bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lactobacilli modulated AMPK activity and prevented telomere shortening in ageing rats
Authors: Lew L.C. , Hor Y.Y. , Jaafar M.H. , Lau A.S.Y. , Ong J.S. , Chuah L.O. , Yap K.P. , Azzam G. , Azlan A. , Liong M.T.
Published: October 2019

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-ageing effects of different strains of lactobacilli putative probiotics on an ageing rat model as induced by D-galactose and a high fat diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with high fat diet (54% kcal fat) and injected with D-galactose daily for 12 weeks to induce ageing. The effects of putative probiotic strains on age-related impairment such as telomere length, plasma lipid peroxidation, hepatic 5’adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) expression, as well as endurance performance were evaluated. Administration of statin, Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 (LP-DR7), Lactobacillus fermentum DR9 (LF-DR9), and Lactobacillus reuteri 8513d (LR-8513d) significantly reduced the shortening of telomere and increased the expression of AMPK subunit-α1 (P<0.05). Plasma lipid peroxidation was lower (P<0.05) in groups administered with statin and LF-DR9 as compared to the control. AMPK subunit-α2 was elevated in rats administered with LP-DR7 as compared to the control (P<0.05). Using an in vivo ageing rat model, the current study has illustrated the potentials of lactobacilli putative probiotics in alleviation of age-related impairment in a strain-dependent manner.
Calibration of Fundus Images Using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography
Authors: Lujan Brandon J. , Gregori Giovanni , Wang Fenghua , Rosenfeld Philip J. , Knighton Robert W. , Puliafito Carmen A. , Hubbard Larry D. , Danis Ronald P. , Chang Robert T. , Budenz Donald L. , Seider Michael I.
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Measurements performed on fundus images using current software are not accurate. Accurate measurements can be obtained only by calibrating a fundus camera using measurements between fixed retinal landmarks, such as the dimensions of the optic nerve, or by relying on a calibrated model eye provided by a reading center. However, calibrated spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) could offer a convenient alternative method for the calibration of any fundus image.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The ability to measure exact distances on SD-OCT fundus images was tested by measuring the distance between the center of the fovea and the optic nerve. Calibrated SD-OCT scans measuring 6 × 6 × 2 mm centered on the fovea and the optic nerve were analyzed in 50 healthy right eyes. The foveal center was identified using cross-sectional SD-OCT images, and the center of the optic nerve was identified manually. The SD-OCT scans were registered to each other, and the distances between the center of the optic nerve and fovea were calculated. The overlay of these SD-OCT fundus images on photographic fundus images was performed.

RESULTS

Any image of the fundus could be calibrated by overlaying the SD-OCT fundus image, and the measurements were consistent with previously defined calibration methods. The mean distance between the center of the fovea and the center of the optic nerve was 4.32 ± 0.32 mm. The line from the center of the optic nerve to the foveal center had a mean declination of 7.67 ± 3.88°. Mean horizontal displacement and vertical displacement were 4.27 ± 0.29 mm and 0.58 ± 0.29 mm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The overlay of the SD-OCT fundus image provides a convenient method for calibrating any image of the fundus. This approach should provide a uniform standard when comparing images from different devices and from different reading centers.

[Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2008;39:S15-S20.]
High-Resolution Imaging of Complicated LASIK Flap Interface Fluid Syndrome
Authors: Jose Luiz Branco Ramos, MD Jose Luiz , Zhou Sheng , Yo Christopher , Tang Maolong , Huang David
Published: October 2019

The authors report a case of post-LASIK interface fluid syndrome that led to epithelial ingrowth, a sequelae that had not been reported to date. The interface fluid was caused by steroid-induced ocular hypertension. On post-LASIK day 49, the interface fluid, epithelial ingrowth, and noncellular reflective deposits were visualized by confocal microscopy and high-resolution Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. No inflammatory cells or infectious organisms were seen. These high-resolution imaging technologies were useful in the noninvasive evaluation of the location and nature of flap interface pathologies at the microstructural level. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging; 2008;39:S80-S82.]
Composite Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Images of Diabetic Tractional Retinal Detachment
Authors: Lujan Brandon J. , Gregori Giovanni , Flynn Harry W. , Kay Christine N. , Gendy Mohamed G.
Published: October 2019

This article describes the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings in three patients with diabetic tractional retinal detachment. Three patients underwent fundus photography and SD-OCT imaging before and after pars plana vitrectomy, endolaser, and membrane peel. On SD-OCT, all three patients exhibited significant improvement or resolution of subretinal fluid after the surgical release of traction. In this case series, a clinically useful method of visualizing SD-OCT images is demonstrated. Composite images were manually constructed with commercially available software by merging high-density B-scans from the macula and optic nerve. The composite image allowed simultaneous visualization of the effects of proliferative diabetic retinopathy on the macula and optic nerve and is particularly helpful in evaluating tractional macular detachment. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2008;39:S99-S103.]
Three-Dimensional Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography of a Clear Corneal Cataract Incision
Authors: Lujan Brandon J. , Leng Theodore , Yoo Sonia H. , Wang Jianhua
Published: October 2019

