Search results for: sensitive area impact focus

Authors: Bonsoo Koo, Seong Shin Hong, Byung Kwon Lee

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Most of apartments in Korea have wall type structure that present poor performance regarding floor impact sound insulation. In order to minimize the transmission of floor impact sound, flooring structures are used in which an insulating material, 30 mm thickness pad of EPS or EVA, is sandwiched between a concrete slab and the finished mortar. Generally, a single-material pad used for insulation has a heavyweight impact sound level of 44~47 dB with 210 mm thickness slab. This study provides an analysis of the floor impact sound insulation performance using thermoplastic poly urethane (TPU), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) materials with buffering performance. Following mock-up tests the effect of lightweight impact sound turned out to be similar but heavyweight impact sound was decreased by 3 dB compared to conventional single material insulation pad.

Keywords: floor impact sound, thermoplastic poly urethane, ethylene vinyl acetate, heavyweight impact sound

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Authors: Siti Hajar Ya’acob, Nor Sayzwani Sukri, Farah Khaliz Kedri, Rozidaini Mohd Ghazi, Nik Raihan Nik Yusoff, Aweng A/L Eh Rak

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Flood event that occurred in mid-December 2014 in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia has driven attention from the public nationwide. Apart from loss and damage of properties and belongings, the massive flood event has introduced environmental disturbances on surface water resources in such flood affected area. A study has been conducted to measure the physical and chemical composition of Galas River and Pergau River prior to identification the flood impact towards environmental deterioration in surrounding area. Samples that have been collected were analyzed in-situ using YSI portable instrument and also in the laboratory for acid digestion and heavy metals analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Results showed that range of temperature (0C), DO (mg/L), Ec (µs/cm), TDS (mg/L), turbidity (NTU), pH, and salinity were 25.05-26.65, 1.51-5.85, 0.032-0.054, 0.022-0.035, 23.2-76.4, 3.46-7.31, and 0.01-0.02 respectively. The results from this study could be used as a primary database to evaluate the status of water quality of the respective river after the massive flood.

Keywords: flood, river, heavy metals, AAS

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Authors: Thipayasothorn Pastraporn, Phonpakdee Rachadakorn, Ponpo Sopar

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Forage production area development in Bangkok Metropolitan Region with an Agriculture in the city concept. Food chain of city man reduced distance of the food, so the food chain was a good attempt to connect the city’s product with the changes in each area of city. This paper purposed (I) to study the problems of using forage production area development in Bangkok Metropolitan Region, (II) to propose guidelines of forage production area development in Bangkok Metropolitan Region. We collected the data by questionnaire which we got from the agriculture, marketing and city plan sector in Bangkok Metropolitan Region. We analyzed the questionnaire in the way of relationship and guidelines of forage production area development in Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Results from the analyses are that the role of forage area productive plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region is important to the cities for adapting in changing way of the food transmission. It also enhanced benefits using from cities fringe. Moreover, it managed watercourse and reduced energy consumption in order to sustainable distribute the food into the cities. .

Keywords: city plan, forage production area, urban development, Bangkok Metropolitan Region

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Authors: Marina Bubalo, Davor Romić, Stjepan Husnjak, Helena Bakić

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Even though European Council Directive 91/676/EEC known as Nitrates Directive was adopted in 1991, the issue of water quality preservation in areas of intensive agricultural production still persist all over Europe. High nitrate nitrogen concentrations in surface and groundwater originating from diffuse sources are one of the most important environmental problems in modern intensive agriculture. The fate of nitrogen in soil, surface and groundwater in agricultural area is mostly affected by anthropogenic activity (i.e. agricultural practice) and hydrological and climatological conditions. The aim of this study was to identify impact of land use, soil type, soil vulnerability to pollutant percolation, and natural aquifer vulnerability to nitrate occurrence in surface and groundwater within an intensive agricultural area. The study was set in Varaždin County (northern Croatia), which is under significant influence of the large rivers Drava and Mura and due to that entire area is dominated by alluvial soil with shallow active profile mainly on gravel base. Negative agricultural impact on water quality in this area is evident therefore the half of selected county is a part of delineated nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZ). Data on water quality were collected from 7 surface and 8 groundwater monitoring stations in the County. Also, recent study of the area implied detailed inventory of agricultural production and fertilizers use with the aim to produce new agricultural land use database as one of dominant parameters. The analysis of this database done using ArcGIS 10.1 showed that 52,7% of total County area is agricultural land and 59,2% of agricultural land is used for intensive agricultural production. On the other hand, 56% of soil within the county is classified as soil vulnerable to pollutant percolation. The situation is similar with natural aquifer vulnerability; northern part of the county ranges from high to very high aquifer vulnerability. Statistical analysis of water quality data is done using SPSS 13.0. Cluster analysis group both surface and groundwater stations in two groups according to nitrate nitrogen concentrations. Mean nitrate nitrogen concentration in surface water – group 1 ranges from 4,2 to 5,5 mg/l and in surface water – group 2 from 24 to 42 mg/l. The results are similar, but evidently higher, in groundwater samples; mean nitrate nitrogen concentration in group 1 ranges from 3,9 to 17 mg/l and in group 2 from 36 to 96 mg/l. ANOVA analysis confirmed statistical significance between stations that are classified in the same group. The previously listed parameters (land use, soil type, etc.) were used in factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) to detect importance of each stated parameter in local water quality. Since stated parameters mostly cannot be altered, there is obvious necessity for more precise and more adapted land management in such conditions.

