Recent Times In Order Research Articles

The Role of NPY in the Regulation of Bone Metabolism

Bone diseases are the leading causes of disability and severely compromised quality of life. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a multifunctional neuropeptide that participates in various physiological and pathological processes and exists in both the nerve system and bone tissue. In bone tissue, it actively participates in bone metabolism and disease progression through its receptors. Previous studies have focused on the opposite effects of NPY on bone formation and resorption through paracrine modes. In this review, we present a brief overview of the progress made in this research field in recent times in order to provide reference for further understanding the regulatory mechanism of bone physiology and pathological metabolism.

The pathway of tuberculosis in Argentina: Historical (19th and 20th centuries), epidemiological, and paleopathological data

ObjectiveThis paper explores the history of TB in Argentina from the pre- Columbian period to recent times in order to evaluate the impact of the industrialization (late 19th and early 20th centuries) on the increasing rates of this disease. MaterialsHistorical, paleopathological, and current epidemiological data were reviewed. MethodsData were integrated under a paleopathological approach. ResultsSkeletal evidence suggests the existence of TB before colonization. This is followed by two different periods of increasing TB rates: a probable but unconfirmed first stage, related to the contact between Europeans and natives during the 16th-18th centuries, and a second stage during the Industrial Revolution, from the 1880s to the 1950s, when it was finally controlled with the aid of chemotherapies. ConclusionsTB rates increased during industrialization, coincident and probably related to immigration, the disorganized growth of cities, and bad working conditions. Nowadays, TB is under control in the general population, but it remains an important health problem in areas with poor living conditions and in immunocompromised patients. SignificanceThis is the first study that integrates archaeological, historical and epidemiological data to acknowledge the pathway of TB in Argentina. LimitationsNo skeletal evidence of TB from 19th and 20th centuries and from medical archives from sanatoria are available. Suggestions for further researchFurther research needs to be conducted from these records, in order to improve the current knowledge of TB during the industrialization period in Argentina.

Contemporary Intellectual Conflict and Modern Requirements for Da'wah and Strategies

Islam as a last seal of revealed religions, it is obligatory in Islam for its followers to preach and spread the last and final message of Allah to the world. Globalization made it much easier to interact with different sects, ethnic groups, nations and religions; which results in a dire need to put more effort in spreading the message of Islam. Though it is a fact that besides the sincere efforts of different preaching groups of Islam the required results are still needed to be achieved. That’s why it is important to made reforms in the methods of preaching to face and counter the challenges of contemporary scenario. This article focuses on the responsibility of preacher and objectives of preaching so the preacher clearly understands the objectives behind the spreading of the message of Islam and exert his/her all abilities to fulfill the task. Because in recent times in order to convey the message of Islam the preacher have to face many challenges and problems. That is why the preaching should be given with wisdom, humility, sincerity, persistence and according to the environment. At the end this study focuses on the strategies of preaching so preacher understand the basic elements of preaching to attain the required result.

A Review on Health-Promoting, Biological, and Functional Aspects of Bioactive Peptides in Food Applications.

Food-derived bioactive peptides are being used as important functional ingredients for health-promoting foods and nutraceuticals in recent times in order to prevent and manage several diseases thanks to their biological activities. Bioactive peptides are specific protein fractions, which show broad applications in cosmetics, food additives, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antithrombotic, and angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory ingredients. These peptides can preserve consumer health by retarding chronic diseases owing to modulation or improvement of the physiological functions of human body. They can also affect functional characteristics of different foods such as dairy products, fermented beverages, and plant and marine proteins. This manuscript reviews different aspects of bioactive peptides concerning their biological (antihypertensive, antioxidative, antiobesity, and hypocholesterolemic) and functional (water holding capacity, solubility, emulsifying, and foaming) properties. Moreover, the properties of several bioactive peptides extracted from different foods as potential ingredients to formulate health promoting foods are described. Thus, multifunctional properties of bioactive peptides provide the possibility to formulate or develop novel healthy food products.

An Insight Into Treatment, Reuse, Recycle and Disposal of Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable Solid Waste

Solid waste is the unwanted material generated due to various human activities. Solid waste can be classified broadly as biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Biodegradable waste can degrade easily while non-biodegradable waste needs treatment for disposal. Improper disposal of waste causes various serious and dangerous issues which are harmful to the environment. Open dumping of waste causes infertility of soil. The waste leaches into the ground and pollutes the ground water. With rapid urbanization and advancement in technology, the waste production also increases rapidly. Thus, solid waste management is an important concept in recent times in order to achieve sustainable development. This article shed lights on the effective ways to recycle, reduce and dispose the solid waste.

