Search results for: model of the design process

Authors: Paola Leon, Hugo Garcia, Adan Leon, Samuel Munoz

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The enhanced oil recovery by steam injection was considered a process that only generated physical recovery mechanisms. However, there is evidence of the occurrence of a series of chemical reactions, which are called aquathermolysis, which generates hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, and lower molecular weight hydrocarbons. These reactions can be favored by the addition of a catalyst during steam injection; in this way, it is possible to generate the original oil in situ upgrading through the production increase of molecules of lower molecular weight. This additional effect could increase the oil recovery factor and reduce costs in transport and refining stages. Therefore, this research has focused on the experimental evaluation of the catalytic aquathermolysis on a Colombian heavy oil with 12,8°API. The effects of three different catalysts, reaction time, and temperature were evaluated in a batch microreactor. The changes in the Colombian heavy oil were quantified through nuclear magnetic resonance 1H-NMR. The relaxation times interpretation and the absorption intensity allowed to identify the distribution of the functional groups in the base oil and upgraded oils. Additionally, the average number of aliphatic carbons in alkyl chains, the number of substituted rings, and the aromaticity factor were established as average structural parameters in order to simplify the samples' compositional analysis. The first experimental stage proved that each catalyst develops a different reaction mechanism. The aromaticity factor has an increasing order of the salts used: Mo > Fe > Ni. However, the upgraded oil obtained with iron naphthenate tends to form a higher content of mono-aromatic and lower content of poly-aromatic compounds. On the other hand, the results obtained from the second phase of experiments suggest that the upgraded oils have a smaller difference in the length of alkyl chains in the range of 240º to 270°C. This parameter has lower values at 300°C, which indicates that the alkylation or cleavage reactions of alkyl chains govern at higher reaction temperatures. The presence of condensation reactions is supported by the behavior of the aromaticity factor and the bridge carbons production between aromatic rings (RCH₂). Finally, it is observed that there is a greater dispersion in the aliphatic hydrogens, which indicates that the alkyl chains have a greater reactivity compared to the aromatic structures.

Keywords: catalyst, upgrading, aquathermolysis, steam

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Authors: Mohammed Abdullah Alshahrani

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The research focuses on investigating the use of partial least squares (PLS) methodology for addressing challenges associated with high-dimensional correlated data. Recent technological advancements have led to experiments producing data characterized by a large number of variables compared to observations, with substantial inter-variable correlations. Such data patterns are common in chemometrics, where near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer calibrations record chemical absorbance levels across hundreds of wavelengths, and in genomics, where thousands of genomic regions' copy number alterations (CNA) are recorded from cancer patients. PLS serves as a widely used method for analyzing high-dimensional data, functioning as a regression tool in chemometrics and a classification method in genomics. It handles data complexity by creating latent variables (components) from original variables. However, applying PLS can present challenges. The study investigates key areas to address these challenges, including unifying interpretations across three main PLS algorithms and exploring unusual negative shrinkage factors encountered during model fitting. The research presents an alternative approach to addressing the interpretation challenge of predictor weights associated with PLS. Sparse estimation of predictor weights is employed using a penalty function combining a lasso penalty for sparsity and a Cauchy distribution-based penalty to account for variable dependencies. The results demonstrate sparse and grouped weight estimates, aiding interpretation and prediction tasks in genomic data analysis. High-dimensional data scenarios, where predictors outnumber observations, are common in regression analysis applications. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS), the standard method, performs inadequately with high-dimensional and highly correlated data. Copy number alterations (CNA) in key genes have been linked to disease phenotypes, highlighting the importance of accurate classification of gene expression data in bioinformatics and biology using regularized methods like PLS for regression and classification.

Keywords: partial least square regression, genetics data, negative filter factors, high dimensional data, high correlated data

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Authors: Merih Welay Welesilassie

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Understanding educators' readiness to incorporate AI tools into their teaching methods requires comprehensively examining the influencing factors. This understanding is crucial, given the potential of these technologies to personalise learning experiences, improve instructional effectiveness, and foster innovative pedagogical approaches. This study evaluated factors affecting teachers' adoption of AI tools in their English language instruction by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to encompass digital readiness support, perceived risk, and trust. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted with 128 English language teachers, supplemented by qualitative data collection from 15 English teachers. The structural mode analysis indicated that implementing AI tools in Ethiopian higher education was notably influenced by digital readiness support, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, and trust. Digital readiness support positively impacted perceived ease of use, usefulness, and trust while reducing safety and privacy risks. Perceived ease of use positively correlated with perceived usefulness but negatively influenced trust. Furthermore, perceived usefulness strengthened trust in AI tools, while perceived safety and privacy risks significantly undermined trust. Trust was crucial in increasing educators' willingness to adopt AI technologies. The qualitative analysis revealed that the teachers exhibited strong content and pedagogical knowledge but needed more technology-related knowledge. Moreover, It was found that the teachers did not utilise digital tools to teach English. The study identified several obstacles to incorporating digital tools into English lessons, such as insufficient digital infrastructure, a shortage of educational resources, inadequate professional development opportunities, and challenging policies and governance. The findings provide valuable guidance for educators, inform policymakers about creating supportive digital environments, and offer a foundation for further investigation into technology adoption in educational settings in Ethiopia and similar contexts.

Keywords: digital readiness support, AI acceptance, risk, trust

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Authors: Hailemeleak Regassa

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Traditional medicines use medicinal plants as a source of ingredients, and many modern medications are indirectly derived from plants. Consumers in affluent nations are growing disenchanted with contemporary healthcare and looking for alternatives. Oxidative stress is the primary cause of multiple diseases, and exogenous antioxidant supplementation or strengthening the body's endogenous antioxidant defenses are potential ways to counteract the negative effects of oxidative damage. Plants can biosynthesize non-enzymatic antioxidants that can reduce ROS-induced oxidative damage. Aging often aids the propagation and development of carcinogenesis, and older animals and older people exhibit increased vulnerability to tumor promoters. Cancer is a major public health issue, with several anti-cancer medications in clinical use. Potential drugs such as flavopiridol, roscovitine, combretastatin A-4, betulinic acid, and silvestrol are in the clinical or preclinical stages of research. Methodology: Microbial Growth media, Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane were obtained from Himedia Labs, Mumbai, India. plant were collected from the Herbal Garden of Shoolini University campus, Solan, India (Latitude - 30.8644° N and longitude - 77.1184° E). The identity was confirmed by Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India, and documented in Voucher specimens - UHF- Herbarium no. 13784; vide book no. 3818 Receipt No. 086. The plant materials were washed with tap water, and 0.1% mercury chloride for 2 minutes, rinsed with distilled water, air dried, and kept in a hot air oven at 40ºc on blotting paper until all the water evaporated and became well dried for grinding. After drying, the plant materials were grounded using a mixer grinder into fine powder transferred into airtight containers with proper labeling, and stored at 4ºc for future use (Horablaga et al., 2023). The extraction process was done according to Altemimi et al., 2017. The 5g powder was mixed with 15 ml of the respective solvents (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol), and kept for 4-5 days on the platform shaker. The solvents used are based on their increasing polarity index. Then the extract was centrifuged at 10,000rpm for 5 minutes and filtered using No.1 Whatman filter paper.

