Vital Sensory Kit For Use With Telemedicine In Developing Countries

In many developing countries, a large percentage of the population lacks access to adequate healthcare. This is especially true in India where close to 70% of the population lives in rural areas and has little to no access to hospitals or clinics. People living in rural India often times cannot afford to pay to see a doctor should they need to make the journey to a hospital. Telemedicine, a breakthrough in the past couple decades, has broken down the barrier between the patient and the physician. It has slowly been implemented in India to make doctors more available to patients through the use of video conferences and other forms of communication. A compact and affordable kit has been developed that will be used to take a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose concentration and oxygen saturation. Our most novel contribution is the non-invasive glucose sensor that will use a near-infrared LED and photodiode in the patient’s earlobe. Currently millions of diabetics do this by pricking their finger. By wirelessly sending data results from the vital sign kit, the first essential part of a treatment can be carried out via wireless communication, saving the doctor and patient time and money

Role of extracellular vesicles in hypoxia-induced hepatic injury in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Transition from isolated steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a key issue in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recent observations in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), suggest that intermittent hypoxia (IH) may contribute to disease progression. Among other mechanisms, release of extracellular vesicles (EV) by injured hepatocytes has been implicated in NAFLD progression. We investigated the effects of hypoxia on liver injury in experimental models of NAFLD though EV. Methods: Hepatocytes treated with free fatty acids were subjected to chemically induced hypoxia (CH) using cobalt chloride (CoCl2). Triglyceride (TG) content, lipotoxicity, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines and cleaved caspase-1 were assessed. Also, Kupffer cells (KC) and human stellate cell (LX-2) were treated with conditioned medium (CM) and EVs from hypoxic fat-laden hepatocytes. The choline deficient L-amino acid diet (CDAA)-fed mice model used to assess the effects of IH on experimental NAFLD. Results: Both in vitro and in vivo models of NAFLD exhibited increased TG content, lipotoxicity and pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines compared to non-treated hepatocytes or control mice. Cleaved caspase-1 increased in 1) CH-exposed steatotic hepatocytes, 2) CDAA-fed mice exposed to IH, and 3) in EV (from steatotic hepatocytes and CDAA-fed mice). CM and EVs from hypoxic fat-laden hepatic cells evoked a pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic phenotype in KC and LX-2 respectively. Conclusion: Our findings in experimental models of NAFLD indicate that hypoxia may increase liver injury and promote disease progression. These results suggest EV and their content (caspase-1) as a potential novel biomarker in NAFLD and OSAS

Influence of fungal morphology on the performance of industrial fermentation processes for enzyme production

