Search results for: DNA structural change

Authors: Sung Duk Kim, Kwan U. Kim, Jin Sim, Ryong Jin Jang

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The phenomenon of seasonal variations in the Earth’s rotation velocity was discovered in the 1930s when a crystal clock was developed and analyzed in a quantitative way for the first time between 1955 and 1968 when observation data of the seasonal variations was analyzed by an atomic clock. According to the previous investigation, atmospheric circulation is supposed to be a factor affecting the seasonal variations in the Earth’s rotation velocity in many cases, but the problem has not been solved yet. In order to solve the problem, it is necessary to apply dynamics to consider the Earth’s spatial motion, rotation, and change of shape of the Earth (movement of materials in and out of the Earth and change of the Earth’s figure) at the same time and in interrelation to the accuracy of post-Newtonian approximation regarding the Earth body as a system of mass points because the stability of the Earth’s rotation angular velocity is in the range of 10⁻⁸~10⁻⁹. For it, the equation was derived, which can consider the 3 kinds of motion above mentioned at the same time by taking the effect of the resultant external force on the Earth’s rotation into account in a relativistic way to the accuracy of post-Newtonian approximation. Therefore, the equation has been solved to obtain the theoretical values of periodic change in the Earth’s rotation velocity, and they have been compared with the astronomical observation data so to reveal the cause for the periodic change in the Earth’s rotation velocity.

Keywords: Earth rotation, moment function, periodic change, seasonal variation, relativistic change

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Authors: Gabriel Sunday Ayayia

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The paper argues that Ubuntu, as a philosophy that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and importance of community and mutual support, can be used as a social framework to address the problems of climate change and promote environmental sustainability. The research demonstrate that Ubuntu is an ideological concept that encourages collective action on climate change, with the emphasis on individual and collective commitment to taking concrete action to address the problems of climate change. The paper shows that Ubuntu can be employed as a social tool that would enhance the cultivation of shared identity and promote the sense of shared response responsibility to develop the resilience to cope with climate change. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study establishes the imperativeness of mutual support and cooperation through the lens of Ubuntu as a human-centered scalable response to the debacle of climate change. It recommends that we can build a society that values the environment and promotes sustainable practices by encouraging community involvement in sustainable initiatives by integrating Ubuntu-based principles to our decision-making processes, collaboration, leadership, human agency and governance.

Keywords: ubuntu, climate change, humanity, collective actions, community-based

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Authors: Amir Abbas Fatemi, Zahra Tabrizian, Kabir Sadeghi

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To find the location and severity of damage that occurs in a structure, characteristics changes in dynamic and static can be used. The non-destructive techniques are more common, economic, and reliable to detect the global or local damages in structures. This paper presents a non-destructive method in structural damage detection and assessment using GA and static data. Thus, a set of static forces is applied to some of degrees of freedom and the static responses (displacements) are measured at another set of DOFs. An analytical model of the truss structure is developed based on the available specification and the properties derived from static data. The damages in structure produce changes to its stiffness so this method used to determine damage based on change in the structural stiffness parameter. Changes in the static response which structural damage caused choose to produce some simultaneous equations. Genetic Algorithms are powerful tools for solving large optimization problems. Optimization is considered to minimize objective function involve difference between the static load vector of damaged and healthy structure. Several scenarios defined for damage detection (single scenario and multiple scenarios). The static damage identification methods have many advantages, but some difficulties still exist. So it is important to achieve the best damage identification and if the best result is obtained it means that the method is Reliable. This strategy is applied to a plane truss. This method is used for a plane truss. Numerical results demonstrate the ability of this method in detecting damage in given structures. Also figures show damage detections in multiple damage scenarios have really efficient answer. Even existence of noise in the measurements doesn’t reduce the accuracy of damage detections method in these structures.

