herd effect using HPV infection data from a cohort study of Canadian pregnant women. We analyzed the baseline data of the HERITAGE study, which includes pregnant women recruited in Montreal between 2010-2012 and 2015–2016. Cervicovaginal samples self-collected in the first trimester were tested for 36 HPV types. Vaccination status was self-reported. VE and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by comparing the prevalence of HPV between vaccinated and unvaccinated women. Herd effect was explored by comparing HPV prevalence in unvaccinated women between the 2 recruitment periods. Adjusted ORs (95%CI) were estimated using exact logistic regression. The proportion of vaccinated women with at least one dose of 4vHPV was 7.5%. Although most of them were vaccinated after the onset of sexual activity, a high VE was found for HPV-16/18 (86.1% (95%CI: 15.0–99.7)). For HPV-6/11/16/18 and for HPV-31/33/45, VE was 61.9% (-23.5–92.6) and 57.0% (-47.7–92.0%), respectively. We also observed a non-statistically significant reduction in the prevalence of HPV-6/11/16/18 and HPV-31/33/45 among unvaccinated women recruited during the second recruitment period (adjusted OR: 0.8 (0.4–1.8) and 0.8 (0.3–1.7), respectively).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): V. Vanathi, S. Mullainathan, S. Nithiyanatham, V. Ramasamy, L. Palaniappan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ultrasonic velocity (〈em〉U〈/em〉), density (〈em〉ρ〈/em〉), viscosity (〈em〉ƞ〈/em〉) for the ternary mixture of benzene + chloroform + cyclohexane in the whole range of composition has been carried out at various temperatures 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15K. From the measured parameters U, 〈em〉ρ〈/em〉 and 〈em〉ƞ〈/em〉, some derived parameters 〈em〉β, L〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉f〈/em〉〈/sub〉〈em〉, V〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉f〈/em〉〈/sub〉〈em〉, π〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉i〈/em〉〈/sub〉〈em〉, Z, R,W〈/em〉 with molar enthalpy (〈em〉H〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉m〈/em〉〈/sub〉) and apparent molar volume (〈em〉ɸ〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉v〈/em〉〈/sub〉) are also estimated. The decreasing trend of 〈em〉ƞ, R,W, H〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉m〈/em〉〈/sub〉〈em〉,〈/em〉 and 〈em〉ɸ〈/em〉〈sub〉〈em〉v〈/em〉〈/sub〉 with concentrations and other parameters are in increasing trend were observed. The trend of acoustical and physico-chemical parameters confirm the dynamics of molecules at higher temperature and the magnitude of intermolecular interactions among the constituents of the mixtures always reflects the nature of substance. The role of enthalpy and apparent molar volume has been used to determine their thermal response. The sign and magnitude of these properties are evident for the nature of interactions between component molecules.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ayman A. El-Badry, Samar S. El Sayed, Rafiaa R. Hussein, Youssef M. Said, Abeer S. Al-Antably, Marwa A. Hassan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Children with underlying malignancies and those on chemotherapy are at risk for having intestinal parasitic infections, which can lead to a severe course and death. This cross-sectional study was done to assess the copro-parasitological and copro-molecular prevalence of entero-parasites in children with malignancies and those on chemotherapy.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Procedure〈/h6〉 〈p〉Stool samples were collected from 137 Egyptian hospitalized cancerous children with different malignancies in the National Cancer Institute, and receiving chemotherapy.〈/p〉 〈p〉Faecal samples were examined microscopically. Genomic copro-DNA was extracted from fecal samples and amplified by 3 separate nPCR assays targeting 〈em〉Cryptosporidium〈/em〉, 〈em〉G. intestinalis〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Entamoeba histolytica〈/em〉 complex.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Result〈/h6〉 〈p〉The overall prevalence of enteroparasites was 6.6 % (9 cases). Only 〈em〉Giardia〈/em〉 copro-DNA was encountered in 2 (1.4%) faecal samples of patients. Coproscopy detected parasites in 7 cases: 〈em〉Blastocystis spp.〈/em〉 in 5 cases (3.6%), 〈em〉Hymenolepis nana〈/em〉 in 1 case (0.7%) and 〈em〉Ascaris lumbericoides〈/em〉 in 1 case (0.7%).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉Low prevalence may be due to patient's use of prophylactic anti-parasitic and anti-fungal drugs, a standard protocol, basic hygienic practices and good nursing all of which are preventive against enteroparasites transmission. Among studied variables only diarrhoeic individuals who had a solid tumor, and soft/liquid stool with mucus and blood were predictors of intestinal parasitism.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Νikolaos A. Kyriazis, Kalliopi Daskalou, Marios Arampatzis, Paraskevi Prassa, Evangelia Papaioannou〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study examines the volatility of certain cryptocurrencies and how they are influenced by the three highest capitalization digital currencies, namely the Bitcoin, the Ethereum and the Ripple. We use daily data for the period 1 January 2018–16 September 2018, which represents the bearish market of cryptocurrencies. The impact of the decline of these three cryptocurrencies on the returns of the other virtual currencies is examined with models of the ARCH and GARCH family, as well as the DCC-GARCH. The main conclusion of the study is that the majority of cryptocurrencies are complementary with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple and that no hedging abilities exist among principal digital currencies in distressed times.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nasrul Wathoni, Chu Yuan Shan, Wong Yi Shan, Tina Rostinawati, Raden Bayu Indradi, Rimadani Pratiwi, Muchtaridi Muchtaridi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pectin, a natural polysaccharide, has gained increasing attention due to not only its biomaterial properties but also its biomedical activities. One of the abundant sources of pectin is mangosteen (〈em〉Garcinia mangostana〈/em〉 L.) rind. In this study, we characterized the pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind extract and evaluated its antioxidant activity. Pectin was extracted in acid condition and evaluated its physicochemical properties by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD), water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid content. