Search results for: National Health Information System

Authors: Corentin Jankowiak, Aggelos Zacharopoulos, Caterina Brandoni

Abstract:

In a context of increasing stress put on the electricity network by the decarbonization of many sectors, energy storage is likely to be the key mitigating element, by acting as a buffer between production and demand. In particular, the highest potential for storage is when connected closer to the loads. Yet, low voltage storage struggles to penetrate the market at a large scale due to the novelty and complexity of the solution, and the competitive advantage of fossil fuel-based technologies regarding regulations. Strong and reliable numerical simulations are required to show the benefits of storage located near loads and promote its development. The present study was restrained from excluding aggregated control of storage: it is assumed that the storage units operate independently to one another without exchanging information – as is currently mostly the case. A computationally light battery model is presented in detail and validated by direct comparison with a domestic battery operating in real conditions. This model is then used to develop Peak-Shaving (PS) control strategies as it is the decentralized service from which beneficial impacts are most likely to emerge. The aggregation of flatter, peak- shaved consumption profiles is likely to lead to flatter and arbitraged profile at higher voltage layers. Furthermore, voltage fluctuations can be expected to decrease if spikes of individual consumption are reduced. The crucial part to achieve PS lies in the charging pattern: peaks depend on the switching on and off of appliances in the dwelling by the occupants and are therefore impossible to predict accurately. A performant PS strategy must, therefore, include a smart charge recovery algorithm that can ensure enough energy is present in the battery in case it is needed without generating new peaks by charging the unit. Three categories of PS algorithms are introduced in detail. First, using a constant threshold or power rate for charge recovery, followed by algorithms using the State Of Charge (SOC) as a decision variable. Finally, using a load forecast – of which the impact of the accuracy is discussed – to generate PS. A performance metrics was defined in order to quantitatively evaluate their operating regarding peak reduction, total energy consumption, and self-consumption of domestic photovoltaic generation. The algorithms were tested on load profiles with a 1-minute granularity over a 1-year period, and their performance was assessed regarding these metrics. The results show that constant charging threshold or power are far from optimal: a certain value is not likely to fit the variability of a residential profile. As could be expected, forecast-based algorithms show the highest performance. However, these depend on the accuracy of the forecast. On the other hand, SOC based algorithms also present satisfying performance, making them a strong alternative when the reliable forecast is not available.

Keywords: decentralised control, domestic integrated batteries, electricity network performance, peak-shaving algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Alejandra Ben-Aissa, Martina Moreno, Luciano Sappia, Paul Lacharmoise, Ana Moya

Abstract:

Organ-on-Chip (OoC) stands out as a highly promising approach for drug testing, presenting a cost-effective and ethically superior alternative to conventional in vivo experiments. These cutting-edge devices emerge from the integration of tissue engineering and microfluidic technology, faithfully replicating the physiological conditions of targeted organs. Consequently, they offer a more precise understanding of drug responses without the ethical concerns associated with animal testing. When addressing the limitations of OoC due to conventional and time-consuming techniques, Lab-On-Chip (LoC) emerge as a disruptive technology capable of providing real-time monitoring without compromising sample integrity. This work develops LoC platforms that can be integrated within OoC platforms to monitor essential culture media parameters, including glucose, oxygen, and pH, facilitating the straightforward exchange of sensing units within a dynamic and controlled environment without disrupting cultures. This approach preserves the experimental setup, minimizes the impact on cells, and enables efficient, prolonged measurement. The LoC system is fabricated following the patented methodology protected by EU patent EP4317957A1. One of the key challenges of integrating sensors in a biocompatible, feasible, robust, and scalable manner is addressed through fully printed sensors, ensuring a customized, cost-effective, and scalable solution. With this technique, sensor reliability is enhanced, providing high sensitivity and selectivity for accurate parameter monitoring. In the present study, LoC is validated measuring a complete culture media. The oxygen sensor provided a measurement range from 0 mgO2/L to 6.3 mgO2/L. The pH sensor demonstrated a measurement range spanning 2 pH units to 9.5 pH units. Additionally, the glucose sensor achieved a measurement range from 0 mM to 11 mM. All the measures were performed with the sensors integrated in the LoC. In conclusion, this study showcases the impactful synergy of OoC technology with LoC systems using fully printed sensors, marking a significant step forward in ethical and effective biomedical research, particularly in drug development. This innovation not only meets current demands but also lays the groundwork for future advancements in precision and customization within scientific exploration.

Keywords: organ on chip, lab on chip, real time monitoring, biosensors

Procedia PDF Downloads 20

Authors: B. Bricklin Zeff

Abstract:

This research explores the development and application of a specialized chatbot tailored for a nursing English course, with a primary objective of augmenting student engagement through situational content and responsiveness to key expressions and vocabulary. Introducing the chatbot, elucidating its purpose, and outlining its functionality are crucial initial steps in the research study, as they provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding the design and objectives of the specialized chatbot developed for the nursing English course. These elements establish the context for subsequent evaluations and analyses, enabling a nuanced exploration of the chatbot's impact on student engagement and language learning within the nursing education domain. The subsequent exploration of the intricate language model development process underscores the fusion of scientific methodologies and artistic considerations in this application of artificial intelligence (AI). Tailored for educators and curriculum developers in nursing, practical principles extending beyond AI and education are considered. Some insights into leveraging technology for enhanced language learning in specialized fields are addressed, with potential applications of similar chatbots in other professional English courses. The overarching vision is to illuminate how AI can transform language learning, rendering it more interactive and contextually relevant. The presented chatbot is a tangible example, equipping educators with a practical tool to enhance their teaching practices. Methodologies employed in this research encompass surveys and discussions to gather feedback on the chatbot's usability, effectiveness, and potential improvements. The chatbot system was integrated into a nursing English course, facilitating the collection of valuable feedback from participants. Significant findings from the study underscore the chatbot's effectiveness in encouraging more verbal practice of target expressions and vocabulary necessary for performance in role-play assessment strategies. This outcome emphasizes the practical implications of integrating AI into language education in specialized fields. This research holds significance for educators and curriculum developers in the nursing field, offering insights into integrating technology for enhanced English language learning. The study's major findings contribute valuable perspectives on the practical impact of the chatbot on student interaction and verbal practice. Ultimately, the research sheds light on the transformative potential of AI in making language learning more interactive and contextually relevant, particularly within specialized domains like nursing.

Keywords: chatbot, nursing, pragmatics, role-play, AI

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Nana Yaw Ofori Gyasi

Abstract:

Under the Common Law, there was a procedure called pleading the belly which allowed a woman who had reached the advanced stage of pregnancy to receive a reprieve of her death sentence until after she had put to bed. The plea was replaced with a legislation, which provides that a pregnant woman would automatically have her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour. This Common Law principle has been continued and enacted into law by the various countries where the Common Law is practiced. This paper takes a look at what it terms as Pregnancy Legislations in some selected Common Law countries such as United States of America, Canada, England and Wales, Ghana and India to examine the scope, procedure and effect of such legislations. The paper adopts a comparative study approach to ascertain the country with the widest scope, non-complicated procedure and far-reaching effects of the Pregnancy Legislations. It is observed that some legislations make provision for the conversion of death penalty to life imprisonment for capital offences and also prescribe non-custodial sentence for non-capital offences. There are other legislations that merely suspend the death penalty while the convict is found to be pregnant. In terms of the procedure, some of the legislations make the issue of pregnancy a question of fact to be determined by a jury and in other legislations, the trial judge makes that determination after the judge is satisfied on the question of the convict being pregnant. The effects of the Pregnancy Legislation are observed to be varying. Women who give birth in prison are highly at risk of having stillbirth. Most of the prisons do not have adequate facilities to support expectant and lactating mothers while in prison. It has also been observed that with the number of female prisoners increasing over the years, custodial sentence for convicted pregnant women has a wider societal effect. The paper identifies certain gaps left in some of the legislations which relate to the procedure to be followed after custodial sentence is suspended for a convicted pregnant woman. The time the accused person got pregnant- whether before her arrest or during trial- and the effect of the timing of the pregnancy are gaps left in some of the legislations. The paper argues that such gaps should be filled by the legislator to prevent accused persons taking undue advantage of the Pregnancy Legislations. It is further argued that if convicted pregnant women will have to spend time in prison at all for very heinous crimes, the prison facilities should be improved so that expectant and lactating mothers can comfortably care for their babies and themselves to prevent dire health consequences for such mothers and the society at a whole.