Keywords: damage detection, finite element method, static data, non-destructive, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Abdmohammad Mousavi, Mohsen Shams, Mehdi Akbartabar Toori, Ali Mousavizadeh, Mohammad Ali Morowatisharifabad

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Introduction: The effectiveness of Transtheoretical Model constructs on dietary behavior change has been subject to questions by some studies. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between self–efficacy and decisional balance as mediator variables and transfer obese and overweight women among the stages of behavior change of calorie balanced dietary intake. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 448 obese and overweight 20-44 years old women were selected from three health centers in Yasuj, a city in south west of Iran. Anthropometric data were measured using standard techniques. Demographic, stages of change, self-efficacy and decisional balance data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed using One–Way ANOVA and Generalized Linear Models tests. Results: Demographic and anthropometric variables were not different significantly in different stages of change related to calorie intake except the pre-high school level of education (P=.047, OR=502, 95% CI= .255 ~ .990). Mean scores of Self-efficacy ( F(4.425)= 27.09, P= .000), decisional balance (F(4.394), P= .004), and pros (F(4.430)=5.33, P=000) were different significantly in five stages of change. However, the cons did not show a significant change in this regard (F(4.400)=1.83, P=.123). Discussion: Women movement through the stages of changes for calorie intake behavior can be predicted by self efficacy, decisional balance and pros.

Keywords: transtheoretical model, stages of change, self efficacy, decisional balance, calorie intake, women

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Authors: Abdellatif Chebboub

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Agricultural production is sensitive to weather and thus directly affected by climate change. Plausible estimates of these climate change impacts require combined use of climate, crop, and economic models. Results from previous studies vary substantially due to differences in models, scenarios, and data. This paper is part of a collective effort to systematically integrate these three types of models. We focus on the economic component of the assessment, investigating how nine global economic models of agriculture represent endogenous responses to seven standardized climate change scenarios produced by two climate and five crop models. These responses include adjustments in yields, area, consumption, and international trade. We apply biophysical shocks derived from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s representative concentration pathway with end-of-century radiative forcing of 8.5 W/m2. The mean biophysical yield effect with no incremental CO2 fertilization is a 17% reduction globally by 2050 relative to a scenario with unchanging climate. Endogenous economic responses reduce yield loss to 11%, increase area of major crops by 11%, and reduce consumption by 3%. Agricultural production, cropland area, trade, and prices show the greatest degree of variability in response to climate change, and consumption the lowest. The sources of these differences include model structure and specification; in particular, model assumptions about ease of land use conversion, intensification, and trade. This study identifies where models disagree on the relative responses to climate shocks and highlights research activities needed to improve the representation of agricultural adaptation responses to climate change.

Keywords: climate change, agriculture, weather change, danger of climate change

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Authors: Akachi Odoemene

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Climate change and land grabbing are tightly interconnected in ways that are both diverse and complex. They have impacted each other in significant ways too. Both phenomena are not only a political reality, but have diverse dire implications, especially for food and livelihood security of vulnerable populations in developing economies. The critical nexus and interactions of climate change and land grabbing remain one of the challenges of sustainable development in modern times. The nuanced understanding of the nexus, importance and implications of climate change and land grabbing are the primary focus of this chapter. It begins with conceptual clarifications, particularly arguing that the absence of some important principles of engagement underline and define a land grab. It also analyses and notes a good number of contemporary land deals as 'one-sided', in which wealthy entities connive with local elites to exploit and disposes rural poor populations. The paper not only examines both global and local factors that drive land grabbing and, in some cases, their connections with the incidence of climate change, but also explores their crucial links with such sector as agriculture. It is argued and exhibited in the paper why certain societies are susceptible to the incidence of climate change and land grabbing, while the overall consequences of these phenomena on the affected societies are further interrogated. The paper concludes that the lack of political will by global political leaders to effectively combat and resolve critical issues associated with both climate change and land grabbing remains a daunting challenge. It notes that these phenomena – climate change and land grabbing – if not abated, will certainly become another set of global tragic episodes to be regretted in the future.

Keywords: climate change, land grabbing, global governance, developing economies

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Authors: Joon-Ho Lee, Jeong-Hwan Yoon, Jung-Hwan Yoon, Sangmo Kang, Su-Yeon Hong, Hyun-Woo Jeong, Jaeick Chae

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There are several dedicated individual chambers for sports that are supplied and used, but none of them are multi-pressured all-in-one chambers that can provide a sports multi-environment simultaneously. In this study, we design a multi-pressure (positive/atmospheric/negative pressure) integrated vessel that can be used for the sport-multi-artificial environment system. We presented additional vessel designs with enlarged space for the tall users; with reinforcement pads added to reduce the maximum stress in the joints of its shells, and then carried out numerical analysis for the structural analysis with maximum stress and structural safety. Under the targeted allowable pressure conditions, maximum stresses occurred at the joint of the shell, and the entrance, the safety of the structure was checked with the allowable stress of its material.