Impact of row planting teff technology adoption on the income of smallholder farmers: The case of Hidabu Abote District, North Shoa Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, improved agricultural technologies, like row planting are promoted in the recent times in order to address low agricultural productivity.

A review on artificial bone modelling: Materials and manufacturing techniques

Artificial bone modelling has been done in recent times in order to replicate the mechanical properties and microstructure of the human cancellous and cortical bone. The applications of artificial bone models include bone grafting and testing of orthopaedic instruments. The recent developments in this field make the use of natural polymers and bio-compatible metals to manufacture porous structures replicating bone properties. The aim of this review is to consolidate the research efforts done in the field of making artificial bone models of the human trabecular bone by studying the material and manufacturing aspects of the process. The article reviews the bone models under the categories of polymers and composites and metal scaffolds. A combination of natural polymers along with a bio-compatible synthetic polymer and bio-ceramic reinforcement has proven to be a suitable candidate in replicating the mechanical properties of the bone while ensuring bio-compatibility. Three manufacturing techniques were reviewed with respect to the ability to replicate the bone microstructure. SLM is a potential candidate in terms of design flexibility and manufacturing accuracy. A direction to future research in extending the application of artificial bone models to the testing of dental implants has also been provided.

Influence of different types of fiber on the properties of recycled aggregate concrete

AbstractUtilization of recycled aggregate from the construction and demolition waste as a partial substitution of natural aggregate in the concrete has been increased in the recent times in order to minimize the consumption of natural resources and the harmful effects to the environment. The present investigation mainly focuses on the influence of different fibers on mechanical and other properties of concrete made with 50% of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) as well as concrete with 100% natural aggregate. Three types of fibers such as Woolen fibers (WF), Glass fibers (GF), and Steel fibers (SF) were used in both normal and recycled aggregate concrete mixes. The workability, compressive strength, split tensile and flexural strengths, modulus of elasticity, density, water absorption and volume of voids, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) properties of all the mixes were investigated. From the experimental findings it was observed that the fibers significantly improve the mechanical properties of both normal and recycled aggregate concretes. Further among the WF, GF, and SF, SFs had shown more positive impact on the properties of concrete.

Voice-based motion control of a robotic vehicle through visible light communication

Robotic vehicles and their applications have gained widespread significance in recent times in order to automate every sphere of human activities. Besides, it invites a great deal of attention in environments where human presence or intervention becomes very difficult and in most cases not being possible. The paper therefore proposes a voice based movement and evolves a direction control scheme for a robotic vehicle in a Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) medium with a view to exploit its available enormous bandwidth. Choice of Li-Fi as a medium owes to its quick response time and ability to respond to voice based commands. It engages the role of an artificial neural network (ANN) for recognizing the syllables through Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm. The scheme relies on two sets of instructions issued to the vehicle controlled by the Arduino controller, which allows acting in accordance to the instruction recognized by the voice recognition module.

Performance of factory made solar heating systems according to standard ISO 9459-5:2007

The utilization of solar energy based technologies has attracted increased interest in recent times in order to satisfy the energy demands in buildings. This research work presents a comparative analysis of the energy production and costs of factory made solar heating systems, Thermosiphon Solar Water Heaters Systems (TSWHS) and Forced-circulation Solar Water Heaters Systems (FSWHS), as a function of profile type (high and low) and collector absorber treatment (selective and black painting). We observe that the energy performance and the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is similar in TSWHS and FSWHS for load volumes below tank nominal volume, black painting absorbers and locations with high solar irradiation. In the case of load volumes greater than nominal, climates with low irradiation and collectors with selective absorbers, the differences in their energy performance can reach a 7% and the LCOE can increase up to 9%. The LCOE is lower for TSWHS systems for all the evaluated scenarios. We have also found that for cold climates, the FSWHS systems present higher net annual energy produced, however, for warm climates TSWHS systems present greater net annual energy production.