Keywords: sentence of pregnant women, custodial sentence, , pregnant women, , common law

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Muzaffar Shaikh, Shoaib Shaikh, Mark Moyou, Gaby Hawat

Abstract:

This paper presents the use of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in evaluating the site selection of a new plant by a corporation. Due to intense competition at a global level, multinational corporations are continuously striving to minimize production and shipping costs of their products. One key factor that plays significant role in cost minimization is where the production plant is located. In the U.S. for example, labor and land costs continue to be very high while they are much cheaper in countries such as India, China, Indonesia, etc. This is why many multinational U.S. corporations (e.g. General Electric, Caterpillar Inc., Ford, General Motors, etc.), have shifted their manufacturing plants outside. The continued expansion of the Internet and its availability along with technological advances in computer hardware and software all around the globe have facilitated U.S. corporations to expand abroad as they seek to reduce production cost. In particular, management of multinational corporations is constantly engaged in concentrating on countries at a broad level, or cities within specific countries where certain or all parts of their end products or the end products themselves can be manufactured cheaper than in the U.S. AHP is based on preference ratings of a specific decision maker who can be the Chief Operating Officer of a company or his/her designated data analytics engineer. It serves as a tool to first evaluate the plant site selection criteria and second, alternate plant sites themselves against these criteria in a systematic manner. Examples of site selection criteria are: Transportation Modes, Taxes, Energy Modes, Labor Force Availability, Labor Rates, Raw Material Availability, Political Stability, Land Costs, etc. As a necessary first step under AHP, evaluation criteria and alternate plant site countries are identified. Depending upon the fidelity of analysis, specific cities within a country can also be chosen as alternative facility locations. AHP experience in this type of analysis indicates that the initial analysis can be performed at the Country-level. Once a specific country is chosen via AHP, secondary analyses can be performed by selecting specific cities or counties within a country. AHP analysis is usually based on preferred ratings of a decision-maker (e.g., 1 to 5, 1 to 7, or 1 to 9, etc., where 1 means least preferred and a 5 means most preferred). The decision-maker assigns preferred ratings first, criterion vs. criterion and creates a Criteria Matrix. Next, he/she assigns preference ratings by alternative vs. alternative against each criterion. Once this data is collected, AHP is applied to first get the rank-ordering of criteria. Next, rank-ordering of alternatives is done against each criterion resulting in an Alternative Matrix. Finally, overall rank ordering of alternative facility locations is obtained by matrix multiplication of Alternative Matrix and Criteria Matrix. The most practical aspect of AHP is the ‘what if’ analysis that the decision-maker can conduct after the initial results to provide valuable sensitivity information of specific criteria to other criteria and alternatives.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, multinational corporations, plant site selection, preference ratings

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Somayeh Khanjani, Samaneh Nabavi, Shirin Jalili

Abstract:

Aluminum phosphide (ALP) is an inorganic phosphide used to control insects and is a highly effective insecticide and rodenticide used frequently to protect stored grain. Acute poisoning with this compound is common in some countries including India and Iran, and is a serious health problem. In Iran it was known as "rice tablet", for its use to preserve rice. Two kinds of rice tablets one being herbal while other containing 3g aluminum phosphide (AlP) are available for use in Iranian households to protect stored food grains from pests and rodents. The toxicity of Aluminum phosphide is attributed to the liberation of phosphine gas in contact with water or weak acid and is the major cause of poisoning and deaths. Rice tablet (Aluminum Phosphid) poisoning may be associated with serious and sometimes incurable complications. In 61.3% of patients were shown uniform ingestion. Vomiting was the most common symptoms reported by 96.4% patients. Agitation was reported in 36.9% and felling of thirsty in 27.9 %. Although many complications such as Hypotension, Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Acute Renal Failure (ARF) AND Multi Organ Failure (MOF) were the common complications observed in these patients, but the most lethal complication was Cardiac Arrhythmias occurred in 36.9% of cases. Abdominal pain in 31.4% of the patients, nausea in 79.4% of the patients and 41.1% of the patients showed metabolic acidosis. Suicidal intention was the most common cause of poisoning leading to deaths in 18.6% of the patients. Aluminum phosphide can cause either elevation, decrease or no change in electrolytes, bicarbonate and blood glucose level. The possible mechanism for changes in blood glucose levels are complex and depend on the balance of factors which increase its concentration and those which reduce it. AlP poisoning has been postulated to stimulate cortisol which leads to increasing blood level of cortisol, also it may cause stimulation of glucagon, and Adrenaline secretion; in addition, it can inhibit insulin synthesis which may lead to hyperglycemia. Another suggested mechanism of hyperglycemia is rennin activity in some cases, an increase in magnesium level of plasma and that of tissues, and high phosphate level. Although hyperglycemia is most frequent in this poisoning and also is known as a marker of poor prognostic, hypoglycemia in aluminum phosphide poisoning is a rare finding which may be so dangerous. Patients showed sever hypotension and sever acidosis in addition to sever hypoglycemia. The presenting features of AlP intoxication are rapid onset of shock, severe metabolic acidosis, cardiac dysrhythmias and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Keywords: aluminum phosphide (ALP), rice tablet, poisoning, phosphine gas

Procedia PDF Downloads 517

Authors: Estelle Arbellay, Lori D. Daniels, Shawn D. Mansfield, Alice S. Chang

Abstract:

Mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks are currently devastating lodgepole pine forests in western North America, which are also widely disturbed by frequent wildfires. Both MPB and fire can leave scars on lodgepole pine trees, thereby diminishing their commercial value and possibly compromising their utilization in solid wood products. In order to fully exploit the affected resource, it is crucial to understand how wounding from these two disturbance agents impact wood properties. Moreover, previous research on lodgepole pine has focused solely on sound wood and stained wood resulting from the MPB-transmitted blue fungi. By means of a quantitative multi-proxy approach, we tested the hypotheses that (i) wounding (of either MPB or fire origin) caused significant changes in wood properties of lodgepole pine and that (ii) MPB-induced wound effects could differ from those induced by fire in type and magnitude. Pith-to-bark strips were extracted from 30 MPB scars and 30 fire scars. Strips were cut immediately adjacent to the wound margin and encompassed 12 rings from normal wood formed prior to wounding and 12 rings from wound wood formed after wounding. Wood properties evaluated within this 24-year window included ring width, relative wood density, cellulose crystallinity, fibre dimensions, and carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Methods used to measure these proxies at a (sub-)annual resolution included X-ray densitometry, X-ray diffraction, fibre quality analysis, and elemental analysis. Results showed a substantial growth release in wound wood compared to normal wood, as both earlywood and latewood width increased over a decade following wounding. Wound wood was also shown to have a significantly different latewood density than normal wood 4 years after wounding. Latewood density decreased in MPB scars while the opposite was true in fire scars. By contrast, earlywood density was presented only minor variations following wounding. Cellulose crystallinity decreased in wound wood compared to normal wood, being especially diminished in MPB scars the first year after wounding. Fibre dimensions also decreased following wounding. However, carbon and nitrogen concentrations did not substantially differ between wound wood and normal wood. Nevertheless, insect-feeding and fire-heating wounding were shown to significantly alter most wood properties of lodgepole pine, as demonstrated by the existence of several morphological anomalies in wound wood. MPB and fire generally elicited similar anomalies, with the major exception of latewood density. In addition to providing quantitative criteria for differentiating between biotic (MPB) and abiotic (fire) disturbances, this study provides the wood industry with fundamental information on the physiological response of lodgepole pine to wounding in order to evaluate the utilization of scarred trees in solid wood products.

Keywords: elemental analysis, fibre quality analysis, lodgepole pine, wood properties, wounding, X-ray densitometry, X-ray diffraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Nicola Milani, Carla Bellissimo, Davide Pogliana, Davide Panzin, Luca Garlaschelli, Giulia Facchinetti, Claudia Casson, Luca Marazzina, Andrea Sartori, Simone Rivaroli, Jeff Konin

Abstract:

The patient is a 26 year-old male amateur football player from Milan, Italy; (81kg; 185cm; BMI 23.6 kg/m²). He sustained a non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tear to his right knee in June 2021. In September 2021, his right knee ligament was reconstructed using a semitendinosus graft. The injury occurred during a football match on natural grass with typical shoes on a warm day (32 degrees celsius). Playing as a defender he sustained the injury during a change of direction, where the foot was fixated on the grass. He felt pain and was unable to continue playing the match. The surgeon approved his rehabilitation to begin two weeks post-operative. The initial physiotherapist assessment determined performing two training sessions per day within the first three months. In the first three weeks, the pain was 4/10 on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), no swelling, a range of motion was 0-110°, with difficulty fully extending his knee and minimal quadriceps activation. Crutches were discontinued at four weeks with improved walking. Active exercise, electrostimulator, physical therapy, massages, osteopathy, and passive motion were initiated. At week 6, he completed his first functional movement screen; the score was 16/21 with no pain and no swelling. At week 8, the isokinetic test showed a 23% differential deficit between the two legs in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 10, he improved to 15% of injury-induced deficit which suggested he was ready to start running. At week 12, the athlete sustained his first threshold test. At week 16, he performed his first return to sports movement assessment, which revealed a 10% stronger difference between the legs. At week 16, he had his second threshold test. At week 17, his first on-field test revealed a 5% differential deficit between the two legs in the hop test. At week 18, isokinetic test demonstrates that the uninjured leg was 7% stronger than the recovering leg in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 20, his second on-field test revealed a 2% difference in hop test; at week 21, his third isokinetic test demonstrated a difference of 5% in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 21, he performed his second return to sports movement assessment which revealed a 2% difference between the limbs. Since it was the end of the championship, the team asked him to partake in the playoffs; moreover the player was very motivated to participate in the playoffs also because he was the captain of the team. Together with the player and the team, we decided to let him play even though we were aware of a heightened risk of injury than what is reported in the literature because of two factors: biological recovery times and the results of the tests we performed. In the decision making process about the athlete’s recovery time, it is important to balance the information available from the literature with the desires of the patient to avoid frustration.