Keywords: structural analysis, multi-pressure, integrated vessel, sport-multi-artificial environment

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Authors: Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Thailammai Chithambaram, Shihas A. Khader

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The early-stage damage detection in offshore structures requires continuous structural health monitoring and for the large area the position of sensors will also plays an important role in the efficient damage detection. Determining the dynamic behavior of offshore structures requires dense deployment of sensors. The wired Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems are highly expensive and always needs larger installation space to deploy. Wireless sensor networks can enhance the SHM system by deployment of scalable sensor network, which consumes lesser space. This paper presents the results of wireless sensor network based Structural Health Monitoring method applied to a scaled experimental model of offshore structure that underwent wave loading. This method determines the serviceability of the offshore structure which is subjected to various environment loads. Wired and wireless sensors were installed in the model and the response of the scaled BLSRP model under wave loading was recorded. The wireless system discussed in this study is the Raspberry pi board with Arm V6 processor which is programmed to transmit the data acquired by the sensor to the server using Wi-Fi adapter, the data is then hosted in the webpage. The data acquired from the wireless and wired SHM systems were compared and the design of the wireless system is verified.

Keywords: condition assessment, damage detection, structural health monitoring, structural response, wireless sensor network

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Authors: Milan Uhríčik, Andrea Soviarová, Zuzana Dresslerová, Peter Palček, Alan Vaško

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The article is focused on the analysis changes dependence on the temperature on the magnesium alloy with 5,48% Al, 0,813% Zn and 0,398% Mn by internal friction. Internal friction is a property of the material is measured on the ultrasonic resonant aparature at a frequency about f = 20470 Hz. The measured temperature range was from 30 °C up to 420 °C. Precisely measurement of the internal friction can be monitored ongoing structural changes and various mechanisms that prevent these changes.

Keywords: internal friction, magnesium alloy, temperature, resonant frequency

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Authors: Mara Balestrieri

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Climate change has long been the focus of attention for the growing impact of extreme weather events and global warming in many areas of the planet and the evidence of economic, social, and environmental damage caused by global warming. Nowadays, climate change is recognized as a critical global problem. Several initiatives have been undertaken over time to enhance the long theoretical debate and field experience in order to reduce Co2 emissions and contain climate alteration. However, the awareness that climate change is already taking place has led to a growing demand for adaptation. It is certainly a matter of anticipating the negative effects of climate change but, at the same time, implementing appropriate actions to prevent climate change-related damage, minimize the problems that may result, and also seize any opportunities that may arise. Consequently, adaptation has become a core element of climate policy and research. However, the attention to this issue has not developed in a uniform manner across countries. Some countries are further ahead than others. This paper examines the literature on climate change adaptation developed until 2018 in Italy, considering the urban dimension, to provide a framework for it, and to identify main topics and features. The papers were selected from Scopus and were analyzed through a matrix that we propose. Results demonstrate that adaptation to climate change studies attracted increasing attention from Italian scientific communities in the last years, although Italian scientific production is still quantitatively lower than in other countries and describes strengths and weaknesses in line with international panorama with respect to objectives, sectors, and problems.

Keywords: adaptation, bibliometric literature, climate change, urban studies

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Authors: Disha Gupta

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The aim of this research is to conduct X-ray and e-beam characterization techniques on lithium-ion battery materials for the improvement of battery performance. The key characterization techniques employed are the synchrotron X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to obtain a more holistic approach to understanding material properties. This research effort provides additional battery characterization knowledge that promotes the development of new cathodes, anodes, electrolyte and separator materials for batteries, hence, leading to better and more efficient battery performance. Both ex-situ and in-situ synchrotron experiments were performed on LiFePO₄, one of the most common cathode material, from different commercial sources and their structural analysis, were conducted using Athena/Artemis software. This analysis technique was then further extended to study other cathode materials like LiMnxFe(₁₋ₓ)PO₄ and even some sulphate systems like Li₂Mn(SO₄)₂ and Li₂Co0.5Mn₀.₅ (SO₄)₂. XAS data were collected for Fe and P K-edge for LiFePO4, and Fe, Mn and P-K-edge for LiMnxFe(₁₋ₓ)PO₄ to conduct an exhaustive study of the structure. For the sulphate system, Li₂Mn(SO₄)₂, XAS data was collected at both Mn and S K-edge. Finite Difference Method for Near Edge Structure (FDMNES) simulations were also conducted for various iron, manganese and phosphate model compounds and compared with the experimental XANES data to understand mainly the pre-edge structural information of the absorbing atoms. The Fe K-edge XAS results showed a charge compensation occurring on the Fe atom for all the differently synthesized LiFePO₄ materials as well as the LiMnxFe(₁₋ₓ)PO₄ systems. However, the Mn K-edge showed a difference in results as the Mn concentration changed in the materials. For the sulphate-based system Li₂Mn(SO₄)₂, however, no change in the Mn K-edge was observed, even though electrochemical studies showed Mn redox reactions.

