Search results for: small scale agriculture

Authors: Kevin Potoczny, Katsuichiro Goda

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The St. Lawrence lowlands extend from Ottawa to Quebec City and are known for large deposits of sensitive Leda clay. Leda clay deposits are responsible for many large landslides, such as the 1993 Lemieux and 2010 St. Jude (4 fatalities) landslides. Due to the large extent and sensitivity of Leda clay, regional hazard analysis for landslides is an important tool in risk management. A 2018 regional study by Farzam et al. on the susceptibility of Leda clay slopes to landslide hazard uses 1 arc second topographical data. A qualitative method known as Hazus is used to estimate susceptibility by checking for various criteria in a location and determine a susceptibility rating on a scale of 0 (no susceptibility) to 10 (very high susceptibility). These criteria are slope angle, geological group, soil wetness, and distance from waterbodies. Given the flat nature of St. Lawrence lowlands, the current assessment fails to capture local slopes, such as the St. Jude site. Additionally, the data did not allow one to analyze failure planes accurately. This study majorly improves the analysis performed by Farzam et al. in two aspects. First, regional assessment with high resolution data allows for identification of local locations that may have been previously identified as low susceptibility. This then provides the opportunity to conduct a more refined analysis on the failure plane of the slope. Slopes derived from 1 arc second data are relatively gentle (0-10 degrees) across the region; however, the 1- and 2-meter resolution 2022 HRDEM provided by NRCAN shows that short, steep slopes are present. At a regional level, 1 arc second data can underestimate the susceptibility of short, steep slopes, which can be dangerous as Leda clay landslides behave retrogressively and travel upwards into flatter terrain. At the location of the St. Jude landslide, slope differences are significant. 1 arc second data shows a maximum slope of 12.80 degrees and a mean slope of 4.72 degrees, while the HRDEM data shows a maximum slope of 56.67 degrees and a mean slope of 10.72 degrees. This equates to a difference of three susceptibility levels when the soil is dry and one susceptibility level when wet. The use of GIS software is used to create a regional susceptibility map across the St. Lawrence lowlands at 1- and 2-meter resolutions. Failure planes are necessary to differentiate between small and large landslides, which have so far been ignored in regional analysis. Leda clay failures can only retrogress as far as their failure planes, so the regional analysis must be able to transition smoothly into a more robust local analysis. It is expected that slopes within the region, once previously assessed at low susceptibility scores, contain local areas of high susceptibility. The goal is to create opportunities for local failure plane analysis to be undertaken, which has not been possible before. Due to the low resolution of previous regional analyses, any slope near a waterbody could be considered hazardous. However, high-resolution regional analysis would allow for more precise determination of hazard sites.

Keywords: hazus, high-resolution DEM, leda clay, regional analysis, susceptibility

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Authors: Himanshu Singh, Rishi Kant, Shantanu Bhattacharya

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This paper adopts a top-down approach for mathematical modeling to predict the size reduction from micro to nano-scale through persistent etching. The process is simulated using a finite difference approach. Previously, various researchers have simulated the etching process for 1-D and 2-D substrates. It consists of two processes: 1) Convection-Diffusion in the etchant domain; 2) Chemical reaction at the surface of the particle. Since the process requires analysis along moving boundary, partial differential equations involved cannot be solved using conventional methods. In 1-D, this problem is very similar to Stefan's problem of moving ice-water boundary. A fixed grid method using finite volume method is very popular for modelling of etching on a one and two dimensional substrate. Other popular approaches include moving grid method and level set method. In this method, finite difference method was used to discretize the spherical diffusion equation. Due to symmetrical distribution of etchant, the angular terms in the equation can be neglected. Concentration is assumed to be constant at the outer boundary. At the particle boundary, the concentration of the etchant is assumed to be zero since the rate of reaction is much faster than rate of diffusion. The rate of reaction is proportional to the velocity of the moving boundary of the particle. Modelling of the above reaction was carried out using Matlab. The initial particle size was taken to be 50 microns. The density, molecular weight and diffusion coefficient of the substrate were taken as 2.1 gm/cm3, 60 and 10-5 cm2/s respectively. The etch-rate was found to decline initially and it gradually became constant at 0.02µ/s (1.2µ/min). The concentration profile was plotted along with space at different time intervals. Initially, a sudden drop is observed at the particle boundary due to high-etch rate. This change becomes more gradual with time due to declination of etch rate.

Keywords: particle size reduction, micromixer, FDM modelling, wet etching

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Authors: Nurul-Akidah M. Yusak, Rahmah Mohamed, Noor Zuhaira Abd Aziz

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The introduction of degradable plastic materials into agricultural sectors has represented a promising alternative to promote green agriculture and environmental friendly of modern farming practices. Major challenges of developing degradable agricultural films are to identify the most feasible types of degradation mechanisms, composition of degradable polymers and related processing techniques. The incorrect choice of degradable mechanisms to be applied during the degradation process will cause premature losses of mechanical performance and strength. In order to achieve controlled process of agricultural film degradation, the compositions of degradable agricultural film also important in order to stimulate degradation reaction at required interval of time and to achieve sustainability of the modern agricultural practices. A set of photodegradable polyethylene based agricultural film was developed and produced, following the selective optimization of processing parameters of the agricultural film manufacturing system. Example of agricultural films application for oil palm seedlings cultivation is presented.