Keywords: ACL, football, rehabilitation, return to play

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Pablo Chico De Guzman, Cesar Sanchez

Abstract:

Microservices are a software development methodology in which applications are built by composing a set of independently deploy-able, small, modular services. Each service runs a unique process and it gets instantiated and deployed in one or more machines (we assume that different microservices are deployed into different machines). Microservices are becoming the de facto standard for developing distributed cloud applications due to their reduced release cycles. In principle, the responsibility of a microservice can be as simple as implementing a single function, which can lead to the following issues: - Resource fragmentation due to the virtual machine boundary. - Poor communication performance between microservices. Two composition techniques can be used to optimize resource fragmentation and communication performance: aggregation and embedding of microservices. Aggregation allows the deployment of a set of microservices on the same machine using a proxy server. Aggregation helps to reduce resource fragmentation, and is particularly useful when the aggregated services have a similar scalability behavior. Embedding deals with communication performance by deploying on the same virtual machine those microservices that require a communication channel (localhost bandwidth is reported to be about 40 times faster than cloud vendor local networks and it offers better reliability). Embedding can also reduce dependencies on load balancer services since the communication takes place on a single virtual machine. For example, assume that microservice A has two instances, a1 and a2, and it communicates with microservice B, which also has two instances, b1 and b2. One embedding can deploy a1 and b1 on machine m1, and a2 and b2 are deployed on a different machine m2. This deployment configuration allows each pair (a1-b1), (a2-b2) to communicate using the localhost interface without the need of a load balancer between microservices A and B. Aggregation and embedding techniques are complex since different microservices might have incompatible runtime dependencies which forbid them from being installed on the same machine. There is also a security concern since the attack surface between microservices can be larger. Luckily, container technology allows to run several processes on the same machine in an isolated manner, solving the incompatibility of running dependencies and the previous security concern, thus greatly simplifying aggregation/embedding implementations by just deploying a microservice container on the same machine as the aggregated/embedded microservice container. Therefore, a wide variety of deployment configurations can be described by combining aggregation and embedding to create an efficient and robust microservice architecture. This paper presents a formal method that receives a declarative definition of a microservice architecture and proposes different optimized deployment configurations by aggregating/embedding microservices. The first prototype is based on i2kit, a deployment tool also submitted to ICWS 2018. The proposed prototype optimizes the following parameters: network/system performance, resource usage, resource costs and failure tolerance.

Keywords: aggregation, deployment, embedding, resource allocation

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Cedillo Ortiz Cesar Isaac, Marañón-Ruiz Virginia-Francisca, Lozano-Alvarez Juan Antonio, Jáuregui-Rincón Juan, Roger Chiu Zarate

Abstract:

Introduction: The contamination of water with the azo-dye is a problem worldwide as although wastewater contaminate is treated in a municipal sewage system, still contain a considerable amount of dyes. In the present, there are different processes denominated tertiary method in which it is possible to lower the concentration of the dye. One of these methods is by adsorption onto various materials which can be organic or inorganic materials. The xanthan is a biomaterial as removal agents to decrease the dye content in aqueous solution. The Zimm-Bragg model described the experimental isotherms obtained when this biopolymer was used in the removal of textile dyes. Nevertheless, it was not established if a possible correlation between dye structure and removal efficiency exists. In this sense, the principal objective of this report is to propose a qualitative relationship between the structure of three azo-dyes (Congo Red (CR), Methyl Red (MR) and Methyl Orange (MO)) and their removal efficiency from aqueous environment when xanthan are used as dye sequestering agents. Methods: The dyes were subjected to different pH and ionic strength values to obtain the conditions of maximum dye removal. Afterward, these conditions were used to perform the adsorption isotherm as was reported in the previous study in our group. The Zimm-Bragg model was used to describe the experimental data and the parameters of nucleation (Ku) and cooperativity (U) were obtained by optimization using the R statistical software. The spectra from UV-Visible (aqueous solution), Infrared absorption and Raman spectroscopies (dry samples) were obtained from the biopolymer-dye complex. Results: The removal percent with xanthan in each dye are as follows: with CR had 99.98 % when the pH is 12 and ionic strength is 10.12, with MR had 84.79 % when the pH is 9.5 and ionic strength is 43 and finally the MO had 30 % in pH 4 and 72. It can be seen that when xanthan is used to remove the dyes, exists a lower dependence between structure and removal efficiency. This may be due to the different tendency to form aggregates of each dye. This aggregation capacity and the charge of each dye resulting from the pH and ionic strength values of aqueous solutions are key factors in the dye removal. The experimental isotherm of MR was only that adequately described by Zimm-Bragg model. Because with the CR had the 100 % of remove thus is very difficult obtain de experimental isotherm and finally MO had results fluctuating and therefore was impossible get the accurate data. Conclusions: The study of the removal of three dyes with xanthan as dye sequestering agents suggests that aggregation capacity of dyes and the charge resulting from structural characteristics such as molecular weight and functional groups have a relationship with the removal efficiency. Acknowledgements: We are gratefully acknowledged support for this project by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, México (CONACyT, Grant No. 632694.)

Keywords: adsorption, azo dyes, xanthan gum, Zimm Bragg theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: B. Cilek Tatar, G. Sumnu, M. Oztop, E. Ayaz

Abstract:

Encapsulation protects sensitive food ingredients against heat, oxygen, moisture and pH until they are released to the system. It can mask the unwanted taste of nutrients that are added to the foods for fortification purposes. Cherry laurels (Prunus laurocerasus) contain phenolic compounds which decrease the proneness to several chronic diseases such as types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this research was to study the effects of centrifugation, different coating materials and homogenization methods on microencapsulation of powders obtained from cherry laurels. In this study, maltodextrin and mixture of maltodextrin:whey protein with a ratio of 1:3 (w/w) were chosen as coating materials. Total solid content of coating materials was kept constant as 10% (w/w). Capsules were obtained from powders of freeze-dried cherry laurels through encapsulation process by silent crusher homogenizer or microfluidization. Freeze-dried cherry laurels were core materials and core to coating ratio was chosen as 1:10 by weight. To homogenize the mixture, high speed homogenizer was used at 4000 rpm for 5 min. Then, silent crusher or microfluidizer was used to complete encapsulation process. The mixtures were treated either by silent crusher for 1 min at 75000 rpm or microfluidizer at 50 MPa for 3 passes. Freeze drying for 48 hours was applied to emulsions to obtain capsules in powder form. After these steps, dry capsules were grounded manually into a fine powder. The microcapsules were analyzed for total antioxidant activity with DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging method. Prior to high speed homogenization, the samples were centrifuged (4000 rpm, 1 min). Centrifugation was found to have positive effect on total antioxidant activity of capsules. Microcapsules treated by microfluidizer were found to have higher total antioxidant activities than those treated by silent crusher. It was found that increasing whey protein concentration in coating material (using maltodextrin:whey protein 1:3 mixture) had positive effect on total antioxidant activity for both silent crusher and microfluidization methods. Therefore, capsules prepared by microfluidization of centrifuged mixtures can be selected as the best conditions for encapsulation of cherry laurel powder by considering their total antioxidant activity. In this study, it was shown that capsules prepared by these methods can be recommended to be incorporated into foods in order to enhance their functionality by increasing antioxidant activity.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, cherry laurel, microencapsulation, microfluidization

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: B. F. Espiritu

Abstract:

This paper examines the resistance of the Lumad people, the indigenous peoples in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, and of environmental and human rights activists to the Philippine government's neoliberal policies and their call for justice and a new economic paradigm that will uphold peoples' rights and environmental protection in two alternative media online sites. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on indigenous resistance to neoliberal globalization and the quest for a new economic paradigm that upholds social justice for the marginalized in society, empathy and compassion for those who depend on the land for their survival, and environmental sustainability. The study analyzes the discourses in selected news articles from Davao Today and Kalikasan (translated to English as 'Nature') People's Network for the Environment’s statements and advocacy articles for the Lumad and the environment from 2018 to February 2020. The study reveals that the alternative media news articles and the advocacy articles contain statements that expose the oppression and violation of human rights of the Lumad people, farmers, government environmental workers, and environmental activists as shown in their killings, illegal arrest and detention, displacement of the indigenous peoples, destruction of their schools by the military and paramilitary groups, and environmental plunder and destruction with the government's permit for the entry and operation of extractive and agribusiness industries in the Lumad ancestral lands. Anchored on Christian Fuch's theory of alternative media as critical media and Bert Cammaerts' theorization of alternative media as counterhegemonic media that are part of civil society and form a third voice between state media and commercial media, the study reveals the counterhegemonic discourses of the news and advocacy articles that oppose the dominant economic system of neoliberalism which oppresses the people who depend on the land for their survival. Furthermore, the news and advocacy articles seek to advance social struggles that transform society towards the realization of cooperative potentials or a new economic paradigm that upholds economic democracy, where the local people, including the indigenous people, are economically empowered their environment and protected towards the realization of self-sustaining communities. The study highlights the call for justice, empathy, and compassion for both the people and the environment and the need for a new economic paradigm wherein indigenous peoples and local communities are empowered towards becoming self-sustaining communities in a sustainable environment.

Keywords: alternative media, environmental sustainability, human rights, indigenous resistance

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Daniel Manaye Kabtamu, Anteneh Wodaje Bayeh

Abstract:

With the development and utilization of new energy technology, people’s demand for large-scale energy storage system has become increasingly urgent. Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the most promising technologies for grid-scale energy storage applications because of numerous attractive features, such as long cycle life, high safety, and flexible design. However, the relatively low energy efficiency and high production cost of the VRFB still limit its practical implementations. It is of great attention to enhance its energy efficiency and reduce its cost. One of the main components of VRFB that can impressively impact the efficiency and final cost is the electrode materials, which provide the reactions sites for redox couples (V₂₊/V³⁺ and VO²⁺/VO₂⁺). Graphite felt (GF) is a typical carbon-based material commonly employed as electrode for VRFB due to low-cost, good chemical and mechanical stability. However, pristine GF exhibits insufficient wettability, low specific surface area, and poor kinetics reversibility, leading to low energy efficiency of the battery. Therefore, it is crucial to further modify the GF electrode to improve its electrochemical performance towards VRFB by employing active electrocatalysts, such as less expensive metal oxides. This study successfully fabricates low-cost plate-like bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) material through a simple one-step hydrothermal route, employed as an electrocatalyst to adorn the GF for use as the negative electrode in VRFB. The experimental results show that BiVO₄-3h exhibits the optimal electrocatalytic activity and reversibility for the vanadium redox couples among all samples. The energy efficiency of the VRFB cell assembled with BiVO₄-decorated GF as the negative electrode is found to be 75.42% at 100 mA cm−2, which is about 10.24% more efficient than that of the cell assembled with heat-treated graphite felt (HT-GF) electrode. The possible reasons for the activity enhancement can be ascribed to the existence of oxygen vacancies in the BiVO₄ lattice structure and the relatively high surface area of BiVO₄, which provide more active sites for facilitating the vanadium redox reactions. Furthermore, the BiVO₄-GF electrode obstructs the competitive irreversible hydrogen evolution reaction on the negative side of the cell, and it also has better wettability. Impressively, BiVO₄-GF as the negative electrode shows good stability over 100 cycles. Thus, BiVO₄-GF is a promising negative electrode candidate for practical VRFB applications.

Keywords: BiVO₄ electrocatalyst, electrochemical energy storage, graphite felt, vanadium redox flow battery

Procedia PDF Downloads 1573

Authors: Wael M. Rabeh, Cesar Carrasco-Lopez, Juliana C. Ferreira, Pance Naumov

Abstract:

Bioluminescence, the emission of light from a biological process, is found in various living organisms including bacteria, fireflies, beetles, fungus and different marine organisms. Luciferase is an enzyme that catalyzes a two steps oxidation of luciferin in the presence of Mg2+ and ATP to produce oxyluciferin and releases energy in the form of light. The luciferase assay is used in biological research and clinical applications for in vivo imaging, cell proliferation, and protein folding and secretion analysis. The luciferase enzyme consists of two domains, a large N-terminal domain (1-436 residues) that is connected to a small C-terminal domain (440-544) by a flexible loop that functions as a hinge for opening and closing the active site. The two domains are separated by a large cleft housing the active site that closes after binding the substrates, luciferin and ATP. Even though all insect luciferases catalyze the same chemical reaction and share 50% to 90% sequence homology and high structural similarity, they emit light of different colors from green at 560nm to red at 640 nm. Currently, the majority of the structural and biochemical studies have been conducted on green-emitting firefly luciferases. To address the color emission mechanism, we expressed and purified two luciferase enzymes with blue-shifted green and red emission from indigenous Brazilian species Amydetes fanestratus and Phrixothrix, respectively. The two enzymes naturally emit light of different colors and they are an excellent system to study the color-emission mechanism of luciferases, as the current proposed mechanisms are based on mutagenesis studies. Using a vapor-diffusion method and a high-throughput approach, we crystallized and solved the crystal structure of both enzymes, at 1.7 Å and 3.1 Å resolution respectively, using X-ray crystallography. The free enzyme adopted two open conformations in the crystallographic unit cell that are different from the previously characterized firefly luciferase. The blue-shifted green luciferase crystalized as a monomer similar to other luciferases reported in literature, while the red luciferases crystalized as an octamer and was also purified as an octomer in solution. The octomer conformation is the first of its kind for any insect’s luciferase, which might be relate to the red color emission. Structurally designed mutations confirmed the importance of the transition between the open and close conformations in the fine-tuning of the color and the characterization of other interesting mutants is underway.

Keywords: bioluminescence, enzymology, structural biology, x-ray crystallography

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Kaveri Dutta, Ratna Sharma

Abstract:

Indian traditional textile is a synthesis of various cultures. Art and crafts of a country showcases the rich cultural and artistic history of that nation. Prehistorically Indian handicrafts were basically made for day to day use; the yearning for aesthetic application soon saw the development of flooding designs and motifs. Similarly, Bagh print a traditional hand block Print with natural colours an Indian handicraft practiced in Bagh, Madhya Pradesh(India). Bagh print has its roots in Sindh, which is now a part of Pakistan. The present form of Bagh printing actually started in 1962 when the craftsmen migrated from Manavar to the neighboring town of Bagh situated in Madhya Pradesh and hence Bagh has always been associated with this printing style. Bagh printing basically involved blocks that are carved onto motifs that represent flora such as Jasmine, Mushroom leheriya and so on. There are some prints that were inspired by the jaali work that embellished the Taj Mahal and various other forts. Inspiration is also drawn from the landscapes and geometrical figures. The motifs evoke various moods in the serenity of the prints and that is the catchy element of Bagh prints. The development in this traditional textile is as essential as in another field. Nowadays fashion trends are fragile and innovative changes over existing fashion field in the short span is the demand of times. We must make efforts to preserve this cultural heritage of arts and crafts and this is done either by documenting the various ancient traditions or by making a blend of it. Since this craft is well known over the world, but the need is to document the original motif, fabric, technology and colors used in contemporary fashion. Hence keeping above points in mind this study on bagh print textiles of Madhya Pradesh work has been formulated. The information incorporated in the paper was based on secondary data taken from relevant books, journals, museum visit and articles. Besides for the demographic details and working profile of the artisans dealt with printing, an interview schedule was carried out in three regions of Madhya Pradesh. This work of art was expressed in Cotton fabric. For this study selected traditional motifs for Bang printing was used. Some of the popular traditional Bagh motifs are Jasmine, Mushroom leheriya, geometrical figures and jaali work. The Bagh printed cotton fabrics were developed into a range of men’s ethic wear in combination with embroideries from Rajasthan. Products developed were bandhgala jackets, kurtas, serwani and dupattas. From the present study, it can be observed that the embellished traditional Bang printed range of ethnic men’s wear resulted in the fresh and colourful pattern. The embroidered Bagh printed cotton fabric also created a huge change in a positive way among artisans of the three regions.

