Search results for: earthquake resistant concrete constructions

Authors: Mutasim A. M. Ez Eldin, Tareq Saeid Al Zahrani, Gabel Zamil Al-Barakati, Ibrahim Mohamed AlHarthi, Marwan Mohamed Al Saikhan, Waleed Abdel Aziz Al Aklouk, Waheed Mohamed Saeid Ba Amer

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The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) of Al Madinah Al Munawarah is one of the major projects and represents a cornerstone for the new development activities for Al Madinah. The study area contains different geological units dominated by basalt and overlain by surface deposits. The surface soils vary in thickness and can be classified into well-graded SAND with silt and gravel (SW-SM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silty GRAVEL with sand (GM), and sandy SILTY clay (CL-ML). The subsurface soil obtained from the drilled boreholes can be classified into poorly graded GRAVEL (GP), well-graded GRAVEL with sand (GW), poorly graded GRAVEL with silt (GP-GM), silty CLAYEY gravel with sand (GC-GM), silty SAND with gravel (SM), silt with SAND (ML), and silty CLAY with sand (CL-ML), sandy lean CLAY (CL), and lean CLAY (CL). The relative density of the deposit and the different gravel sizes intercalated with the soil influenced the Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) values. The SPT N values are high and approach refusal even at shallow depths. The shallow refusal depth (0.10 to 0.90m) of the Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT) was observed. Generally, the soil can be described as inactive with low plasticity and dense to very dense consistency. The basalt of the KEC site is characterized by slightly (W2) to moderately (W3) weathering, their strength ranges from moderate (S4) to very strong (S2), and the Rock Quality Designation (RQD) ranges from very poor (R5) to excellent (R1). The engineering geological map of the KEC characterized the geoengineering properties of the soil and rock materials and classified them into many zones. The high sulphate (SO₄²⁻) and chloride (Cl⁻) contents in groundwater call for protective measures for foundation concrete. The current study revealed that geohazard(s) mitigation measures concerning floods, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes should be taken into consideration.

Keywords: engineering geology, KEC, petrographic description, rock and soil investigations

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Authors: Louk Aourelien Andrianos, Edward Dommen, Athena Peralta

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Greed, as epitomized by overconsumption of natural resources, is at the root of ecological destruction and unsustainability of modern societies. Presently economies rely on unrestricted structural greed which fuels unlimited economic growth, overconsumption, and individualistic competitive behavior. Structural greed undermines the life support system on earth and threatens ecological integrity, social justice and peace. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has developed a program on ecological and economic justice (EEJ) with the aim to promote an economy of life where the economy is embedded in society and society in ecology. This paper aims at analyzing and assessing the economy of life (EcoLife) by offering an empirical tool to measure and monitor the root causes and effects of unsustainability resulting from human greed on global, national, institutional and individual levels. This holistic approach is based on the integrity of ecology and economy in a society founded on justice. The paper will discuss critical questions such as ‘what is an economy of life’ and ‘how to measure and control it from the effect of greed’. A model called GLIMS, which stands for Greed Lines and Indices Measurement System is used to clarify the concept of greed and help measuring the economy of life index by fuzzy logic reasoning. The inputs of the model are from statistical indicators of natural resources consumption, financial realities, economic performance, social welfare and ethical and political facts. The outputs are concrete measures of three primary indices of ecological, economic and socio-political greed (ECOL-GI, ECON-GI, SOCI-GI) and one overall multidimensional economy of life index (EcoLife-I). EcoLife measurement aims to build awareness of an economy life and to address the effects of greed in systemic and structural aspects. It is a tool for ethical diagnosis and policy making.

Keywords: greed line, sustainability indicators, fuzzy logic, eco-justice, World Council of Churches (WCC)

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Authors: A. Priyanka, Sunil Kumar Kainoor, Parinitha Nayaka

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Introduction: Ever since the ancient times, rape and other sexual offences are considered to be heinous crimes. Rape is not just another word in the dictionary, but it is the most barbaric act of violence committed with sex being the weapon. Rape is among the highest forms of crime experienced by women and children in all sectors of the society. In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in ratio of rape in India. The burden of such crimes on the society is very huge. The venereal diseases are the worst consequence along with unwanted pregnancies. Aims and Objectives: To determine the socio-demographic profile of the survivors of sexual offences reported to Dept. of Forensic Medicine of a South Indian medical college. Material methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India. Only survivors of sexual offences cases were included in the study group. Examination of all survivors was carried out by doctors of the said Department. Study period is one year six months, January 2015 to June 2016. Results/ case history: In total 140 cases of sexual offences were examined during study period of which the total survivors accounted to 62.85% i.e. 88 cases. Of the 88 survivors, 61 (69.31%) were registered under POCSO Act. The most affected age group of victims was 10-18 years in 59 (67%) cases. 61% were in acquaintance with the assailants, 18% were classmates/ friends, 13% of accused were Family members/ Relatives, 8% were strangers. 85% of the survivors were hailing from rural setup, while 15% were from urban. 60.65% of the survivors were students, 37.7% were doing Coolie/ Agricultural works. Conclusion: Delay in reporting of cases resulted in loss of vital physical evidences as no concrete report could be generated from the forensic lab after examination of specimens thus there should be coordination among doctors, forensic experts and investigating agency. It is worth mentioning that though a large number of cases of sexual offences are reported as rape many among them are consented acts and hence definite evidence of forceful sexual intercourse is lagging.

Keywords: consensual sex, India, POCSO Act- 2012, India, pregnancy, rape, sexual offence

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Authors: Muhammad Umer Mehmood, Muhammad Luqman, Muhammad Yaseen, Imtiaz Hussain

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Climate change is an arduous fact, which could not be unheeded easily. It is a phenomenon which has brought a collection of challenges for the mankind. Scientists have found many of its negative impacts on the life of human being and the resources on which the life of humanity is dependent. There are many issues which are associated with the factor of prime importance in this study, 'climate change'. Whenever changes happen in nature, they strike the whole globe. Effects of these changes vary from region to region. Climate of every region of this globe is different from the other. Even within a state, country or the province has different climatic conditions. So it is mandatory that the response in that specific region and the coping strategy of this specific region should be according to the prevailing risk. In the present study, the objective was to assess the coping strategies and vulnerability of small landholders. So that a professional suggestion could be made to cope with the vulnerability factor of small farmers. The cross-sectional research design was used with the intervention of quantitative approach. The study was conducted in the Khanewal district, of Punjab, Pakistan. 120 small farmers were interviewed after randomized sampling from the population of respective area. All respondents were above the age of 15 years. A questionnaire was developed after keen observation of facts in the respective area. Content and face validity of the instrument was assessed with SPSS and experts in the field. Data were analyzed through SPSS using descriptive statistics. From the sample of 120, 81.67% of the respondents claimed that the environment is getting warmer and not fit for their present agricultural practices. 84.17% of the sample expressed serious concern that they are disturbed due to change in rainfall pattern and vulnerability towards the climatic effects. On the other hand, they expressed that they are not good at tackling the effects of climate change. Adaptation of coping strategies like change in cropping pattern, use of resistant varieties, varieties with minimum water requirement, intercropping and tree planting was low by more than half of the sample. From the sample 63.33% small farmers said that the coping strategies they adopt are not effective enough. The present study showed that subsistence farming, lack of marketing and overall infrastructure, lack of access to social security networks, limited access to agriculture extension services, inappropriate access to agrometeorological system, unawareness and access to scientific development and low crop yield are the prominent factors which are responsible for the vulnerability of small farmers. A comprehensive study should be conducted at national level so that a national policy could be formulated to cope with the dilemma in future with relevance to climate change. Mainstreaming and collaboration among the researchers and academicians could prove beneficiary in this regard the interest of national leaders’ does matter. Proper policies to avoid the vulnerability factors should be the top priority. The world is taking up this issue with full responsibility as should we, keeping in view the local situation.