Keywords: agricultural area, nitrate, factorial correspondence analysis, water quality

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Authors: Esha Thakkar, Ina Liu, Kalynn Hosea, Shana Katz, Katie Marks, Sarah Hall, Cat Liu, Suzanne Harris

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Purpose: Inequities in mental healthcare accessibility are cited as an international public health concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). These disparities are further exacerbated in racial and ethnic minority groups and are especially concerning in health professional training settings such as Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs and postgraduate residency training where mental illness rates are high. The purpose of the study was to determine baseline access to culturally sensitive mental healthcare and how to improve such access and communication for racially and ethnically minoritized pharmacy students and residents at one school of pharmacy and a partnering academic medical center in the United States. Methods: This IRB-exempt study included 60-minute focus groups conducted in person or online from November 2021 to February 2022. Eligible participants included PharmD students in their first (P1), second (P2), third (P3), or fourth year (P4) or pharmacy residents completing a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) or PGY2 who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC). There were four core theme questions asked during the focus groups to lead the discussion, specifically on the core themes of personal barriers, identities, areas that are working well, and areas for improvement. Participant responses were transcribed and analyzed using an open coding system with two individual reviews, followed by collaborative and intentional discussion and, as needed, an external audit of the coding by a third research team member to reach a consensus on themes. Results: This study enrolled 26 participants, with eight P1, five P2, seven P3, two P4, and four resident participants. Within the four core themes of barriers, identities, areas working well, and areas for improvement, emerging subthemes included: lack of time, access to resources, and stigma under barriers; lack of representation, cultural and family stigma, and gender identities for identity barriers; supportive faculty, sense of community and culture supporting paid time off for areas going well; and wellness days, reduced workload and diversity of the workforce in areas of improvement. Subthemes sometimes varied within a core theme depending on the participant year. Conclusions: There is a gap in the literature in addressing barriers and disparities in mental health access for pharmacy trainees who identify as BIPOC. We identified key findings in regards to barriers, identities, areas going well and areas for improvement that can inform the School and the Residency Program in two priority initiatives of well-being and diversity equity and inclusion in creating actionable recommendations for trainees, program directors, and employers of our institutions, and also has the potential to provide insight for other organizations about the structures influencing access to culturally sensitive care in BIPOC trainees. These findings can inform organizations on how to continue building on communication with those who identify as BIPOC and improve access to care.

Keywords: mental health, disparities, minorities, wellbeing, identity, communication, barriers

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Authors: Mimoza Canga, Alketa Qafmolla, Vergjini Mulo, Irene Malagnino

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Aim: Assessment of oral health in young people aged 18-29 years after the Covid-19 pandemic in Albania. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted at the University of Medicine in Tirana, Albania, from March 2023 to September 2023. This is s cross-sectional study. In our research, 104 students participated, of which 64 were females (61.5%) and 40 were males (38.5%). In the present survey, the participants were divided into four age groups: 18-20, 21-23, 24-26, and 27-29 years old. Majority of the sample (69%) were 18-20 years. Participants were instructed to complete the questionnaire. The study had no dropouts. The current study was conducted in accordance to Helsinki declaration. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23.0, Microsoft Windows Linux, Chicago, IL, USA. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: This study reported that 80 (76.9%) of the participants had passed Covid-19, while 24 (23.1%) of them had not passed Covid-19. Based on our data analysis, 70 (67.3%) of the participants had symptoms such as of fever 38°C- 40.5°C and headache. They stated that were treated with Azithromycin 500 mg tablets, Augmentin 625 mg tablets, Vitamin C 1000 mg, Magnesium, and Vitamin D. 40(38.4%) of the participants noticed hypersensitivity in gums (p = 0.004) and sensitive teeth (p = 0.001) after having passed Covid-19 compared to pre-pandemic. Nearly 40 (38.4%) of the participants who passed Covid-19 were treated with painful relievers for the gums and teeth, such as ibuprofen (Advil), used Sensodyne Toothpaste for sensitive teeth and Clove oil. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study conducted in Albania, can concluded that Covid-19 has a direct impact on oral health.

Keywords: albania, Covid19, cross-sectional study, oral health

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Authors: Aroma Elmina Martha

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Environment affects the continuity of life and human well-being and the bodies of other living. Environmental quality is very closely related to the quality of life. Sustainability must be protected from damage due to the use of natural resources, such as tin mining in Bangka island. This research is a descriptive study, which identifies the environmental damage caused by mining land and sea in Bangka district. The approach used is juridical, social and economic. The study uses primary legal materials, secondary, and tertiary, equipped with field research. The analysis technique used is qualitative analysis. The impacts of mining on land among other physical and chemical damage, erosion and widening the depth of the river, a pool of micro-climate, the quality and feasibility, vegetation, wildlife and biodiversity, land values, social and economic. This mining causes damage to the soil structure, and puddles in the former digs which were not backfilled again. The impact of mining on the ocean such as changes in current surge, erosion and abrasion basic coastal waters, shoreline change, marine water quality changes, and changes in marine communities. The findings of the research show that tin mining in the sea also potentially have a significant impact on the life of the reef, populations of marine organisms. However, mining on land needs to consider the impact of the damage, so that the damage can be minimized. In the recovery process needs to be pursued by exploiting the rest of the pile of tin. Thus, mining activities should take into account the distance of beach sediment size, wave height, wave length, wave period, and the acceleration of gravity. The process of the tin washing should be done in a fairly safe area, thus avoiding damage to the coral reefs that will eventually reduce the population of marine life.

