Search results for: regular deficient irrigation

Authors: Tung-Kuang Wu, Hsing-Pei Hsieh, Ying-Ru Meng

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Special Education in Taiwan has been facing difficulties including shortage of teachers and lack in resources. Some students need to receive special education are thus not identified or admitted. Fortunately, information technologies can be applied to relieve some of the difficulties. For example, on-line multimedia courseware can be used to assist the learning of special education students and take pretty much workload from special education teachers. However, there may exist cognitive variations between students in special or regular educations, which suggests the design of online courseware requires different considerations. This study aims to investigate the difference in focus of attention (FOA) between special and regular education students of primary school in viewing the computer screen. The study is essential as it helps courseware developers in determining where to put learning elements that matter the most on the right position of screen. It may also assist special education specialists to better understand the subtle differences among various subtypes of learning disabilities. This study involves 76 special education students (among them, 39 are students with mental retardation, MR, and 37 are students with learning disabilities, LDs) and 42 regular education students. The participants were asked to view a computer screen showing a picture partitioned into 3 × 3 areas with each area filled with text or icon. The subjects were then instructed to mark on the prior given paper sheets, which are also partitioned into 3 × 3 grids, the areas corresponding to the pictures on the computer screen that they first set their eyes on. The data are then collected and analyzed. Major findings are listed: 1. In both text and icon scenario, significant differences exist in the first preferred FOA between special and regular education students. The first FOA for the former is mainly on area 1 (upper left area, 53.8% / 51.3% for MR / LDs students in text scenario; and 53.8% / 56.8% for MR / LDs students in icons scenario), while the latter on area 5 (middle area, 50.0% and 57.1% in text and icons scenarios). 2. The second most preferred area in text scenario for students with MR and LDs are area 2 (upper-middle, 20.5%) and 5 (middle area, 24.3%). In icons scenario, the results are similar, but lesser in percentage. 3. Students with LDs that show similar preference (either in text or icons scenarios) in FOA to regular education students tend to be of some specific sub-type of learning disabilities. For instance, students with LDs that chose area 5 (middle area, either in text or icon scenario) as their FOA are mostly ones that have reading or writing disability. Also, three (out of 13) subjects in this category, after going through the rediagnosis process, were excluded from being learning disabilities. In summary, the findings suggest when designing multimedia courseware for students with MR and LDs, the essential learning elements should be placed on area 1, 2 and 5. In addition, FOV preference may also potentially be used as an indicator for diagnosing students with LDs.

Keywords: focus of attention, learning disabilities, mental retardation, on-line multimedia courseware, special education

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: A. Pontrandolfi, G. Enjolras, F. Capitanio

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The study analyses the strategies Italian farmers use to cope with the risks that face their production. We specifically explore the potential and the limitations of the economic tools for climatic risk management in agriculture of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020, that foresees contributions for economic tools for risk management, in relation to farms’ needs, exposure and vulnerability of agricultural areas to climatic risk. We consider at the farm level approaches to hedge risks in terms of the use of technical tools (agricultural practices, pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation) and economic/financial instruments (insurances, etc.). We develop cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses as well as analyses of correlation that underline the main differences between the way farms adapt their structure and management towards risk. The results show a preference for technical tools, despite the presence of important public aids on economic tools such as insurances. Therefore, there is a strong need for a more effective and integrated risk management policy scheme. Synergies between economic tools and risk reduction actions of a more technical, structural and management nature (production diversification, irrigation infrastructures, technological and management innovations and formation-information-consultancy, etc.) are emphasized.

Keywords: agriculture and climate change, climatic risk management, insurance schemes, farmers' approaches to risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: Kolawole Akinjide Aramide, Razaq Oyewo

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This study investigates social media utilisation and addiction among students in Nigerian universities. Three hundred and twenty seven (327) students were randomly selected across five selected universities in Nigeria but only 215 provided useful responses for the study. The study revealed regular use of social media for the purpose of communicating and connecting with friends only while Picassa, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, MySpace, Blogger, Linkedln and LibraryThing were found to top the list of social media being used on regular basis by the students. The level of social media addiction among the students was found to be low. A significant difference was established between undergraduate and postgraduate students’ utilization of social media as the undergraduate students were found to utilise social media more than the postgraduate students. However, no significant difference was found in the level of addiction to social media between the undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Keywords: social media utilisation, social media addiction, Nigerian students, universities

Procedia PDF Downloads 474

Authors: Amer Obaid Saud

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Water quality index (WQI) is considered as an effective tool in categorization of water resources for its quality and suitability for different uses. The Canadian version of water quality index (CCME WQI) which based on the comparison of the water quality parameters to regulatory standards and give a single value to the water quality of a source was applied in this study to assess the water quality of Euphrates river in Iraq at Babylon Governorate north of Baghdad and determine its suitability for aquatic environment (GWQI), drinking water (PWSI) and irrigation(IWQI). Five stations were selected on the river in Babylon (Euphrates River/AL-Musiab, Hindia barrage, two stations at Hilla city and the fifth station at Al-Hshmeya north of Hilla. Fifteen water samples were collected every month during August 2013 to July 2014 at the study sites and analyzed for the physico-chemical parameters like (Temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids(TDS), Total Suspended Solids(TSS), Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Calcium and Magnesium Concentration, some of nutrient like Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate also the study of concentration of some heavy metals (Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Cd) in water and comparison of measures to benchmarks such as guidelines and objectives to assess change in water quality. The result of Canadian version of(CCME .WQI) to assess the irrigation water quality (IWQI) of Euphrates river was (83-good) at site one during second seasonal period while the lowest was (66-Fair) in the second station during the fourth seasonal period, the values of potable water supply index (PWSI)that the highest value was (68-Fair) in the fifth site during the second period while the lowest value (42 -Poor) in the second site during the first seasonal period,the highest value for general water quality (GWQI) was (74-Fair) in site five during the second seasonal period, the lowest value (48-Marginal) in the second site during the first seasonal period. It was observed that the main cause of deterioration in water quality was due to the lack of, unprotected river sites ,high anthropogenic activities and direct discharge of industrial effluent.