Keywords: adaptation, coping strategies, climate change, Pakistan, small farmers, vulnerability

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Authors: Youssef Wardeh, Elias Kinab, Pierre Rahme, Gilles Escadeillas, Stephane Ginestet

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Urban heat islands designate a local phenomenon that appears in high density cities. This results in a rise ofambient temperature in the urban area compared to the neighboring rural area. Solar radiation plays an important role in this phenomenon since it is partially absorbed by the materials, especially roads and parking lots. Cool pavements constitute an innovative and promising technique to mitigate urban heat islands. The cool pavements studied in this work allow to limit the increase of the surface temperature, thanks to evaporation of the water conducted through capillary pores, from the humidified base to the surface exposed to solar radiation. However, the performance or the cooling capacity of a pavement sometimes remained difficult to characterize. In this work, a new definition of the cooling capacity of a pavement is presented, and a correlation between the latter and the hydrothermal properties of cool pavements is revealed. Firstly, several porous concrete pavements were characterized through their hydrothermal properties, which can be related to the cooling effect, such as albedo, thermal conductivity, water absorption, etc. Secondly, these pavements initially saturated and continuously supplied with water through their bases, were exposed to external solar radiation during three sunny summer days, and their surface temperatures were measured. For draining pavements, a strong second-degreepolynomial correlation(R² = 0.945) was found between the cooling capacity and the term, which reflects the interconnection of capillary water to the surface. Moreover, it was noticed that the cooling capacity reaches its maximum for an optimal range of capillary pores for which the capillary rise is stronger than gravity. For non-draining pavements, a good negative linear correlation (R² = 0.828) was obtained between the cooling capacity and the term, which expresses the ability to heat the capillary water by the energystored far from the surface, and, therefore, the dominance of the evaporation process by diffusion. The latest tests showed that this process is, however, likely to be disturbed by the material resistance to the water vapor diffusion.

Keywords: urban heat islands, cool pavement, cooling capacity, hydrothermal properties, evaporation

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Authors: Athini Ntloko

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Mycobacterium bovis and other species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) can result to a zoonotic infection known as Bovine tuberculosis (bTB). MTBC has members that may contaminate an extensive range of hosts, including wildlife. Diverse wild species are known to cause disease in domestic livestock and are acknowledged as TB reservoirs. It has been a main study worldwide to deliberate on bTB risk factors as a result and some studies focused on particular parts of risk factors such as wildlife and herd management. The significance of the study was to determine the incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex that is associated with soil, hayfeed and water. Questionnaires were administered to thirty (30) smallholding farm owners in the two villages (kwaMasele and Qungqwala) and three (3) three commercial farms (Fort Hare dairy farm, Middledrift dairy farm and Seven star dairy farm). Detection of M. tuberculosis complex was achieved by Polymerase Chain Reaction using primers for IS6110; whereas a genotypic drug resistance mutation was detected using Genotype MTBDRplus assays. Nine percent (9%) of respondents had more than 40 cows in their herd, while 60% reported between 10 and 20 cows in their herd. Relationship between farm size and vaccination for TB differed from forty one percent (41%) being the highest to the least five percent (5%). The highest number of respondents who knew about relationship between TB cases and cattle location was ninety one percent (91%). Approximately fifty one percent (51%) of respondents had knowledge about wild life access to the farms. Relationship between import of cattle and farm size ranged from nine percent (9%) to thirty five percent (35%). Cattle sickness in relation to farm size differed from forty three (43%) being the highest to the least three percent (3%); while thirty three percent (33%) of respondents had knowledge about health management. Respondents with knowledge about the occurrence of TB infections in farms were forty-eight percent (48%). The frequency of DNA isolation from samples ranged from the highest forty-five percent (45%) from water to the least twenty two percent (22%) from soil. Fort Hare dairy farm had the highest number of positive samples, forty four percent (44%) from water samples; whereas Middledrift dairy farm had the lowest positive from water, seventeen percent (17%). Twelve (22%) out of 55 isolates showed resistance to INH and RIF that is, multi-drug resistance (MDR) and nine percent (9%) were sensitive to either INH or RIF. The mutations at rpoB gene differed from 58% being the highest to the least (23%). Fifty seven percent (57%) of samples showed a S315T1 mutation while only 14% possessed a S531L in the katG gene. The highest inhA mutations were detected in T8A (80 %) and the least was observed in A16G (17%). The results of this study reveal that risk factors for bTB in cattle and dairy farm workers are a serious issue abound in the Eastern Cape of South Africa; with the possibility of widespread dissemination of multidrug resistant determinants in MTBC from the environment.

Keywords: hayfeed, isoniazid, multi-drug resistance, mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, polymerase chain reaction, rifampicin, soil, water

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Authors: Simon B.A. Egli, Katja Rost

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Literature on redistributive preferences has proliferated in past decades. A core assumption behind it is that variation in redistributive preferences can explain different levels of redistribution. In contrast, this paper considers the reverse. What if it is redistribution that changes redistributive preferences? The core assumption behind the argument is that if self-interest - which we label concrete preferences - and ideology - which we label abstract preferences - come into conflict, the former will prevail and lead to an adjustment of the latter. To test the hypothesis, data from a survey conducted in Switzerland during the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis is used. A significant portion of the workforce at the time unexpectedly received state money through the short-time working program. Short-time work was used as a proxy for self-interest and was tested (1) on the support given to hypothetical, ailing firms during the crisis and (2) on the prioritization of justice principles guiding state action. In a first step, several models using OLS-regressions on political orientation were estimated to test our hypothesis as well as to check for non-linear effects. We expected support for ailing firms to be the same regardless of ideology but only for people on short-time work. The results both confirm our hypothesis and suggest a non-linear effect. Far-right individuals on short-time work were disproportionally supportive compared to moderate ones. In a second step, ordered logit models were estimated to test the impact of short-time work and political orientation on the rankings of the distributive justice principles need, performance, entitlement, and equality. The results show that being on short-time work significantly alters the prioritization of justice principles. Right-wing individuals are much more likely to prioritize need and equality over performance and entitlement when they receive government assistance. No such effect is found among left-wing individuals. In conclusion, we provide moderate to strong evidence that unexpectedly finding oneself at the receiving end changes redistributive preferences if personal ideology is antithetical to redistribution. The implications of our findings on the study of populism, personal ideologies, and political change are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19, ideology, redistribution, redistributive preferences, self-interest