A prototype 1,310-nm wavelength spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) instrument was constructed and mounted onto a conventional slit lamp for imaging of the anterior segment. The device had an axial resolution of 8 µm and was able to acquire real-time two-dimensional images at 14 frames/second and full three-dimensional datasets in approximately 7 seconds. An SD-OCT dataset of 100 B-scans, each consisting of 512 A-scans, was acquired from the left eye of a patient who had undergone phacoemulsification with a clear corneal incision. The resulting dataset could be manipulated in three-dimensional space to analyze the geometry of the wound. Additionally, stromal edema and iris features were clearly imaged with the device. SD-OCT can be used to analyze clear corneal incisions to determine optimal wound construction technique and geometry as they relate to the prevention of complications such as postoperative wound leak, infection, and epithelial ingrowth. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2008;39:S132-S134.]
L'image paradoxale
Authors: Chik Caroline
Published: October 2019

À l’ère du numérique, les frontières entre les catégories, entre les états de l’image se sont ouvertes de manière évidente. L’image n’est plus nécessairement une image fixe ou une image animée mais, de plus en plus, les deux à la fois. Bien plus, il semble que le clivage « image fixe versus image animée » n’ait pas toujours eu cours. Un regard rétrospectif sur l’image optique nous enseigne qu’elle fut de tout temps travaillée par des liens étroits et féconds entre les deux états.Ce livre traite des relations entre fixité et mouvement qui se sont nouées tout au long de l’histoire de l’image optique, depuis ses origines jusqu’à ses formes les plus récentes. Il propose une analyse de ces nouvelles images au statut parfois ambigu entre fixité et mouvement, mais il s’interroge aussi, auparavant, sur les liens paradoxaux de la photographie au mouvement, et de l’image animée, à la fixité.S’appuyant sur de multiples dispositifs allant de la camera obscura aux animations interactives, il envisage l’image optique comme une et continue, sous un angle à la fois historique, esthétique et technique, libéré de certains schématismes. De cette image si répandue et souvent partiellement méconnue, image qui n’a cessé d’être pensée en termes d’opposition (entre fixité et mouvement, entre optique et numérique, entre archaïsme et modernité), il s’agit de relier, voire réconcilier les différents aspects, histoires et états, afin d’en mieux saisir les paradoxes et les problématiques spécifiques.
Municipal Solid Waste Management and Treatment in China
Authors: Yan Mi , Wibowo Haryo , Liu Qike , Cai Yi , Rahim Dicka Ar , Yanjun Hu
Published: October 2019

This chapter focuses on the generation, treatment, and management policy, but excluding reduction and recycling information, of municipal solid waste (MSW) in China. Cities in China generated 215 million tons of MSW in 2017. It presents a big challenge for sustainable development of cities. Currently, sanitary landfill is the dominant method for MSW treatment, treating 57.2% of total waste. MSW composting has seen a decrease in application, only used to treat less than 2.5% of total MSW. Meanwhile, waste to energy in the form of incineration for energy production has developed significantly in the last decade. The percentage of MSW amount treated by incineration is 40.2% from the total amount of treated MSW in 2017, a sharp increase from only 4.9% in 2003, due to China's commitment to WtE. The content of this chapter shall include comprehensive data from government and industry, including plant capacity, quantity, technology, emission, policy and regulation promoting, and guiding WtE in China.
Status of Solid Waste Management in Myanmar
Authors: Dickella Gamaralalage Premakumara Jagath , Tin Hlaing Ohnmar May , Maw Aung Myint , Hengesbaugh Matthew
Published: October 2019

Myanmar, the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, has been facing considerable challenges with the management of solid waste in the recent past because of increasing income and consumption patterns, urban growth, and lack of effective waste management policies, treatment, and disposal methods. Waste management is also a crosscutting issue that touches on many aspects of social and economic development, and as such is widely associated with a range of global challenges including public health, climate change, poverty reduction, food security, resource efficiency, and sustainable production and consumption. This country chapter therefore presents an overview of the current waste management in Myanmar, discusses key challenges and opportunities, and identifies some policy recommendations towards its improvement.
Solid Waste Management in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Vujić Goran , Tot Bojana
Published: October 2019

In most of the countries of South East Europe, the current situation in the field of municipal waste management is characterized by unreliable and incomplete data about the physical characteristics of generated municipal waste. The first and the second part of the chapter contain the description of specific project activities that are related to measuring quantity and composition of municipal waste in municipalities in the Republic of Serbia. The methodology description for the determination of the quantity and composition of waste is analyzed in this chapter. The potential of implementing the circular economy concept in developing countries is reflected primarily in the optimization of production and industrial activities; the example of Serbia in the third part of chapter shows the opposite. In the fourth part, results of application of the AHP method are presented. Taking the obtained results as a basis, it can be concluded that the applied model can be efficiently used to support decision-making in this kind of problem.
Background Review for Neural Trust and Multi-Agent System
Authors: Lu Gehao , Lu Joan
Published: October 2019