Keywords: art and craft of Madhya Pradesh, evolution of printing in India, history of Bagh printing, sources of inspiration

Procedia PDF Downloads 353

Authors: M. Martín-Morales, D. Eliche-Quesada, L. Pérez-Villarejo, M. Zamorano

Abstract:

Olive oil is a product of particular importance within the Mediterranean and Spanish agricultural food system, and more specifically in Andalusia, owing to be the world's main production area. Olive oil processing generates olive stones which are dried and cleaned to remove pulp and olive stones fines to produce biofuel characterized to have high energy efficiency in combustion processes. Olive stones fine fraction is not too much appreciated as biofuel, so it is important the study of alternative solutions to be valorized. Some researchers have studied recycling different waste to produce ceramic bricks. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of olive stones addition on the properties of fired clay bricks for building construction. Olive stones were substituted by volume (7.5%, 15%, and 25%) to brick raw material in three different sizes (lower than 1 mm, lower than 2 mm and between 1 and 2 mm). In order to obtain comparable results, a series without olive stones was also prepared. The prepared mixtures were compacted in laboratory type extrusion under a pressure of 2.5MPa for rectangular shaped (30 mm x 60 mm x 10 mm). Dried and fired industrial conditions were applied to obtain laboratory brick samples. Mass loss after sintering, bulk density, porosity, water absorption and compressive strength of fired samples were investigated and compared with a sample manufactured without biomass. Results obtained have shown that olive stone addition decreased mechanical properties due to the increase in water absorption, although values tested satisfied the requirements in EN 772-1 about methods of test for masonry units (Part 1: Determination of compressive strength). Finally, important advantages related to the properties of bricks as well as their environmental effects could be obtained with the use of biomass studied to produce ceramic bricks. The increasing of the percentage of olive stones incorporated decreased bulk density and then increased the porosity of bricks. On the one hand, this lower density supposes a weight reduction of bricks to be transported, handled as well as the lightening of building; on the other hand, biomass in clay contributes to auto thermal combustion which involves lower fuel consumption during firing step. Consequently, the production of porous clay bricks using olive stones could reduce atmospheric emissions and improve their life cycle assessment, producing eco-friendly clay bricks.

Keywords: clay bricks, olive stones, sustainability, valorization

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Damian Islas

Abstract:

Debates on realism in science concern two different questions: (I) whether the unobservable entities posited by theories can be known; and (II) whether any knowledge we have of them is objective or not. Question (I) arises from the doubt that since observation is the basis of all our factual knowledge, unobservable entities cannot be known. Question (II) arises from the doubt that since scientific representations are inextricably laden with the subjective, idiosyncratic, and a priori features of human cognition and scientific practice, they cannot convey any reliable information on how their objects are in themselves. A way of understanding scientific realism (SR) is through three lines of inquiry: ontological, semantic, and epistemological. Ontologically, scientific realism asserts the existence of a world independent of human mind. Semantically, scientific realism assumes that theoretical claims about reality show truth values and, thus, should be construed literally. Epistemologically, scientific realism believes that theoretical claims offer us knowledge of the world. Nowadays, the literature on scientific realism has proceeded rather far beyond the realism versus antirealism debate. This stance represents a middle-ground position between the two according to which science can attain justified true beliefs concerning relational facts about the unobservable realm but cannot attain justified true beliefs concerning the intrinsic nature of any objects occupying that realm. That is, the structural content of scientific theories about the unobservable can be known, but facts about the intrinsic nature of the entities that figure as place-holders in those structures cannot be known. There are two possible versions of SR: Epistemological Structural Realism (ESR) and Ontic Structural Realism (OSR). On ESR, an agnostic stance is preserved with respect to the natures of unobservable entities, but the possibility of knowing the relations obtaining between those entities is affirmed. OSR includes the rather striking claim that when it comes to the unobservables theorized about within fundamental physics, relations exist, but objects do not. Focusing on ESR, questions arise concerning its ability to explain the empirical success of a theory. Empirical success certainly involves predictive success, and predictive success implies a theory’s power to make accurate predictions. But a theory’s power to make any predictions at all seems to derive precisely from its core axioms or laws concerning unobservable entities and mechanisms, and not simply the sort of structural relations often expressed in equations. The specific challenge to ESR concerns its ability to explain the explanatory and predictive power of successful theories without appealing to their substantive ontologies, which are often not preserved by their successors. The response to this challenge will depend on the various and subtle different versions of ESR and OSR stances, which show a sort of progression through eliminativist OSR to moderate OSR of gradual increase in the ontological status accorded to objects. Knowing the relations between unobserved entities is methodologically identical to assert that these relations between unobserved entities exist.

Keywords: eliminativist ontic structural realism, epistemological structuralism, moderate ontic structural realism, ontic structuralism

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Maria Ulfa, Nur Awaliyah Putri

Abstract:

Madurese is known as Malayo-Sumbawan Austronesian language which is used by Madurese people in Madura Island, Indonesia. However, there was a massive migration of Madurese people due to Dutch colonization. The Madurese people were brought by force for cultivation system to the eastern salient north coast or called as Tapal Kuda that spread in region covers the regencies of Probolinggo, Lumajang, Jember, Situbondo, Bondowoso, and Banyuwangi, the eastern part of the Pasuruan Regency, as well as the city of Probolinggo. The city of Probolinggo has unique characteristic regarding the ethnic and language variation. Several ethnics can be found in this city, such as Madurese, Javanese, Tengger, Arabic, Mandhalungan, Osing, and Chinese. Hence, the hybrid culture happens in Probolinggo, they called the culture as Pendhalungan which is the combination of culture among Madurese and Javanese. Among those ethnics, Madurese is the strongest ethnic that still maintains their identity, such as their ethnic language. The massive growth of Madurese in Probolinggo city, East Java is interesting to be analyzed. The object of this study is to discover language ideology and literacy of Madurese to maintain their ethnic language in Probolinggo city, East Java. The researchers used the theory of language maintenance practice based on three types of practices social language, social literacy, and peripheral ritualized practices. The approach of this study was qualitative research with ethnography method. In order to collect the data, researchers used observation and interview techniques. The amount of informants were 20 families which consist of mother, father and children in 5 sub-districts in Probolinggo city and they were interviewed regarding language ideology and literacy of Madurese. In supporting the data, researchers employed the Madurese speakers outside family scope like in school, office, and market. The result of the study revealed that Madurese has been preserved heritably to young generations by ethnics of Madura in Probolinggo city. Primarily the language is being taught in the earlier age of their children as L1 and used as ethnic identity. The parents teach them with simple sentences that grammatically correct. This language literacy is applied to maintain ethnic language as their ethnicity marker since they inhabit in Javanese ethnic area. In fact, it is not the only ideology of Madurese ethnic but also the influence of economic situation like in trading communication. The usage of Madurese in the trading scope is very beneficial since people can bargain the goods cheaper and easier because most of the traders are from Madurese ethnic. In this situation, linguistic phenomena such as code mixing and code switching between Madurese and Javanese are emerged as the trading communication. From the result, it can be concluded that solidarity exists among Madurese people in many scopes.

Keywords: language literacy, language maintenance, Madurese, Probolinggo City

Procedia PDF Downloads 233

Authors: Lisa C. Wan

Abstract:

To address customers’ safety concerns, more and more hospitality companies are using service robots to provide contactless services. For many companies, the switch from human employees to service robots to lower the contagion risk during and after the pandemic may be permanent. The market size for hospitality service robots is estimated to reach US$3,083 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 25.5% from 2021 to 2030. While service robots may effectively reduce interpersonal contacts and health risk, it also eliminates the social interactions desired by customers. A recent survey revealed that more than 60% of Americans feel lonely during the pandemic. People who are traveling can also feel isolated when they are at a hotel far away from home. It is therefore important for the hospitality companies to understand whether and how social robots can remedy deprived social connection not only due to a pandemic but also for a trip away from home in the post-pandemic future. This study complements extant hospitality literature regarding service robots by examining how service robots can forge social connections with customers. The service robots we are concerned with are those that can interact and communicate with humans; we broadly refer to them as social robots. We define a social robot as one that is equipped with interaction capabilities – it can either be one that directly interacts with the consumer or one through which the consumer can interact with other humans. Drawing on the theories of mind perception, we propose that service robots can foster social connectedness and increase the perception of social competence of the robot, but these effects will vary across cultures. By applying theories of mind perception and cultural dimension to the hospitality setting, this study shows that service robots that are equipped with social connection function will receive a more favorable evaluation from the consumers and enhance their intention to visit a hotel. The more favorable reaction to social robots is stronger for collectivists (i.e., Asians) than individualists (i.e., Westerners). To our knowledge, this is among the first studies to investigate the impact of culture on consumer reactions to social robots in the hospitality and tourism context. Moreover, this research extends the literature by examining whether people imbue non-human entities (i.e., telepresence social robots) with social competence. Because social robots that foster social connection with humans are still rare in hospitality and tourism, this aspect is an underexplored research area. Our study is the first to propose that, just like their human counterparts that possess relevant social skills, social robots’ interaction capabilities (e.g., telepresence robots) are used to infer social competence. More studies will be conducted to examine consumer reactions to humanoid (vs. non-humanoid) robot in the hospitality settings to generalize our research findings.