Keywords: photodegradable polyethylene, plasticulture, processing schemes

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Authors: Alastair Hales, Xi Jiang, Siming Zhang

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Numerical methods are used to generate vortices in a domain. Through considered design, two counter-rotating vortices may interact and effectively drive one another downstream. This phenomenon is comparable to the vortex interaction that occurs in a region immediately downstream from two counter-oscillating piezoelectric (PE) fan blades. PE fans are small blades clamped at one end and driven to oscillate at their first natural frequency by an extremely low powered actuator. In operation, the high oscillation amplitude and frequency generate sufficient blade tip speed through the surrounding air to create downstream air flow. PE fans are considered an ideal solution for low power hot spot cooling in a range of small electronic devices, but a single blade does not typically induce enough air flow to be considered a direct alternative to conventional air movers, such as axial fans. The development of face-to-face PE fan arrays containing multiple blades oscillating in counter-phase to one another is essential for expanding the range of potential PE fan applications regarding the cooling of power electronics. Even in an unoptimised state, these arrays are capable of moving air volumes comparable to axial fans with less than 50% of the power demand. Replicating the airflow generated by face-to-face PE fan arrays without including the actual blades in the model reduces the process’s computational demands and enhances the rate of innovation and development in the field. Vortices are generated at a defined inlet using a time-dependent velocity profile function, which pulsates the inlet air velocity magnitude. This induces vortex generation in the considered domain, and these vortices are shown to separate and propagate downstream in a regular manner. The generation and propagation of a single vortex are compared to an equivalent vortex generated from a PE fan blade in a previous experimental investigation. Vortex separation is found to be accurately replicated in the present numerical model. Additionally, the downstream trajectory of the vortices’ centres vary by just 10.5%, and size and strength of the vortices differ by a maximum of 10.6%. Through non-dimensionalisation, the numerical method is shown to be valid for PE fan blades with differing parameters to the specific case investigated. The thorough validation methods presented verify that the numerical model may be used to replicate vortex formation from an oscillating PE fans blade. An investigation is carried out to evaluate the effects of varying the distance between two PE fan blade, pitch. At small pitch, the vorticity in the domain is maximised, along with turbulence in the near vicinity of the inlet zones. It is proposed that face-to-face PE fan arrays, oscillating in counter-phase, should have a minimal pitch to optimally cool nearby heat sources. On the other hand, downstream airflow is maximised at a larger pitch, where the vortices can fully form and effectively drive one another downstream. As such, this should be implemented when bulk airflow generation is the desired result.

Keywords: piezoelectric fans, low energy cooling, vortex formation, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Awais Ahmad, Mudssar Ali

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Berseem is the major fodder crop grown in Pakistan and is highly preferred by cattle farmers due to its multicut nature and nutritious value. The quality seed production in berseem is largely dependent upon the activities of insect pollinators, particularly bees. In order to determine the effectiveness of native bee species in quality seed production of berseem, an experiment was conducted in the research field of MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. The pollinator community of berseem was composed of four bees, three syrphid fly, and two butterfly species. Pesudapis sp. was the most abundant insect visitor, followed by Apis mellifera and A. dorsata. The visitation rate of A. mellifera was found highest, followed by Pesudapis sp. and A. dorsata. Moreover, single-visit efficacy in terms of seed per head and 1000 seed weight proved A. mellifera and Pesudapis sp as the most effective pollinators. Conserving these bee species may lead to sustainable berseem seed production in Pakistan.

Keywords: honey bees, syrphid fly, visitation rate, single visit

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Authors: Yehia Manawi, Ahmad Kayvanifard

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Membrane distillation is an emerging technology which has been used to produce freshwater and purify different types of aqueous mixtures. Qatar is an arid country where almost 100% of its freshwater demand is supplied through the energy-intensive thermal desalination process. The country’s need for water has reached an all-time high which stipulates finding an alternative way to augment freshwater without adding any drastic affect to the environment. The objective of this paper was to investigate the potential of using the industrial low grade waste heat to produce freshwater using membrane distillation. The main part of this work was conducting a heat audit on selected Qatari chemical industries to estimate the amounts of freshwater produced if such industrial waste heat were to be recovered. By the end of this work, the main objective was met and the heat audit conducted on the Qatari chemical industries enabled us to estimate both the amounts of waste heat which can be potentially recovered in addition to the amounts of freshwater which can be produced if such waste heat were to be recovered. By the end, the heat audit showed that around 605 Mega Watts of waste heat can be recovered from the studied Qatari chemical industries which resulted in a total daily production of 5078.7 cubic meter of freshwater. This water can be used in a wide variety of applications such as human consumption or industry. The amount of produced freshwater may look small when compared to that produced through thermal desalination plants; however, one must bear in mind that this water comes from waste and can be used to supply water for small cities or remote areas which are not connected to the water grid. The idea of producing freshwater from the two widely-available wastes (thermal rejected brine and waste heat) seems promising as less environmental and economic impacts will be associated with freshwater production which may in the near future augment the conventional way of producing freshwater currently being thermal desalination. This work has shown that low grade waste heat in the chemical industries in Qatar and perhaps the rest of the world can contribute to additional production of freshwater using membrane distillation without significantly adding to the environmental impact.

Keywords: membrane distillation, desalination, heat recovery, environment

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Authors: Supriady R. P. Siregar, Rizki Barkah Aulia, Dhiya Fadilla Dewi

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Polybag is a plastic that is used to seed plants. The common type that used for polybag is a synthetic that made from petroleum such as polyethylene. Beside the character of the raw material that are non-renewable and limited, synthetic polybag ability to disintegrate in the environment is very low. According to that situation, we need a solution to overcome these problems by creating an environmentally friendly polybag. In this research, using the water hyacinth plant fibers (Eichornia crassipes) as a major component in manufacturing the environmentally friendly polybag, the water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) contains approximately 60% cellulose. The research method used is an experiment by testing the mechanical characters and biodegradability bio-polybag water hyacinth fibers (Eichornia crassipes) on three medium that is dissolved in water, river water and buried in soil. The research shows bio-polybag of hyacinth fibers can rapidly degraded. This study is expected to be the beginning of the creation bio-polybag of water hyacinth fiber (Eichornia crassipes) and can be applied in agriculture.

