Essential oils are concentrated hydrophobic oily liquid substances extracted from different plant organs. The most common source of essential oils are clove, lavender, cinnamon, lemon grass, coriander, rosewood, cumin, ginger, oregano etc. Essential oils are a good source of several bioactive compounds and serve as antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds. In addition, essential oils have been used as natural additives for the shelf-life extension of food products, due to the risk in using synthetic preservatives. Furthermore, essential oils can be incorporated into packaging materials to prevent unavoidable microbial spoilage, and to extend shelf-life of the product. The extraction method of essential oil is most important because inappropriate extraction may damage the chemical properties. Essential oil can be extracted by several methods such as distillation, steam distillation, expression, and solvent extraction. This review article covers up the essential oil including sources, chemical composition, extraction process, antimicrobial activity of EOs, and their applications, particularly with the emphasis on preservation and the shelf-life extension of food products.

At the present time extensive varieties of pesticides are being used but the demand for organophosphorus pesticide is increasing globally to control insect. Chlorpyrifos is a broad spectrum, moderately toxic, chlorinated organophosphate insecticide that is synthetic in origin and is normally ester or thiol derivatives of phosphoric, phosphonic or phosphoramidic acids. The mode of action involves inhibiting acetyl cholinesterase leading to accumulation of acetylcholine causing neurotoxicity. It is being transported by circulation far away from site of application leading to pollution of environment. Due to its persistent in nature, it is not only severely detrimental to the target pests, but also causes toxicity in non-target organisms including humans. It is thus critically important to develop methods to eradicate these pollutants from the environment. Lately, research activities in this area have demonstrated that microorganisms are potential tool in decaying chlorpyrifos into less harmful and non-toxic metabolites through a process known as bioremediation. This article therefore aims at giving an overview of the present status of research and future prospects in bioremediation of chlorpyrifos.

The present work studies the microstructural and electrical properties of La0.9Pb0.1MnO3 and La0.8Y0.1Pb0.1MnO3 ceramics synthesized by solid-state route method. Microstructure and elemental analysis of both samples were carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) method, respectively. Phase analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated formation of single phase distorted structure. The XRD data were further analyzed by Rietveld refinement technique. Raman analysis reveals that Y atom substitutes La site into the LPMO with shifting of phonon modes. The temperature variation of resistivity of undoped and Y-doped La0.9Pb0.1MnO3 samples have been investigated. The electrical resistivity as a function of temperature showed that all samples undergo an metal-insulator (M-I) transition having a peak at transition temperature TMI. Y-doping increases the resistivity and the metal-insulator transition temperature (TMI) shifts to lower temperature. The temperature-dependent resistivity for temperatures less than metal-insulator transition is explained in terms the quadratic temperature dependence and for T > TMI, thermally activated conduction (TAC) is appropriate. Variation of frequency dispersion in permittivity and loss pattern due to La-site substitution in LPMO was observed in the dielectric response curve.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI) is toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic chemical, whereas its reduced trivalent form (Cr-III) is much less toxic. Cr-VI is widely used in paint industry, tannery industry, and so on. In the present study an attempt was made to isolate naturally occurring bacteria from paint industry effluent possessing high potentiality to reduce Cr-VI. Seven efficient chromium reducing bacterial strains were isolated as Bacillus korlensis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Micrococcus luteus, Micrococcus varians, Enterobacter intermedius and Tatumella terrea. These bacteria reduced chromium in culture media at maximum 5 mM concentration within a period of 24–72 h as determined by 1, 5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC) colorimetric method. However, significant Cr-VI reduction or biodegradation was observed at 1.25 mM substrate concentration within 24 h at 37°C. The research was very promising for development of a microbiological process to be used in the removal of toxic hexavalent chromium from the environment.

Blockchain technology is one of the latest technologies on the horizon and has evolved over the last 7-10 years. There is tremendous potential for usage of Blockchain technology in today’s Real Estate industry. This paper aims to analyze the disruptive power of Blockchain digital technologies in the real estate industry. This paper will start with an introduction of the blockchain technology and high-level technical overview. It will then go on to discuss the various benefits the Real Estate industry can reap from this technology. It will also put forth various use cases or opportunities in the Real Estate sector for this technology. In the end, the paper will also discuss the present-day limitations and the questions marks over this technology in relation to its usage for the Real Estate industry.

