bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
« As-tu vu l’homme en train de pétrir le pain ? »
Authors: Zirari Hayat , Soula Audrey , Alami Hajar El
Published: May 2022

À travers une observation netnographique d’un groupe de cuisine Facebook marocain mixte et fondé par des hommes, cet article interroge les reconfigurations des normes alimentaires genrées dans l’espace numérique. Le confinement de 2020 a permis des « arrangements » dans le rapport à l’alimentation et à la cuisine. Nombreux sont les hommes qui ont investi la cuisine, lieu et tâche socio-culturellement féminins. Ils se sont initiés à plusieurs activités culinaires dont le pétrissage du pain. Les multiples images, vidéos et commentaires partagés sur les réseaux sociaux pendant le confinement, où certains hommes s’affichent en cuisine et osent s’introduire dans une activité longtemps considérée comme une « affaire de femmes », témoignent ainsi d’un changement normatif de genre relatif aux activités culinaires marocaines, ainsi que de nouvelles possibilités de socialisation alimentaire.
Bath packets and multiple Colombo(s)
Authors: Narayanan Nipesh Palat
Published: May 2022

Rice is a staple in Sri Lanka and is often eaten with three or more condiments. This article explores the modes in which this staple transforms itself when it becomes a packaged commodity of ‘rice and curry’ (called “bath packets”) in Colombo. Tracing the bath packets, I build an intertwined narrative, of: (i) gender performativity and perception in making, selling, and buying of bath packets, and (ii) the implicit socio-economic codes and urban imaginations therein. Conceptually, the bath packet and people involved with it are not analysed as merely operating in the urban, but the urban is read as a co-constituent in creating food as a socio-cultural construct. The article engages with urban knowledge production, its appropriation, legitimization, conflict, and subversion, via the socio-cultural constructs, gendered relations, and environmental processes around food.
Should feminists be vegetarians?
Authors: Barbosa Livia , Silva Diego , Dubeux Veranise
Published: May 2022

This paper examines how a group of seventeen self-defined Brazilian feminists reacts to the idea of a moral link between feminism and vegetarianism, as developed by some ecofeminists in the eighties of the last century. These women argue in favour of vegetarianism as the correct ethical behaviour for feminist women, articulated as an expression of their fight against oppressions concerning themselves, nature or animals. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, we analyse the reflections of these Brazilian feminists about this moral link and their position in relation to the question: should feminists be vegetarians?
Development of Machine Learning Models for Healthcare Systems Using Python
Authors: Pollayi Hemaraju , Rao Praveena
Published: May 2022

Machine learning (ML) has been slowly entering every aspect of our lives, and its positive impact has been astonishing. To accelerate embedding ML in more applications and incorporating it in real-world scenarios, automated machine learning (AutoML) is emerging. The main purpose of AutoML is to provide seamless integration of ML in various industries, which will facilitate better outcomes in everyday tasks. After a violent disaster, the supply of medical services may fall short of the rising demand, leading to overcrowding in hospitals and, consequently, a collapse in the healthcare system. In the chapter, the authors created learning models for COVID-19 to understand how to design a proper ML workflow, which results in an organized, efficient product that produces desired results in terms of diagnosis, prediction, and recommendations. Large amounts of labeled training data are processed and analyzed to identify correlations, patterns, and make predictions using these patterns about future trends.
Crowdfunded Assassinations and Propaganda by Dark Web Cyber Criminals
Authors: Tamboli Danish Nisarahmed , Bendale Shailesh Pramod
Published: May 2022

Propaganda has existed for ages, and the internet is merely its newest medium of communication to be misused to promote falsehoods, misinformation, and disinformation. Over time, it has been a successful strategy that nation-states, organizations, and individuals have employed to affect and alter public opinion. Modern propagandists are fast to take advantage of novel communication channels and are eager to use its relative insecurities. Databases and personal devices have been hacked and have also disseminated misinformation more swiftly and extensively via social media outlets and news platforms. This sophisticated strategy is described as cyber propaganda. This has further given rise to anarchists that have developed platforms such as “Assassination Market,” where a person or a group of people with similar ideologies can now buy murder.
Neural Net Architecture Strategy Identifying Zero-Day Attacks in the Dark Web
Authors: Shruthi J.  , Sumathi M. S.  , Bharathi R.  , Pai Vidya R.
Published: May 2022

Companies must foresee most critical security threats to keep one step ahead of attackers. Because attackers always refine their techniques to avoid detection and because attackers are persistently imaginative, network traffic analysis solutions have evolved providing organizations with a feasible path forward. Maintaining network visibility has gotten more challenging and time demanding as DevOps, cloud computing, and IoT (internet of things) gain popularity. Network traffic analysis can incorporate its core functionalities to detect malicious intent. The authors developed a unique darknet traffic analysis and network management solution to automate the malicious intent detection process. This strong computational intelligence forensics tool decodes network traffic, viral traffic, and encrypted communication. WANNs, a weight-independent neural network design, can detect zero-day threats. With a sophisticated solution, many businesses can protect their most valuable assets from malicious intent detection on the dark web.
A Fuzzy-GA for Predicting Terrorist Networks in Social Media
Authors: Mishra Amit Kumar , Rajpoot Vikram , Bhardwaj Ramakant , Mishra Pankaj Kumar , Dwivedi Pushpendra
Published: May 2022