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Authors: Natsuko D'Aprile

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The construction of Nation-States is a historical process that produces a type of national identity and culture that States nowadays mobilise for global outreach. National culture, as a set of norms and values influencing individuals’ actions and decisions, produces a type of policy making of various strategies that impact how a Nation is promoted overseas. The 1990s were marked by a resurgence of the debates on national identity. This period is believed to have paved the way for nationalism and witnessed increased attention to analytical approaches to identity. Public diplomacy is a concrete example of how national culture is mobilised to project a favourable image of a Nation abroad, especially in the narratives on national identity mobilised by diplomatic actors. Public diplomacy is understood as providing tools for States to build and project strategic narratives that represent events and identities in an attempt to influence domestic and foreign audiences, be they domestic or foreign. France and Japan received little attention on the matter. This research hence aims to investigate how France and Japan have mobilised narratives on national identity since the 1990s in the context of their public diplomacy. To understand how identities are framed, qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis has been performed on a corpus of various speeches held by French and Japanese political actors in which they present their diplomacy goals, as well as official documents provided by both Ministries of Foreign Affairs. This analysis showed that the French discourse integrates a narrative on France’s universal vocation, relying on the expression of a Nation whose model is worldly applicable and has the legitimacy to influence international decisions. The Japanese discourse does not concretely emphasise Japanese or Asian values, except for some narratives integrating Confucian and Shintō values. It rather revolves around the need for Japan to ensure its citizens’ security and prosperity, hence the need for the Government to contribute to peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Keywords: comparative politics, culture, discourse analysis, narratives, public diplomacy

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Authors: Lucia Liu, Matthew Koziol

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a long-lasting anxiety disorder involving recurrent, intrusive thoughts, affects over 2 million adults in the United States. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) stands out as a noninvasive, cutting-edge therapy that has been shown to reduce symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant OCD. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved protocol pairs TMS sessions with individualized symptom provocation, aiming to improve the susceptibility of brain circuits to stimulation. However, limited standardization or guidance exists on how to conduct symptom provocation and which methods are most effective. This study aims to compare the effect of internal versus external techniques to induce obsessional stress in a clinical setting during TMS therapy. Two symptom provocation methods, (i) Asking patients thought-provoking questions about their obsessions (internal) and (ii) Requesting patients to perform obsession-related tasks (external), were employed in a crossover design with repeated measurement. Thirty-six treatments of NeuroStar TMS were administered to each of two patients over 8 weeks in an outpatient clinic. Patient One received 18 sessions of internal provocation followed by 18 sessions of external provocation, while Patient Two received 18 sessions of external provocation followed by 18 sessions of internal provocation. The primary outcome was the level of self-reported obsessional stress on a visual analog scale from 1 to 10. The secondary outcome was self-reported OCD severity, collected biweekly in a four-level Likert-scale (1 to 4) of bad, fair, good and excellent. Outcomes were compared and tested between provocation arms through repeated measures ANOVA, accounting for intra-patient correlations. Ages were 42 for Patient One (male, White) and 57 for Patient Two (male, White). Both patients had similar moderate symptoms at baseline, as determined through the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). When comparing obsessional stress induced across the two arms of internal and external provocation methods, the mean (SD) was 6.03 (1.18) for internal and 4.01 (1.28) for external strategies (P=0.0019); ranges were 3 to 8 for internal and 2 to 8 for external strategies. Internal provocation yielded 5 (31.25%) bad, 6 (33.33%) fair, 3 (18.75%) good, and 2 (12.5%) excellent responses for OCD status, while external provocation yielded 5 (31.25%) bad, 9 (56.25%) fair, 1 (6.25%) good, and 1 (6.25%) excellent responses (P=0.58). Internal symptom provocation tactics had a significantly stronger impact on inducing obsessional stress and led to better OCD status (non-significant). This could be attributed to the fact that answering questions may prompt patients to reflect more on their lived experiences and struggles with OCD. In the future, clinical trials with larger sample sizes are warranted to validate this finding. Results support the increased integration of internal methods into structured provocation protocols, potentially reducing the time required for provocation and achieving greater treatment response to TMS.

Keywords: obsessive-compulsive disorder, transcranial magnetic stimulation, mental health, symptom provocation

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Authors: Alemayehu Muluneh, Saskia Keesstra, Leo Stroosnijder, Woldeamlak Bewket, Ashenafi Burka

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There are some scientific evidences and a belief by many that forests attract rain and deforestation contributes to a decline of rainfall. However, there is still a lack of concrete scientific evidence on the role of forests in rainfall amount. In this paper, we investigate the forest-rainfall relationships in the environmentally hot spot area of the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia. Specifically, we evaluate long term (1970-2009) rainfall variability and its relationship with historical forest cover and the relationship between existing forest cover and topographical variables and rainfall distribution. The study used 16 long term and 15 short term rainfall stations. The Mann-Kendall test, bi variate and multiple regression models were used. The results show forest and wood land cover continuously declined over the 40 years period (1970-2009), but annual rainfall in the rift valley floor increased by 6.42 mm/year. But, on the escarpment and highlands, annual rainfall decreased by 2.48 mm/year. The increase in annual rainfall in the rift valley floor is partly attributable to the increase in evaporation as a result of increasing temperatures from the 4 existing lakes in the rift valley floor. Though, annual rainfall is decreasing on the escarpment and highlands, there was no significant correlation between this rainfall decrease and forest and wood land decline and also rainfall variability in the region was not explained by forest cover. Hence, the decrease in annual rainfall on the escarpment and highlands is likely related to the global warming of the atmosphere and the surface waters of the Indian Ocean. Spatial variability of number of rainy days from systematically observed two-year’s rainfall data (2012-2013) was significantly (R2=-0.63) explained by forest cover (distance from forest). But, forest cover was not a significant variable (R2=-0.40) in explaining annual rainfall amount. Generally, past deforestation and existing forest cover showed very little effect on long term and short term rainfall distribution, but a significant effect on number of rainy days in the CRV of Ethiopia.

Keywords: elevation, forest cover, rainfall, slope

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Authors: Anuj Tyagi, Balwinder Singh, Naveen Kumar B. T., Niraj K. Singh

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Characterization of diverse microbial communities in specific environment plays a crucial role in the better understanding of their functional relationship with the ecosystem. It is now well established that gut microbiome of fish is not the simple replication of microbiota of surrounding local habitat, and extensive species, dietary, physiological and metabolic variations in fishes may have a significant impact on its composition. Moreover, overuse of antibiotics in human, veterinary and aquaculture medicine has led to rapid emergence and propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquatic environment. Microbial communities harboring specific ARGs not only get a preferential edge during selective antibiotic exposure but also possess the significant risk of ARGs transfer to other non-resistance bacteria within the confined environments. This phenomenon may lead to the emergence of habitat-specific microbial resistomes and subsequent emergence of virulent antibiotic-resistant pathogens with severe fish and consumer health consequences. In this study, gut microbiota of freshwater carp (Labeo rohita) was investigated by shotgun metagenomics to understand its taxonomic composition and functional capabilities. Metagenomic DNA, extracted from the fish gut, was subjected to sequencing on Illumina NextSeq to generate paired-end (PE) 2 x 150 bp sequencing reads. After the QC of raw sequencing data by Trimmomatic, taxonomic analysis by Kraken2 taxonomic sequence classification system revealed the presence of 36 phyla, 326 families and 985 genera in the fish gut microbiome. At phylum level, Proteobacteria accounted for more than three-fourths of total bacterial populations followed by Actinobacteria (14%) and Cyanobacteria (3%). Commonly used probiotic bacteria (Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Lactococcus) were found to be very less prevalent in fish gut. After sequencing data assembly by MEGAHIT v1.1.2 assembler and PROKKA automated analysis pipeline, pathway analysis revealed the presence of 1,608 Metacyc pathways in the fish gut microbiome. Biosynthesis pathways were found to be the most dominant (51%) followed by degradation (39%), energy-metabolism (4%) and fermentation (2%). Almost one-third (33%) of biosynthesis pathways were involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of 35 antibiotic types were also present, and these accounted for 5% of overall metabolic pathways in the fish gut microbiome. Fifty-one different types of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) belonging to 15 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene families and conferring resistance against 24 antibiotic types were detected in fish gut. More than 90% ARGs in fish gut microbiome were against beta-lactams (penicillins, cephalosporins, penems, and monobactams). Resistance against tetracycline, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and phenicols ranged from 0.7% to 1.3%. Some of the ARGs for multi-drug resistance were also found to be located on sequences of plasmid origin. The presence of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs on plasmid sequences suggested the potential risk due to horizontal gene transfer in the confined gut environment.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, fish gut, metabolic pathways, microbial diversity