Focused on the lane occupancy phenomenon, this paper analyzes the roads during two different accidents to the evacuation period. Firstly, according to the statistical data, this paper calculated the correction coefficients under the road traffic condition, and then obtained the actual traffic capacity result at each moment of the road when combining the function model of the actual traffic capacity corrected by the running speed and the road traffic condition. Next the actual traffic capacity results are fitted to the Smooth spline interpolation, and then the actual traffic capacity is further verified by the traffic congestion situation. The actual traffic capacity of the road during the accident to evacuation is summarized as follows: the actual traffic capacity shows a nonlinear trend, that is, ascending-attenuating-recovering and gradually stabilizing. Finally, using Mann-Whitney U test to carry out the difference test on the actual traffic capacity, it is found that there is significant difference between the two groups of data, and the actual traffic capacity of the second case is stronger than that of the first one, and the reasons for the difference are analyzed as follows: the ratio of the steering traffic volume at the downstream intersection is different; this road section includes the community intersection and there are vehicles entering and leaving; meanwhile the speed of each lane is different and there are buildings near the lane. The above conclusions will provide theoretical basis for the traffic management department to correctly guide the vehicle driving, approve the road construction, design the road channelization plan, set the roadside parking space and the non-port-type bus stations.

Biodegradable polymers as biomaterial are hotcake nowadays especially in medical and pharmaceutical applications. The present contribution comprises an overview of the biodegradable polymers for various biomedical applications. To meet the need of modern medicine, their physical, chemical, functional, biomechanical are highlighted as well as biodegradation properties like non-toxicity, low antigenicity, high bio-activity etc. This review summarizes the emerging and innovative field of biopolymer with the focus on tissue engineering, temporary implants, wound healing, and drug delivery applications etc.

Objective: To describe the KAP (knowledge, attitude and practice, KAP) and explore the influence factors for UIs (unintentional injuries, UIs) among the elderly (aged>?60 years) in urban districts of Zunyi, China. Methods: Using random cluster sampling method, a survey was conducted with questionnaires, to collect UIs and related KAP in the elderly and analyze its influencing factors. Results: The annual incidence of UIs (falls, burns, traffics, etc.) was 17.46% in some urban districts of Zunyi. Among them, 27.94% elderly regarded UI as a type of disease; the channels to acquire related knowledge through TV (79.05%), listening to others’ narration (56.83%), community publicity (26.03%), books or newspapers (22.86%) and internet (9.84%). While 76.51% of the elderly believed that UIs were preventable; 81.59% old people worried about UIs; 93.97% of the elderly chose to seek help when they suffered UIs; and 95.25% of elderly people followed traffic rules when crossing the road. In the case of gas use, 25.77% of the cases were checked and closed each time, 40% and 20% old people would check the time before taking the medicine, and purchasing food. Factors affecting the occurrence of UIs were age, heart disease (both P<0.05). Moreover, the living condition had an effect on “whether considering UIs as a kind of disease” (P=0.003). Conclusion: The KAP of UIs in the elderly is not optimistic, though most elderly people think the damage can be prevented; prevention on UIs related behavior needs to be enhanced. We should arouse the public to pay more attentions to keep elderly people far away UIs risk factors in this area.

This paper takes the propagation characteristics of heavy metals and the judgment of the location of pollution sources as the research objects, aiming to analyze the propagation characteristics of different heavy metals. Firstly, the Gaussian diffusion model is conducted to establish the propagation characteristics model of heavy metal pollutants in the atmosphere. Then, based on the law of conservation of mass and the law of two-dimensional diffusion, the two-dimensional diffusion model is adopted to establish the propagation characteristics model of heavy metals in soil moisture. According to these two models, the nonlinear differential equations are established respectively, revealing that the characteristics of the two propagation ways are related to space, time, diffusion coefficients, and other factors. Then, in the light of the propagation characteristics of different heavy metals, the least square method is applied to reduce the data calculation error and obtain the specific location of the pollution source. Finally, through establishing the three-dimensional diffusion model of heavy metal diffusion by introducing artificial control, speed and angle of prevailing wind direction, and other factors, the model is further optimized. The establishment of this model provides an important theoretical basis and guiding significance for the future study of heavy metal pollutants.

The objective of this paper is to discuss the potential of seaweed based polysaccharides as biopolymer in the formulation development and its allied applications. This review is an attempt to describe possible ways to produce environmental friendly bio packaging, bio textile, bio medicinal stuffs that can be at least slightly decomposed to smaller substances by the living organisms from marine algae. The main applications in food packaging and biomedicine are briefly mentioned followed by tentative applications in the domains of packaging, textile, paper and medical textiles which are described. This review also suggests new perspectives for future studies with these polymers.

