Search results for: cost benefit analysis

Authors: Piumi L. Denagamage, Vibusha Madanayake

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At the end of a 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) played a prominent role in post-war development and peacebuilding. Women were a major “beneficiary” of NGO activities on socio-economic empowerment, capacity building for advocacy, and grassroots participation in activism. Undoubtedly, their contribution to Sri Lanka’s post-war transition is tremendous. As development practitioners and researchers who have worked closely with several international and national NGOs in Sri Lanka’s post-war setting, the authors, while practicing self-reflexivity, intend to theorize the grey literature prepared by NGOs against the theoretical frameworks of Transnational and Third World feminisms. Using examples of the grassroots activities conducted by the NGOs with war-affected women, the paper questions whether Colombo-based feminism represents the lived realities of grassroots women at the transnational level. It argues that Colombo-based feminists use their power and exposure to Western feminist approaches to portray diverse forms of oppression women face at grassroots levels, their needs for advocacy, and different modes of resistance on the ground. Many NGOs depend on international donor funding for their grassroots work, which also contributes to their utilization of Western-led knowledge. Despite their efforts to “save marginalized women from oppression,” these modes of intervention are often rejected by the public, including women at local levels. This has also resulted in the rejection of feminism entirely as a culturally root-less alien Western ideology. The analysis connects with the Transnational and Third World theoretical feminist perspectives to problematize the power relations between Western knowledge systems and the lived experiences of grassroots women in the peacebuilding process through NGO activism in Sri Lanka. It also emphasizes that the infiltration of Western knowledge through NGOs has led to the participation of grassroots women only through adjustments of their lived experiences to match the alien knowledge rather than theorizing based on their own lived realities. While sharing a concern that NGOs’ power to adopt Western knowledge systems is often unchecked and unmitigated, the paper signifies the importance of adopting the methods of alternative theorizing to ensure meaningful participation of Third World women in peacebuilding.

Keywords: alternative theorizing, colombo-based feminism, grassroots women in peacebuilding, NGO activism, transnational and third world feminisms

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Authors: Hamada Ahmed, Mervat A. Abdel-Latif, Alaa. A. Ghoraba, Samah A. Ganna

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An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of microbial phytase (Quantum Blue®) supplementation on layer chickens fed diets with required or low phosphorous level in corn-soybean based diets. One hundred and sixteen 23-week-old Lohman brown laying hens were used in 8-week feeding trial. Hens were randomly allotted into four treatments where the group (1) (control group) was fed basal diet without phytase, group (2) fed basal diet supplemented with phytase, group (3) fed diet supplemented with phytase as a replacement of 25% of monocalcium phosphate and group (4) fed diet supplemented with phytase as a replacement of 50% of monocalcium phosphate. Records on daily egg production, egg mass, egg weight and body weight of hens at the end of experimental period were recorded. Results revealed no significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences were observed among the other dietary treatments in BW, egg production, egg mass, feed intake or feed conversion when these parameters were evaluated over the duration of the experiment while egg weight showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in all phytase supplemented groups. There was no significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences in egg quality including egg length, egg width, egg shape index, yolk height, yolk width, yolk index, yolk weight and yolk albumin ratio while egg albumin was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in group (2) and group (3). Egg shell weight increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group also shell thickness increased significantly (p < 0.05) in both group (2 &3). No significant (P ≥ 0.05) difference was observed in serum Ca, P level while alkaline phosphatase was significantly (P ˂ 0.05) increased in group (3). Egg shell analysis showed increase in egg shell ash% in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group, egg shell calcium % was higher in group (3) and group (4) than the control group while group (2) showed lower egg shell calcium% than the other experimental groups, egg shell phosphorous% was higher in all phytase supplemented groups than the control group. Phosphorous digestability was significantly (P ˂ 0.05) increased in all phytase supplemented groups than the control group and the highest p digestability was in group (4). Calcium digestability showed significant (P ˂ 0.05) increase in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group and the highest digetability was in group (4).

Keywords: layers, microbial phytase, Ca and P availability, egg production, egg characteristics

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Authors: Salma Akter, Md. Kamal Uddin

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Ashrayan (shelter) Prakalpa – a fully subsidized ‘integrated poverty eradication program’ through the provisioning of shelter of Bangladesh Government (GoB) targeting the internally displaced and homeless. In spite of the inclusiveness (poverty alleviation, employment opportunity, Tenure ship and training) of the shelter policy, dwellers are not merely questioned by the issue of 'the quality of life' .This study demonstrates how top-down policies, ambiguous ownership status of land and dwelling environments lead to ‘everyday compromise’ by the grassroots in both subjective (satisfaction, comfort and safety) and objective (physical design elements and physical environmental elements) issues in three respective scale macro (neighborhood) meso (shelter /built environment) and micro(family). It shows that by becoming subject to Government’s resettlements policies and after becoming user of its shelter units (although locally known as ‘barracks’ rather shelter or housing), the once displaced settlers assume a curious form of spatial practice where both social and spatial often bear slippery meanings. Thus, Policy-based shelter force the dwellers frequently compromise with their provided built environments and spaces within the settlements both in overtly and covertly. Compromises are made during the production of space and forms, whereas interesting new spaces and space-making practices emerge. The settlements under study are Dakshin Chandani Mahal Ashrayan Prakalpa located at the Eastern fringe area of Khulna, Bangladesh. In terms of methodology, this research is primarily exploratory and assumes a qualitative approach. Key tools used to obtain information are policy analysis, literature review, key informant interview, focus group discussion and participant observation at the level of dwelling and settlements. Necessary drawings and photographs have been taken to promote the study objective. Findings revealed that various shortages, inadequacies and negligence of policymakers make a compromising character of displaced by the means of 'quality of life' both in objective and subjective ground. Thus the study ends up with a recommendation to the policymakers to take an initiative to ensure the quality of life of the dwellers.

Keywords: Ashrayan, compromise, displaced people, quality of life

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Authors: E. H. Szeto, E. Ammendola, J. V. Tabares, A. Starkey, J. Hay, J. G. McClung, C. J. Bryan