Keywords: cancer, phytomedicine, medicinal plants, oncology

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Authors: Raed Fawzi Mohammed Ameen, Haider I. Alyasari, Maryam Altaweel

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Due to rapid urbanization, developing countries faced significant urban challenges that accompanied the population growth such as the inability to provide adequate housing; sustain human and community's health and wellbeing; ensure the safety in urban areas; the prevalence corruption; lack of jobs; and a shortage of investment. The destruction, degradation, and lack of planning are acute in countries such as Iraq that have suffered for more than four decades because of war and international sanctions, resulting in severe damages to the ecology sector, social utilities, housing, infrastructure, as well as the disruption of the economic sector. Many of significant urban development, housing, and regeneration projects are currently underway in different regions in Iraq, labelled as a means to reform the environmental, social, and economic sectors. However, most often with absence of public participation. Hence, there is an urgent need for understanding public perception, especially of urban socio-economic challenges, which represents a crucial concern for many planners, designers, and policy-makers in order to develop effective policies in addition to increasing their participation. The aim of this study is to investigate stakeholder perceptions of the socio-economic challenges of urban development and their priorities in the all Iraqi provinces. A nationwide questionnaire has been conducted (N = 643) across Iraq, using 19- item structured questionnaire where the stakeholder’s perspectives were collected on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The indicators were identified through deep investigation in previous studies. Principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical tests were utilized to the collected responses in order to investigate the linkage between the perceptions of socio- economic challenges and demographic factors. A high value of internal consistency and reliability of the instrument has been achieved (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.867). Five principal components have been identified, namely: economic, cultural aspects, design context, employment, security and housing demands. The item ‘safety of public places' was ranked as the most important, followed by the items 'minimize unplanned housing', and ‘provision of affordable housing’, respectively. Promote high-rise housing from the housing demands group, was ranked the lowest component between all indicators. 'Using sustainable local materials in construction' item had the second lowest mean score. The results also illustrate a link between deficiencies in the social and economic infrastructure because of the destruction and degradation caused by political instability in Iraq in the last few decades.

Keywords: public participation in development, socio-economic challenges, urban development, urban sustainability

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Authors: Everard van Kemenade

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Many quality improvement activities are planned. Leaders are strongly involved in missions, visions and strategic planning. They use, consciously or unconsciously, the PDCA-cycle, also know as the Deming cycle. After the planning, the plans are carried out and the results or effects are measured. If the results show that the goals in the plan have not been achieved, adjustments are made in the next plan or in the execution of the processes. Then, the cycle is run through again. Traditionally, the PDCA-cycle is advocated as a means to an end. However, PDCA is especially fit for planned, ordered, certain contexts. It fits with the empirical and referential quality paradigm. For uncertain, unordered, unplanned processes, something else might be needed instead of Plan-Do-Check-Act. Due to the complexity of our society, the influence of the context, and the uncertainty in our world nowadays, not every activity can be planned anymore. At the same time organisations need to be more innovative than ever. That provides leaders with ‘wicked tendencies’. However, that raises the question how one can innovate without being able to plan? Complexity science studies the interactions of a diverse group of agents that bring about change in times of uncertainty, e.g. when radical innovation is co-created. This process is called emergence. This research study explores the role of leadership in the emergence paradigm. Aim of the article is to study the way that leadership can support the emergence of innovation in a complex context. First, clarity is given on the concepts used in the research question: complexity, emergence, innovation and leadership. Thereafter a literature search is conducted to answer the research question. The topics ‘emergent leadership’ or ‘complexity leadership’ are chosen for an exploratory search in Google and Google Scholar using the berry picking method. Exclusion criterion is emergence in other disciplines than organizational development or in the meaning of ‘arising’. The literature search conducted gave 45 hits. Twenty-seven articles were excluded after reading the title and abstract because they did not research the topic of emergent leadership and complexity. After reading the remaining articles as a whole one more was excluded because the article used emergent in the limited meaning of ‗arising‘ and eight more were excluded because the topic did not match the research question of this article. That brings the total of the search to 17 articles. The useful conclusions from the articles are merged and grouped together under overarching topics, using thematic analysis. The findings are that 5 topics prevail when looking at possibilities for leadership to facilitate innovation: enabling, sharing values, dreaming, interacting, context sensitivity and adaptivity. Together they form In Dutch the acronym Medusa.

Keywords: complexity science, emergence, leadership in the emergence paradigm, innovation, the Medusa principles

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Authors: Georgios P. Georgiou

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Infants are able to discriminate a number of sound contrasts in most languages. However, this ability is not available in adults who might face difficulties in discriminating accurately second language sound contrasts as they filter second language speech through the phonological categories of their native language. For example, Spanish speakers often struggle to perceive the difference between the English /ε/ and /æ/ because both vowels do not exist in their native language; so they assimilate these vowels to the closest phonological category of their first language. The present study aims to uncover the perceptual patterns of Arabic adult speakers in regard to the vowels of their second language (Greek). Still, there is not any study that investigates the perception of Greek vowels by Arabic speakers and, thus, the present study would contribute to the enrichment of the literature with cross-linguistic research in new languages. To the purpose of the present study, 15 native speakers of Egyptian Arabic who permanently live in Cyprus and have adequate knowledge of Greek as a second language passed through vowel assimilation and vowel contrast discrimination tests (AXB) in their second language. The perceptual stimuli included non-sense words that contained vowels in both stressed and unstressed positions. The second language listeners’ patterns were analyzed through the Perceptual Assimilation Model which makes testable hypotheses about the assimilation of second language sounds to the speakers’ native phonological categories and the discrimination accuracy over second language sound contrasts. The results indicated that second language listeners assimilated pairs of Greek vowels in a single phonological category of their native language resulting in a Category Goodness difference assimilation type for the Greek stressed /i/-/e/ and the Greek stressed-unstressed /o/-/u/ vowel contrasts. On the contrary, the members of the Greek unstressed /i/-/e/ vowel contrast were assimilated to two different categories resulting in a Two Category assimilation type. Furthermore, they could discriminate the Greek stressed /i/-/e/ and the Greek stressed-unstressed /o/-/u/ contrasts only in a moderate degree while the Greek unstressed /i/-/e/ contrast could be discriminated in an excellent degree. Two main implications emerge from the results. First, there is a strong influence of the listeners’ native language on the perception of the second language vowels. In Egyptian Arabic, contiguous vowel categories such as [i]-[e] and [u]-[o] do not have phonemic difference but they are subject to allophonic variation; by contrast, the vowel contrasts /i/-/e/ and /o/-/u/ are phonemic in Greek. Second, the role of stress is significant for second language perception since stressed vs. unstressed vowel contrasts were perceived in a different manner by the Greek listeners.

Keywords: Arabic, bilingual, Greek, vowel perception

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Authors: Priya Kulkarni, Soumya Koppikar, Narendrakumar Wagh, Dhanshri Ingle, Onkar Lande, Abhay Harsulkar

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Cartilage is an extracellular matrix composed of aggrecan, which imparts it with a great tensile strength, stiffness and resilience. Disruption in cartilage metabolism leading to progressive degeneration is a characteristic feature of Osteoarthritis (OA). The process involves enzymatic depolymerisation of cartilage specific proteoglycan, releasing free glycosaminoglycan (GAG). This released GAG in synovial fluid (SF) of knee joint serves as a direct measure of cartilage loss, however, limited due to its invasive nature. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) is widely used for assessing pain, stiffness and physical-functions in OA patients. The scale is comprised of three subscales namely, pain, stiffness and physical-function, intends to measure patient’s perspective of disease severity as well as efficacy of prescribed treatment. Twenty SF samples obtained from OA patients were analysed for their GAG values in SF using DMMB based assay. LK 1.0 vernacular version was used to attain WOMAC scale. The results were evaluated using SAS University software (Edition 1.0) for statistical significance. All OA patients revealed higher GAG values compared to the control value of 78.4±30.1µg/ml (obtained from our non-OA patients). Average WOMAC calculated was 51.3 while pain, stiffness and function estimated were 9.7, 3.9 and 37.7, respectively. Interestingly, a strong statistical correlation was established between WOMAC function subscale and GAG (p = 0.0102). This subscale is based on day-to-day activities like stair-use, bending, walking, getting in/out of car, rising from bed. However, pain and stiffness subscale did not show correlation with any of the studied markers and endorsed the atypical inflammation in OA pathology. On one side, where knee pain showed poor correlation with GAG, it is often noted that radiography is insensitive to cartilage degenerative changes; thus OA remains undiagnosed for long. Moreover, active cartilage degradation phase remains elusive to both, patient and clinician. Through analysis of large number of OA patients we have established a close association of Kellgren-Lawrence grades and increased cartilage loss. A direct attempt to correlate WOMAC and radiographic progression of OA with various biomarkers has not been attempted so far. We found a good correlation in GAG levels in SF and the function subscale.

