American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS)

Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus in Hemodialysis Patients Infected with Hepatitis C Virus in Mosul District / Iraq

Ghusoon Saadoon Hasan Al-Taan, Mohammed Dawag Khalid — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 07:53:17 +0000

Most problematic infection haemodialysis (HD) are at higher risk for acquiring Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections than the general population.

Patients and Methods

This study was carried out between January 2018 until July 2018, a total of (60) blood samples were collected from hemodialysis patients. The samples tested against anti-HCV, HBsAg anti-HBS and anti-HBC IgM, using ELISA technique and determination HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA viral load by Real time polymerase chain reaction.

Results

Prevalence HCV RNA was 12(20%) out of 60 patients were RT-PCR positive for HCV RNA with viral load, up to 100.000, Copy/ml and 10(16.69%) out of 60 patients were RT-PCR positive for HBV DNA in both positive and negative HCV RNA patients group with average viral load more than 100.000 copy/ml., 3 Patients out of 12 (25%) HCV RNA, positive patients were also positive for HBV DNA, while 40 (66%) out of 60 patients were anti-HBSAg positive, while the positivity of anti-HBCoIgM was 5 (50%).

Conclusion

The prevalence of co-infection hepatitis B and C was high in hemodialysis patients in Mosul district/Iraq

BER Performance Enhancement of MIMO Systems Using Hybrid Detection Techniques Based on Sphere Decoding

Amr H. Hussein, Alaa M. Enany, Mahmoud M. Selim, Mohamed E. Nasr — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 07:59:35 +0000

MIMO system is used in new communication systems to improve the bit error rate (BER), capacity, and the co-channel interference. In this paper, new hybrid detection techniques based on a combination between the sphere decoder (SD) and linear/non-linear detection techniques such as zero forcing (ZF), minimum mean square error (MMSE), Vertical Bell Lab Layered Space Time (V-BLAST), and lattice reduction are introduced. These hybrid techniques are intended to improve the BER performance of MIMO system. The proposed techniques are mainly based on dividing the received signal matrix into two equal size halves. The first half of the received symbols is detected using the selected linear or non-linear detector and the second half is detected using SD as the first scenario. For the second scenario, the first half of the received symbols is detected using SD and the second half is detected using the selected linear or non-linear detector. Several simulations are carried out to verify the efficiency of the proposed techniques. The simulations results show that the proposed techniques provide better performance than the traditional ones.

Camel Milk as Adjuvant to Treat Alloxan Diabetes: Effect of Heat Treatment on this Property

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 08:16:44 +0000

Diabetes is one of the most frequent and serious chronic diseases in humans all over the world. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on antidiabetic activity of camel milk on serum glucose and lipid profile of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in Wistar albino rats by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (120 mg/kg BW once). Albino rats each weighing 180-230g were divided into 3 equal groups (n=4) as following: G1- normal rats fed on normal diet, G2 - diabetic rats fed on normal diet, and G3 - diabetic rats were fed with raw camel milk. Fasting blood glucose was measured lipid profile was assessed. Results: Our study showed a significant effect of raw camel milk on blood glucose and lipid profile parameters in alloxan induced diabetic rats, there was a significant reduction in lipid profile of T. Cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL-C in (Diabetic+ Raw camel milk) comparing to (Diabetic+ Pasteurized camel milk) and Positive control group with values 121.4 mg/dl, 80.4 mg/dl, 17.9 mg/dl and 141.5 mg/dl, 90.7 mg/dl, 28.7 mg/dl and 181.6 mg/dl, 113.8 mg/dl, 48.9 mg/dl respectively. Diabetic+ Boiled camel milk group died at the end of experiment. Conclusion: Raw camel milk improved the glycemic and lipid profile in diabetic rats but not in Diabetic+ Boiled camel milk group. These findings indicate that boiling of raw camel milk may have reducing potential benefits in the treatment of diabetes. Future studies will be needed to establish its safety and mechanism of action.

The Nexus Between Tourism and Renewable Energy Resources in the Island of Crete, Greece

John Vourdoubas — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 07:27:48 +0000

Investigation of the relationship between renewable energies and tourism industry in the island of Crete, Greece is important for economic and environmental reasons. Renewable energies are abundant in this island while Crete is a popular and attractive tourist destination. Development of renewable energies has a positive impact on climate change mitigation while promotion of green tourism increases its sustainability and reduces its ecological footprint. Development of renewable energy systems as well as tourism industry in Crete has positive impacts on the regional economic growth. Various renewable energy technologies are currently mature, reliable and cost-effective and they can be used in various applications without any financial support. Existing renewable energy installations operating in Crete for heat and electricity generation including energy systems installed in hotels have been examined. Solar energy is the most widely used benign energy source in Cretan hotels. The possibility of developing energy tourism as a new alternative option for the local tourism industry has been discussed. The nexus between renewable energies and tourism industry in the island of Crete results in various economic, social and environmental benefits. Therefore its relationship should be increased in the future due to the resulted benefits.

