Double Benefit Research Articles

Elimination of Lead Ions from Aqueous Environment by Waste Tires Rubber

The investigation goes through paper to taking away of lead ions from aqueous medium by waste tire rubber granules(WTRG). The effect of various operational parameters like period of time, original metal concentration, size of adsorbent particles, adsorbent dose, and PH of medium on the adsorption ability of WTRG was evaluated. The kinetic of the adsorption process was relatively fast with approximately one hour of equilibrium time. A tiny adsorbent particle size (0.04 mm), PH medium (5-6) preferential the adsorption process. Data of isotherm studies exposed that adsorption of Pb(II) was well expressed by the Langmuir isotherm formula (R2=0.993). The study demonstrated the ability of WTRG to remove lead from aqueous environment as a cheap and available material. The use of WTRG exhibited the safe disposal of solid waste. Hence its with double benefit for environment.

An Empirical Analysis on the Future Economic and Financial Growth of the Banking Sector in Nepal

The Nepalese economy always experiences the trade deficit.Only, listed few goods are exported to foreign in cheap price whereas most of basic and all of luxurious items are imported from overseas at a high price. India is an immediate neighbor with whom most of the transactions of import and export are done.Again, the purchasing power of common Nepalese is comparatively high than other underdeveloped nation. The increasing openings of a bank account by people in every bank are a kind of surprise. If we observe the financial statement of every bank the number of the consumer of each product is increasing year by year. Banks are earning more than previous, some are doing good by earning double benefit than previous FY financial statement. Though the country political, economic and social current structure is not so supportive, it is very unusual fact to see the progress of banks and financial institutions. This creates a kind of curiosity to the researcher to find the reason behind it. This topic "increasing access of general people of Nepal to the banking sector is selected to analyze the reason behind in depth that will kind the different dimensions and level of society to formulate their own policies.

Role of cardiac inflammation in right ventricular failure.

Right ventricular failure (RVF) is the main determinant of mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Although the exact pathophysiology underlying RVF remains unclear, inflammation may play an important role, as it does in left heart failure. Perivascular pulmonary artery and systemic inflammation is relatively well studied and known to contribute to the initiation and maintenance of the pulmonary vascular insult in PAH. However, less attention has been paid to the role of cardiac inflammation in RVF and PAH. Consistent with many other types of heart failure, cardiac inflammation, triggered by systemic and local stressors, has been shown in RVF patients as well as in RVF animal models. RV inflammation likely contributes to impaired RV contractility, maladaptive remodelling and a vicious circle between RV and pulmonary vascular injury. Although the potential to improve RV function through anti-inflammatory therapy has not been tested, this approach has been applied clinically in left ventricular failure patients, with variable success. Because inflammation plays a dual role in the development of both pulmonary vascular pathology and RVF, anti-inflammatory therapies may have a potential double benefit in patients with PAH and associated RVF.

MTF and DQE enhancement using an apodized-aperture x-ray detector design.

Acquisition of high-quality x-ray images using low patient exposures requires detectors with high detective quantum efficiency (DQE). We describe a novel apodized-aperture pixel (AAP) design that increases high-frequency modulation transfer function (MTF) and DQE values. The AAP design makes a separation of physical sensor elements from image pixels by using very small sensor elements (e.g., 0.010-0.025 mm) to synthesize desired larger image pixels (e.g., 0.1-0.2 mm). A cascaded systems model of signal and noise propagation is developed to describe the benefits of the AAP approach in terms of the MTF, Wiener noise power spectrum (NPS), and DQE. The theoretical model was validated experimentally using a CMOS/CsI detector with 0.05 mm sensor elements to synthesize 0.20 mm image pixels and a clinical Se detector with 0.07 mm sensor elements to synthesize 0.28 mm pixels. A Monte Carlo study and x-ray images of a star-pattern and rat leg are used to visually compare AAP images. When used with a high-resolution converter layer and sensor elements one quarter the size of image pixels, the MTF is increased by 53% and the DQE by a factor of 2.3× at the image sampling cut-off frequency. Both simulated and demonstration images show improved detectability of high-frequency content and removal of aliasing artifacts. Evidence of Gibbs ringing is sometimes seen near high-contrast edges. It is shown that the AAP approach preserves the MTF of the small sensor elements and attenuates frequencies above the image sampling cut-off frequency. This has the double benefit of improving the MTF while reducing both signal and noise aliasing, resulting in an increase of the DQE at high spatial frequencies. For optimal implementation, the converter layer must have very high spatial resolution and the detector must have low readout noise.