Keywords: li-ion batteries, electrochemistry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, XRD

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Authors: Mohamad Saberi, Arash Sohrabi

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Tuned liquid damper is one the passive structural control ways which has been used since mid-1980 decade for seismic control in civil engineering. This system is made of one or many tanks filled with fluid, mostly water that installed on top of the high raised structure and used to prevent structure vibration. In this article, we will show how to make seismic table contain TLD system and analysis the result of using this system in our structure. Results imply that when frequency ratio approaches 1 this system can perform its best in both dissipate energy and increasing structural damping. And also results of these serial experiments are proved compatible with Hunzer linear theory behaviour.

Keywords: TLD, seismic table, structural system, Hunzer linear behaviour

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Authors: Annisa Dewanti Putri, Wang Juan, Y. Qing Shan

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The structural assessment is one of a crucial part for ancient timber structure, in which this phase will be the reference for the maintenance and preservation phase. The mechanical properties of a structure are one of an important component of the structural assessment of building. Feiyun as one of the particular preserved building in China will become one of the Pioneer of Timber Structure Building Assessment. The 3-storey building which is located in Shanxi Province consists of complex ancient timber structure. Due to condition and preservation purpose, assessments (visual inspections, Non-Destructive Test and a Semi Non-Destructive test) were conducted. The stress wave measurement, moisture content analyzer, and the micro-drilling resistance meter data will overview the prediction of Mechanical Properties. As a result, the mechanical properties can be used for the next phase as reference for structural damage solutions.

Keywords: ancient structure, mechanical properties, non destructive test, stress wave, structural assessment, timber structure

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Authors: Malek Jamaliah, Robert Powell

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In spite of the influence of climate change on tourism destinations, particularly those rely heavily on natural resources, little attention paid to study the appropriate adaptation efforts to cope with, moderate and benefit from the impacts of climate change. The existing literature indicated that the research of climate change adaptation in the tourism and outdoor recreation field is at least 5-7 years behind other sectors such as water resources and agriculture. In Jordan, there are many observed changes in climate patterns such as higher temperatures, decreased precipitation and increased severity and frequency of drought. Dana Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the largest protected area and the major eco-tourism destination in Jordan, is facing climate change, which gradually degrading environment, shifting tourism seasons and changing livelihood and lifestyle of local communities. This study aims to assess climate change adaptation practices and policies used in DBR to cope with climate change related-risks. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in DBR to assess climate change adaptation practices. Direct content analysis (or a priori content analysis) was used to determine the components and indicators of climate change adaptation. The results found that DBR has implemented a wide range of adaptation practices, including infrastructure development, diversification of tourism products, environmentally-friendly practices, visitor management, land use management, rainwater collection, environmental monitoring and research, environmental education and collaboration with stakeholders. These diverse practices implicitly and explicitly play an important role in coping with the social, economic and environmental impacts caused by climate change. Finally, this study demonstrated that climate change adaptation is closely related to sustainable management of eco-tourism.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, dana biosphere reserve, ecotourism, sustainable management

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Authors: Nadia Theuma

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Climate change is a reality that has started to leave an impact on the physical environment as well as on the built environment, in particular built heritage. This paper explores the argument that climate change is also a trigger which can lead to identifying a number of creative solutions that can transform built heritage into sustainable buildings. Using the Maltese Islands, and in particular the city of Valletta which is also a World Heritage Site, this paper illustrates some of the innovative solutions that are being developed to make heritage buildings more sustainable and in doing so, mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. The paper looks in detail at the most notable initiatives being developed, their implementation and application, which at times is not easy considering the restrictions within protected built heritage areas and the positive impacts that they will have on visitor experience and overall sustainability of the Maltese tourism product. The paper will conclude by outlining how these solutions can be adapted to buildings with similar climatic conditions.