Keywords: Babylon governorate, Canadian version, water quality, Euphrates river

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Authors: Maritz Lourens Van Rensburg, Chantel Niebuhr

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Utilizing all available renewable energy sources is an ever-growing necessity, this includes a newfound interest into hydrokinetic energy systems, which open the door to installations where conventional hydropower shows no potential. Optimization and obtaining high efficiencies are key in these installations. In this study a vertical axis Darrieus hydrokinetic turbine is designed and constructed to address certain drawbacks experience by axial flow horizontal axis turbines in an irrigation channel. Many horizontal axis turbines have been well developed and optimized to have high efficiencies but depending on the conditions experienced in an open channel, the performance of these turbines may be adversely affected. The study analyses how the designed vertical axis turbine addresses the problems experienced by a horizontal axis turbine while still achieving a satisfactory efficiency. To be able to optimize the vertical axis turbine, a computational fluid dynamics model was validated to the experimental results obtained from the power generated from a test turbine installation operating at various rotational speeds. It was found that an accurate validated model can be obtained through validation of generated power output.

Keywords: hydrokinetic, Darrieus, computational fluid dynamics, vertical axis turbine

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Authors: Malik Imran Afzal

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Cadmium supplied nanowires have unique electrical and optical properties and applications. To obtain cadmium supplied nanowires with regular and good aspect ratio, they can be synthesized by template synthesis method. Porous anodized aluminum oxide is the most promising template with regular hexagonal shapes. Their aspect ratio can be controlled by controlling the pores’ depth and diameter which greatly depend on anodization voltage and temperature of the electrolyte. In this research, high purity aluminium was used to prepare nanotemplates at 5-6°C in 1M phosphoric acid and cadmium supplied was deposited electrochemically using a co-solution of thiourea, cadmium acetate and ammonium acetate. pH was maintained at 11 in a heat bath at 75°C with the help of aqueous ammonia solution. Both porous anodized alumina and cadmium supplied nanowires were characterized suing SEM. A good quality Nanowires were obtained in bunches with reasonably high aspect ratio.

Keywords: bunches, electrodeposition, hexagonal, thiourea

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Authors: Mohamed Jaditager, Julie Lovisa, Nagaratnam Sivakugan

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The Port of Townsville conducts regular annual maintenance dredging to maintain depths of its harbor basin and approach channels for the navigational safety of the vessels against the natural accumulation of marine sediments. In addition to the regular maintenance dredging, the port undertakes emergency dredging in cases where large quantities of sediments are mobilized and deposited in port waters by cyclone or major flood events. The maintenance dredging material derived from the port may be disposed at sea or on land in accordance with relevant state and commonwealth regulations. For the land disposal, the dredged mud slurry is hydraulically placed into containment ponds and left to undergo sedimentation and self-weight consolidation to form fill material for land reclamation. This paper provides an overview of the maintenance dredging at the Port of Townsville and emphasis on maintenance dredging requirements, sediment quality, bathymetry, dredging methods used, and dredged material disposal options.

Keywords: consolidation, dredged material, maintenance dredging, marine sediments, sedimentation

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Authors: Seyed Alireza Farrokhzad, Seyed Amin Alavi, Ebrahim Panahpour

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The use of industrial wastewater affects the properties of soil, including its chemical properties. This research was conducted randomly in order to investigate the effect of industrial wastewater application on the concentration of nitrate and phosphate in loamy soil in the land space of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Sefid Dasht Steel Company. Industrial wastewater was added in ten irrigation periods in the three months of summer 2022 and was used in a part of the land space of the factory. After finishing the irrigation process with wastewater, the soil nitrate and phosphate values were measured at the depths of 0-25, 25-50 and 50-100 cm. The results showed that adding sewage to the soil increased nitrate and phosphate. The increase of these ions in the soil became loamy. Also, the results showed that the amount of phosphate in the soil decreases with increasing depth, while the amount of nitrate in the soil increases with increasing depth, which is due to the high mobility of nitrate along the soil profile. Also, with the increase in the level of use of wastewater, the amount of nitrate accumulation in the lower layers of the soil increased.

Keywords: industrial wastewater, soil chemical properties, loamy texture, land space

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Authors: Italo Luigi de Paoli

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The use of synthetic soil for the vegetables cultivation in conditions of limited water consumption The separate collection of urban organic waste and green waste for the countries of the European Union averages 100 kg / inhabitant x year with an annual growth of about 10%. The production of quality compost averages 38% - 40% of the production of organic waste material. Most of the compost produced is used as an organic soil improver in those nutrient-poor soils in order to improve its quality. This study seeks to enhance the production of quality compost by creating a synthetic soil, where the percentages of compost on average oscillate between 50% and 60% in which, with appropriate precautions, different species of horticultural can be grown in conditions of high environmental safety without the use of pesticides and with a consumption of water used for irrigation limited to the actual evaporation of the plants. The project started in 2018 and is still ongoing, confirms its validity through a series of different horticultural productions, especially if this technology is applied where the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of vegetables is limited and where the use of water for irrigation represents a cultural criticality. Furthermore, the creation of "open field" crops, together with their automation, represents a further possibility in the concrete development of such technologies, giving the final product organoleptic characteristics equal if not superior to what the market offers today for human nutrition.