Keywords: cartilage, Glycosaminoglycan, synovial fluid, western ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index

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Authors: Anggun Yuliana Putri, Melisa Rahmadini

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The Ministry of National Development Planning in Indonesia has reported that more than eight million Indonesian children are still malnourished. Based on national statistics, and a recent ranking from NGO Save the Children, Indonesia is one of 15 countries making the fastest gains in cutting child malnutrition among 165 developing countries. According to a United Nations Children’s Fund, at least 7.6 million Indonesian children under the age of 5 or one out of every three suffer from stunted growth, a primary manifestation of malnutrition in early childhood, the report ranked Indonesia as having the fifth largest number of children under 5 suffering from stunted growth worldwide. Addressing the problem of malnutrition in Indonesia, Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) Foundation, a humanitarian organization working with Carrefour, acts as donor and pursues several solutions to the problem, especially of malnourished children and infants in South Tangerang area, Indonesia. The objective of this study was to examine the community empowerment driven by ACT Foundation in order to maintain the good status continuity of child and toddler after the children malnutrition recovered. Research was conducted using qualitative approach through in-depth interview and observation to find out how the Bengkel Gizi Terpadu (Integrated Nutrion Workshop) programs make people empowered. Bengkel Gizi Terpadu (BGT) is divided into 3 sequences of activities, there were: integrated malnutrition rehabilitation; provision of health education to mothers of infants and young children; and family economic empowerment to head of household. Results showed that after empowerment process has been done through training and provision of knowledge to the mothers and families about the important of nutrition and health, there were 30 of 100 mothers who participated actively. Then, there were 45 of 100 heads of household who participated in business training were able to open a business on their own which provided and controlled by ACT as stakeholder in this program. The further findings revealed that BGT programs are able to form community health workers and provide employment opportunities to community. This study believes that integrated nutrition workshop program is the solution to maintain good nutrition among children in South Tangerang, through empowerment of parents and community members, via education and business training program. Both programs prepared parents with economic sustenance and necessary information, a pre-requisite to end malnutrition in children.

Keywords: community, empowerment, malnutrition, training

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Authors: Jawaher Bakheet Almudarra

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The Saudi Arabian educational system shared the philosophical principles, in its foundation, which concentrated on the achievement of goals, thereby taking up authoritative styles of leadership. However, organisations are beginning to be more liberal in today’s environment than in the 1940s and 1950s, and appealing to emotional intelligence as a tool and skill are needed for effective leadership. In the Saudi Arabian case, such developments are characterised by changes such as that of the educational supervisor having the role redefined to that of a director. This review tracks several parts: the first section helps western reader to understand the subtleties, complexities, and intricacies of the Saudi Arabia education system and its approach to leadership system of education, history, culture and political contribution. This can lead to the larger extent understand if emotional intelligence is a provocation for better leadership of Saudi Arabian education sector or not. The second part is the growth of educational supervision in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the education system, and evaluates the impact of emotional intelligence as a necessary skill in leadership. The third section looks at emotions and emotional intelligence, gender roles, and contributions by emotional intelligence in the education system. The education system of Saudi Arabia has undergone significant transformation. To fully understand the current climate of Saudi Arabia, it is essential to review this process of transformation in terms of the historical, cultural, political and social positions and transformations. Over the years, the education system in Saudi Arabia has undergone significant metamorphosis. The Saudi government has instituted a wide range of reforms in an attempt to improve education standards and outcomes, facilitate improvements and ensure that high standards of education standards are upheld to keep pace with the global environment and knowledge economy. Leadership itself has become an increasingly prominent aspect of educational reform worldwide. Emotional intelligence is often considered a significant aspect of leadership, but it is in its early stages in Saudi Arabia. Its recognition and adoption may improve leadership practices, particularly among educational supervisors and contribute to national and international understandings of leadership in Saudi Arabia. Studying leadership in the Saudi Arabian context is imperative as the new generation of leaders need to cultivate pertinent skills that will allow them to become fundamentally and positively involved in the regions’ decision making processes in order to impact the progression of the Saudi Arabian education system. Understanding leadership in the education context will allow for suitable inculcation of leadership skills. These skills include goal-setting, sound decision-making as well as problem-solving within the education system of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: educational supervision, educational administration, emotional intelligence, educational leadership

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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The article analyzes the modern level of industrial production in Georgia, shows the export-import of industrial products and evaluates the results of the activities of institutions implementing industrial policy. The research showed us that the level of development of industry in the country and its export potential are quite low. The article concludes that in the modern phase of industrial development, the country should choose a model focused on technological development and maximum growth of export potential. Objectives. The aim of the research is to develop an economic policy that promotes the development of industry and to look for ways to implement it effectively. Methodologies This paper uses general and specific methods, in particular, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, scientific abstraction, comparative and statistical methods, as well as experts’ evaluation. In-depth interviews with experts were conducted to determine quantitative and qualitative indicators; Publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia are used to determine the regularity between analytical and statistical estimations. Also, theoretical and applied research of international organizations and scientist-economists are used. Contributions Based on the identified challenges in the area of industry, recommendations for the implementation of an active industrial policy in short and long term periods were developed. In particular: the government's priority orientation of industrial development; paying special attention to the processing industry sectors that Georgia has the potential to produce; supporting the development of scientific fields; Determination of certain benefits for those investors who invest money in industrial production; State partnership with the private sector, manifested in the fight against bureaucracy, corruption and crime, creating favorable business conditions for entrepreneurs; Coordination between education - science - production should be implemented in the country. Much attention should be paid to basic scientific research, which does not require purely commercial returns in the short term, science should become a real productive force; Special importance should be given to the creation of an environment that will support the expansion of export-oriented production; Overcoming barriers to entry into export markets.