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of pectin was also observed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Pectin was successfully extracted from dry weight of Indonesian mangosten rind with yield about 1,16 ± 0,17%, fine powder, brownish and odorless. FTIR and PXRD results showed that pectin from mangosteen rind extract was amorphous and similar characteristic with a commercial pectin. The chemical properties of pectin such as water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid level were 9.85 ± 0.12%, 3.91 ± 0.17%, 6330.76 ± 220.43 g/mol, 2.86 ± 0.05% and 75.98 ± 0.88%, respectively. In addition, pectin showed an antioxidant activity with the IC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 about 161.94 ± 31.57 ppm. These results suggest that pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind has the potential properties as biopolymers for biomedical applications with a low-methylated pectin and a moderate antioxidant activity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jiabin Yu, Jiajia Yang, Yinghua Yu, Qiong Wu, Satoshi Takahashi, Yoshimichi Ejima, Jinglong Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Human unmyelinated tactile afferents (CT afferents) in hairy skin are thought to be involved in the transmission of affective aspects of touch. How the perception of affective touch differs across human skin has made substantial progress; however, the majority of previous studies have mainly focused on the relationship between stroking velocities and pleasantness ratings. Here, we investigate how stroking hardness affects the perception of affective touch. Affective tactile stimulation was given with four different hardness of brushes at three different forces, which were presented to either palm or forearm. To quantify the physical factors of the stimuli (brush hardness), ten naïve, healthy participants assessed brush hardness using a seven-point scale. Based on these ten participants, five more participants were added to rate the hedonic value of brush stroking using a visual analogue scale (VAS). We found that pleasantness ratings over the skin resulted in a preference for light, soft stroking, which was rated as more pleasant when compared to heavy, hard stroking. Our results show that the hairy skin of the forearm is more susceptible to stroking hardness than the glabrous of the palm in terms of the perception of pleasantness. These findings of the current study extend the growing literature related to the effect of stroking characteristics on pleasantness ratings.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ntombizandile Nkolisa, Lembe S. Magwaza, Tilahun S. Workneh, Annie Chimphango, Nkanyiso J. Sithole〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of low cost evaporative cooling system on the quality of two tomato cultivars, namely, 9065 jam and round tomatoes. Both the tomato cultivars were harvested from a smallholder farmer's field at Umsinga and stored for 20 days in one of the three storage conditions namely; cold room (CR), room temperature (RT) and evaporative cooling system (ECS) and sampling done every 5 days. The tomato samples were laid out as a factorial design with four replications. Results obtained proved that the storage conditions and storage period had a significant effect (〈em〉p〈/em〉 〈 0.05) on the lycopene content (LC), antioxidants, total phenolic content (TPC) and ascorbic acid (AA) of the tomato samples. A decreasing trend with storage time was observed for antioxidants and TPC for both the cultivars whilst there was an increasing trend of AA and lycopene content on both the cultivars stored in the different storage conditions. Ascorbic acid was highest in samples stored in RT (0.173 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 0.172 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes), second highest in samples stored under ECS (0.16 mg/100g for round; 0.17 mg/100g for 9065 jam) and lowest in samples inside the CR (0.11 mg/100g; 0.12 mg/100g for 9065 jam). Lycopene content was highest in samples stored in RT (45.31 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 52.9 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes) second highest in samples stored under ECS (32.46 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 42.98 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes) and lowest in samples inside the CR (14.16 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 8.79 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes). Total phenolic content was highest in samples stored in CR (0.17 mg/100g GAE for round tomatoes; 0.19 mg/100g GAE for 9065 jam tomatoes) second highest in samples stored under ECS (0.124 mg/100g GAE for round tomatoes; 0.126 mg/100g GAE for 9065 jam tomatoes) and lowest in samples inside the RT (0.11 mg/100g GAE for round tomatoes; 0.12 mg/100g GAE for 9065 jam tomatoes). Antioxidant activities were highest in samples stored in CR (2.05 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 2.03 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes), followed by samples stored under ECS (1.82 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 1.96 mg/100g for 9065 jam tomatoes) and lowest in samples inside the RT (1.02 mg/100g for round tomatoes; 1.07 mg/100 g for 9065 jam tomatoes). The correlation relationship among cultivars was positive and PCA proved that the cultivars were similar. Although CR provided the best storage condition for the investigated parameters, the results provided sufficient evidence that ECS can be the best method to increase shelf life in rural communities due to its association with cost reduction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Satoru Sakuma, Saaya Minamino, Maya Takase, Yoshitaka Ishiyama, Hiroyuki Hosokura, Tetsuya Kohda, Yukino Ikeda, Yohko Fujimoto〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Conflicting data regarding the ability of hydrogen sulfide (H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S), which reaches high levels in the large intestine owing to biosynthesis in the intestinal cells and intestinal bacteria, to promote or inhibit colorectal cancer cell proliferation have been reported recently. In the present study, the effect of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S on the proliferation of the human colorectal cancer cell line Caco-2 was examined by using the H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S donor GYY4137. At concentrations of 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM, GYY4137 significantly inhibited Caco-2 cell viability. Cell cycle analysis, and apoptosis and necrosis detection revealed that the anti-proliferative effect of GYY4137 was partially attributable to the induction of S-G〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/M cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and necrosis. These results suggest that H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S has the potential to suppress human colorectal cancer cell proliferation by influencing both cell cycle and cell death.