Keywords: revolution, biopolybag, renewable, environment

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Authors: Paulina Pergoł, Paulina Pergoł, Tomasz Kryczka

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Aging of societies is a phenomenon that is visible all over the world. The above has social, economic, and medical consequences. Many methods of pro-health stimulation of the elderly, improving cognitive functions and quality of life, are described in the world literature. The most frequently used method of activating the elderly is physical activity, in which, in addition to standard exercise programs, activities such as dance, tai chi, and yoga are often introduced. The introduction of physical activity may be limited due to the disability that often accompanies people aged 65+. Other activating methods mentioned in the literature are therapies with the participation of animals - animal therapy or plant therapy - hortitherapy, as well as music therapy, which is increasingly popular. All of the above-mentioned therapeutic methods require the involvement of a person who would conduct the so-called occupational therapist, which can be a financial barrier for many nursing homes. Researchers all over the world are trying to find solutions that can be applied in any care institution, even in those where financial support for running such centers is small. One of the forms of therapy that is recommended in the group of elderly people and which does not require large financial outlays is the so-called reminiscence therapy based on recalling personal experiences and experiences. Thanks to reminiscence therapy, seniors can return to happy moments in their lives. Research shows that reminiscence therapy increases self-esteem and reduces symptoms of depression. The method of activating older people with the use of correspondence can be an effective and low-cost form of therapy, as shown by the pilot study conducted in 2019 as part of the Queen Silvia Nursing Award competition, consisting in a systematic exchange of correspondence between volunteers and residents of the Nursing Home. This study was conducted with the participation of a small group of participants, therefore, in order to identify and prove the beneficial effect of this form of activation, it should be carried out on a larger group of respondents using standardized scales assessing various psychological parameters.

Keywords: nursing, elderly care, psychiatry, psychology

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Authors: Afnan Al-Romi, Iman Al-Momani

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The urge of applying the Software Engineering (SE) processes is both of vital importance and a key feature in critical, complex large-scale systems, for example, safety systems, security service systems, and network systems. Inevitably, associated with this are risks, such as system vulnerabilities and security threats. The probability of those risks increases in unsecured environments, such as wireless networks in general and in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in particular. WSN is a self-organizing network of sensor nodes connected by wireless links. WSNs consist of hundreds to thousands of low-power, low-cost, multi-function sensor nodes that are small in size and communicate over short-ranges. The distribution of sensor nodes in an open environment that could be unattended in addition to the resource constraints in terms of processing, storage and power, make such networks in stringent limitations such as lifetime (i.e. period of operation) and security. The importance of WSN applications that could be found in many militaries and civilian aspects has drawn the attention of many researchers to consider its security. To address this important issue and overcome one of the main challenges of WSNs, security solution systems have been developed by researchers. Those solutions are software-based network Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs). However, it has been witnessed, that those developed IDSs are neither secure enough nor accurate to detect all malicious behaviours of attacks. Thus, the problem is the lack of coverage of all malicious behaviours in proposed IDSs, leading to unpleasant results, such as delays in the detection process, low detection accuracy, or even worse, leading to detection failure, as illustrated in the previous studies. Also, another problem is energy consumption in WSNs caused by IDS. So, in other words, not all requirements are implemented then traced. Moreover, neither all requirements are identified nor satisfied, as for some requirements have been compromised. The drawbacks in the current IDS are due to not following structured software development processes by researches and developers when developing IDS. Consequently, they resulted in inadequate requirement management, process, validation, and verification of requirements quality. Unfortunately, WSN and SE research communities have been mostly impermeable to each other. Integrating SE and WSNs is a real subject that will be expanded as technology evolves and spreads in industrial applications. Therefore, this paper will study the importance of Requirement Engineering when developing IDSs. Also, it will study a set of existed IDSs and illustrate the absence of Requirement Engineering and its effect. Then conclusions are drawn in regard of applying requirement engineering to systems to deliver the required functionalities, with respect to operational constraints, within an acceptable level of performance, accuracy and reliability.

Keywords: software engineering, requirement engineering, Intrusion Detection System, IDS, Wireless Sensor Networks, WSN

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Authors: Bojana Horvat, Barbara Karleusa, Goran Volf, Nevenka Ozanic, Ivica Kisic

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Forest fire is a major threat in many regions in Croatia, especially in coastal areas. Although they are often caused by natural processes, the most common cause is the human factor, intentional or unintentional. Forest fires drastically transform landscapes and influence natural processes. The main goal of the presented research is to analyse and quantify the impact of the forest fire on hydrological processes and propose the model that best describes changes in hydrological patterns in the analysed catchments. Keeping in mind the spatial component of the processes, geospatial analysis is performed to gain better insight into the spatial variability of the hydrological response to disastrous events. In that respect, two catchments that experienced severe forest fire were delineated, and various hydrological and meteorological data were collected both attribute and spatial. The major drawback is certainly the lack of hydrological data, common in small torrential karstic streams; hence modelling results should be validated with the data collected in the catchment that has similar characteristics and established hydrological monitoring. The event chosen for the modelling is the forest fire that occurred in July 2019 and burned nearly 10% of the analysed area. Surface (land use/land cover) conditions before and after the event were derived from the two Sentinel-2 images. The mapping of the burnt area is based on a comparison of the Normalized Burn Index (NBR) computed from both images. To estimate and compare hydrological behaviour before and after the event, curve number (CN) values are assigned to the land use/land cover classes derived from the satellite images. Hydrological modelling resulted in surface runoff generation and hence prediction of hydrological responses in the catchments to a forest fire event. The research was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation through the project 'Influence of Open Fires on Water and Soil Quality' (IP-2018-01-1645).

Keywords: Croatia, forest fire, geospatial analysis, hydrological response

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Authors: Tapas Kumar Sinha, Joseph Mathew

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At the moment earth is in grave danger due to threats of global warming. The temperature of the earth has risen by almost 20C. Glaciers in the Arctic have started to melt. It would be foolhardy to think that this is a small effect and in time it would go away. Global warming is caused by a number of factors. However, one sure and simple way to totally eliminate this problem is to put programmable shields in space. Just as an umbrella blocks sunlight, a programmable shield in space will block sun rays from reaching the earth as in a solar eclipse and cause cooling in the penumbral region just as it happens during an eclipse.

