Search results for: institutional solid waste generation

Authors: P. C. Kutschera, Elena C. Tesoro, Mary Grace Talamera-Sandico, Jose Maria G. Pelayo III

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Second generation military Filipino Amerasians comprise a formidable contemporary segment of the estimated 250,000-plus biracial Amerasians in the Philippines today. Overall, they are a stigmatized and socioeconomically marginalized diaspora, historically; they were abandoned or estranged by U.S. military personnel fathers assigned during the century-long Colonial, Post-World War II and Cold War Era of permanent military basing (1898-1992). Indeed, U.S. military personnel remain stationed in smaller numbers in the Philippines today. This inquiry is an outgrowth of two recent small sample studies. The first surfaced the impact of the U.S. military prostitution system on formation of the ‘Derivative Amerasian Family Construct’ on first generation Amerasians; a second, qualitative case study suggested the continued effect of the prostitution systems' destructive impetuous on second generation Amerasians. The intent of this current qualitative, multiple-case study was to actively seek out second generation sex industry toilers. The purpose was to focus further on this human phenomenon in the post-basing and post-military prostitution system eras. As background, the former military prostitution apparatus has transformed into a modern dynamic of rampant sex tourism and prostitution nationwide. This is characterized by hotel and resorts offering unrestricted carnal access, urban and provincial brothels (casas), discos, bars and pickup clubs, massage parlors, local barrio karaoke bars and street prostitution. A small case study sample (N = 4) of female and male second generation Amerasians were selected. Sample formation employed a non-probability ‘snowball’ technique drawing respondents from the notorious Angeles, Metro Manila, Olongapo City ‘AMO Amerasian Triangle’ where most former U.S. military installations were sited and modern sex tourism thrives. A six-month study and analysis of in-depth interviews of female and male sex laborers, their families and peers revealed a litany of disturbing, and troublesome experiences. Results showed profiles of debilitating human poverty, history of family disorganization, stigmatization, social marginalization and the ghost of the military prostitution system and its harmful legacy on Amerasian family units. Emerging were testimonials of wayward young people ensnared in a maelstrom of deep economic deprivation, familial dysfunction, psychological desperation and societal indifference. The paper recommends that more study is needed and implications of unstudied psychosocial and socioeconomic experiences of distressed younger generations of military Amerasians require specific research. Heretofore apathetic or disengaged U.S. institutions need to confront the issue and formulate activist and solution-oriented social welfare, human services and immigration easement policies and alternatives. These institutions specifically include academic and social science research agencies, corporate foundations, the U.S. Congress, and Departments of State, Defense and Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security (i.e. Citizen and Immigration Services) It is them who continue to endorse a laissez-faire policy of non-involvement over the entire Filipino Amerasian question. Such apathy, the paper concludes, relegates this consequential but neglected blood progeny to the status of humiliating destitution and exploitation. Amerasians; thus, remain entrapped in their former colonial, and neo-colonial habitat. Ironically, they are unwitting victims of a U.S. American homeland that fancies itself geo-politically as a strong and strategic military treaty ally of the Philippines in the Western Pacific.

Keywords: Asian Americans, diaspora, Filipino Amerasians, military prostitution, stigmatization

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Authors: Ajith J. Kings, L. R. Monisha Miriam, R. Edwin Raj, S. Julyes Jaisingh, S. Gavaskar

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Microalgae are a potential bio-source for rejuvenated solutions in various disciplines of science and technology, especially in medicine and energy. Biodiesel is being replaced for conventional fuels in automobile industries with reduced pollution and equivalent performance. Since it is a carbon neutral fuel by recycling CO2 in photosynthesis, global warming potential can be held in control using this fuel source. One of the ways to meet the rising demand of automotive fuel is to adopt with eco-friendly, green alternative fuels called sustainable microalgal biodiesel. In this work, a microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was cultivated and optimized in different media compositions developed from under-utilized waste materials in lab scale. Using the optimized process conditions, they are then mass propagated in out-door ponds, harvested, dried and oils extracted for optimization in ambient conditions. The microalgal oil was subjected to two step esterification processes using acid catalyst to reduce the acid value (0.52 mg kOH/g) in the initial stage, followed by transesterification to maximize the biodiesel yield. The optimized esterification process parameters are methanol/oil ratio 0.32 (v/v), sulphuric acid 10 vol.%, duration 45 min at 65 ºC. In the transesterification process, commercially available alkali catalyst (KOH) is used and optimized to obtain a maximum biodiesel yield of 95.4%. The optimized parameters are methanol/oil ratio 0.33(v/v), alkali catalyst 0.1 wt.%, duration 90 min at 65 ºC 90 with smooth stirring. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is employed as a tool for optimizing the process parameters. The biodiesel was then characterized with standard procedures and especially by GC-MS to confirm its compatibility for usage in internal combustion engine.

Keywords: microalgae, organic media, optimization, transesterification, characterization

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Authors: Laura Bravo-García, Gotzone Barandika, Begoña Bazán, M. Karmele Urtiaga, Luis M. Lezama, María I. Arriortua

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Solid coordination networks (SCNs) are materials consisting of metal ions or clusters that are linked by polyfunctional organic ligands and can be designed to form tridimensional frameworks. Their structural features, as for example high surface areas, thermal stability, and in other cases large cavities, have opened a wide range of applications in fields like drug delivery, host-guest chemistry, biomedical imaging, chemical sensing, heterogeneous catalysis and others referred to greenhouse gases storage or even separation. In this sense, the use of polycarboxylate anions and dipyridyl ligands is an effective strategy to produce extended structures with the needed characteristics for these applications. In this context, a novel compound, [Cu4(m-BDC)4(bpa)2DMF]•DMF has been obtained by microwave synthesis, where m-BDC is 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate and bpa 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane. The crystal structure can be described as a three dimensional framework formed by two equal, interpenetrated networks. Each network consists of two different CuII dimers. Dimer 1 have two coppers with a square pyramidal coordination, and dimer 2 have one with a square pyramidal coordination and other with octahedral one, the last dimer is unique in literature. Therefore, the combination of both type of dimers is unprecedented. Thus, benzenedicarboxylate ligands form sinusoidal chains between the same type of dimers, and also connect both chains forming these layers in the (100) plane. These layers are connected along the [100] direction through the bpa ligand, giving rise to a 3D network with 10 Å2 voids in average. However, the fact that there are two interpenetrated networks results in a significant reduction of the available volume. Structural analysis was carried out by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. Thermal and magnetic properties have been measured by means of thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray thermodiffractometry (TDX), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Additionally, CO2 and CH4 high pressure adsorption measurements have been carried out for this compound.