Keywords: water scarcity, compost, vegetable foods, syntetic soil

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Authors: Naruemon Prapasuwannakul, Supitcha Boonchai, Nawapat Pengpengpit

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The aim of this study was to determine physicochemical and sensory properties of germinated brown rice ice cream as affected by replacement of cream, milk, stabilizer, and emulsifier with green coconut pulp. Five different formulations of ice cream were performed. Regular formulation of ice cream consisted of GBR juice, milk cream, milk powder, stabilizer, emulsifier, sucrose and salt. Replacing of cream, milk, stabilizer, and emulsifier with coconut pulp resulted in an increase in viscosity and overrun, but a decrease in hardness, melting rate, lightness (l*) and redness (a*). However, there was no significant difference among all formulations on any sensory attributes. The results also showed that the ice cream with replacement of coconut pulp contained less fat and protein than those of the regular ice cream. The findings suggested that green coconut pulp can be used as alternative ingredient to replace fat, milk stabilizer and emulsifier even in a high carbohydrate ice cream formulation.

Keywords: ice cream, germinated brown rice, coconut pulp, milk, cream

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Authors: Gauri Sreekumar, Sabuj Kumar Mandal

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Contributing about 18% to India’s Gross Domestic Product, the agricultural sector plays a significant role in the Indian rural economy. Despite being the primary source of livelihood for more than half of India’s population, most of them are marginal and small farmers facing several challenges due to agro-climatic shocks. Climate change is expected to increase the risk in the regions that are highly agriculture dependent. With systematic and scientific evidence of changes in rainfall, temperature and other extreme climate events, migration started to emerge as a survival strategy for the farm households. In this backdrop, our present study aims to combine the two strands of literature and attempts to explore whether migration is the only adaptation strategy for the farmers once they experience crop failures due adverse climatic condition. Combining the temperature and rainfall information from the weather data provided by the Indian Meteorological Department with the household level panel data on Indian states belonging to the Eastern and Semi-Arid Tropics regions from the Village Dynamics in South Asia (VDSA) collected by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics, we form a rich panel data for the years 2010-2014. A Recursive Econometric Model is used to establish the three-way nexus between climate change-yield-migration while addressing the role of irrigation and local non-farm income diversification. Using Three Stage Least Squares Estimation method, we find that climate change induced yield loss is a major driver of farmers’ migration. However, irrigation and local level non-farm income diversification are found to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change on migration. Based on our empirical results, we suggest for enhancing irrigation facilities and making local non-farm income diversification opportunities available to increase farm productivity and thereby reduce farmers’ migration.

Keywords: climate change, migration, adaptation, mitigation

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Authors: F. Kovács, K. Kádár, G. Hosszú, Á. T. Balogh, T. Zsedrovits, N. Kersner, A. Nagy, Gy. Jeney

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The paper presents a novel screening method to indicate congenital heart diseases (CHD), which otherwise could remain undetected because of their low level. Therefore, not belonging to the high-risk population, the pregnancies are not subject to the regular fetal monitoring with ultrasound echocardiography. Based on the fact that CHD is a morphological defect of the heart causing turbulent blood flow, the turbulence appears as a murmur, which can be detected by fetal phonocardiography (fPCG). The proposed method applies measurements on the maternal abdomen and from the recorded sound signal a sophisticated processing determines the fetal heart murmur. The paper describes the problems and the additional advantages of the fPCG method including the possibility of measurements at home and its combination with the prescribed regular cardiotocographic (CTG) monitoring. The proposed screening process implemented on a telemedicine system provides an enhanced safety against hidden cardiac diseases.

Keywords: cardiac murmurs, fetal phonocardiography, screening of CHDs, telemedicine system

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Daniel Ecler

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The aim of this paper was to find out how Chinese university students perceive distance learning compared to full-time teaching, to reveal its advantages and disadvantages, and to try to find what elements could be implemented in regular full-time teaching in order to make it more effective. Recent events have shown that online teaching has a significant role to play in the field of education and needs to be given increased attention and scrutiny. For this purpose, a research survey was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires, which aimed to determine the attitudes of Chinese university students to the phenomenon of distance learning. The results of this survey revealed that most students prefer distance learning to full-time teaching, mainly because it gives them more freedom to participate in teaching, regardless of the environment in which they are currently located. In conclusion, it is necessary to mention that the possibility to participate virtually in teaching from anywhere is a huge advantage that could become part of regular teaching in the future. However, further research into this issue will be necessary.