Keywords: abration, environmental damage, mining, shoreline

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Authors: Sultan Ayoub Meo

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Environmental pollution is a highly challenging global concern of the 21st century and is a major cause of various communicable and non-communicable diseases. We investigate the impact of air pollution on "lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and cognitive function"in a group of one hundred young students studying in a traffic-polluted school. The students wereselected based on their age, gender, height, weight, and ethnicity. After the clinical history, one hundred students were recruited from the schoolnear and away from the polluted areas. The lung and cognitive functions were recorded. The results revealed that lung and cognitive function parameters were reduced in groups of students studying in a school located in a traffic-polluted area compared to thosestudying in a schoolsituated away from the traffic-polluted area. Environmental pollution impairs students' lung and cognitive functions studying in schools located within traffic-polluted areas. The health officials and policymakers establish strategies to minimize environmental pollution and its allied health hazards. Prof. Sultan Ayoub Meo, MD, Ph.D Professor, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia Email. [email protected] / [email protected]

Keywords: environmental pOllution, lung physiology, cognitive functions, air pollution

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Authors: Lilian Nantume Wampande

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Group-based strategies in the delivery of HIV care have opened up new avenues not only for meaningful participation for HIV positive people but also platforms for deconstruction and reconstruction of knowledge about living with the virus. Yet the contributions of such strategies among patients who live in high risk areas are still not explored. This case study research assessed the impact of HIV support networks on sexual health outcomes of HIV positive out-of-school adolescents residing in fishing islands of Kalangala in Uganda. The study population was out-of-school adolescents living with HIV and their sexual partners (n=269), members of their households (n=80) and their health service providers (n=15). Data were collected via structured interviews, observations and focus group discussions between August 2016 and March 2017. Data was then analyzed inductively to extract key themes related to the approaches and outcomes of the groups’ activities. The study findings indicate that support groups unite HIV positive adolescents in a bid for social renegotiation to achieve change but individual constraints surpass the groups’ intentions. Some adolescents for example reported increased fear which led to failure to cope, sexual violence, self-harm and denial of status as a result of the high expectations placed on them as members of the support groups. Further investigations around this phenomenon show that HIV networks play a monotonous role as information sources for HIV positive out-of-school adolescents which limit their creativity to seek information elsewhere. Results still indicate that HIV adolescent groups recognize the complexity of long-term treatment and stay in care leading to improved immunity for the majority yet; there is still scattered evidence about how effective they are among adolescents at different phases in the disease trajectory. Nevertheless, the primary focus of developing adolescent self-efficacy and coping skills significantly address a range of disclosure difficulties and supports autonomy. Moreover, the peer techniques utilized in addition to the almost homogeneous group characteristics accelerates positive confidence, hope and belongingness. Adolescent HIV-support groups therefore have the capacity to both improve and/or worsen sexual health outcomes for a young adolescent who is out-of-school. Communication interventions that seek to increase awareness about ‘self’ should therefore be emphasized more than just fostering collective action. Such interventions should be sensitive to context and gender. In addition, facilitative support supervision done by close and trusted health care providers, most preferably Village Health Teams (who are often community elected volunteers) would help to follow-up, mentor, encourage and advise this young adolescent in matters involving sexuality and health outcomes. HIV/AIDS prevention programs have extended their efforts beyond individual focus to those that foster collective action, but programs should rekindle interpersonal level strategies to address the complexity of individual behavior.

Keywords: adolescent, HIV, support groups, Uganda

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Authors: Lukholo Raxangana

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Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)-era teaching offers in-service mathematics teachers opportunities to use blended approaches to engage learners while teaching mathematics. This study explores in-service high school teachers' experiences with a blended teaching approach to mathematics. This qualitative case study involved eight pre-service teachers from four selected schools in the Sedibeng West District of the Gauteng Province. The study used the community of inquiry model as its analytical framework for data analysis. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions to explore in-service teachers' experiences with the influence of blended teaching (BT) on learning mathematics. The study results are the impact of load-shedding, benefits of BT, and perceptions of in-service and hindrances of BT. Based on these findings, the study recommends that further research should focus on developing data-free BT tools to assist during load-shedding, regardless of location.

Keywords: bended teaching, teachers, in-service, and mathematics

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Authors: K. M. Kheiralla, M. A. Ali, M. Y. Abdelgalil, N. E. Mohamed, G. Boutsis

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The present study focus on integrated geophysical surveys carried out in the mineralization zone in Erkowit region, Eastern Sudan to determine the extensions of the potential ore deposits on the topographically high hilly area and under the cover of alluvium along the nearby wadi and to locate other occurrences if any. The magnetic method (MAG) and the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were employed for the survey. Eleven traverses were aligned approximately at right angles to the general strike of the rock formations. The disseminated sulfides are located on the alteration shear zone which is composed of granitic and dioritic highly ferruginated rock occupying the southwestern and central parts of the area, this was confirmed using thin and polished sections mineralogical analysis. The magnetic data indicates low magnetic values for wadi sedimentary deposits in its southern part of the area, and high anomalies which are suspected as gossans due to magnetite formed during wall rock alteration consequent to mineralization. The significant ERT images define low resistivity zone as traced as sheared zones which may associated with the main loci of ore deposition. The study designates that correlation of magnetic and ERT anomalies with lithology are extremely useful in mineral exploration due to variations in some specific physical properties of rocks.