Global terrorist activities increase with the evolution of various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Various organizations use a wide scope of network capabilities of social media to broadcast their information, propaganda, as well communicate their strategic objectives. So, by analyzing such growing terrorist activity over online social media using mining and analysis, various valuable insights can be predicted. This chapter approaches an effective way of analyzing such activities by identifying nearest nodes in the network. The terrorist network mining algorithm has assisted by successfully achieving terrorist activities and their behavior on nodes of social network using centrality algorithm. The algorithm works in two phases: 1) fuzzification of data to measure centrality between nodes in the network and 2) applying genetic approach for the optimization of data and to increase the searching capability for appropriate cluster centers.
Crime Detection on Social Networks Using AI and ML Techniques
Authors: Sikarwar Ranjana , Shakya Harish Kumar , Bharadwaaj Rahul
Published: May 2022

Data mining (DM) and machine learning techniques have been used to identify specific patterns and similarities in existing cybercrimes to predict the cyberattacks. Since dealing with big data is a complex task as it requires computationally accurate and efficient techniques, difficulty arises in the analysis of irregular activities on cyberworld. DM techniques offer predictive solutions against cybercrimes and modus operandi. DM methods include classification, association, and clustering while different methods related to machine learning are supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised. AI can serve as a smart tool for criminal usage for carrying out malicious activities either by enhancing or changing the existing threats or posing new threats altogether. The expansion of existing threats such as drug trafficking improve frequency of smuggling activities by turning to unmanned underwater vehicles. Also using cheap quadcopter and facial recognition software together could increase the terrorist attacks on civilians.
Cyber Security for Secured Smart Home Applications Using Internet of Things, Dark Web, and Blockchain Technology in the Future
Authors: Mahor Vinod , Badodia Sujit Kumar , Kumar Anil , Bijrothiya Sadhna , Temurnikar Ankit
Published: May 2022

The need for more comfortable and humane living spaces has accelerated the development of smart homes. Many extremely intelligent houses are part of the internet of things. It operates with the dark web and ensures the privacy of incognito relays and massive data to properly manage customer requests. This increased demand gives rise to a great deal of concern regarding scalability, efficiency, and safety for a smart home system. Detailed data or the lowest levels that can be in a target set are granular data. In this chapter, the authors present the combination of integrating block-chain technology, dark web, and cloud computing in an effective manner. Blockchain technology is decentralized because it can serve processing services. To ensure the safety of the smart home network, the model employs multivariate correlation analysis and the detection of correlations between traffic functions. The performance of the architecture was evaluated with various performance parameters, and blockchain was found to be an effective security solution for future networks on the internet.
The Selection of Online Learning Tools for Higher Education
Authors: Acquaro Paul Evan
Published: May 2022

Among the many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt worldwide is in the closure of physical spaces, prompting a shift online in many aspects of daily life, including education. Many universities, colleges, and other educational institutions adapted quickly, though often in an ad-hoc manner, to what some researchers have called emergency online learning. Even in pre-pandemic times, selecting and implementing platforms and tools to support online learning effectively in educational contexts was not a clear-cut task. Finding the right balance between pedagogy, training, support, data security, and privacy and ensuring ease of use confounded the efforts to provide an effective online learning environment. This chapter re-examines the results of a study on online learning tool choice conducted pre-pandemic coupled with a review of lessons learned from literature on emergency online learning to better understand how decision makers can best select the tools for their institutions.
TLC for MOOCs
Authors: Mentor Dominic , Darni Rizqarossaa , Cho Anna
Published: May 2022

This chapter reports on a sustainable model created to increase engagement, success, and retention in a MOOC for learning computer programming within a United States-based national vocational program. The training organization was one of 10 national and regional organizations awarded scholarships by American-based information and telecommunications companies to participate in a MOOC to introduce and learn computer programming. The curriculum was informed and designed by multinational software technology corporations to address the dearth of computer programming talent in the USA. The academic unit set out to convert the poor state of MOOC completion rates, to convert the online opportunity into an active, supportive, and an engaging virtual space with a view to increase completion. Theoretical frameworks of scaffolding the learning and leveraging zones of proximal development were employed with precursor courses to help ramp up knowledge of an unknown subject area and skill. Social connectedness methods were also used to create teaching and learning communities (TLC) of support.
The Rising Battle for the Planet of the Apps
Authors: Mentor Dominic
Published: May 2022