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Introduction: Suicide is a leading cause of death globally, which accounts for more deaths annually than war, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, homicides, and car accidents, while an estimated 140 million individuals have significant suicide ideation (SI) each year in the United States. Typical risk factors such as hopelessness, depression, and psychiatric disorders can predict suicide ideation but cannot distinguish between those who ideate from those who attempt suicide (SA). The Fluid Vulnerability Theory of suicide posits that a person’s activation of the suicidal mode is predicated on one’s predisposition, triggers, baseline/acute risk, and protective factors. The current study compares self-conscious cognitive-affective states (including guilt, shame, anger towards the self, and suicidal beliefs) among patients based on the endorsement of recent SI (i.e., past two weeks; acute risk) and lifetime SA (i.e., baseline risk). Method: A total of 2,722 individuals in an outpatient primary care setting were included in this cross-sectional, observational study; data for 2,584 were valid and retained for analysis. The Differential Emotions Scale measuring guilt, shame, and self-anger and the Suicide Cognitions Scale measuring suicide cognitions were administered. Results: A total of 2,222 individuals reported no recent SI or lifetime SA (Group 1), 161 reported recent SI only (Group 2), 145 reported lifetime SA only (Group 3), 56 reported both recent SI and lifetime SA (Group 4). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed that guilt, shame, self-anger, and suicide cognitions were the highest for Group 4 (both recent SI and lifetime SA), followed by Group 2 (recent SI-only), then Group 3 (lifetime SA-only), and lastly, Group 1 (no recent SI or lifetime SA). Conclusion: The results on recent SI-only versus lifetime SA-only contribute to the literature on the Fluid Vulnerability Theory of suicide by capturing SI and SA in two different time periods, which signify the acute risks and chronic baseline risks of the suicidal mode, respectively. It is also shown that: (a) people with a lifetime SA reported more severe symptoms than those without, (b) people with recent SI reported more severe symptoms than those without, and (c) people with both recent SI and lifetime SA were the most severely distressed. Future studies may replicate the findings here with other pertinent risk factors such as thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability, the last of which is consistently linked to attempting among ideators.

Keywords: suicide, guilt, shame, self-anger, suicide cognitions, suicide ideation, suicide attempt

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Authors: Minjuan Sun

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Ever since the late 1990s, China has experienced explosive growth in consumer lending, especially in short-term consumer loans, among which, the growth rate of non-bank lending has surpassed bank lending due to the development in financial technology. On the other hand, China does not have a universal credit scoring and registration system that can guide lenders during the processes of credit evaluation and risk control, for example, an individual’s bank credit records are not available for online lenders to see and vice versa. Given this context, the purpose of this paper is three-fold. First, we explore if and how alternative digital footprint data can be utilized to assess borrower’s creditworthiness. Then, we perform a comparative analysis of machine learning methods for the canonical problem of credit default prediction. Finally, we analyze, from an institutional point of view, the necessity of establishing a viable and nationally universal credit registration and scoring system utilizing online digital footprints, so that more people in China can have better access to the consumption loan market. Two different types of digital footprint data are utilized to match with bank’s loan default records. Each separately captures distinct dimensions of a person’s characteristics, such as his shopping patterns and certain aspects of his personality or inferred demographics revealed by social media features like profile image and nickname. We find both datasets can generate either acceptable or excellent prediction results, and different types of data tend to complement each other to get better performances. Typically, the traditional types of data banks normally use like income, occupation, and credit history, update over longer cycles, hence they can’t reflect more immediate changes, like the financial status changes caused by the business crisis; whereas digital footprints can update daily, weekly, or monthly, thus capable of providing a more comprehensive profile of the borrower’s credit capabilities and risks. From the empirical and quantitative examination, we believe digital footprints can become an alternative information source for creditworthiness assessment, because of their near-universal data coverage, and because they can by and large resolve the "thin-file" issue, due to the fact that digital footprints come in much larger volume and higher frequency.

Keywords: credit score, digital footprint, Fintech, machine learning

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Authors: Dana El-Mughayyar, Neil Manson, Erin Bigney, Eden Richardson, Dean Tripp, Edward Abraham

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Use of narcotics to treat pain has increased over the past two decades and is a contributing factor to the current public health crisis. Understanding the pre-operative risks of chronic narcotic use may be aided through investigation of psychological measures. The objective of the reported study is to determine predictors of narcotic use two years post-surgery in a thoracolumbar spine surgery population, including an array of psychological factors. A prospective observational study of 191 consecutively enrolled adult patients having undergone thoracolumbar spine surgery is presented. Baseline measures of interest included the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Numeric Rating Scales for back and leg pain (NRS-B/L), SF-12’s Mental Component Summary (MCS), narcotic use and demographic variables. The post-operative measure of interest is narcotic use at 2-year follow-up. Narcotic use is collapsed into binary categories of use and no use. Descriptive statistics are run. Chi Square analysis is used for categorical variables and an ANOVA for continuous variables. Significant variables are built into a hierarchical logistic regression to determine predictors of post-operative narcotic use. Significance is set at α < 0.05. Results: A total of 27.23% of the sample were using narcotics two years after surgery. The regression model included ODI, NRS-Leg, time with condition, chief complaint, pre-operative drug use, gender, MCS, PCS subscale helplessness, and CPAQ subscale pain willingness and was significant χ² (13, N=191)= 54.99; p = .000. The model accounted for 39.6% of the variance in narcotic use and correctly predicted in 79.7% of cases. Psychological variables accounted for 9.6% of the variance over and above the other predictors. Conclusions: Managing chronic narcotic usage is central to the patient’s overall health and quality of life. Psychological factors in the preoperative period are significant predictors of narcotic use 2 years post-operatively. The psychological variables are malleable, potentially allowing surgeons to direct their patients to preventative resources prior to surgery.

Keywords: narcotics, psychological factors, quality of life, spine surgery

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Authors: Joulié Aurélien, Jourdain Elsa, Bailly Xavier, Gasqui Patrick, Yang Elise, Leblond Agnès, Rousset Elodie, Sidi-Boumedine Karim

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Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by the gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Following the recent outbreaks in the Netherlands, a hyper virulent clone was found to be the cause of severe human cases of Q fever. In livestock, Q fever clinical manifestations are mainly abortions. Although the abortion rates differ between ruminant species, C. burnetii’s virulence remains understudied, especially in enzootic areas. In this study, the infectious potential of three C. burnetii isolates collected from French farms of small ruminants were compared to the reference strain Nine Mile (in phase II and in an intermediate phase) using an in vivo (CD1 mice) model. Mice were challenged with 105 live bacteria discriminated by propidium monoazide-qPCR targeting the icd-gene. After footpad inoculation, spleen and popliteal lymph node were harvested at 10 days post-inoculation (p.i). The strain invasiveness in spleen and popliteal nodes was assessed by qPCR assays targeting the icd-gene. Preliminary results showed that the avirulent strains (in phase 2) failed to pass the popliteal barrier and then to colonize the spleen. This model allowed a significant differentiation between strain’s invasiveness on biological host and therefore identifying distinct virulence profiles. In view of these results, we plan to go further by testing fifteen additional C. burnetii isolates from French farms of sheep, goat and cattle by using the above-mentioned in vivo model. All 15 strains display distant MLVA (multiple-locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis) genotypic profiles. Five of the fifteen isolates will bee also tested in vitro on ovine and bovine macrophage cells. Cells and supernatants will be harvested at day1, day2, day3 and day6 p.i to assess in vitro multiplication kinetics of strains. In conclusion, our findings might help the implementation of surveillance of virulent strains and ultimately allow adapting prophylaxis measures in livestock farms.

