Combating Acid Violence in Bangladesh, India and Cambodia

This Report is the first comprehensive, comparative study of acid violence that examines the underlying causes, its consequences, and the multiple barriers to justice for its victims. Acid attacks, like other forms of violence against women, are not random or natural phenomena. Rather, they are social phenomena deeply embedded in a gender order that has historically privileged patriarchal control over women and justified the use of violence to “keep women in their places.” Through an in-depth study of three countries, the authors of the Report argue that the due diligence standard can be a powerful tool for state and non-state actors to prevent and adequately respond to acid violence with the aim of combating it. In this respect, they identify key ways in which acid violence can be addressed by governments and corporations

Social media and sensemaking patterns in new product development: demystifying the customer sentiment

Artificial intelligence by principle is developed to assist but also support decision making processes. In our study, we explore how information retrieved from social media can assist decision-making processes for new product development (NPD). We focus on consumers’ emotions that are expressed through social media and analyse the variations of their sentiments in all the stages of NPD. We collect data from Twitter that reveal consumers’ appreciation of aspects of the design of a newly launched model of an innovative automotive company. We adopt the sensemaking approach coupled with the use of fuzzy logic for text mining. This combinatory methodological approach enables us to retrieve consensus from the data and to explore the variations of sentiments of the customers about the product and define the polarity of these emotions for each of the NPD stages. The analysis identifies sensemaking patterns in Twitter data and explains the NPD process and the associated steps where the social interactions from customers can have an iterative role. We conclude the paper by outlining an agenda for future research in the NPD process and the role of the customer opinion through sensemaking mechanisms

Development of a LabVIEW-based test facility for standalone PV systems

To quantify the potential for performance improvement of a standalone photovoltaic (PV) system, a test facility has been installed. This paper describes this development of a prototype standalone PV system. Essentially this entire system involves the integration of a Personal computer (PC), Data Acquisition (DAQ), a battery array and a solar array simulator (SAS) to create a standalone PV system and to test and simulate the system. This new system boasts of high accuracy measurements coupled with the commercial viability of low cost. The basic idea of this facility is that the SAS simulates solar power which is utilized to charge batteries. The information obtained by monitoring parameters, such as average battery's temperature, voltage and current is fed to the PC via the DAQ for analysis. This customized control interface has been developed by utilizing LabVIEW software, which forms the programming backbone of inter-instrument communication via IEEE-GPIB bus. The software created for this system is highly generic and can be used for other instances where different hardware is used. This paper also discussed further research plan, in utilizing this standalone PV system to perform load analysis and batteries charging or discharging with the inputs to the SAS with actual meteorological data obtained from the Malaysian meteorological department

Evaluation of toxicity profile of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth) decoction in rats

Mitragyna speciosa Korth also known as kratom, is an herbal drug preparation for its therapeutic properties and opioid-replacement therapy. Kratom is consumed in a brewed decoction form in Malaysia and to date, no studies have characterized its chemical and toxicity profile. Thus, this study aims to evaluate kratom decoction's safety and toxicity profile after 28 days of treatment. Mitragynine content was quantified in kratom decoction and used as a marker to determine the concentration. Male and female Sprague Dawley rats were orally treated with vehicle or kratom decoction (10, 50 or 150 mg/kg) and two satellite groups were treated with vehicle and kratom decoction (150 mg/kg). Blood and organs were collected for hematology, biochemical and histopathology analysis at the end of treatment. No mortality was found after 28 days of treatment and no significant changes in body weight and hematology profile, except for low platelet count. High amounts of uric acid, AST, ALT and alkaline phosphatase were found in the biochemical analysis. Histological investigation of the heart and lungs detected no alterations except for the kidney, liver and brain tissues. In conclusion, repeated administration of kratom decoction provided some evidence of toxicity in the kidney and liver with no occurrence of mortality

α-Lipoic acid treatment prevents cystine urolithiasis in a mouse model of cystinuria

Excess urinary cystine can lead to painful stone formation. There is no current effective treatment, but here Pankaj Kapahi, Marshall Stoller and colleagues have found that α-lipoic acid can prevent or even reverse formation of these stones in a mouse model

α-Lipoic acid treatment prevents cystine urolithiasis in a mouse model of cystinuria

Cystinuria is an incompletely dominant disorder characterized by defective urinary cystine reabsorption that results in the formation of cystine-based urinary stones. Current treatment options are limited in their effectiveness at preventing stone recurrence and are often poorly tolerated. We report that the nutritional supplement α-lipoic acid inhibits cystine stone formation in the Slc3a1-/- mouse model of cystinuria by increasing the solubility of urinary cystine. These findings identify a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical treatment of cystinuria

α-Lipoic acid treatment prevents cystine urolithiasis in a mouse model of cystinuria

Excess urinary cystine can lead to painful stone formation. There is no current effective treatment, but here Pankaj Kapahi, Marshall Stoller and colleagues have found that α-lipoic acid can prevent or even reverse formation of these stones in a mouse model