Keywords: built heritage, creative solutions, climate change, Maltese Islands

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Authors: Chiara Cesali

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The effects of climate change are increasingly evident: increases in temperature (i.e. global warming), greater frequency of extreme weather events, i.e. storms, floods, which often affect transport infrastructures. Large-scale climatological models with long-term horizons (up to 2100) show the possibility of significant increases in precipitation in the future, according to the greenhouse gas emissions scenarios from IPCC. Consequently, the insufficiency of existing hydraulic works (i.e. bridges, culverts, drainage systems) may be more frequent, or those currently being designed may become insufficient in the future. Thus, the hydraulic design methods of transport infrastructure must begin to take into account the influence of climate change. To this purpose, criteria for applying to the hydraulic design of a railway infrastructure some of the approaches currently available for determining design rainfall intensity and/or peak discharge flow on the basis of possible climate change scenarios are defined and proposed in the paper. Some application cases are also described.

Keywords: climate change, hydraulic design, precipitation, railway

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Authors: Nada Abdelsadig Moahamed Saied

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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other similar traditional cultural practices pose a significant problem for Sudanese society. Such actions are severe and seriously detrimental to people's health since they are based on false social perceptions. To address these problems, numerous institutions and organizations were compelled to act rapidly. Female circumcision, or FGM, is one of the riskiest practices. It is referred to as the excision of the genitalia. Any surgeries involving the total or partial removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons fall under this category. The results of FGM can vary depending on the kind and degree of the operation. These can be categorized as short-term, mid-term, or long-term issues. Infections, including the Human, blood, discomfort, and difficulty urinating are the immediate effects. FGM is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as practices that purposefully damage or modify female genital organs for non-medical purposes. It often takes place between the ages of one and fifteen. The girl's right to decide on important choices affecting her sexual and reproductive health is violated because the act is usually performed without her consent and frequently against her will. UNICEF, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, aggressively combats the issue of FGM in Sudan. Numerous programs were started by NGOs to stop the practice. To our knowledge, no scientific study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of such social marketing techniques on simulating and comprehending society’s feelings surrounding FGM. This study proposes the development of a structural equation model aiming to determine the impact of awareness programs on people’s intentions to adopt the behavior of abandoning FGM based on theoretical models of behavior change. The model incorporates all the relevant factors that contribute to FGM and possible strategic actions to tackle this problem. The theoretical backdrop for FGM is presented in the next section, which also explains the practice's history, justifications, and potential treatments. The methodology section that follows describes the structural equation model. The proposed model, which compiles all the pertinent elements into a single image, is presented in the fourth part. Finally, conclusions are reached, and suggestions for further research are made.

Keywords: social marketing, policy-making, behavioral change, female genital mutilation, culture

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Authors: Johnson Okoduwa Imumbhon, Mohammad Didarul Alam, Yiding Cao

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Structural analyses are commonly employed to test the integrity of aircraft component systems in the design stage to demonstrate the capability of the structural components to withstand what it was designed for, as well as to predict potential failure of the components. The analyses are also essential for weight minimization and selecting the most resilient materials that will provide optimal outcomes. This research focuses on testing the structural nature of a high-lift low Reynolds number airfoil profile design, the Selig S1223, under certain loading conditions for a drone model application. The wing (ribs, spars, and skin) of the drone model was made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and designed in SolidWorks, while the finite element analysis was carried out in ANSYS mechanical in conjunction with the lift and drag forces that were derived from the aerodynamic airfoil analysis. Additionally, modal analysis was performed to calculate the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the wing structure. The structural strain and stress determined the minimal deformations under the wing loading conditions, and the modal analysis showed the prominent modes that were excited by the given forces. The research findings from the structural analysis of the S1223 high-lift airfoil indicated that it is applicable for use in an unmanned aerial vehicle as well as a novel reciprocating-airfoil-driven vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone model.

Keywords: CFRP, finite element analysis, high-lift, S1223, strain, stress, VTOL

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Authors: Muqaddas Butt, Allah Bakhsh Malik

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The changing educational environment, the diverse educational needs of students, the high expectations from the public, and the policy reports demand a strong change & innovation in the curriculum. Effective change and innovation could not be possible without the involvement of two major tenants i.e. teachers and educational managers. Thus, the locus of this research was to explore the secondary school principals and teachers priorities regarding change and innovation in curriculum. The main research objectives were included to explore the secondary school teachers’ and principals’ views about existing Humanities group curriculum; to identify their priorities regarding change and innovation in curriculum and to make a comparison between the priorities of both (the teachers & principals). A total sample of 150 Secondary school teachers and 24 principals from Federal Government Secondary Schools was drawn. The data was obtained through a five point Likert scale questionnaire. The findings indicated a huge difference between principals and teachers priorities. Related to prevailed curriculum, teachers showed more satisfactory views than principals. It was also found that the principals in comparison with teachers showed more inclination towards change and innovation and emphasized on an interdisciplinary, practical and ICT Integrated curriculum. Inclusion of local environmental issues; creativity based and practical activities based curriculum; and orientation to citizenship education into curriculum were some of the aspects highly prioritized by both teachers and principals.