Keywords: glaciers, green house, global warming space, satellites

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Authors: Calvin Rong, Regina Agassian, Mindy Engle-Friedman

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Climate changes, including rising sea levels and increases in global temperature, can have major effects on resource availability, leading to increased competition for resources and rising food prices. The abstract nature and often delayed consequences of many ecological problems cause people focus on immediate, specific, and personal events and circumstances that compel immediate and emotional involvement. This finding may be explained by the challenges humans have in imagining themselves in the future, a shortcoming that interferes with decision-making involving far-off rewards, and leads people to indicate a lower concern toward the future than to present circumstances. The present study sought to assess whether priming people to think of themselves in the future might strengthen the connection to their future selves and stimulate environmentally-protective behavior. We hypothesize that priming participants to think about themselves in the future would increase concern for the future environment. 45 control participants were primed to think about themselves in the present, and 42 participants were primed to think about themselves in the futures. After priming, the participants rated their concern over access to clean water, food, and energy on a scale of 1 to 10. They also rated their predicted care levels for the environment at age points 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 on a scale of 1(not at all) to 10 (very much). Predicted care levels at age 90 for the experimental group was significantly higher than for the control group. Overall the experimental group rated their concern for resources higher than the control. In comparison to the control group (M=7.60, SD=2.104) participants in the experimental group had greater concern for clean water (M=8.56, SD=1.534). In comparison to the control group (M=7.49, SD=2.041) participants in the experimental group were more concerned about food resources (M=8.41, SD=1.830). In comparison to the control group (M=7.22, SD=1.999) participants in the experimental group were more concerned about energy resources (M=8.07, SD=1.967). This study assessed whether a priming strategy could be used to encourage pro-environmental practices that protect limited resources. Future-self priming helped participants see past short term issues and focus on concern for the future environment.

Keywords: climate change, future, priming, global warming

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Authors: Daniel Martin Fellows, Sean P. Walton, Jennifer Thompson, Oubay Hassan, Kevin Tinkham, Ella Quigley

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Structural integrity for cladding products is a key performance parameter, especially concerning fire performance. Cladding products such as PIR-based sandwich panels are tested rigorously, in line with industrial standards. Physical fire tests are necessary to ensure the customer's safety but can give little information about critical behaviours that can help develop new materials. Numerical modelling is a tool that can help investigate a fire's behaviour further by replicating the fire test. However, fire is an interdisciplinary problem as it is a chemical reaction that behaves fluidly and impacts structural integrity. An analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is needed to capture all aspects of a fire performance test. One method is a two-way coupling analysis that imports the updated changes in thermal data, due to the fire's behaviour, to the FEA solver in a series of iterations. In light of our recent work with Tata Steel U.K using a two-way coupling methodology to determine the fire performance, it has been shown that a program called FDS-2-Abaqus can make predictions of a BS 476 -22 furnace test with a degree of accuracy. The test demonstrated the fire performance of Tata Steel U.K Trisomet product, a Polyisocyanurate (PIR) based sandwich panel used for cladding. Previous works demonstrated the limitations of the current version of the program, the main limitation being the computational cost of modelling three Trisomet panels, totalling an area of 9 . The computational cost increases substantially, with the intention to scale up to an LPS 1181-1 test, which includes a total panel surface area of 200 .The FDS-2-Abaqus program is developed further within this paper to overcome this obstacle and better accommodate Tata Steel U.K PIR sandwich panels. The new developments aim to reduce the computational cost and error margin compared to experimental data. One avenue explored is a multi-scale approach in the form of Reduced Order Modeling (ROM). The approach allows the user to include refined details of the sandwich panels, such as the overlapping joints, without a computationally costly mesh size.Comparative studies will be made between the new implementations and the previous study completed using the original FDS-2-ABAQUS program. Validation of the study will come from physical experiments in line with governing body standards such as BS 476 -22 and LPS 1181-1. The physical experimental data includes the panels' gas and surface temperatures and mechanical deformation. Conclusions are drawn, noting the new implementations' impact factors and discussing the reasonability for scaling up further to a whole warehouse.

Keywords: fire testing, numerical coupling, sandwich panels, thermo fluids

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Authors: Ersin Karakaya, Halit Tutar

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Reliable foods must be consumed in terms of healthy nutrition. The production and dissemination of diatom products in Turkey is rapidly evolving on the basis of preserving ecological balance, ensuring sustainability in agriculture and offering quality, reliable products to consumers. In this study, year in Turkey as (2002- 2015) to determine values of such as cultivated land of organic vegetable production, production levels, production quantity, number of products, number of farmers. It is intended to make the econometric analysis of the factors affecting the production of organic vegetable production (Number of products, Number of farmers and cultivated land). The main material of the study has created secondary data in relation to the 2002-2015 period as organic vegetable production in Turkey and regression analysis of the factors affecting the value of production of organic vegetable is determined by the Least Squares Method with EViews statistical software package.

Keywords: number of farmers, cultivated land, Eviews, Turkey

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Authors: Taimaz Larimian, Negin Sadeghi

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Very little is known about the impacts of urban security on the level of social sustainability within the cities of developing countries. Urban security is still struggling to find its position in the social sustainability agenda, despite the significant role of safety and security on different aspects of peoples’ lives. This paper argues that urban safety and security should be better integrated within the social sustainability framework. With this aim, this study investigates the hypothesized relationship between social sustainability and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) approach at the neighborhood scale. This study proposes a model of key influential dimensions of CPTED analyzed into localized factors and sub-factors. These factors are then prioritized using pairwise comparison logic and fuzzy group Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in order to determine the relative importance of each factor on achieving social sustainability. The proposed model then investigates social sustainability in six case study neighborhoods of Isfahan city based on residents’ perceptions of safety within their neighborhood. Mixed method of data collection is used by using a self-administered questionnaire to explore the residents’ perceptions of social sustainability in their area of residency followed by an on-site observation to measure the CPTED construct. In all, 150 respondents from selected neighborhoods were involved in this research. The model indicates that CPTED approach has a significant direct influence on increasing social sustainability in neighborhood scale. According to the findings, among different dimensions of CPTED, ‘activity support’ and ‘image/ management’ have the most influence on people’s feeling of safety within studied areas. This model represents a useful designing tool in achieving urban safety and security during the development of more socially sustainable and user-friendly urban areas.