Keywords: industry, sectoral structure of industry, exsport-import of industrial products, industrial policy

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Authors: Ahmad Haidar

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Modern economic systems are characterized by growing complexity, and addressing their challenges requires innovative approaches. This study examines the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on unemployment in Europe from a macroeconomic perspective, employing data modeling techniques to understand the relationship between AI integration and labor market dynamics. To understand the AI-unemployment nexus comprehensively, this research considers factors such as sector-specific AI adoption, skill requirements, workforce demographics, and geographical disparities. The study utilizes a panel data model, incorporating data from European countries over the last two decades, to explore the potential short-term and long-term effects of AI implementation on unemployment rates. In addition to investigating the direct impact of AI on unemployment, the study also delves into the potential indirect effects and spillover consequences. It considers how AI-driven productivity improvements and cost reductions might influence economic growth and, in turn, labor market outcomes. Furthermore, it assesses the potential for AI-induced changes in industrial structures to affect job displacement and creation. The research also highlights the importance of policy responses in mitigating potential negative consequences of AI adoption on unemployment. It emphasizes the need for targeted interventions such as skill development programs, labor market regulations, and social safety nets to enable a smooth transition for workers affected by AI-related job displacement. Additionally, the study explores the potential role of AI in informing and transforming policy-making to ensure more effective and agile responses to labor market challenges. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic implications of AI on unemployment in Europe, highlighting the importance of understanding the nuanced relationships between AI adoption, economic growth, and labor market outcomes. By shedding light on these relationships, the study contributes valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers, enabling them to make informed decisions in navigating the complex landscape of AI-driven economic transformation.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, unemployment, macroeconomic analysis, european labor market

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Authors: Gustavo Cruz-Bello

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Progreso is a coastal community in Yucatan, Mexico, highly exposed to floods produced by severe storms and tropical cyclones. A participatory cartography approach was conducted to help to reduce floods disasters and assess social vulnerability within the community. The first step was to engage local authorities in risk management to facilitate the process. Two workshop were conducted, in the first, a poster size printed high spatial resolution satellite image of the town was used to gather information from the participants: eight women and seven men, among them construction workers, students, government employees and fishermen, their ages ranged between 23 and 58 years old. For the first task, participants were asked to locate emblematic places and place them in the image to familiarize with it. Then, they were asked to locate areas that get flooded, the buildings that they use as refuges, and to list actions that they usually take to reduce vulnerability, as well as to collectively come up with others that might reduce disasters. The spatial information generated at the workshops was digitized and integrated into a GIS environment. A printed version of the map was reviewed by local risk management experts, who validated feasibility of proposed actions. For the second workshop, we retrieved the information back to the community for feedback. Additionally a survey was applied in one household per block in the community to obtain socioeconomic, prevention and adaptation data. The information generated from the workshops was contrasted, through T and Chi Squared tests, with the survey data in order to probe the hypothesis that poorer or less educated people, are less prepared to face floods (more vulnerable) and live near or among higher presence of floods. Results showed that a great majority of people in the community are aware of the hazard and are prepared to face it. However, there was not a consistent relationship between regularly flooded areas with people’s average years of education, house services, or house modifications against heavy rains to be prepared to hazards. We could say that the participatory cartography intervention made participants aware of their vulnerability and made them collectively reflect about actions that can reduce disasters produced by floods. They also considered that the final map could be used as a communication and negotiation instrument with NGO and government authorities. It was not found that poorer and less educated people are located in areas with higher presence of floods.

Keywords: climate change, floods, Mexico, participatory mapping, social vulnerability

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Authors: Zhizhong Yuan, Lili Wang, Chenya Zheng, Wuqi Yang

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How to encourage and support peer-to-peer (P2P) network lending, and effectively monitor the risk of P2P network lending, has become the focus of the Chinese government departments, industrialists, experts and scholars in recent years. The reason is that this convenient online micro-credit service brings a series of credit risks and other issues. Avoiding the risks brought by the P2P network lending model, it can better play a benign role and help China's small and medium-sized private enterprises with vigorous development to solve the capital needs; otherwise, it will bring confusion to the normal financial order. As a form of financial services, P2P network lending has injected new blood into China's non-government finance in the past ten years, and has found a way out for idle funds and made up for the shortage of traditional financial services in China. However, it lacks feasible measures in credit evaluation and government supervision. This paper collects a large amount of data about P2P network lending of China. The data collection comes from the official media of the Chinese government, the public achievements of existing researchers and the analysis and collation of correlation data by the authors. The research content of this paper includes literature review; the current situation of China's P2P network lending development; the risk analysis of P2P network lending in China; the risk prevention strategy of P2P network lending in China. The focus of this paper is to try to find a specific program to strengthen supervision and avoid risks from the perspective of government regulators, operators of P2P network lending platform, investors and users of funds. These main measures include: China needs to develop self-discipline organization of P2P network lending industry and formulate self-discipline norms as soon as possible; establish a regular information disclosure system of P2P network lending platform; establish censorship of credit rating of borrowers; rectify the P2P network lending platform in compliance through the implementation of bank deposition. The results and solutions will benefit all the P2P network lending platforms, creditors, debtors, bankers, independent auditors and government agencies of China and other countries.

Keywords: peer-to-peer(P2P), regulation, risk prevention, supervision

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Authors: Mary Jane Suarez

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A massive educational overhaul has taken place at the onset of the 21st century addressing the mismatches of employability skills with that of scholastic skills taught in schools. For a community to thrive in an ever-developing economy, the teaching of the necessary skills for job competencies should be realized by every educational institution. However, in harnessing 21st-century skills amongst learners, teachers, who often lack familiarity and thorough insights into the emerging 21st-century skills, are chained with the restraint of the need to comprehend the physiognomies of 21st-century skills learning and the requisite to implement the tenets of 21st-century skills teaching. With the endeavor to espouse 21st-century skills learning and teaching, a United States-based national coalition called Partnership 21st Century Skills (P21) has identified the four most important skills in 21st-century learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation with an established framework for 21st-century skills standards. Assessment of skills is the lifeblood of every teaching and learning encounter. It is correspondingly crucial to look at the 21st century standards and the assessment guides recognized by P21 to ensure that learners are 21st century ready. This mixed-method study sought to discover and describe what classroom assessments were used by English teachers in a public secondary school in the Philippines with course offerings on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The research evaluated the assessment tools implemented by English teachers and how these assessment tools were congruent to the 21st assessment standards of P21. A convergent parallel design was used to analyze assessment tools and practices in four phases. In the data-gathering phase, survey questionnaires, document reviews, interviews, and classroom observations were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, and how assessment tools and practices were consistent with the P21 framework with the four Cs as its foci. In the analysis phase, the data were treated using mean, frequency, and percentage. In the merging and interpretation phases, a side-by-side comparison was used to identify convergent and divergent aspects of the results. In conclusion, the results yielded assessments tools and practices that were inconsistent, if not at all, used by teachers. Findings showed that there were inconsistencies in implementing authentic assessments, there was a scarcity of using a rubric to critically assess 21st skills in both language and literature subjects, there were incongruencies in using portfolio and self-reflective assessments, there was an exclusion of intercultural aspects in assessing the four Cs and the lack of integrating collaboration in formative and summative assessments. As a recommendation, a harmonized assessment scheme of P21 skills was fashioned for teachers to plan, implement, and monitor classroom assessments of 21st-century skills, ensuring the alignment of such assessments to P21 standards for the furtherance of the institution’s thrust to effectively integrate 21st-century skills assessment standards to its curricula.