Keywords: service robots, COVID-19, social connection, cultures

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Shankaran Sitarama

Abstract:

New Product Development (NPD) is invariably a team effort and involves effective teamwork. NPD team has members from different disciplines coming together and working through the different phases all the way from conceptual design phase till the production and product roll out. Creativity and Innovation are some of the key factors of successful NPD. Team members going through the different phases of NPD interact and work closely yet challenge each other during the design phases to brainstorm on ideas and later converge to work together. These two traits require the teams to have a divergent and a convergent thinking simultaneously. There needs to be a good balance. The team dynamics invariably result in conflicts among team members. While some amount of conflict (ideational conflict) is desirable in NPD teams to be creative as a group, relational conflicts (or discords among members) could be detrimental to teamwork. Team communication truly reflect these tensions and team dynamics. In this research, team communication (emails) between the members of the NPD teams is considered for analysis. The email communication is processed through a semantic analysis algorithm (LSA) to analyze the content of communication and a semantic similarity analysis to arrive at a social network graph that depicts the communication amongst team members based on the content of communication. The amount of communication (content and not frequency of communication) defines the interaction strength between the members. Social network adjacency matrix is thus obtained for the team. Standard social network analysis techniques based on the Adjacency Matrix (AM) and Dichotomized Adjacency Matrix (DAM) based on network density yield network graphs and network metrics like centrality. The social network graphs are then rendered for visual representation using a Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MMDS) algorithm for node placements and arcs connecting the nodes (representing team members) are drawn. The distance of the nodes in the placement represents the tie-strength between the members. Stronger tie-strengths render nodes closer. Overall visual representation of the social network graph provides a clear picture of the team’s interactions. This research reveals four distinct patterns of team interaction that are clearly identifiable in the visual representation of the social network graph and have a clearly defined computational scheme. The four computational patterns of team interaction defined are Central Member Pattern (CMP), Subgroup and Aloof member Pattern (SAP), Isolate Member Pattern (IMP), and Pendant Member Pattern (PMP). Each of these patterns has a team dynamics implication in terms of the conflict level in the team. For instance, Isolate member pattern, clearly points to a near break-down in communication with the member and hence a possible high conflict level, whereas the subgroup or aloof member pattern points to a non-uniform information flow in the team and some moderate level of conflict. These pattern classifications of teams are then compared and correlated to the real level of conflict in the teams as indicated by the team members through an elaborate self-evaluation, team reflection, feedback form and results show a good correlation.

Keywords: team dynamics, team communication, team interactions, social network analysis, sna, new product development, latent semantic analysis, LSA, NPD teams

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Lillian Musila, Valerie Oundo, Daniel Erwin, Willie Sang

Abstract:

Staphylococcus aureus infections are a major cause of nosocomial infections in Kenya. Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections are a significant burden to public health and are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. At a hospital in Western Kenya two clusters of MRSA cases emerged within short periods of time. In this study we explored whether these clusters represented a nosocomial outbreak by characterizing the isolates using phenotypic and molecular assays and examining epidemiological data to identify possible transmission patterns. Specimens from the site of infection of the subjects were collected, cultured and S. aureus isolates identified phenotypically and confirmed by APIStaph™. MRSA were identified by cefoxitin disk screening per CLSI guidelines. MRSA were further characterized based on their antibiotic susceptibility patterns and spa gene typing. Characteristics of cases with MRSA isolates were compared with those with MSSA isolated around the same time period. Two cases of MRSA infection were identified in the two week period between 21 April and 4 May 2015. A further 2 MRSA isolates were identified on the same day on 7 September 2015. The antibiotic resistance patterns of the two MRSA isolates in the 1st cluster of cases were different suggesting that these were distinct isolates. One isolate had spa type t2029 and the other had a novel spa type. The 2 isolates were obtained from urine and an open skin wound. In the 2nd cluster of MRSA isolates, the antibiotic susceptibility patterns were similar but isolates had different spa types: one was t037 and the other a novel spa type different from the novel MRSA spa type in the first cluster. Both cases in the second cluster were admitted into the hospital but one infection was community- and the other hospital-acquired. Only one of the four MRSA cases was classified as an HAI from an infection acquired post-operatively. When compared to other S. aureus strains isolated within the same time period from the same hospital only one spa type t2029 was found in both MRSA and non-MRSA strains. None of the cases infected with MRSA in the two clusters shared any common epidemiological characteristic such as age, sex or known risk factors for MRSA such as prolonged hospitalization or institutionalization. These data suggest that the observed MRSA clusters were multi strain clusters and not an outbreak of a single strain. There was no clear relationship between the isolates by spa type suggesting that no transmission was occurring within the hospital between these cluster cases but rather that the majority of the MRSA strains were circulating in the community. There was high diversity of spa types among the MRSA strains with none of the isolates sharing spa types. Identification of disease clusters in space and time is critical for immediate infection control action and patient management. Spa gene typing is a rapid way of confirming or ruling out MRSA outbreaks so that costly interventions are applied only when necessary.

Keywords: cluster, Kenya, MRSA, spa typing

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Kateriina Rannula, Elle Sõrmus, Siret Piirsalu

Abstract:

Mixed generation classroom is a phenomenon that current higher education establishments are faced with daily trying to meet the needs of modern labor market with its emphasis on lifelong learning and retraining. Representatives of mainly X and Y generations in one classroom acquiring higher education is a challenge to lecturers considering all the characteristics that differ one generation from another. The importance of outlining different strategies and considering the needs of the students lies in the necessity for everyone to acquire the maximum of the provided knowledge as well as to understand each other to study together in one classroom and successfully cooperate in future workplaces. In addition to different generations, there are also learners with different native languages which have an impact on reading and understanding texts in third languages, including possible translation. Current research aims to investigate, describe and compare reading strategies among the representatives of generation X and Y. Hypotheses were formulated - representatives of generation X and Y use different reading strategies which is also different among first and third year students of the before mentioned generations. Current study is an empirical, qualitative study. To achieve the aim of the research, relevant literature was analyzed and a semi-structured questionnaire conducted among the first and third year students of Tallinn Health Care College. Questionnaire consisted of 25 statements on the text reading strategies, 3 multiple choice questions on preferences considering the design and medium of the text, and three open questions on the translation process when working with a text in student’s third language. The results of the questionnaire were categorized, analyzed and compared. Both, generation X and Y described their reading strategies to be 'scanning' and 'surfing'. Compared to generation X, first year generation Y learners valued interactivity and nonlinear texts. Students frequently used strategies of skimming, scanning, translating and highlighting together with relevant-thinking and assistance-seeking. Meanwhile, the third-year generation Y students no longer frequently used translating, resourcing and highlighting while Generation X learners still incorporated these strategies. Knowing about different needs of the generations currently inside the classrooms and on the labor market enables us with tools to provide sustainable education and grants the society a work force that is more flexible and able to move between professions. Future research should be conducted in order to investigate the amount of learning and strategy- adoption between generations. As for reading, main suggestions arising from the research are as follows: make a variety of materials available to students; allow them to select what they want to read and try to make those materials visually attractive, relevant, and appropriately challenging for learners considering the differences of generations.

Keywords: generation X, generation Y, learning strategies, reading strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Rati Sandeep Choudhari

Abstract:

Mobility flows are considered one of the most important elements of urbanisation, with transport infrastructure serving as a backbone of urban fabrics. Although rapid urbanisation and changing land use patterns have led to an increase in urban mobility levels around the globe, mobility, in general, has become an unpleasant experience for city dwellers, making locations around the city inconvenient to access. With public transport featured in almost every sustainable mobility plan in developing countries, the intermodality and integration with appropriate non–motorised transport infrastructure is often neglected. As a result, people choose to use private cars and two-wheelers to travel, rendering public transit systems underutilised, and encroaching onto pedestrian space on streets, thus making urban mobility unsafe and inconvenient for a major section of society. On the other hand, cities in the West, especially in Europe, depend heavily on inter–modal transit systems, allowing people to shift between metros, buses, trams, walking, and cycling to access even the remote locations of the city. Keeping accessibility as the focal point while designing urban mobility plans and policies, these cities have appropriately refined their urban form, optimised urban densities, developed a multimodal transit system, and adopted place-making strategies to foster a sense of place, thus, improving the quality of urban mobility experience in cities. Using a qualitative research approach, the research looks in detail into the existing literature on what kind of strategies can be applied to improve the urban mobility experience for city dwellers. It further studies and draws out a comparative analysis of cities in both developed and developing parts of the world where these strategies have been used to create people-centric mobility systems, fostering a sense of place with respect to urban mobility and how these strategies affected their social, economic, and environmental dynamics. The examples reflect on how different strategies like redefining land use patterns to form close knit neighbourhoods, development of non – motorise transit systems, and their integration with public transport infrastructure and place-making approach has helped in enhancing the quality and experience of mobility infrastructure in cities. The research finally concludes by laying out strategies that can be adopted by cities of the Global South to develop future mobility systems in a people-centric and sustainable way.