This chapter provides a systematic background study in the neural trust and multi-agent system. Theoretic models are discussed in details. The concepts are explained. The existing systems are analyzed. The limitations and strength of previous research are discussed. About 59 references are cited to support the study for the investigation. The study did address the research importance and significance and finally, proposed the future directions for the research undertaken.
Applying Optoelectronic Devices Fusion in Machine Vision
Authors: Flores-Fuentes Wendy , Rivas-Lopez Moises , Hernandez-Balbuena Daniel , Sergiyenko Oleg , Rodríguez-Quiñonez Julio C. , Rivera-Castillo Javier , Lindner Lars , Basaca-Preciado Luis C.
Published: October 2019

Machine vision is supported and enhanced by optoelectronic devices, the output from a machine vision system is information about the content of the optoelectronic signal, it is the process whereby a machine, usually a digital computer and/or electronic hardware automatically processes an optoelectronic signal and reports what it means. Machine vision methods to provide spatial coordinates measurement has developed in a wide range of technologies for multiples fields of applications such as robot navigation, medical scanning, and structural monitoring. Each technology with specified properties that could be categorized as advantage and disadvantage according its utility to the application purpose. This chapter presents the application of optoelectronic devices fusion as the base for those systems with non-lineal behavior supported by artificial intelligence techniques, which require the use of information from various sensors for pattern recognition to produce an enhanced output.
Virtual Soar-Agent Implementations
Authors: Turner Jeremy Owen
Published: October 2019

This chapter provides a brief overview of those virtual agent implementations directly inspired by the cognitive architecture: Soar. This chapter will take a qualitative approach to discussing examples of virtual Soar-agents. Finally, this chapter will speculate on the future of Soar virtual characters. The goals of this chapter are sixfold. The first goal is to explain why cognitive architectures are becoming increasingly important to virtual agent design(s). The second goal is to convey why this chapter focuses exclusively on virtual agents that utilize the Soar architecture. The third goal is to explore some of Soar's technical details. The fourth goal is to showcase a few diverse examples where Soar is beginning to have a design impact on virtual agents. The fifth goal addresses Soar's limitations – when applied to agent design in virtual environments. The final goal speculates on ways Soar can be expanded for virtual agent design(s) in the future.
Applications of PNC in Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Jakóbczak Dariusz Jacek
Published: October 2019

Interpolation methods and curve fitting represent so huge problem that each individual interpolation is exceptional and requires specific solutions. Presented method is such a new possibility for curve fitting and interpolation when specific data (for example handwritten symbol or character) starts up with no rules for polynomial interpolation. The method of Probabilistic Nodes Combination (PNC) enables interpolation and modeling of two-dimensional curves using nodes combinations and different coefficients γ. This probabilistic view is novel approach a problem of modeling and interpolation. Computer vision and pattern recognition are interested in appropriate methods of shape representation and curve modeling. PNC method represents the possibilities of shape reconstruction and curve interpolation via the choice of nodes combination and probability distribution function for interpolated points. It seems to be quite new look at the problem of contour representation and curve modeling in artificial intelligence and computer vision.
Statistical Features for Extractive Automatic Text Summarization
Authors: Meena Yogesh Kumar , Gopalani Dinesh
Published: October 2019

Automatic Text Summarization (ATS) enables users to save their precious time to retrieve their relevant information need while searching voluminous big data. Text summaries are sensitive to scoring methods, as most of the methods requires to weight features for sentence scoring. In this chapter, various statistical features proposed by researchers for extractive automatic text summarization are explored. Features that perform well are termed as best features using ROUGE evaluation measures and used for creating feature combinations. After that, best performing feature combinations are identified. Performance evaluation of best performing feature combinations on short, medium and large size documents is also conducted using same ROUGE performance measures.
Wild Architecture
Authors: Cialdella Vincent T. , Lobato Emilio J. C. , Jordan J. Scott
Published: October 2019

In this chapter, the authors focus on cognitive architectures that are developed with the intent to explain human cognition. The authors first describe the mission of cybernetics and early cognitive architectures and recount the popular criticism that these perspectives fail to provide genuine explanations of cognition. Moving forward, the authors propose that there are three pervasive problems that modern cognitive architectures must address: the problem of consciousness, the problem of embodiment, and the problem of representation. Wild Systems Theory (Jordan, 2013) conceptualizes biological cognition as a feature of self-sustaining embodied context that manifests itself at multiple, nested, time-scales. In this manner, Wild Systems Theory is presented as a particularly useful framework for coherently addressing the problems of consciousness, embodiment, and representation.
Finding the Semantic Relationship Between Wikipedia Articles Based on a Useful Entry Relationship
Authors: Chen Lin-Chih
Published: October 2019