A total of 26 water samples comprising of well, river and borehole waters were subjected to physico-chemical tests to evaluate its quality. The result of the physical characteristics shows that the average pH value, total dissolved solid and electrical conductivity is 4.9, 1027.31mg/L and 1526.92mg/L respectively. Thus, relatively above the desirable limit for drinking water while the ionic dominance of the major cations and anions reveal high concentration of Na+ and Cl- amidst other ions in the order of Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+> K+ and Cl->HCO3- > SO42- respectively wherein the water was classified as belonging to Na-Cl facies and unsuitable for irrigation purpose.

Islands threatened by tourism around the world are under significant stress due to overutilization of (scarce) water resources. The continuous increase of water demand in Puerto Ayora, the main touristic centre of the Galápagos, has become a threat for the water supply system, portraying the current situation unsustainable on the long-term horizon. For this reason, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is tested as a suitable methodology in the presence of scarce data, leading to a set of indicators and intervention strategies, aiming to mitigate the future water demand coverage. The current analysis revealed the most sustainable solution, including environmental, technical, economic and social criteria, by using the DEFINITE software. The results indicate that best option for most of the stakeholders’ groups is the option combining all proposed-sustainable options like greywater recycling, specific demand reduction and rainwater harvesting.

Food security and access to electricity are considered core elements forthedevelopment of modern societies. In some cases, energy supplies are prioritized and therefore may compete with food resources. Since 2009, the sudden increase of photovoltaic system investments in Greece and particularly in Crete, as an effort to comply with the European directives on sustainable energy sources, led tothe replacement of many fieldsof traditional agricultural cultivations (such as olive and orange trees) with photovoltaic parks.The aim of this paper is to estimate the economic benefit of the investment of photovoltaic parks on farmlands compared to the cultivation of olive and citrus crops.To this end, two different scenarios were investigated. In the first scenario, the replacement of a 1000 m2 olive grove area,located in highly productive land, witha small photovoltaic park of 25 kW was investigated. The second scenarioconsidersa much larger photovoltaic park of 100 kW which replaces an orange grove of 3500 m2 at highly productive land. It was found that in both cases,the profitability of the investment, for a time span of 20 yrs, was highly dependent on the time when the power purchase agreement was signed. As a general rule, investments made before 2013 can be characterized as profitable. After 2013, the situation became more complex and the financial success of the investments is not guaranteed.

Based on 25668 literatures in the field of distance measurement research and application from 2015 to 2018, this paper uses CiteSpace information visualization software to visualize the distance measurement research literature. From the point of view of bibliometrics, this paper analyzes the visual atlas of countries, disciplines, research institutions, fund support, literature keywords and research frontiers of distance measurement methods. The literature information in the research and application fields of distance measurement at home and abroad in recent years is compared and analyzed. Information is used to evaluate the research progress and development trend of distance measurement, in order to provide literature reference for the relevant personnel engaged in distance measurement research.

The effect of the type and amount of binding substance on the yield and strength of granules prepared from fly ash was studied. The highest yield of granules was achieved with clayish slip used as binder. The granules obtained are brittle, with compression strength 0,1???. The apparent density of the sintered granulates was in the range1200-1500kg/m3 and the total porosity was 55-40%.

Color marble-like glass-ceramic materials were obtained through thermal treatment of glasses of the system CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 by using natural materials with the introduction of waste materials - ash from thermal power plants (TPP). The melting of the glass batch was in corundum crucibles at 1450oC with an isothermal hold of 60 min. The glasses obtained was fritted in distilled water and dried for 6 hours at 100oC, then completely crushed and divided into fractions with grain size of 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm and over 2.5 mm. It was found that the use of ash from TPP lead to higher values of degree of transformation (crystallization) than using base composition. Values of Avramy parameter’s in the range n=1,0 ÷ 1,6 are showed that crystallization of the glass frit is largely heterogeneous and crystal growing starts from the surface. The introduction of ash from TPP to native glasses carry out to significant reduction of energy of crystallization by ??=289 kJ/mol to Ec=221 kJ/mol. The glass-ceramic materials were obtained through a one stage crystallization - 1050÷1070?? and an isothermal hold of 60 min., colored white, yellow brown to dark brown. The main crystalline phase in glass-ceramics is ß-vollastonite with needle habit, size of crystals - l = 40 ÷ 120 µm and d <5 µm in quantities 37 ÷ 42%. As secondary phases depending on the amount of ash have been identified - the anorthite, gehlenite and a-quartz with prismatic habit were appeared. The obtained glass-ceramic materials have a marble-like effect and technical parameters compared with natural granite and marble and have higher values of density, micro hardness, speed grinding, bending strength and chemical resistance. That’s why they can be used in construction such as lining materials.