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Authors: Nicole Selvi Hill, Archchana Radhakrishnan

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Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality among trauma patients. In the management of TBI, the main principle is avoiding cerebral ischemia, as this is a strong determiner of neurological outcomes. The use of vasoactive drugs, such as vasopressin, has an important role in maintaining cerebral perfusion pressure to prevent secondary brain injury. Current guidelines do not suggest a preferred vasoactive drug to administer in the management of TBI, and there is a paucity of information on the therapeutic potential of vasopressin following TBI. Vasopressin is also an endogenous anti-diuretic hormone (AVP), and pathways mediated by AVP play a large role in the underlying pathological processes of TBI. This creates an overlap of discussion regarding the therapeutic potential of vasopressin following TBI. Currently, its popularity lies in vasodilatory and cardiogenic shock in the intensive care setting, with increasing support for its use in haemorrhagic and septic shock. Methodology: This is a review article based on a literature review. An electronic search was conducted via PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. The aim was to identify clinical studies looking at the therapeutic administration of vasopressin in severe traumatic brain injury. The primary aim was to look at the neurological outcome of patients. The secondary aim was to look at surrogate markers of cerebral perfusion measurements, such as cerebral perfusion pressure, cerebral oxygenation, and cerebral blood flow. Results: Eight papers were included in the final number. Three were animal studies; five were human studies, comprised of three case reports, one retrospective review of data, and one randomised control trial. All animal studies demonstrated the benefits of vasopressors in TBI management. One animal study showed the superiority of vasopressin in reducing intracranial pressure and increasing cerebral oxygenation over a catecholaminergic vasopressor, phenylephrine. All three human case reports were supportive of vasopressin as a rescue therapy in catecholaminergic-resistant hypotension. The retrospective review found vasopressin did not increase cerebral oedema in TBI patients compared to catecholaminergic vasopressors; and demonstrated a significant reduction in the requirements of hyperosmolar therapy in patients that received vasopressin. The randomised control trial results showed no significant differences in primary and secondary outcomes between TBI patients receiving vasopressin versus those receiving catecholaminergic vasopressors. Apart from the randomised control trial, the studies included are of low-level evidence. Conclusion: Studies favour vasopressin within certain parameters of cerebral function compared to control groups. However, the neurological outcomes of patient groups are not known, and animal study results are difficult to extrapolate to humans. It cannot be said with certainty whether vasopressin’s benefits stand above usage of other vasoactive drugs due to the weaknesses of the evidence. Further randomised control trials, which are larger, standardised, and rigorous, are required to improve knowledge in this field.

Keywords: catecholamines, cerebral perfusion pressure, traumatic brain injury, vasopressin, vasopressors

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Authors: Geremew Geidare Kailo, Igor Gáspár, András Koris, Ivana Pajčin, Flóra Vitális, Vanja Vlajkov

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Three-dimension (3D) printing, a very popular additive manufacturing technology, has recently undergone rapid growth and replaced the use of conventional technology from prototyping to producing end-user parts and products. The 3D Printing technology involves a digital manufacturing machine that produces three-dimensional objects according to designs created by the user via 3D modeling or computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software. The most popular 3D printing system is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or also called Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). A 3D-printed object is considered food safe if it can have direct contact with the food without any toxic effects, even after cleaning, storing, and reusing the object. This work analyzes the processing timeline of the filament (material for 3D printing) from unboxing to the extrusion through the nozzle. It is an important task to analyze the growth of bacteria on the 3D printed surface and in gaps between the layers. By default, the 3D-printed object is not food safe after longer usage and direct contact with food (even though they use food-safe filaments), but there are solutions for this problem. The aim of this work was to evaluate the 3D-printed object from different perspectives of food safety. Firstly, testing antimicrobial 3D printing filaments from a food safety aspect since the 3D Printed object in the food industry may have direct contact with the food. Therefore, the main purpose of the work is to reduce the microbial load on the surface of a 3D-printed part. Coating with epoxy resin was investigated, too, to see its effect on mechanical strength, thermal resistance, surface smoothness and food safety (cleanability). Another aim of this study was to test new temperature-resistant filaments and the effect of high temperature on 3D printed materials to see if they can be cleaned with boiling or similar hi-temp treatment. This work proved that all three mentioned methods could improve the food safety of the 3D printed object, but the size of this effect variates. The best result we got was with coating with epoxy resin, and the object was cleanable like any other injection molded plastic object with a smooth surface. Very good results we got by boiling the objects, and it is good to see that nowadays, more and more special filaments have a food-safe certificate and can withstand boiling temperatures too. Using antibacterial filaments reduced bacterial colonies to 1/5, but the biggest advantage of this method is that it doesn’t require any post-processing. The object is ready out of the 3D printer. Acknowledgements: The research was supported by the Hungarian and Serbian bilateral scientific and technological cooperation project funded by the Hungarian National Office for Research, Development and Innovation (NKFI, 2019-2.1.11-TÉT-2020-00249) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. The authors acknowledge the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences’s Doctoral School of Food Science for the support in this study

Keywords: food safety, 3D printing, filaments, microbial, temperature

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Authors: Ming-Hsiang Shih, Wen-Pei Sung, Shih-Heng Tung