Produktion af industrielle enzymer udføres typisk som vandige aerobe fermenteringer. Filamentøse mikroorganismer er udbredte som værtsorganismer i disse processer pga. adskillige fordele. Samtidig har de store ulemper som følge af den uundgåelige begrænsning i iltoverførselen pga. den høje viskositet af mediet de udvikler, og som menes at være relateret til biomasse koncentrationen, væksthastigheden og morfologien. Den sidste variabel er blandt de mest betydningsfulde egenskaber på grund af sin store kompleksitet, og den er blevet grundigt undersøgt i dette arbejde samt dens korrelation til viskositet og andre procesvariabler. En betydelig mængde forskning er blevet udført igennem årene i forbindelse med svampes morfologi og deres relation til produktivitet. Dog er bidragene i litteraturen kendetegnet ved mangel på relevante industrielle data. En platform er blevet udviklet, som giver anledning til høje enzymproduktiviteter sammenlignet med hvad der tidligere er rapporteret i litteraturen for fed-batch fermentering ved anvendelse af en opløselig inducer (lactose). Forskellige nitrogenkilder er blevet sammenlignet, og det blev konstateret, at sojamel muliggør en højere enzymtiter i sammenligning med hvad der er blevet rapporteret i litteraturen. Den udviklede platform blev anvendt til at undersøge indflydelsen af omrøringsintensiteten på morfologien, rheologien og proteinproduktionsevnen af Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30. Otte fed-batch fermenteringer blev udført i lab-skala fermentorer ved to forskellige mediekoncentrationer og fire forskellige omrøringshastigheder. Morfologien blev målt med laserdiffraktion og den 90. percentil af partikelstørrelsesfordelingen (PSD) blev valgt som den karakteristiske morfologiske parameter. Ingen signifikant forskel i biomassekoncentration, kuldioxidproduktionshastigheden og enzymproduktionen blev observeret som funktion af omrøringshastigheden, selv ved meget høj omrøringseffekt. Imidlertid blev morfologien og rheologien betydeligt påvirket. De indsamlede data blev brugt til at skabe en ny fremgangsmåde til at forudsige filamentøse svampes rheologi, baseret på simple målinger af biomasse og morfologi. Eftersom at morfologi er en vigtig variabel i industrielle vandige fermenteringer, er det vigtigt at forstå de faktorer, der påvirker den. En vigtig faktor er omrøringsinduceret fragmentering, da det vil afgøre størrelsen af partiklerne, som derefter vil påvirke rheologien. En veletableret state-of-the-art funktion, Energy Dissipation Circulation Function (EDCF), er blevet anvendt til at korrelere hyfe fragmentering over et område af reaktorskalaer og omrører typer. Denne korrelation (EDCF) blev dog udviklet til ikke-voksende systemer (off-line fragmentering), og der er ikke foretaget forsøg for at teste dens anvendelse på tværs af forskellige skalaer i egentlige fermenteringsvæsker. For at teste validiteten af denne korrelation, blev et nedskaleringsforsøg udført. En produktionsbatch fra Novozymes A/S, som blev kørt i en produktionsskala bioreaktor (≈ 100 m3) blev skaleret ned til pilotskala (≈1 m3) og lab-skala (≈0.001 m3). EDCF blev beregnet for hvert batch sammen med andre blandingsparametre, og de blev korreleret til den karakteristiske morfologiske parameter, den 90. percentil af PSD. Dataene viste, at andre mere enkle opskaleringsparametre er lige så gode til at forudsige mycelie fragmentering på tværs skalaer. Endvidere blev den morfologiske udvikling af en industriel stamme af T. reesei overvåget i pilotskalafermenteringer fodret med en hidtil ukendt strategi, udviklet i et parallelt projekt. Denne undersøgelse viste, at når morfologien overvåges med laser diffraktion, åbnes muligheden for at studere direkte fysiologiske reaktioner på vækstbetingelser i omrørte bioreaktorer. De opnåede resultater indikerer, at forbrug af næringsstofferne og de resulterende lave koncentrationer af næringsstofferne inducerede fouragering grundet sult, der forårsagede en stigning i hyfe længde. Endelig blev en ny, hurtig og nem metode til statistisk-verificeret kvantificering af den relative hyfe trækstyrke udviklet i den sidste del af dette ph.d.-projekt. Hyfestyrke af svampe er en vigtig fænotype, som kan have en dybtgående indvirkning på bioprocessens adfærd. Anvendeligheden af denne nye metode blev demonstreret ved en estimering af den relative hyfestyrke under vækst i kontrollerede forhold og rapamycin-induceret autophagy for to Aspergillus nidulans stammer. Begge stammer blev dyrket i rystekolber, og den relative hyfe trækstyrke blev sammenlignet. Resultaterne bekræftede anvendeligheden af den udviklede metode i udvælgelse af stamme og procesudvikling. Denne ph.d.-afhandling bringer mere viden til forståelsen af forholdet mellem vækstkinetik, vækstbetingelser og den morfologiske struktur af filamentøse svampe, som kan bidrage med at skræddersy morfologien af en given industriel stamme.Production of industrial enzymes is usually carried out as submerged aerobic fermentations. Filamentous microorganisms are widely used as hosts in these processes due to multiple advantages. Nevertheless, they also present major drawbacks, due to the unavoidable oxygen transfer limitations as a consequence of the high viscosity of the medium that they develop, which is believed to be related to the biomass concentration, growth rate and morphology. This last variable is one of the most outstanding characteristics of the filamentous fungi due to its great complexity and it was extensively studied in this work, along with its correlation to viscosity and other process variables. Considerable research work has been conducted through the years to study fungal morphology and its relation to productivity. However, the work reported in the literature lacks relevant industrial data. In this work, a platform was developed which was able to produce high enzyme titers in comparison with what has been reported thus far in fed-batch fermentation using a soluble inducer (lactose). Different nitrogen sources were compared, and it was found that soy meal allowed for higher enzyme titers compared to what has been reported in the literature. The developed platform was used to study the influence of agitation intensity on the morphology, rheology and protein production capability of Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30. Eight fed-batch fermentations were conducted in bench scale fermenters at two different media concentrations and four different agitation speeds. The morphology was measured with laser diffraction and the 90th percentile of the particle size distribution (PSD) was chosen as the characteristic morphology parameter. No significant difference in biomass concentration, carbon dioxide production rate and enzyme production was observed as a function of agitation speed, even at the very high power inputs. However, the morphology and rheology were considerably affected. The data produced was used to create a novel method to predict filamentous fungi rheology based on simple measurements of biomass and morphology. Thus, morphology is an important variable in industrial submerged fermentation since it highly impacts the broth rheology. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that affect it. One important factor is agitation-induced fragmentation since it will dictate the size of the particles, which will then affect rheology. A well-established state of the art function, the Energy Dissipation Circulation Function (EDCF), has been used to correlate hyphal fragmentation over a range of scales and impeller types. This correlation was however developed for non-growing systems (off-line fragmentation), and no attempts have been made for testing its application across different scales in actual fermentation broths. Thus, to test the validity of this correlation, a scale-down experiment was carried out. A production batch from Novozymes A/S operated in a production scale bioreactor (≈ 100 m3) was scaled down to pilot scale (≈1 m3) and to bench scale (≈0.001 m3). The EDCF was calculated for each batch along with other mixing parameters and they were correlated to the characteristic morphological parameter, the 90th percentile of the PSD. The data showed that other more simple scale up parameters are equally good at predicting mycelial fragmentation across scales, compared to the EDCF. Furthermore, the morphological development of an industrial strain of T. reesei was monitored in pilot scale fermentations. This study showed that the morphology monitored with laser diffraction also granted the possibility to study direct physiological responses to environmental conditions in stirred bioreactors. The obtained results indicate that the nutrient depletion induced foraging due to starvation, which caused the increase in hyphal length.   Finally, a novel, fast and easy method for statistically-verified quantification of relative hyphal tensile strength was developed in the last part of this PhD project. Fungal hyphal strength is an important phenotype which can have a profound impact on bioprocess behavior. The applicability of this novel method was demonstrated by estimating relative hyphal strength during growth in control conditions and rapamycin-induced autophagy conditions for two strains of Aspergillus nidulans. Both strains were grown in shake flasks, and relative hyphal tensile strength was compared. The findings confirmed the utility of the developed method in strain selection and process development. This PhD thesis brings more knowledge to the understanding of the relationship between growth kinetics, environmental conditions and the morphological structure of the filamentous fungi, which can help to tailor the morphology for a given industrial strain. <br/