Concrete is prone to cracking and one of the major causes of cracking is drying shrinkage of the hardened concrete. This research work was carried out to study the influence of partial replacement of some selected pozzolans on the drying shrinkage of concrete. Four pozzolans used in this study, were made to replace cement at various percentages resulting in various concrete mixes. Setting time test was conducted for the various cement mixes using Vicat’s apparatus and drying shrinkage test was done for the concrete test specimens. The results of the setting time indicate that partial replacement of pozzolans with ordinary Portland cement increases both the initial and final setting time of cement as the percentage replacement increases. Similarly, drying shrinkage results show that concrete made with Groundnut Shell Ash (GSA) and Locust Bean Pod Ash (LBA) at 12% replacement will have a stable and better shrinkage resistance than the control at both 56 days and 90 days. Meanwhile, the control concrete gives a better drying shrinkage at 28 days curing. In conclusion, the results show that pozzolanas [Bamboo Leaves Ash (BLA), Locust Bean Pod Ash (LBA), Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SBA) and Groundnut Shell Ash (GSA)] can successfully replace cement up to 12% without necessarily affecting the shrinkage ability of the produced concrete. It also shows that Groundnut Shell Ash (GSA), Locust Bean Pod Ash (LBA) and Bamboo Leaves Ash (BLA) are more resistance to drying shrinkage than the control.

Cattle dung, cooked food waste, and chicken droppings mixed with coffee husks have been used separately and also as mixtures to form anaerobic digestion slurries in a bid to treat to degrade the organic fractions of these wastes and recycle the bio-fertilizer after recovering biogas. Single and mixed substrate slurries evolved significant quantities of methane within 27days together with reduced mass of soil conditioner. The volume of biogas formed in cogeneration mixtures were higher than for single substrate digestion due to the C/N ratio shifting to near 30:1 as a result of mixing. So degradation of organic pollutants was higher in mixed substrate digestion mixtures. Our study yielded average volumes ranging from 315 to 435+ 5.65.mL/L which was in agreement with what is in literature. Digestion of cattle dung, cooked waste foods, and droppings of chicken and mixed substrate slurries using sludge inoculums was very effective in degrading solid waste from homes, thus detoxifying it to bio-fertilizers. Although both single and mixed substrate digestion of waste yielded high enough volumes of biogas; digestion of slurry of mixed organic solid waste substrates is better method of waste management. Digestion of garbage from Kampala should be tested at macro levels at both ambient and mesophilic temperatures. There is need to try out the garbage digestion experiments in the semi-arid towns as well as very cold towns in Uganda.

The automotive industry has been at the forefront of converting traditional metal parts to plastics. The latter surely offer greater design freedom, opportunity for consolidation, fewer assembly operations, reduced secondary finishing, weight reduction, lower total system costs, a range of properties tailored to specific applications, the ability to withstand temperatures, immunity to most chemicals and corrosive environments. They offer processing in many colors, electrical non-conductivity (insulation from electrical shocks), good thermal breaks (“warmth-to-the-touch”), and low sound transmission (tendency to muffle noise). Nonetheless, plastics have only tapped an estimated 15% of their tremendous potential to replace metals. This is particularly to increase with newer high-performance plastics, increasing sophistication in alloying and blending technologies, and use of computer-aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE) systems. The latter enable engineers to visualize complex parts and molding tools more effectively and faster than ever before. This article identifies fundamental steps and requirements to conduct an efficient and successful conversion of metallic parts to plastics, reviewing the replacement design process from concept to production; an under-the-hood rear retainer for Ford Motor Company is detailed as a case study.

In this paper, we briefly reviewed the numbers in life from a statistical genetic approach. The human genome comprises of 6 billion chemical bases of DNA. The DNA encodes 30,000 genes. It consists of two parts; the nuclear genome; which consists of 3,200,000,000 nucleotides of DNA, divided into 24 linear molecules, the shortest 50,000,000 nucleotides in length and the longest 260,000,000 nucleotides, each contained in a different chromosome and the mitochondrial genome; which contains approximately 16,600 base pairs encoding 37 genes. Most human cells have 46 chromosomes. However, the number of chromosomes in the nuclei of a person with Down syndrome is 47. The DNA of any two people on Earth is 99.6 percent identical, the 0.4 percent variation represents about 20 million base pairs. Almost all 98 percent of the human DNA is noncoding, while in bacteria, only 2% of the genetic material does not code for anything.