Keywords: curriculum change, curriculum innovation, humanities curriculum, curriculum priorities

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Authors: Mukesh Singh Boori, Vít Voženílek

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Olomouc is a unique and complex landmark with widespread forestation and land use. This research work was conducted to assess important and complex land use change trajectories in Olomouc region. Multi-temporal satellite data from 1991, 2001 and 2013 were used to extract land use/cover types by object oriented classification method. To achieve the objectives, three different aspects were used: (1) Calculate the quantity of each transition; (2) Allocate location based landscape pattern (3) Compare land use/cover evaluation procedure. Land cover change trajectories shows that 16.69% agriculture, 54.33% forest and 21.98% other areas (settlement, pasture and water-body) were stable in all three decade. Approximately 30% of the study area maintained as a same land cove type from 1991 to 2013. Here broad scale of political and socio-economic factors was also affect the rate and direction of landscape changes. Distance from the settlements was the most important predictor of land cover change trajectories. This showed that most of landscape trajectories were caused by socio-economic activities and mainly led to virtuous change on the ecological environment.

Keywords: remote sensing, land use/cover, change trajectories, image classification

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Authors: E. Dehghan, R. Dehghan

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Generally, the slender structural walls have flexural behavior. Since behavior of bending members can be explained by moment–curvature relation, therefore, an analytical model is proposed based on moment–curvature relation for slender structural walls. The moment–curvature relationships of RC sections are constructed through section analysis. Governing equations describing the bond-slip behavior in walls are derived and applied to moment–curvature relations. For the purpose of removing the imprecision in analytical results, the plastic hinge length is included in the finite element modeling. Finally, correlation studies between analytical and experimental results are conducted with the objective to establish the validity of the proposed algorithms. The results show that bond-slip effect is more significant in walls subjected to larger axial compression load. Moreover, preferable results are obtained when ultimate strain of concrete is assumed conservatively.

Keywords: nonlinear analysis, slender structural walls, moment-curvature relation, bond-slip, plastic hinge length

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Authors: Nita Mitra, Pranab Chanda

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In this paper, the issue of attitude-behavior consistency has been addressed in the context of climate change. Scientists (about 98 percent) opine that human behavior has a significant role in climate change. Such climate changes are harmful for human life. Thus, it is natural to conclude that only change of human behavior can avoid harmful consequences. Government and Non-Government Organizations are taking steps to bring in the desired changes in behavior. However, it seems that although the efforts are achieving changes in the attitudes to some degree, those steps are failing to materialize the corresponding behavioral changes. This has been a great concern for environmentalists. Psychologists have noticed the problem as a particular case of the general psychological problem of making attitude and behavior consistent with each other. The present study is in continuation of a previous work of the same author based upon descriptive research on the status of attitude and behavior of the people of a foot-hill region of the Himalayas in India regarding climate change. The observations confirm the mismatch of attitude and behavior of the people of the region with respect to climate change. While doing so an attitude-behavior mismatch has been noticed with respect to the acceptance of psychological findings by the public. People have been found to be interested in Psychology as an important subject, but they are reluctant to take the observations of psychologists seriously. A comparative study in this regard has been made with similar studies done elsewhere. Finally, an attempt has been made to perceive observations in the framework of observational learning due to Bandura's and behavior change due to Lewin.

Keywords: acceptance of psychological variables, attitude-behavior consistency, behavior change, climate change, observational learning

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Authors: Paraskevi Liosatou

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Climate change is considered to be of global concern being amplified by the fact that by its nature, cannot be spatially limited. This fact makes necessary the intergovernmental decision-making procedures. In the intergovernmental level, the institutions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change develop efforts, methods, and practices in order to plan and suggest climate mitigation and adaptation measures. These measures are based on specific scientific findings and methods making clear the strong connection between science and policy. In particular, these scientific recommendations offer a series of practices, methods, and choices mitigating the problem by aiming at the indirect mitigation of the causes and the factors amplifying climate change. Moreover, modern production and economic context do not take into consideration the social, political, environmental and spatial dimensions of the problem. This work studies the decision-making process working in international and European level. In this context, this work considers the policy tools that have been implemented by various intergovernmental organizations. The methodology followed is based mainly on the critical study of standards and process concerning the connections and cooperation between science and policy as well as considering the skeptic debates developed. The finding of this work focuses on the links between science and policy developed by the institutional and scientific mechanisms concerning climate change mitigation. It also analyses the dimensions and the factors of the science-policy framework; in this way, it points out the causes that maintain skepticism in current scientific circles.