Keywords: ERT, magnetic, mineralization, Red Sea, Sudan

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Authors: Syedhossein Vakili

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According to the opinion of some experts, the world's two-spatialization means the establishment of a new virtual space and placing this new space next to the physical space. This dualization of space has left various effects, one of which is reducing the need for buildings and making the area of business premises economical through the use of virtual space instead of a part of physical space. In such a way that before the virtual space was known, a commercial or educational institution had to block a large part of its capital to acquire physical spaces and buildings in order to provide physical space and places needed for daily activities, but today, Thanks to the addition of the virtual space to the physical space, it has been possible to carry out its activities more widely in a limited environment with a minimum of physical space and drastically reduce costs. In order to understand the impact of virtual space on the reduction of physical space, the researcher used the official reports of the countries regarding the average area mentioned in the permits for the construction of commercial and educational units in the period from 2014 to 2023 and compared the average capital required for the absolute physical period with The period of two-spatialization of the world in the mentioned ten-year period, while using the analytical and comparative method, has proven that virtual space has greatly reduced the amount of investment of business owners to provide the required place for their activities by reducing the need for physical space. And economically, it has made commercial activities more profitable.

Keywords: two spatialization, building area, cyberspace, physical space, virtual place

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Authors: Temitope Adefunsho Olatoye, Julius Olabode Elega

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Raising agricultural productivity is an important policy goal for governments and development agencies, and this is central to growth, income distribution, improved food security, and poverty alleviation among practitioners. This study analyzed the productivity and poverty status among users of improved sorghum varieties in Kano State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 131 sorghum farmers who were users of improved sorghum varieties. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive (frequency distribution and percentage) and inferential (productivity index and FGT model) statistics. The result of the socioeconomic characteristics of the sorghum farmers showed a mean age of 40 years, with about 93.13% of the sorghum farmers being male. Also, as indicated by the result, the majority (82.44%) of the farmers were married, with most of them having qur’anic education with a mean farm size of 3.6 ha, as reported in the study area. Furthermore, the result showed that the mean farming experience of the sorghum farmers in the study area was 19 years, with an average monthly income of about ₦48,794, as reported in the study area. The result of the productivity index showed a ratio of 192,977kg/ha, while the result of poverty status shows that 62.88% were in the non-poor category, 21.21% were poor, and 15.91% were very poor, respectively. The result also showed that the incidence of poverty for sorghum farmers was 16%, indicating that the incidence of poverty was prevalent in the study area. Based on the findings of this study, it was therefore recommended that seed companies should facilitate the spread of improved sorghum varieties as it has an impact on the productivity and poverty status of sorghum farmers in the study area.

Keywords: Foster Greer Thorbecke model, improved sorghum varieties, productivity, poverty status

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Authors: Theoktisti Makridou, Konstantinos Tsaprailis, George Arvanitakis, Charalampos Kontoes

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In the literature, the data-driven approaches for mosquito abundance prediction relaying on supervised machine learning models that get trained with historical in-situ measurements. The counterpart of this approach is once the model gets trained on pointlevel (specific x,y coordinates) measurements, the predictions of the model refer again to point-level. These point-level predictions reduce the applicability of those solutions once a lot of early warning and mitigation actions applications need predictions for an area level, such as a municipality, village, etc... In this study, we apply a data-driven predictive model, which relies on public-open satellite Earth Observation and geospatial data and gets trained with historical point-level in-Situ measurements of mosquito abundance. Then we propose a methodology to extract information from a point-level predictive model to a broader area-level prediction. Our methodology relies on the randomly spatial sampling of the area of interest (similar to the Poisson hardcore process), obtaining the EO and geomorphological information for each sample, doing the point-wise prediction for each sample, and aggregating the predictions to represent the average mosquito abundance of the area. We quantify the performance of the transformation from the pointlevel to the area-level predictions, and we analyze it in order to understand which parameters have a positive or negative impact on it. The goal of this study is to propose a methodology that predicts the mosquito abundance of a given area by relying on point-level prediction and to provide qualitative insights regarding the expected performance of the area-level prediction. We applied our methodology to historical data (of Culex pipiens) of two areas of interest (Veneto region of Italy and Central Macedonia of Greece). In both cases, the results were consistent. The mean mosquito abundance of a given area can be estimated with similar accuracy to the point-level predictor, sometimes even better. The density of the samples that we use to represent one area has a positive effect on the performance in contrast to the actual number of sampling points which is not informative at all regarding the performance without the size of the area. Additionally, we saw that the distance between the sampling points and the real in-situ measurements that were used for training did not strongly affect the performance.

Keywords: mosquito abundance, supervised machine learning, culex pipiens, spatial sampling, west nile virus, earth observation data

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Authors: Sumanta Kumar Saha, Jie Qin

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This study analyzes the impact of financial inclusion on gender inequality in 126 countries belonging to different income groups during the 2005–2019 period. Due to its positive influence on poverty alleviation, economic growth, women empowerment, and income inequality reduction, financial inclusion may help reduce gender equality. This study constructs a novel composite financial inclusion index and applies both fixed-effect panel estimation and instrumental variable approach to examine the impact of financial inclusion on gender inequality. The results indicate that financial inclusion can reduce gender inequality in developing and low- and lower-middle-income countries, but not in higher-income countries. The impact is not always immediate. Past financial inclusion initiatives have a significant influence on future gender inequality. Financial inclusion is also significant if the poverty level is high and women's access to financial services is low compared to men. When the poverty level is low, or women have equal access to financial services, financial inclusion does not significantly affect gender inequality. The study finds that compulsory education and improvement in institutional quality promote gender equality in developing countries apart from financial inclusion. The study proposes that lower-income countries use financial inclusion initiatives to improve gender equality. Other countries need to focus on other aspects such as promoting educational support and institutional quality improvements to achieve gender equality.

Keywords: financial inclusion, gender inequality, institutional quality, women empowerment

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Authors: Nassima Behidj-Benyounes, Nadjiba Chebouti, Thoraya Dahmane, Amina Henni

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This work examines the study of the antimicrobrial effect of oil extracted from the seeds of Argania spinosa L. (Sapotaceae) in the area of Stida (Mostaganem). This natural substance is extracted by using the Soxhlet. The antimicrobial activity of this oil is evaluated on several microorganisms. It has been tested on five bacterial strains; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. The extract has been studied by using Candida albicans. It should be noted that these agents are characterized by a high frequency of contamination and pathogenicity. Through this study, we note that these microorganisms are moderately sensitive to the argan oil.