Keywords: gas adsorption, interpenetrated networks, magnetic measurements, solid coordination network (SCN), thermal stability

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Authors: Rakesh Mishra

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India’s Demography has always amazed the world because of its unprecedented outcomes in the presence of multifaceted socioeconomic and geographical characteristics. Being the first one to implement family panning in 1952, it occupies 2nd largest population of the world, with some of its state like Uttar Pradesh contributing 5th largest population to the world population surpassing Brazil. Being the one with higher in number it is more prone to the demographic disparity persisting into its territories brought upon by the inequalities in availability, accessibility and attainability of socioeconomic and various other resources. Fifth goal of Millennium Development Goal emphasis to improve maternal and child health across the world as Children’s development is very important for the overall development of society and the best way to develop national human resources is to take care of children. The target is to reduce the infant deaths by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Child health status depends on the care and delivery by trained personnel, particularly through institutional facilities which is further associated with the status of the mother. However, delivery in institutional facilities and delivery by skilled personnel are rising slowly in India. The main objective of the present study is to measure the child health status on based on the educational and occupational background of the women in India. Study indicates that women education plays a very crucial role in deciding the health of the new born care and access to family planning, but the women autonomy indicates to have mixed results in different states of India. It is observed that rural women are 1.61 times more likely to exclusive breastfed their children compared to urban women. With respect to Hindu category, women belonging to other religious community were 21 percent less likely to exclusive breastfed their child. Taking scheduled caste as reference category, the odds of exclusive breastfeeding is found to be decreasing in comparison to other castes, and it is found to be significant among general category. Women of high education status have higher odds of using family planning methods in most of the southern states of India. By and large, girls and boys are about equally undernourished. Under nutrition is generally lower for first births than for subsequent births and consistently increases with increasing birth order for all measures of nutritional status. It is to be noted that at age 12-23 months, when many children are being weaned from breast milk, 30 percent of children are severely stunted and around 21 percent are severely underweight. So, this paper presents the evidence on the patterns of prevailing child health status in India and its states with reference to the mother socioeconomics and biological characteristics and examines trends in these, and discusses plausible explanations.

Keywords: immunization, exclusive breastfeeding, under five mortality, binary logistic regression, ordinal regression and life table

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Authors: Saurabh Ahluwalia, Sul Kassicieh

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The conventional wisdom has maintained that being in proximity to entrepreneurial ecosystems helps startups to raise financing, develop and grow. In this paper, we examine the effect of a major component of an entrepreneurial ecosystem- financial or venture capital clusters on the exit of a startup through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We find that the presence of a venture capitalist in a venture capital (VC) cluster is a major success factor for M&A exits. The location of startups in the top VC clusters did not turn out to be significant for success. Our results are robust to different specifications of the model that use different time periods, types of success, the reputation of VC, industry and the quality of the startup company. Our results provide evidence for VCs, startups and policymakers who want to better understand the components of entrepreneurial ecosystems and their relation to the M&A exits of startups.

Keywords: financial institution, mergers and acquisitions, startup financing, venture capital

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Authors: Kamal Kasmaoui, Farid Makhlouf

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This article seeks to assess the role of the level of interpersonal trust in a country in the remittance landscape. Using historical data from the 2010-2014 wave of the World Value Survey (WVS) for interpersonal trust, our findings underline the substitution role played by the interpersonal trust with remittances. More accurately, remittances tend to drop when the rate of interpersonal trust in the country of origin is high. Overall, a rise in trust is likely to underpin social cohesion, limiting, therefore, the need for remittances. These results are still fairly solid and unambiguous after controlling for confounding factors and possible reverse causality.

Keywords: interpersonal trust, social capital, remittances, 2SLS

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Authors: Naeem Ullah Khan, Kalsoom Khan

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No state can be progressive and prosperous in which a large number of people is deprived of their basic economic rights and freedoms. In the contemporary world of globalization, the right to development has gained a momentum force in the domain of International Development Law (IDL) and has integrated into the National Legal System (NLS) of the major developed states. The international experts on human rights argued that the right to development (RTD) is called a third-generation human right which tends to enhance the welfare and prosperity of individuals, and thus, it is a right to a process whose outcomes are human rights despite the controversy on the implications of RTD. In the Pakistan legal system, the RTD has not been expressly stated in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. However, there are some implied constitutional provisions which reflect the concept of RTD. The jurisprudence on RTD is still an evolving paradigm in the contextual perspective of Pakistan, and the superior court of diverse jurisdiction acts as a catalyst regarding the protection and enforcement of RTD in the interest of the public at large. However, the case law explores the positive inclination of the courts in Pakistan on RTD be incorporated as an express provision in the chapters of fundamental rights; in this scenario, the high court’s of Pakistan under Article 199 and the supreme court of Pakistan under Article 184(3) have exercised jurisdiction on the enforcement of RTD. This paper inter-alia examines the national dimensions of RTD from the standpoint of state practice in Pakistan and it analyzes the experience of judiciary in the protection and enforcement of RTD. Moreover, the paper highlights the social and cultural challenges to Pakistan in the implementation of RTD and possible solution to improve the conditions of human rights in Pakistan. This paper will also highlight the steps taken by Pakistan regarding the awareness, incorporation, and propagation of RTD at the national level.