Traditional medicine still remains the main recourse for a large majority of people for treating health problems in African. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess the toxicological effect of the fresh ripe fruits using two solvents for extraction. The toxicological evaluation of aqueous-methanol extract of Dennettia tripetala fresh ripe fruits at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight for 14 days on some biochemical parameters in wistar rats was investigated. The extract at all the doses tested show non-significant (p > 0.05) increase from the control in ALT, AST, ALP, total protein, albumin, direct bilirubin, creatinine, Na+ and K+, while the level of total bilirubin and urea show significant (p < 0.05) increase from the control at 400mg/kg body weight. The levels of SOD, GPx, GST, and GSH in the serum were significantly (p < 0.05) decrease in the treated rats at 200 and 400mg/kg body weight, whereas the level of MDA and CAT showed non-significant (p > 0.05) increase in all the animals. The results of this finding indicated that the aqueous-methanol extract may not have serious effect on the liver and the kidney at 100 mg/kg b.d., but may be toxic at high doses as observed in the acute toxicity, sub-acute results and antioxidant parameters where it shows a dose-specific effects.

This paper examines the modelling and forecasting Murder crimes using Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average models (ARIMA). Twenty-nine years data obtained from Nigeria Information Resource Center were used to make predictions. Among the most effective approaches for analyzing time series data is the method propounded by Box and Jenkins, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). The augmented Dickey-Fuller test for unit root was applied to the data set to investigate for Stationarity, the data set was found to be non-stationary hence transformed using first-order differencing to make them Stationary. The Stationarities were confirmed with time series plots. Statistical analysis was performed using GRETL software package from which, ARIMA (0, 1, 0) was found to be the best and adequate model for Murder crimes. Forecasted values suggest that Murder would slightly be on the increase.

Physics demands not only the beautiful but also the true. The true is the first, and the beautiful is the second. The philosophy of physics should emphasize the true and then the beautiful. After reviewing three kind of main hypotheses beyond standard model, and based on experimental and observational evidences, three physical principles and three philosophical rules are suggested, namely P1-action principle, P2-duality principle, P3-equivalence principle, and R1-logic harmony, R2-minimum hypotheses, R3-maximum hopes. It is revealed that there are no supersymmetry and dark sectors because the space and time for the existence of unknown particles resemble impossible.

Concrete is one of the reliable, durable, economical and acceptable construction materials among the building and construction stakeholders worldwide. Performance of concrete could be threatened especially reinforced concrete by some processes such as corrosion, sulfate attack among others. Corrosion of reinforcement in reinforced concrete can be induced by carbonation process. Even though carbonation initiates corrosion, it has been gathered that carbonation could still be of immense benefits to building and construction industries if its mechanism of operation is understudied. This research work has therefore investigated the effect of carbonation on some selected mechanical properties of concrete such as compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption and weight changes. Concrete cubes and beams of M15 grade with 0.5 % water-cement ratio were prepared and subjected to accelerated carbonation. Their compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption and weight changes were determined in accordance with the relevant standards. The outcomes show that carbonation improves all the mechanical properties investigated. The use of carbonation can be positively explored in reinforced concrete provided there is adequate nominal cover.

Background: Burns are a global public health problem, which are universal and can happen to anyone. Because the physical functions in children and adults are different, the confounding factors are easy to affect the results of study. Objective: In this study, we aimed to explore influencing factors of the length of hospital stay (LOS) when the confounding factors were excluded by Propensity Score (PS) in children and adults. Methods: Patients hospitalized for burn from 2014 to 2016 were retrieved from the medical record system of a general biggest hospital in Zunyi. A database was established to analyze the influencing factors of LOS between children and adults by the PS. Results A total of 465 children (61.7% males) and 327 (69.7% males) adults were recruited. The average age was 3.61±3.57 years and 42.48±14.76 years in children and adults with burns respectively. Before PS matching, low age and skin grafting were the protective factors for LOS (Hazard Ratio [HR]=0.993 and 0.339). The risk factors of LOS were male (HR=1.234), the burn depth and total body surface area (TBSA), and burn etiology (HR=1.497). After PS matching, only skin grafting (HR=0.080) and treatment within 24 hours (HR=1.865) were the common influencing factors of LOS. Conclusion the confounding factors were excluded by the PS method, and skin grafting was still a protective factor of LOS for both children and adults. The results provide a reference for the promotion of skin grafting to reduce LOS in burn patients.