Keywords: Q fever, invasiveness, ruminant, virulence

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Authors: Madhura Yadav

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Urban redevelopment planning initiatives in developing countries have been largely criticised due to top-down planning approach and lack of involvement of the targeted beneficiaries which have led to a challenging situation which is contrary to the perceived needs of beneficiaries. Urban renewal projects improve the lives of people and meaningful participation of community plays a pivotal role. Public perceptions on satisfaction and participation have been given less priority in the investigation, which hinders effective planning and implementation of urban renewal projects. Moreover, challenges of community participation in urban renewal projects are less documented, particularly in relation to public participation and satisfaction. There is a need for new paradigm shift focusing on community participatory approach in urban renewal projects. The over 125-year-old Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai, India is the country’s first ever cluster redevelopment project, popularly known as Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment and it will be one of the largest projects for urban rejuvenation of one of Mumbai’s oldest and dying inner city areas. The project is led by the community trust, inputs were taken from various stakeholders, including residents, commercial tenants and expert consultants to shape the master plan and design of the project. The project started in 2016 but there is a significant delay in implementing the project. The study aimed at studying and assessing public perceptions on satisfaction and the relationship between community participation and community satisfaction in Bhendi Bazaar of Mumbai, India. Furthermore, the study will outline the challenges and problems of community participation in urban renewal projects and it suggests recommendations for the future. The qualitative and quantitative methods such as reconnaissance survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, walking interviews, a narrative inquiry is used for analysis of data. Preliminary findings revealed that all tenants are satisfied for the redevelopment of an area but the willingness of residential tenants to move in transit accommodation has made the projects successful and reductant of some residential and commercial tenants, regulatory provisions rising to face challenges in implementation. Experiences from the case study can help to understand dynamics behind public participation and government. At the same time, they serve as an inspiration and learning opportunity for future projects to ensure that they are sustainable not only from an economic standpoint but also, a social perspective.

Keywords: urban renewal, Bhendi Bazaar, community participation, satisfaction, social perspective

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Authors: Afees Adebayo Salam

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This paper attempts an in-depth analysis of the economic impact of Ogbomoso migrant community in the Jos metropolis. It discusses the factors that motivated a sizeable number of Ogbomoso people (from southwestern Nigeria) to leave their hometown for a new place/space in Jos (northern Nigeria). It examines the historical antecedent of Ogbomoso migrants in northern Nigeria with emphasis on Jos metropolis. The movement of Ogbomoso migrants to Jos was dictated by the economic and social challenges of colonial and post-colonial periods. The political crisis of the 1960s was a contributory factor to the process of Ogbomoso migration to other parts of Nigeria. In the aftermath, many people migrated from Ogbomoso to different parts of the country and beyond to seek for better economic opportunities. The establishment of Ogbomoso migrant community in Jos was dated back to the colonial era when taxation was introduced by the British. Many people could not pay these taxes from their peasant farming activities, while some embarked on migration to places such as Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Keffi and Bauchi due to the harsh economic situation at home. Their settlement in Jos brought about success in several spheres of human endeavours. Ogbomoso migrants dominated both paid jobs and private business sector such as textile merchants, food stuff sellers, herbalists, printers, transporters, and religious missionaries, as well as clerical officers in the government establishments. Their remittances were invested in different sectors of Ogbomoso economy. The migrants had in one way or the other contributed to the socio-economic development of their host community in Jos as entrepreneurs. Branches of such industries were located in their hometown of Ogbomoso as a clear demonstration of community development. The remittance pattern of the migrants has transformed Ogbomoso to enviable position. Moreover, the economic success of Ogbomoso migrants over the period under review indicates the process of nation building due to peaceful nature of inter-ethnic engagements between Ogbomoso migrants and their host community in Jos. Therefore, the paper makes use of oral, archival and secondary sources to analyse the processes of migration and its economic impact. Oral interviews were conducted in Ogbomoso town with veteran migrants and their family members. Interviews were also conducted in Jos with the indigenous host community as well as other urban residents. Archival materials were obtained from Arewa House Archives and the National Archives, Kaduna and the National Archives, Ibadan.

Keywords: Ogbomoso migrants, Jos metropolis, community development, economic impact

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Authors: Seema Paul, Jesper Oppelstrup, Roger Thunvik, Vladimir Cvetkovic

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Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water body in the world, located in East Africa with a catchment area of 250,000 km², of which 68,800 km² is the actual lake surface. The hydrodynamic processes of the shallow (40–80 m deep) water system are unique due to its location at the equator, which makes Coriolis effects weak. The paper describes a St.Venant shallow water model of Lake Victoria developed in COMSOL Multiphysics software, a general purpose finite element tool for solving partial differential equations. Depth soundings taken in smaller parts of the lake were combined with recent more extensive data to resolve the discrepancies of the lake shore coordinates. The topography model must have continuous gradients, and Delaunay triangulation with Gaussian smoothing was used to produce the lake depth model. The model shows large-scale flow patterns, passive tracer concentration and water level variations in response to river and tracer inflow, rain and evaporation, and wind stress. Actual data of precipitation, evaporation, in- and outflows were applied in a fifty-year simulation model. It should be noted that the water balance is dominated by rain and evaporation and model simulations are validated by Matlab and COMSOL. The model conserves water volume, the celerity gradients are very small, and the volume flow is very slow and irrotational except at river mouths. Numerical experiments show that the single outflow can be modelled by a simple linear control law responding only to mean water level, except for a few instances. Experiments with tracer input in rivers show very slow dispersion of the tracer, a result of the slow mean velocities, in turn, caused by the near-balance of rain with evaporation. The numerical and hydrodynamical model can evaluate the effects of wind stress which is exerted by the wind on the lake surface that will impact on lake water level. Also, model can evaluate the effects of the expected climate change, as manifest in changes to rainfall over the catchment area of Lake Victoria in the future.

Keywords: bathymetry, lake flow and steady state analysis, water level validation and concentration, wind stress

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Authors: A. Mostaani, M. P. Pereira, B. F. Rolfe

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The increasing application of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) in the automotive industry to fulfill crash requirements has introduced higher levels of wear in stamping dies and parts. Therefore, understanding wear behaviour in sheet metal forming is of great importance as it can help to reduce the high costs currently associated with tool wear. At the contact between the die and the sheet, the tips of hard tool asperities interact with the softer sheet material. Understanding the deformation that occurs during this interaction is important for our overall understanding of the wear mechanisms. For these reasons, the scratching of a perfectly plastic material by a rigid indenter has been widely examined in the literature; with finite element modelling (FEM) used in recent years to further understand the behaviour. The ‘wear mode diagram’ has been commonly used to classify the deformation regime of the soft work-piece during scratching, into three modes: ploughing, wedge formation, and cutting. This diagram, which is based on 2D slip line theory and upper bound method for perfectly plastic work-piece and rigid indenter, relates different wear modes to attack angle and interfacial strength. This diagram has been the basis for many wear studies and wear models to date. Additionally, it has been concluded that galling is most likely to occur during the wedge formation mode. However, there has been little analysis in the literature of how the material behaviour and deformation conditions associated with metal forming processes influence the wear behaviour. Therefore, the first aim of this work is first to use a commercial FEM package (Abaqus/Explicit) to build a 3D model to capture wear modes during scratching with indenters with different attack angles and different interfacial strengths. The second goal is to utilise the developed model to understand how wear modes might change in the presence of bulk deformation of the work-piece material as a result of the metal forming operation. Finally, the effect of the work-piece material properties, including strain hardening, will be examined to understand how these influence the wear modes and wear behaviour. The results show that both strain hardening and substrate deformation can change the critical attack angle at which the wedge formation regime is activated.