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The purposes of hydraulic gate are to maintain the functions of storing and draining water. It bears long-term hydraulic pressure and earthquake force and is very important for reservoir and waterpower plant. The high tensile strength of steel plate is used as constructional material of hydraulic gate. The cracks and rusts, induced by the defects of material, bad construction and seismic excitation and under water respectively, thus, the mechanics phenomena of gate with crack are probing into the cause of stress concentration, induced high crack increase rate, affect the safety and usage of hydroelectric power plant. Stress distribution analysis is a very important and essential surveying technique to analyze bi-material and singular point problems. The finite difference infinitely small element method has been demonstrated, suitable for analyzing the buckling phenomena of welding seam and steel plate with crack. Especially, this method can easily analyze the singularity of kink crack. Nevertheless, the construction form and deformation shape of some gates are three-dimensional system. Therefore, the three-dimensional Digital Image Correlation (DIC) has been developed and applied to analyze the strain variation of steel plate with crack at weld joint. The proposed Digital image correlation (DIC) technique is an only non-contact method for measuring the variation of test object. According to rapid development of digital camera, the cost of this digital image correlation technique has been reduced. Otherwise, this DIC method provides with the advantages of widely practical application of indoor test and field test without the restriction on the size of test object. Thus, the research purpose of this research is to develop and apply this technique to monitor mechanics crack variations of weld steel hydraulic gate and its conformation under action of loading. The imagines can be picked from real time monitoring process to analyze the strain change of each loading stage. The proposed 3-Dimensional digital image correlation method, developed in the study, is applied to analyze the post-buckling phenomenon and buckling tendency of welded steel plate with crack. Then, the stress intensity of 3-dimensional analysis of different materials and enhanced materials in steel plate has been analyzed in this paper. The test results show that this proposed three-dimensional DIC method can precisely detect the crack variation of welded steel plate under different loading stages. Especially, this proposed DIC method can detect and identify the crack position and the other flaws of the welded steel plate that the traditional test methods hardly detect these kind phenomena. Therefore, this proposed three-dimensional DIC method can apply to observe the mechanics phenomena of composite materials subjected to loading and operating.

Keywords: welded steel plate, crack variation, three-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC), crack stel plate

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Authors: Yildiz Stella Dak, Jale Tezcan

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Ground motion models that relate a strong motion parameter of interest to a set of predictive seismological variables describing the earthquake source, the propagation path of the seismic wave, and the local site conditions constitute a critical component of seismic hazard analyses. When a sufficient number of strong motion records are available, ground motion relations are developed using statistical analysis of the recorded ground motion data. In regions lacking a sufficient number of recordings, a synthetic database is developed using stochastic, theoretical or hybrid approaches. Regardless of the manner the database was developed, ground motion relations are developed using regression analysis. Development of a ground motion relation is a challenging process which inevitably requires the modeler to make subjective decisions regarding the inclusion criteria of the recordings, the functional form of the model and the set of seismological variables to be included in the model. Because these decisions are critically important to the validity and the applicability of the model, there is a continuous interest on procedures that will facilitate the development of ground motion models. This paper proposes the use of the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) in selecting the set predictive seismological variables to be used in developing a ground motion relation. The LASSO can be described as a penalized regression technique with a built-in capability of variable selection. Similar to the ridge regression, the LASSO is based on the idea of shrinking the regression coefficients to reduce the variance of the model. Unlike ridge regression, where the coefficients are shrunk but never set equal to zero, the LASSO sets some of the coefficients exactly to zero, effectively performing variable selection. Given a set of candidate input variables and the output variable of interest, LASSO allows ranking the input variables in terms of their relative importance, thereby facilitating the selection of the set of variables to be included in the model. Because the risk of overfitting increases as the ratio of the number of predictors to the number of recordings increases, selection of a compact set of variables is important in cases where a small number of recordings are available. In addition, identification of a small set of variables can improve the interpretability of the resulting model, especially when there is a large number of candidate predictors. A practical application of the proposed approach is presented, using more than 600 recordings from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) database, where the effect of a set of seismological predictors on the 5% damped maximum direction spectral acceleration is investigated. The set of candidate predictors considered are Magnitude, Rrup, Vs30. Using LASSO, the relative importance of the candidate predictors has been ranked. Regression models with increasing levels of complexity were constructed using one, two, three, and four best predictors, and the models’ ability to explain the observed variance in the target variable have been compared. The bias-variance trade-off in the context of model selection is discussed.

Keywords: ground motion modeling, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, penalized regression, variable selection

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Authors: Apurva Sapra

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The aim of this research was to study and compare the nature of expected, feared and hoped-for selves in institutionalized adolescent boys in two residential settings – an observation home with children in conflict with the law, and a children’s home with children in need of care and protection. The study uses a concurrent mixed methods design, in which eight adolescent boys from each group, aged 13-17, were asked to respond to a questionnaire, followed by an in-depth interview. The questionnaire looked into the total scores on current, probable and hoped-for/feared positive and negative self-descriptors. Possible selves of both groups were found to be influenced by their unique histories, such as with their experience of violence, interaction with the police and emphasis given on education. Expected selves and hoped-for selves were similar within the two groups. However, they were more concrete and attainable in the observation home and more ambitious in the children’s home. Quantitative results showed that on the positive self-descriptors, the participants in the observation home had a slightly lower total score on the current parameter as on the probable and hoped-for parameters. The participants in the children’s home showed similar results on current and probable positive self-descriptors, with higher scores on the hoped-for parameter. For most of the negative self-descriptors, the current score for the observation home group was lower than the expected score, and for the children’s home group, they were feared slightly more than they were expected. Along with the nature of possible selves, the study also looked into threats and support to desired and feared possible selves, as well as strategies to attain the desired possible selves and avoid feared possible selves. While threats to possible selves were identified as external and internal in both groups, the participants in the children’s home tended to identify threats as external. The categories of support were similar across the two groups, although the nature of support provided differed. Strategies adopted by participants in the observation home could be clearly divided as past, present and future strategies, while those adopted by participants in the children’s home had an overlap with past and future strategies. The institution was perceived as having a negative influence for the future in the observation home group, but positive in the children’s home group. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research, policy setting and the counselling profession are discussed.

Keywords: adolescents, expected self, feared self, hoped-for self, institutions, possible selves

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Authors: Eman Nagi Gowid Selim

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Nowadays, the relevance of places to people has been questioned from different perspectives. This is attributed to the fact that many international concrete blocks were used to create multi-use public spaces in neighborhoods based on the techniques of mass-productions concepts that became one of the most effective ways in building construction, replacing the local and traditional built environment. During the last decades, the world has become increasingly globalized and citizen more mobilized, and thus, ignoring the social and environmental dimensions of the local identity. The main enquiries of the research are “How did building technologies affect urban settlement’s identity?” and “What are the impacts of technologies and globalization on local identities in urban spaces? “From this perspective, the research presents firstly, a historical review that shows how old civilizations enhance their local identities using the newly discovered building materials in each era in different urban settlement and fabrics without losing the identity. The second part of the research highlights the different approaches of building technologies and urban design to present a clear understanding of ways of applying and merging between different methodologies to achieve the most efficient urban space design. The third part aims at analyzing some international and national case studies where the form and structure of particular spaces are vital to identifying the morphological elements of urban settlements and the links existing between them. In addition, it determines how the building materials are used to enrich the vocabulary of the local identity. This part ends with the deduction of the guidelines for the integration of the environmental and social dimensions within the building technologies` approaches to enhance the sustainability of local identities and thus, ending up with redefining "Urban Identity" to guide future research in such cultural areas. Finally, the research uses the comparative methodology for applying the deduced guidelines on a national case study namely “Othman`s Towers” in corniche El Maadi, and then ends up by some results in the form of strategies for future researcher, that identifies how to ensure local identity in urban settlements using new building materials and technologies to achieve social and environmental comfort within the cultural areas.