Keywords: distance learning, full-time teaching, Chinese college students, cultural background

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Kaihong Yu, Tetsui Yamashita, Shigeaki Shingyochi, Kazuo Matsumoto, Makoto Ohta

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During cardiac ablation, high power delivery for deeper lesion formation is limited by electrode-tissue interface overheating which can cause serious complications such as thrombus. To prevent this overheating, temperature control and open irrigation are often used. In temperature control, radiofrequency generator is adjusted to deliver the maximum output power, which maintains the electrode temperature at a target temperature (commonly 55°C or 60°C). Then the electrode-tissue interface temperature is also limited. The electrode temperature is a result of heating from the contacted tissue and cooling from the surrounding blood. Because the cooling from blood is decreased under conditions of low blood flow, the generator needs to decrease the output power. Thus, temperature control cannot deliver high power under conditions of low blood flow. In open irrigation, saline in room temperature is flushed through the holes arranged in the electrode. The electrode-tissue interface is cooled by the sufficient environmental cooling. And high power delivery can also be done under conditions of low blood flow. However, a large amount of saline infusions (approximately 1500 ml) during irrigation can cause other serious complication. When open irrigation cannot be used under conditions of low blood flow, a new overheating prevention may be required. The authors have proposed a new electrode cooling method by making the catheter vibrating. The previous work has introduced that the vibration can make a cooling effect on electrode, which may result form that the vibration could increase the flow velocity around the catheter. The previous work has also proved that increasing vibration frequency can increase the cooling by vibration. However, the effect of the vibration amplitude is still unknown. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of vibration amplitude on tissue temperature and lesion size. An agar phantom model was used as a tissue-equivalent material for measuring tissue temperature. Thermocouples were inserted into the agar to measure the internal temperature. Porcine myocardium was used for lesion size measurement. A normal ablation catheter was set perpendicular to the tissue (agar or porcine myocardium) with 10 gf contact force in 37°C saline without flow. Vibration amplitude of ± 0.5, ± 0.75, and ± 1.0 mm with a constant frequency (31 Hz or 63) was used. A temperature control protocol (45°C for agar phantom, 60°C for porcine myocardium) was used for the radiofrequency applications. The larger amplitude shows the larger lesion sizes. And the higher tissue temperatures in agar phantom are also shown with the higher amplitude. With a same frequency, the larger amplitude has the higher vibrating speed. And the higher vibrating speed will increase the flow velocity around the electrode more, which leads to a larger electrode temperature decrease. To maintain the electrode at the target temperature, ablator has to increase the output power. With the higher output power in the same duration, the released energy also increases. Consequently, the tissue temperature will be increased and lead to larger lesion sizes.

Keywords: cardiac ablation, electrode cooling, lesion size, tissue temperature

Procedia PDF Downloads 353

Authors: Maha Alhussain, Moira A Taylor, Ian A. Macdonald

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Background: It is well established that dietary composition has effects on metabolism and therefore impacts on health; however other aspects of diet, such as meal pattern, could also be important in both obesity management and promoting health. The present study investigated the effect of irregular meal frequency on anthropometric measurements and energy expenditure (EE) in healthy women. Design: 11 healthy weight women (18–40 years) were studied in a randomized crossover trial with two phases of 2 weeks each. In Phase 1, participants consumed either a regular meal pattern (6 meals/day) or an irregular meal pattern (varying from 3 to 9 meals/day). In Phase 2, participants followed the alternative meal pattern to that followed in Phase 1, after a 2-weeks washout period. In the two phases, identical foods were provided to a participant in amounts designed to keep body weight constant. Participants came to the laboratory after an overnight fast at the start and end of each phase. EE was measured in fasting state by indirect calorimetry. Postprandial EE was measured during the 3 h period after consumption of a milkshake, test drink. Results: There were no significant changes in body weight and anthropometric measurements after both meal pattern interventions. There was also no significant difference in mean daily energy intake between the regular and irregular meal pattern (2043 ±31 and 2099 ±33 respectively). EE in the fasting state showed no significant differences cross the experiment visits. There was a significant difference in Postprandial EE (measured for 3 h) by visit (P=0.04). Postprandial EE after the regular meal pattern was significantly higher than at baseline (P=0.002) or than after the irregular meal pattern (P= 0.04). Conclusion: Eating regularly for 14-day period significantly increases Postprandial EE which may contribute to weight loss and obesity management.

Keywords: energy expenditure, energy intake, meal pattern, weight loss

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Junaid N. Chauhdary, Bernard A. Engel, Allah Bakhsh

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Solar powered tubewells can be a reliable and affordable source of supplying irrigation water compared with electric or diesel operated tubewells due to frequent load shedding and soaring energy prices. A study was conducted on a solar tubewell installed at the Water Management Research Center (WMRC), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to investigate the viability of a solar powered tubewell in terms of discharge and benefit cost ratio. The tubewell discharge was 50 m3hr-1 with a total dynamic head of 30 m. The depth of bore was 31 m (14 m blind + 17 m screen) with a casing diameter of 15.2 cm (6 inches). A 3-stage submersible pump of 10.2 cm (4 inch) diameter was lowered in the casing to a depth of 22 m. The pump was powered from 21 solar panels of 200 W capacity each. The tubewell peak discharge was observed as 6 and 7 hr day-1 in winter and summer, respectively. The breakeven analysis of the solar tubewell showed that the payback period of the solar tubewell was 1.5 years of its 10 year usable life with an IRR (internal rate of return) of 69 %. The BCR (benefit cost ratio) of the solar tubewell at 2, 4, 6, and 8 percent discount rate were 3.75, 3.45, 3.19 and 2.96, respectively. The NPV (net present value) of the solar tubewell at 2, 4, 6, and 8 % discount rates were 1.89, 1.65, 1.45 and 1.27 million rupees, respectively. These results indicated that the solar powered tubewells are a viable option as well as environmentally friendly and can be adopted by the farmers due to their affordable payback period.

