Estimation of production trend of the depik, Rasbora tawarensis (Teleostei, Cyprinidae), in Lake Laut Tawar, Indonesia

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the production trend of the depik (Rasbora tawarensis) during the last two decades in Lake Laut Tawar. The production trend was examined based on the catch per unit efforts. The direct sampling, fishermen catches collection and fishermen interview were conducted to collect actual fish catches. The results showed that the depik, R. tawarensis production (indicated by the catch-per-unit effort (CPUE)) was seasonally dependent where the CPUE was higher in the rainy season compared to dry season. In addition, the CPUE was higher in the new moon according to lunar cycle. The production of depik in particular and fishes of Lake Laut Tawar in general are declining dramatically during the last two decades. The decrease in the water levels, destructive fishing gears, the presence of introduced species and pollution are the main reasons suggested for this phenomenon.</p

How to diagnose the cause of sudden cardiac arrest

Sudden cardiac death or sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is defined as natural death that occurs within an hour of the onset of acute symptoms or during sleep due to a primary cardiac cause. Most cases of SCA are attributable to coronary artery disease, with occult cardiomyopathy or inheritable arrhythmic syndromes accounting for a minority of SCA. Diagnosing the cause of SCA has potential implications for the patient and the family, and demands a comprehensive approach. This review summarizes the potential causes of SCA and outlines a systematic diagnostic approach to the SCA survivor. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 2: 210-216

Nutritional compositions, biological activities, and phytochemical contents of the edible bamboo shoot, Dendrocalamus asper, from Malaysia

The edible shoots of Dendrocalamus asper (family Poaceae) is an under utilised food. The present work was conducted to evaluate the nutritional compositions, biological activities, and phytochemical contents of the shoots of D. asper obtained from different regions of Malaysia, Peninsular (DP) and East Malaysia (DS). The nutritional analysis was conducted using the Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC International. All minerals were quantified using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer, except for potassium which was measured using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were assayed using a colourimetric broth microdilution method, while antioxidant activity was tested using DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assays. Enzyme inhibitory activities were examined using α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Both bamboo shoots (boiled at 100°C for 20 min) were high in moisture (> 93 g/100 g FW), crude protein (> 21 g/100 g DW), and crude fibre contents (> 9 g/100 g DW), but low in fat content (< 4 g/100 g DW). Potassium was the most abundant mineral at 205.67 and 203.83 µg/100 g DW of bamboo shoots of DP and DS, respectively. The extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and water) of both shoots showed stronger antifungal activity than antibacterial activity against selected human pathogens. All extracts of DP shoots demonstrated higher CAA in HeLa cells and α-amylase inhibitory activity than that of DS shoots. In contrast, the extracts of DS shoots exhibited stronger inhibition on α-glucosidase and contained higher TPC than that of DP shoots. The D. asper shoots obtained from the Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia contained different types of secondary metabolites which account for the differences in the biological activities. In conclusion, D. asper shoots have potential as a nutritional and functional food

Metagenomic characterization of swine slurry in a North American swine farm operation

Abstract Modern day large-scale, high-density farming environments are inherently susceptible to viral outbreaks, inadvertently creating conditions that favor increased pathogen transmission and potential zoonotic spread. Metagenomic sequencing has proven to be a useful tool for characterizing the microbial burden in both people, livestock, and environmental samples. International efforts have been successful at characterizing pathogens in commercial farming environments, especially swine farms, however it is unclear whether the full extent of microbial agents have been adequately captured or is representative of farms elsewhere. To augment international efforts we performed metagenomic next-generation sequencing on nine swine slurry and three environmental samples from a United States of America (U.S.A.) farm operation, characterized the microbial composition of slurry, and identified novel viruses. We assembled a remarkable total of 1792 viral genomes, of which 554 were novel/divergent. We assembled 1637 Picobirnavirus genome segments, of which 538 are novel. In addition, we discovered 10 new viruses belonging to a novel taxon: porcine Statoviruses; which have only been previously reported in human, macaques, mouse, and cows. We assembled 3 divergent Posaviruses and 3 swine Picornaviruses. In addition to viruses described, we found other eukaryotic genera such as Entamoeba and Blastocystis, and bacterial genera such as Listeria, Treponema, Peptoclostridium and Bordetella in the slurry. Of these, two species Entamoeba histolytica and Listeria monocytogenes known to cause human disease were detected. Further, antimicrobial resistance genes such as tetracycline and MLS (macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin) were also identified. Metagenomic surveillance in swine fecal slurry has great potential for novel and antimicrobial resistant pathogen detection