This chapter introduces mobile learning for individuals, groups, and macro-level mLearning for personal and professional development. The chapter offers practical application of theories to be leveraged within pedagogical and andragogical approaches. There are multiple layers of considerations offered in terms of context, content, and collaboration to optimize mLearning. There are more mobile devices in the world than people, and many more of the world's population already has some type of mobile phone, making it the most wide-spread technology and most common electronic device in people's hands. Tapping into this ubiquitous technology creates a wide array of educational possibilities. Hence, a mobile first learning design is crucial in personal, organizational, leadership, and professional development contexts to help bridge the gap between personal lives, schools, colleges, and the workplace. The chapter illuminates how mobile learning brings to life that learning is everywhere as a natural segue for ownership of learning and ripe for dynamic, interactive, educational engagement.
Philosophers and the Press in the Collaborative Task of Demystifying Philosophy Through Increasing Public Awareness
Authors: Danjuma Christiana
Published: May 2022

The low level of public awareness about philosophy makes the public hold and share wrong notions about it. This study makes a case for significant collaboration between philosophers and the press in the task of increasing public awareness about philosophy, towards demystifying philosophy, righting the wrong thoughts about philosophy and philosophers, and rousing the deserving interest of the public to philosophy. Drawing from focus group discussion, observation and intuition, and secondary data, the study reveals that public awareness about philosophy is currently very low. Philosophers and the press ought to collaborate meaningfully and change the widespread wrong notions about philosophy cum philosophers. The study concludes that once philosophers and the press collaborate significantly in creating public awareness about philosophy cum philosophers, the public would change their perception, attitude, wrong thoughts, and shared falsehoods about the discipline, and also start seeing philosophers in good light.
Cultural Diplomacy as a Dimension of Geopolitics
Authors: Ezeogu Uchenna Azubuike
Published: May 2022

The term “cultural diplomacy” denotes a deliberate effort on the part of a government through its agencies to promote its national interest by projecting its culture to the world. This conception poses a great threat to other cultures, especially in this era of globalization. Through cultural diplomacy, cultures of presupposed lesser countries are swallowed by that of super-rich countries. What is seen as the emerging global culture is actually the culture of the few elitists countries projected on others through cultural diplomacy. This is another dimension of geopolitics, the promotion of cultural hegemony by the people of the Global North. Using philosophical methods of analysis and hermeneutics, the chapter contends that the people of the Global South, especially Africa, should also explore the avenue of cultural diplomacy to retain their identities in this era of globalization.
How Generous Are Foreign Aid Donors in Media Development?
Authors: Ozturk Sevinc
Published: May 2022

Media assistance has arisen as a significant tool of media development and democracy initiatives, particularly in the last 20 years. While the research in foreign aid and democracy aid is rich, studies on media assistance are quite limited in number due to its novelty. Moreover, existing research on media assistance usually focuses on the role and/or impact of media assistance on recipient nations' media capacity or media independence. Differing from this existing research, this study focuses on the donors of media assistance and asks how generous foreign aid donors are in media development and what type of donors provide media assistance. Using data from the OECD, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, and Comparative Political dataset, this study finds that democratic countries, countries with higher independence in their media, and governments with center ideology are more likely to provide a higher amount of media assistance compared to others.
Deep Learning With Analytics on Edge
Authors: Srivastava Kavita
Published: May 2022

The steep rise in autonomous systems and the internet of things in recent years has influenced the way in which computation has performed. With built-in AI (artificial intelligence) in IoT and cyber-physical systems, the need for high-performance computing has emerged. Cloud computing is no longer sufficient for the sensor-driven systems which continuously keep on collecting data from the environment. The sensor-based systems such as autonomous vehicles require analysis of data and predictions in real-time which is not possible only with the centralized cloud. This scenario has given rise to a new computing paradigm called edge computing. Edge computing requires the storage of data, analysis, and prediction performed on the network edge as opposed to a cloud server thereby enabling quick response and less storage overhead. The intelligence at the edge can be obtained through deep learning. This chapter contains information about various deep learning frameworks, hardware, and systems for edge computing and examples of deep neural network training using the Caffe 2 framework.
Deep Learning on Edge
Authors: Véstias Mário P.
Published: May 2022

Deep learning on edge has been attracting the attention of researchers and companies looking to provide solutions for the deployment of machine learning computing at the edge. A clear understanding of the design challenges and the application requirements are fundamental to understand the requirements of the next generation of edge devices to run machine learning inference. This chapter reviews several aspects of deep learning: applications, deep learning models, and computing platforms. The way deep learning is being applied to edge devices is described. A perspective of the models and computing devices being used for deep learning on edge are given, as well as what challenges face the hardware designers to guarantee the vast set of tight constraints like performance, power consumption, flexibility, etc. of edge computing platforms. Finally, a trends overview of deep learning models and architectures is discussed.
Edge Cloud
Authors: Thomas Lucia Agnes Beena
Published: May 2022

With the proliferation of new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, autonomous cars, 5G networks, drones, and IOT with smart cities, consumers of cloud computing are becoming the producers of data. Large volume of data is being produced at the edge of the network. This scenario insists the need for efficient real-time processing and communication at the network edge. Cloud capabilities must be distributed across the network to form an edge cloud, which places computing resources where the traffic is at the edge of the network. Edge cloud along with 5G services could also glint the next generation of robotic manufacturing. The anticipated low latency requirement, battery life constraint, bandwidth cost saving, as well as data safety and privacy are also inscribed by edge cloud. A number of giants like Nokia, AT&T, and Microsoft have emerged in the market to support edge cloud. This chapter wraps the features of edge cloud, the driving industries that are providing solutions, the use cases, benefits, and the challenges of edge cloud.
A Novel Approach to Location-Aware Scheduling of Workflows Over Edge Computing Resources
Authors: Li Yin , Ma Yuyin , Zeng Ziyang
Published: May 2022