Keywords: finite element, pile-up, scratch test, wear mode

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Authors: Karan Sharma, Ajay Kumar

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Epileptic seizure is a type of disease due to which electrical charge in the brain flows abruptly resulting in abnormal activity by the subject. One percent of total world population gets epileptic seizure attacks.Due to abrupt flow of charge, EEG (Electroencephalogram) waveforms change. On the display appear a lot of spikes and sharp waves in the EEG signals. Detection of epileptic seizure by using conventional methods is time-consuming. Many methods have been evolved that detect it automatically. The initial part of this paper provides the review of techniques used to detect epileptic seizure automatically. The automatic detection is based on the feature extraction and classification patterns. For better accuracy decomposition of the signal is required before feature extraction. A number of parameters are calculated by the researchers using different techniques e.g. approximate entropy, sample entropy, Fuzzy approximate entropy, intrinsic mode function, cross-correlation etc. to discriminate between a normal signal & an epileptic seizure signal.The main objective of this review paper is to present the variations in the EEG signals at both stages (i) Interictal (recording between the epileptic seizure attacks). (ii) Ictal (recording during the epileptic seizure), using most appropriate methods of analysis to provide better healthcare diagnosis. This research paper then investigates the effects of a noninvasive healing therapy on the subjects by studying the EEG signals using latest signal processing techniques. The study has been conducted with Reiki as a healing technique, beneficial for restoring balance in cases of body mind alterations associated with an epileptic seizure. Reiki is practiced around the world and is recommended for different health services as a treatment approach. Reiki is an energy medicine, specifically a biofield therapy developed in Japan in the early 20th century. It is a system involving the laying on of hands, to stimulate the body’s natural energetic system. Earlier studies have shown an apparent connection between Reiki and the autonomous nervous system. The Reiki sessions are applied by an experienced therapist. EEG signals are measured at baseline, during session and post intervention to bring about effective epileptic seizure control or its elimination altogether.

Keywords: EEG signal, Reiki, time consuming, epileptic seizure

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Authors: Fentie, Belay, Mulat

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In today’s high decrement figure of the global economy, nations are facing many economic, social and political challenges; universally, there is high distress of food and other survival insecurity. Further, as a result of conflict, natural disasters, and leadership influences, youths are existentially less empowered and unemployed, especially in developing countries. With this situation to handle well challenges, it’s important to search, investigate and deliberate about youth, unemployment, empowerment and possible management fashions, as youths have the potential to carry and fight such battles. The method adopted is a qualitative analysis of secondary data sources in youth empowerment, unemployment and development as an inclusive framework. Youth unemployment is a major development headache for most African countries. In Ethiopia, following weak youth empowerment, youth unemployment has increased from time to time, and quality education and organization linkage matter as an important constraint. As a management challenge, although accessibility of quality education for Ethiopian youths is an important constraint, the country's youths are fortified deceptively and harassed in a vicious political challenge in their struggle to fetch social and economic changes in the country. Further, thousands of youths are inactivated, criminalized and lost their lives and this makes youths hopeless anger in their lives and pushes them further to be exposed for addictions, prostitution, violence, and illegitimate migrations. This youth challenge wasn’t only destined for African countries; rather, indeed, it was a global burden and headed as a global agenda. As a resolution, the construction of a healthy education system can create independent youths who acquire success and accelerate development. Developing countries should ensue development in the cultivation of empowerment tools through long and short-term education, implementing policy in action, diminishing wide-ranging gaps of (religion, ethnicity & region), and take high youth population as an opportunity and empower them. Further managing and empowering youths to be involved in decision-making, giving political weight and building a network of organizations to easily access job opportunities are important suggestions to save youths in work, for both increasing their income and the country's food security balance.

Keywords: development, Ethiopia, management, unemployment, youth empowerment

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Authors: Ahmeda Ali, Mary Codd, Susan Brundage

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Importance: This research focuses on devising and improving Health Service Executive (HSE) policy and legislation and therefore improving patient trauma care and outcomes in Ireland. Objectives: The study measures components of the Trauma System in the district hospital setting of the Cavan/Monaghan Hospital Group (CMHG), HSE, Ireland, and uses the collected data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the CMHG Trauma System organisation, to include governance, injury data, prevention and quality improvement, scene care and facility-based care, and rehabilitation. The information will be made available to local policy makers to provide objective situational analysis to assist in future trauma service planning and service provision. Design, setting and participants: From 28 April to May 28, 2016 a cross-sectional survey using World Health Organisation (WHO) Trauma System Assessment Tool (TSAT) was conducted among healthcare professionals directly involved in the level III trauma system of CMHG. Main outcomes: Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the Trauma System of CMHG. Results: The participants who reported inadequate funding for pre hospital (62.3%) and facility based trauma care at CMHG (52.5%) were high. Thirty four (55.7%) respondents reported that a national trauma registry (TARN) exists but electronic health records are still not used in trauma care. Twenty one respondents (34.4%) reported that there are system wide protocols for determining patient destination and adequate, comprehensive legislation governing the use of ambulances was enforced, however, there is a lack of a reliable advisory service. Over 40% of the respondents reported uncertainty of the injury prevention programmes available in Ireland; as well as the allocated government funding for injury and violence prevention. Conclusions: The results of this study contributed to a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system organisation. The major findings of the study identified three fundamental areas: the inadequate funding at CMHG, the QI techniques and corrective strategies used, and the unfamiliarity of existing prevention strategies. The findings direct the need for further research to guide future development of the trauma system at CMHG (and in Ireland as a whole) in order to maximise best practice and to improve functional and life outcomes.

Keywords: trauma, education, management, system

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Authors: Emielex M. Aguilar, Kristen Angela G. Cruz, Czarina Joie L. Rivera, Francis Dave C. Tan, Gavino Ivan N. Tanodra, Dianne Katrina G. Usana, Mary Grace T. Valentin, Nico Albert S. Vasquez, Edwin Monico C. Wee