Wikipedia is the largest online Internet encyclopedia, and everyone can create and edit different articles. On the one hand, because it contains huge amounts of articles and there are many different language versions, it often faces synonymous and polysemy problems. On the other hand, since some of the similar Wikipedia articles may have the same topic of discussion, it needs a suitable way to identify effectively the semantic relationships between articles. This paper first uses three well-known semantic analysis models LSA, PLSA, and LDA as evaluation benchmarks. Then, it uses the entry relationship between Wikipedia articles to design its model. According to the experimental results and analysis, its model has high performance and low cost characteristics compared with other models. The advantages of its model are as follows: (1) it is a good model for finding the semantic relationships between Wikipedia articles; (2) it is suitable for dealing with huge amounts of documentation.
Exploring the Conceptual Nature of e-Business Projects
Authors: Matthies Benjamin , Coners André
Published: October 2019

E-business projects (eBPs) can be described as endeavors which transform traditional business functions into digital and mostly automated, inter-organizational e-business functions. Although studies exist which already increased the understanding of such endeavors, there is still no conceptualization that defines eBPs as their own kind of project, summarizing and categorizing all of their characteristic topics, problem areas, and tasks. This study attempts to close this gap by exploring the conceptual nature of eBPs. A large number of practical project reports was evaluated, using a latent semantic analysis for the exploratory summarization of the textual database. As a result, the study provides a comprehensive theoretical conceptualization including 12 core concepts and 74 specific sub-concepts, structured within the context of a system development life cycle. Such a project conceptualization provides a contribution to the practical management of eBPs, as well as a theoretical framework for further establishing eBPs as a unique project type.
Trends of Educational Informatics in Latin America
Authors: Gómez Adán A. , Caro Manuel F. , Solano Angela M. , Vega Yina M.
Published: October 2019

Educational Informatics is a multidisciplinary research area that uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. This article reports a wide overview about the new perspective of educational informatics that has been implemented in Latin America. This general view is the result of the different talks presented during the XIII Conference of Educational Informatics, organized by the Ibero-American Network of Educational Informatics RIBIE (Red Iberoamericana de Informática Educativa) in Colombia. These talks were proposed by international panelists from various parts of Latin America in the lines of ICT for Education and Peace, Thinking and Artificial Intelligence, Emergent Scenarios in Education and Mobiles Technologies and Apps for Entrepreneurship and Learning.
Neural Network Model for Semantic Analysis of Sanskrit Text
Authors: Selot Smita , Tripathi Neeta , Zadgaonkar A. S.
Published: October 2019

Semantic analysis is the process of extracting meaning of the sentence, from a given language. From the perspective of computer processing, challenge lies in making computer understand the meaning of the given sentence. Understandability depends upon the grammar, syntactic and semantic representation of the language and methods employed for extracting these parameters. Semantics interpretation methods of natural language varies from language to language, as grammatical structure and morphological representation of one language may be different from another. One ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, has its own unique way of embedding syntactic information within words of relevance in a sentence. Sanskrit grammar is defined in 4000 rules by PaninI reveals the mechanism of adding suffixes to words according to its use in sentence. Through this article, a method of extracting meaningful information through suffixes and classifying the word into a defined semantic category is presented. The application of NN-based classification has improved the processing of text.
Emotion Mining Using Semantic Similarity
Authors: Jan Rafiya , Khan Afaq Alam
Published: October 2019

Social networks are considered as the most abundant sources of affective information for sentiment and emotion classification. Emotion classification is the challenging task of classifying emotions into different types. Emotions being universal, the automatic exploration of emotion is considered as a difficult task to perform. A lot of the research is being conducted in the field of automatic emotion detection in textual data streams. However, very little attention is paid towards capturing semantic features of the text. In this article, the authors present the technique of semantic relatedness for automatic classification of emotion in the text using distributional semantic models. This approach uses semantic similarity for measuring the coherence between the two emotionally related entities. Before classification, data is pre-processed to remove the irrelevant fields and inconsistencies and to improve the performance. The proposed approach achieved the accuracy of 71.795%, which is competitive considering as no training or annotation of data is done.
From Citizens to Decision-Makers
Authors: Boukchina Eya , Mellouli Sehl , Menif Emna
Published: October 2019

Citizens' participation is a form of democracy in which citizens are part of the decision-making process with regard to the development of their society. In today's emergence of Information and Communication Technologies, citizens can participate in these processes by submitting inputs through digital media such as social media platforms or dedicated websites. From these different means, a high quantity of data, of different forms (text, image, video), can be generated. This data needs to be processed in order to extract valuable data that can be used by a city's decision-makers. This paper presents natural language processing techniques to extract valuable information from comments posted by citizens. It applies the Latent Semantic Analysis on a corpus of citizens' comments to automatically identify the subjects that were raised by citizens.
High Performance Computing of Possible Minds
Authors: Ziesche Soenke , Yampolskiy Roman V.
Published: October 2019