Indium Phosphide-Based Quantum Dots with Shell-Enhanced Absorption for Luminescent Down-Conversion.

It is shown that admixing small amounts of cadmium into the shell of InP/ZnSe core/shell quantum dots results in an increased absorption of blue light and a limited redshift of the band-edge emission. These effects reflect the reduced bandgap of (Zn,Cd)Se alloys and their smaller conduction-band offset with InP. Nevertheless, adjusting the InP core size enables InP/ZnSe and InP/(Zn,Cd)Se quantum dots with identical emission characteristics to be made. Processing both materials into remote phosphor disks, it is demonstrated that the shell-enhanced absorbance of InP/(Zn,Cd)Se has the double benefit of suppressing self-absorption and reducing the amount of quantum dots by weight needed to attain a given blue-to-red color conversion.

Trade-offs for food production, nature conservation and climate limit the terrestrial carbon dioxide removal potential.

Large-scale biomass plantations (BPs) are a common factor in climate mitigation scenarios as they promise double benefits: extracting carbon from the atmosphere and providing a renewable energy source. However, their terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) potentials depend on important factors such as land availability, efficiency of capturing biomass-derived carbon and the timing of operation. Land availability is restricted by the demands of future food production depending on yield increases and population growth, by requirements for nature conservation and, with respect to climate mitigation, avoiding unfavourable albedo changes. We integrate these factors in one spatially explicit biogeochemical simulation framework to explore the tCDR opportunity space on land available after these constraints are taken into account, starting either in 2020 or 2050, and lasting until 2100. We find that assumed future needs for nature protection and food production strongly limit tCDR potentials. BPs on abandoned crop and pasture areas (~1,300Mha in scenarios of either 8.0 billion people and yield gap reductions of 25% until 2020 or 9.5 billion people and yield gap reductions of 50% until 2050) could, theoretically, sequester ~100GtC in land carbon stocks and biomass harvest by 2100. However, this potential would be ~80% lower if only cropland was available or ~50% lower if albedo decreases were considered as a factor restricting land availability. Converting instead natural forest, shrubland or grassland into BPs could result in much larger tCDR potentials ̶ but at high environmental costs (e.g. biodiversity loss). The most promising avenue for effective tCDR seems to be improvement of efficient carbon utilization pathways, changes in dietary trends or the restoration of marginal lands for the implementation of tCDR.

The use of tobacco tax revenues to fund the Guam Cancer Registry: A double win for cancer control

Cancer registries that provide reliable data on cancer incidence, mortality and burden are essential to cancer control. However, establishing sustainable local funding mechanisms to support cancer registries remains a challenge in many countries.Guam, an unincorporated Territory of the United States of America in the Western Pacific, enacted a bill that raised tobacco taxes, and earmarked a percentage of tobacco tax revenues to support its Cancer Registry. This provided a reliable funding stream for the Registry, allowing for continued staffing and capacity building; at the same time, youth tobacco consumption decreased following the tax increase.Linking tobacco tax revenues to cancer registry support is a feasible strategy with a double benefit: higher tobacco prices from higher tobacco taxes reduce tobacco-related cancer risk while assuring the long-term viability of systematic cancer data collection and dissemination.