Inorganic Fillers and Their Effects on the Properties of Flax/PLA Composites after UV Degradation

Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.Copyright © 2023 by the authors. The present investigation seeks to assess the impact of fillers on the mechanical characteristics of entirely biodegradable composites, introducing an advanced solution to fulfil long-term durability demands within point-of-purchase (POP) industries. The inclusion of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) fillers on the various properties of the flax fibre-reinforced composites, after accelerated irradiation in an ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure has been investigated in the present study. Different types of flax fibre-reinforced poly lactic acid (PLA) biocomposites (with and without filler) were fabricated. The mechanical (tensile and flexural), and physical properties of the specimens were assessed after 500 h of exposure to accelerated UV irradiation of 0.48 W/m2 at 50 °C and were compared with those of the unexposed specimens. The results indicate that the presence of the inorganic filler significantly improved the performance of the biocomposites compared to the unfilled biocomposites after UV exposure. After adding 20% of fillers, the tensile strength was increased by 2% after UV degradation, whereas the biocomposite without filler lost 18% of its strength after UV exposure. This can be attributed to the change in the photo-degradation of the PLA due to the presence of the CaCO3 filler, which acts as a safeguard against UV light penetration by creating a protective barrier. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the degraded specimen surface show substantial difference in the surface topography of the composites with and without fillers.INTERREG VA Program, FLOWER project, grant number 23

Data sharing in DHT based P2P systems

International audienceThe evolution of peer-to-peer (P2P) systems triggered the building of large scale distributed applications. The main application domain is data sharing across a very large number of highly autonomous participants. Building such data sharing systems is particularly challenging because of the "extreme" characteristics of P2P infrastructures: massive distribution, high churn rate, no global control, potentially untrusted participants... This article focuses on declarative querying support, query optimization and data privacy on a major class of P2P systems, that based on Distributed Hash Table (P2P DHT). The usual approaches and the algorithms used by classic distributed systems and databases forproviding data privacy and querying services are not well suited to P2P DHT systems. A considerable amount of work was required to adapt them for the new challenges such systems present. This paper describes the most important solutions found. It also identies important future research trends in data management in P2P DHT systems

A hop-count based positioning algorithm for wireless ad-hoc networks

We propose a range-free localization algorithm for a wireless ad-hoc network utilizing the hop-count metric’s ability to indicate proximity to anchors (i.e., nodes with known positions). In traditional sense, hop-count generally means the number of intermediate routers a datagram has to go through between its source and the destination node. We analytically show that hop-count could be used to indicate proximity relative to an anchor node. Our proposed algorithm is computationally feasible for resource constrained wireless ad-hoc nodes, and gives reasonable accuracy. We perform both real experiments and simulations to evaluate the algorithm’s performance. Experimental results show that our algorithm outperforms similar proximity based algorithms utilizing received signal strength and expected transmission count. We also analyze the impact of various parameters like the number of anchor nodes, placements of anchor nodes and varying transmission powers of the nodes on the hop-count based localization algorithm’s performance through simulation

Thin-Film Metamaterials called Sculptured Thin Films

Morphology and performance are conjointed attributes of metamaterials, of which sculptured thin films (STFs) are examples. STFs are assemblies of nanowires that can be fabricated from many different materials, typically via physical vapor deposition onto rotating substrates. The curvilinear--nanowire morphology of STFs is determined by the substrate motions during fabrication. The optical properties, especially, can be tailored by varying the morphology of STFs. In many cases prototype devices have been fabricated for various optical, thermal, chemical, and biological applications.Comment: to be published in Proc. ICTP School on Metamaterials (Augsut 2009, Sibiu, Romania