Keywords: Argania spinosa, oil, several microorganisms, almonds, antimicrobial activity

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Authors: Seyed Davar Siadat, Samira Tarashi, Abolfazl Fateh, Arfa Moshiri

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Background: The global health issue of tuberculosis (TB) still affects patients in every country. TB control may not be as effective as it should be, especially when resistant strains are involved. In this regard, mycobacterial MTases play a major role in tuberculosis, but the mechanisms underlying their function have yet to be fully deciphered. Methods: Five resistant isolates of M.tb were accumulated. As a reference strain, M.tb H37Rv (ATCC 27249) was used. For this analysis, seven putative mycobacterial MTase genes (Rv0645c, Rv1694, Rv2966c, Rv3919c, Rv2756c, Rv1988, and Rv3263), as well as Rv1392 as SAM synthase, were selected. Comparing mutations and expression levels of MTases in different strains was accomplished by PCR-sequencing and qRT-PCR. The relative expression levels of these genes were calculated using the 2 -ΔΔCt method. Results: The Rv3919c gene (T to G in codon 341) and Rv1392 gene (G to A in codon 97) were the only mutations found in the INHR strain. In all sensitive and resistant isolates, Rv0645c, Rv3263, Rv2756c, and Rv2966c were overexpressed. However, the expression of Rv1988 and Rv3919c decreased in the sensitive strains, whereas the expression of Rv1694 increased. There was also a decreased expression of Rv1392 in the INHR isolate. Conclusion: The presence of mycobacterial MTases as well as resistance to antibiotics were found to be correlated in M.tb strains. Undoubtedly, there are some MTases that are associated with the virulence process. It is necessary to conduct additional studies to fully explore the impact of mycobacterial MTases within specific strains of M.tb to develop novel diagnostic and treatment strategies.

Keywords: mycobacterium tuberculosis, drug resistance, methyltransferases, s-adenosylmethionine

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Authors: Haggag H. Mohamed, Ghatass F. Zekry, Shalaby A. Elsayed

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Most sources of air pollution in Egypt are of anthropogenic origin. Alexandria Governorate is located at north of Egypt. The main contributing sectors of air pollution in Alexandria are industry, transportation and area source due to human activities. Alexandria includes more than 40% of the industrial activities in Egypt. Cement manufacture contributes a significant amount to the particulate pollution load. Alexandria Portland Cement Company (APCC) surrounding was selected to be the study area. APCC main kiln stack Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) continuous monitoring data was collected for assessment of dust emission control technology. Electro Static Precipitator (ESP) was fixed on the cement kiln since 2002. The collected data of TSP for first quarter of 2012 was compared to that one in first quarter of 2013 after installation of new bag house filter. In the present study, based on these monitoring data and metrological data a detailed air dispersion modeling investigation was carried out using the Industrial Source Complex Short Term model (ISC3-ST) to find out the impact of applying new bag house filter control technology on the neighborhood ambient air quality. The model results show a drastic reduction of the ambient TSP hourly average concentration from 44.94μg/m3 to 5.78μg/m3 which assures the huge positive impact on the ambient air quality by applying bag house filter technology on APCC cement kiln

Keywords: air pollution modeling, ambient air quality, baghouse filter, cement industry

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Authors: Pradipta Chandra, Titas Bhattacharjee, Bhaskar Bhowmick

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The foundation of economy in India is primarily based on agriculture while this is the most neglected in the rural setting. More significantly, household women take part in agriculture with higher involvement. However, because of lower education of women they have limited access towards financial decisions, land ownership and technology but they have vital role towards the individual family level. There are limited studies on the institution-wise training barriers with the focus of gender disparity. The main purpose of this paper is to find out the factors of institution-wise training (non-formal education) barriers in technology transfer with the focus of participation of rural women in agriculture. For this study primary and secondary data were collected in the line of qualitative and quantitative approach. Qualitative data were collected by several field visits in the adjacent areas of Seva-Bharati, Seva Bharati Krishi Vigyan Kendra through semi-structured questionnaires. In the next level detailed field surveys were conducted with close-ended questionnaires scored on the seven-point Likert scale. Sample size was considered as 162. During the data collection the focus was to include women although some biasness from the end of respondents and interviewer might exist due to dissimilarity in observation, views etc. In addition to that the heterogeneity of sample is not very high although female participation is more than fifty percent. Data were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) technique with the outcome of three significant factors of training barriers in technology adoption by farmers: (a) Failure of technology transfer training (TTT) comprehension interprets that the technology takers, i.e., farmers can’t understand the technology either language barrier or way of demonstration exhibited by the experts/ trainers. (b) Failure of TTT customization, articulates that the training for individual farmer, gender crop or season-wise is not tailored. (c) Failure of TTT generalization conveys that absence of common training methods for individual trainers for specific crops is more prominent at the community level. The central finding is that the technology transfer training method can’t fulfill the need of the farmers under an economically challenged area. The impact of such study is very high in the area of dry lateritic and resource crunch area of Jangalmahal under Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal and areas with similar socio-economy. Towards the policy level decision this research may help in framing digital agriculture for implementation of the appropriate information technology for the farming community, effective and timely investment by the government with the selection of beneficiary, formation of farmers club/ farm science club etc. The most important research implication of this study lies upon the contribution towards the knowledge diffusion mechanism of the agricultural sector in India. Farmers may overcome the barriers to achieve higher productivity through adoption of modern farm practices. Corporates will be interested in agro-sector through investment under corporate social responsibility (CSR). The research will help in framing public or industry policy and land use pattern. Consequently, a huge mass of rural farm-women will be empowered and farmer community will be benefitted.