Strengthening civil registration system on a global scale: Offering double benefit for the policy makers and the community

Strengthening civil registration system on a global scale: Offering double benefit for the policy makers and the community

Subcapital reorientation for moderate and severe slipped capital femoral epiphysis: early results of Ain Shams University Hospitals

Background Subcapital reorientation for severe slipped capital femoral epiphysis offers the double benefit of immediate restoration of range of motion (ROM), limb length discrepancy (LLD), and long-term hip preservation from premature osteoarthrosis. Patients and methods Modified Dunn’s technique through safe surgical hip dislocation was performed in 12 adolescents who presented with moderate-to-severe slipped capital femoral epiphysis. There were 10 males and only two females, with a mean age of 15 years. The mean Southwick’s slip angle was 47°. Only two slips were clinically unstable. Results After a mean follow-up of 23 months, the mean α angle measured 37°, and the mean slip angle decreased to 4.7°. The mean hip flexion range was 104°; the mean internal rotation in flexion was 33°; and the mean external rotation in flexion was 34°. The mean Harris hip score at the latest follow-up was 99.6. None of the cases developed chondrolysis or osteonecrosis. Conclusion It has been a long-standing orthopedic myth, believed by many surgeons, that the capital epiphysis cannot be realigned for fear of avascular necrosis. On the basis of the present study, we believe that subcapital reorientation through safe surgical hip dislocation approach restores close to normal the proximal femoral anatomy, and thus, presumably, would offer good long-term outcomes for a condition that can have serious lifelong consequences on young adults.

“The Provincials will work like Giants”: British Imperialism, American Colonial Troops, and Trans-Atlantic Labor Economics during the Seven Years’ War

This essay addresses an existing historiographical paradox, explaining why British commanders—who in their correspondence typically dismissed American provincial soldiers as disputatious amateurs—consistently pressed colonial assemblies for extensive numbers of these troops during the Seven Years’ War. Previous scholarship has shown that provincials mutinied more frequently, earned greater pay, and usually served in auxiliary roles while on campaigns—since army officers preferred to reserve their own redcoats for combat. Although the conflict represented the first time that large formations of regulars were deployed in the North American interior, no study has fully explored how economic factors affected attempts to acquire support for such operations. As this paper shows, though imperial administrators failed to anticipate how the relative scarcity and high price of labor and transportation in the colonies would frustrate efforts to replicate standing logistical methods practiced in Europe—where officials simply located and hired adequate numbers of workers locally—they also badly misjudged the wholly unprecedented costs entailed in fielding a large professional army across the Atlantic. Thus, despite provincials’ evident faults, their use conferred a double benefit to the empire: substituting them for hired civilian personnel not only enabled regular units to obtain sufficient levels of local support, but also offset some of the sizable expenses generated by the army, since American legislatures ultimately paid most of the costs of their own troops.

A Novel Technique for Face Alignment Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Face alignment has been neatly done using deep convolutional neural networks. For achieving desired performance, the selecting strategy of local patches for training and their input range is crucial along with configuration of each network. There is double benefit of this. First, the texture background data over the full face is exploited to detect every key point. Second, the training has been given to networks to forecast every key point together; the geometric constraints amid key points are essentially encoded. So, the method can avert local minimum created by uncertainty and data corruption in challenging image samples because of occlusions, broad pose deviations and extreme lightings. Experimental results prove that the approach has high accuracy and is more robust and less complex in nature.

A Point Mutation in a lincRNA Upstream of GDNF Is Associated to a Canine Insensitivity to Pain: A Spontaneous Model for Human Sensory Neuropathies.