Inside Out Apologetics: Engaging Christian and Postmodern Approaches to Higher Education

The current decline in performance and effectiveness of higher education makes it necessary to re-evaluate the teaching foundation on the theology of human nature that college professors hold. Since their foundation determines the approach that defines them as teachers, their pedagogy, and their curriculum, it is essential to consider two approaches. One of them is the transcendent approach of the Christian faith that defines human beings as lovers, believers, and thinkers. The other approach is the autonomist postmodern approach which defines human beings as social constructs. Since the college professor’s approach to human nature affects students\u27 learning outcomes, this thesis seeks to analyze how the transcendent Christian approach to human beings will lead to better learning than the postmodern autonomous approach and open the door to sharing the Gospel in secular universities. This thesis argues that since the transcendent Christian approach helps to shape and encourage students\u27 hearts, minds, and beliefs towards God, students\u27 desire to learn increases. Opposite to this result, this thesis also argues that the autonomist postmodern approach limits the professor\u27s scope of teaching by analyzing issues from a relativist pluralistic perspective. Because the transcendent Christian approach provides better learning, this thesis also seeks to encourage orthodox Christian academics to draft and teach classes in secular universities that can be used to expose students to the truth of the gospel in various disciplines through elective courses without being silenced by universities’ academic requirements and goals on how a class will contribute to the greater economy and social development

What is farm animal welfare?