Keywords: globalization, Pakistan, RTD, third-generation right

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Authors: Adam Y. Sulaiman, Donal F. Cotter, Ming J. Huang, Neil J. Hewitt

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Decarbonization of the industrial sector in developed countries has become indispensable for addressing climate change. Industrial processes including drying, distillation, and injection molding require a process heat exceeding 180°C, rendering the subcriticalHigh-Temperature heat pump(HTHP) technique unsuitable. A transcritical HTHP utilizing ecologically friendly working fluids is a highly recommended system that incorporates the features of high-energy efficiency, extended operational range, and decarbonizing the industrial sector. This paper delves into the possibility and feasibility of leveraging the HTTP system to provide up to 200°C of heat using R1233zd(E) as a working fluid. Using a steady-state model, various transcritical HTHP cycle configurations aretheoretically compared,analyzed, and evaluatedin this study. The heat transfer characteristics for the evaporator and gas cooler are investigated, as well as the cycle's energy, exergetic, and environmental performance. Using the LMTD method, the gas cooler's heat transfer coefficient, overall length, and heat transfer area were calculated. The findings indicate that the heat sink pressure level, as well as the waste heat temperature provided to the evaporator, have a significant impact on overall cycle performance. The investigation revealed the potential challenges and barriers, including the length of the gas cooler and the lubrication of the compression process. The basic transcritical HTTP cycle with additional IHX was demonstrated to be the most efficient cycle across a variety of heat source temperatures ranging from 70 to 90 °C based on theoretical energetic and exergetic performance.

Keywords: high-temperature heat pump, transcritical cycle, refrigerants, gas cooler, energy, exergy

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Authors: Iacopo Carnacina, Mohammad Keshtpoor, Richard Yablonsky

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Non-structural protection measures against flooding are becoming increasingly popular flood risk mitigation strategies. In particular, coastal flood insurance impacts not only private citizens but also insurance and reinsurance companies, who may require it to retain solvency and better understand the risks they face from a catastrophic coastal flood event. In this context, a framework is presented here to assess the risk for coastal flooding across the UK. The area has a long history of catastrophic flood events, including the Great Flood of 1953 and the 2013 Cyclone Xaver storm, both of which led to significant loss of life and property. The current framework will leverage a technology based on a hydrodynamic model (Delft3D Flexible Mesh). This flexible mesh technology, coupled with a calibration technique, allows for better utilisation of computational resources, leading to higher resolution and more detailed results. The generation of a stochastic set of extra tropical cyclone (ETC) events supports the evaluation of the financial losses for the whole area, also accounting for correlations between different locations in different scenarios. Finally, the solution shows a detailed analysis for the Thames River, leveraging the information available on flood barriers and levees. Two realistic disaster scenarios for the Greater London area are simulated: In the first scenario, the storm surge intensity is not high enough to fail London’s flood defences, but in the second scenario, London’s flood defences fail, highlighting the potential losses from a catastrophic coastal flood event.

Keywords: storm surge, stochastic model, levee failure, Thames River

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Authors: Selin Top, Raul Marcos, M. Sinan Bilgili

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Although there have been several studies related to collection, temporary storage, handling and disposal of solid wastes generated by hospitals, there are only a few studies related to liquid wastes generated by hospitals or hospital wastewaters. There is an important amount of water consumptions in hospitals. While minimum domestic water consumption per person is 100 L/day, water consumption per bed in hospitals is generally ranged between 400-1200 L. This high amount of consumption causes high amount of wastewater. The quantity of wastewater produced in a hospital depends on different factors: bed numbers, hospital age, accessibility to water, general services present inside the structure (kitchen, laundry, laboratory, diagnosis, radiology, and air conditioning), number and type of wards and units, institution management policies and awareness in managing the structure in safeguarding the environment, climate and cultural and geographic factors. In our country, characterization of hospital wastewaters conducted by classical parameters in a very few studies. However, as mentioned above, this type of wastewaters may contain different compounds than domestic wastewaters. Hospital Wastewater (HWW) is wastewater generated from all activities of the hospital, medical and non medical. Nowadays, hospitals are considered as one of the biggest sources of wastewater along with urban sources, agricultural effluents and industrial sources. As a health-care waste, hospital wastewater has the same quality as municipal wastewater, but may also potentially contain various hazardous components due to using disinfectants, pharmaceuticals, radionuclides and solvents making not suitable the connection of hospital wastewater to the municipal sewage network. These characteristics may represent a serious health hazard and children, adults and animals all have the potential to come into contact with this water. Therefore, the treatment of hospital wastewater is an important current interest point to focus on. This paper aims to approach on the investigation of hospital wastewater treatment by membrane systems. This study aim is to determined hospital wastewater’s characterization and also evaluates the efficiency of hospital wastewater treatment by high pressure filtration systems such as ultrafiltration (UF). Hospital wastewater samples were taken directly from sewage system from Şişli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, located in the district of Şişli, in the European part of Istanbul. The hospital is a 784 bed tertiary care center with a daily outpatient department of 3850 patients. Ultrafiltration membrane is used as an experimental treatment and the influence of the pressure exerted on the membranes was examined, ranging from 1 to 3 bar. The permeate flux across the membrane was observed to define the flooding membrane points. The global COD and BOD5 removal efficiencies were 54% and 75% respectively for ultrafiltration, all the SST removal efficiencies were above 90% and a successful removal of the pathological bacteria measured was achieved.