Preventive Effect of Ophthalmic Lenses on Cataract, is it Real?

Henrique Nascimento, Ana da Costa Roque — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:20:47 +0000

Knowing that the prevalence of crystalline cataracts after 40 years is relatively high and that exposure to UV rays is a factor for its appearance, since the lens is an absorber of these rays, it was intended with this pilot study to verify the relationship between the appearance of crystalline nuclear sclerosis and the time that patients take from the use of ophthalmic lenses, since they absorb most of these rays under normal conditions of use.

The Effects of Climate Change on the Existing Environmental Laws and the Impact on Natural Resources

Sapard Vincent-de Paul Mozes Mulumba Ngandu Tshimankinda Kalala — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:21:59 +0000

Sustainable development is meeting the need of the present societal setting without jeopardizing the stability of the future generation through the exploitation of the current elements of survival such as natural resources and destruction of the ecosystem. Developed countries have been spotted to take advantage of both developing countries and underdeveloped countries because they own personnel and equipment that can be useful in the extraction of natural resources. Aspects of humanity understand the need for protecting the environment and natural resources through different environmental laws that aid in governing efficacy in human nature coexistence. Moreover, the efficacy of good governance across developing countries depends on the structure of the governing body and the economic resources available to withstand the population growth within the region. Also, developing countries are on the verge of declining control and management of efficient environment policies that align with the management of the current levels of climatic changes. Some of the concerns covered under environmental laws incorporate different types of pollution, the sustainability of resources such as forestry, minerals, and water, and certain principles and policies related to environmental concerns. Poverty encroachment in developing countries has been steered by the encroachment of land degradation, pollution, and other environmental crisis. In many regions across developing countries, there exists a pressure exerted on the exploitation of natural resources arising from the increased population and meeting the global demand of the ever-growing market. With the continued climatic changes across the world, developing countries are experiencing strains to maintain the ever rising heat on implementation of environmental laws and natural resources policies. The research discusses the effects of climatic changes on the existing environmental laws and impact on natural resource policies.

Biogas Production from the Degradation of Biodiesel Agroindustry Waste

Christiane Lyra Corrêa, Natally Fritz, Alessandra Firmo, José Fernando Jucá — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:53:52 +0000

Due to advances in environmental policies in Brazil and demand to reach knowledge and techniques of new ways for obtaining energy, to avoid future blackouts and rationing, the renewable energy market is on the rise, and biofuel is a very promising energy source. In the biodiesel agro-industries, there is a constant increase in the residues generation (glycerin, washing waters, press cake, and oil sludge) resulted from the fuel production process, so there is the need for residues management or treatment valuing biodiesel by-products. In this paper, it was evaluated the main types of waste generated at the Caetés Biodiesel Pilot Plant - BR and analyzed the biogas generation potential of this waste. In the laboratory, comparative analyses were carried out between different combinations and percentages of sludge (inoculum containing a high concentration of methanogenic microorganisms to accelerate biomass degradation process) and biodiesel by-products. It was investigated through tests of Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) biogas generation from samples and simulated the capacity of electric power generation. Based on these data and the calculation of energy efficiency, it can be suggested the use of biodigesters with residues generated in the plant to produce energy in the unit enabling a 20% reduction in power consumption.

Arrhythmia Classification Algorithm Based on Multi-Feature and Multi-type Optimized SVM

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 07:41:59 +0000

The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal feature extraction and classification diagnosis algorithm is proposed to address the high incidence of heart disease and difficulty in self-detection. First, the collected ECG signals are preprocessed to remove the noise of the ECG signals. Next, wavelet packet decomposition is used to perform a four-layer transformation on the denoised ECG signal and the 16 obtained wavelet packet coefficients analyzed statistically. Next, the slope threshold method is used to extract the R-peak of the denoised ECG signal. The RR interval can be calculated according to the extracted R peak. The extracted statistical features and time domain RR interval features are combined into a multi-domain feature space. Finally, the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA), and grid search (GS) algorithms are applied to optimize the support vector machine (SVM). The optimized SVM is utilized to classify the extracted multi-domain features. Classification results show the proposed algorithm can classify six types of ECG beats accurately. The classification efficiency achieved by PSO, GA, and GS are 97.78%, 98.33%, and 98.89%, respectively.