Human Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathies (HSANs) are characterized by insensitivity to pain, sometimes combined with self-mutilation. Strikingly, several sporting dog breeds are particularly affected by such neuropathies. Clinical signs appear in young puppies and consist of acral analgesia, with or without sudden intense licking, biting and severe self-mutilation of the feet, whereas proprioception, motor abilities and spinal reflexes remain intact. Through a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) with 24 affected and 30 unaffected sporting dogs using the Canine HD 170K SNP array (Illumina), we identified a 1.8 Mb homozygous locus on canine chromosome 4 (adj. p-val = 2.5x10-6). Targeted high-throughput sequencing of this locus in 4 affected and 4 unaffected dogs identified 478 variants. Only one variant perfectly segregated with the expected recessive inheritance in 300 sporting dogs of known clinical status, while it was never present in 900 unaffected dogs from 130 other breeds. This variant, located 90 kb upstream of the GDNF gene, a highly relevant neurotrophic factor candidate gene, lies in a long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNA), GDNF-AS. Using human comparative genomic analysis, we observed that the canine variant maps onto an enhancer element. Quantitative RT-PCR of dorsal root ganglia RNAs of affected dogs showed a significant decrease of both GDNF mRNA and GDNF-AS expression levels (respectively 60% and 80%), as compared to unaffected dogs. We thus performed gel shift assays (EMSA) that reveal that the canine variant significantly alters the binding of regulatory elements. Altogether, these results allowed the identification in dogs of GDNF as a relevant candidate for human HSAN and insensitivity to pain, but also shed light on the regulation of GDNF transcription. Finally, such results allow proposing these sporting dog breeds as natural models for clinical trials with a double benefit for human and veterinary medicine.

Valorisation to biogas of macroalgal waste streams: a circular approach to bioproducts and bioenergy in Ireland

Seaweeds (macroalgae) have been recently attracting more and more interest as a third generation feedstock for bioenergy and biofuels. However, several barriers impede the deployment of competitive seaweed-based energy. The high cost associated to seaweed farming and harvesting, as well as their seasonal availability and biochemical composition currently make macroalgae exploitation too expensive for energy production only. Recent studies have indicated a possible solution to aforementioned challenges may lay in seaweed integrated biorefinery, in which a bioenergy and/or biofuel production step ends an extractions cascade of high-value bioproducts. This results in the double benefit of producing renewable energy while adopting a zero waste approach, as fostered by recent EU societal challenges within the context of the Circular Economy development. This study investigates the biogas potential of residues from six indigenous Irish seaweed species while discussing related issues experienced during fermentation. It was found that Laminaria and Fucus spp. are the most promising seaweed species for biogas production following biorefinery extractions producing 187–195 mL CH4 gVS−1 and about 100 mL CH4 gVS−1 , respectively, exhibiting overall actual yields close to raw un-extracted seaweed.

Heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae using aquaculture wastewater: A biorefinery concept for biomass production and nutrient remediation

Cultivation of microalgae utilizing wastewater substrate could form a sustainable biorefinery with double benefit of biomass generation and nutrient remediation. In this study potential of aquaculture wastewater is evaluated for cultivation of Chlorella sorokiniana in heterotrophic mode for generation of high value biomass. Nutrient removal potential is also assessed. Aquaculture wastewater with 400mgL−1 sodium nitrate supplementation resulted in biomass productivity of 498.14mgL−1d−1. The biomass generated showed lipid productivity of 150.19mgL−1d−1, carbohydrate productivity of 172.91mgL−1d−1 and protein productivity of 141.57mgL−1d−1. The nutrient removal efficiencies were 75.56% for ammonium, 84.51% for nitrates, 73.35% for phosphates and 71.88% for COD (chemical oxygen demand). The findings of this study underline the potential of aquaculture wastewater for production of valuable microalgal biomass which can be utilized for biofuels or feed application. This biorefinery concept also polished aquaculture wastewater which can be effectively reused.