Keywords: dry lateritic zone, institutional barriers, technology transfer in India, farm-women participation

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Authors: O. A. Ajigini, E. N. Mwim

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Cybersecurity is the protection of computers, programs, networks, and data from attack, damage, unauthorised, unintended access, change, or destruction. Organisations collect, process and store their confidential and sensitive information on computers and transmit this data across networks to other computers. Moreover, the advent of internet technologies has led to various cyberattacks resulting in dangerous consequences for organisations. Therefore, with the increase in the volume and sophistication of cyberattacks, there is a need to develop models and make recommendations for the management of cybersecurity threats in organisations. This paper reports on various threats that cause malicious damage to organisations in cyberspace and provides measures on how these threats can be eliminated or reduced. The paper explores various aspects of protection measures against cybersecurity threats such as handling of sensitive data, network security, protection of information assets and cybersecurity awareness. The paper posits a model and recommendations on how to manage cybersecurity threats in organisations effectively. The model and the recommendations can then be utilised by organisations to manage the threats affecting their cyberspace. The paper provides valuable information to assist organisations in managing their cybersecurity threats and hence protect their computers, programs, networks and data in cyberspace. The paper aims to assist organisations to protect their information assets and data from cyberthreats as part of the contributions toward community engagement.

Keywords: confidential information, cyberattacks, cybersecurity, cyberspace, sensitive information

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Authors: Hamed Mohamed Haggag

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Prior to 12 November 1955, no earthquakes have been reported from the Abu Dabbab area in the International Seismological Center catalogue (ISC). The largest earthquake in Abu Dabbab area occurred on November 12, 1955 with magnitude Mb 6.0. The closest station from the epicenter was at Helwan (about 700 km to the north), so the depth of this event is not constrained and no foreshocks or aftershocks were recorded. Two other earthquakes of magnitude Mb 4.5 and 5.2 took place in the same area on March 02, 1982 and July 02, 1984, respectively. Since the installation of Aswan Seismic Network stations in 1982, (250-300 km to the south-west of Abu Dabbab area) then the Egyptian Natoinal Seismic Network stations, it was possible to record some activity from Abu Dabbab area. The recorded earthquakes at Abu Dabbab area as recorded from 1982 to 2014 shows that the earthquake epicenters are distributed in the same direction of the main trends of the faults in the area, which is parallel to the Red Sea coast. The spectral analysis was made for some earthquakes. The source parameters, seismic moment (Mo), source dimension (r), stress drop (Δδ), and apparent stress (δ) are determined for these events. The spectral analysis technique was completed using MAG software program.

Keywords: Abu Dabbab, seismicity, seismic moment, source parameter

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Authors: Brandtner Patrick, Staberhofer Franz

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Logistics and Supply Chain Management are of crucial importance for organisational success. In the era of Digitalization, several implications and improvement potentials for these domains arise, which at the same time could lead to decreased competitiveness and could endanger long-term company success if ignored or neglected. However, empirical research on the issue of Digitalization and benefits purported to it by practitioners is scarce and mainly focused on single technologies or separate, isolated Supply Chain blocks as e.g. distribution logistics or procurement only. The current paper applies a holistic focus group approach to elaborate practitioner use cases at the nexus of the concepts of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Digitalization. In the course of three focus group workshops with over 45 participants from more than 20 organisations, a comprehensive set of benefit entitlements and areas for improvement in terms of applying digitalization to SCM is developed. The main results of the paper indicate the relevance of Digitalization being realized in practice. In the form of seventeen concrete research action fields, the benefit entitlements are aggregated and transformed into potential starting points for future research projects in this area. The main contribution of this paper is an empirically grounded basis for future research projects and an overview of actual research action fields from practitioners’ point of view.

Keywords: digital supply chain, digital transformation, supply chain management, value networks

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Authors: Nargiza Nuralieva

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This meta-analysis investigates the effectiveness of mental health interventions tailored for international students in China, with a specific focus on Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. The comprehensive literature review synthesizes existing studies, papers, and reports, evaluating the outcomes, limitations, and cultural considerations of these programs. Data selection targets mental health programs for international students, honing in on a subset analysis related to Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. The analysis encompasses diverse outcome measures, such as reported stress levels, utilization rates of mental health services, academic performance, and more. Results reveal a consistent and statistically significant reduction in reported stress levels, emphasizing the positive impact of these interventions. Utilization rates of mental health services witness a significant increase, highlighting the accessibility and effectiveness of support. Retention rates show marked improvement, though academic performance yields mixed findings, prompting nuanced exploration. Psychological well-being, quality of life, and overall well-being exhibit substantial enhancements, aligning with the overarching goal of holistic student development. Positive outcomes are observed in increased help-seeking behavior, positive correlations with social support, and significant reductions in anxiety levels. Cultural adaptation and satisfaction with interventions both indicate positive outcomes, underscoring the effectiveness of culturally sensitive mental health support. The findings emphasize the importance of tailored mental health interventions for international students, providing novel insights into the specific needs of Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted impact of mental health programs on diverse student populations, offering valuable implications for the design and refinement of future interventions. As educational institutions continue to globalize, addressing the mental health needs of international students remains pivotal for fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments.