Keywords: hospital wastewater, membrane, ultrafiltration, treatment

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Authors: Mercy Chepkirui, Paul Orina, Priscilla Boera, Judith Achoki

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Oreochromis jipe is a tropical freshwater bentho-pelagic fish belonging to the Cichlid family that is endemic to the Pangani River basin and Lake Jipe in Kenya and northern Tanzania, while Oreochromis niloticus inhabits the Lake Victoria basin with reported cases in Lake jipe too. Unlike O. jipe, Oreochromis niloticus is spreading across the globe due to its cultural potential. This, however, could cause genetic purity concerns in the event of cross-breeding among the tilapiines, which is already taking place in the wild. The study envisaged establishing the possibility of hybridization among the two species under aquaculture conditions and phenotypically informing the difference between pure and cross lines. Two hundred sixteen mature brooders weighing 100-120g were selected randomly, 108 of Oreochromis Jipe and 108 of Oreochromis niloticus; for each trial, 72 males and 144 females were distributed into 3 crosses, each grouped in triplicates (Oreochromis niloticus (♀) X Oreochromis niloticus(♂);Oreochromis niloticus (♂) X Oreochromis jipe ( ♀); Oreochromis jipe (♂) X Oreochromis niloticus (♀); Oreochromis jipe (♂) X Oreochromis jipe (♀). All trials had the F1 generation, which is currently undergoing growth trials and assessing its viability for the 2nd generation. The results indicated that Oreochromis niloticus has better growth, followed by crosses (Oreochromis niloticus X Oreochromis jipe) and, finally, pure line Oreochromis jipe. Further, pure Oreochromis jipe F1 demonstrated potential for aquaculture adoption despite its recent introduction into aquaculture; thus, this will help towards the conservation of indigenous fish species of Lake Jipe fishery, which is currently under the Internationa Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of endangered fish species. However, there is a need to inform the purity of existing Oreochromis jipe wild stocks to inform genetic material conservation.

Keywords: biodiversity, climate change, fisheries, oreochromis jipe, conservation

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Authors: B. O. Oyedoyin, M. O. Ilori, T. O. Oyebisi, B. A. Oluwale, O. O. Jegede

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The study was designed to evaluate the business development and transfer of technologies to small manufacturing companies by research institutes in South Western Nigeria. The study covered all the industrial research institutions with headquarters in South Western Nigeria. The study showed that the involvement of scientists in innovation process was rated highest in the idea generation (4.14) and idea screening (4.29) phases; high in R&D (3.86) and fairly high in pilot plant development (2.71) and commercialization (2.43) phase. Their involvement was rated low in business analysis and development (2.14), and test marketing (2.29) phase. The involvement of engineers was rated highest in idea generation (3.28), fairly high in R&D (2.71), pilot plant development (2.57), and idea screening (2.40) phases. However, their involvement was rated low in business analysis and development (2.0), test marketing (2.0), and commercialization (1.28) phases. The involvement of technology marketers in innovation process was generally rated fairly high in R&D (2.7) and business analysis and development (2.6), and low in all the other phases of innovation. However, their involvement at IAR&T, FIIRO, and NIOMR in all the phases was rated very high (3.0-5.0). The involvement of entrepreneurs was generally rated from fairly high to low (2.7-2.3) in all the phases of innovation. The involvement of financial institutions in all the phases of innovation was generally rated low (1.28-1.71). In conclusion, the study showed that the involvement of stakeholders like entrepreneurs and financial institutions in technology packaging for commercialization is very low.

Keywords: research institutes, national innovation system, Nigeria, entrepreneurs, financial institution

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Authors: Sima Hassankhali, Ildar Sadeqi

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In the theory of Pareto efficient points, the existence of a bounded base for a cone K of a normed space X is so important. In this article, we study the geometric structure of a nonzero closed convex cone K with a bounded base. For this aim, we study the structure of the polar cone K# of K. Furthermore, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for a nonempty closed convex set C so that its recession cone C∞ has a bounded base.

Keywords: solid cones, recession cones, polar cones, bounded base

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili, Eteri Kharaishvili, Marina Chavleishvili

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The paper discusses the economic policy of increasing national competitiveness, the tools, and means which help the country to improve its competitiveness. The sectors of the economy, in which the country can achieve a competitive advantage, are studied. It is noted that the country’s economic policy plays an important role in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage - authority should take measures to ensure a high level of education; scientific and research activities should be funded by the state; foreign direct investments should be attracted mainly in science-intensive industries; adaptation with the latest scientific achievements of the modern world and deepening of scientific and technical cooperation. Stable business environment and export-oriented strategy is the basis for the country’s economic growth. The studies have shown that institutional reforms in Georgia are not enough to significantly improve the country's competitiveness.

Keywords: competitiveness, economic policy, competitiveness improvement strategy, competitiveness of Georgia

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Authors: Nasrin Badrkhani

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Human beings step into this world to live thus, the way of living holds undeniable importance. Addressing the contemporary lifestyle is a necessity that has attracted the attention of scholars. To formulate an ideal lifestyle, we need to progress in two dimensions: the instrumental and the content dimensions. In the context of lifestyle, which is the software part of Islamic civilization, we have not made significant progress. In analyzing the Iranian-Islamic lifestyle, it must be said that our current lifestyle is eclectic, and we need to refine it by selecting one or two main factors, which other factors are dependent on, and work on them so that the secondary factors change on their own. Lifestyle is a broad concept that, in addition to goals, includes an individual's thoughts about themselves, the world, and their unique way of striving to achieve their goals under specific conditions. The discussion of harm becomes relevant for an institution when it cannot fulfill the expected functions or is on the verge of dissolution. There is no doubt that today's Iranian family is far from being the balanced family that should be the cornerstone of a healthy society. The generation gap, as a global issue, is a problem facing Iranian society and families. The weakening of the element of faith, prioritizing worldly benefits over divine satisfaction, the prominence of material pleasures over spiritual joy, individualism and attention to personal interests instead of altruism and sacrifice, increased grounds for establishing relationships outside the framework of marriage, and the fading culture of hijab reduce the felt need to form a family. In a general summary regarding the pathology of the lifestyle of Iranians, it must be said that the consumerist lifestyle or the libertinism that some of our families have adopted is, whatever it may be, not beneficial for our country and society in terms of the development and perfection of future generations. We need to design alternative lifestyles that are suitable for our society and are also geared towards the elevation of our children.