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alison L. Buckner, Carly A. Buckner, Sabine Montaut, Robert M. Lafrenie〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Flaxseed oil is widely recognized for its exceptional nutritional value, high concentration of fiber-based lignans and large amounts of ω-fatty acids. It is one of a generic group of functional foods that is often taken by cancer patients as a potential treatment. We have examined the anti-cancer effects of flaxseed oil by studying its direct effects on cancer cell growth 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉. Treatment of a variety of cancer cell lines with flaxseed oil decreased their growth in a dose-dependent manner while non-malignant cell lines showed small increases in cell growth. Cells treated with a mixture of fatty acids, including α-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid and lignans including enterodiol and enterolactone was also able to decrease the growth of cancer cells. Treatment of B16-BL6 murine melanoma and MCF-7 breast cancer cells with flaxseed oil induced apoptosis as determined by changes in cell morphology, annexin V staining, DNA fragmentation and/or caspase activation. In addition, treatment with flaxseed oil also disrupted mitochondrial function in B16-BL6 and MCF-7 cells. These results indicate that flaxseed oil can specifically inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis in some cancer cells and suggests it has further potential in anti-cancer therapy.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chala G. Kuyu, Yetenayet B. Tola, Gemechu G. Abdi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉One of the main challenges facing Ethiopia today is to ensure food security for its highly increasing population growth. Although the country's production is much lower than the national demand, there are high post-harvest food losses. Among several causes at different levels, absence of infrastructure plays a critical role in quantitative and qualitative losses of mainly fruit, vegetable, root and tuber crops. This study was initiated to investigate impact of two different production areas having different road access on qualitative and quantitative loss of potato tuber in extended storage time. Load tracking approach was used by simulating existing postharvest handling and storage practice of potato tuber in the study area. Quantitative post-harvest loss assessment along the supply chains, qualitative loss and shelf life estimation at retail market were investigated using standard methods. Results showed that more mechanical damages and seepage loss were observed in case of poor road quality and transportation. During extended storage time (30 days) at ambient environment, potato tubers transported from Dedo to Jimma resulted in high average weight loss (17.9 ± 0.9%), significant loss in firmness (7.0 ± 0.6N in average) and average vitamin C content of 9.20 ± 0.05mg/100g as compared to tubers transported from Seka to Jimma market. This implies that, lack of good road access and transportation facility contributed for more external mechanical damages and internal injuries which will critically enhance rate of degradation of tubers in later stages of storage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Poh Ping Em, J. Hossen, Imaduddin Fitrian, Eng Kiong Wong〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Collisions arising from lane departures have contributed to traffic accidents causing millions of injuries and tens of thousands of casualties per year worldwide. Many related studies had shown that single vehicle lane departure crashes accounted largely in road traffic deaths that results from drifting out of the roadway. Hence, automotive safety has becoming a concern for the road users as most of the road casualties occurred due to driver's fallacious judgement of vehicle path. This paper proposes a vision-based lane departure warning framework for lane departure detection under daytime and night-time driving environments. The traffic flow and conditions of the road surface for both urban roads and highways in the city of Malacca are analysed in terms of lane detection rate and false positive rate. The proposed vision-based lane departure warning framework includes lane detection followed by a computation of a lateral offset ratio. The lane detection is composed of two stages: pre-processing and detection. In the pre-processing, a colour space conversion, region of interest extraction, and lane marking segmentation are carried out. In the subsequent detection stage, Hough transform is used to detect lanes. Lastly, the lateral offset ratio is computed to yield a lane departure warning based on the detected 〈em〉X〈/em〉-coordinates of the bottom end-points of each lane boundary in the image plane. For lane detection and lane departure detection performance evaluation, real-life datasets for both urban roads and highways in daytime and night-time driving environments, traffic flows, and road surface conditions are considered. The experimental results show that the proposed framework yields satisfactory results. On average, detection rates of 94.71% for lane detection rate and 81.18% for lane departure detection rate were achieved using the proposed frameworks. In addition, benchmark lane marking segmentation methods and Caltech lanes dataset were also considered for comparison evaluation in lane detection. Challenges to lane detection and lane departure detection such as worn lane markings, low illumination, arrow signs, and occluded lane markings are highlighted as the contributors to the false positive rates.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fernando Adan Serrano Orozco, Juan Gerardo Avalos Ochoa, Xochitl Cabrera Rivas, Jose Luis Cuevas Figueroa, Hugo Moises Martinez Carrada〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, we have to apply the Dirac-Weyl equation to find the analytical energy eigenvalues of the graphene quantum dot interacting in the presence of AB-flux field and external magnetic field. We find that the energy eigenvalue of the graphene quantum dot decreases with both magnetic and AB-flux field but the effect of AB-flux field is more dominant. By ameliorating the intensity of the AB-flux field and keeping the magnetic field constant, the quantum-dot states entangled to produce Landau Levels. We show that besides using the graphene sheet and external magnetic field, the Aharonov-Bohm AB-flux field could as well be used to manipulate the carriers state energies in graphene.