Keywords: crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), developing countries, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), social sustainability

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Authors: Wai Yan Shih, Sau Man Wong, Wing Chung Chang, Wai Chi Chan

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Background: Late-life depression is associated with significant consequences. Although symptomatic reduction is achievable through pharmacological interventions, older adults are more vulnerable to the side effects than their younger counterparts. In addition, drugs do not address underlying cognitive dysfunctions such as rumination and reduced autobiographical memory specificity (AMS), both shown to be maladaptive coping styles that are associated with a poorer prognosis in depression. Considering how aging is accompanied by cognitive, psychological and physical changes, the interplay of these age-related factors may potentially aggravate and interfere with these depressive cognitive dysfunctions in late-life depression. Special care should, therefore, be drawn to ensure these cognitive dysfunctions are adequately addressed. Aim: This randomized controlled trial aims to examine the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on depressed older adults, and whether the potential benefits of MBCT are mediated by improvements in rumination and AMS. Method: Fifty-seven participants with an average age of 70 years old were recruited from multiple elderly centers and online mailing lists. Participants were assessed with: (1) Hamilton depression scale, (2) ruminative response scale, (3) autobiographical memory test, (4) mindful attention awareness scale, and (5) Montreal cognitive assessment. Eligible participants with mild to moderate depressive symptoms and normal cognitive functioning were randomly allocated to an 8-week MBCT group or active control group consisting of a low-intensity exercise program and health education. Post-intervention assessments were conducted after the 8-week program. Ethics approval was given by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority. Results: Mixed-factorials ANOVAs demonstrated significant time x group interaction effects for depressive symptoms, AMS, and dispositional mindfulness. A marginally significant interaction effect was found for rumination. Simple effect analyses revealed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms for the both the MBCT group (mean difference = 7.1, p = .000), and control group (mean difference = 2.7, p = .023). However, only participants in the MBCT group demonstrated improvements in rumination, AMS, and dispositional mindfulness. Bootstrapping-based mediation analyses showed that the effect of MBCT in alleviating depressive symptoms was only mediated by the reduction in rumination. Conclusions: The findings support the use of MBCT as an effective intervention for depressed older adults, considering the improvements in depressive symptoms, rumination, AMS and dispositional mindfulness despite their age. Reduction in ruminative tendencies plays a major role in the cognitive mechanism of MBCT.

Keywords: mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, depression, older adults, rumination, autobiographical memory specificity

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Authors: Muhammad Luqman, Mujahid Karim

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Agricultural journalism considered an effective tool in the diffusion of agricultural technologies among the members of farming communities. Various agricultural journalism forms are used by the different organization in order to address the community problems and provide solutions to them. The present study was conducted for analyzing the role of agricultural journalism in the dissemination of agricultural information. The universe of the study was district Sargodha from which a sample of 100 was collected through a validating and pre-tested questionnaire. Statistical analysis of collected data was done with the help of SPSS. It was concluded that majority (64.6%) of the respondent were middle-aged (31-50) years, also indicates a high (73.23%) literacy rate above middle-level education, most (78.3%) of the respondents were connected with the occupation of farming. In various forms of agricultural journalism “Radio/T.V./F.M) is used by 99.4% of the respondent, Mobile phones (96%), Magazine/ Newspaper/ periodical (66.4%) and social media (60.9%). Regarding majors areas focused on agriculture journalism “Help farmers to enhance their productivity is on the highest level with a mean of ( =3.98/5.00). The regression model of farmer's education and various forms of agricultural journalism facilities used was found to be significant.

Keywords: agricultural information, journalism, farming community, technology diffusion and adoption

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Authors: Narupon Kunbootsri, Patpiya Sirasaporn

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Low back pain is the most common of chief complaints in chronic pain. Low back pain directly affect to activities daily living and also has high socioeconomic costs. The prevalence of low back pain is high in both genders in all populations. The symptoms of low back pain including, pain at low back area, muscle spasm, tenderness points and stiff back. Trancutanous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is one of modalities mainly use for control pain. There was indicated that TENS is wildly use in low back pain, but no scientific data about the flexibility of muscle after TENS in low back pain. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate immediate effect of TENS on flexibility and health status in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. Eight chronic nonspecific low back pain patients 1 male and 7 female employed in this study. Participants were diagnosed by a doctor based on history and physical examination. Each participant received treatment at physiotherapy unit. Participants completed Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), numeric rating scale (NRS) and trunk flexibility before treatment. Each participant received low frequency TENS set at asymmetrical, 10 Hz, 20 minutes per point. Immediately after treatment, participants completed RNS, RMDQ and trunk flexibility again. All participants were treated by only one physiotherapist. There was a statistically significant increased in flexibility immediately after low frequency TENS [mean difference -6.37 with 95%CI were (-8.35)-(-4.39)]. There was a statistically significant decreased in numeric rating scale [mean difference 2.13 with 95%CI were 1.08-3.16]. Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire showed improvement of health status average 44.8% immediately after treatment. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that immediately effect after low frequency TENS can decrease pain and improve flexibility of back muscle in chronic nonspecific low back pain patients.

Keywords: low back pain, flexibility, TENS, chronic

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Authors: Rensson Homero Celiz Ygnacio, Marco Aurélio Schiavo Novaes, Lucy Vanessa Sulca Ñaupas, Ana Paula Ribeiro Rodrigues