Keywords: benefit cost ratio, internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), solar tubewell

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Charuvan Kasemsap

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This research was studied in Bangnampriao District, Chachernsao Province, Thailand. The primary data relating to flooding, drought, and saline intrusion problem on agriculture were collected by surveying, focus group, and in-depth interview with agricultural officers, technical officers of irrigation department, and local government leader of Bangnampriao District. The likelihood and consequence of risk were determined the risk index by risk assessment matrix. In addition, the risk index and the total coping capacity scores were investigated the vulnerability index by vulnerability matrix. It was found that the high-risk drought and saline intrusion was dramatically along Bang Pakong River owing to the end destination of Chao Phraya Irrigation system of Central Thailand. This leads yearly the damage of rice paddy, mango tree, orchard, and fish pond. Therefore, some agriculture avoids rice growing during January to May, and also pumps fresh water from a canal into individual storage pond. However, Bangnampriao District will be strongly affected by the impacts of climate change. Monthly precipitations are expected to decrease in number; dry seasons are expected to be more in number and longer in duration. Thus, the risk and vulnerability of agriculture are also increasing. Adaptation strategies need to be put in place in order to enhance the resilience of the agriculture.

Keywords: agriculture, bangnampriao, climate change, risk assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 405

Authors: Lundqvist M., Alwin J., Levin L-A.

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Background: Assistance dogs are dogs trained to assist persons with functional impairment or chronic diseases. The assistance dog concept includes different types: guide dogs, hearing dogs, and service dogs. The service dog can further be divided into subgroups of physical services dogs, diabetes alert dogs, and seizure alert dogs. To examine the long-term effects of health care interventions, both in terms of resource use and health outcomes, cost-effectiveness analyses can be conducted. This analysis can provide important input to decision-makers when setting priorities. Little is known when it comes to the cost-effectiveness of assistance dogs. The study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of certified service or hearing dogs in comparison to regular companion dogs. Methods: The main data source for the analysis was the “service and hearing dog project”. It was a longitudinal interventional study with a pre-post design that incorporated fifty-five owners and their dogs. Data on all relevant costs affected by the use of a service dog such as; municipal services, health care costs, costs of sick leave, and costs of informal care were collected. Health-related quality of life was measured with the standardized instrument EQ-5D-3L. A decision-analytic Markov model was constructed to conduct the cost-effectiveness analysis. Outcomes were estimated over a 10-year time horizon. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio expressed as cost per gained quality-adjusted life year was the primary outcome. The analysis employed a societal perspective. Results: The result of the cost-effectiveness analysis showed that compared to a regular companion dog, a certified dog is cost-effective with both lower total costs [-32,000 USD] and more quality-adjusted life-years [0.17]. Also, we will present subgroup results analyzing the cost-effectiveness of physicals service dogs and diabetes alert dogs. Conclusions: The study shows that a certified dog is cost-effective in comparison with a regular companion dog for individuals with functional impairments or chronic diseases. Analyses of uncertainty imply that further studies are needed.

Keywords: service dogs, hearing dogs, health economics, Markov model, quality-adjusted, life years

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Fazle Rabbi, Mashuda Khanom Tithi, Tasnim Mirza, Sanjida Rowshan Anannya, Ahmed Hossain

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Background: Low Back Pain (LBP) is one of the common health problems among the garment workers that causes workers absenteeism from the work. The purpose of the study is to identify the association between occupational factors and LBP among the female garment workers in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 487 female garment workers from three compliant garment factories of Bangladesh. Face-to-face interview on four different LBP measures along with questions on socio-demographic, occupational, and physical factors were used to collect the data. Result: The prevalence rates for LBP lasts for at least one day during the last six months, chronic pain, intense pain, and seeking medical care for LBP were found 63.04%, 38.60%, 13.76%, and 18.89%, respectively among the female garments workers. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicates that duration of employment (>5 years), regular weight bearing and extended weekly working hours (>48 hours) are positively associated with LBP. Besides, age, BMI, family income, marital status and number of children are also found positively associated with the LBP measures. Conclusion: The prevalence of LBP among female garment workers in Bangladesh is found high. The duration of employment (>5 years), regular weight bearing and extended weekly working hours (>48 hours) play a significant role in developing LBP among the female workers. Factories need to consider training programs on the appropriate technique of weight bearing. It is also important to conduct regular screening programs to identify LBP, especially with married, overweight/obese and older age group to reduce the occurrence of LBP.

Keywords: Bangladesh, garment workers, low back pain, occupational health

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Sarra Kitanou

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Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are one of the most widely used wastewater treatment processes for various municipal and industrial waste streams. It is based on complex interactions between biological processes, filtration process and rheological properties of the liquid to be treated. Its complexity makes understanding system operation and optimization more difficult, and traditional methods based on experimental analysis are costly and time consuming. The present study was based on an external membrane bioreactor pilot scale with ceramic membranes compared to conventional activated sludge process (ASP) plant. Both systems received their influent from a domestic wastewater. The membrane bioreactor (MBR) produced an effluent with much better quality than ASP in terms of total suspended solids (TSS), organic matter such as biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Phosphorus and total Nitrogen. Other effluent quality parameters also indicate substantial differences between ASP and MBR. This study leads to conclude that in the case domestic wastewater, MBR treatment has excellent effluent quality. Hence, the replacement of the ASP by the MBRs may be justified on the basis of their improved removal of solids, nutrients, and micropollutants. Furthermore, in terms of reuse the great quality of the treated water allows it to be reused for irrigation.

