The presence of heavy metals in the environment poses a serious threat to human health. Remediation of this problem using microorganisms has been widely researched to find a sustainable solution. ...Obligate halophilic fungi comprising Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus gracilis, Aspergillus penicillioides (sp. 1), Aspergillus penicillioides (sp. 2), Aspergillus restrictus and Sterigmatomyces halophilus were used for the biosorption of cadmium, copper, ferrous, manganese, lead and zinc. The metals were supplemented as salts in potato dextrose broth for the growth of obligate halophilic fungi and incubated for 14 days. The supernatant and biomass were obtained by the acid digestion method. The biosorption was screened by atomic absorption spectroscopy. All tested fungi showed moderate to high adsorption of heavy metals, amongst which A. flavus and S. halophilus showed the best average adsorption of all heavy metals studied, with an average of 86 and 83%, respectively. On average, Fe and Zn are best removed from the liquid media of obligate halophilic fungi, with an average of 85 and 84%, respectively. This pioneering study of biosorption by obligate halophilic fungi using inexpensive media in stagnant conditions provides a cost-effective environmental solution for the removal of heavy metals.
•First report of using obligate halophilic fungi for biosorption of heavy metals.•Cadmium, copper, ferrous, manganese, lead and zinc were effectively removed from their medium by obligate halophilic fungi.•A. flavus and S. halophilus showed best performance for the biosorption of heavy metals.•Over all, Fe and Zn were most removed by obligate halophilic fungi.•This study provides a cost effective solution of removing heavy metals.
Platinum-based chemotherapy agents initially transformed cancer treatment. However their effectiveness peaked as combined regimes showed little additional benefit in trials. New research frontiers ...developed with the discovery that conventional chemotherapy can induce immunological cell death by recruiting high mobility group box 1 protein through T-cell immunity. Simultaneously monoclonal antibody agents (not effective as monotherapies) showed good results in combination with conventional chemotherapy. Some of these combinations are currently in use and researchers hope to develop regimes which can offer substantial benefits. Several resistance mechanisms against platinum compounds are known, but more knowledge is still needed to gain a full understanding. It seems reasonable therefore to revisit the pharmacology of these agents, which may also lead to identify rational combinations with monoclonal agents providing regimes with less toxicity and better efficacy. This article reviews the pharmacology of cisplatin and oxaliplatin and explores their possible association with monoclonal antibody treatments.
The importance of the time-cost-quality trade-off problem in construction projects has been widely recognized. Its goal is to minimize time and cost and maximize quality. In this paper, the ...bonus-penalty mechanism is introduced to improve the traditional time-cost model, and considering the nonlinear relationship between quality and time, a nonlinear time-cost quality model is established. Meanwhile, in order to better solve the time-cost-quality trade-off problem, a multi-objective immune wolf colony optimization algorithm has been proposed. The hybrid method combines the fast convergence of the wolf colony algorithm and the excellent diversity of the immune algorithm to improve the accuracy of the wolf colony search process. Finally, a railway construction project is taken as an example to prove the effectiveness of the method.
This research examines the potential impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on the selection of trading routes between China, the Middle East, and Europe, with a specific focus on the ...transportation of a 40-foot standard container carrying general commodities. The study compares traditional routes with the new CPEC routes in terms of time, distance, and cost. The findings indicate that the new CPEC routes offer reduced travel time and distance when compared to the traditional routes across all provinces involved. The research reveals that the cost of road transportation along the new CPEC route is lower for Xinjiang province, but higher for the other provinces. By utilizing the new CPEC routes, the time required for goods to travel from China to the Middle East and Europe will be reduced by 10 to 20 days. Furthermore, the distance covered in this trade route will be shortened by 3,000 to 10,000 kilometres. Specifically, the province of Xinjiang in western China stands to benefit significantly from the new CPEC routes, saving approximately $2,000 on trade with the Middle East and Europe. These findings highlight the potential advantages and economic benefits that can be realized by leveraging the CPEC for trade between China, the Middle East, and Europe, particularly in terms of reduced transportation time and distance.