Keywords: building technologies, cultural context, environmental approach, participatory design, social dimension, urban spaces

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Authors: Sumeet Rai, Anuj Tyagi, B. T. Naveen Kumar, Shubhkaramjeet Kaur, Niraj K. Singh

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Since their discovery, indiscriminate use of antibiotics in human, veterinary and aquaculture systems has resulted in global emergence/spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Thus, the need for alternative approaches to control bacterial infections has become utmost important. High selectivity/specificity of bacteriophages (phages) permits the targeting of specific bacteria without affecting the desirable flora. In this study, a lytic phage (Ahp1) specific to Aeromonas hydrophila subsp. hydrophila was isolated from finfish aquaculture pond. The host range of Ahp1 range was tested against 10 isolates of A. hydrophila, 7 isolates of A. veronii, 25 Vibrio cholerae isolates, 4 V. parahaemolyticus isolates and one isolate each of V. harveyi and Salmonella enterica collected previously. Except the host A. hydrophila subsp. hydrophila strain, no lytic activity against any other bacterial was detected. During the adsorption rate and one-step growth curve analysis, 69.7% of phage particles were able to get adsorbed on host cell followed by the release of 93 ± 6 phage progenies per host cell after a latent period of ~30 min. Phage nucleic acid was extracted by column purification methods. After determining the nature of phage nucleic acid as dsDNA, phage genome was subjected to next-generation sequencing by generating paired-end (PE, 2 x 300bp) reads on Illumina MiSeq system. De novo assembly of sequencing reads generated circular phage genome of 42,439 bp with G+C content of 58.95%. During open read frame (ORF) prediction and annotation, 22 ORFs (out of 49 total predicted ORFs) were functionally annotated and rest encoded for hypothetical proteins. Proteins involved in major functions such as phage structure formation and packaging, DNA replication and repair, DNA transcription and host cell lysis were encoded by the phage genome. The complete genome sequence of Ahp1 along with gene annotation was submitted to NCBI GenBank (accession number MF683623). Stability of Ahp1 preparations at storage temperatures of 4 °C, 30 °C, and 40 °C was studied over a period of 9 months. At 40 °C storage, phage counts declined by 4 log units within one month; with a total loss of viability after 2 months. At 30 °C temperature, phage preparation was stable for < 5 months. On the other hand, phage counts decreased by only 2 log units over a period of 9 during storage at 4 °C. As some of the phages have also been reported as glycerol sensitive, the stability of Ahp1 preparations in (0%, 15%, 30% and 45%) glycerol stocks were also studied during storage at -80 °C over a period of 9 months. The phage counts decreased only by 2 log units during storage, and no significant difference in phage counts was observed at different concentrations of glycerol. The Ahp1 phage discovered in our study had a very narrow host range and it may be useful for phage typing applications. Moreover, the endolysin and holin genes in Ahp1 genome could be ideal candidates for recombinant cloning and expression of antimicrobial proteins.

Keywords: Aeromonas hydrophila, endolysin, phage, narrow host range

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Authors: M. Hossain, A. Abdkader, C. Cherif, A. Berger, M. Sparing, R. Hühne, L. Schultz, K. Nielsch

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Due to the best quality of yarn and the flexibility of the machine, the ring spinning process is the most widely used spinning method for short staple yarn production. However, the productivity of these machines is still much lower in comparison to other spinning systems such as rotor or air-jet spinning process. The main reason for this limitation lies on the twisting mechanism of the ring spinning process. In the ring/traveler twisting system, each rotation of the traveler along with the ring inserts twist in the yarn. The rotation of the traveler at higher speed includes strong frictional forces, which in turn generates heat. Different ring/traveler systems concerning with its geometries, material combinations and coatings have already been implemented to solve the frictional problem. However, such developments can neither completely solve the frictional problem nor increase the productivity. The friction free superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) system can be a right alternative replacing the existing ring/traveler system. The unique concept of SMB bearings is that they possess a self-stabilizing behavior, i.e. they remain fully passive without any necessity for expensive position sensing and control. Within the framework of a research project funded by German research foundation (DFG), suitable concepts of the SMB-system have been designed, developed, and integrated as a twisting device of ring spinning replacing the existing ring/traveler system. With the help of the developed mathematical model and experimental investigation, the physical limitations of this innovative twisting device in the spinning process have been determined. The interaction among the parameters of the spinning process and the superconducting twisting element has been further evaluated, which derives the concrete information regarding the new spinning process. Moreover, the influence of the implemented SMB twisting system on the yarn quality has been analyzed with respect to different process parameters. The presented work reveals the enormous potential of the innovative twisting mechanism, so that the productivity of the ring spinning process especially in case of thermoplastic materials can be at least doubled for the first time in a hundred years. The SMB ring spinning tester has also been presented in the international fair “International Textile Machinery Association (ITMA) 2015”.

Keywords: ring spinning, superconducting magnetic bearing, yarn properties, productivity

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Authors: S. F. Afzali, W. L. Wong

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The epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) causes by the oomycete fungus, Aphanomyces invadans; known to be one of the infectious fish diseases for farmed and wild fishes in fresh and brackish-water from the Asia-pacific region, America and Africa. Although, EUS had been documented by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) since 1995, hitherto, there is neither standard chemical agents that can be used for successful treatment of this destructive infection in the time of outbreak; nor available vaccine for prevention. Plant-based remedies in controlling fish diseases are gaining much attention recently as an alternative to chemical treatments, which possess negative effects to the environment and human. In present study, Sonneratia alba, a mangrove plant belongs to the Sonneratiaceae family, was screened in vitro and in vivo for its antifungal activity against A. invadans mycelium growth and its effects on fish innate immune system and disease resistant. The in vitro tests was performed using the disc diffusion methods with measurements of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and inhibition zone. For in vivo study, the S. alba extract supplemented diets were administrated at 0.0, 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% on healthy goldfish, Carassius auratus, which challenged with A. invadans zoospores (100 spores/ml). To compare the significant differences in the hematological and immunological parameters obtained from the experiments, the data were analysed using the SPSS. The methanol extract of S. alba effectively inhibited the mycelial growth of A. invadans at a minimum concentration of 1000 ppm for agar and filter paper diffusion experiments. In the agar diffusion test, 500 ppm of the extract inhibited the fungus mycelial growth up to 96 hours after exposure. The mycelial growth from the edge of the pre-inoculated A. invadans agar discs treated with S. alba extracts at concentrations of 100, 500 and 1000 ppm were 15, 8 and 0 mm respectively. The results of the filter paper disc test showed that the S. alba extract at its minimal inhibitory concentration (1000 ppm) has similar qualitative inhibitory effect as malachite green at 1 ppm and formalin at 250 ppm. According to the in vivo tests findings, in the infected fish fed with 3.0% and 5.0% supplementation diet, the numbers of white blood cell and myeloperoxidase activity significantly increased after the second week of treatment. Whilst the numbers of red blood cell significantly decreased in the infected fish fed with 0.0 and 1.0% supplementation diet. After the third week of feeding, significant increases in the total protein, albumin level, lysozyme activity were recorded in the infected fish fed with 3.0% and 5.0% supplementation diet. Also, the enriched diets increased the survival rate as compared to the untreated group that suffered from 90% mortality. The present study indicated that S. alba extract may inhibit the mycelial growth of A. invadans effectively, suggesting an alternative to other chemotherapeutic agents, which brought much environmental and health concerns to the public, for EUS treatment.