Keywords: 21st-century skills, 21st-century skills assessments, assessment standards, congruency, four Cs

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Authors: Herlin Vallejo, Jhon Osorio

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Quality is a concept that has gained importance in different scenarios over time, especially in the area of health. The nursing staff is one of the actors that contributes most to the care process and the satisfaction of the users in the evaluation of quality. However, until now, there are few tools to measure the quality of care in specialized performance scenarios. Patients receiving ambulatory cancer treatments can face various problems, which can increase their level of distress, so improving the quality of outpatient care for cancer patients should be a priority for oncology nursing. The experience of the patient in relation to the care in these services has been little investigated. The purpose of this study was to understand the perception that patients have about quality care in outpatient chemotherapy services. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study was carried out in 9 patients older than 18 years, diagnosed with cancer, who were treated at the Institute of Cancerology, in outpatient chemotherapy rooms, with a minimum of three months of treatment with curative intention and which had given your informed consent. The total of participants was determined by the theoretical saturation, and the selection of these was for convenience. Unstructured interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed. The analysis of the information was done under the technique of content analysis. Three categories emerged that reflect the perception that patients have regarding quality care: patient-centered care, care with love and effects of care. Patients highlighted situations that show that care is centered on them, incorporating elements of patient-centered care from the institutional, infrastructure, qualities of care and what for them, in contrast, means inappropriate care. Care with love as a perception of quality care means for patients that the nursing staff must have certain qualities, perceive caring with love as a family affair, limits on care with love and the nurse-patient relationship. Quality care has effects on both the patient and the nursing staff. One of the most relevant effects was the confidence that the patient develops towards the nurse, besides to transform the unreal images about cancer treatment with chemotherapy. On the other hand, care with quality generates a commitment to self-care and is a facilitator in the transit of oncological disease and chemotherapeutic treatment, but from the perception of a healing transit. It is concluded that care with quality from the perception of patients, is a construction that goes beyond the structural issues and is related to an institutional culture of quality that is reflected in the attitude of the nursing staff and in the acts of Care that have positive effects on the experience of chemotherapy and disease. With the results, it contributes to better understand how quality care is built from the perception of patients and to open a range of possibilities for the future development of an individualized instrument that allows evaluating the quality of care from the perception of patients with cancer.

Keywords: nursing care, oncology service hospital, quality management, qualitative studies

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Authors: B. Lefranc, C. Aufauvre-Poupon, C. Martin-Krumm, M. Trousselard

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Isolated and confined environments (ICE) present several challenges which may adversely affect human’s psychology and physiology. Submariners in Sub-Surface Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) mission exposed to these environmental constraints must be able to perform complex tasks as part of their normal duties, as well as during crisis periods when emergency actions are required or imminent. The operational and environmental constraints they face contribute to challenge human adaptability. The impact of such a constrained environment has yet to be explored. Establishing a knowledge framework is a determining factor, particularly in view of the next long space travels. Ensuring that the crews are maintained in optimal operational conditions is a real challenge because the success of the mission depends on them. This study focused on the evaluation of the impact of stress on mental health and sensory degradation of submariners during a mission on SSBN using cardiac biosignal (heart rate variability, HRV) clustering. This is a pragmatic exploratory study of a prospective cohort included 19 submariner volunteers. HRV was recorded at baseline to classify by clustering the submariners according to their stress level based on parasympathetic (Pa) activity. Impacts of high Pa (HPa) versus low Pa (LPa) level at baseline were assessed on emotional state and sensory perception (interoception and exteroception) as a cardiac biosignal during the patrol and at a recovery time one month after. Whatever the time, no significant difference was found in mental health between groups. There are significant differences in the interoceptive, exteroceptive and physiological functioning during the patrol and at recovery time. To sum up, compared to the LPa group, the HPa maintains a higher level in psychosensory functioning during the patrol and at recovery but exhibits a decrease in Pa level. The HPa group has less adaptable HRV characteristics, less unpredictability and flexibility of cardiac biosignals while the LPa group increases them during the patrol and at recovery time. This dissociation between psychosensory and physiological adaptation suggests two treatment modalities for ICE environments. To our best knowledge, our results are the first to highlight the impact of physiological differences in the HRV profile on the adaptability of submariners. Further studies are needed to evaluate the negative emotional and cognitive effects of ICEs based on the cardiac profile. Artificial intelligence offers a promising future for maintaining high level of operational conditions. These future perspectives will not only allow submariners to be better prepared, but also to design feasible countermeasures that will help support analog environments that bring us closer to a trip to Mars.

Keywords: adaptation, exteroception, HRV, ICE, interoception, SSBN

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Authors: Kim Katherine Castillo, Nelson John Datubatang, Terrence Phillip Dy, Norelie Hampac, Reichen Crismark Martinez, Nina Faith Pantinople, Jose Dante Santos II, Marchel Ann Santos, Sophia Abigail Santiago, Zyrill Xsar San Juan, Aira Mae Tagao, Crystal Kylla Viagedor

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The Work Immersion Program was implemented to help students gain abundant work-related experiences while on-site; additionally, the program aims to help students improve their competencies and interpersonal skills as they are given the option to join the workforce if they ever choose to do so after senior high school. The work immersion experience posed diverse challenges for students, spanning personal, financial, engagement, environmental, and equipment-related domains. These included the need for assistance in time management, transportation expenses, and procurement of materials. Furthermore, students faced difficulties in independent task completion and encountered suboptimal work environments. Addressing these multifaceted obstacles is crucial to optimize the educational outcomes of work immersion programs. In addition to the challenges, several other issues have been identified, including the absence of standardized work immersion programs across schools and industries, the challenges in securing appropriate work immersion placements, the necessity for enhanced monitoring and evaluation of program effectiveness, and the limited availability of field programs aligned with students' chosen courses. Furthermore, there is a lack of comprehensive information regarding the attitudes of Senior High School students toward work immersion programs within their respective schools. This study aims to investigate the attitudes of senior high school students at Nazareth School of National University towards work immersion programs, with a focus on identifying factors that influence their perception and participation, including collegiality and expectations. By exploring the students' attitudes, the research endeavors to enhance the school's work immersion programs and contribute to the overall educational experience of the students. This study addresses challenges related to work immersion programs, focusing on six subtopics: Work Immersion, Work Immersion in the Philippines, Students' Attitudes, Factors Affecting Students' Attitudes, Effectiveness of Work Immersion for Senior High School Students, and Students' Perception and Willingness to Participate. Using a descriptive research design, the study examines the attitudes of senior high school students at Nazareth School of National University in Manila. Data was collected from 100 students, representing different academic strands, through a 35-item researcher-made survey. Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and variability, will be used to analyze the data using JASP, providing valuable insights into the students' attitudes toward work immersion.

Keywords: attitudes, challenges, educational outcomes, work immersion programs

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Authors: Ione Loots, Marco van Dijk, Jay Bhagwan

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Historically, South Africa had various small-scale hydropower installations in remote areas that were not incorporated in the national electricity grid. Unfortunately, in the 1960s most of these plants were decommissioned when Eskom, the national power utility, rapidly expanded its grid and capability to produce cheap, reliable, coal-fired electricity. This situation persisted until 2008, when rolling power cuts started to affect all citizens. This, together with the rising monetary and environmental cost of coal-based power generation, has sparked new interest in small-scale hydropower development, especially in remote areas or at locations (like wastewater treatment works) that could not afford to be without electricity for long periods at a time. Even though South Africa does not have the same, large-scale, hydropower potential as some other African countries, significant potential for micro- and small-scale hydropower is hidden in various places. As an example, large quantities of raw and potable water are conveyed daily under either pressurized or gravity conditions over large distances and elevations. Due to the relative water scarcity in the country, South Africa also has more than 4900 registered dams of varying capacities. However, institutional capacity and skills have not been maintained in recent years and therefore the identification of hydropower potential, as well as the development of micro- and small-scale hydropower plants has not gained significant momentum. An assessment model and decision support system for low head hydropower development has been developed to assist designers and decision makers with first-order potential analysis. As a result, various potential sites were identified and many of these sites were situated at existing infrastructure like weirs, barrages or pipelines. One reason for the specific interest in existing infrastructure is the fact that capital expenditure could be minimized and another is the reduced negative environmental impact compared to greenfield sites. This paper will explore the case study of retrofitting an unconventional and innovative hydropower plant to the outlet of a wastewater treatment works in South Africa.