Edge computing is pushing the frontier of computing applications, data, and services away from centralized nodes to the logical extremes of a network. A major technological challenge for workflow scheduling in the edge computing environment is cost reduction with service-level-agreement (SLA) constraints in terms of performance and quality-of-service requirements because real-world workflow applications are constantly subject to negative impacts (e.g., network congestions, unexpected long message delays, shrinking coverage, range of edge servers due to battery depletion. To address the above concern, we propose a novel approach to location-aware and proximity-constrained multi-workflow scheduling with edge computing resources). The proposed approach is capable of minimizing monetary costs with user-required workflow completion deadlines. It employs an evolutionary algorithm (i.e., the discrete firefly algorithm) for the generation of near-optimal scheduling decisions. For the validation purpose, the authors show that our proposed approach outperforms traditional peers in terms multiple metrics based on a real-world dataset of edge resource locations and multiple well-known scientific workflow templates.
Edge Computing
Authors: Patel Minal Parimalbhai , Chaudhary Sanjay
Published: May 2022

In this article, the researchers have provided a discussion on computation offloading and the importance of docker-based containers, known as light weight virtualization, to improve the performance of edge computing systems. At the end, they have also proposed techniques and a case study for computation offloading and light weight virtualization.
Programmable Implementation and Blockchain Security Scheme Based on Edge Computing Firework Model
Authors: Qin Bao Yi , Hao Zheng , Qiang Zhao
Published: May 2022

In cloud computing, since the program runs in cloud, it can be written in programming language and maintained only in the cloud after compilation. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the edge node platform, many tasks are migrated from the cloud to the edge terminal. It is not easy to realize the programming under the edge computing, and the maintenance cost is also high. At the same time, because the programmable is a high-risk activity, it has high security requirements. In order to solve this problem, this paper designs a programmable and blockchain security scheme based on the edge computing firework model, realizes the programming of the internet of things (IoT) gateway firework node under the edge computing, and appreciates the safe transmission and storage of programmable data through the blockchain system. The experimental results show that this scheme not only facilitates the user's programming, enhances the real-time performance, and saves the data transmission cost, but also ensures the security and reliability of the system.
Challenges of Managing IoT Networks and Prospective Measures
Authors: Qureshi Anjum Sheikh
Published: May 2022

Internet of things (IoT) is an evolving technology that has interconnected devices and humans across the world. The number of IoT users and devices is growing rapidly. The versatile nature of IoT has led to the development of many new applications. Establishing communication among the interconnected devices at any time from any place is the primary objective of IoT. With the increasing usage of IoT devices, it has become difficult to handle them and monitor their communication process. Some of the challenges faced by the IoT networks are data management, energy consumption, connectivity, security, and addressing of devices. It is essential to overcome these challenges to increase the popularity and acceptance level among the existing users and convince others to adopt IoT into their daily lives.
IoT Sensors
Authors: Mwashita Weston , Odhiambo Marcel Ohanga
Published: May 2022

This research presents a power control method for proximity services (ProSe)-enabled sensors to enable the sensors to be seamlessly incorporated into 5G mobile networks. 5G networks are expected to create an enabling environment for 21st-century advancements such as the internet of things (IoT). Sensors are crucial in the internet of things. A power control strategy involving two power control mechanisms is proposed in this research work: an open loop power control (OLPC) mechanism that can be used by a ProSe-enabled sensor to establish communication with a base station (BS) and a closed loop power control (CLPC) mechanism that can be used by a BS to establish the transmit power levels for devices involved in a device to device (D2D) communication. Several studies have proposed power control strategies to mitigate interference in D2D-enabled mobile networks, but none has attempted to address the interference caused by ProSe-enabled sensors communicating with smart phones and 5G BSs.
Digital Game-Based Learning to Teach Mathematics Within CLIL
Authors: García-Molina María , Palacios-Hidalgo Francisco Javier
Published: May 2022

Recently, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has gained importance in today's educational scene as a way to prepare students for the 21st-century world, where being communicatively competent in foreign languages has become essential. Considering the flexibility of the approach and the need for teachers to adapt it to students' needs and interests, different methodologies, such as digital game-based learning (DGBL), have been integrated within CLIL to enhance learners' motivation towards mathematics. This chapter presents an interdisciplinary didactic proposal based on the DGBL methodology to teach mathematics within a CLIL context. The designed activities are based on the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, directed to the fifth grade of primary education, and their objectives and suggested assessment are presented. Finally, the didactic implications and the potential of the proposal for learning mathematics and the target language are discussed.
The Mastermind Game
Authors: Lamberti Laura , Tovena Francesca
Published: May 2022