Keywords: social problems, gap generation, communication, lifestyle of Iranians

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Authors: Saveria Capecchi

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The aim of the quali-quantitative research conducted in the spring of 2021 (still in the midst of the Covid-19 emergency) was to analyze the relationship between the imaginary of 142 girls aged 10-12 from two Italian cities in the Emilia-Romagna region (the capital, Bologna, and Parma) and the influence that various socialization agents can have on it, with particular attention to social media. In order to investigate the relationship between imagination and media, two tools were used: first, the girls wrote an essay in class about their future lives, imagining waking up one morning as a thirty-year-old adults. Six types of "dreams" reflecting the values and lifestyles characteristic of contemporary Italian society emerged. Additionally, the girls completed a questionnaire on their leisure time and, in particular, media consumption aimed at identifying their favorite characters. The results provided insights into understanding the reference values and lifestyles that define their subculture (they belong to the so-called Generation Z). Another interesting aspect of this research is the possibility of comparing the results with those of a similar study on preadolescent imaginary conducted in 1995, involving 292 girls from Milan and Bologna, belonging to the Millennial generation. The narratives about the imagined adult life reflect some crucial changes undergone by Italian society in a quarter of a century: there are advancements towards gender equality, and the imagined family is increasingly detached from tradition. There is a more persistent dream of a life marked by beauty, wealth, and fame, while at the same time, there is a greater social commitment, from solidarity with marginalized people to environmentalism. Furthermore, the mentioned new digital and robotic professions will project us into the near future.

Keywords: gender equality, gender stereotypes, imaginary, preadolescents, social media

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Authors: Ife O. Bolaji

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Environmental concerns arising from the use of fossil fuels has increased the interest in the development of renewable and sustainable sources of energy. This would minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and serve as future alternatives. Organic wastes contain carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, which can be utilised as carbon sources for the production of bio-based products. Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer, being the main structural component of lignocellulosic materials. The aim of this project is to develop a biological process for the hydrolysis and fermentation of organic wastes into ethanol and organic acids. The hydrolysis and fermentation processes are integrated in a single vessel using undefined mixed culture microorganisms. The anaerobic fermentation of microcrystalline cellulose was investigated in continuous and batch reactors at 25°C with an appropriate growth medium for cellulase formation, hydrolysis, and fermentation. The reactors were inoculated with soil (B1, C1, C3) or sludge from an anaerobic digester (B2, C2) and the breakdown of cellulose was monitored by measuring the production of ethanol, organic acids and the residual cellulose. The batch reactors B1 and B2 showed negligible microbial activity due to inhibition while the continuous reactors, C1, C2 and C3, exhibited little cellulose hydrolysis which was concealed by the cellulose accumulation in the reactor. At the end of the continuous operation, the reactors C1, C2 and C3 were operated under batch conditions. 48%, 34% and 42% cellulose had been fermented by day 88, 55 and 55 respectively of the batch fermentation. Acetic acid, ethanol, propionic acid and butyric acids were the main fermentation products in the reactors. A stable concentration of 0.6 g/l ethanol and 5 g/L acetic acid was maintained in C3 for several weeks due to reduced activity of methanogens caused by the decrease in pH. Thus far, the results have demonstrated that mixed microbial culture is capable of hydrolysing and fermenting cellulose under lenient conditions. The fermentation of cellulose has been found effective in a combination of continuous and batch processes.

Keywords: cellulose, hydrolysis, mixed culture, organic waste

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Authors: Ilirian Laçi, Alketa Spahiu

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Big strums of thyroid glandule observed by a simple viewing can be witnessed in everyday life. Medical cabinets evidence patients withpalpablenodes of thyroid glandule, mainly nodes of the size of 10 millimeters. Further, more cases which have resulted in negative under palpation have resulted in positive at ultrasound examination. Therefore, the use of ultrasound for diagnosing has increased the number of patients with nodes of thyroid glandule in the last couple of decades in all countries, Albania included. Thus, there has been evidence of an increased number of patients affected by this pathology, where female patients dominate. Demographically, the capital shows high numbers due to the high population, but of interest is the high incidence of those areas distanced from the sea. While regarding related pathologies, no significant link was evidenced, an element of ancestry was evident in the nodes of the thyroid glandule. When we talk of nodes of the thyroid glandule, we should consider hyperplasia, neoplasia, and inflammatory diseases that cause nodes of the thyroid glandule. This increase parallels the world’s increase of the incidence of thyroid glandule, with malign cases, which are at about 5% and are not depended on size. Given the numbers, with most thyroid glandule nodes being benign, the main objective of the examination of the nodes was the determination of benign and malign cases to avoid undue surgery. Subject of this study were 212 patients that underwent fine-needle aspiration (FNA) under ultrasound guidance at the Medical University Center of Tirana. All the patients came to the Mother Teresa University Hospital from public and private hospitals and other polyclinics. These patients had an ultrasound examination before visiting the Center of Nuclear Medicine for a scintigraph of thyroid glandule in the period September 2016 and September 2017. To correlate, all patients had been examined via ultrasound of the thyroid glandule prior to the scintigraph. The ultrasound included evaluation of the number of nodes, their size, their solid, cystic, or solid-cystic structure, echogenicity according to the gray scale, the presence of calcification, the presence of lymph nodes, the presence of adenopathy, and the correlation of the cytology results from the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy of Medical University Center of Tirana.