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The risk of diabetes mellitus is increasing in the Philippines, with Metformin and Insulin as drugs commonly used for its management. The use of herbal medicines has grown increasingly, especially among the elderly population. Moringa oleifera or malunggay is one of the most common plants in the country, and several studies have shown the plant to exhibit a hypoglycemic property with its flavonoid content. This study aims to investigate the possible effects of concomitant use of Metformin and powdered M. oleifera leaves (PMOL) on blood glucose levels. Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally distributed into four groups. Fasting blood glucose levels of the rats were measured prior to experimentation. The following treatments were administered to the four groups, respectively: glucose only 2 g/kg; glucose 2 g/kg + Metformin 100 mg/kg; glucose 2 g/kg + PMOL 200 mg/kg; and glucose 2 g/kg + PMOL 200 mg/kg and Metformin 100 mg/kg. Blood glucose levels were determined on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hour post-treatment and compared between groups. Statistical analysis showed that the type of intervention did not show significance in the reduction of blood glucose levels when compared with the other groups (p=0.378), while the effect of time exhibited significance (p=0.000). The interaction between the type of intervention and time of blood glucose measurement was shown to be significant (p=0.024). Within each group, the control and PMOL-treated groups showed significant reduction in blood glucose levels over time with p-values of 0.000 and 0.000, respectively, while the Metformin-treated and the combination groups had p-values of 0.062 and 0.093, respectively, which are not significant. The descriptive data also showed that the mean total reduction of blood glucose levels of the Metformin and PMOL combination treatment group was lower than the PMOL-treated group alone, while the mean total reduction of blood glucose levels of the combination group was higher than the Metformin-treated group alone. Based on the results obtained, the combination of Metformin and PMOL did not significantly lower the blood glucose levels of the rats as compared to the other groups. However, the concomitant use of Metformin and PMOL may affect each other’s blood glucose lowering activity. Additionally, prolonged time of exposure and delay in the first blood glucose measurement after treatment could exhibit a significant effect in the blood glucose levels. Further studies are recommended regarding the effects of the concomitant use of the two agents on blood glucose levels.

Keywords: blood glucose levels, concomitant use, metformin, Moringa oleifera

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Authors: Kateryna Nykytchenko

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Modern fiction and non-fiction writers commonly use their own lexical and stylistic devices to capture a reader’s attention and bring certain thoughts and feelings to his reader. Among such devices is the appearance of one of the neologic notions – individual author’s formations: occasionalisms or nonce words. To a significant extent, the host of examples of new words occurs in chick lit genre which has experienced exponential growth in recent years. Chick Lit is a new-millennial postfeminist fiction which focuses primarily on twenty- to thirtysomething middle-class women. It brings into focus the image of 'a new woman' of the 21st century who is always fallible, funny. This paper aims to investigate different types of occasional word-formation which reflect cognitive mechanisms of conveying women’s perception of the world. Chick lit novels of Irish author Marian Keyes present genuinely innovative mixture of forms, both literary and nonliterary which is displayed in different types of occasional word-formation processes such as blending, compounding, creative respelling, etc. Crossing existing mental and linguistic boundaries, adopting herself to new and overlapping linguistic spaces, chick lit author creates new words which demonstrate the result of development and progress of language and the relationship between language, thought and new reality, ultimately resulting in hybrid word-formation (e.g. affixation or pseudoborrowing). Moreover, this article attempts to present the main characteristics of chick-lit fiction genre with the help of the Marian Keyes’s novels and their influence on occasionalisms. There has been a lack of research concerning cognitive nature of occasionalisms. The current paper intends to account for occasional word-formation as a set of interconnected cognitive mechanisms, operations and procedures meld together to create a new word. The results of the generalized analysis solidify arguments that the kind of new knowledge an occasionalism manifests is inextricably linked with cognitive procedure underlying it, which results in corresponding type of word-formation processes. In addition, the findings of the study reveal that the necessity of creating occasionalisms in postmodern fiction novels arises from the need to write in a new way keeping up with a perpetually developing world, and thus the evolution of the speaker herself and her perception of the world.

Keywords: Chick Lit, occasionalism, occasional word-formation, cognitive linguistics

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Authors: Fernando M. Soto, Gaetano Di Mino

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The design of an unmodified bituminous mixture and three rubber-aggregate mixtures containing rubber-aggregate by a dry process (RUMAC) was evaluated, using an empirical-analytical approach based on experimental findings obtained in the laboratory with the volumetric mix design by gyratory compaction. A reference dense-graded bituminous sub-ballast mixture (3% of air voids and a bitumen 4% over the total weight of the mix), and three rubberized mixtures by dry process (1,5 to 3% of rubber by total weight and 5-7% of binder) were used applying the Superpave mix-design for a level 3 (high-traffic) design rail lines. The railway trackbed section analyzed was a granular layer of 19 cm compacted, while for the sub-ballast a thickness of 12 cm has been used. In order to evaluate the effect of increasing the specimen density (as a percent of its theoretical maximum specific gravity), in this article, are illustrated the results obtained after different comparative analysis into the influence of varying the binder-rubber percentages under the sub-ballast layer mix-design. This work demonstrates that rubberized blends containing crumb and ground rubber in bituminous asphalt mixtures behave at least similar or better than conventional asphalt materials. By using the same methodology of volumetric compaction, the densification curves resulting from each mixture have been studied. The purpose is to obtain an optimum empirical parameter multiplier of the number of gyrations necessary to reach the same compaction energy as in conventional mixtures. It has provided some experimental parameters adopting an empirical-analytical method, evaluating the results obtained from the gyratory-compaction of bituminous mixtures with an HMA and rubber-aggregate blends. An extensive integrated research has been carried out to assess the suitability of rubber-modified hot mix asphalt mixtures as a sub-ballast layer in railway underlayment trackbed. Design optimization of the mixture was conducted for each mixture and the volumetric properties analyzed. Also, an improved and complete manufacturing process, compaction and curing of these blends are provided. By adopting this increase-parameters of compaction, called 'beta' factor, mixtures modified with rubber with uniform densification and workability are obtained that in the conventional mixtures. It is found that considering the usual bearing capacity requirements in rail track, the optimal rubber content is 2% (by weight) or 3.95% (by volumetric substitution) and a binder content of 6%.

Keywords: empirical approach, rubber-asphalt, sub-ballast, superpave mix-design

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Authors: Matej Komanec, Jan Bohata, Stanislav Zvanovec, Tomas Nemecek, Jan Broucek, Josef Beran

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With the exponential growth of social networks, video streaming and increasing demands on data rates, the number of newly built data centers rises proportionately. The data centers, however, have to adjust to the rapidly increased amount of data that has to be processed. For this purpose, multi-mode (MM) fiber based infrastructures are often employed. It stems from the fact, the connections in data centers are typically realized within a short distance, and the application of MM fibers and components considerably reduces costs. On the other hand, the usage of MM components brings specific requirements for installation service conditions. Moreover, it has to be taken into account that MM fiber components have a higher production tolerance for parameters like core and cladding diameters, eccentricity, etc. Due to the high demands for the reliability of data center components, the determination of properly excited optical field inside the MM fiber core belongs to the key parameters while designing such an MM optical system architecture. Appropriately excited mode field of the MM fiber provides optimal power budget in connections, leads to the decrease of insertion losses (IL) and achieves effective modal bandwidth (EMB). The main parameter, in this case, is the encircled flux (EF), which should be properly defined for variable optical sources and consequent different mode-field distribution. In this paper, we present detailed investigation and measurements of the mode field distribution for short MM links purposed in particular for data centers with the emphasis on reliability and safety. These measurements are essential for large MM network design. The various scenarios, containing different fibers and connectors, were tested in terms of IL and mode-field distribution to reveal potential challenges. Furthermore, we focused on estimation of particular defects and errors, which can realistically occur like eccentricity, connector shifting or dust, were simulated and measured, and their dependence to EF statistics and functionality of data center infrastructure was evaluated. The experimental tests were performed at two wavelengths, commonly used in MM networks, of 850 nm and 1310 nm to verify EF statistics. Finally, we provide recommendations for data center systems and networks, using OM3 and OM4 MM fiber connections.