Keywords: low head hydropower, retrofitting, small-scale hydropower, wastewater treatment works

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Authors: Gongbing Shan, Shiming Li, Zhao Zhang, Bingjun Wan

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Badminton originated in ancient civilizations in Europe and Asia more than 2000 years ago. Presently, it is played almost everywhere with estimated 220 million people playing badminton regularly, ranging from professionals to recreational players; and it is the second most played sport in the world after soccer. In Asia, the popularity of badminton and involvement of people surpass soccer. Unfortunately, scientific researches on badminton skills are hardly proportional to badminton’s popularity. A search of literature has shown that the literature body of biomechanical investigations is relatively small. One of the dominant skills in badminton is the forehand overhead smash, which consists of 1/5 attacks during games. Empirical evidences show that one has to adjust the body position in relation to the coming shuttlecock to produce a powerful and accurate smash. Therefore, positioning is a fundamental aspect influencing smash quality. A search of literature has shown that there is a dearth/lack of study on this fundamental aspect. The goals of this study were to determine the influence of positioning and training experience on smash quality in order to discover information that could help learn/acquire the skill. Using a 10-camera, 3D motion capture system (VICON MX, 200 frames/s) and 15-segment, full-body biomechanical model, 14 skilled and 15 novice players were measured and analyzed. Results have revealed that the body positioning has direct influence on the quality of a smash, especially on shuttlecock release angle and clearance height (passing over the net) of offensive players. The results also suggest that, for training a proper positioning, one could conduct a self-selected comfort position towards a statically hanged shuttlecock and then step one foot back – a practical reference marker for learning. This perceptional marker could be applied in guiding the learning and training of beginners. As one gains experience through repetitive training, improved limbs’ coordination would increase smash quality further. The researchers hope that the findings will benefit practitioners for developing effective training programs for beginners.

Keywords: 3D motion analysis, biomechanical modeling, shuttlecock release speed, shuttlecock release angle, clearance height

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Authors: Bruno Cossu, Elio Carlo

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The invention (patent pending) relates to the field of devices aimed to harness wave energy (WEC) especially for artificial upwelling, forced downwelling, production of compressed air. In its basic form, the pump consists of a hydro-pneumatic machine, driven by wave energy, characterised by the fact that it has no moving mechanical parts, and is made up of only two structural components: an hollow body, which is open at the bottom to the sea and partially immersed in sea water, and a tube, both joined together to form a single body. The shape of the hollow body is like a mushroom whose cap and stem are hollow; the stem is open at both ends and the lower part of its surface is crossed by holes; the tube is external and coaxial to the stem and is joined to it so as to form a single body. This shape of the hollow body and the type of connection to the tube allows the pump to operate simultaneously as an air compressor (OWC) on the cap side, and as an airlift on the stem side. The pump can be implemented in four versions, each of which provides different variants and methods of implementation: 1) firstly, for the artificial upwelling of cold, deep ocean water; 2) secondly, for the lifting and transfer of these waters to the place of use (above all, fish farming plants), even if kilometres away; 3) thirdly, for the forced downwelling of surface sea water; 4) fourthly, for the forced downwelling of surface water, its oxygenation, and the simultaneous production of compressed air. The transfer of the deep water or the downwelling of the raised surface water (as for pump versions indicated in points 2 and 3 above), is obtained by making the water raised by the airlift flow into the upper inlet of another pipe, internal or adjoined to the airlift; the downwelling of raised surface water, oxygenation, and the simultaneous production of compressed air (as for the pump version indicated in point 4), is obtained by installing a venturi tube on the upper end of the pipe, whose restricted section is connected to the external atmosphere, so that it also operates like a hydraulic air compressor (trompe). Furthermore, by combining one or more pumps for the upwelling of cold, deep water, with one or more pumps for the downwelling of the warm surface water, the system can be used in an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant to supply the cold and the warm water required for the operation of the same, thus allowing to use, without increased costs, in addition to the mechanical energy of the waves, for the purposes indicated in points 1 to 4, the thermal one of the marine water treated in the process.

Keywords: air lifted upwelling, fish farming plant, hydraulic air compressor, wave energy converter

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Authors: Salina Yahya Saddick

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Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy due to the lack of highly sensitive and specific screening tools for detection of early-stage disease. The OSE provides the progenitor cells for 90% of human ovarian cancers. Recent morphologic, immunohistochemical and molecular genetic studies have led to the development of a new paradigm for the pathogenesis and origin of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) based on a ualistic model of carcinogenesis that divides EOC into two broad categories designated Types I and II which are characterized by specific mutations, including KRAS, BRAF, ERBB2, CTNNB1, PTEN PIK3CA, ARID1A, and PPPR1A, which target specific cell signaling pathways. Type 1 tumors rarely harbor TP53. type I tumors are relatively genetically stable and typically display a variety of somatic sequence mutations that include KRAS, BRAF, PTEN, PIK3CA CTNNB1 (the gene encoding beta catenin), ARID1A and PPP2R1A but very rarely TP53 . The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis postulates that the tumorigenic potential of CSCs is confined to a very small subset of tumor cells and is defined by their ability to self-renew and differentiate leading to the formation of a tumor mass. Potential protein biomarker miRNA, are promising biomarkers as they are remarkably stable to allow isolation and analysis from tissues and from blood in which they can be found as free circulating nucleic acids and in mononuclear cells. Recently, genomic anaylsis have identified biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer namely, FGF18 which plays an active role in controlling migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity of ovarian cancer cells through NF-κB activation, which increased the production of oncogenic cytokines and chemokines. This review summarizes update information on epithelial ovarian cancers and point out to the most recent ongoing research.

Keywords: epithelial ovarian cancers, somatic sequence mutations, cancer stem cell (CSC), potential protein, biomarker, genomic analysis, FGF18 biomarker

Procedia PDF Downloads 376

Authors: Samuel Faboyede, Obiamaka Nwobu, Samuel Fakile, Dickson Mukoro

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In the present dynamic business environment of corporate governance and regulations, financial reporting is an inevitable and extremely significant process for every business enterprise. Several financial elements such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, ad-hoc filing, and other statutory/regulatory reports provide vital information to the investors and regulators, and establish trust and rapport between the internal and external stakeholders of an organization. Investors today are very demanding, and emphasize greatly on authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. For many companies, the Internet plays a key role in communicating business information, internally to management and externally to stakeholders. Despite high prominence being attached to external reporting, it is disconnected in most companies, who generate their external financial documents manually, resulting in high degree of errors and prolonged cycle times. Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are increasingly susceptible to endorsing error-laden reports, late filing of reports, and non-compliance with regulatory acts. There is a lack of common platform to manage the sensitive information – internally and externally – in financial reports. The Internet financial reporting language known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) continues to develop in the face of challenges and has now reached the point where much of its promised benefits are available. This paper looks at the emergence of this revolutionary twenty-first century language of digital reporting. It posits that today, the world is on the brink of an Internet revolution that will redefine the ‘business reporting’ paradigm. The new Internet technology, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), is already being deployed and used across the world. It finds that XBRL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based information format that places self-describing tags around discrete pieces of business information. Once tags are assigned, it is possible to extract only desired information, rather than having to download or print an entire document. XBRL is platform-independent and it will work on any current or recent-year operating system, or any computer and interface with virtually any software. The paper concludes that corporate stakeholders and the government cannot afford to ignore the XBRL. It therefore recommends that all must act locally and think globally now via the adoption of XBRL that is changing the face of worldwide business reporting.