•In the present study Ce3+ ions doped M-type hexaferrite Sr1−xCexFe12O19 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.30) magnetic powder and magnets existed to ready according to the conventional ceramic process.•Lattice ...constants (c) for all the samples are different but lattice constant (a) remains almost same.•The saturation magnetization (Ms) was very low, while coercivity (Hc) was high.
This paper highlights the experimental study of Ce3+ ions doped M-type hexaferrite Sr1−xCexFe12O19 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.30) prepared by adopting the conventional ceramic process. The M-type hexagonal structure is confirmed in the X-ray diffraction measurements. There were two phases recognized for the magnetic powders with varying Ce content, one in-between x = 0.00 to 0.20 as a single magneto plumbite segment and the other at x ≥ 0.20 as a second phase or the so called α-Fe2O3 phase. The micrographs of the sintered magnets depicted hexagonal crystal shapes. For magnetic properties a systematic study was done on the room temperature B–H hysteresis measurements. The estimated remanence value first increases with x in the range of x = 0.00 to 0.15 and then showed a decrease at x ≥ 0.15. Besides, the intrinsic coercivity (Hcj) and magnetic induction coercivity (Hcb) show decreasing-increasing character while maximum energy product (BHmax) and ratio Hk/Hcj demonstrate increasing-decreasing character in the Ce doping range x of x ≤ 0.15 and x > 0.15 respectively.
This paper presents a new intelligent islanding detection scheme (IIDS) based on empirical wavelet transform (EWT) and long short-term memory (LSTM) network to identify islanding events in ...microgrids. The concept of EWT is extended to extract features from three-phase signals. First, the three-phase voltage signals sampled at the terminal of targeted distributed energy resource (DER) or point of common coupling (PCC) are decomposed into empirical modes/frequency subbands using EWT. Then, instantaneous amplitudes and instantaneous frequencies of the three-phases at different frequency subbands are combined, and various statistical features are calculated. Finally, the EWT-based features along with the three-phase voltage signals are input to the LSTM network to differentiate between non-islanding and islanding events. To assess the efficacy of the proposed IIDS, extensive simulations are performed on an IEC microgrid and an IEEE 34-node system. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed IIDS in terms of non-detection zone (NDZ), computational time, detection accuracy, and robustness against noisy measurement. Furthermore, comparisons with existing intelligent methods and different LSTM architectures demonstrate that the proposed IIDS offers higher reliability by significantly reducing the NDZ and stands robust against measurements uncertainty.
Yaks living in the high-altitude hypoxic environment of Tibetan plateau (3600 m) have special gut microbes. However, it is still little research on yak probiotics until now. Therefore, the purpose of ...our study was to evaluate the growth promoting effect, antioxidant capability, immune effect, and anti-inflammatory ability of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus velezensis isolated from Tibetan yaks in mice model.
The results showed that the isolated strains supplementation not only improve the growth performance but also increased the length of villus in the small intestine and intestinal digestive enzyme activity. Importantly, we observed that the T-AOC, SOD, and GSH-PX levels were increased and the MDA content was reduced in probiotic-treated mice, which implied that probiotics supplementation can ameliorate the antioxidative activity of mice. The levels of AST and ALT correlated with the hepatic injury were reduced and the levels of AKP, TP, GLB, ALB, Ca, and P were markedly higher than those in the control group. Additionally, mice treated with probiotics exhibited higher serum IgG, IgM and IgA, which can reflect the immune status to some extent. At the same time, the major pro-inflammatory factor TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 were down-regulated and the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was up-regulated compared with the control groups.
In conclusion, these results demonstrated that Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus velezensis supplementation can increase overall growth performance and ameliorate the blood parameters related to inflammation and immunity of mice.