The game-based teaching project proposed in the subsequent sections has been realized in a 15-year-old non-English native speakers' class. The activity is based on the Mastermind game and adopts the CLIL approach in the initial phase. The gamification strategy allows a comfortable introduction of elements of set theory, logic, combinatorics. Moreover, algorithmic thinking skills are improved, as well as various soft skills. The English as L2 language has been chosen since it is the most widely spoken for video games and coding. The authors propose a game-based approach since in every game there are rules that must be understood and applied and there is a goal to be achieved. The students, captivated by the game, are interested in reflecting on rules and procedures and are willing to put their skills into motion. The project experimented the effectiveness of games as a teaching tool to convey mathematical concepts.
Learning About E-Safety Rules While Playing
Authors: Molina Ayuso Álvaro
Published: May 2022

The development of educational projects in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme offers a very positive scenario for the implementation of STEAM practices. This chapter presents a project included in this programme carried out with secondary school students to learn basic cybersecurity rules and improve their digital literacy, working with the subjects of English and mathematics. To reinforce the learning of the contents and expand this field of literacy, they have created an interactive questionnaire in a virtual reality environment by coding the interaction of all the objects included with a visual programming language thanks to the CoSpaces Edu software. With this, the students have been working on concepts related to computational thinking such as decomposition or the creation of algorithms. This work is an example of how to include computational thinking practices in a transversal way, working in subjects such as mathematics or the learning of a foreign language.
Use of Minecraft: Education Edition for Teaching Pre-College Mathematics
Authors: Rotger Garcia Lucia , Herreros Sandra Herreros , Ribera Puchades Juan M.
Published: May 2022

Minecraft has become one of the most popular videogames worldwide. Also, their didactical interface, Minecraft Education Edition can be used to generate an educational resource. To provide evidence-based recommendations for the use of this software in multilingual contexts, this chapter presents both some useful tools to propose math problems and an exemplification of the application of this resource for the reinforcement of mathematical content. For this, the theoretical references, the assembly of the server, and the way to implement the practice of mathematics are explained. Also, methodological recommendations of cooperative learning through technological tools with the interest of fostering the reasoning and argumentation in math problems resolutions are given. In conclusion, the inclusion of this game in this educational proposal is expected to increase affectivity towards mathematics.
Electrogenerated Copper Supported Zinc Oxide for Degradation of 2,4-Dichlorophenol
Authors: Jaafar Nur Farhana , Zulkeffli Nuramirah , Anuar Maryam Hanim
Published: May 2022

Copper (Cu) was deposited on two different types of zinc oxide (ZnO), namely commercial ZnO (CZ) and mesoporous zinc oxide (MZ), using a simple electrolysis technique. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET and UV-Vis DRS. The synergistic effect between Cu, CZ and MZ was tested in the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) under visible light irradiation. Cu-MZ exhibited the best performance with 97% degradation compared to MZ, Cu-CZ, CZ and CuO with 80%, 70%, 55% and 49%, respectively. The introduction of Cu in CZ and MZ was found to decrease the band gap energy of ZnO from 3.20 to 3.05 eV and 2.90 to 2.60 eV, respectively. The role of Cu in reducing the band gap energy of Cu-CZ and Cu-MZ probably contributed significantly to the good photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-DCP.
Sulfuric Acid-Activated Silica Gel as a Potential Solid Acid Catalyst
Authors: Wangsa Wangsa , Pratika Remi Ayu , Ningrum Tyas Sekar , Wijaya Karna
Published: May 2022

The conversion of silica gels into sulfated silicas (SO4/SiO2) have been carried out. The sulfation process of the catalysts was carried out by impregnation of sulfuric acids at concentrations of 1; 2; and 3 M and calcination temperatures of 500, 600, and 700 °C. Sulfation with 2 M H2SO4 and calcination temperature of 600 °C (SS2-600) produced a catalyst with the highest acidity value (5.13 mmol NH3 g-1). XRD analysis showed the formation of amorphous SiO2 phase, whereas SSA analysis showed that the SS2-600 catalyst had a mesoporous structure with a surface area of 147.728 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.25 mL/g and a pore diameter of 6.439 nm. Characterization results show that sulfated silica gels have potency as solid acid catalysts.
Polyhydroxyalkanoate Pellets as Novel Immobilization Medium for Phenol Biodegradation by Activated Sludge
Authors: Aidil Nurul Hidayatul Ulya  binti Muhd , Chang Jia Yun , binti Roslan Nadia Natasha , Sudesh Kumar , Ng Si Ling
Published: May 2022