Keywords: XBRL, financial reporting, internet, internal and external reports

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Authors: Nirmal Kundu, Chandan Bhar, Visveswaran Pandurangan

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Technology is the most valued possession for a country or an organization. The economic development depends not on stock of technology but on the capabilities how the technology is being exploited. The technology transfer is the best way how the developing countries have an access to state-of- the-art technology. Traditional technology transfer is a unidirectional phenomenon where technology is transferred from developed to developing countries. But now there is a change of wind. There is a general agreement that global shift of economic power is under way from west to east. As China and India are making the transition from users to producers, and producers to innovators, this has increasing important implications on economy, technology and policy of global trade. As a result, Reverse technology transfer has become a phenomenon and field of study in technology management. The term “Reverse Technology Transfer” is not well defined. Initially the concept of Reverse technology transfer was associated with the phenomenon of “Brain drain” from developing to developed countries. In the second phase, Reverse Technology Transfer was associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology from subsidiaries to multinationals. Finally, time has come now to extend the concept of reverse technology transfer to two different organizations or countries related or unrelated by traditional technology transfer but the transfer or has essentially received the technology through traditional mode of technology transfer. The objective of this paper is to study; 1) the present status of Reverse technology transfer, 2) the factors which are the enablers and barriers of Reverse technology transfer and 3) how the reverse technology transfer strategy can be integrated in the technology policy of a country which will give the countries an economic boost. The research methodology used in this study is a combination of literature review, case studies and key informant interviews. The literature review includes both published as well as unpublished sources of literature. In case study, attempt has been made to study the records of reverse technology transfer that have been occurred in developing countries. In case of key informant interviews, informal telephonic discussions have been carried out with the key executives of the organizations (industry, university and research institutions) who are actively engaged in the process of technology transfer- traditional as well as reverse. Reverse technology transfer is possible only by creating technological capabilities. Following four important enablers coupled with government active and aggressive action can help to build technology base to reach to the goal of Reverse technology transfer 1) Imitation to innovation, 2) Reverse engineering, 3) Collaborative R & D approach, and 4) Preventing reverse brain drain. The barriers that come in the way are the mindset of over dependence, over subordination and parent–child attitude (not adult attitude). Exploitation of these enablers and overcoming the barriers of reverse technology transfer, the developing countries like India and China can prove that going “reverse” is the best way to move forward and again establish themselves as leader of the future world.

Keywords: barriers of reverse technology transfer, enablers of reverse technology transfer, knowledge transfer, reverse technology transfer, technology transfer

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Authors: Shih Yu Pan, Pao Chen Hung, Chuan Yao Lin, Charles C.-K. Chou, Yu Chi Lin, Kai Hsien Chi

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This study analyzed 16 atmospheric PAHs species which were controlled by USEPA and IARC. To measure the concentration of PAHs, four rural sampling sites and two urban sampling sites were selected in Central Taiwan during spring and summer. In central Taiwan, the rural sampling stations were located in the downstream of Da-An River, Da-Jang River, Wu River and Chuo-shui River. On the other hand, the urban sampling sites were located in Taichung district and close to the roadside. Ambient air samples of both vapor phase and particle phase of PAHs compounds were collected using high volume sampling trains (Analitica). The sampling media were polyurethane foam (PUF) with XAD2 and quartz fiber filters. Diagnostic ratio, Principal component analysis (PCA), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) models were used to evaluate the apportionment of PAHs in the atmosphere and speculate the relative contribution of various emission sources. Because of the high temperature and low wind speed, high PAHs concentration in the atmosphere was observed. The total PAHs concentration, especially in vapor phase, had significant change during summer. During the sampling periods the total PAHs concentration of atmospheric at four rural and two urban sampling sites in spring and summer were 3.70±0.40 ng/m3,3.40±0.63 ng/m3,5.22±1.24 ng/m3,7.23±0.37 ng/m3,7.46±2.36 ng/m3,6.21±0.55 ng/m3　; 15.0± 0.14 ng/m3,18.8±8.05 ng/m3,20.2±8.58 ng/m3,16.1±3.75 ng/m3,29.8±10.4 ng/m3,35.3±11.8 ng/m3, respectively. In order to identify PAHs sources, we used diagnostic ratio to classify the emission sources. The potential sources were diesel combustion and gasoline combustion in spring and summer, respectively. According to the principal component analysis (PCA), the PC1 and PC2 had 23.8%, 20.4% variance and 21.3%, 17.1% variance in spring and summer, respectively. Especially high molecular weight PAHs (BaP, IND, BghiP, Flu, Phe, Flt, Pyr) were dominated in spring when low molecular weight PAHs (AcPy, Ant, Acp, Flu) because of the dominating high temperatures were dominated in the summer. Analysis by using PMF model found the sources of PAHs in spring were stationary sources (34%), vehicle emissions (24%), coal combustion (23%) and petrochemical fuel gas (19%), while in summer the emission sources were petrochemical fuel gas (34%), the natural environment of volatile organic compounds (29%), coal combustion (19%) and stationary sources (18%).

Keywords: PAHs, source identification, diagnostic ratio, principal component analysis, positive matrix factorization

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Authors: Yuanyuan Liu, Yuanqing Wang, Di Li

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions mitigation from road construction activities is one of the potential pathways to deal with climate change due to its higher use of materials, machinery energy consumption, and high quantity of vehicle and equipment fuels for transportation and on-site construction activities. Aiming to assess the environmental impact of the road infrastructure construction activities and to identify hotspots of emissions sources, this study developed a life-cycle CO2 emissions assessment framework covering three stages of material production, to-site and on-site transportation under the guidance of the principle of LCA ISO14040. Then streamlined inventory analysis on sub-processes of each stage was conducted based on the budget files from cases of highway projects in China. The calculation results were normalized into functional unit represented as ton per km per lane. Then a comparison between the amount of emissions from each stage, and sub-process was made to identify the major contributor in the whole highway lifecycle. In addition, the calculating results were used to be compared with results in other countries for understanding the level of CO2 emissions associated with Chinese road infrastructure in the world. The results showed that materials production stage produces the most of the CO2 emissions (for more than 80%), and the production of cement and steel accounts for large quantities of carbon emissions. Life cycle CO2 emissions of fuel and electric energy associated with to-site and on-site transportation vehicle and equipment are a minor component of total life cycle CO2 emissions from highway project construction activities. Bridges and tunnels are dominant large carbon contributor compared to the road segments. The life cycle CO2 emissions of road segment in highway project in China are slightly higher than the estimation results of highways in European countries and USA, about 1500 ton per km per lane. In particularly, the life cycle CO2 emissions of road pavement in majority cities all over the world are about 500 ton per km per lane. However, there is obvious difference between the cities when the estimation on life cycle CO2 emissions of highway projects included bridge and tunnel. The findings of the study could offer decision makers a more comprehensive reference to understand the contribution of road infrastructure to climate change, especially understand the contribution from road infrastructure construction activities in China. In addition, the identified hotspots of emissions sources provide the insights of how to reduce road carbon emissions for development of sustainable transportation.