Keywords: urban mobility, sustainable transport, strategic planning, people-centric approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Rodrigo De A. Ferrazza, Henry D. M. Garcia, Viviana H. V. Aristizabal, Camilla De S. Nogueira, Cecilia J. Verissimo, Jose Roberto Sartori, Roberto Sartori, Joao Carlos P. Ferreira

Abstract:

Environmental factors adversely influence sustainability in livestock production system. Dairy herds are the most affected by heat stress among livestock industries. This clearly implies in development of new strategies for mitigating heat, which should be based on physiological and metabolic adaptations of the animal. In this study, we incorporated the effect of climate variables and heat exposure time on the thermoregulatory responses in order to clarify the adaptive mechanisms for bovine heat dissipation under intense thermal stress induced experimentally in climate chamber. Non-lactating Holstein cows were contemporaneously and randomly assigned to thermoneutral (TN; n=12) or heat stress (HS; n=12) treatments during 16 days. Vaginal temperature (VT) was measured every 15 min with a microprocessor-controlled data logger (HOBO®, Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) attached to a modified vaginal controlled internal drug release insert (Sincrogest®, Ourofino, Brazil). Rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) were measured twice a day (0700 and 1500h) and dry matter intake (DMI) was estimated daily. The ambient temperature and air relative humidity were 25.9±0.2°C and 73.0±0.8%, respectively for TN, and 36.3± 0.3°C and 60.9±0.9%, respectively for HS. Respiratory rate of HS cows increased immediately after exposure to heat and was higher (76.02±1.70bpm; P<0.001) than TN (39.70±0.71bpm), followed by rising of RT (39.87°C±0.07 for HS versus 38.56±0.03°C for TN; P<0.001) and VT (39.82±0.10°C for HS versus 38.26±0.03°C for TN; P<0.001). A diurnal pattern was detected, with higher (P<0.01) afternoon temperatures than morning and this effect was aggravated for HS cows. There was decrease (P<0.05) of HR for HS cows (62.13±0.99bpm) compared to TN (66.23±0.79bpm), but the magnitude of the differences was not the same over time. From the third day, there was a decrease of DMI for HS in attempt to maintain homeothermy, while TN cows increased DMI (8.27kg±0.33kg d-1 for HS versus 14.03±0.29kg d-1 for TN; P<0.001). By regression analysis, RT and RR better reflected the response of cows to changes in the Temperature Humidity Index and the effect of climate variables from the previous day to influence the physiological parameters and DMI was more important than the current day, with ambient temperature the most important factor. Comparison between acute (0 to 3 days) and chronic (13 to 16 days) exposure to heat stress showed decreasing of the slope of the regression equations for RR and DMI, suggesting an adaptive adjustment, however with no change for RT. In conclusion, intense heat stress exerted strong influence on the thermoregulatory mechanisms, but the acclimation process was only partial.

Keywords: acclimation, bovine, climate chamber, hyperthermia, thermoregulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Sandra Rigot, Samira Demaria, Frederic Lemaire

Abstract:

The starting point of this research is the contemporary capitalist paradox: there is a real scarcity of long term investment despite the boom of potential long term investors. This gap represents a major challenge: there are important needs for long term financing in developed and emerging countries in strategic sectors such as energy, transport infrastructure, information and communication networks. Moreover, the recent financial and sovereign debt crises, which have respectively reduced the ability of financial banking intermediaries and governments to provide long term financing, questions the identity of the actors able to provide long term financing, their methods of financing and the most appropriate forms of intermediation. The issue of long term financing is deemed to be very important by the EU Commission, as it issued a 2013 Green Paper (GP) on long-term financing of the EU economy. Among other topics, the paper discusses the impact of the recent regulatory reforms on long-term investment, both in terms of accounting (in particular fair value) and prudential standards for banks. For banks, prudential and accounting standards are also crucial. Fair value is indeed well adapted to the trading book in a short term view, but this method hardly suits for a medium and long term portfolio. Banks’ ability to finance the economy and long term projects depends on their ability to distribute credit and the way credit is valued (fair value or amortised cost) leads to different banking strategies. Furthermore, in the banking industry, accounting standards are directly connected to the prudential standards, as the regulatory requirements of Basel III use accounting figures with prudential filter to define the needs for capital and to compute regulatory ratios. The objective of these regulatory requirements is to prevent insolvency and financial instability. In the same time, they can represent regulatory constraints to long term investing. The balance between financial stability and the need to stimulate long term financing is a key question raised by the EU GP. Does fair value accounting contributes to short-termism in the investment behaviour? Should prudential rules be “appropriately calibrated” and “progressively implemented” not to prevent banks from providing long-term financing? These issues raised by the EU GP lead us to question to what extent the main regulatory requirements incite or constrain banks to finance long term projects. To that purpose, we study the 292 responses received by the EU Commission during the public consultation. We analyze these contributions focusing on particular questions related to fair value accounting and prudential norms. We conduct a two stage content analysis of the responses. First, we proceed to a qualitative coding to identify arguments of respondents and subsequently we run a quantitative coding in order to conduct statistical analyses. This paper provides a better understanding of the position that a large panel of European stakeholders have on these issues. Moreover, it adds to the debate on fair value accounting and its effects on prudential requirements for banks. This analysis allows us to identify some short term bias in banking regulation.

Keywords: basel 3, fair value, securitization, long term investment, banks, insurers

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Michael Rahme

Abstract:

Over the past decade, there is an overwhelming consensus spanning across academia, government commissions, and civil societies that concede that individuals with disabilities (IWDs), particularly those with intellectual differences, are a demographic most ‘vulnerable’ to experiences of sexual violence. From this global accord, numerous policies have sprouted in the protection of this ‘pregnable’ sector of society, primarily framed around liberal obligations of stewardship over the ‘defenceless.’ As such, these initiatives mainly target post-incident or victim-based factors of sexual violence, which is apparent in proposals for more inclusive sexual education and accessible contact lines for IWDs. Yet despite the necessity of these initiatives, sexual incidents among this demographic persist and, in nations such as Australia, continue to rise. Culture of Violence theory reveals that such discrepancies in theory and practice stem from societal structures that frame individuals as ‘vulnerable’, ‘impregnable’, or ‘defenceless’ because of their disability, thus propagating their own likelihood of abuse. These structures, as embodied by the Australian experience, allow these sexual violences to endure through cultural ideologies that place the IWDs ‘failures’ at fault while sidelining the institutions that permit this abuse. Such is representative of the initiatives of preventative organizations like People with Disabilities Australia, which have singularly strengthened victim protection networks, despite abuse continuing to rise dramatically among individuals with intellectual disabilities alone. Yet regardless of this rise, screenings of families and workers remain inadequate and practically untouched, a reflection of a tremendous societal warp in understanding surrounding the lived experiences of IWDs. This theory is also representative of broader literature, where the study of the perpetrators of disability rights, particularly sexual rights, is almost unapparent in a field that is already seldom studied. Therefore, placing power on the abuser via stripping that of the victims. As such, the Culture of Violence theory (CVT) sheds light on the institutions that allow these perpetrators to prosper. This paper, taking a CVT approach, aims to dissipate this discrepancy in the Australian experience by way of a qualitative analysis of all available court proceedings and tribunals between 2020-2022. Through an analysis of the perpetrator, their relation to the IWD, and the motives for their actions granted by court and tribunal transcripts and the psychological, and behavioural reports, among other material, that have been presented and consulted during these proceedings. All of which would be made available under the 1982 Freedom of Information Act. The findings from this study, through the incorporation of CVT, determine the institutions in which these abusers function and the ideologies which motivate such behaviour; while being conscious of the issue of re-traumatization and language barriers of the abusees. Henceforth, this study aims to be a potential policy guide on strengthening support institutions that provide IWDs with their basic rights. In turn, undermining sexual violence among individuals with intellectual disabilities at its roots.