ANALYSIS OF VEGETATION IN SPECIAL PURPOSE FOREST OF TUMBANG NUSA, JABIREN RAYA SUBDISTRICT, CENTRAL KALIMANTAN

Forests are natural resources that provide double benefits, direct and indirect benefits. The direct benefit of forest is as a source of various types of goods, such as woods, saps, barks, leaves, roots, fruits, and flowers that can be used directly by humans or become raw materials for various industries. The special-purpose forest of Tumbang Nusa is a secondary peat swamp forest. Peat swamp forest is a forest formation quite widespread in Indonesia. The term arises because swamp forest and peat forest are basically always adjacent and often do not have clear boundaries that are so-called peat swamp forests. The purpose of this study was to find out the structure and species composition (species dominance, species diversity, species richness and species evenness) of secondary peat swamp forest vegetation in special-purpose forest of Tumbang Nusa, Jabiren Raya Subdistrict, Central Kalimantan Province. The results of the study showed that the vegetation structure by diameter classes was dominated by the vegetation with small diameter (0-9 cm) and by height classes was dominated by the vegetation with low height-class (0-5 m). The diversity of vegetation in the study plots showed that there were 42 species of vegetation consisting of 24 families, and the most common species found were the family of Lauraceae (5 species), Dipterocarpaceae (4 species), Myristicaceae, Myrtaceae and Guttiferae (3 species), Podocarpaceae, Apocynaceae, Ebenaceae, Moraceae and Annonaceae (2 species), and a few other family (one species of each). The species diversity at seedling and sapling stages was moderate (H' ≥ 2 and < 3) while the diversity at pole and tree stages was low (H' < 2). The values of species richness index at seedling, sapling and pole stages were moderate (R = 3.5 - 5.0) while at the tree stage was relatively low (R > 3.5). The species evenness index at seedling and sapling stages was high (E > 0.6) while at the pole and tree stages moderate (E = 0.3 to 0.6).

Response surface methodology optimization of adsorptive desulfurization on nickel/activated carbon

This work focuses on the optimization of the experimental factors affecting adsorptive desulfurization process in a continuous flow system using response surface methodology (RSM). To achieve that, AC-Ni was prepared by loading nickel nanoparticles on activated carbon (AC). Then, AC-Ni was evaluated for adsorptive desulfurization of DBT from model fuel using a flow system. A response surface method was applied to determine the significant factors affecting the adsorption of dibenzothiophene. A face centred central composite design (CCD) was used to statistically visualize the complex interactions of concentration, column length, dosage, and flow rate on the adsorption of dibenzothiophene. The factors having the poorest combinations in our CCD achieved a 70% removal of DBT based on the experimental analysis. However, to attain a 96% removal of DBT from a model fuel having an initial concentration of 59ppm, a high dosage of the adsorbent (0.5g), and a column length of 11cm were required. In contrast, a flow rate of 50r.p.m., and a contact time of five minutes were sufficient to achieve an exceptional removal. The optimized factors are highlighted with a composite desirability value of 0.92861. The synthesized adsorbent is relatively cheap and of double benefits to the environment solving waste management and desulfurization issues simultaneously.

Combining Frequency Containment Reserves and Renewable Power Leveling in Energy Storage Systems

The objective of this paper was to show that a combination of renewable energy sources with energy storage systems, which provide frequency containment reserves FCR (also called primary frequency control), improves the performance of both systems. This double benefit comes out in a reduction of intraday trading for the storage system and a leveled power injection of the renewables.Considering the regulations that apply for battery storage systems to provide FCR in Germany, interaction with other units is essential to guarantee availability of the system. This interaction is usually performed market based by intraday trading or by flexible power generation or consumption combined with the storage system. This paper, however, showed the benefits of interaction with fluctuating renewable energy sources.Energy storages and renewables were clustered to a common grid connection point to utilize the fluctuations of the renewable power generation directly for battery management. Simulation results based on sample photovoltaic and wind profiles showed the double benefit of the configuration. Intraday trading was reduced by 33% up to 57%. At the same time, fluctuations decreased, so the renewable power injection better matched a predefined power schedule.