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Victor Kimpouni, Josérald Chaîph Mamboueni, Feldane Gladrich Mboussy Tsoungould, Elie Nsika Mikoko〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The ethnobotanical and phytotherapeutic study conducted in Mvouandzi (4°10′00″ S, 13°25′00″ E), sub-prefecture of Kayes (Bouenza - Congo), is based on the floristic inventory, the personalized interviews and focus groups. The target population, aged between 15 to 70 years or more, is divided into 3 age groups, and consists of 46 informants (12 men and 34 women) who possess the plant secrets. The floristic inventory lists 60 useful species, corresponding to 53 genera and 35 families. The medicinal cohort is associated with 109 recipes and 57 diseases and symptoms. Classified as a sphere of diseases and symptoms, infectious and parasitic diseases predominate (27.11%) and retain 30.27% of recipes. All organs (vegetative and generative) intervene in the daily satisfaction of the needs of the populations. Ethno-sociological analysis reveals that the level of endogenous knowledge is proportional to the subjects' age and in this matter, women by virtue of their role as manager and guardian of morals, excel in the exploitation of empirical knowledge. Data on the value of ethnobotanical use, the informant consensus factor and the level of fidelity show that these plants are strongly involved in the primary care of this society. Notwithstanding the inseparable link between man and his environment, the value associated with this biodiversity, the socio-cultural foundation of the Kouni ethnic-linguistic community, is inevitably eroded. The reasons for this are the rural exodus, the main corollary of which is the ageing of the population, and the effects inherent in the construction of physical communication infrastructures.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Taj Ur Rahman, Muhammad Aurang Zeb, De-Bing Pu, Wajiha Liaqat, Khurshid Ayub, Wei-Lie Xiao, Tariq Mahmood, Muhammad Sajid, Riaz Hussain〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel indigoferamide-A, earlier isolated from the seeds of 〈em〉Indigofera heterantha〈/em〉 Wall was characterized using density functional theory, molecular docking and bioassays studies. Density functional theory calculations were performed at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) to gain geometric insight of the compound. Conformational analyses have been performed around three important dihedral angles to explore the lowest energy structure and conformer. The simulated vibrational spectrum of the compound at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) was scaled with two scaling factors, and the scaled harmonic vibrations shows nice correlation with the experimental values. 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H and 〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C NMR chemical shifts were calculated using Cramer's re-parameterized function W04 at 6- 31G(d,p) basis set. Several conformers lying within 2 kcal mol〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of the minimum energy conformer were considered; however, the chemical shifts were not significantly different among these conformers. The Gaussian averaged theoretical 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H and 〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C chemical shifts correlate nicely with the experimental data. Electronic properties such as band gap, ionization potential and electron affinities were also simulated for the first time, however, no comparison could be made with the experiment. The compound was also screened for urease, antiglycation activities and the theoretical explanation of the results is provided based on molecular docking simulations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bénédicte Lombart, Daniel Annequin, Patricia Cimerman, Carla De Stefano, Odile Perrin, Celine Bouchart, Marie-Claire Schommer, Laura Ramelot, Céline Petit, Elisabeth Fournier-Charriere, Anne Caron, Solène Trebosc, Barbara Tourniaire, Michel Galinski〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Purpose〈/h6〉 〈p〉Restraint is often used when administering procedures to children. However, no metrologically scale to measure the restraint intensity had yet been validated. This study validated the metrological criteria of a scale measuring the restraint intensity, Procedural Restraint Intensity in Children (PRIC), used during procedures in children.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Design and methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉The PRIC scale performance was measured by a group of 7 health professionals working in a children's hospital, by watching 20 videos of health care procedures. This group included 2 physicians, 1 pediatric resident, and 4 nurses. The intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the inter-rater and test-retest reliability and the construct validity with the correlation between PRIC scale and a numerical rating scale.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉One hundred and forty measurements were made. Inter-rater and test-retest correlation coefficients were 0.98 and 0.98, respectively. The 2 scales were positively correlated with a Spearman coefficient of 0.93.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉This study validated the Procedural Restraint Intensity in Children (PRIC) scale in metrological terms with some limitation. However, there is not gold standard scale to precisely validate the reliability of this tool and this study has been conducted in “experimental” conditions. Nevertheless, this is the first scale measuring the intensity of physical restraint with a metrological validation. The next step will be to validate it in real clinical situations.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Krishnendu Sinha, Sayantani Chowdhury, Sharmistha Banerjee, Bhagirath Mandal, Mullicka Mandal, Sasadhar Majhi, Goutam Brahmachari, Jyotirmoy Ghosh, Parames C. Sil〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kidney cancer leading to 140,000 deaths per year. Among all RCCs 80% evolve from the epithelial proximal tubular cells within the kidney. There is a high tendency of developing chemoresistance and resistance to radiation therapy in most RCC patients. Therefore, kidney resection is considered as the most effective treatments for patients having localized RCC. There is a high tendency of post-operative recurrence among 20–40% of the patients and this recurrence is not curable. It is also clear that modern medicine has no curative treatment options against metastatic RCC. Lupeol [lup-20(29)-en-3β-ol] is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound naturally found in various edible fruits and in many traditionally used medicinal plants, and has been demonstrated as effective against highly metastatic melanoma and prostate cancers. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of lupeol to RCC with molecular details. Treatment with lupeol on SK-RC-45 (a RCC cell line) with the LC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 dose of 40μM (for 48 h) induces mitochondrial hyper fission which eventually leads to apoptosis while SK-RC-45 counteracts by enhancing autophagy-mediated selective removal of fragmented mitochondria. This is the first study which concurrently reports the effects of lupeol on RCC and its effect on the mitochondrial dynamics of a cell. Herein, we conclude that lupeol has potential to be an effective agent against RCC with the modulation of mitochondrial dynamics.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jill Taylor, J. Clare Wilson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper reports two studies that uniquely explore how time perspective (TP) predicts general self-efficacy (GSE) towards goal achievement. In Study 1, participants (〈em〉N〈/em〉 = 162) identified a goal they wished to achieve within the near future then completed questionnaires. For those who achieved their goal, the ‘past positive’ and ‘future’ TPs were found to positively predict GSE, whereas ‘present fatalism’ negatively predicted GSE. Study 2 explored whether accessing time related information that may not normally be used to determine GSE via a writing intervention can promote both near and distant-future goal achievement. Participants (〈em〉N〈/em〉 = 139) were randomly assigned to one of four writing conditions and results reveal that GSE towards goal achievement can increase with a focus on both a ‘positive past’ with a projective positive ‘future’ TP. Thus, focusing on particular TPs may function to enhance (or prevent) goal achievement.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fang Yao, XiaoYu Xu, Xin Du, Kang Cao, Qu Pan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Plasmid DNA of 〈em〉Lactobacillus plantarum〈/em〉 PC518 was isolated by an improved method which contained a washing step for removing lysozyme. Three plasmid DNA libraries were constructed. A pair of outward primers was designed at both ends of the novel plasmid fragment obtained from plasmid DNA libraries, and the remainder of the circle plasmid was amplified by inverse PCR (iPCR). The whole sequence of plasmid was analyzed by the basic local alignment search tool, Tandem Repeats Finder, DNAMAN V6.0, DNASTAR and MEGA X software. The copy number was measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Plasmid extract showed 7 bands on agarose gel, indicating that 〈em〉L. plantarum〈/em〉 PC518 contains multiple plasmids. The complete sequence of plasmid pLP60 was obtained by plasmid DNA libraries and iPCR. pLP60 is 6006 bp in length with a G + C content of 41.19 %, which encodes 8 open reading frames (ORFs). The 〈em〉ori〈/em〉 site like theta-type could be located upstream of 〈em〉repB〈/em〉, which contains a short tandem repeats (sTR) and a long tandem repeats (lTR). RepB of pLP60 only had low similarity with Rep protein of known theta-type plasmids, but phylogenetic tree analysis showed that plasmids whose Rep proteins are similar to pLP60 have lTR at 〈em〉ori〈/em〉, and the conservativeness of lTR is consistent with similarity of Rep proteins, suggesting that RepB of pLP60 is a theta-replicating protein. So pLP60 was classified as class A of theta replication. The copy number of pLP60 was measured as 5 copies per cell by qPCR.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Ramanaiah, P. Seetharam, M. Balakrishna, B. Rama Raju〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Formation of metal ligand complex species of 5-sulphosalicylic acid with Ca〈sup〉II〈/sup〉, Mg〈sup〉II〈/sup〉 and Zn〈sup〉II〈/sup〉 metal ions have been studied potentiometrically in various composition (0.0, 0.5, 1.0. 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5% w/v) of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The study has been carried out at 303 〈em〉K〈/em〉 temperature and maintaining 0.16 mol dm〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 ionic strength using NaCl. The dynamic species belongs to 5-sulphosalicylic acid are LH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉-〈/sup〉 and LH〈sup〉2-〈/sup〉. The best fit of complex speciation has been preferred on basis of statistical parameters like skewness, 〈em〉χ〈/em〉〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, Kurtosis and crystallographic 〈em〉R〈/em〉-factor. ML〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H, ML〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and ML〈sub〉3〈/sub〉H〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 type complex were formed by the complexation of 5-sulphosalicylic acid with the metal ions. The change in stability of complex species with composition of the surfactant has been illustrated on the basis electrostatic grounds. Distribution of chemical species with respect to pH and various compositions medium and probable complex equilibria are also studied.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Makoto Enokida, Haruhisa Kanaya, Kazutake Uehara, Masaru Ueki, Hideki Nagashima〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉There are no medical drill specifications capable of achieving bone drilling in a short time under low-thrust and low-speed drilling. Gekkou-drill® is an industrial drill that enables drilling with low cutting resistance by its characteristic point design. Our aims were to develop Gekkou-modified drills by processing to the points of currently available medical drills and to verify whether these modified drills enable less invasive drilling procedure for bone tissue in thermal exposure compared with unmodified medical drills.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Materials and methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Two commercially available 3.2-mm drills were compared before and after Gekkou modification. Drilling of pig tibias was performed at speeds of 300, 800, and 1,500 rpm and a uniform thrust force of 10 N. Temperature at the entry point for bone drilling was measured using a digital thermometer system. The feed rates were calculated using cortical thickness and monitoring data of the digital force gauge.