This paper presents a supervised machine learning approach using eight popular classifiers for fault classification in power transmission lines. The classification of faults, indicated by the ...behavior of the electrical signals associated with them, plays a pivotal role in maintaining the reliability, stability, and security of electrical grids. However, most of the previous studies on fault analysis in power systems relied on proprietary data and lack of standardized benchmarks, hindering the comparison of algorithms and making performance more erratic. Moreover, the nonavailability of labeled data for all types of faults is the most problematic. This paper proposes to perform fault classification on a data set created from a real-time Simulink model to standardize performance and advance research in this area. A new strategy for non-intensive feature extraction is applied using relatively simpler techniques, eliminating computationally expensive techniques such as wavelets. Feature selection through dimensionality reduction techniques is used to improve model performance and more efficient use of computational resources. The performance of the learning algorithms (e.g. Decision Tree, Random Forest, etc.) has been analyzed with various preprocessing techniques (e.g. data scaling, transformation, etc.) and tuning of parameters, focusing on the accuracy and computational time (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">T_{c} </tex-math></inline-formula>), for performance generalization and efficiency. Performing specific operations on data in sequence of steps provided flexibility and adaptability in processing the data, making it easy to train, evaluate, and validate the learning algorithms. The results demonstrated that the proposed scheme can be effectively used for fault classification with high accuracy and significant reductions in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">T_{c} </tex-math></inline-formula> under various operating conditions. The study also determined the best estimator for each classifier when building and training the classifier models, offering a variety of options. Logistic Regression, Random Forest and Support Vector Machine were the outperforming classifiers and proved their potential for classifying faults in electric power transmission lines.
Purpose
This study aims to examine the perceptions and opinions of relevant stakeholders regarding entrepreneurship opportunities and growth in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) province of Pakistan. ...Specifically, it focuses on the role of special economic zones (SEZs), such as Maqpondass SEZ and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in fostering nascent entrepreneurship (NE) and promoting regional development.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs ordered logistic regression to estimate the relationship between various independent variables and nascent entrepreneurship (NE). The independent variables include awareness of CPEC (AAC), awareness of Maqpondass SEZ (AAMEZ), SEZ incentives (SEZInc), regional market competitiveness (RMC), loan availability (LA) and education and experience (EE).
Findings
The findings indicate a robust positive relationship between SEZ-based industries and the growth of local small businesses and enterprises in Gilgit-Baltistan. Furthermore, the study suggests that government incentives, access to finance, skill development, relevant knowledge, and connections with local businesses facilitate the establishment of new ventures.
Practical implications
The study underscores the importance of focusing on human capital development, providing financial assistance, and creating incentives for adopting advanced technology to foster the growth of local businesses in Gilgit-Baltistan through SEZs. It emphasizes the need for policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize initiatives that support entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by providing novel insights into the perceptions of entrepreneurship development in Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly concerning the influence of natural resources and SEZs. It fills a gap in the research by offering valuable implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
Recently, there has been a paradigm shift from conventional therapies to relatively safer phytotherapies. This divergence is crucial for the management of various chronic diseases. Okra (
L.) is a ...popular vegetable crop with good nutritional significance, along with certain therapeutic values, which makes it a potential candidate in the use of a variety of nutraceuticals. Different parts of the okra fruit (mucilage, seed, and pods) contain certain important bioactive components, which confer its medicinal properties. The phytochemicals of okra have been studied for their potential therapeutic activities on various chronic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular, and digestive diseases, as well as the antifatigue effect, liver detoxification, antibacterial, and chemo-preventive activities. Moreover, okra mucilage has been widely used in medicinal applications such as a plasma replacement or blood volume expanders. Overall, okra is considered to be an easily available, low-cost vegetable crop with various nutritional values and potential health benefits. Despite several reports about its therapeutic benefits and potential nutraceutical significance, there is a dearth of research on the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of okra, which has hampered its widespread use in the nutraceutical industry. This review summarizes the available literature on the bioactive composition of okra and its potential nutraceutical significance. It will also provide a platform for further research on the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of okra for its possible commercial production as a therapeutic agent against various chronic diseases.
PDF
