Sorption kinetic studies of medical grade activated carbon prepared from papaya seeds

The aim of this investigation was to determine the adsorption behavior and kinetics of methylene blue in aqueous solution on activated carbons prepared from papaya seeds by way of the two stage activation method in self-generated atmosphere using a muffle furnace. The optimised activated carbon, AK7, had a sorption kinetic that complied with the pseudo-second order kinetics and was fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model. The highest adsorption capacity of 97.09 mg g-1was obtained when the samples (AK7) were subjected to activation temperature of 500oC for 60 minutes with the percentage of methylene blue removal efficiency of 99.5%

Use Mathematical Writing as a Practical Approach to Increase Students’ Problem Solving Skills: A Case Study

In mathematical problem solving, students’ written work mostly reveals their mathematical algorithm skills and has very little information about their reasoning skills of the problem solving process. This study extends the features of mathematical writing that integrate the language and mathematical thinking to increase students’ mathematical problem solving skills. The main feature of this study is the use of mathematics writing workbook as a practical approach to guide the students in the problem solving process. Thirty Foundation students in Engineering participated in a six weeks of writing to solve mathematical problems. An exploratory case study analysis was used to examine the written contents of the participants’ mathematical writing workbook, the performance of their formal test as well as their perceptions of mathematical writing. The trace of work in the workbooks showed that mathematical writing has somehow given some impact on these students to visualize, aware and recognize their problem solving behaviors in words

Recurrent Fusion Genes in Gastric Cancer: CLDN18-ARHGAP26 Induces Loss of Epithelial Integrity.

Genome rearrangements, a hallmark of cancer, can result in gene fusions with oncogenic properties. Using DNA paired-end-tag (DNA-PET) whole-genome sequencing, we analyzed 15 gastric cancers (GCs) from Southeast Asians. Rearrangements were enriched in open chromatin and shaped by chromatin structure. We identified seven rearrangement hot spots and 136 gene fusions. In three out of 100 GC cases, we found recurrent fusions between CLDN18, a tight junction gene, and ARHGAP26, a gene encoding a RHOA inhibitor. Epithelial cell lines expressing CLDN18-ARHGAP26 displayed a dramatic loss of epithelial phenotype and long protrusions indicative of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Fusion-positive cell lines showed impaired barrier properties, reduced cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, retarded wound healing, and inhibition of RHOA. Gain of invasion was seen in cancer cell lines expressing the fusion. Thus, CLDN18-ARHGAP26 mediates epithelial disintegration, possibly leading to stomach H(+) leakage, and the fusion might contribute to invasiveness once a cell is transformed. Cell Rep 2015 Jul 14; 12(2):272-285

Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.publishedVersio

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.8–14.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.8–71.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.0–27.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.3–27.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.3–23.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.4–87.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.1–83.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.1–60.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally.publishedVersio

Category management - a local perspective

The purpose of this report is to: (1) study the category management concept in-depth; (2) discuss what its possible benefits and costs are; and (3) explore the practical implications category management has on the local businesses. The methodology of this thesis uses the approach of a case study. Important findings of this research include: category management does increase sales; and the retailer is able to handle its assets more efficiently. However, with the implementation of category management, the retailer has to forgo attending to the needs of a portion of its customers. In conclusion, category management is a very useful tool that local manufacturers and retailers should adopt, provided that the manufacturer owns a leading brand; the retailer uses point-of-sales terminals; both have the support of their top management with organisational structures that facilitate the adoption of the management process, and the employees that are dedicated to make the process a success.BUSINES

Tapping the ageing labour force in Singapore

The objective of this research paper is to analyse the need to tap aged labour force in Singapore, due to her ageing population. It also examines the trend in public policy towards older workers. Recommendations are made to companies and Government on how they can further tap the aged labour force in Singapore

How culture and what online customers value will influence e-commerce success : China's case.

This research aims to find out how culture will influence what online customers value. Following this, we will find out how what online customers value will influence the success of e-commerce