Experimental investigation on the influences of exhaust gas recirculation coupling with intake tumble on gasoline engine economy and emission performance

To improve the economy and emission performance of gasoline engine under part load, the approach of exhaust gas recirculation coupling with intake tumble was investigated by bench testing. Based on a naturally aspirated gasoline engine, the sweeping test of exhaust gas recirculation rate was conducted in two intake modes (with/without intake tumble), and the parameters related to engine heat-work conversion process and emission performance were measured. Through comparing and analyzing the measured data, the effects of exhaust gas recirculation coupling with intake tumble on gasoline engine economy and emission performance were revealed. The results show that pumping loss decreases gradually while in-cylinder residual gas fraction increases linearly with the exhaust gas recirculation rate increasing; the high-pressure cycle efficiency ascends with exhaust gas recirculation rate increasing due to the decrease of heat transfer loss and exhaust gas energy loss. Thus, the improvement of indicated thermal efficiency is the superposition of double benefits of low-pressure cycle and high-pressure cycle. At 1600r/min and 2.94bar, the indicated thermal efficiency can be increased by 4.29%. With the increase of exhaust gas recirculation rate, nitrogen oxide emissions almost fall linearly, but hydrocarbon and carbonic oxide emissions have no obvious change in the effective range of exhaust gas recirculation rate. The biggest advantage of intake tumble is that it can extend the effective range of exhaust gas recirculation rate. As a result, the potential of energy conservation and emission reduction of exhaust gas recirculation is largely improved.

The double benefit of Spalax p53: surviving underground hypoxia while defying lung cancer cells in vitro via autophagy and caspase-dependent cell death.

The blind subterranean mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi, is a model organism for hypoxia tolerance. This superspecies have adapted to severe environment by altering an array of hypoxia-mediated genes, among which an alteration in the p53 DNA binding domain (corresponding to R174K in humans) that hinders its transcriptional activity towards apoptotic genes. It is well accepted that apoptosis is not the only form of programmed cell death and that mechanisms that depend on autophagy are also involved. In the current work we have extended our research and investigated the possibility that Spalax p53 can activate autophagy. Using two complementary assays, we have established that over-expression of the Spalax p53 in p53-null cells (human lung cancer cells, H1299), potently induces autophagy. As Spalax is considered highly resistant to cancer, we further studied the relative contribution of autophagy on the outcome of H1299 cells, following transfection with Spalax p53. Results indicate that Spalax p53 acts as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer cells, inducing cell death that involves autophagy and caspases and inhibiting cell number, which is exclusively caspase-dependent. To conclude, the Spalax p53 protein was evolutionary adapted to survive severe underground hypoxia while retaining the ability to defy lung cancer.

Structures of mammalian ER α-glucosidase II capture the binding modes of broad-spectrum iminosugar antivirals

The biosynthesis of enveloped viruses depends heavily on the host cell endoplasmic reticulum (ER) glycoprotein quality control (QC) machinery. This dependency exceeds the dependency of host glycoproteins, offering a window for the targeting of ERQC for the development of broad-spectrum antivirals. We determined small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and crystal structures of the main ERQC enzyme, ER α-glucosidase II (α-GluII; from mouse), alone and in complex with key ligands of its catalytic cycle and antiviral iminosugars, including two that are in clinical trials for the treatment of dengue fever. The SAXS data capture the enzyme's quaternary structure and suggest a conformational rearrangement is needed for the simultaneous binding of a monoglucosylated glycan to both subunits. The X-ray structures with key catalytic cycle intermediates highlight that an insertion between the +1 and +2 subsites contributes to the enzyme's activity and substrate specificity, and reveal that the presence of d-mannose at the +1 subsite renders the acid catalyst less efficient during the cleavage of the monoglucosylated substrate. The complexes with iminosugar antivirals suggest that inhibitors targeting a conserved ring of aromatic residues between the α-GluII +1 and +2 subsites would have increased potency and selectivity, thus providing a template for further rational drug design.