Assessment of by-products of bioenergy systems (anaerobic digestion and gasification) as potential crop nutrient

Alternative fertilizer resources have drawn attention in recent times in order to cope up with ever increasing demand for fertilizer. By-products of bioenergy system are considered favourable as organic fertilizer due to their ability to recycle plant nutrients. Present study evaluates fertilizer suitability of by-products of two bioenergy systems viz. 3 types of anaerobic digestion by-products (digestate) from local surplus biomass such as cowdung, Ipomoea carnea:cowdung (60:40) and ricestraw:green gram stover:cowdung (30:30:40) and one gasification by-product (biochar) from rice husk. Digestates were assessed considering 4 different application options of each viz. whole, solid, liquid and ash from solid digestates. Digestate characteristics (organic matter, macronutrients, micronutrients and heavy metal content) were found to be a function of feedstock and processing (solid liquid separation and ashing). Ipomoea carnea based digestates in all application options showed comparatively higher N, P, K, NH4+-N, Ca, Mg, S and micro nutrient content than other digestates. Separation concentrated plant nutrients and organic matter in solid digestates, making these suitable both as organic amendments and fertilizer. Separated liquid digestate shared larger fraction of ammonium nitrogen (61–91% of total content), indicating their suitability as readily available N source. However, fertilizer application of liquid digestate may not match crop requirements due to lower total nutrient concentration. Higher electrical conductivity of the liquid digestates (3.4–9.3mScm−1) than solid digestates (1.5–2mScm−1) may impart phyto–toxic effect upon fertilization due to salinity. In case of by-products with unstable organic fraction i.e. whole and solid digestates of rice straw:green gram stover:cowdung digestates (Humification index 0.7), further processing (stabilization, composting) may be required to maximize their fertilizer benefit. Heavy metal contents of the by-products were found to be within the permitted range specified for organic fertilizer (vermicompost) in India. However, higher Al content of the digestates in whole, solid and ash phase (0.06–16.97gkg−1 fresh matter) can be a concern in acid soil which may cause Al toxicity.Understanding on agrochemical characteristics of bioenergy by–products with varying feedstock and application option is expected to promote their valorization opportunities considering user specific requirements. In the context of agriculturally dominant but energy deficient rural Indian scenario, integrated production of bioenergy and by-product based fertilizer could be very significant to meet the critical additional requirement of both energy and fertilizer.

Banking Regulatory and Market Framework in Ghana: Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

The purpose of this paper is to review the several reforms and regulations that were passed during and after the economy liberalization in the banking sector of Ghana and to assess whether there is adequate regulations that can protect private capital and the financial sector of Ghana. Bank of Ghana was mandated to carry out regulatory and supervisory function of the banking sector of Ghana and to institute necessary reforms that would protect the financial sector in Ghana. Some of the notable regulations that were passed in recent times in order to be abreast with the global changes included: Credit referencing bureau, Liquidity from capital injection, Basel II, Cheque clearing cycle. The study is a qualitative research involving content analysis and it employed purposive sampling methodology to selects key persons with the knowledge and expertise to contribute to the study. This study delve into details and in-depth into the banking sector of the Ghana. The paper revealed that the reforms and regulation introduced by the Bank of Ghana has contributed immersely to the social-economic development of Ghana and assessed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the financial sector. The study professed some recommendations that would ensure that the Bank of Ghana continues to ensure a sound, competitive and efficient financial system in Ghana.

An Integrated Multi-Echelon Model for a Sustainable Closed Loop Supply Chain Network Design

The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more importance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing trends in business and social environments, growing environmental consciousness in the society and government legislations to protect the environment as well as the business. In this context, this paper considers a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain network design with forward and reverse logistics components. An attempt has been made to develop a mixed integer non-linear programming model for this problem with different costs so that the sum of the total cost is minimized subject to different constraints pertaining to capacities of the entities of the system, demands of first customers and second customers. A generalized model is presented and then its application is illustrated using an example problem by solving the model using LINGO14. This model forms as a tool to compare future meta-heuristics to check the closeness of their solutions with corresponding optimal solutions.

'Small' and 'grand narratives' of English teaching and social agency in South Africa post-1994

At Vista in recent times in order to be relevant lecturers in the English Department have had to extend the literature, theory and academic reading and writing repertoire to include new modules, such as ENG5009: Reading and Writing Skills for Business English . Students study the workings of groups in business, how to identify and manage conflict situations, conduct meetings, compose notices, agendas, minutes, reports and presentations and how to manage time and the rules of grammar. In this paper I seek to show that from a postmodernist perspective ENG5009 is to some extent a response to the local context, a Lyotardian ‘small narrative' (‘petit recit') in its own right and, simultaneously, traceable to the ‘grand narratives'(‘grands recits') of English produced and reproduced continuously since its inception as a field of study. Moreover, as a ‘grand narrative' post-apartheid offspring, ENG5009, the type of English now demanded both locally and globally, will be shown to be complicitous with ‘neo-colonialism'. Keywords: small and grand narratives, English the subject, English as literacy, social agency [Jnl for Language Teaching Vol.37(2) 2003: 268-280]

EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE ON THE PROPERTIES OF Mg–Mn FERRITES

Processing of ferrites has gained tremendous importance in recent times in order to meet high performance demands on ferrites in keeping with the fast emerging technologies. The main focus of research in the 21st century is towards the formation of smaller magnetic particles. In normal ceramic methods we cannot control particle size and porosity, whereas in precursor methods we can control both. In the present study we have synthesized Mg 0.9 Mn 0.1 Fe 2 O 4 ferrites by the normal ceramic method and the citrate precursor method. By the citrate method we have simultaneously reduced the particle size and sintering temperature as compared to the normal ceramic method. By the citrate method, direct current (DC) resistivity is increased by two orders of magnitude, and electrical as well as magnetic losses are reduced as compared to the normal ceramic method. The initial permeability is reduced in both citrate method as compared to the normal ceramic methods. However, with sintering temperature the initial permeability increases. The dielectric constant is reduced by the citrate method as compared to normal ceramic methods. These observations are explained on the basis of various mechanisms and models.

Human Resource Management: Career Development

This paper mainly emphasizes on career development which is gaining much importance in recent times in order to retain skilled, competent and result oriented people in the organization. This paper invites special attention in this area of organizations.
 
 Journal of Nepalese Business Studies Vol.1(1) 2004 pp.99-100

La operación Libertad Duradera y la legítima defensa a la luz de los atentados del 11 de septiembre de 2001

Después de los ataques del 11 de septiembre parecía que había llegado el momento del multilateralismo y la hora de reforzar el papel de las Naciones Unidas, pues los Estados Unidos de América habrían podido liderar el sistema multilateral, cuyo eje es la ONU, frente al terrorismo, pero la realidad es otra muy distinta: la postura estadounidense ha acentuado el unilateralismo exhibido durante los últimos tiempos con el fin de satisfacer sus intereses o combatir las amenazas a su seguridad, utilizando para ello, tras la faz de la legítima defensa, la figura de la defensa preventiva.

Correlation between time and frequency domain polarisation measurements for transformer moisture assessment

Preventative diagnosis and maintenance of transformers has become more popular in recent times in order to improve the reliability of electric power systems. A number of transformers have recently been tested using Return Voltage (RV) and Dielectric Dissipation Factor (tan) measurements in the time and frequency domain, respectively. This paper outlines a circuit model which describes the dielectric behaviour of the transformer insulation system and has been parameterised from the frequency domain data. This model was then used to simulate RV and Polarisation-Depolarisation current (PDC) results. Some recommendations about the diagnosis of the transformers have been proposed.

Deriving an Equivalent Circuit of Transformers Insulation for Understanding the Dielectric Response Measurements

Preventive diagnosis and maintenance of transformers have become more and more popular in recent times in order to improve the reliability of electric power systems. Dielectric testing techniques such as return voltage measurement (RVM) and polarization-depolarization current (PDC) measurement are being investigated as potential tools for condition assessment of transformer insulation. A better understanding and analysis of the dielectric test results are only possible with a clear understanding of the physical behavior of the insulation system in response to moisture and aging. A circuit model, which describes the dielectric behavior of the transformer's main insulation system, has been parameterized in this paper. The values of the parameters of the model have been identified from the dielectric tests. A correlation has been developed between the physical condition of the insulation and the equivalent model parameters that enable a clear and transparent interpretation of the dielectric test results.

‘Small' and ‘grand narratives' of English teaching and social agency in South Africa post-1994

At Vista in recent times in order to be relevant lecturers in the English Department have had to extend the literature, theory and academic reading and writing repertoire to include new modules, such as ENG5009: Reading and Writing Skills for Business English . Students study the workings of groups in business, how to identify and manage conflict situations, conduct meetings, compose notices, agendas, minutes, reports and presentations and how to manage time and the rules of grammar. In this paper I seek to show that from a postmodernist perspective ENG5009 is to some extent a response to the local context, a Lyotardian ‘small narrative' (‘petit recit') in its own right and, simultaneously, traceable to the ‘grand narratives'(‘grands recits') of English produced and reproduced continuously since its inception as a field of study. Moreover, as a ‘grand narrative' post-apartheid offspring, ENG5009, the type of English now demanded both locally and globally, will be shown to be complicitous with ‘neo-colonialism'. Keywords: small and grand narratives, English the subject, English as literacy, social agency [Jnl for Language Teaching Vol.37(2) 2003: 268-280]