Keywords: fungal pathogen, goldfish, organic extract, treatment

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Authors: Selifontova Darya Yurievna

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The study of the process of the emergence and evolution of socio-cultural ideas about the "Asian states" in the context of the development of US cinema in 1941-1945 will contribute both to the approbation of a new approach to the classical subject and will allow using the methodological tools of history, political science, philology, sociology for understanding modern military-political, historical, ideological, socio-cultural processes on a concrete example. This is especially important for understanding the process of constructing the image of the Japanese Empire in the USA. Assessments and images of China and Japan in World War II, created in American cinema, had an immediate impact on the media, public sentiment, and opinions. During the war, the US cinema created new myths and actively exploited old ones, combining them with traditional Hollywood cliches - all this served as a basis for creating the image of China and the Japanese Empire on the screen, which were necessary to solve many foreign policy and domestic political tasks related to the construction of two completely different, but at the same time, similar images of Asia (China and the Japanese Empire). In modern studies devoted to the history of wars, the study of the specifics of the information confrontation of the parties is in demand. A special role in this confrontation is played by propaganda through cinema, which uses images, historical symbols, and stable metaphors, the appeal to which can form a certain public reaction. Soviet documentaries of the war years are proof of this. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that cinema as a means of propaganda was very popular and in demand during the Second World War. This period was the time of creation of real masterpieces in the field of propaganda films, in the documentary space of the cinema of 1941 – 1945. The traditions of depicting the Second World War were laid down. The study of the peculiarities of visualization and mythologization of the Second World War in Soviet cinema is the most important stage for studying the development of the specifics of propaganda methods since the methods and techniques of depicting the war formed in 1941-1945 are also significant at the present stage of the study of society.

Keywords: asian countries, politics, sociology, domestic politics, USA, cinema

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Partha Sarathi Nayek, Abhiparna Dasgupta, Maheshreddy Gade

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Earth retaining structure plays a vital role in stabilizing unstable road cuts and slopes in the mountainous region. The retaining structures located in seismically active regions like the Himalayas may experience moderate to severe earthquakes. An earthquake produces two kinds of ground motion: permanent quasi-static displacement (fault rapture) on the fault rupture plane and transient vibration, traveling a long distance. There has been extensive research work to understand the dynamic behavior of retaining structures subjected to transient ground motions. However, understanding the effect caused by fault rapture phenomena on retaining structures is limited. The presence of shallow crustal active faults and natural slopes in the Himalayan region further highlights the need to study the response of retaining structures subjected to fault rupture phenomena. In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the dynamic response of the cantilever retaining wall subjected to surface fault rupture. For this purpose, a 2D finite element model consists of a retaining wall, backfill and foundation have been developed using Abaqus 6.14 software. The backfill and foundation material are modeled as per the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, and the wall is modeled as linear elastic. In this present study, the interaction between backfill and wall is modeled as ‘surface-surface contact.’ The entire simulation process is divided into three steps, i.e., the initial step, gravity load step, fault rupture step. The interaction property between wall and soil and fixed boundary condition to all the boundary elements are applied in the initial step. In the next step, gravity load is applied, and the boundary elements are allowed to move in the vertical direction to incorporate the settlement of soil due to the gravity load. In the final step, surface fault rupture has been applied to the wall-backfill system. For this purpose, the foundation is divided into two blocks, namely, the hanging wall block and the footwall block. A finite fault rupture displacement is applied to the hanging wall part while the footwall bottom boundary is kept as fixed. Initially, a numerical analysis is performed considering the reverse fault mechanism with a dip angle of 45°. The simulated result is presented in terms of contour maps of permanent displacements of the wall-backfill system. These maps highlighted that surface fault rupture can induce permanent displacement in both horizontal and vertical directions, which can significantly influence the dynamic behavior of the wall-backfill system. Further, the influence of fault mechanism, dip angle, and surface fault rupture position is also investigated in this work.

Keywords: surface fault rupture, retaining wall, dynamic response, finite element analysis

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Authors: Miguel Angel Calvo Salve

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Building enclosures and façades not only have an aesthetic component they must also ensure thermal comfort and improve the acoustics and air quality in buildings. The role of facades design, its assemblies, and construction are key in developing a greener future in architecture. This research and study focus on the design of a multi-leaves building envelope, with a self-supporting wall of granite slabs. The study will demonstrate the advantages of its use in compare with the hanging stone veneer in a vented cladding system. Using the Design of the School of Music and Theatre of the Atlantic Area in Spain as a case study where the multi-leaves enclosure system consists in a self-supported outer leaf of large granite slabs of 15cm. of thickness, a vent cavity with thermal isolation, a brick wall, and a series of internal layers. The methodology used were simulations and data collected in building. The advantages of the self-supporting wall of granite slabs in the outer leaf (15cm). compared with a hanging stone veneer in a vented cladding system can summarize the goals as follows: Using the stone in more natural way, by compression. The weight of the stone slabs goes directly to a strip-footing and don't overload the reinforced concrete structure of the building. The weight of the stone slabs provides an external aerial soundproofing, preventing the sound transmission to the structure. The thickness of the stone slabs is enough to provide the external waterproofing of the building envelope. The self-supporting system with minimum anchorages allows having a continuous and external thermal isolation without thermal bridges. The thickness of ashlars masonry provides a thermal inertia that balances the temperatures between day and night in the external thermal insulation layer. The absence of open joints gives the quality of a continuous envelope transmitting the sensations of the stone, the heaviness in the facade, the rhythm of the music and the sequence of the theatre. The main cost of stone due his bigger thickness is more than compensated with the reduction in assembly costs. Don´t need any substructure systems for hanging stone veneers.

Keywords: self-supporting wall, stone cladding systems, hanging veneer cladding systems, sustainability of facade systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Donato Vese

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According to the common interpretation, in a legal system, public powers are established by law. Exceptions are admitted in an emergency or particular relationship with public power. However, we currently agree that law allows public administration a margin of decision, even in the case of non-discretionary acts. Hence, the administrative decision not exclusively established by law becomes the rule in the ordinary state of things, non-only in state of exception. This paper aims to analyze and discuss different ideas on discretionary power on the Rule of Law and Rechtsstaat. Observing the legal literature in Europe and Nord and South America, discretionary power can be described as follow: it could be considered a margin that law accords to the executive power for political decisions or a choice between different interpretations of vague legal previsions. In essence, this explanation admits for the executive a decision not established by law or anyhow not exclusively established by law. This means that the discretionary power of public administration integrates the law. However, integrating law does not mean to decide according to the law, but it means to integrate law with a decision involving public power. Consequently, discretionary power is essentially free will. In this perspective, also the Rule of Law and the Rechtsstaat are notions explained differently. Recently, we can observe how the European notion of Rechtsstaat is founded on the formal validity of the law; therefore, for this notion, public authority’s decisions not regulated by law represent a problem. Thus, different systems of law integration have been proposed in legal literature, such as values, democracy, reasonableness, and so on. This paper aims to verify how, looking at those integration clauses from a logical viewpoint, integration based on the recourse to the legal system itself does not resolve the problem. The aforementioned integration clauses are legal rules that require hard work to explain the correct meaning of the law; in particular, they introduce dangerous criteria in favor of the political majority. A different notion of public power can be proposed. This notion includes two main features: (a) sovereignty belongs to persons and not the state, and (b) fundamental rights are not grounded but recognized by Constitutions. Hence, public power is a system based on fundamental rights. According to this approach, it can also be defined as the notion of public interest as concrete maximization of fundamental rights enjoyments. Like this, integration of the law, vague or subject to several interpretations, must be done by referring to the system of fundamental individual rights. We can think, for instance, to fundamental rights that are right in an objective view but not legal because not established by law.