Authors stress that farm animal welfare (FAW) has become a mainstream contemporary societal demand worldwide, resulting in research conducted with FAW. The most popular type of research are surveys that analyse consumers’ attitudes towards FAW, yet, these are limited geographically to the European Union, the United States, and Canada. Very few studies have been done in Latin America, regardless of evidence that suggests an expected increase in the social demand of FAW and its associated products. FAW related knowledge in terms of consumer preferences today, still scarce in Latin American countries, with only Mexico, Chile, and Brazil being the referent countries creating scientific publications that address FAW. Nevertheless, such scientific publications often focus on farmers and slaughter practices, excluding consumers’ attitudes and perceptions. Thus, this study acknowledges that the agri-food chain is integrated by different actors, focusing on understanding what FAW is from the consumers’ perception perspective. This study aimed to investigate the Mexican respondents’ perceptions in their role of consumers of animal-based food when forming a meaning for FAW. Thus, a novel approach was embraced by applying the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) and interpreting the results based on the Means-End Chain (MEC) theory and the Schwartz’s personal values theory; this approach, together with the findings, are the study’s key contribution. The findings in this research suggest that when attaching a meaning for FAW, the meaning respondents build is complex, being integrated by a set of hierarchical relationships. These relationships are integrated by elements like attributes leading to consequences, to achieve a specific set of values. The study displays them graphically through a Hierarchical Value Map (HVM) representing the first-ever Mexican respondents’ mental model when forming a meaning for FAW. By examining such elements, this study discovered that respondents consistently reflected FAW as a set of specific and distinctive characteristics in animal-based food; such characteristics are the attributes free from chemicals, more natural, higher quality, cruelty-free, better taste, ethical and artisan-made. Also, the respondents perceived FAW as a physiological or psychological result happening not to them as a person, but to the farmed animals, taking the form of a set of consequences that were consistently evoked by them and that reflect their thoughts of FAW being no pain/painless life, freedom of movement, free from stress, non-alteration of the animals’ development, access indoor/outdoor, access to natural food and water, no overexploitation, dignified life, access to medical care, non-forced reproduction, access to socializing with their own species, access to rest and sleep, dignified slaughter and recognition of farmed animals as sentient beings the recurrent constructs. Finally, when thinking of FAW, the respondents ultimately reach three end-states: being compassionate, wellness, and achievement. The results displayed here might serve as a source of useful knowledge or a guideline when the time comes, and the actors in the agri-food chain -producers, distributors, marketers, and policy-makers- in Mexico decide to listen to the consumer concerns by embracing FAW practices and designing FAW frameworks which goal is the insurability of farm

Evaluation and Optimization of Functionality and Durability of Porous Graded Asphalts