Keywords: carbon dioxide emissions, construction activities, highway, life cycle assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: El Hatka Hicham, Hafidi Youssef, Saghiri Khalid, Ittobane Najim

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Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) is a low-density cellular material generally used as a cushioning material in many applications such as furniture, bedding, packaging, etc. It is commercially produced during a continuous process, where a reactive mixture of foam chemicals is poured onto a moving conveyor. FPUFs are produced by the catalytic balancing of two reactions involved, the blowing reaction (isocyanate-water) and the gelation reaction (isocyanate-polyol). The microstructure of FPUF is generally composed of soft phases (polyol phases) and rigid domains that separate into two domains of different sizes: the rigid polyurea microdomains and the macrodomains (larger aggregates). The morphological features of FPUF are strongly influenced by the phase separation morphology that plays a key role in determining the global FPUF properties. This phase-separated morphology results from a thermodynamic incompatibility between soft segments derived from aliphatic polyether and hard segments derived from the commonly used aromatic isocyanate. In order to improve the properties of FPUF against the different stresses faced by this material during its use, we report in this work a study of the phase separation phenomenon in FPUF that has been examined using SAXS WAXS and FTIR. Indeed, we have studied with these techniques the effect of water, isocyanates, and alkaline chlorides on the phase separation behavior. SAXS was used to study the morphology of the microphase separated, WAXS to examine the nature of the hard segment packing, and FTIR to investigate the hydrogen bonding characteristics of the materials studied. The prepared foams were shown to have different levels of urea phase connectivity; the increase in water content in the FPUF formulation leads to an increase in the amount of urea formed and consequently the increase of the size of urea aggregates formed. Alkali chlorides (NaCl, KCl, and LiCl) incorporated into FPUF formulations show that is the ability to prevent hydrogen bond formation and subsequently alter the rigid domains. FPUFs prepared by different isocyanate structures showed that urea aggregates are difficult to be formed in foams prepared by asymmetric diisocyanate, while are more easily formed in foams prepared by symmetric and aliphatic diisocyanate.

Keywords: flexible polyurethane foam, hard segments, phase separation, soft segments

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Authors: Suchart Tripopsakul

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This paper uses data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) to investigate the difference of attitudes towards entrepreneurial intention (EI). EI is generally assumed to be the single most relevant predictor of entrepreneurial behavior. The aim of this paper is to examine a range of attitudes effect on individual’s intent to start a new venture. A cross-cultural comparison between Asia and Europe is used to further investigate the possible differences between potential entrepreneurs from these distinct national contexts. The empirical analysis includes a GEM data set of 10 countries (n = 10,306) which was collected in 2013. Logistic regression is used to investigate the effect of individual’s attitudes on EI. Independent variables include individual’s perceived capabilities, the ability to recognize business opportunities, entrepreneurial network, risk perceptions as well as a range of socio-cultural attitudes. Moreover, a cross-cultural comparison of the model is conducted including six ASEAN (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand) and four European nations (Spain, Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom). The findings support the relationship between individual’s attitudes and their entrepreneurial intention. Individual’s capability, opportunity recognition, networks and a range of socio-cultural perceptions all influence EI significantly. The impact of media attention on entrepreneurship and was found to influence EI in ASEAN, but not in Europe. On the one hand, Fear of failure was found to influence EI in Europe, but not in ASEAN. The paper develops and empirically tests attitudes toward Entrepreneurial Intention between ASEAN and Europe. Interestingly, fear of failure was found to have no significant effect in ASEAN, and the impact of media attention on entrepreneurship and was found to influence EI in ASEAN. Moreover, the resistance of ASEAN entrepreneurs to the otherwise high rates of fear of failure and high impact of media attention are proposed as independent variables to explain the relatively high rates of entrepreneurial activity in ASEAN as reported by GEM. The paper utilizes a representative sample of 10,306 individuals in 10 countries. A range of attitudes was found to significantly influence entrepreneurial intention. Many of these perceptions, such as the impact of media attention on entrepreneurship can be manipulated by government policy. The paper also suggests strategies by which Asian economy in particular can benefit from their apparent high impact of media attention on entrepreneurship.

Keywords: an entrepreneurial intention, attitude, GEM, ASEAN and Europe

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Authors: K. Mondal, S. Talapatra, M. Terrones, S. Pokhrel, C. Frizzel, B. Sumpter, V. Meunier, A. L. Elias

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Worldwide energy independence is reliant on the ability to leverage locally available resources for fuel production. Recently, syngas produced through gasification of carbonaceous materials provided a gateway to a host of processes for the production of various chemicals including transportation fuels. The basis of the production of gasoline and diesel-like fuels is the Fischer Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process: A catalyzed chemical reaction that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂) into long chain hydrocarbons. Until now, it has been argued that only transition metal catalysts (usually Co or Fe) are active toward the CO hydrogenation and subsequent chain growth in the presence of hydrogen. In this paper, we demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) surfaces are also capable of hydro-deoxygenating CO and producing long chain hydrocarbons similar to that obtained through the FTS but with orders of magnitude higher conversion efficiencies than the present state-of-the-art FTS catalysts. We have used advanced experimental tools such as XPS and microscopy techniques to characterize CNTs and identify C-O functional groups as the active sites for the enhanced catalytic activity. Furthermore, we have conducted quantum Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to confirm that C-O groups (inherent on CNT surfaces) could indeed be catalytically active towards reduction of CO with H₂, and capable of sustaining chain growth. The DFT calculations have shown that the kinetically and thermodynamically feasible route for CO insertion and hydro-deoxygenation are different from that on transition metal catalysts. Experiments on a continuous flow tubular reactor with various nearly metal-free CNTs have been carried out and the products have been analyzed. CNTs functionalized by various methods were evaluated under different conditions. Reactor tests revealed that the hydrogen pre-treatment reduced the activity of the catalysts to negligible levels. Without the pretreatment, the activity for CO conversion as found to be 7 µmol CO/g CNT/s. The O-functionalized samples showed very activities greater than 85 µmol CO/g CNT/s with nearly 100% conversion. Analyses show that CO hydro-deoxygenation occurred at the C-O/O-H functional groups. It was found that while the products were similar to FT products, differences in selectivities were observed which, in turn, was a result of a different catalytic mechanism. These findings now open a new paradigm for CNT-based hydrogenation catalysts and constitute a defining point for obtaining clean, earth abundant, alternative fuels through the use of efficient and renewable catalyst.

Keywords: CNT, CO Hydrodeoxygenation, DFT, liquid fuels, XPS, XTL

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Authors: Marine Kobalava

Abstract:

The article analyzes the level of Georgia's tourism potential usage during the pandemic. The conclusion is drawnthat Georgia, as a tourism brand, is in a significant crisis at this stage, revenues from this sector have been substantially reduced, communication with potential customers is interrupted, no international marketing and PR communication strategies have been developed for the post-pandemic period. In order to rehabilitate the tourism industry of Georgia, it is considered vital to take measures using international marketing and PR communication strategies adjusted to the needs of the sectorthat will improve the use of tourism potential and stimulate the development of the sector. The goal of the research is to identify the factors hindering the use of tourism potential in the direction of international marketing and PR communication strategies in the post-pandemic period and to develop recommendations on ways to solve them. Research methods. The paper uses various theoretical and methodological tools of research, including Bibliographic research has been conducted on the main research issues; Analysis, synthesis, induction, and other methods are used to select and group data, identify similarities and differences, and identify trends; Endogenous and exogenous factors affecting the field of tourism have been studied by means of SWOT and PESTEL analyzes. A comparison model is used to analyze the strategy documents. Primary accounting materials are obtained from the National Statistics Office and the relevant ministries. Based on the results of the research, the directions of correct positioning of tourism products and marketing communication in the post-pandemic period have been developed. It is substantiated that a short-term international marketing strategy should include: probable goals of communication, maintaining a position on a potential traveler's “radar,” focusing communication on key motivating factors (gastronomy, winemaking, folklore, protected areas, mountainous regions). From a marketing point of view, it is important: holding international marketing events, compiling a list of target countries, formation of stimulus mechanisms, development of incentive programs for international tour operators, etc. The paper draws conclusions about the problems of using the tourism potential, recommendations on ways to solve this problems through international marketing and PR communication strategies are offered

Keywords: PR communication, international marketing strategy, tourism potential, post-pandemic period

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