Biofilm enhances the performances of biological wastewater treatment systems. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) pellets as novel biofilm carrier for phenol biodegradation. Two identical laboratory-scale reactors were operated with fill, react, settle, draw and idle periods in the ratio of 2:12:2:1:7 for a 24-h cycle. One reactor was supplemented with 2% (v/v) of PHA pellet and operated as sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR), whereas the other reactor was operated as sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and used as the control reactor. The performances of SBBR and SBR in degrading phenol were studied at three phases with the introduction of 300, 500 and 1000 mg L-1 phenol, respectively. The removal of phenol was found best described using zero-order kinetics, with R2 > 0.97. At all phases, the phenol removal rate during react period for SBBR (7.30 ± 0.55 to 9.33 ± 1.06 mg L-1 min-1) was found higher compared to those for SBR (4.28 ± 0.66 to 8.35 ± 0.68 mg L-1 min-1), with significance difference observed at low phenol concentration. Whereas for chemical oxygen demand biodegradation kinetics, SBRR exhibited significantly higher rate compared to SBR at all phases. From the scanning electron microscopy image, the attachment of activated sludge onto PHA pellet was observed. The results indicated the potential of PHA serving as alternative biofilm carrier in biofilm process.
Hydroxy-Functionalized PAMAM Dendrimer as a CO2-Selective Molecular Gate for CO2 Membrane Separation
Authors: Duan Shu Hong , Chowdhury Firoz A. , Kai Teruhiko , Kazama Shingo
Published: May 2022

Two hydroxy-functionalized PAMAM Dendrimers (3OH-PAMAM and 4OH-PAMAM) were developed as immobilized liquid membranes (ILMs) to separate CO2 from a mixture of CO2 and N2. The hydroxy-functionalized PAMAM demonstrated excellent properties of CO2-selective separative material for CO2 membrane separation. The hydroxy-functionalized PAMAM dendrimers displayed greater water sorption and more CO2 separation properties than that of conventional PAMAM without hydroxy groups. The resulting ILMs of 4OH-PAMAM showed the highest CO2 over N2 selectivity of 7000 and above with CO2 permeance of 1.1×10−11 m3 (STP) m−2 s−1 Pa−1 (1.5 GPU, 1 GPU = 7.5 × 10−12 m3 (STP) m−2 s−1 Pa−1), with a membrane thickness of 100µm (CO2 permeability 147 Barrers), at 9.7 kPa CO2 partial under 130 kPa feed pressure with 80% RH at 40 °C. For the ILMs of dendrimers at over 60%RH, their PCO2 – α plots exceeded the upper bound line by Roberson in 2008 and that is a potential for CO2 separation from the gas mixture.
Removal of Cd2+ from Artificial Waste Using Natural Zeolite: Study on Adsorption Equilibrium
Authors: Nainggolan Ekelesia Martina , Mulyono Panut , Prasetya Agus
Published: May 2022

This study reports the removal of cadmium ions in aqueous solution as the artificial waste using natural zeolite as the adsorbent. Natural zeolite was characterized by using XRD (X – Ray Diffraction) and XRF (X-Ray fluorescence) analysis. The XRD results show that the natural zeolite derived from Klaten, Jawa Tengah, is mordenite type and the XRF results show that Si/Al ratio is 5.688 % (medium). A batch adsorption method is carried out at room temperature varied adsorbent dose. Equilibrium of adsorption data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model. The values of the parameters constants for the Langmuir equation were qmax = -2.301 mg/g and KL = -1.00067 while the Freundlich equation were Kf = 3.999 and n = 0.845. It was found that the Freundlich adsorption model is better than the Langmuir isotherm model with high coefficient of determination. In this study, the removal efficiency for Cd2+ was 99.4 % for adsorbent dose of 70 g/L. It can be concluded that the natural zeolite of mordenite type is a very potential adsorbent for removal Cd2+. Therefore, the utilization of zeolite should to be encouraged in a larger scale especially in the environmental application.
Enhancement of Fenton Performance at Near-Neutral pH by Using Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid for Anionic Surfactant Removal from a Laundry Wastewater
Authors: Wahyuni Endang Tri , Sabrina Annisa , Aprilita Nurul Hidayat
Published: May 2022

Fenton process involving Fe2+ ions and H2O2 produces OH radicals, that act as a strong oxidizing agent for degradation of a variety of organic pollutants. However the process is poor performance at neutral pH limiting its application for industrial wastewater treatment. The short coming problem, in the current study, is solved by introducing ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) as a complexing compound. The degradation was conducted through batch experiment, by varying EDTA concentration and pH. In addition, the Fe2+ and H2O2 concentrations, and the reaction time were optimized. The research results assign that the addition of EDTA could remarkably enhance the degradation of anionic surfactant, that was 96% at pH 6-8. The increase of the degradation was proportional to the concentrations of EDTA and 6 mg/L showed the optimum level. The highest degradation of 162 mg/L anionic surfactant in 20 mL of the laundry wastewater could be achieved within 30 mins by using Fe2+ 10 mM, H2O2 50 mM, and in the pre12sence of EDTA 6 mg/L at pH 7. Key words : Fenton, EDTA, degradation, surfactant, wastewater
Removal of Reactive Blue 19 from Aqueous Solution and Batik Wastewater Using Iron Modified Activated Carbon
Authors: Tajudeen Nur Farah Waheed , Shah Irfan , Saqib Najm Us , Imam Saifullahi Shehu , Adnan Rohana
Published: May 2022