Antioxidant and Tyrosinase Enzyme Inhibition Activity of Lime Peel and Seed Ethanol Extract

Leo Mirah, Ermi Girsang, Ali Napiah Nasution, I Nyoman Ehrich Lister — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 09:59:11 +0000

UV Light exposure and Oxidative stress can cause the accumulation of free radicals and increase melanogenesis. The various herbal plant enriches Indonesia. One of them is lime that content various phytochemicals. This study was aimed to explore antioxidants property and tyrosinase enzyme inhibition activity of lime peel and lime seed. This study used ethanol extract from lime peel and seed. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by the ABTS reduction assay, while tyrosinase enzyme inhibitor activity by tyrosinase enzyme from fungi. The results of this study showed that the IC50 Value of Lime Seed (14.09 ± 0.88 µg/mL) was lower than lime peel (20.16 ± 0.23 µg/mL). Meanwhile, the IC50 value against tyrosine enzyme of Lime Peel (34.23 ± 0.93 µg/mL) was lower than lime seed (67.88 ± 3.73µg/mL). Hence lime peels potentially become a tyrosinase enzyme inhibitor agent while the lime seed has better antioxidant potential than the peel.

Analysis of Protein Content, Spectrophotometry FT-IR, and Antibacterial Effects of Earthworm (Eudriluseugenia)

Suandy, Ermi Girsang, Ali Napiah Nasution, I Nyoman Ehrich Lister — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 10:27:09 +0000

This research to compare effectiveness of coelomic fluid and extract ethanol of Eudriluseugeniae against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as antibacterial. Suggest that protein on Eudriluseugeniae have antibacterial activity.Experimental laboratory with analytical statistic Mann- Whitney with following step of research: (1) Determination of earthworm, (2) Cold shock methods modification to get coelomic fluid, (3) Maceration ethanol 70 % of Eudriluseugeniae.(4) Determination protein content with Kjehdahl methods, (5) Identification absorbance infrared by spectrophotometry FT-IR .(7) Antibacterial assay using disc diffusion against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.The result of this study showed that protein content of coelomic fluid (1.875 %)were higher than ethanol extract (0.437%) of Eudrilus eugenia. Coelomic liquid had no functional group in the chemical compound. However, the ethanol extract showed some functional group includes aliphatic, ethanol, and Amide A group. The antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from ethanol extract or coelomic liquid of Eudriluseugeniae were similar at equal concentration. It due to p value of analysis was lower than 0.05.Coelomic liquid and ethanol extract had similar antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Determinants of Infrastructure Project Delays and Cost Escalations: the Cases of Federal Road and Railway Construction Projects in Ethiopia

Yenealem Fentahun Kassa — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 11:03:56 +0000

Construction project objective achievement measured by whether, or not the projects are completed on time and budget. Most of the road and rail construction projects in Ethiopia exposed to extreme time and cost overruns. It becomes difficult to complete projects on time and budget. To fill gaps, the study was conducted causes of infrastructure project delay and cost escalation in the federal road and rail construction projects. Data gathered in purposive sampling technique from the targeted population of the client, contractor, and consultant of managers and engineers who have experienced delay and cost overruns. In the total of 73 questionnaires were collected, and 18 senior engineers interviewed in mixed research approaches and analyzed data using applied and descriptive statistics by aided in SPSS and RII . To investigate the real extent of time and cost overruns of the road and railway construction projects, secondary data collected from 25 roads and 3 railways projects construction completed from 2014 to May, 2018 and analyzed by using Microsoft Office Excel 2007. From the investigation, it found that 88% of the road and 100% railway construction projects suffered time performance, and 80% of the road and 100% of the railway construction projects also cost overruns from initially expected. Project delay and cost overrun can be minimized only when their causes are indentified. To analyze the major causes of time and cost overrun of the road and railway construction projects, the study classified determinants into time overrun (technical, overconfidence bias and strategic misrepresentation), and cost overrun. The top-ranked five delay factors found incomplete to study before project approval, poor project management & coordination, the right of way issues, inaccurate forecasting of schedule, psychological biases, and political interests. Inflation of material cost, the scope change with the change order, incomplete study project approval, poor bill of quantity & design, and poor project performance monitoring among top ranked cost overrun determinants. The correlation between time overrun variables/or determinants, and time & cost overrun determinants directly affecting the other time and cost overrun variables in the same project.

The research findings suggested that the project stakeholder makes sure that the road and rail projects carrying out on time and within estimated budget. Otherwise, it has found time and cost overruns, this damages client and contractor reputation, loss of profit and investment opportunities, inability to deliver the value of money and inefficient use of time, disposing of business activities and create the burden for taxpayers. The study also reminds for decision-makers and practitioners to address the road and railway construction project delay and cost overrun by rewarding well-performed contractors, improve the capacity of staff, make selective public-private-partnership, enhance performance monitoring and information sharing, and use innovative project cost and time forecasting techniques and tools.