Keywords: aerobic wastewater treatment, conventional activated sludge process, membrane bioreactor, reuse for irrigation

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Authors: D. A. Onifade

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Kokoro is maize snack which is very popular among poor masses in Nigeria who consume it along with gari(a cassava product) as lunch on a regular basis. In this study, fungal contaminants of kokoro were characterized and its aflatoxin content determined. A total of 30 fungal isolates were obtained from kokoro samples and they belong to 3 different species. Aspergillus flavus had the highest frequency of occurrence of 73.33% while Penicillium species had the lowest (6.66%). Different concentration of aflatoxin B1 was detected in some of the kokoro samples analyzed. Sample D had the highest concentration of 7.25 parts per billion (ppb). The lowest concentration detected was 0.06 ppb in sample P. No aflatoxin G1 and G2 was detected in all the kokoro samples with exception of sample P which contained 2.54 ppb aflatoxin G1.According to international standards some of the kokoro samples are not suitable for human consumption because of high-level aflatoxin which was above the recommended level. Therefore, production of kokoro should be standardized and appropriate packaging materials utilized to prevent the growth of aflatoxigenic fungi. This is to safeguard the health of many poor Nigerians who consume it on a regular basis.

Keywords: kokoro, maize snack, aflatoxin, contamination, mould, Nigeria

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Authors: Jonas Hamann, Siavash Saki, Tobias Hagen

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Discretization of urban areas is a crucial aspect in many spatial analyses. The process of discretization of space into subspaces without overlaps and gaps is called tessellation. It helps understanding spatial space and provides a framework for analyzing geospatial data. Tessellation methods can be divided into two groups: regular tessellations and irregular tessellations. While regular tessellation methods, like squares-grids or hexagons-grids, are suitable for addressing pure geometry problems, they cannot take the unique characteristics of different subareas into account. However, irregular tessellation methods allow the border between the subareas to be defined more realistically based on urban features like a road network or Points of Interest (POI). Even though Python is one of the most used programming languages when it comes to spatial analysis, there is currently no library that combines different tessellation methods to enable users and researchers to compare different techniques. To close this gap, we are proposing TessPy, an open-source Python package, which combines all above-mentioned tessellation methods and makes them easily accessible to everyone. The core functions of TessPy represent the five different tessellation methods: squares, hexagons, adaptive squares, Voronoi polygons, and city blocks. By using regular methods, users can set the resolution of the tessellation which defines the finesse of the discretization and the desired number of tiles. Irregular tessellation methods allow users to define which spatial data to consider (e.g., amenity, building, office) and how fine the tessellation should be. The spatial data used is open-source and provided by OpenStreetMap. This data can be easily extracted and used for further analyses. Besides the methodology of the different techniques, the state-of-the-art, including examples and future work, will be discussed. All dependencies can be installed using conda or pip; however, the former is more recommended.

Keywords: geospatial data science, geospatial data analysis, tessellations, urban studies

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Authors: Zakia Hbellaq

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The Mediterranean region is considered a hotbed for climate change. Morocco is a semi-arid Mediterranean country facing water shortages and poor water quality. Its limited water resources limit the activities of various economic sectors. Most of Morocco's territory is in arid and desert areas. The potential water resources are estimated at 22 billion m3, which is equivalent to about 700 m3/inhabitant/year, and Morocco is in a state of structural water stress. Strictly speaking, the Kingdom of Morocco is one of the “very riskiest” countries, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI), which oversees the calculation of water stress risk in 167 countries. The surprising results of the Institute (WRI) rank Morocco as one of the riskiest countries in terms of water scarcity, ranking 3.89 out of 5, thus occupying the 23rd place out of a total of 167 countries, which indicates that the demand for water exceeds the available resources. Agriculture with a score of 3.89 is most affected by water stress from irrigation and places a heavy burden on the water table. Irrigation is an unavoidable technical need and has undeniable economic and social benefits given the available resources and climatic conditions. Irrigation, and therefore the agricultural sector, currently uses 86% of its water resources, while industry uses 5.5%. Although its development has undeniable economic and social benefits, it also contributes to the overfishing of most groundwater resources and the surprising decline in levels and deterioration of water quality in some aquifers. In this context, REUSE is one of the proposed solutions to reduce the water footprint of the agricultural sector and alleviate the shortage of water resources. Indeed, wastewater reuse, also known as REUSE (reuse of treated wastewater), is a step forward not only for the circular economy but also for the future, especially in the context of climate change. In particular, water reuse provides an alternative to existing water supplies and can be used to improve water security, sustainability, and resilience. However, given the introduction of organic trace pollutants or, organic micro-pollutants, the absorption of emerging contaminants, and decreasing salinity, it is possible to tackle innovative capabilities to overcome these problems and ensure food and health safety. To this end, attention will be paid to the adoption of an integrated and attractive approach, based on the reinforcement and optimization of the treatments proposed for the elimination of the organic load with particular attention to the elimination of emerging pollutants, to achieve this goal. , membrane bioreactors (MBR) as stand-alone technologies are not able to meet the requirements of WHO guidelines. They will be combined with heterogeneous Fenton processes using persulfate or hydrogen peroxide oxidants. Similarly, adsorption and filtration are applied as tertiary treatment In addition, the evaluation of crop performance in terms of yield, productivity, quality, and safety, through the optimization of Trichoderma sp strains that will be used to increase crop resistance to abiotic stresses, as well as the use of modern omics tools such as transcriptomic analysis using RNA sequencing and methylation to identify adaptive traits and associated genetic diversity that is tolerant/resistant/resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses. Hence, ensuring this approach will undoubtedly alleviate water scarcity and, likewise, increase the negative and harmful impact of wastewater irrigation on the condition of crops and the health of their consumers.