In this research, iron modified activated carbon (FeAC) was prepared through chemical activation method to enhance the adsorption potential of activated carbon (AC) towards the removal of Reactive Blue 19 (RB 19) dye in batik wastewater and aqueous solution. The adsorbents were characterized by various characterization techniques while the industrial wastewater and aqueous solution were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy and chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis. The effects of various parameters such as adsorbent dosage, amount of H2O2, contact time, initial RB 19 dye concentration, pH and the reusability of the adsorbent in the presence and absence of 30 % w/w H2O2 were investigated. In the presence of H2O2, FeAC exhibited the highest removal efficiencies ( > 90.0 %) for RB 19 dye in both industrial wastewater and aqueous solution using 0.2 g adsorbent, 10 mL of 30 % w/w H2O2 and at ambient pH within 480 minutes compared to the AC and FeAC alone.
Compressive Behaviour of Square CFDST Short Columns with Double Inner Steel Tubes
Authors: Galarza Fernando Palacios , Rocha Joaquín H. Aquino
Published: May 2022

This study focuses on the experimental analysis of concrete-filled double-skin tubular (CFDST) short columns with double circular inner steel tubes under concentric axial loading. This cross-section layout promises to increase the ductile behavior of the compressive element and its energy absorption capacity, not to mention its ultimate axial strength. This research analyses main twofold variables: (i) Hollow ratio and (ii) eccentricity ratio (i.e., distance ratio between the inner tube’s separation and the sandwiched concrete width). As a result, load Vs. Axial deformation, load Vs. Axial strain curves, ductility index, strength index, energy absorption capacity, and ultimate axial capacity formulae for square CFDST columns with double circular inner tubes are reported. Key findings of this study show that (a) ductility is an intrinsic property of these types of sections; (b) the variation effect of hollow ratio influence inversely in the confined concrete strength of the element, (c) Eccentricity ratio has proved to be the least ultimate strength capacity influencer. However, its impact increases when it is jointly analyzed with the hollow ratio values. (d) The formulae proposed for predicting the ultimate capacity of CFDST columns showed good agreement with the experimental results. Thus, these expressions could be extended to the design of composite CFDST elements, provided a resistance factor based on a reliability analysis is incorporated.
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Adsorption on Sulfuric Acid-Crosslinked Chitosan/Pectin Polyelectrolyte Complex Film
Authors: Shanti Sheila Khoirina , Aprilita Nurul Hidayat , Siswanta Dwi
Published: May 2022

Sulfuric acid cross-linked chitosan/pectin polyelectrolyte complex (CPS) film was prepared as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) adsorbent. CPS films were prepared in various compositions of chitosan/pectin and cross-linked by immersion in 0.1 M H2SO4 solution. CPS films were characterized using FTIR and SEM. CPS film was used for SDS adsorption with parameters of film composition, contact time, pH, initial SDS concentration. FTIR spectra showed characteristic peaks for chitosan, pectin and their interaction with sulfuric acid. The surface of the CPS film changed to become smoother after being used for SDS adsorption. CPS film composition 70:30 showed the highest percent swelling and was stable at the overall pH. The optimum conditions for SDS adsorption by sulfuric acid cross-linked chitosan/pectin CPS film occurred at a contact time of 120 minutes, pH 5, initial concentration of SDS 100 mg L–1 with a film composition of 70:30. Adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models with KF and n of 0.0297 and 0.377, respectively. The highest SDS desorption of 97.6% was achieved using 0.1 M NaClO4 solution.
Feasibility Study and Processing Temperature Effect on Recycling of Aluminium-Plastic Package into Solid Fuel
Authors: Hamid Dwi Agung Sakti Abd , Purnomo Chandra Wahyu , Ahmad Johan Syafri Mahathir
Published: May 2022

Plastic waste will potentially cause serious environmental problems. In this study aluminum-plasticspackaging waste is recycled into pellets for alternative fuel. Plastic waste is pelletized using an extruder with temperature variations of 140°C, 160°C and 180°C. Then, the calorific value, moisture content, density and compressive strength of the pellet were measured. The calorific value of the pellet is 38.79 mJ/ Kg. The density value shows good results because it exceeds the standard density for pellet solid fuel of more than 600 kg/m3. Meanwhile, the compressive strength exceeding the specified standard and experiencing an increase from each temperature variant. The economic feasibility analysis shows an NPV of Rp. 3.249.934.093. IRR 28.16%, B/CR 1.617 and PP 5.84 years. From these data, it indicates that the aluminum foil plastic pellet business is possible to be implemented.
Potential Utilization of Brevundimonas diminuta to Reduce Ammonia in Wastewater
Authors: Nurisman Enggal , Alkahfi Mohammad Ikhwan , Razikah Yessi Astri , Rahmatullah Rahmatullah , Haryani Nina , Rosmania Rosmania
Published: May 2022