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The cryopreservation of testicular tissue emerges as an alternative for the preservation of the reproductive potential of individuals who still cannot produce sperm; however, they will undergo treatments that may affect their fertility (e.g., chemotherapy). Therefore, the present work aims to compare two cryopreservation methods (slow freezing and vitrification) in testicular tissue of prepubertal lambs. For that, to obtain the testicular tissue, the animals were castrated and the testicles were collected immediately in a physiological solution supplemented with antibiotics. In the laboratory, the testis was split into small pieces. The total size of the testicular fragments was 3×3x1 mm³ and was placed in a dish contained in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM-HEPES). The fragments were distributed randomly into non-cryopreserved (fresh control), slow freezing (SF), and vitrified. To SF procedures, two fragments from a given male were then placed in a 2,0 mL cryogenic vial containing 1,0 mL MEM-HEPES supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Tubes were placed into a Mr. Frosty™ Freezing container with isopropyl alcohol and transferred to a -80°C freezer for overnight storage. On the next day, each tube was plunged into liquid nitrogen (NL). For vitrification, the ovarian tissue cryosystem (OTC) device was used. Testicular fragments were placed in the OTC device and exposed to the first vitrification solution composed of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 10 mg/mL Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), 0.25 M sucrose, 10% Ethylene glycol (EG), 10% DMSO and 150 μM alpha-lipoic acid for four min. The VS1 was discarded and then the fragments were submerged into a second vitrification solution (VS2) containing the same composition of VS1 but 20% EG and 20% DMSO. VS2 was then discarded and each OTC device containing up to four testicular fragments was closed and immersed in NL. After the storage period, the fragments were removed from the NL, kept at room temperature for one min and then immersed at 37 °C in a water bath for 30 s. Samples were warmed by sequentially immersing in solutions of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 3 mg/mL BSA and decreasing concentrations of sucrose. Hematoxylin-eosin staining to analyze the tissue architecture was used. The score scale used was from 0 to 3, classified with a score 0 representing normal morphologically, and 3 were considered a lot of alteration. The histomorphological evaluation of the testicular tissue shows that when evaluating the nuclear alteration (distinction of nucleoli and condensation of nuclei), there are no differences when using slow freezing with respect to the control. However, vitrification presents greater damage (p <0.05). On the other hand, when evaluating the epithelial alteration, we observed that the freezing showed scores statistically equal to the control in variables such as retraction of the basement membrane, formation of gaps and organization of the peritubular cells. The results of the study demonstrated that cryopreservation using the slow freezing method is an excellent tool for the preservation of pubertal testicular tissue.

Keywords: cryopreservation, slow freezing, vitrification, testicular tissue, lambs

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Authors: Andrei Contan, Richard Torkar

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Aim: The process of test automation and its practices in industry have to be better understood, both for the industry itself and for the research community. Method: We conducted a quantitative industry survey by asking IT professionals to answer questions related to the area of test automation. Results: Test automation needs and practices vary greatly between organizations at different stages of the software development life cycle. Conclusions: Most of the findings are general test automation challenges and are specific to small- to medium-sized companies, developing software applications in the web, desktop or mobile domain.

Keywords: survey, testing, test automation, status of test automation

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Authors: Ehikhamele Isaac Erhomosele, Ogbogu Sunday Sylvester

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A biodiversity survey was conducted in Shasha Forest Reserve, Ife southern, Osun State, Nigeria between May 2019 to April 2021 with a view to determining the nature of Odonata fauna of the forest. A total number of 1055 individuals of adult dragonflies and damselflies belonging to 8 families (Aeshnidae, Calopterygidae, Chlorocyphidae, Coenagrionidae, Gomphidae, Lestidae, Libellulidae and Platycnemididae) were recorded. Five (5) of these families of which belong to the suborder Zygoptera, and the remaining three (3) to Anisoptera. Libellulidae was the most abundant family while Gomphidae recorded the least representative. No new species of Odonata was recorded. Most of the families reported were previously been documented in the tropical region. Logging activities and human disturbance have been attributed to the nature of Odonata species in the Forest. It is therefore recommended that logging should be restricted to designated areas of the forest and regulated by the Department of Forestry of Osun State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Environment.

Keywords: checklist, Odonata, Shasha, families

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Authors: Ian Jones, Jonathan Griffiths

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Laser welding offers the potential for making very precise joints in plastics products, both in terms of the joint location and the amount of heating applied. These methods have allowed the production of complex products such as microfluidic devices where channels and structure resolution below 100 µm is regularly used. However, to date, the dimension of welds made using lasers has been limited by the focus spot size that is achievable from the laser source. Theoretically, the minimum spot size possible from a laser is comparable to the wavelength of the radiation emitted. Practically, with reasonable focal length optics the spot size achievable is a few factors larger than this, and the melt zone in a plastics weld is larger again than this. The narrowest welds feasible to date have therefore been 10-20 µm wide using a near-infrared laser source. The aim of this work was to prepare laser absorber tracks and channels less than 10 µm wide in PMMA thermoplastic using EB lithography followed by sealing of channels using laser welding to carry out welds with widths of the order of 1 µm, below the resolution limit of the near-infrared laser used. Welded joints with a width of 1 µm have been achieved as well as channels with a width of 5 µm. The procedure was based on the principle of transmission laser welding using a thin coating of infrared absorbent material at the joint interface. The coating was patterned using electron-beam lithography to obtain the required resolution in a reproducible manner and that resolution was retained after the transmission laser welding process. The joint strength was ratified using larger scale samples. The results demonstrate that plastics products could be made with a high density of structure with resolution below 1 um, and that welding can be applied without excessively heating regions beyond the weld lines. This may be applied to smaller scale sensor and analysis chips, micro-bio and chemical reactors and to microelectronic packaging.

Keywords: microchannels, polymer, EB lithography, laser welding

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Authors: R. Meier, M. Pander

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In accordance with the industry 4.0 concept, manufacturing process steps as well as the materials themselves are going to be more and more digitalized within the next years. The “digital twin” representing the simulated and measured dataset of the (semi-finished) product can be used to control and optimize the individual processing steps and help to reduce costs and expenditure of time in product development, manufacturing, and recycling. In the present work, two material characterization methods based on Lamb waves were evaluated and compared. For demonstration purpose, both methods were shown at a standard industrial product - copper ribbons, often used in photovoltaic modules as well as in high-current microelectronic devices. By numerical approximation of the Rayleigh-Lamb dispersion model on measured phase velocities second order elastic constants (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio) were determined. Furthermore, the effective third order elastic constants were evaluated by applying elastic, “non-destructive”, mechanical stress on the samples. In this way, small microstructural variations due to mechanical preconditioning could be detected for the first time. Both methods were compared with respect to precision and inline application capabilities. Microstructure of the samples was systematically varied by mechanical loading and annealing. Changes in the elastic ultrasound transport properties were correlated with results from microstructural analysis and mechanical testing. In summary, monitoring the elastic material properties of plate-like structures using Lamb waves is valuable for inline and non-destructive material characterization and manufacturing process control. Second order elastic constants analysis is robust over wide environmental and sample conditions, whereas the effective third order elastic constants highly increase the sensitivity with respect to small microstructural changes. Both Lamb wave based characterization methods are fitting perfectly into the industry 4.0 concept.