Keywords: international students, mental health interventions, cross-cultural support, silk road scholarship, meta-analysis

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Authors: Zuoji Huang, Jinyan Sun, Chunlin Wang, Haiming Qian, Nan Xu

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The spatial extent and area of central river bars can always vary due to the impact of water level, sediment supply and human activities. In 2016, a catastrophic flood disaster caused by sustained and heavy rainfall happened in the middle and lower Yangtze River. The flood led to the most serious economic and social loss since 1954, and strongly affected the central river bar. It is essential to continuously monitor the dynamics change of central bars because it can avoid frequent field measurements in central bars before and after the flood disaster and is helpful for flood warning. This paper focused on the dynamic change of central bars of Phoenix bar and Changsha bar in the Yangtze River in 2016. In this study, GF-1 (GaoFen-1) WFV(wide field view) data was employed owing to its high temporal frequency and high spatial resolution. A simple NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) method was utilized for river central bar mapping. Human-checking was then performed to ensure the mapping quality. The relationship between the area of central bars and the measured water level was estimated using four mathematical models. Furthermore, a risk assessment index was proposed to map the spatial pattern of inundation risk of central bars. The results indicate a good ability of the GF-1 WFV imagery with a 16-m spatial resolution to characterize the seasonal variation of central river bars and to capture the impact of a flood disaster on the area of central bars. This paper observed a significant negative but nonlinear relationship between the water level and the area of central bars, and found that the cubic function fits best among four models (R² = 0.9839, P < 0.000001, RMSE = 0.4395). The maximum of the inundated area of central bars appeared during the rainy season on July 8, 2016, and the minimum occurred during the dry season on December 28, 2016, which are consistent with the water level measured by the hydrological station. The results derived from GF-1 data could provide a useful reference for decision-making of real-time disaster early warning and post-disaster reconstruction.

Keywords: central bars, dynamic change, water level, the Yangtze river

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Authors: Mahsa Tavakoli, Seyed Mohammad Hojjati, Yahya Kooch

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In this study, the effect of coal mining activities on lead and cadmium concentrations and distribution in soil was investigated in Hyrcanian forest, North Iran. 16 plots (20×20 m²) were established by systematic-randomly (60×60 m²) in an area of 4 ha (200×200 m²-mine entrance placed at center). An area adjacent to the mine was not affected by the mining activity; considered as the controlled area. In order to investigate soil lead and cadmium concentration, one sample was taken from the 0-10 cm in each plot. To study the spatial pattern of soil properties and lead and cadmium concentrations in the mining area, an area of 80×80m² (the mine as the center) was considered and 80 soil samples were systematic-randomly taken (10 m intervals). Geostatistical analysis was performed via Kriging method and GS⁺ software (version 5.1). In order to estimate the impact of coal mining activities on soil quality, pollution index was measured. Lead and cadmium concentrations were significantly higher in mine area (Pb: 10.97±0.30, Cd: 184.47±6.26 mg.kg^-1) in comparison to control area (Pb: 9.42±0.17, Cd: 131.71±15.77 mg.kg^-1). The mean values of the PI index indicate that Pb (1.16) and Cd (1.77) presented slightly polluted. Results of the NIPI index showed that Pb (1.44) and Cd (2.52) presented slight pollution and moderate pollution respectively. Results of variography and kriging method showed that it is possible to prepare interpolation maps of lead and cadmium around the mining areas in Hyrcanian forest. According to results of pollution and risk assessments, forest soil was contaminated by heavy metals (lead and cadmium); therefore, using reclamation and remediation techniques in these areas is necessary.

Keywords: traditional coal mining, heavy metals, pollution indicators, geostatistics, Caspian forest

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Authors: Shahid Iqbal

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It is observed that international migration is increased over a time period in all over the world counties and Pakistan is not escaped. It played a pivotal role in household economy and affecting the gender roles both positive and negative in the developing countries. A vast majority of males from Pakistan migrate to other countries in search of employment and income generating activities and their families left behind, particularly nuclear families are subjected to different social problems. In this scenario, most of the responsibilities lie on the female partners as they have to play the role of male as well as female for their children and household chores. Wives of some males feel loneliness, isolation and a sense of insecurity. Keeping in mind, these realities, this study aims to explore the social impact of husbands’ absentee ship on the lives of families left behind. Particularly, wives’ own experiences will be analyzed. This study will be carried out in the District Gujrat of Punjab Pakistan. Since this study will focus on observing the social impact of male’s migration on families, so, all the households that had at least one member abroad will be the potential respondents of the study. Purposes sampling technique will be used as method to locate the respondents. A focus group discussion will be conducted as a tool for the collection of data. Those women will be approached who are taking care of their families in the absence of their husbands for last three years. For the sake of analysis Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) will be applied and researcher will explore how participants make sense of their personal experience and social world.

Keywords: social consequences, male migration, left behind, absentee ship, Pakistan

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Authors: Sachin Sharma

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A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of a large number of sensor nodes which are deployed over an area to perform local computations based on information gathered from the surroundings. With the increasing demand for real-time applications in WSN, real-time critical events anticipate an efficient quality-of-service (QoS) based routing for data delivery from the network infrastructure. Hence, maximizing the lifetime of the network through minimizing the energy is an important challenge in WSN; sensors cannot be easily replaced or recharged due to their ad-hoc deployment in a hazardous environment. Considerable research has been focused on developing robust energy efficient QoS based routing protocols. The main focus of this article is primarily on periodical cycling schemes which represent the most compatible technique for energy saving and we also focus on the data-driven approaches that can be used to improve the energy efficiency. Finally, we will make a review on some communication protocols proposed for sensor networks.