It has been shown that the space of possible minds is vast, actually infinite. Intellectology is a new field of study, which examines in more detail features of possible minds. Among the many open and unexplored questions in this field is the following: “Which activities can minds perform during their lifetime?” This question is very broad, thus our contribution here addresses the sub-question “Which non-boring activities can minds perform?” This issue is ethically relevant for human minds if the predicted significant extension of our lifetime materializes and we are then potentially challenged how to spend this additional time. The space of potential non-boring activities has been called “fun space.” We analyze the relation between various types of minds and the portion of the fun space, which is accessible for them. As a novel result, we demonstrate that human minds can experience two types of fun when transforming information to knowledge: novelty fun and process fun.
Events Automatic Extraction from Arabic Texts
Authors: Hkiri Emna , Mallat Souheyl , Zrigui Mounir
Published: October 2019

The event extraction task consists in determining and classifying events within an open-domain text. It is very new for the Arabic language, whereas it attained its maturity for some languages such as English and French. Events extraction was also proved to help Natural Language Processing tasks such as Information Retrieval and Question Answering, text mining, machine translation etc… to obtain a higher performance. In this article, we present an ongoing effort to build a system for event extraction from Arabic texts using Gate platform and other tools.
Creative Tourism and Creative Entrepreneurs on Coastal Locations
Authors: Leão Mª de Fátima Ramos , Dias Álvaro Lopes
Published: October 2019

This chapter is developed in the context of over-tourism in the city of Lisbon (Portugal). There is widespread concern about managing this situation, which involves decentralization. The attraction of tourists to other tourist centers far from the city center has been accomplished by creative solutions. This research analyzes the perception of creative entrepreneurs in relation to this capacity of attraction. Moreover, authors compare two tourist centers of the city: coastal and non-coastal. Results from in-depth interviews show advantages and disadvantages of the coastal location.
The Cruise Industry in the World
Authors: Marques Miguel
Published: October 2019

The cruise industry is one of the most important growth sectors in the entire tourism market. The number of cruise passengers has been increasing in the last 9 years. The market is still growing, despite the global economic instability. North America is the primary market for cruise activities. There is still enormous potential to be found in the worldwide cruise market. The European cruise sector is number two and it is a growing market. The biggest European country is Great Britain. Various interest groups are trying to increase familiarity with the cruise product to grow the market. The fact the cruise market displays strong growth even under difficult circumstances (in times of instability) breeds confidence for the future. The cruise industry can make a huge positive contribution to tourism destinations and generate economic benefits, which makes it a very interesting market for coastal regions. The chapter studies the status of the cruise industry in the world and the future foreseeable evolution of this industry.
The Reasoning Process
Authors: Tricard Elodie , Maintenant Célia
Published: October 2019

What does “reasoning” mean? What is its purpose? And, how does it function? This chapter defines reasoning and the distinction between deductive and inductive reasoning. Secondly, the argumentative theory of reasoning proposed by Mercier and Sperber (2011) is presented to understand the purpose of the reasoning. This theory postulates that its function is to convince others and to evaluate information received when someone tries to convince another. Thirdly, the authors focus on the intervention model of reasoning developed by Evans (2011) to try to understand how the reasoning functions. This model is derived from dual-process theories and proposes a distinction between two types of processing in reasoning. The last part explains the importance of considering the emotional factor in the study on the reasoning process.
Lexical Basis of Causal Attribution and Explanation
Authors: Soo Do Kyung
Published: October 2019

This chapter explains how laypeople generate and evaluate explanations. Traditionally, deliberate processing is assumed to be involved in generating and evaluating explanations. However, the author proposes two stages account for causal attribution and explanation to explain how laypeople generate and evaluate explanations quickly: a semi-autonomous processing stage which is primarily dependent on the lexical information of the verb, and a deliberate processing stage that takes many factors into account. The author proposes that verb types play an important role in determining the type of explanation and calls it verb cue hypothesis. In addition, the author proposes that verb cue hypothesis works as a cognitive shortcut that comprises the first stage of the two-stages account. Empirical evidence for the verb cue hypothesis was found in studies on causal attribution and explanation type preference.
Why We Need a Construction Approach to Logic Education
Authors: Lai Wai Ling , Todayama Kazuhisa
Published: October 2019

This chapter introduces a construction approach to logic education by explaining why such an approach is needed and how it should be implemented. The chapter is divided into two parts. The first part argues that conventional logic education cannot teach people how to make a practical use of logic because what people commonly learn from conventional textbooks of logic can hardly correspond to the ordinary way of reasoning. The second part highlights how the construction approach can be integrated into people's ordinary way of reasoning by being practical and constructive in helping people use logic in what they do, such as writing an academic paper. It presents a general framework about how a logical relation can be constructed from scratch, and the three major steps of the construction.
Chemical diversity of accessions of the in vivo germplasm bank of Varronia curassavica (Jacq.)
Authors: Queiroz Túlio Barroso , Fonseca Francine Souza Alves da , Mendes Aretusa Daniela Resende , Azevedo Alcinei Mistico , Martins Ernane Ronie
Published: October 2019