Keywords: water scarcity, food security, irrigation, agricultural water footprint, reuse, emerging contaminants

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Authors: Farid Eltom A. E., Mustafa Abdul-Halim, Abdalla Markaz, Sami Atta, Mohamed Azhari, Ahmed Rashed

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Smart environment sensors integrated with ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) technology can provide a new concept in tracking, sensing, and monitoring objects in the environment. The aim of the study is to evaluate the farm environmental monitoring system based on (IoT) and to realize the automated management of agriculture and the implementation of precision production. Until now, irrigation monitoring operations in Sudan have been carried out using traditional methods, which is a very costly and unreliable mechanism. However, by utilizing soil moisture sensors, irrigation can be conducted only when needed without fear of plant water stress. The result showed that software application allows farmers to display current and historical data on soil moisture and nutrients in the form of line charts. Design measurements of the soil factors: moisture, electrical, humidity, conductivity, temperature, pH, phosphorus, and potassium; these factors, together with a timestamp, are sent to the data server using the Lora WAN interface. It is considered scientifically agreed upon in the modern era that artificial intelligence works to arrange the necessary procedures to take care of the terrain, predict the quality and quantity of production through deep analysis of the various operations in agricultural fields, and also support monitoring of weather conditions.

Keywords: smart environment, monitoring systems, IoT, LoRa Gateway, center pivot

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Authors: Hassan Masoumi, Rashed Alavi, Mahmoud Reza Khorshidian

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In order to measure the water deficit stress effects on seed yield and water productivity of soybean cultivars, a two field experiments wad conducted out via split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications in 2011 and 2012. Irrigation treatments were three levels (S1; 50, S2; 62.5 and S3; 150 mm) that applied based on evaporation from the ‘class A’ pan. Cultivars were L17, Clean, T.M.S, Williams×Chippewa and M9, too. The results showed that, only extreme water deficit stresses (S3) was reduced number of pods per plants, dry weight, seed yield and also water productivity and water economic productivity, significantly. Among cultivars and at the first and second levels of irrigation (S1, S2) cultivar of L17 and at the third level (S3) cultivar of Wiiliams*Chippwea had the highest seed yield, water productivity and water economic productivity. There were observed a positive and significant correlation between seed yield with number of pods per plants and plants dry weight, too. Also, despite the reduction in water consumption at level of S2 than S1 and due to the lack of a significant reduction in seed yield, water productivity and water economic productivity was also increased, significantly (P < 0.01). All indices of sensitivity and tolerance (SSI, STI and GMP) investigated in this study showed that at the moderate and extreme water deficit stresses (S2, S3), the cultivars of L17 and Wiiliams * Chippwea had the highest tolerance and lowest sensitivity among the cultivars.

Keywords: drought, sensitivity indices, yield components, seed

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Authors: Sweta Pandey, Samridhi Dhyani, Susmita Chaudhuri

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Klebsiella pneumoniae causes a wide range of infections, including urinary tract infections, sepsis, bacteremia, pneumonia, and liver abscesses. The emergence of multi-drug resistance in this bacterium led to a major setback for clinical management. WHO also endorsed a need for finding alternative therapy to antibiotics for the treatment of these infections. Development of vaccines and passive antibody therapy has been proven as a potent alternative to antibiotics in the case of MDR, XDR, and PDR Klebsiella infections. Siderophore receptors have been demonstrated to be overexpressed for the internalization of iron siderophore complexes during infections in most Gram-negative bacteria. For the present study, immune response to siderophore receptors to establish this protein as a potential immunogen for the development of therapeutic leads was explored. Clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae were grown in iron-deficient conditions, and the iron-regulated outer membrane proteins were extracted and characterized through mass spectrometry for specific identification. The gene for identified protein was cloned in pET- 28a vector and expressed in E. coli. The native protein and the recombinant protein were isolated and purified and used as antigens for the generation of immune response in BALB/c mice. The native protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae grown in iron-deficient conditions was identified as FepA (Ferrienterobactin receptor) and other siderophore receptors. This 80 kDa protein generated an immune response in BALB/c mice. The antiserum from mice after subsequent booster doses was collected and showed binding with FepA protein in western blot and phagocytic uptake of the K. pneumoniae in the presence antiserum from immunized mice also observed from the animal studies after bacterial challenge post immunisation in mice have shown bacterial clearance. The antiserum from mice showed binding and clearance of the Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria in vitro and in vivo. These antigens used for generating an active immune response in mice can further be used for therapeutic monoclonal antibody development against Klebsiella pneumoniae infections.

Keywords: antiserum, FepA, Klebsiella pneumoniae, multi drug resistance, siderophore receptor

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Authors: Fernando Maass, Pablo Martin, Jorge Olivares

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Fractional derivatives have become very important in several areas of Engineering, however, the solutions of simple differential equations are not known. Here we are considering the simplest first order nonhomogeneous differential equations with Bessel regular functions of the first kind, in this way the solutions have been found which are hypergeometric solutions for any fractional derivative of order α, where α is rational number α=m/p, between zero and one. The way to find this result is by using Laplace transform and the Caputo definitions of fractional derivatives. This method is for values longer than one. However for α entire number the hypergeometric functions are Kumer type, no integer values of alpha, the hypergeometric function is more complicated is type ₂F₃(a,b,c, t2/2). The argument of the hypergeometric changes sign when we go from the regular Bessel functions to the modified Bessel functions of the first kind, however it integer seems that using precise values of α and considering no integers values of α, a solution can be obtained in terms of two hypergeometric functions. Further research is required for future papers in order to obtain the general solution for any rational value of α.