Keywords: energy efficient, quality of service, wireless sensor networks, MAC

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Authors: Yurike, Yonariza, Rudi Febriamansyah, Syafruddin Karimi

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Forest is a natural resource that has an important function as a supporting element of human life. Forest degradation enormous impact on global warming is a reality we have experienced together, that disruption of ecosystems, extreme weather conditions, disruption of water management system watersheds and the threat of natural disasters as floods, landslides and droughts, even disruption food security. Dharmasraya is a district in the province of West Sumatra, which has an area of 92.150 ha of forest, which is largely a former production forest concessions (Forest Management Rights) which is supposed to be a secondary forest. This study answers about the impact of land use in the former concession area Dharmasraya on the environment. The methodology used is the household survey, key informants, and satellite data / GIS. From the results of the study, the former concession area in Dharmasraya experienced a reduction of forest cover over time significantly. Forest concessions should be secondary forests in Dharmasraya, now turned conversion to oil palm plantations. Population pressures and growing economic pressures, resulting in more intensive harvesting. As a result of these forest disturbances caused changes in forest functions. These changes put more emphasis towards economic function by ignoring social functions or ecological function. Society prefers to maximize their benefits today and pay less attention to the protection of natural resources. This causes global warming is increasing and this is not only felt by people around Dharmasraya but also the world. Land clearing by the community through a process in slash and burn. This fire was observed by NOAA satellites and recorded by the Forest Service of West Sumatra. This demonstrates the ability of trees felled trees to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) to be lost, even with forest fires accounted for carbon dioxide emitted into the air, and this has an impact on global warming. In addition to the change of control of land into oil palm plantations water service has been poor, people began to trouble the water and oil palm plantations are located in the watershed caused the river dried up. Through the findings of this study is expected to contribute ideas to the policy makers to pay more attention to the former concession forest management as the prevention or reduction of global warming.

Keywords: climate change, community, concession forests, environment

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Authors: Jannika Dombrowski, Sabine Ambros, Ulrich Kulozik

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Several drying techniques are used to preserve sensitive substances such as probiotic lactic acid bacteria. With the aim to better understand differences between these processes, this work gives new insights into structural variations resulting from different preservation methods and their impact on product quality and storage stability. Industrially established methods (freeze drying, spray drying) were compared to upcoming vacuum, microwave-freeze, and microwave-vacuum drying. For freeze and microwave-freeze dried samples, survival and activity maintained 100%, whereas vacuum and microwave-vacuum dried cultures achieved 30-40% survival. Spray drying yielded in lowest viability. The results are directly related to temperature and oxygen content during drying. Interestingly, most storage stable products resulted from vacuum and microwave-vacuum drying due to denser product structures as determined by helium pycnometry and SEM images. Further, lower water adsorption velocities were responsible for lower inactivation rates. Concluding, resulting product structures as well as survival rates and storage stability mainly depend on the type of water removal instead of energy input. Microwave energy compared to conductive heating did not lead to significant differences regarding the examined factors. Correlations could be proven for three investigated microbial strains. The presentation will be completed by an overview on the energy efficiency of the presented methods.

Keywords: drying techniques, energy efficiency, lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, survival rates, structure characterization

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Authors: Takahiro Nishimura, Kouki Doi, Hiroshi Fujimoto

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Touch-sensitive screens that serve as displays and input devices have been adopted in many portable terminals such as smartphones and personal media players, and the market of touch-sensitive screens has expanded greatly. One of the advantages of touch-sensitive screen is the flexibility in the graphical user interface (GUI) design, and it is imperative to design an appropriate GUI to realize an easy-to-use interface. Moreover, it is important to evaluate the relationship between pointing performance and GUI design. There is much knowledge regarding easy-to-use GUI designs for portable terminals with touch-sensitive screens, and most have focused on GUI design approaches for women or children with small hands. In contrast, GUI design approaches for users with large hands have not received sufficient attention. In this study, to obtain knowledge that contributes to the establishment of individualized easy-to-use GUI design guidelines, we conducted experiments to investigate the relationship between thumb length and pointing performance on portable terminals with touch-sensitive screens. In this study, fourteen college students who participated in the experiment were divided into two groups based on the length of their thumbs. Specifically, we categorized the participants into two groups, thumbs longer than 64.2 mm into L (Long) group, and thumbs longer than 57.4 mm but shorter than 64.2 mm into A (Average) group, based on Japanese anthropometric database. They took part in this study under the authorization of Waseda University’s ‘Ethics Review Committee on Research with Human Subjects’. We created an application for the experimental task and implemented it on the projected capacitive touch-sensitive screen portable terminal (iPod touch (4th generation)). The display size was 3.5 inch and 960 × 640 - pixel resolution at 326 ppi (pixels per inch). This terminal was selected as the experimental device, because of its wide use and market share. The operational procedure of the application is as follows. First, the participants placed their thumb on the start position. Then, one cross-shaped target in a 10 × 7 array of 70 positions appeared at random. The participants pointed the target with their thumb as accurately and as fast as possible. Then, they returned their thumb to the start position and waited. The operation ended when this procedure had been repeated until all 70 targets had each been pointed at once by the participants. We adopted the evaluation indices for absolute error, variable error, and pointing time to investigate pointing performance when using the portable terminal. The results showed that pointing performance varied with thumb length. In particular, on the lower right side of the screen, the performance of L group with long thumb was low. Further, we presented an approach for designing easy-to- use button GUI for users with long thumbs. The contributions of this study include revelation of the relationship between pointing performance and user’s thumb length when using a portable terminal in terms of accuracy, precision, and speed of pointing. We hope that these findings contribute to an easy-to-use GUI design for users with large hands.

Keywords: pointing performance, portable terminal, thumb length, touch-sensitive screen

Procedia PDF Downloads 145