Varronia curassavica (Jacq.) is a shrub and perennial plant native to Brazil that has therapeutic, anti-inflammatory and cicatrizing properties. The objective of this work was to study the chemical diversity of the native populations of this species maintained in the in vivo germplasm bank from Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The essential oils of 10 accessions analyzed in triplicate were obtained by hydrodistillation. Fifty-five compounds were detected, 46 of which were identified by GC-MS analysis. Essential oil yield ranged from 0.1 (VC-9) to 1.22% (VC-3) among the studied accessions. Three groups were formed by cluster analysis. Group A presented lower relative abundance of the compounds α-humulene (1.4%) and β-caryophyllene (8.5%). Conversely, in Group B, the most abundant compound was α-humulene (31.6%). Group C, with the greatest number of accessions, presented values of up to 6.1 and 41.2% for α-humulene and β-caryophyllene, respectively. Only two accessions (VC-1 and VC-5) presented α-humulene content lower than that recommended for phytotherapeutic production. These results, along with consolidating breeding programs, contribute to the conservation of the species.
Genetic diversity among Brazilian okra landraces detected by morphoagronomic and molecular descriptors
Authors: Massucato Luana Rainieri , Nakamura Karina Kazue , Ruas Paulo Mauricio , Zefa Douglas Mariani , Silva Derly José Henrique da , Gonçalves Leandro Simões Azeredo
Published: October 2019

The conservation of okra landraces [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] in gene banks is essential for the success of their use in breeding programmes. This study evaluated the genetic diversity among okra landraces in Brazil based on morphoagronomic descriptors and AFLP markers. We studied 30 accessions of the vegetable gene bank of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa. To this end, 17 morphoagronomic descriptors and five combinations of AFLP primers were used. Genetic parameters were estimated for the quantitative traits and the accessions were grouped by Ward’s method, using the Gower’s and Jaccard’s distance measures, respectively, for the morphoagronomic and molecular data. Polymorphisms were observed for all qualitative traits, while the quantitative traits were significant by deviance analysis. The genetic parameters confirmed the existence of variability among accessions, and high accuracy and heritability indices were found for the traits related to fruit and plant height. Ward’s grouping showed no relationship between the clusters formed with the morphoagronomic and molecular data and the geographical origin of the accessions. No association between morphoagronomic descriptors and AFLP markers was observed. The lack of correlation suggests that both approaches of characterization are important to understand and differentiate the okra accessions.
Physiological quality of castor bean seed genotypes stored at two temperatures
Authors: Drumond Anailda Angélica Lana , Sales Juliana de Fatima , Zuchi Jacson , Camelo Gessimar Nunes , Souza Moara Mariely Vinhais
Published: October 2019

Environment and storage time influence stored seed quality, especially for oilseeds such as castor beans because they have a high lipid content and are more prone to deterioration. This study evaluated the physiological quality of seeds from three castor bean genotypes stored at 10 and 20°C for 300 days. The experimental design was completely randomized, with 4 replications, in a 2 x 6 (2 temperatures x 6 storage periods) split-plot design. The seeds were placed in low-density polypropylene bags and stored in climatic chambers at 10 and 20°C, in which the temperature and relative humidity were registered. Physiological quality (germination, germination rate index, emergence, rate of emergence, electrical conductivity and accelerated aging) were evaluated at baseline and after 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 days of storage. Castor seeds of genotype EVF 106 showed better physiological quality when stored at 10°C. Castor seeds of genotype EVF 701 could be stored at 10 and 20°C for 300 days. Castor seeds of genotype EVF 712 presented reduced physiological quality during their 300 days in storage, regardless of temperature.
EXTRATOS DE PLANTAS BRASILEIRAS NO CONTROLE DA BACTÉRIA Staphylococcus aureus CAUSADORA DA MASTITE CONTAGIOSA EM BOVINOS LEITEIROS
Authors: Canesin de Oliveira Solange Cristina , Nishi Letícia , Mantovani Daniel , Pisano Mateus Gustavo Affonso , Tonial dos Santos Tássia Rhuna , Takaoka Alves Baptista Aline , Guttierres Gomes Raquel , Bergamasco Rosângela
Published: October 2019