Porous Graded Asphalts (PGA) are thin layers utilized on top of conventional pavements that are characterized for containing high air void contents (AV) (usually larger than 18%) which results in high drainability; this provides safety conditions since it reduces hydroplaning, splash and spray and glare at night and improves skid resistance and the visibility of pavement markings along with some environmental and driving enhancements. An ideal PGA should achieve a balance between functionality (i.e., the capacity of maintaining the beneficial properties throughout the service life) and durability (i.e., the resistance to distress and/or failure); however, some transportation agencies have reported highly functional PGA mixtures with early failures, or highly durable mixtures that do not achieve long-term beneficial properties. In order to overcome this problem, an assessment of the durability and functionality of four different PGA materials was performed. Durability was evaluated via Cantabro loss test, Hamburg Wheel Track test (HWTT), Semi Circular Bending test (SCB) and Indirect Tensile Strength/ Tensile Strength Ratio test (IDT/TSR). Functionality was evaluated via permeability test with TXDOT, NCAT and FDOT permeameters and noise absorption was evaluated using the Impedance Tube test. Additionally, construction and maintenance specifications were revised in order to identify key procedures to guarantee adequate functionality and durability of PGA. It was found that the functionality of the mixture is best represented by the permeability measurements which depend crucially on the AV, thickness and type of permeameter utilized. Durability of the mixture was better represented by the Cantabro loss test, HWTT and SCB are not recommended; the Cantabro loss depends significantly on the AV, type of conditioning protocol and thickness. It was found that increasing the AV increases the permeability, which is beneficial for functionality, but at the same time the Cantabro resistance decreases, which translates to a greater potential for abrasion related regardless of the thickness or type of material. Hence it is suggested to do an optimization and include it in PGA specifications with both minimum and maximum AV thresholds guaranteeing functional mixtures that perform adequately over the service life

Building sustainable farms, ranches and communities : a guide to federal programs for sustainable agriculture, forestry, entrepreneurship, conservation, food systems, and community development

"A publication supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies working together for sustainable places in collaboration with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)"September 2020"This guide is written for anyone seeking help from federal programs to foster sustainable and innovative initiatives associated with agriculture and forestry in this country and territories. Sustainability can be understood to embrace the triple concepts of economic, environmental and social viability. A reader can find information about program resources pertaining to economic development; farm loans; insurance and risk management; local food systems, value added and marketing innovations; natural resources conservation and management; nutrition and consumer food access; renewable energy and energy conservation; and research and outreach. The guide can help farmers, researchers, entrepreneurs, community developers, private landowners, conservationists, and other individuals, as well as private and public businesses and organizations. It describes program resources ranging from grants and loans to technical assistance and information resources."--IntroductionAuthored by Donale Richards (MFAI), Margaret Krome (MFAI), Alejandra Hernandez (MFAI) and NSAC's policy staffIncludes bibliographical reference

El pensamiento de diseño como estrategia de innovación en los modelos de negocio de las empresas sociales de turismo natural en México. Caso de estudio: santuario de la mariposa monarca, Sierra Chincua, ejido Cerro prieto

El presente documento es el resultado del trabajo para la obtención del grado de maestra en diseño, por parte de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Es importante mencionar que en el inicio del proyecto se tuvo claro que el objetivo de la investigación, era contribuir con evidencia empírica la eficacia, así como de sus procesos de intervención en un entorno complejo, un ambiente lleno de particularidades especiales, como lo son en este caso las empresas sociales de turismo que manifiestan su labor en ambientes rurales, y para exigirle a un más a la disciplina se particularizo en un lugar con especificaciones de cuidado ambiental sumamente delicado. Ahora bien, con base a estas dos variables y su interacción y resultados fueron alentadores y llenos de aventura y mejores a los esperados. Las respuestas a las preguntas de investigación acerca de ¿Cómo interviene el diseño en estos casos de estudio?, ¿Cuáles son los aportes y mejoras en la innovación de los modelos de negocio que existen actualmente en estas empresas en ambientes rurales?, fueron en un principio un vaivén de preguntas y respuestas que nos condujeron a un profundidad dentro del caso de estudio insuperable, puesto que las herramientas utilizadas con pero la mejor respuesta para este estudio es la interdisciplinaridad con la que el diseño puede trabajar es insuperable a ninguna otra disciplina, así mismo su flexibilidad para adaptarse y sus múltiples cualidades y aspectos que en su aplicación se fusionan. Los procesos creativos con los cuales se trabaja dan cabida al encuentro de respuestas constantes ante problemáticas de múltiples direcciones. Acompañado de sus procesos de intervención y toma de decisiones arraigados a sus paradigmas que a su vez dirigen un conjunto de esfuerzos en cada etapa, donde se concluyen y vuelven a centraran los objetivos, permitiendo llegar a resultados inesperados y llenos de fortalezas y especificaciones como ninguna otra disciplina podría dar como resultados