Keywords: climate change, climate change mitigation, climate change skepticism, IPCC, skepticism

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Authors: Weishou Shen, Chunyan Yang, Zhongliang Li

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The crop climate productivity and the distribution of cropland reflect long-term adaption of agriculture to climate. In order to fully understand the impact of climate change on cropland ecosystem in Tibet, the spatiotemporal changes of crop climate productivity and cropland distribution were analyzed with the help of GIS and RS software. Results indicated that the climate change to the direction of wet and warm in Tibet in the recent 30 years, with a rate of 0.79℃/10 yr and 23.28 mm/10yr respectively. Correspondingly, the climate productivity increased gradually, with a rate of 346.3kg/(hm2•10a), of which, the fastest-growing rate of the crop climate productivity is in Southern Tibet Mountain- plain-valley. During the study period, the total cropland area increased from 32.54 million ha to 37.13 million ha, and cropland has expanded to higher altitude area and northward. Overall, increased cropland area and crop climate productivity due to climate change plays a positive role for agriculture in Tibet.

Keywords: climate change, productivity, cropland area, Tibet plateau

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Authors: T. A. Mona M. Salem, Ali F. Bakr

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Given the potential devastation associated with future climate change related disasters, it is vital to change the way we build and manage our cities, through new strategies to reconfigure them and their infrastructures in ways that help secure their reproduction. This leads to a kaleidoscopic view of the city that recognizes the interrelationships of energy, water, transportation, and solid waste. These interrelationships apply across sectors and with respect to the built form of the city. The paper aims at a long-term climate resilience of cities and their critical infrastructures, and sets out an argument for including an eco-infrastructure-based approach in strategies to address climate change. As these ecosystems have a critical role to play in building resilience and reducing vulnerabilities in cities, communities and economies at risk, the enhanced protection and management of ecosystems, biological resources and habitats can mitigate impacts and contribute to solutions as nations and cities strive to adapt to climate change.

Keywords: ecology, ecosystem, infrastructure, climate change, urban

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Authors: Aboubakr Gambo, Adama Diaw, Tobias Wunscher

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This study attempts to identify factors affecting rural households’ resilience to food insecurity in Niger. For this, we first create a resilience index by using Principal Component Analysis on the following five variables at the household level: income, food expenditure, duration of grain held in stock, livestock in Tropical Livestock Units and number of farms exploited and second apply Structural Equation Modelling to identify the determinants. Data from the 2010 National Survey on Households’ Vulnerability to Food Insecurity done by the National Institute of Statistics is used. The study shows that asset and social safety nets indicators are significant and have a positive impact on households’ resilience. Climate change approximated by long-term mean rainfall has a negative and significant effect on households’ resilience to food insecurity. The results indicate that to strengthen households’ resilience to food insecurity, there is a need to increase assistance to households through social safety nets and to help them gather more resources in order to acquire more assets. Furthermore, early warning of climatic events could alert households especially farmers to be prepared and avoid important losses that they experience anytime an uneven climatic event occur.

Keywords: food insecurity, principal component analysis, structural equation modelling, resilience

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Authors: Farideh Halakou, Emel Sen, Attila Gursoy, Ozlem Keskin

Abstract:

Protein–Protein Interactions (PPIs) mediate major biological processes in living cells. The study of PPIs as networks and analyze the network properties contribute to the identification of genes and proteins associated with diseases. In this study, we have created the sub-networks of brain and lung metastasis from primary tumor in breast cancer. To do so, we used seed genes known to cause metastasis, and produced their interactions through a network-topology based prioritization method named GUILDify. In order to have the experimental support for the sub-networks, we further curated them using STRING database. We proceeded by modeling structures for the interactions lacking complex forms in Protein Data Bank (PDB). The functional enrichment analysis shows that KEGG pathways associated with the immune system and infectious diseases, particularly the chemokine signaling pathway, are important for lung metastasis. On the other hand, pathways related to genetic information processing are more involved in brain metastasis. The structural analyses of the sub-networks vividly demonstrated their difference in terms of using specific interfaces in lung and brain metastasis. Furthermore, the topological analysis identified genes such as RPL5, MMP2, CCR5 and DPP4, which are already known to be associated with lung or brain metastasis. Additionally, we found 6 and 9 putative genes that are specific for lung and brain metastasis, respectively. Our analysis suggests that variations in genes and pathways contributing to these different breast metastasis types may arise due to change in tissue microenvironment. To show the benefits of using structural PPI networks instead of traditional node and edge presentation, we inspect two case studies showing the mutual exclusiveness of interactions and effects of mutations on protein conformation which lead to different signaling.

Keywords: breast cancer, metastasis, PPI networks, protein conformational changes

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: M. Saadi, S. E. H. Abaidia, M. Y. Mokeddem.

Abstract:

We present the results of a systematic and comparative study of the bulk, the structural properties, and phonon calculations of aluminum alloys using several exchange–correlations functional theory (DFT) with different plane-wave basis pseudo potential techniques. Density functional theory implemented by the Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package (VASP) technique is applied to calculate the bulk and the structural properties of several structures. The calculations were performed for within several exchange–correlation functional and pseudo pententials available in this code (local density approximation (LDA), generalized gradient approximation (GGA), projector augmented wave (PAW)). The lattice dynamic code “PHON” developed by Dario Alfè was used to calculate some thermodynamics properties and phonon dispersion relation frequency distribution of Aluminium alloys using the VASP LDA PAW and GGA PAW results. The bulk and structural properties of the calculated structures were compared to different experimental and calculated works.

Keywords: DFT, exchange-correlation functional, LDA, GGA, pseudopotential, PAW, VASP, PHON, phonon dispersion

Procedia PDF Downloads 485

Authors: A. U. Haque, W. Asrar, A. A Omar, E. Sulaeman, J. S. M. Ali

Abstract:

Buoyancy force applied on deformable symmetric bodies can be estimated by using Archimedes Principle. Such bodies like ellipsoidal bodies have high volume to surface ratio and are isometrically scaled for mass, length, area and volume to follow square cube law. For scaling up such bodies, it is worthwhile to find out the scaling relationship between the other physical quantities that represent thermodynamic, structural and inertial response etc. So, dimensionless similarities to find an allometric scale can be developed by using Bukingham π theorem which utilizes physical dimensions of important parameters. Base on this fact, physical dependencies of buoyancy system are reviewed to find the set of physical variables for deformable bodies of revolution filled with expandable gas like helium. Due to change in atmospheric conditions, this gas changes its volume and this change can effect the stability of elongated bodies on the ground as well as in te air. Special emphasis was given on the existing similarity parameters which can be used in the design of experiments of such bodies whose shape is affected by the external force like a drag, surface tension and kinetic loads acting on the surface. All these similarity criteria are based on non-dimensionalization, which also needs to be consider for scaling up such bodies.

Keywords: Bukhigham pi theorem, similitude, scaling, buoyancy

Procedia PDF Downloads 376

Authors: M. Adamczak-Retecka, O. Hołub-Śniadach

Abstract:

Dangerous of climate change is now global problem and as such has a strategic priority also for the European Union. Europe and European citizens try to do their best to cut greenhouse gas emissions, moreover they substantially encourage other nations and regions to follow the same way. The European Commission and a number of Member States have developed adaptation strategies in order to help strengthen EU's resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The EU has long been a driving force in international negotiations on climate change and was instrumental in the development of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. As the world's leading donor of development aid, the EU also provides substantial funding to help developing countries tackle climate change problem. Global warming influences human health, biodiversity, ecosystems but also many social and economic sectors. The aim of this paper is to focus on impact of claimant change on for food security. Food security challenges are directly related to globalization, climate change. It means that current and future food policy is exposed to all cross-cutting and that must be linked with environmental and climate targets, which supposed to be achieved. In the 7th EAP —The new general Union Environment Action Program to 2020, called “Living well, within the limits of our planet” EU has agreed to step up its efforts to protect natural capital, stimulate resource efficient, low carbon growth and innovation, and safeguard people’s health and wellbeing– while respecting the Earth’s natural limits.

Keywords: climate change, food security, sustainable food consumption, climate governance

Procedia PDF Downloads 179