Keywords: Caputo, fractional calculation, hypergeometric, linear differential equations

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Authors: A. A. Ghanim

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is heading towards a severe and rapidly expanding water crisis, which can have negative impacts on the country’s environment and economy. Of the total water consumption in KSA, the agricultural sector accounts for nearly 87% of the total water use and, therefore, any attempt that overlooks this sector will not help in improving the sustainability of the country’s water resources. KSA Vision 2030 gives priority of water use in the agriculture sector for the regions that have natural renewable water resources. It means that there is little concern for making reuse of municipal wastewater for irrigation purposes in any region in general and in water-scarce regions in particular. The use of treated wastewater is very limited in Saudi Arabia, but it has very considerable potential for future expansion due its numerous beneficial uses. This study reviews the current situation of water resources in Saudi Arabia, providing more highlights on agriculture and wastewater reuse. The reviewed study is proposing some corrective measures for development and better management of water resources in the Kingdom. Suggestions also include consideration of treated water as an alternative source for irrigation in some regions of the country. The study concluded that a sustainable solution for the water crisis in KSA requires implementation of multiple measures in an integrated manner. The integrated solution plan should focus on two main directions: first, improving the current management practices of the existing water resources; second, developing new water supplies from both conventional and non-conventional sources.

Keywords: Saudia Arabia, water resources, water crises, wastewater reuse

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Authors: D. Norton

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This qualitative study focuses on the lived experience and displacement of young white-collar masculinities in Japan. In recent years, the salaryman lifestyle has undergone significant disruption - increased competition for regular employment, rise in non-regular structurings of labour across public/private sectors, and shifting role expectations within the home. Despite this, related scholarship hints at a continued reinforcement of the traditional male gender role - that the salaryman remains a key benchmark of Japanese masculine identity. For those in structural proximity to these more ‘normative’ performativities, interest lies their engagement with such narratives - how they make sense of their masculinity in response to stated changes. In light of the historical emphasis on labour and breadwinning logics, notions of respective security or precarity generated as a result remain unclear. Similarly, concern extends to developments within the private sphere - by what means young white-collar men construct ideas of singlehood and companionship according to traditional gender ideologies or more contemporary, flexible readings. The influence of these still-emergent status distinctions on the logics of the social group in question is yet to be explored in depth by gender scholars. This project, therefore, focuses on a salaryman archetype as hegemonic - its transformation amidst these changes and socialising mechanisms that continue to legitimate unequal gender hierarchies. For data collection, a series of ethnographic interviews were held over a period of 12 months with university-educated, white-collar male employees from both Osaka and the Greater Tokyo Area. Findings suggest a modern salaryman ideal reflecting both continuities and shifts within white-collar employment. Whilst receptive to more contemporary workplace practices, the narratives of those interviewed remain imbued with logics supporting patterns of internal hegemony. Regular/non-regular distinction emerged as the foremost variable for both material and discursive patterns of white-collar stratification, with variants of displacement for each social group. Despite the heightened valorisation of stable employment, regular workers articulated various concerns over a model of corporate masculinity seen to be incompatible with recent socioeconomic developments. Likewise, non-regular employees face detachment owing to a still-inflexible perception of their working masculinity as marginalized amidst economic precarity. In seeking to negotiate respective challenges, those interviewed demonstrated an engagement with various concurrent social changes that would often either accommodate, reinforce, or expand upon traditional role behaviours. Few of these narratives offered any notable transgression of said ideal, however, suggesting that within the spectre of white-collar employment in Japan for the near future, any substantive transformation of corporate masculinity remains dependant upon economic developments, less so the agency of those involved.

Keywords: gender ideologies, hegemonic masculinity, Japan, white-collar employment

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Authors: Mohamed M. Elsherbiny, Ahmed T. Helal Ibrahim

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Social isolation is one of the common problems faced visual impaired students especially in new situations. It refers to lack of interactions with others (students, staff members, and others) and dissatisfaction of social networks with others. In addition, it means "a lack of quantity and quality of social contacts". The situation became more complicated if we know that visual impaired students at Sultan Qaboos University were in special schools for the blind completely away from any integration with regular student, which may lead to isolation for being with regular students for the first time. Because the researcher is an academic advisor for all blind students in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, he has noted (from the regular meetings with them) some aspects of isolation and many complaints from staff which motivated the researcher to try to alleviate the problem. Logotherapy is an important therapy used in clinical social work with various problems to help children and young people who are facing problems related to the lack of meaning in their life. So, the aim of the therapy is to find meaning in life and to be satisfied with that life. The basic meaning for visual impaired students in this study is to provide opportunities to build relationships and friendships with others and help them to be satisfied about interactions with their networks. The study aimed to identify whether there is a relationship between the use of logotherapy and alleviating social isolation for visual impaired students. This study is considered one of the quasi-experimental studies, the researcher has used experimental method. The researcher used one design which is before and after experiment on two groups, one control (did not apply to the therapy) and experimental group which is applied to the therapy. About the study tools, social isolation scale (SIS) was used to assess the degree of isolation. The sample was (20) of the visually impaired students at the College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University. The results showed the effectiveness of logotherapy in alleviating isolation for students.

Keywords: social isolation, logotherapy, visually impaired, disability

Procedia PDF Downloads 352