Keywords: optical fiber, multi-mode, data centers, encircled flux

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Authors: Rajashree Bothale, Venkateswara Rao

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Indian Himalayas also known as third pole with 0.9 Million SQ km area, contain the largest reserve of ice and snow outside poles and affect global climate and water availability in the perennial rivers. The variations in the extent of snow are indicative of climate change. The snow melt is sensitive to climate change (warming) and also an influencing factor to the climate change. A study of the spatio-temporal dynamics of snow cover and melt/freeze conditions is carried out using space based observations in visible and microwave bands. An analysis period of 2003 to 2015 is selected to identify and map the changes and trend in snow cover using Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) data. For mapping of wet snow, microwave data is used, which is sensitive to the presence of liquid water in the snow. The present study uses Ku-band scatterometer data from QuikSCAT and Oceansat satellites. The enhanced resolution images at 2.25 km from the 13.6GHz sensor are used to analyze the backscatter response to dry and wet snow for the period of 2000-2013 using threshold method. The study area is divided into three major river basins namely Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus which also represent the diversification in Himalayas as the Eastern Himalayas, Central Himalayas and Western Himalayas. Topographic variations across different zones show that a majority of the study area lies in 4000–5500 m elevation range and the maximum percent of high elevated areas (>5500 m) lies in Western Himalayas. The effect of climate change could be seen in the extent of snow cover and also on the melt/freeze status in different parts of Himalayas. Melt onset day increases from east (March11+11) to west (May12+15) with large variation in number of melt days. Western Himalayas has shorter melt duration (120+15) in comparison to Eastern Himalayas (150+16) providing lesser time for melt. Eastern Himalaya glaciers are prone for enhanced melt due to large melt duration. The extent of snow cover coupled with the status of melt/freeze indicating solar radiation can be used as precursor for monsoon prediction.

Keywords: Indian Himalaya, Scatterometer, Snow Melt/Freeze, AWiFS, Cryosphere

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Authors: Hanbyul Kim, Hye-Jin Kin, Taehun Park, Woo Jun Sul, Susun An

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Skin is the largest organ of the human body and can provide the diverse habitat for various microorganisms. The ecology of the skin surface selects distinctive sets of microorganisms and is influenced by both endogenous intrinsic factors and exogenous environmental factors. The diversity of the bacterial community in the skin also depends on multiple host factors: gender, age, health status, location. Among them, age-related changes in skin structure and function are attributable to combinations of endogenous intrinsic factors and exogenous environmental factors. Skin aging is characterized by a decrease in sweat, sebum and the immune functions thus resulting in significant alterations in skin surface physiology including pH, lipid composition, and sebum secretion. The present study gives a comprehensive clue on the variation of skin microbiota and the correlations between ages by analyzing and comparing the metagenome of skin microbiome using Next Generation Sequencing method. Skin bacterial diversity and composition were characterized and compared between two different age groups: younger (20 – 30y) and older (60 - 70y) Xian, Chinese women. A total of 73 healthy women meet two conditions: (I) living in Xian, China; (II) maintaining healthy skin status during the period of this study. Based on Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) database, skin samples of 73 participants were enclosed with ten most abundant genera: Chryseobacterium, Propionibacterium, Enhydrobacter, Staphylococcus and so on. Although these genera are the most predominant genus overall, each genus showed different proportion in each group. The most dominant genus, Chryseobacterium was more present relatively in Young group than in an old group. Similarly, Propionibacterium and Enhydrobacter occupied a higher proportion of skin bacterial composition of the young group. Staphylococcus, in contrast, inhabited more in the old group. The beta diversity that represents the ratio between regional and local species diversity showed significantly different between two age groups. Likewise, The Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) values representing each phylogenetic distance in the two-dimensional framework using the OTU (Operational taxonomic unit) values of the samples also showed differences between the two groups. Thus, our data suggested that the composition and diversification of skin microbiomes in adult women were largely affected by chronological and physiological skin aging.

Keywords: next generation sequencing, age, Xian, skin microbiome

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Authors: A. P. Pashkov

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The number of environmental factors that adversely affect children's health is growing every year; their combination in each territory is different. The contribution of socio-economic factors to the health status of the younger generation is increasing. It is the child’s body that is most sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, responding to this with a deterioration in health. Over the past years, scientists have determined the influence of environmental factors and the incidence of children. Currently, there is a tendency to study regional characteristics of the interaction of a combination of environmental factors with the child's body. The aim of the work was to identify trends in the primary non-infectious morbidity of the children of the Altai Territory as a unique region that combines territories with different levels of environmental quality indicators, as well as to assess the effect of atmospheric air, drinking water and socio-economic indicators on the incidence of children in the region. An unfavorable tendency has been revealed in the region for incidence of such nosological groups as neoplasms, including malignant ones, diseases of the endocrine system, including obesity and thyroid disease, diseases of the circulatory system, digestive diseases, diseases of the genitourinary system, congenital anomalies, and respiratory diseases. Between some groups of diseases revealed a pattern of geographical distribution during mapping and a significant correlation. Some nosologies have a relationship with socio-economic indicators for an integrated assessment: circulatory system diseases, respiratory diseases (direct connection), endocrine system diseases, eating disorders, and metabolic disorders (feedback). The analysis of associations of the incidence of children with average annual concentrations of substances that pollute the air and drinking water showed the existence of reliable correlation in areas of critical and intense degree of environmental quality. This fact confirms that the population living in contaminated areas is subject to the negative influence of environmental factors, which immediately affects the health status of children. The results obtained indicate the need for a detailed assessment of the influence of environmental factors on the incidence of children in the regional aspect, the formation of a database, and the development of automated programs that can predict the incidence in each specific territory. This will increase the effectiveness, including economic of preventive measures.

Keywords: incidence of children, regional features, socio-economic factors, environmental factors

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Authors: Alana E. Jansen

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With such a large proportion of organisations relying on the use of team-based structures, it is surprising that so few teams would be classified as high-performance teams. While the impact of team composition on performance has been researched frequently, there have been conflicting findings as to the effects, particularly when examined alongside other team factors. To broaden the theoretical perspectives on this topic and potentially explain some of the inconsistencies in research findings left open by other various models of team effectiveness and high-performing teams, the present study aims to use the Job-Demands-Resources model, typically applied to burnout and engagement, as a framework to examine how team composition factors (particularly diversity in team member characteristics) can facilitate or hamper team effectiveness. This study used a virtual interview design where participants were asked to both rate and describe their experiences, in one high-performing and one low-performing team, over several factors relating to demands, resources, team composition, and team effectiveness. A semi-structured interview protocol was developed, which combined the use of the Likert style and exploratory questions. A semi-targeted sampling approach was used to invite participants ranging in age, gender, and ethnic appearance (common surface-level diversity characteristics) and those from different specialties, roles, educational and industry backgrounds (deep-level diversity characteristics). While the final stages of data analyses are still underway, thematic analysis using a grounded theory approach was conducted concurrently with data collection to identify the point of thematic saturation, resulting in 35 interviews being completed. Analyses examine differences in perceptions of demands and resources as they relate to perceived team diversity. Preliminary results suggest that high-performing and low-performing teams differ in perceptions of the type and range of both demands and resources. The current research is likely to offer contributions to both theory and practice. The preliminary findings suggest there is a range of demands and resources which vary between high and low-performing teams, factors which may play an important role in team effectiveness research going forward. Findings may assist in explaining some of the more complex interactions between factors experienced in the team environment, making further progress towards understanding the intricacies of why only some teams achieve high-performance status.