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Two unmodified drills could not penetrate the cortical bone on the near side at 300 rpm, even after 5 min of drilling. The maximum temperatures with modified drills were 54.6 °C and 46.2 °C at 300 rpm. At medium to high speeds, those were statistically significantly lower than with unmodified drills (58.5 °C vs. 90.5 °C at 800 rpm, 62.6 °C vs. 80.8 °C and 73.9 °C vs. 104.6 °C at 1,500 rpm). The feed rates for modified drills were 4.9–6.9 times as high as unmodified drills at 800 rpm, and 3.4 to 4.5 times at 1,500 rpm. On the other hand, the feed rates of modified drills at 300 rpm were equal to or higher than those of unmodified drills at 1500 rpm.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉Gekkou-modified drills clearly suppressed the temperature rise and increased the feed rate compared with conventional drills. Furthermore, it was notable that these modified drills had higher performance even at conditions of low thrust and low speed.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Liudmila V. Spirina, Natalia V. Yunusova, Irina V. Kondakova, Natalia V. Tarasenko〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sex hormones, regulating normal physiological processes of most tissues and organs, are considered to be one of the key factors in the development of hormone-dependent cancer and formation of the hormone-resistant tumor phenotype. Recently, the importance of the system for control of hormone receptors expression mediated by nuclear peptides became evident. This system is involved in the regulation of normal physiological processes, in the pathogenesis of many diseases as well as oncogenesis. In the review, we discuss the relationships of the two regulatory peptides – Brn-3α, TRIM16 with hormone receptors. The transcription factor Brn-3α is able to affect the transcription activity of androgen and estrogen receptors. It is observed the participation of TRIM16 protein in the pathogenesis of hormone-dependent tumors due to its "anti-estrogenic effect". Additionally, they are involved in the key intracellular processes, such as proliferation, cell differentiation, and programmed death - apoptosis. Thus, Brn-3α and TRIM16 are associated with cancer development and progression. By understanding these alterations, we can identify potential markers and novel biochemical therapeutic targets. It makes clear the association between classical hormone-dependent tumors and less sensitive ones with the modification in the level of hormone receptors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sherien M.M. Atalla, Nadia G. EL Gamal, Hassan M. Awad, Nagia F. Ali〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Enzyme technology is considered one of the most promising tools in the field of biotechnology as applied biocatalysts〈strong〉.〈/strong〉 The marine fungal strain 〈em〉Penicillium expansum〈/em〉 RSW_SEP1 isolated from red sea water at Sharm El-Shiekh province and identified by 18S rRNA gene (accession number MH754656). The strain was able to produce pectin lyase from different agricultural wastes as the cheapest and most economical carbon source. The maximal enzyme activity of 88.83 U/mL was obtained from the pea peel (Pp) and sugar cane bagasse (Scb) at ratio 5:5 (w/w) and pH 6 by 8 mL of spore suspension as inoculum. Different concentrations of pectin lyase were examined on green dyed. The highest value of color strength (K/S) at 15% of wool fibers dyed with green algae by microwave after 5 min of the pretreated wool at pH 5.0. Different concentrations % of pectin lyase was examined on green dyed. The results indicated that, the highest value of color strength (K/S) at 15% of wool fibers dyed with green algae by microwave after 5 min of the pretreated wool at pH 5.0. This study focused on isolation and molecular identification of marine fungal strain as pectin lays producer from agriculture wastes and its application of dyeing wool fibers.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Victoria K. Llewelyn, Lee Berger, Beverley D. Glass〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Rarely do commercial chemical products contain solely the active chemical/ingredient. It is therefore important to consider whether ingredients other than the active may: 1) alter absorption of the active chemical, or 2) be absorbed themselves, resulting in systemic effects. Frogs have highly permeable skin and are routinely exposed to commercial chemical products in the environment or therapeutically. Ethanol and propylene glycol (PG), which have known penetration-enhancing effects, are commonly included in such products. The current study has therefore investigated the 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉 absorption kinetics through 〈em〉Rh. marina〈/em〉 skin of three model chemicals – caffeine, benzoic acid, and ibuprofen – formulated individually as solutions containing: 1%, 10% or 30% v/v ethanol, or 20% v/v PG. Differential scanning calorimetry and histology were used to characterise fresh frog skin, investigate the mechanism of these enhancers in frog skin, and to determine whether these enhancers significantly affected skin structure. Results showed that the extent of absorption enhancement was influenced by chemical, enhancer and skin region, and that enhancement was generally not consistent for individual enhancers or skin regions. The exception was 1% v/v ethanol, which did not significantly alter flux across the skin for any of the chemicals evaluated. Caffeine absorption was not enhanced by any of the investigated penetration enhancers, and was in fact significantly reduced by 30% v/v ethanol and PG. Ethanol caused concentration-dependant changes in skin morphology and should be avoided in concentrations ≥10% v/v. PG, however, caused minimal changes to the skin and consistently improved absorption of benzoic acid and ibuprofen through all skin regions. Owing to the significant changes in skin structure following ≥10% v/v ethanol exposure, it is recommended to avoid its use in frogs. For enhancement of penetration of moderately-to-highly lipophilic chemicals, this study has identified 20% v/v PG should to be the enhancer of choice.