Ammonia is a harmful substance on wastewater if discharged to the river, then it must be treated well. This research was aimed to examine the potential for the type of bacteria Brevundimonas diminuta in the ammonia degradation process of wastewater. Earlier step was done to examine bacteria growth in synthetical medium of ammonia concentration ranged 5 – 25 ppm. It shows that the bacteria could grow well within that ranges. Then, the bacteria performances were examined to grow in wastewater sampled from Musi River containing ammonia ranged 1.9 – 2.94 mg/L in the airlift bioreactor. The wastewater used in bioreactor was 1 L. Air was injected into the bioreactor with variations in the air flow rate of 1.5 to 4.5 L/m and with varying observation times from 1.5 to 6 hours. The optimal decrease in ammonia levels has occurred when the air flow rate was 3 L/min for 6 hours and the ammonia level was reduced from 2.94 mg/L to 1.76 mg/L.
Multimodality Imaging in Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Karim Sabir Abdul , Helmy Sherif Mahmoud
Published: May 2022

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common cardiac valve lesion in the adult population, with an incidence increasing as the population ages. Accurate assessment of AS severity is necessary for clinical decision-making. Echocardiography is currently the diagnostic method of choice for assessing and managing AS. Transthoracic echocardiography is usually sufficient in most situations. Transesophageal echocardiography and stress echocardiography may also be utilized when there is inadequate image quality and/or discordance in the results and the clinical presentation. There is a role for other imaging modalities such as cardiac computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and catheterization in selected cases. The following describes in some detail the role of these modalities in the diagnosis and assessment of AS.
Postoperative pain relief and functional outcomes after pre-emptive ultrasound-guided caudal analgesia in patients undergoing spinal laminectomy under general anaesthesia: Comparison between bupivacaine versus bupivacaine with morphine
Authors: Bhardwaj Medha , Jindal Parul , Srivastava Aastha , Tiwari Brijesh
Published: May 2022

Background and Aims:

Prevention of the start of the neural cascade may result in long-term advantages by the elimination of hypersensitivity produced by noxious stimulus. This study was designed to evaluate postoperative pain and long-term functional outcomes after pre-emptive ultrasound (US)-guided caudal analgesia in patients undergoing spinal laminectomy.

Methods:

A total of 90 consecutive patients, aged 20 to 60 years, of either sex, scheduled for elective spinal laminectomy under general anaesthesia were randomly allocated to two groups. Group M (n = 45) received 3 mg morphine + 0.25% bupivacaine (25 ml), whereas group B (n = 45) was administered 0.25% bupivacaine (25 ml) in caudal block. The primary outcome was to observe postoperative static and dynamic pain using the Verbal Numerical Rating Score (VNRS) for 24 h. The secondary outcome was to record functional outcomes using two questionnaires—Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Rolland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) during the preoperative period, at 1 month and 3 months postoperatively.

Results:

The static and dynamic VNRS scores were significantly less in group M (P < 0.05). There was a statistically significant clinical improvement in RMDQ and ODI scores at all-time intervals between both groups (P < 0.05). A four-point difference in ODI during subsequent months represents a true change and the results of our study showed an outstanding improvement of 9-11 points at 1 and 3 months from the baseline.

Conclusion:

The use of caudal block with the US guidance in adults undergoing spine surgeries can bring new horizons in improving pain relief and long-term functional outcomes.
Insights into the Mechanisms of Action of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine and its Use in COVID-19 for Chemoprophylaxis
Authors: Sahu Monalisa , Kumar Arvind , Shankar Sujay Halkur , Patidar Diksha , Vishwakarma Vishal Kumar , Sahoo Pradipt , Wig Naveet
Published: May 2022

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/2019-nCoV) has put forth a serious threat to international public health and has ruined the global economy. Till date, no drugs have been approved for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), although the use of some drugs in the trial phase has been attempted. The drugs being used for the management of COVID-19 disease include chloroquine (CQ), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and remdesivir. In this article, we have aimed to review existing literature and mechanism by which CQ and HCQ have an effect on COVID-19, most importantly by interfering with autophagy, lysosomal activity, receptor binding, and membrane fusion. We have systematically searched the PubMed database up to April 2020 and analyzed all the articles published on CQ, HCQ, and COVID-19. The available data provide insights into the immunomodulatory potency of HCQ, along with the molecular mechanism of action of the drug on the SARS-CoV-2.
Renin-angiotensin System in the Pathogenesis of COVID-19 and Possible Drug Targets
Authors: Shankar Sujay Halkur , Kumar Arvind , Patidar Diksha , Kanukuntla Sai Krishna , Wig Naveet
Published: May 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by fever, cough, shortness of breath, myalgia, and headache. The disease also takes a more severe form with life-threatening manifestations of acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute cardiac injury, acute kidney injury, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and cytokine storm. It has been elucidated that like its predecessor, the SARS CoV, the SARS CoV-2 utilizes the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor to enter cells. This knowledge brought into speculation the effects of a dysregulated renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. It has been proposed that the effects of a dysregulated RAS would lead to an inflammatory cascade and contribute to the cytokine storm that is central to the disease. This paper looks at the RAS pathway and hypothesizes the possibility of a positive RAS feedback loop in the pathogenesis of COVID-19.