Keywords: diversity, high-performing teams, job demands and resources, team effectiveness

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Authors: Huzaifa Bilal

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Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia, Kurdjumov) is considered an economically important wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) pest worldwide and in South Africa. The RWA damages wheat plants and reduces annual yields by more than 10%. Even though pest management by pesticides and resistance breeding is an attractive option, chemicals can cause harm to the environment. Furthermore, the evolution of resistance-breaking aphid biotypes has out-paced the release of resistant cultivars. An alternative strategy to reduce the impact of aphid damage on plants, such as priming, which sensitizes plants to respond effectively to subsequent attacks, is necessary. In this study, wheat plants at the seedling and flag leaf stages were primed by salicylic acid and isolate representative of two races of the leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina Eriks. (Pt), before RWA (South African RWA biotypes 1 and 4) infestation. Randomized complete block design experiments were conducted in the greenhouse to study plant-pest interaction in primed and non-primed plants. Analysis of induced aphid damage indicated salicylic acid differentially primed wheat cultivars for increased resistance to the RWASA biotypes. At the seedling stage, all cultivars were primed for enhanced resistance to RWASA1, while at the flag leaf stage, only PAN 3111, SST 356 and Makalote were primed for increased resistance. The Puccinia triticina efficaciously primed wheat cultivars for excellent resistance to RWASA1 at the seedling and flag leaf stages. However, Pt failed to enhance the four Lesotho cultivars' resistance to RWASA4 at the seedling stage and PAN 3118 at the flag leaf stage. The induced responses at the seedling and flag leaf stages were positively correlated in all the treatments. Primed plants induced high activity of antioxidant enzymes like peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. High antioxidant activity indicates activation of resistant responses in primed plants (primed by salicylic acid and Puccina triticina). Isolates of avirulent Pt races can be a worthy priming agent for improved resistance to RWA infestation. Further confirmation of the priming effects needs to be evaluated at the field trials to investigate its application efficiency.

Keywords: Russian wheat aphis, salicylic acid, puccina triticina, priming

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Authors: Tewodros Abate Alemayehu, Abebe Getahun, Akewake Geremew, Dawit Solomon Demeke, John Recha, Dawit Solomon, Gebremedihin Ambaw, Fasil Dawit Moges

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of supplementation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) on growth performance, feed utilization, fatty acid profiles, hematology, and intestinal morphology of Chamo strain Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) fry reared at optimal temperature (28.62 ± 0.11 ⁰C). Nile tilapia fry (initial weight 1.45 ± 0.01g) were fed basal diet/control diet (Diet-T1), 6 g kg-¹ MOS supplemented diet (Diet-T2), 4 mg ZnO-NPs supplemented diet (Diet-T3), 4 mg ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet (Diet-T4), a combination of 6 g kg-¹ MOS and 4 mg ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet (Diet-T5) and combination of 6 g kg-¹ MOS and 4 mg ZnO-NPs supplemented diet (Diet-T6). Randomly, duplicate aquariums for each diet were assigned and hand-fed to apparent satiation three times daily (08:00, 12:00, and 16:00) for 12 weeks. Fish fed MOS, ZnO-NPs, and a combination of MOS and ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet had higher weight gain, Daily Growth Rate (DGR), and Specific Growth Rate (SGR) than fish fed the basal diet and other feeding groups, although the effect was not significant. According to the GC analysis, Nile tilapia was supplemented with 6 g kg-¹ MOS, 4 mg ZnO-NPs, or a combination of ZnO-NPs, and MOS showed the highest content of EPA, DHA, and higher ratios of PUFA/SFA than other feeding groups. Mean villi length in the proximal and middle portion of the Nile tilapia intestine was affected significantly (p<0.05) by diet. Fish fed Diet-T2 and Diet-T3 had significantly higher villi lengths in the proximal and middle portions of the intestine compared to other feeding groups. The inclusion of additives significantly improved goblet numbers at the proximal, middle, and distal portions of the intestine. Supplementation of additives had also improved some hematological parameters compared with control groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of additives MOS and ZnO-NPs could confer benefits on growth performance, fatty acid profiles, hematology, and intestinal morphology of Chamo strain Nile tilapia.

Keywords: chamo strain nile tilapia, fatty acid profile, hematology, intestinal morphology, MOS, ZnO-Bulk, ZnO-NPs

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

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The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in Al-Najaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km² and 6.16 km² in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m³/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km², the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m³/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes.

Keywords: Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW

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Authors: Newton Muhury, Armando A. Apan, Tek Maraseni

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This study modelled the relationships between vegetation response and available water below the soil surface using the Terra’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) generated Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and soil water content (SWC) data. The Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) interface known as ArcSWAT was used in ArcGIS for the groundwater analysis. The SWAT model was calibrated and validated in SWAT-CUP software using 10 years (2001-2010) of monthly streamflow data. The average Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency during the calibration and validation was 0.54 and 0.51, respectively, indicating that the model performances were good. Twenty years (2001-2020) of monthly MODIS NDVI data for three different types of vegetation (forest, shrub, and grass) and soil water content for 43 sub-basins were analysed using the WEKA, machine learning tool with a selection of two supervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). The modelling results show that different types of vegetation response and soil water content vary in the dry and wet season. For example, the model generated high positive relationships (r=0.76, 0.73, and 0.81) between the measured and predicted NDVI values of all vegetation in the study area against the groundwater flow (GW), soil water content (SWC), and the combination of these two variables, respectively, during the dry season. However, these relationships were reduced by 36.8% (r=0.48) and 13.6% (r=0.63) against GW and SWC, respectively, in the wet season. On the other hand, the model predicted a moderate positive relationship (r=0.63) between shrub vegetation type and soil water content during the dry season, which was reduced by 31.7% (r=0.43) during the wet season. Our models also predicted that vegetation in the top location (upper part) of the sub-basin is highly responsive to GW and SWC (r=0.78, and 0.70) during the dry season. The results of this study indicate the study region is suitable for seasonal crop production in dry season. Moreover, the results predicted that the growth of vegetation in the top-point location is highly dependent on groundwater flow in both dry and wet seasons, and any instability or long-term drought can negatively affect these floodplain vegetation communities. This study has enriched our knowledge of vegetation responses to groundwater in each season, which will facilitate better floodplain vegetation management.