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shashi Kant Sharma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Self compacting concretes (SCC) containing higher volumes of pozzolanic materials possess compressive strengths up to 30MPa. Fibers like steel, polypropylene, and carbon fibers are added in small volumes ranging from 0.25-2% v/v of concrete to increase the strength (〉40MPa) of such concretes as higher volumes of fiber cause balling effect on account of inhomogeneity, thereby reducing the strength and workability. Hence higher volume of cement substitution either with mineral admixtures or fibers, or with both, to increase strength and workability is limited in the case of SCC. The condition worsens further if recycled aggregates replace normal aggregates. Wollastonite micro fiber (WMF) is a promising material that could be used in higher contents but its interaction with recycled aggregates to affect workability and strength has not been studied. Therefore this study tries to obtain a high strength concrete (〉M40) by use of WMF along with flyash @ 5%, maximally up to 10% each. Microsilica was added @ 2.5%, maximally up to 10% to improve the interphase strength and make the concrete homogeneous. Results indicated that in order to obtain a high strength mix for such composites, higher amounts of WMF (≥10% by weight of binder) such that WMF:flyash varies from 1:1 to 2:1 is required, along with microsilica contents ≥7.5%. Literature suggests 5% microsilica along with either 20% WMF or 10% flyash, for yielding high strength SCC without recycled aggregates. Hence use of nearly equal amounts of WMF, flyash, and microsilica such that nearly 30% of cement is substituted, is recommended.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Christopher S. Graffeo, Avital Perry, Leonardo Rangel-Castilla〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are a complex and challenging subset of neurosurgical disease, the optimal treatment of which is nuanced and dependent on numerous patient- and disease-specific factors. Clinical features that may predispose toward resection as front-line treatment include lower grade lesions, particularly those in non-eloquent locations, as well as active pregnancy. In all AVM resections, minimization of risk to exposed healthy brain adjacent to the lesion is a key surgical principle. In this illustrative case report, we discuss the management of a young woman who presented with a new diagnosis of AVM following an intracranial hemorrhage, at which time she was also identified as newly pregnant. Resection via the contralateral transfalcine approach with preoperative embolization was recommended, the intraoperative and postoperative courses proceeded uneventfully, and the patient was cured of her AVM and went on to successfully deliver twins. Recording and description of procedure are shown in Video Case Report.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Brenton C. Peters, David Wibowo, Guang-Ze Yang, Yue Hui, Anton P.J. Middelberg, Chun-Xia Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Various pesticide nanocarriers have been developed. However, their pest-control applications remain limited in laboratories. Herein, we developed silica nanocapsules encapsulating fipronil (SNC) and their engineered form, poly(ethyleneimine)-coated SNC (SNC-PEI), based on recombinant catalytic modular protein D4S2 and used them against termite colonies 〈em〉Coptotermes lacteus〈/em〉 in fields. To achieve this, an integrated biomolecular bioprocess was developed to produce D4S2 for manufacturing SNC containing fipronil with high encapsulation efficiency of approximately 97% at benign reaction conditions and at scales sufficient for the field applications. PEI coating was achieved via electrostatic interactions to yield SNC-PEI with a slower release of fipronil than SNC without coating. As a proof-of-concept, bait toxicants containing varied fipronil concentrations were formulated and exposed to nine termite mounds, aiming to prolong fipronil release hence allowing sufficient time for termites to relocate the baits into and distribute throughout the colony, and to eliminate that colony. Some baits were relocated into the mounds, but colonies were not eliminated due to several reasons. We caution others interested in producing bait toxicants to be aware of the multilevel resistance mechanisms of the 〈em〉Coptotermes〈/em〉 spp. “superorganism”.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lluvia de Carolina Sánchez Pérez, Laura Guadalupe Espinosa Montaño, Elizabeth Del Moral-Ramírez, María del Carmen Ramírez-Médeles, Gabriel Gutiérrez-Magdaleno, Gerardo Pérez-Hernández〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈em〉Varroa destructor〈/em〉 parasites 〈em〉Apis mellifera〈/em〉 larvae following the interception of the semiochemicals involved in bee communication; thus, the semiochemical availability and distribution pathways take place within different physicochemical environments. The structure of 172 molecules with semiochemical activity on 〈em〉Varroa destructor〈/em〉 was used to compute the representative physicochemical descriptors of the thermodynamic partition among different physicochemical environments: vapor pressure (V), Henry's coefficient (H), water solubility constant (W), octanol-water partition coefficient (O) and organic carbon partition coefficient (C); VHWOC. The principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering of VHWOC descriptors allowed us to establish the trend in availability and distribution of the semiochemicals resulting in a 4 classes model of physicochemical environments: Class 1, Soluble/Volatile; Class 2, Soluble; Class 3, Contact; Class 4, Adsorbed/Volatile. Our results suggest that semiochemicals can transit between different thermodynamic equilibrium phases depending on environment conditions. The classification prediction of the model was tested on 6 new molecules obtained from ketonic extracts of L5 〈em〉Apis mellifera〈/em〉 drone larvae; locating them in class 4, which was consistent with their molecular structure. This study can be the starting point for the design of synthetic semiochemicals or for the control of 〈em〉Varroa destructor〈/em〉. In addition, the method can be used in the analysis of other semiochemical groups.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fatema Matkawala, Sadhana Nighojkar, Anil Kumar, Anand Nighojkar〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Alkaline proteases have several industrial applications. In the present study, newly isolated 〈em〉Neocosmospora〈/em〉 sp. N1 was screened as hyper producer of serine protease〈em〉.