A mastite é uma doença inflamatória da glândula mamária de bovinos e outras espécies mamíferas que representa o maior índice de perda na produção leiteira. Entre as diversas bactérias que transmitem essa doença, a Staphylococcus aureus é a mais resistente e que desenvolve a mastite contagiosa, que necessita de um grau maior de medicamentos para seu controle. Por ser a mastite uma doença que afeta um produto nobre do consumidor, é importante que sempre se procure alternativas de tratamento que deixem o menor nível de contaminação de resíduos no produto consumido. O uso de produtos provenientes de extratos de plantas que crescem em abundância nos solos brasileiros, para o controle da S. aureus é um dos pontos altamente explorado na biotecnologia. Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar alguns gêneros de plantas como a Croton, Salvinia, Punica, Chlorea, Alpinia, Mimosa, Erythrina e Mentha que são testadas como antimicrobianos no controle da S. aureus da mastite contagiosa em bovinos leiteiros.
Durable Superhydrophobic Silica Aerogel Coating from Hydrophobic Gel Synthesis
Authors: Piyawongsiri Thitirat , Ammarinponchai Chanapat , Yodyingyong Supan , Nidup Tshering , Triampo Darapond
Published: October 2019

Silica aerogel is a nanostructured porous solid material. It has a low bulk density, low thermal conductivity and can be hydrophobic. In this work, hydrophobic silica gel, a material used to form aerogel, is used instead of its powder form to avoid ultrafine air particles pollution. It is used to surface modified materials to make the materials superhydrophobic and still withstand physical abrasion that ordinary aerogel would not able to do. The superhydrophobic silica aerogel coating was designed by mixing the hydrophobic gel with DOW CORNING® 2405 resin as binder and varying DOWSIL™ Z-6137 silane and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The coating is characterized by the static contact angles (CA) and abrasion test. Scanning electron micrographs of different coating compositions were investigated. Results show that the hydrophobic gel mixed with resin and Z-6137 silane have contact angle >179º. Superhydrophobic silica aerogel coating can be utilized as material coatings for glass, fiber, polymer, etc.
Enhancement of Voltammetric Signals Using a Graphene Oxide Modified Carbon Electrode for Electrochemical Paper-Based Analytical Devices
Authors: Sirivibulkovit Kitima , Pimklang Thitaree , Pakawatpanurat Pasit , Sabarudin Akhmad , Nacapricha Duangjai , Saetear Phoonthawee
Published: October 2019

This work presents an enhancement of the voltammetric signal on an electrochemical paper-based analytical device (ePAD) using a graphene oxide (GO) modified carbon electrode. The ePAD is fabricated using a screen printing technique for fabrication of the hydrophobic area and three electrode strips. The graphene film was directly prepared on ePAD by dropping 2 µL of GO dispersed in water onto the working electrode surface and leaving it to dry at room temperature. The electrochemical reduction process of GO was carried out by applying a constant voltage of -1.20 V (vs. Ag/AgCl electrode strip) in 0.1 M KCl for 800 s. The GO-modified carbon working electrode on ePAD was readily obtained and ready to use after removing KCl solution. We tested the enhancement of the voltammetric signal on ePAD with a 6 mM [Fe(CN)6]4–/3– redox couple in 0.1 M KCl supporting electrolyte solution. Our results obtained from cyclic voltammograms showed that the unmodified working electrode and the GO-modified working electrode on ePAD provided similar anodic and cathodic peaks. Due to accelerated electron transfer process, it was found that the GO-modified working electrode on ePAD provided approximately a 2-fold increase in voltammetric signals when compared to the unmodified working electrode on ePAD. The reproducibility (inter-day precision) of the voltammetric signal measurement using a GO-modified working electrode on ePAD was acceptable. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 5-8%. Therefore, the GO-modified carbon working electrode on ePAD offers an effective approach to enhance the signal and sensitivity for chemical analysis.
Preparation of Monometallic Catalysts on Carbon Support for Synthesis of Biodiesel Fuel
Authors: Longprang Tripob , Udomsap Parncheewa , Chollacoop Nuwong , Fuji Masayoshi , Eiad-Ua Apiluck
Published: October 2019

Monometallic catalysts have been prepared on nano-porous carbon support materials by way of hydrothermal carbonization of Cattail (genus Typha) leaves. The catalysts are for synthesis of biodiesel fuel. This research studied the effect of hydrothermal temperature (at 160-200 °C), reaction time (4-24 h) and the presence of KOH on the activated porosity of a carbon support. Then the type of loaded metal catalyst (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Pb), placed on the carbon support by an impregnation method, was investigated. This led to partial hydrogenation catalytic activity forming biodiesel. The carbonization temperature was studied in the range 500-900 °C for 2 hours. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen sorption, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results indicated that the hydrothermal process at 200 °C for 12 hours exhibited the highest surface area, porosity and pore volume. This led to an appropriate distribution of metal on the carbon support surface.
Low-Cost Catalyst for Glycolysis of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Authors: Putisompon Siraphat , Yunita Isti , Sugiyarto Kristian Handoyo , Somsook Ekasith
Published: October 2019

A low-cost process for the depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was investigated in this work by the development of catalysts derived from food wastes for the glycolysis reaction of post-consumable waste of drinking bottles. Bis (2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) is obtained as a product from the glycolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Calcium oxide (CaO) catalysts derived from shells were used in this reaction. The yield of bis (2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) was obtained and the purity of BHET was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy.
Influence of Crystallization Time for Synthesis of Zeolite A and Zeolite X from Natural Kaolin
Authors: Srilai Suphada , Tanwongwal Worapak , Onpecth Kobchai , Wongkitikun Thanapat , Panomsuwan Gasidit , Fuji Masayoshi , Eiad-Ua Apiluck
Published: October 2019