Keywords: ArcSWAT, machine learning, floodplain vegetation, MODIS NDVI, groundwater

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Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian

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COVID-19, which began in December 2019, uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter and spread through the cells. ACE2 mRNA is present in almost every organ, including nasopharynx, lung, as well as the brain. Ports of entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the central nervous system (CNS) may include arterial circulation, while viremia is remarkable. However, it is imperious to develop neurological symptoms evaluation CSF analysis in patients with COVID-19, but theoretically, ACE2 receptors are expressed in cerebellar cells and may be a target for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain. Recent evidence agrees that SARS-CoV-2 can impact the brain through direct and indirect injury. Two biomarkers for CNS injury, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light chain (NFL) detected in the plasma of patients with COVID-19. NFL, an axonal protein expressed in neurons, is related to axonal neurodegeneration, and GFAP is over-expressed in CNS inflammation. GFAP cytoplasmic accumulation causes Schwan cells to misfunction, so affects myelin generation, reduces neuroskeletal support over NfLs during CNS inflammation, and leads to axonal degeneration. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which extensively over-express due to interleukin storm during COVID-19 inflammation, regulates gene expression, as well as GFAP through STAT molecular pathway. IL-6 also impresses the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/STAT/smads pathway. The PI3K/ protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is the main modulator upstream of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and alterations in this pathway are common in neurodegenerative diseases. Most neurodegenerative diseases show a disruption of autophagic function and display an abnormal increase in protein aggregation that promotes cellular death. Therefore, induction of autophagy has been recommended as a rational approach to help neurons clear abnormal protein aggregates and survive. The mTOR is a major regulator of the autophagic process and is regulated by cellular stressors. The mTORC1 pathway and mTORC2, as complementary and important elements in mTORC1 signaling, have become relevant in the regulation of the autophagic process and cellular survival through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway.

Keywords: mTORC1, COVID-19, PI3K, autophagy, neurodegeneration

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Authors: Marco Furinghetti, Alberto Pavese, Michele Rinaldi

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Concave Surface Slider devices have been more and more used in real applications for seismic protection of both bridge and building structures. Several research activities have been carried out, in order to investigate the lateral response of such a typology of devices, and a reasonably high level of knowledge has been reached. If radial analysis is performed, the frictional force is always aligned with respect to the restoring force, whereas under bidirectional seismic events, a bi-axial interaction of the directions of motion occurs, due to the step-wise projection of the main frictional force, which is assumed to be aligned to the trajectory of the isolator. Nonetheless, if non-linear time history analyses have to be performed, standard codes provide precise rules for the definition of an averagely spectrum-compatible set of accelerograms in radial conditions, whereas for bidirectional motions different combinations of the single components spectra can be found. Moreover, nowadays software for the adjustment of natural accelerograms are available, which lead to a higher quality of spectrum-compatibility and to a smaller dispersion of results for radial motions. In this endeavor a simplified design procedure is defined, for building structures, base-isolated by means of Concave Surface Slider devices. Different case study structures have been analyzed. In a first stage, the capacity curve has been computed, by means of non-linear static analyses on the fixed-base structures: inelastic fiber elements have been adopted and different direction angles of lateral forces have been studied. Thanks to these results, a linear elastic Finite Element Model has been defined, characterized by the same global stiffness of the linear elastic branch of the non-linear capacity curve. Then, non-linear time history analyses have been performed on the base-isolated structures, by applying seven bidirectional seismic events. The spectrum-compatibility of bidirectional earthquakes has been studied, by considering different combinations of single components and adjusting single records: thanks to the proposed procedure, results have shown a small dispersion and a good agreement in comparison to the assumed design values.

Keywords: concave surface slider, spectrum-compatibility, bidirectional earthquake, base isolation

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Authors: T. Sarat Chandra, M. Maneesh Kumar, S. N. Mudliar, V. S. Chauhan, S. Mukherji, R. Sarada

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The life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel production from freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus cultivated in open raceway pond is performed. Various scenarios for biodiesel production were simulated using primary and secondary data. The parameters varied in the modelled scenarios were related to biomass productivity, mode of culture mixing and type of energy source. The process steps included algae cultivation in open raceway ponds, harvesting by chemical flocculation, dewatering by mechanical drying option (MDO) followed by extraction, reaction and purification. Anaerobic digestion of defatted algal biomass (DAB) for biogas generation is considered as a co-product allocation and the energy derived from DAB was thereby used in the upstream of the process. The scenarios were analysed for energy demand, emissions and environmental impacts within the boundary conditions grounded on "cradle to gate" inventory. Across all the Scenarios, cultivation via raceway pond was observed to be energy intensive process. The mode of culture mixing and biomass productivity determined the energy requirements of the cultivation step. Emissions to Freshwater were found to be maximum contributing to 93-97% of total emissions in all the scenarios. Global warming potential (GWP) was the found to be major environmental impact accounting to about 99% of total environmental impacts in all the modelled scenarios. It was noticed that overall emissions and impacts were directly related to energy demand and an inverse relationship was observed with biomass productivity. The geographic location of an energy source affected the environmental impact of a given process. The integration of defatted algal remnants derived electricity with the cultivation system resulted in a 2% reduction in overall energy demand. Direct biogas generation from microalgae post harvesting is also analysed. Energy surplus was observed after using part of the energy in upstream for biomass production. Results suggest biogas production from microalgae post harvesting as an environmentally viable and sustainable option compared to biodiesel production.

Keywords: biomass productivity, energy demand, energy source, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), microalgae, open raceway pond

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Authors: Wilfred Emmannuel Dzasu, Sani Usman Kunya, Inuwa Yusuf Mohammed, Moses Jonathan Gambo

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The research aimed at investigating and identifying the strategies for enhancing access to microfinance for housing provision in the informal sector of North East Nigeria, with a focus on addressing the critical issue of housing poverty and lack of access to affordable housing finance among low-income households in the informal sector. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed method design, combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. In the qualitative phase, 12 participants from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four selected states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba) were interviewed. The interviews were conducted using an interview guide with open-ended questions and were recorded with the consent of the respondents. In the quantitative phase, a survey strategy was adopted to collect data from 500 questionnaires distributed to informal sector workers (ISWs) in the study area. A total of 350 questionnaires were returned, representing a 70.0% response rate. The most preferred strategy for improving access to housing microfinance among ISWs is aggressive awareness of housing financing options by MFIs, with a mean score of 4.213; the most important strategy for improving access to housing microfinance among MFIs is close monitoring and adequate supervision of housing loan beneficiaries by MFIs, with a mean score of 4.675. The study identified several government-related strategies that are necessary for enhancing access to housing microfinance, including the provision of grants and subsidized intervention funds for housing, improvement in infrastructures to aid housing developments, and adequate measures for checking inflation/price fluctuation of building materials. The study also identified several MFI-related strategies that are necessary for enhancing access to housing microfinance, including deliberate expansion in the capital bases of MFIs, adequate training and capacity development of MFIs staff on relevant skills in housing micro-financing, and introduction of loan products that suit the incremental building needs of informal sector workers. Overall, the study highlights the need for a combination of government-related and MFI-related strategies to enhance access to microfinance for housing provision in the informal sector of North East Nigeria.

Keywords: finanace, microfinance, housing, North East Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 26