〈/em〉 A multimeric protease of the fungus was purified to homogeneity till 96.78 fold purification with 22.51% recovery. The homogeneity of purified enzyme was checked by native PAGE and its molecular weight was found to be 198.03 kDa by MALDI-TOF. On SDS-PAGE analysis, enzyme was found to be a hetero oligomer of 17.66 kDa and 20.89 kDa subunits. The purified enzyme showed maximum activity with casein as substrate at 60 °C and pH 8.5. The K〈sub〉m〈/sub〉 and V〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 values were found to be 0.015 mg/ml and 454.45 U/ml, respectively. The enzyme was completely inhibited by PMSF, while the activity was 40% enhanced using β-mercaptoethanol, suggesting that it is a thiol-dependent serine protease. The purified protease was active over an alkaline pH range from 7 to 12 and temperatures from 20 °C to 60 °C. The enzyme exhibited excellent stability, almost 100% towards organic solvents such as toluene, benzene and hexane, surfactants such as Triton X-100, Tween-20, Tween-80 and SDS, as well as commercial detergents. The significant properties of purified enzyme assure that it could be a potential candidate for commercial purposes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Patricia A. Quispe, Martin J. Lavecchia, Ignacio E. León〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Survivin protein is a metalloprotein member of the inhibitors of apoptosis proteins family, involved in the regulation of programmed cell death. Due to the recent development of antitumor therapies having survivin as molecular target, several strategies to interfere with the expression or function of survivin have emerged. This work describes the discovery of a new potential inhibitor of survivin function using a computer-aided drug design approach. Structure-based virtual screening and molecular dynamic simulations were carried out to select two compounds as possible inhibitors. According to the binding energy, possible ligand localization is in a cavity, close to dimerization interface. Next, cell-based assays were performed on three cell lines: two with tumor phenotype and over-expression of survivin, and another with normal phenotype and low expression of survivin. One of the selected compounds shows a selectively antitumor effect on panel cell lines suggesting that the compound effect could be correlated with the survivin expression.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Olga Babich, Alexander Prosekov, Alexandra Zaushintsena, Andrey Sukhikh, Lyubov Dyshlyuk, Svetlana Ivanova〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The potential of phenolic compounds of medicinal plants including 〈em〉Astragalus danicus L〈/em〉 is determined by but not limited to their antioxidant activity. Their anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and other useful properties are known, which allows using these phytochemicals within preventive activities to reduce the risk of many serious diseases. Chromatographic analysis of the 〈em〉Astragalus danicus L.〈/em〉 biomaterial from the plant samples collected in three regions of the Kemerovo region (Western Siberia, Russia) established the presence of compounds of flavonols (isorhamnetin glucoside, kaempferol glucoside), flavones (apigenin 7-glucoside), phenylpropanoids (chlorogenic acid) in the aerial part of plants. The total content of phenolic compounds in plant samples ranged from 100.75 ± 3.87 mg/g (Yashkinsky district) to 190.95 ± 7.34 mg/g (Belovsky district). The content of chlorogenic acid in the studied samples was from 0.14 ± 0.01 mg/g to 1.16 ± 0.04 mg/g. Isorhamnetin glucoside was found only in samples of plants from two districts - Prokopievsky (41.39 ± 1.58 mg/g) and Belovsky (95.0 ± 3.66 mg/g). The content of glucosides of kaempferol ranged from 0.38 ± 0.01 mg/g to 0.55 ± 0.02 mg/g. Its content is almost twice as high as the content in the well-known analogues of 〈em〉Astragalus.〈/em〉 Apigenin-7-glucoside was isolated in 〈em〉Astragalus〈/em〉 samples for the first time, in a small amount (3.34 ± 0.13 mg/g) in a sample of plants of one growing zone. Studies have confirmed that the content of flavonoids in plants significantly depends not only on the genetic characteristics of plants, but also on the hydrothermal regime, the climatic conditions of different botanical and geographical areas of the habitat. This work shows that 〈em〉Astragalus danicus L.〈/em〉 growing in Kemerovo region is a promising raw material for pharmacological preparations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Satomi Kawai, Masanori Niwano, Masayuki Sato〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The safety of nanomaterials is still being debated and the risk should be assessed using the latest available information. As for poorly soluble low toxic (PSLT) nanomaterials, the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimated the occupational exposure limit (OEL) for titanium dioxide (TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) based on a particle surface area (SA) metric. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggested a tiered exposure assessment approach. This article proposes a risk assessment framework for self-management of PSLT particles. Lung burden (described in SA units), which had positive correlation with low observed adverse effect levels for PSLT particles, is chosen as the dose metric. In-house OEL is determined for individual workplaces. For materials with limited data, we suggest evaluating in-house OEL by utilizing the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, as a representative PSLT nanomaterial. As for the exposure assessment, workplace concentration is first measured with simple equipment (ex. optical particle counter, OPC), and respirator performance is taken into account if it is unavoidable as a last resort. This framework enables efficient risk assessment for PSLT particles by assuming worst cases for each step, and considering the particle characteristics and operational conditions in each workplace.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 8〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Antonella Pasqualone, Fatima Z. Makhlouf, Malika Barkat, Graziana Difonzo, Carmine Summo, Giacomo Squeo, Francesco Caponio〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of the work was to explore the feasibility of using acorn flour as a novel and healthy ingredient in biscuits. The physico-chemical characteristics of acorn flour obtained from three different 〈em〉Quercus〈/em〉 species were compared. Acorns of 〈em〉Quercus coccifera〈/em〉 L. were the most antioxidant and were therefore used for preparing biscuits at two levels of addition, 30 and 60 g 100 g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 on wheat flour basis. The physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of the obtained biscuits were then assessed. Acorn-added biscuits showed significantly (〈em〉p〈/em〉 〈 0.05) higher content of phenolics, antioxidant activity and oxidative stability than control biscuits, prepared without acorn flour. These features improved as the level of acorn flour increased. As for appearance, the acorn-added biscuits were darker, larger, more voluminous and more friable than control biscuits. Higher levels of fermentative alcohols and esters, as well as Maillard reaction volatile compounds (particularly furans), were observed in the acorn-added biscuits.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