Keywords: criminal profiling, intellectual disabilities, prevention, sexual violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Odenigbo Veronica Ngozi, Lorreta Chika Ukwuaba

Abstract:

This study focuses on how the strengthening adult literacy program can help accelerate transformative strategies to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria, specifically in Nsukka Local Government Area. The research delves into the definition of FGM, adult literacy programs, and how to achieve ending FGM to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030. It further discusses the practice of FGM in Nigeria and emphasizes the statement of the problem. The main aim of the study is to investigate how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs in 2030. The researchers utilized a survey research design to conduct the study in Nsukka L.G.A. The population was composed of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in the area. The entire population was used as a sample, and structured questionnaires were employed to elicit information. The items on the questionnaire were face-validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation while the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of degree of significance using a t-test. The findings show that through adult literacy program acceleration of transformative strategies, the practices of FGM can be ended. Strengthening adult literacy programs is a good channel to end or stop FGM through the knowledge and skill acquired from the learning centers. The theoretical importance of the study lies in the fact that it highlights the role of adult literacy programs in accelerating transformative strategies to combat harmful cultural practices such as FGM. It further supports the importance of education and knowledge in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. Structured questionnaires were distributed to an entire population of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in Nsukka L.G.A. The questionnaire items were face–validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation, while the hypothesis was tested using a t-test at 0.05 level of degree of significance. The study addressed the question of how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs by 2030. In conclusion, the study found that adult literacy is a good tool to end FGM in Nigeria. The recommendations were that government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community-based organizations (CBOs), and individuals should support the funding and establishment of adult literacy centers in communities so as to reach every illiterate parent or individual and acquire the knowledge and skill needed to understand the negative effect of FGM in the life of a girl child.

Keywords: adult literacy, female genital mutilation, learning centers, SDGs, strengthening

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Ana Jelenkovic, Nevena Kardum, Vuk Stevanovic, Ivana Šarac, Kristina Dmitrovic, Stevan Stevanovic, Maria Glibetic

Abstract:

Physical activity is well known for its beneficial health implications, however, excess oxygen consumption may impair oxidative status of the cell and affect membrane fatty acid (FA) composition. Polyphenols are well-established antioxidants, which can incorporate in cell membranes and protect them from oxidation. Therefore, our aim was to investigate how an 8-week aerobic training alters erythrocyte FA composition and activities of enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase), and to what extent polyphenol-rich Aronia juice (AJ) counteracts these potential alterations. We included 28 healthy women aged 19-29, with mean body mass index (BMI) of 21.2±2.7kg/m² and assigned them into three groups. The first group performed 1 hour of aerobic training three times per week (T); the second group trained in the same way and received 100 ml/day AJ as a part of their regular diet (TAJ), while the third group was the control one (C). Study analyses were performed at baseline and at the end of the intervention and included: anthropometric and biochemical measurements, determination of erythrocyte FA profile with gas-liquid chromatography and determination of enzymes’ activity with spectrophotometry. Statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS 20.0, with p < 0.05 considered as significant. The paired t-test revealed a significant decrease in the saturated FA content and in ω6/ω3 ratio in TAJ group. Furthermore, ω3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content increased, as well as the percentage of polyunsaturated FA and unsaturation index, which clearly pointed out that AJ supplementation with aerobic training protected cellular membranes from lipid peroxidation. No significant changes were observed in the two other groups. The between-group comparisons (ANCOVA) confirmed the synergistic effect of AJ supplementation and physical activity: DHA and ω3 contents were much higher, while ω6/ω3 ratio was significantly lower in the TAJ group compared with C. We also found that after the 8 weeks period, participants in TAJ group had a higher unsaturation index and lower saturated FA concentration than subjects from T group, suggesting that AJ polyphenols might be involved in that particular pathway. We found no significant changes in enzymes’ activities apart from a significantly higher superoxide dismutase activity in T group compared with the other two groups. Our results imply that supplementation with polyphenol-rich AJ may prevent membrane lipids from peroxidation in healthy subjects with regular aerobic activity.

Keywords: Aronia juice, aerobic training, fatty acids, oxidative status

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Stephanie Lehmann, Esther Ruf, Sabina Misoch

Abstract:

Background: Due to demographic change and shortage of skilled nursing staff, assistive robots are built to support older adults at home and nursing staff in care institutions. When assistive robots facilitate tasks that are usually performed by humans, user acceptance is essential. Even though they are an important aspect of acceptance, emotions towards different assistive robots and different situations of robot-use have so far not been examined in detail. The appearance of assistive robots can trigger emotions that affect their acceptance. Acceptance of robots is assumed to be greater when they look more human-like; however, too much human similarity can be counterproductive. Regarding different groups, it is assumed that older adults have a more negative attitude towards robots than younger adults. Within the framework of a simulated robot study, the aim was to investigate emotions of older adults compared to students towards robots with different appearances and in different situations and so contribute to a deeper view of the emotions influencing acceptance. Methods: In a questionnaire study, vignettes were used to assess emotions toward robots in different situations and of different appearance. The vignettes were composed of two situations (service and care) shown by video and four pictures of robots varying in human similarity (machine-like to android). The combination of the vignettes was randomly distributed to the participants. One hundred forty-two older adults and 35 bachelor students of nursing participated. They filled out a questionnaire that surveyed 30 positive and 30 negative emotions. For each group, older adults and students, a sum score of “positive emotions” and a sum score of “negative emotions” was calculated. Mean value, standard deviation, or n for sample size and % for frequencies, according to the scale level, were calculated. For differences in the scores of positive and negative emotions for different situations, t-tests were calculated. Results: Overall, older adults reported significantly more positive emotions than students towards robots in general. Students reported significantly more negative emotions than older adults. Regarding the two different situations, the results were similar for the care situation, with older adults reporting more positive emotions than students and less negative emotions than students. In the service situation, older adults reported significantly more positive emotions; negative emotions did not differ significantly from the students. Regarding the appearance of the robot, there were no significant differences in emotions reported towards the machine-like, the mechanical-human-like and the human-like appearance. Regarding the android robot, students reported significantly more negative emotions than older adults. Conclusion: There were differences in the emotions reported by older adults compared to students. Older adults reported more positive emotions, and students reported more negative emotions towards robots in different situations and with different appearances. It can be assumed that older adults have a different attitude towards the use of robots than younger people, especially young adults in the health sector. Therefore, the use of robots in the service or care sector should not be rejected rashly based on the attitudes of younger persons, without considering the attitudes of older adults equally.

Keywords: emotions, robots, seniors, young adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Erika Yamaguchi, Sirawadee Arunyanrt, Shunichi Ohmori, Kazuho Yoshimoto

Abstract:

In this paper, we suggest a simulation tool to make a decision of monthly production planning for maximizing a profit of Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel (SPA) firms. Most of SPA firms are fabless and make outsourcing deals for productions with factories of their subcontractors. Every month, SPA firms make a booking for production lines and manpower in the factories. The booking is conducted a few months in advance based on a demand prediction and a monthly production planning at that time. However, the demand prediction is updated month by month, and the monthly production planning would change to meet the latest demand prediction. Then, SPA firms have to change the capacities initially booked within a certain range to suit to the monthly production planning. The booking system is called “capacity-booking”. These days, though it is an issue for SPA firms to make precise monthly production planning, many firms are still conducting the production planning by empirical rules. In addition, it is also a challenge for SPA firms to match their products and factories with considering their demand predictabilities and regulation abilities. In this paper, we suggest a model for considering these two issues. An objective is to maximize a total profit of certain periods, which is sales minus costs of production, inventory, and capacity-booking penalty. To make a better monthly production planning at SPA firms, these points should be considered: demand predictabilities by random trends, previous and next month’s production planning of the target month, and regulation abilities of the capacity-booking. To decide matching products and factories for outsourcing, it is important to consider seasonality, volume, and predictability of each product, production possibility, size, and regulation ability of each factory. SPA firms have to consider these constructions and decide orders with several factories per one product. We modeled these issues as a linear programming. To validate the model, an example of several computational experiments with a SPA firm is presented. We suppose four typical product groups: basic, seasonal (Spring / Summer), seasonal (Fall / Winter), and spot product. As a result of the experiments, a monthly production planning was provided. In the planning, demand predictabilities from random trend are reduced by producing products which are different product types. Moreover, priorities to produce are given to high-margin products. In conclusion, we developed a simulation tool to make a decision of monthly production planning which is useful when the production planning is set every month. We considered the features of capacity-booking, and matching of products and factories which have different features and conditions.

Keywords: capacity-booking, SPA, monthly production planning, linear programming

Procedia PDF Downloads 519