Keywords: lamb waves, industry 4.0, process control, elasticity, acoustoelasticity, microstructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Ibrahim Rassoul, A. Serir, E-K. Si Ahmed, J. Legrand

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The acronym PEM refers to Proton Exchange Membrane or alternatively Polymer Electrolyte Membrane. Due to its high efficiency, low operating temperature (30–80 °C), and rapid evolution over the past decade, PEMFCs are increasingly emerging as a viable alternative clean power source for automobile and stationary applications. Before PEMFCs can be employed to power automobiles and homes, several key technical challenges must be properly addressed. One technical challenge is elucidating the mechanisms underlying water transport in and removal from PEMFCs. On one hand, sufficient water is needed in the polymer electrolyte membrane or PEM to maintain sufficiently high proton conductivity. On the other hand, too much liquid water present in the cathode can cause “flooding” (that is, pore space is filled with excessive liquid water) and hinder the transport of the oxygen reactant from the gas flow channel (GFC) to the three-phase reaction sites. The experimental transparent fuel cell used in this work was designed to represent actual full scale of fuel cell geometry. According to the operating conditions, a number of flow regimes may appear in the microchannel: droplet flow, blockage water liquid bridge /plug (concave and convex forms), slug/plug flow and film flow. Some of flow patterns are new, while others have been already observed in PEMFC microchannels. An algorithm in MATLAB was developed to automatically determine the flow structure (e.g. slug, droplet, plug, and film) of detected liquid water in the test microchannels and yield information pertaining to the distribution of water among the different flow structures. A video processing algorithm was developed to automatically detect dynamic and static liquid water present in the gas channels and generate relevant quantitative information. The potential benefit of this software allows the user to obtain a more precise and systematic way to obtain measurements from images of small objects. The void fractions are also determined based on images analysis. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive characterization of two-phase flow in an operating fuel cell which can be used towards the optimization of water management and informs design guidelines for gas delivery microchannels for fuel cells and its essential in the design and control of diverse applications. The approach will combine numerical modeling with experimental visualization and measurements.

Keywords: polymer electrolyte fuel cell, air-water two phase flow, gas diffusion layer, microchannels, advancing contact angle, receding contact angle, void fraction, surface tension, image processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Yan Ping Chen, Hau Yin Chung

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The Ideal Profile Method (IPM) is a newly developed descriptive sensory analysis conducted by consumers without previous training. To perform this test, both the perceived and the ideal intensities from the judgements of consumers on products’ attributes, as well as their hedonic ratings were collected for formulating an ideal product (the most liked one). In addition, Ideal Profile Analysis (IPA) was conducted to check the consistency of the ideal data at both the panel and consumer levels. In this test, 12 commercial plain sufus bought from Hong Kong local market were tested by 113 consumers according to the IPM, and rated on 22 attributes. Principal component analysis was used to profile the perceived and the ideal spaces of tested products. The consistency of ideal data was then checked by IPA. The result showed that most consumers shared a common ideal. It was observed that the sensory product space and the ideal product space were structurally similar. Their first dimensions all opposed products with intense fermented related aroma to products with less fermented related aroma. And the predicted ideal profile (the estimated liking score around 7.0 in a 9.0-point scale) got higher hedonic score than the tested products (the average liking score around 6.0 in a 9.0-point scale). For the majority of consumers (95.2%), the stated ideal product considered as a potential ideal through checking the R2 coefficient value. Among all the tested products, sample-6 was the most popular one with consumer liking percentage around 30%. This product with less fermented and moldy flavour but easier to melt in mouth texture possessed close sensory profile according to the ideal product. This experiment validated that data from untrained consumers could be guided as useful information. Appreciated sensory characteristics could be served as reference in the optimization of the commercial plain sufu.

Keywords: ideal profile method, product development, sensory evaluation, sufu (fermented soybean curd)

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Shahid Noor, Kazim Najjad, Muhammad Nasir, Irshad Bhutto, Abdul Samad Memon, Khurram Anwar, Tehseen Riaz, Mian Muhammad Hanif, Nauman A. Mallik, Saeed Ahmed, Israr Ahmed, Ali Yasir

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Background: Musculoskeletal pain is the most common complaint presented to the health practitioner. It is well known that untreated or under-treated pain can have a significant negative impact on an individual’s quality of life (QoL). Objectives: This study was conducted across 10 sites in six (6) major cities of Pakistan to evaluate the tolerability, safety, and the clinical response of Nuberol Forte® (Paracetamol 650 mg + Orphenadrine 50 mg) to musculoskeletal pain in routine Pakistani practice and its impact on improving the patient’s QoL. Design & Methods: This NFORT-EFFECT observational, prospective multicenter study was conducted in compliance with Good Clinical Practice guidelines and local regulatory requirements. The study sponsor was "The Searle Company Limited, Pakistan. To maintain the GCP compliances, the sponsor assigned the CRO for the site and data management. Ethical approval was obtained from an independent ethics committee. The IEC reviewed the progress of the study. Written informed consent was obtained from the study participants, and their confidentiality was maintained throughout the study. A total of 399 patients with known prescreened musculoskeletal conditions and pain who attended the study sites were recruited, as per the inclusion/exclusion criteria (clinicaltrials.gov ID# NCT04765787). The recruited patients were then prescribed Paracetamol (650 mg) and Orphenadrine (50 mg) combination (Nuberol Forte®) for 7 to 14 days as per the investigator's discretion based on the pain intensity. After the initial screening (visit 1), a follow-up visit was conducted after 1-2 weeks of the treatment (visit 2). Study Endpoints: The primary objective was to assess the pain management response of Nuberol Forte treatment and the overall safety of the drug. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scale was used to measure pain severity. Secondary to pain, the patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was also assessed using the Muscle, Joint Measure (MJM) scale. The safety was monitored on the first dose by the patients. These assessments were done on each study visit. Results: Out of 399 enrolled patients, 49.4% were males, and 50.6% were females with a mean age of 47.24 ± 14.20 years. Most patients were presented with Knee Osteoarthritis (OA), i.e., 148(38%), followed by backache 70(18.2%). A significant reduction in the mean pain score was observed after the treatment with the combination of Paracetamol and Orphenadrine (p<0.05). Furthermore, an overall improvement in the patient’s QoL was also observed. During the study, only ten patients reported mild adverse events (AEs). Conclusion: The combination of Paracetamol and Orphenadrine (Nuberol Forte®) exhibited effective pain management among patients with musculoskeletal conditions and also improved their QoL.