Zeolite A and zeolite X was successfully synthesized from natural kaolin from Lampang province using calcination and two-step method of hydrothermal under the optimum conditions. Firstly, metakaolin was achieved by calcining the kaolin at 700 °C for 2 h. Secondly, hydrothermal experiments can be separated into two steps, the high temperature and short time of hydrothermal, metakaolin was mixed with NaOH to form hydrous sodium aluminosilicate, which was dissolved in dilute HCl. After the filtration, adjusted with deionized water to pH = 7 to form an amorphous aluminosilicate gel. Low temperature and longtime of hydrothermal, aluminosilicate gel was mixed with NaOH to form zeolite A and zeolite X. The optimum conditions for synthesis zeolite A is the high temperature and short time of hydrothermal with NaOH 8 M at 200 °C for 3 h and low temperature and longtime of hydrothermal with NaOH 1 M at 90 °C for 72 h. The optimum conditions for synthesis zeolite X is the high temperature and short time of hydrothermal with NaOH 8 M at 200 °C for 3 h and low temperature and longtime hydrothermal was NaOH 1 M at 90 °C for 120 h. The characterization of zeolite A and zeolite X were examined by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Keywords: Zeolite A, zeolite X, Kaolin, Hydrothermal, Kaolin
HOMO FABER: COME I METALLI HANNO SEGNATO E SEGNANO ANCHE OGGI LA CIVILTÃ€ DELLâ€™UOMO
Authors: Psaro Rinaldo
Published: October 2019

The succession of various ages, from those of copper to that of bronze, then iron and so on, is dictated by the chemical properties of the various metals and, ultimately, by the periodic table of the elements. The capacity expressed by the homo faber to extract and work the different metals, have marked technological developments so radical as to be chosen by historians to designate real civilizations. Gold was the first metal used by man, although it could not be used either as a tool or as a weapon. More than any other ancient element, gold has always been associated with a timeless charm. None of the chemical elements discovered by modern science has been able to overcome its supremacy. Since the time of its discovery, gold has been used for ornamental purposes and only with technological development has it been used also for technical and scientific purposes. For titanium, however, the reverse path was verified, from its essentially technological use it then moved on to the artistic one. Starting in the 1960s, when titanium became available even for non-military uses, its applications have done nothing but grow and diversify. His artistic fame is unquestionably linked to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao designed by the architect Frank Gehry in 1997, while in Pedeferriâ€™s titanochromies we have the combination of art and technology.
Geoenvironmental characteristics of gold and critical metal deposits
Authors: Parsons M
Published: October 2019

The Critical Metals Activity used detailed geochemical, mineralogical, and limnological methods to characterize processes controlling the mobility of trace elements and radionuclides in mine wastes and waters at the abandoned St. Lawrence Columbium (SLC) Mine in
Oka, Quebec. This mine operated from 1961 to 1976 and at the time was one of the largest niobium (Nb) producers in the world. Geologically, the SLC Mine is very similar to several other carbonatite-hosted mineral deposits across Canada that are being considered for mining of elements used in green
energy and high-tech applications, including Nb and rare earth elements (REE). These studies have generated new geoscience knowledge on the potential environmental impacts of mining critical metals and have been used by the Québec Ministère de l'Energie et des Ressources Naturelles (MERN)
to help guide remediation decisions for the SLC Mine site. The results will also help industry and regulators to improve environmental predictions for future Nb- and REE-mining projects and to support the development of new environmental guidelines.
The Northern Baselines (Geoscience Tools for Environmental Assessment of Metal Mining) Activity used a multidisciplinary geochemical, paleolimnological, micropaleontological, and traditional knowledge approach to produce new geoscience knowledge on baseline geochemistry and cumulative impacts of
geogenic and anthropogenic processes, particularly climate variability, on the transport and fate of metal(loid)s in mineralized regions of northern Canada. New geoscience knowledge on the role of climate variability on speciation of arsenic in porewater and sediments, and the seasonal cycling of
metalloids between surface waters and sediments has implications for Environmental Assessment, remediation of contaminated sites, including Crown lands, and new development. The activity also generated new knowledge on the impacts of 21st century climate change on long-term carbon dynamics in
permafrost wetlands, important for understanding feedback mechanisms and global carbon cycling.
Mercury in the environment: Global Mercury Assessment 2018 (United Nations Environment Programme - UNEP), Arctic mercury biogeochemical processes
Authors: Outridge P M
Published: October 2019

Leadership & writing contribution to Global Mercury Assessment 2018 (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) / United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP).
Aquatic Geochemistry team -two chapters .
GMA 2018 in press.
Several individual legacy publs. on Arctic Hg .