Keywords: thyroid nodes, fine needle aspiration, ultrasound, scintigraphy

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Authors: R. Simide, T. Miard

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Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is used to reduce waste from aquaculture and increase productivity by co-cultured species. In this study, we designed a recirculating multi-trophic aquaculture system which requires low energy consumption, low water renewal and easy-care. European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were raised with co-cultured sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus), deteritivorous polychaete fed on settled particulate matter, mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) used to extract suspended matters, macroalgae (Ulva sp.) used to uptake dissolved nutrients and gastropod (Phorcus turbinatus) used to clean the series of 4 tanks from fouling. Experiment was performed in triplicate during one month in autumn under an experimental greenhouse at the Institute Océanographique Paul Ricard (IOPR). Thanks to the absence of a physical filter, any pomp was needed to pressure water and the water flow was carried out by a single air-lift followed by gravity flow.Total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), turbidity, phytoplankton estimation and dissolved nutrients (ammonium NH₄, nitrite NO₂⁻, nitrate NO₃⁻ and phosphorus PO₄³⁻) were measured weekly while dissolved oxygen and pH were continuously recorded. Dissolved nutrients stay under the detectable threshold during the experiment. BOD5 decreased between fish and macroalgae tanks. TSS highly increased after 2 weeks and then decreased at the end of the experiment. Those results show that bioremediation can be well used for aquaculture system to keep optimum growing conditions. Fish were the only feeding species by an external product (commercial fish pellet) in the system. The others species (extractive species) were fed from waste streams from the tank above or from Ulva produced by the system for the sea urchin. In this way, between the fish aquaculture only and the addition of the extractive species, the biomass productivity increase by 5.7. In other words, the food conversion ratio dropped from 1.08 with fish only to 0.189 including all species. This experimental recirculating multi-trophic aquaculture system was efficient enough to reduce waste and increase productivity. In a second time, this technology has been reproduced at a commercial scale. The IOPR in collaboration with Les 4 Marais company run for 6 month a recirculating IMTA in 8000 m² of water allocate between 4 marsh ponds. A similar air-lift and gravity recirculating system was design and only one feeding species of shrimp (Palaemon sp.) was growth for 3 extractive species. Thanks to this joint work at the laboratory and commercial scales we will be able to challenge IMTA system and discuss about this sustainable aquaculture technology.

Keywords: bioremediation, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), laboratory and commercial scales, recirculating aquaculture, sustainable

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Authors: Francis Kwesi Bondinuba, Seidu Abdullah, Mewomo Cecilia, Opoku Alex

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Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a framework for understanding how sustainable project management contributes to the construction industry's pursuit of sustainable development goals. Study design/methodology/approach: The study employed a theoretical methodology to review existing theories and models that support Sustainable Project Management (SPM) in the construction industry. Additionally, a comprehensive review of current literature on SPM is conducted to provide a thorough understanding of this study. Findings: Sustainable Project Management (SPM) practices, including stakeholder engagement and collaboration, resource efficiency, waste management, risk management, and resilience, play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the construction industry. Conclusion: Adopting Sustainable Project Management (SPM) practices in the Ghanaian construction industry enhances social inclusivity by engaging communities and creating job opportunities. The adoption of these practices faces significant challenges, including a lack of awareness and understanding, insufficient regulatory frameworks, financial constraints, and a shortage of skilled professionals. Recommendation: There should be a comprehensive approach to project planning and execution that includes stakeholders such as local communities, government bodies, and environmental organisations, the use of green building materials and technologies, and the implementation of effective waste management strategies, all of which will ensure the achievement of SDGs in Ghana's construction industry. Originality/value: This paper adds to the current literature by offering the various theories and models in Sustainable Project Management (SPM) and a detailed review of how Sustainable Project Management (SPM) contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Ghanaian Construction Industry.

Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable development goals, construction industry, ghana, sustainable project management

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Authors: E. T. El Shenawy, O. N. A. Esmail, Adel A. Elbaset, Hesham F. A. Hamed

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Generation of the electrical energy based on photovoltaic (PV) technology has been increased over the world due to either the continuous reduction in the traditional energy sources in addition to the pollution problems related to their usage, or the clean nature and safe usage of the PV technology. Also, PV systems can generate clean electricity in the site of use without any transmission, which can be considered cost effective than other generation systems. The performance of the PV system is highly affected by the amount of solar radiation incident on it. Completely or partially shaded PV systems can affect its output. The PV system can be shaded by trees, buildings, dust, incorrect system configuration, or other obstacles. The present paper studies the effect of the partial shading on the performance of a thin film PV module under climatic conditions of Cairo, Egypt. This effect was measured and evaluated according to practical measurement of the characteristic curves such as current-voltage and power-voltage for two identical PV modules (with and without shading) placed at the same time on one mechanical structure for comparison. The measurements have been carried out for the following shading patterns; half cell (bottom, middle, and top of the PV module); complete cell; and two adjacent cells. The results showed that partially shading the PV module changes the shapes of the I-V and P-V curves and produces more than one maximum power point, that can disturb the traditional maximum power point trackers. Also, the output power from the module decreased according to the incomplete solar radiation reaching the PV module due to shadow patterns. The power loss due shading was 7%, 22%, and 41% for shading of half-cell, one cell, and two adjacent cells of the PV module, respectively.