Keywords: musculoskeletal pain, orphenadrine/paracetamol combination, pain management, quality of life, Pakistani population

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Xiaoting Jing, Ling Huang

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After the reform and opening up, Chongqing has formed far more high-rise residential areas than other cities in its more than 40 years of urban construction. High-rise residential areas have become one of the main modern living models in Chongqing and an important carrier reflecting the city's high quality of life. Reviewing the construction process and renewal work helps understand the characteristics of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing at different stages, clarify current development demands, and look forward to the focus of future renewal work. Based on socio-economic development and policy background, the article sorts the construction process of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing into four stages: the early experimental construction period of high-rise residential areas (1978-1996), the rapid start-up period of high-rise commodity housing construction (1997-2006), the large-scale construction period of high-rise commodity housing and public rental housing (2007-2014), and the period of renewal and renovation of high-rise residential areas and step-by-step construction of quality commodity housing (2015-present). Based on the construction demands and main construction types of each stage, the article summarizes that the construction of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing features large scale, high speed, and high density. It points out that a large number of high-rise residential areas built after 2000 will become important objects of renewal and renovation in the future. Based on existing renewal work experience, it is urgent to explore a path for sustainable renewal and development in terms of policy mechanisms, digital supervision, and renewal and renovation models, leading the high-rise living in Chongqing toward high-quality development.

Keywords: high-rise residential areas, construction process, renewal and renovation, Chongqing

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Authors: Anderson Rocha, Pedro Miguel de Figueiredo Dinis Oliveira Gaspar

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Machine vision has been widely used in recent years in agriculture, as a tool to promote the automation of processes and increase the levels of productivity. The aim of this work is the development of a path recognition algorithm based on image processing to guide a terrestrial robot in-between tree rows. The proposed algorithm was developed using the software MATLAB, and it uses several image processing operations, such as threshold detection, morphological erosion, histogram equalization and the Hough transform, to find edge lines along tree rows on an image and to create a path to be followed by a mobile robot. To develop the algorithm, a set of images of different types of orchards was used, which made possible the construction of a method capable of identifying paths between trees of different heights and aspects. The algorithm was evaluated using several images with different characteristics of quality and the results showed that the proposed method can successfully detect a path in different types of environments.

Keywords: agricultural mobile robot, image processing, path recognition, hough transform

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Yavuz Erdoğan, Hidayet Çiftçi

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Cyberbullying, a phenomenon among adolescents, is defined as actions that use information and communication technologies such as social media to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group. With the advancement in communication and information technology, cyberbullying has expanded its boundaries among students in schools. Thus, parents, psychologists, educators, and lawmakers must become aware of the potential risks of this phenomenon. In the light of these perspectives, this study aims to investigate the relationships between cyberbullying perception and Facebook attitudes of Turkish students. A survey method was used for the study and the data were collected by “Cyberbullying Perception Scale”, “Facebook Attitude Scale” and “Personal Information Form”. For this purpose, study has been conducted during 2014-2015 academic year, with a total of 748 students with 493 male (%65.9) and 255 female (%34.1) from randomly selected high schools. In the analysis of data Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Scheffe post hoc test has been used. At the end of the study, the results displayed a negative correlation between Turkish students’ Facebook attitudes and cyberbullying perception (r=-.210; p<0.05). In order to identify the predictors of students’ cyberbullying perception, multiple regression analysis was used. As a result, significant relations were detected between cyberbullying perception and independent variables (F=5.102; p<0.05). Independent variables together explain 11.0% of the total variance in cyberbullying scores. The variables that significantly predict the students’ cyberbullying perception are Facebook attitudes (t=-5.875; p<0.05), and gender (t=3.035; p<0.05). In order to calculate the effects of independent variables on students’ Facebook attitudes and cyberbullying perception MANOVA was conducted. The results of the MANOVA indicate that the Facebook attitudes and cyberbullying perception were significantly differed according to students’ gender, age, educational attainment of the mother, educational attainment of the father, income of the family and daily usage of internet.

Keywords: facebook, cyberbullying, attitude, internet usage

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Harumi Katayama, Mina Suzuki, Taeko Muramatsu, Yui Shimogawa, Yoshimi Mizushima, Mitsuo Hiramatsu, Kimitsugu Nakamura, Takeshi Suzue

Abstract:

Purpose: There are very often footbaths in the hot-spring area as culture from old days in Japan. This culture moderately supported mental and physical health among people. In Japanese hospitals, nurses provide footbath for severe patients to mental comfortable. However, there are only a few evidences effect of footbath for mental comfortable. In this presentation, we show the effect of stress relief of the footbath using biomarker among 35 college students in volunteer. Methods: The experiment was designed in two groups of the footbath group and the simple relaxation group randomly. As mental load, Kraepelin test was given to the students beforehand. Ultra-weak chemiluminescence (UCL) in saliva and self-administered liner scale measurable emotional state were measured on four times concurrently; there is before and after the mental load, after the stress relief, and 30 minutes after the stress relief. The scale that measured emotional state was consisted of 7 factors; there is excitement, relaxation, vigorous, fatigue, tension, calm, and sleepiness with 22 items. ANOVA was calculated effect of the footbath for stress relief. Results: The level of UCL (photons/100sec) was significantly increased in response on both groups after mental load. After the two types of stress relief, UCL (photons/100sec) of footbath group was significantly decreased compared to simple relaxation group. Score of sleepiness and relaxation were significantly increased after the stress relief in the footbath group than the simple relaxation group. However, score of excitement, vigorous, tension, and calm were exhibit the same degree of decrease after the stress relief on both group. Conclusion: It was suggested that salivary UCL may be a sensitive biomarker for mild stress relief as nursing care. In the future, we will measure using UCL to evaluate as stress relief for inpatients, outpatients, or general public as the subjects.

Keywords: bio-marker, footbath, Japan, stress relief

Procedia PDF Downloads 331