Keywords: I-V measurements, PV module characteristics, PV module power loss, PV module shading

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Khalda Amr, Noha Eltaweel, Sherif Ismail, Hala Raslan

Abstract:

Introduction: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis that involves the wearing away of the cartilage that caps the bones in the joints. While rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints. In this study, we aimed to study the top deregulated miRNAs that might be the cause of pathogenesis in both diseases. Methods: Eight cases were recruited in this study: 4 rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 2 osteoarthritis (OA) patients, as well as 2 healthy controls. Total RNA was isolated from plasma to be subjected to miRNA profiling by NGS. Sequencing libraries were constructed and generated using the NEBNextR UltraTM small RNA Sample Prep Kit for Illumina R (NEB, USA), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The quality of samples were checked using fastqc and multiQC. Results were compared RA vs Controls and OA vs. Controls. Target gene prediction and functional annotation of the deregulated miRNAs were done using Mienturnet. The top deregulated miRNAs in each disease were selected for further validation using qRT-PCR. Results: The average number of sequencing reads per sample exceeded 2.2 million, of which approximately 57% were mapped to the human reference genome. The top DEMs in RA vs controls were miR-6724-5p, miR-1469, miR-194-3p (up), miR-1468-5p, miR-486-3p (down). In comparison, the top DEMs in OA vs controls were miR-1908-3p, miR-122b-3p, miR-3960 (up), miR-1468-5p, miR-15b-3p (down). The functional enrichment of the selected top deregulated miRNAs revealed the highly enriched KEGG pathways and GO terms. Six of the deregulated miRNAs (miR-15b, -128, -194, -328, -542 and -3180) had multiple target genes in the RA pathway, so they are more likely to affect the RA pathogenesis. Conclusion: Six of our studied deregulated miRNAs (miR-15b, -128, -194, -328, -542 and -3180) might be highly involved in the disease pathogenesis. Further functional studies are crucial to assess their functions and actual target genes.

Keywords: next generation sequencing, mirnas, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: João Pereira Dos Santos

Abstract:

The uneven spatial distribution of start-ups and their respective survival may reflect comparative advantages resulting from the local institutional background. For the first time, we explore this idea using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess relative efficiency of Portuguese municipalities in this specific context. We depart from the related literature where expenditure is perceived as a desirable input by choosing a measure of fiscal responsibility and infrastructural variables in the first stage. Comparing results for 2006 and 2010, we find that mean performance decreased substantially with 1) the effects of the Global Financial Crisis; 2) as municipal population increases and 3) as financial independence decreases. A second stage is then computed employing a double-bootstrap procedure to evaluate how the regional context outside the control of local authorities (e.g. demographic characteristics and political preferences) impacts on efficiency.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, political economy, public finance, accountability, crisis, efficiency, Portuguese municipalities

Procedia PDF Downloads 497

Authors: Faiza Marrium, Masood Rabbani, Ali Ahmad Sheikh, Muhammad Yasin Tipu Javed Muhammad, Sohail Raza

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More than 75% diseases spreading in the past 10 years in human population globally are linked to veterinary sector. Veterinary diagnostic labs are the powerful ally for diagnosis, prevention and monitoring of animal diseases in any country. In order to avoid detrimental effects of errors in disease diagnostic and biorisk management, there is a dire need to establish quality control system. In current study, 3 private and 6 public sectors veterinary diagnostic labs were selected for survey. A questionnaire survey in biorisk management guidelines of CWA 15793 was designed to find quality control breaches in lab design, personal, equipment and consumable, quality control measures adopted in lab, waste management, environmental monitoring and customer care. The data was analyzed through frequency distribution statistically by using (SPSS) version 18.0. A non-significant difference was found in all parameters of lab design, personal, equipment and consumable, quality control measures adopted in lab, waste management, environmental monitoring and customer care with an average percentage of 46.6, 57.77, 52.7, 55.5, 54.44, 48.88 and 60, respectively. A non-significant difference among all nine labs were found, with highest average compliance percentage of all parameters are lab 2 (78.13), Lab 3 (70.56), Lab 5 (57.51), Lab 6 (56.37), Lab 4 (55.02), Lab 9 (49.58), Lab 7 (47.76), Lab 1 (41.01) and Lab 8 (36.09). This study shows that in Lahore district veterinary diagnostic labs are not giving proper attention to quality of their system and there is no significant difference between setups of private and public sector laboratories. These results show that most of parameters are between 50 and 80 percent, which needs some work and improvement as per WHO criteria.

Keywords: veterinary lab, quality management system, accreditation, regulatory body, disease identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Ana L. Martins, Luis Orfão

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Healthcare systems have been subject to various research efforts aiming at process improvement under a lean approach. Another perspective, agility, has also been used, though in a lower scale, in order to analyse the ability of different hospital services to adapt to demand uncertainties. Both perspectives have a common denominator, the improvement of effectiveness and efficiency of the services in a healthcare setting context. Mixing the two approached allows, on one hand, to streamline the processes, and on the other hand the required flexibility to deal with demand uncertainty in terms of both volume and variety. The present research aims to analyse the impacts of the combination of both perspectives in the effectiveness and efficiency of an hospital service. The adopted methodology is based on a case study approach applied to the process of the ambulatory surgery service of Hospital de Lamego. Data was collected from direct observations, formal interviews and informal conversations. The analyzed process was selected according to three criteria: relevance of the process to the hospital, presence of human resources, and presence of waste. The customer of the process was identified as well as his perception of value. The process was mapped using flow chart, on a process modeling perspective, as well as through the use of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and Process Activity Mapping. The Spaghetti Diagram was also used to assess flow intensity. The use of the lean tools enabled the identification of three main types of waste: movement, resource inefficiencies and process inefficiencies. From the use of the lean tools improvement suggestions were produced. The results point out that leagility cannot be applied to the process, but the application of lean and agility in specific areas of the process would bring benefits in both efficiency and effectiveness, and contribute to value creation if improvements are introduced in hospital’s human resources and facilities management.

Keywords: case study, healthcare systems, leagility, lean management

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Lawrence Koech, Ray Everson, Hein Neomagus, Hilary Rutto

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Wet Flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems are commonly used to remove sulphur dioxide from flue gas by contacting it with limestone in aqueous phase which is obtained by dissolution. Dissolution is important as it affects the overall performance of a wet FGD system. In the present study, effects of pH, stirring speed, solid to liquid ratio and acid concentration on the dissolution of limestone using an organic acid (adipic acid) were investigated. This was investigated using the pH stat apparatus. Calcium ions were analyzed at the end of each experiment using Atomic Absorption (AAS) machine.

Keywords: desulphurization, limestone, dissolution, pH stat apparatus

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Ahmed Elsayed, Andrew Shea, Nicolas Kelly, John Allison

Abstract:

In northern European climates, domestic space heating and hot water represents a significant proportion of total primary total primary energy use and meeting these demands from a national electricity grid network supplied by renewable energy sources provides an opportunity for a significant reduction in EU CO₂ emissions. However, in order to adapt to the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation and to avoid co-incident peak electricity usage from consumers that may exceed current capacity, the demand for heat must be decoupled from its generation. Storage of heat within the fabric of dwellings for use some hours, or days, later provides a route to complete decoupling of demand from supply and facilitates the greatly increased use of renewable energy generation into a local or national electricity network. The integration of thermal energy storage into the building fabric for retrieval at a later time requires much evaluation of the many competing thermal, physical, and practical considerations such as the profile and magnitude of heat demand, the duration of storage, charging and discharging rate, storage media, space allocation, etc. In this paper, the authors report investigations of thermal storage in building fabric using concrete material and present an evaluation of several factors that impact upon performance including heating pipe layout, heating fluid flow velocity, storage geometry, thermo-physical material properties, and also present an investigation of alternative storage materials and alternative heat transfer fluids. Reducing the heating pipe spacing from 200 mm to 100 mm enhances the stored energy by 25% and high-performance Vacuum Insulation results in heat loss flux of less than 3 W/m², compared to 22 W/m² for the more conventional EPS insulation. Dense concrete achieved the greatest storage capacity, relative to medium and light-weight alternatives, although a material thickness of 100 mm required more than 5 hours to charge fully. Layers of 25 mm and 50 mm thickness can be charged in 2 hours, or less, facilitating a fast response that could, aggregated across multiple dwellings, provide significant and valuable reduction in demand from grid-generated electricity in expected periods of high demand and potentially eliminate the need for additional new generating capacity from conventional sources such as gas, coal, or nuclear.

Keywords: fabric integrated thermal storage, FITS, demand side management, energy storage, load shifting, renewable energy integration

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Antoine Lauvray, Fabien Poulhaon, Pierre Michaud, Pierre Joyot, Emmanuel Duc

Abstract:

Additive Friction Stir Manufacturing (AFSM) is a new industrial process that follows the emergence of friction-based processes. The AFSM process is a solid-state additive process using the energy produced by the friction at the interface between a rotating non-consumable tool and a substrate. Friction depends on various parameters like axial force, rotation speed or friction coefficient. The feeder material is a metallic rod that flows through a hole in the tool. Unlike in Friction Stir Welding (FSW) where abundant literature exists and addresses many aspects going from process implementation to characterization and modeling, there are still few research works focusing on AFSM. Therefore, there is still a lack of understanding of the physical phenomena taking place during the process. This research work aims at a better AFSM process understanding and implementation, thanks to numerical simulation and experimental validation performed on a prototype effector. Such an approach is considered a promising way for studying the influence of the process parameters and to finally identify a process window that seems relevant. The deposition of material through the AFSM process takes place in several phases. In chronological order these phases are the docking phase, the dwell time phase, the deposition phase, and the removal phase. The present work focuses on the dwell time phase that enables the temperature rise of the system composed of the tool, the filler material, and the substrate and due to pure friction. Analytic modeling of heat generation based on friction considers as main parameters the rotational speed and the contact pressure. Another parameter considered influential is the friction coefficient assumed to be variable due to the self-lubrication of the system with the rise in temperature or the materials in contact roughness smoothing over time. This study proposes, through numerical modeling followed by experimental validation, to question the influence of the various input parameters on the dwell time phase. Rotation speed, temperature, spindle torque, and axial force are the main monitored parameters during experimentations and serve as reference data for the calibration of the numerical model. This research shows that the geometry of the tool as well as fluctuations of the input parameters like axial force and rotational speed are very influential on the temperature reached and/or the time required to reach the targeted temperature. The main outcome is the prediction of a process window which is a key result for a more efficient process implementation.

Keywords: numerical model, additive manufacturing, friction, process

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Md. Obidul Haque, Abbasi Khanm

Abstract:

Port city Chittagong, the commercial capital of Bangladesh, is flourished with fascinating topography and climatic context along with basic resources for livelihood; both shape this city and become living archives of its ecologies. Chittagong has been witnessing numerous urban development measures being taken by city development authority, though some of those seem incomplete because of lack of proper planning. Due to this unplanned trail, the blessings of nature have become the reason of sufferings for city dwellers. One of which is the water clogging due to heavy rainfall, seepage, high tide, absence of well-knit underground drainage system, and so on. The problem has reached such an extent that the first monsoon rain is enough to shut down the entire city and causing immense sufferings to livestock, specially most vulnerable groups such as children and office going people. Study shows that total discharge is higher than present drainage capacity of the canals, thus, resulting in overflow, as major channels are clogged up by dumping waste or illegal encroachment, which are supposed to flush out rain water. This paper aims to address natural and manmade causes behind urban water clogging, adverse socio-environmental hazardous effects, possibilities for probable solutions on basis of local people’s experience and rational urban planning and landscape architectural proposals such as facilitating well planned drainage system, along with waste management policies etc. which can be able to intervene in these movements to activate the mighty port city’s unfulfilled potentials.

Keywords: drainage, high-tide, urban storm water logging (USWL), urban planning, water management

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Sarka Keprdova, Nikol Zizkova

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the presentation of results which were obtained as a part of the project FR-TI 3/742: “System of Lightweight Materials for Finishing of Buildings with Waste Raw Materials”. Attention was paid to the lightweighting of polymer-modified mortars applicable as adhesives, screeds and repair mortars. In terms of repair mortars, they were ones intended for the sanitation of aerated concrete.

Keywords: additives, light aggregates, lightweight materials, lightweight mortars, polymer-modified mortars

Procedia PDF Downloads 406