Keywords: administrative discretion, free will, fundamental rights, public power, sovereignty

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Authors: Elisabeth Maidl

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The interdependence of climate change and natural hazard goes along with large uncertainties regarding future risks. Regional stakeholders, experts in natural hazards management and scientists have specific knowledge, resp. mental models on such risks. This diversity of views makes it difficult to find common and broadly accepted prevention measures. If the specific knowledge of these types of actors is shared in an interactive knowledge production process, this enables a broader and common understanding of complex risks and allows to agree on long-term solution strategies. Previous studies on mental models confirm that actors with specific vulnerabilities perceive different aspects of a topic and accordingly prefer different measures. In bringing these perspectives together, there is the potential to reduce uncertainty and to close blind spots in solution finding. However, studies that examine the mental models of regional actors on future concrete mass movement risks are lacking so far. The project tests and evaluates the feasibility of knowledge co-creation for the anticipatory prevention of climate change-induced mass movement risks in the Alps. As a key element, mental models of the three included groups of actors are compared. Being integrated into the research program Climate Change Impacts on Alpine Mass Movements (CCAMM2), this project is carried out in two Swiss mountain regions. The project is structured in four phases: 1) the preparatory phase, in which the participants are identified, 2) the baseline phase, in which qualitative interviews and a quantitative pre-survey are conducted with actors 3) the knowledge-co-creation phase, in which actors have a moderated exchange meeting, and a participatory modelling workshop on specific risks in the region, and 4) finally a public information event. Results show that participants' mental models are based on the place of origin, profession, believes, values, which results in narratives on climate change and hazard risks. Further, the more intensively participants interact with each other, the more likely is that they change their views. This provides empirical evidence on how changes in opinions and mindsets can be induced and fostered.

Keywords: climate change, knowledge-co-creation, participatory process, natural hazard risks

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Authors: Yee-May Chan

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In recent decades, it is observed that social work agencies have participated actively, and thus, have gradually been more influential in social work education in Hong Kong. The neo-liberal welfare ideologies and changing funding mode have transformed the landscape in social work practice and have also had a major influence on the fieldwork environment in Hong Kong. The aim of this research is to explore the educational role of social work agencies and examine in particular whether they are able to enhance or hinder critical reflective learning in fieldwork. In-depth interviews with 15 frontline social workers and managers in different social work agencies were conducted to collect their views and experience in helping social work students in fieldwork. The overall findings revealed that under the current social welfare context most social workers consider that the most important role of social work agencies in fieldwork is to help students prepare to fit-in the practice requirements and work within agencies’ boundary. The fit-for-purpose and down-to-earth view of fieldwork practice is seen as prevalent among most social workers. This narrow perception of agency’s role seems to be more favourable to competence-based approaches. In contrast, though critical reflection has been seen as important in addressing the changing needs of service users, the role of enhancing critical reflective learning has not been clearly expected or understood by most agency workers. The notion of critical reflection, if considered, has been narrowly perceived in fieldwork learning. The findings suggest that the importance of critical reflection is found to be subordinate to that of practice competence. The lack of critical reflection in the field is somehow embedded in the competence-based social work practice. In general, social work students’ critical reflection has not been adequately supported or enhanced in fieldwork agencies, nor critical reflective practice has been encouraged in fieldwork process. To address this situation, the role of social work agencies in fieldwork should be re-examined. To maximise critical reflective learning in the field, critical reflection as an avowed objective in fieldwork learning should be clearly stated. Concrete suggestions are made to help fieldwork agencies become more prepared to critical reflective learning. It is expected that the research can help social work communities to reflect upon the current realities of fieldwork context and to identify ways to strengthen agencies’ capacities to enhance critical reflective learning and practice of social work students.

Keywords: competence-based social work, critical reflective learning, fieldwork agencies, neo-liberal welfare

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Authors: Helida Thays Gomes Soares, Conceicao De Maria Pinheiro Correia, Fabiano Maciel Soares, Kleymer Silva

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There is great discussion around populational increase in urban areas of the global south, and, consequently, the growth of inappropriate housing and the different ways humans have found to solve housing problems around the world. Sao Luís, the capital of the state of Maranhao is a good example. The 1.6 million inhabitant metropole is a colonial tropical city that shelters 22% of the population of Maranhão, brazilian state that still carries the scars of slavery in past centuries. In 2016, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic found that 20% of Maranhão’s inhabitants were living in houses with external walls made of non-durable materials, like recycled wood, cardboard or soil. Out of this problematic, this study aims to propose interventions not only in the physical structure of irregular housing, but also to serve as a guide to intervene in the way eco-friendly, communitarian housing is seen by extreme poor zones inside metropolitan regions around big cities in the global south. The adaptation and reuse of industrial containers from the Harbor of Itaqui for housing is also an aim of the project. The great volume of discarded industrial containers may be an opportunity to solve housing deficit in the city. That way, through field research in São Luís’ neighborhoods mostly occupied by inappropriate housing, the study intends to raise ethnographical and physical values that help to shape new uses of industrial containers and recycled building materials, bringing the community into the process of shaping new-housing for local housing programs, changing the mindset of a concrete/brick model of building. The study used a general feasibility analysis of local engineers regarding strength of the locally used container for construction purposes, and also researched in-loco the current impressions of risky areas inhabitants of housing, traditional housing and the role they played as city shapers, evaluating their perceptions of what means to live and how their houses represent their personality.

Keywords: container housing, civil construction, housing deficit, participatory design, sustainability

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Authors: H. Kamide, T. Arai

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This study aims to clarify factors of courtesy to things and the effect of courtesy on a sense of unity with things based on the teaching of Buddha. The teaching of Buddha explains when dealing with things in a courteous manner carefully, the border between selves and the external world disappears, then both are united. This is an example in Buddhist way that explains the connections with all existences, and in the modern world, it is also a lesson that humans should not let matters go to waste and treat them politely. In order to reveal concrete ways to practice courtesy to things, we clarify the factors of courtesy (Study 1) and examine the effect of courtesy on the sense of unity with the things (Study 2). In Study 1, 100 Japanese (mean age=54.39, SD=15.04, 50% female) described freely about what is courtesy to things that they use daily. These descriptions were classified, and 25 items were made asking for the degree of courtesy to the things. Then different 678 Japanese (mean age=44.72, SD=13.14, 50% female) answered the 25 items on 7-point about tools they use daily. An exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors. The first factor (α=.97) includes 'I deal with the thing carefully' and 'I clean up the thing after use'. This factor reflects how gently people care about things. The second factor (α=.96) includes 'A sense of self-control has come to me through using the thing' and 'I have got inner strength by taking care of the thing'. The second factor reflects how people learn by dealing with things carefully. In this Study 2, 200 Japanese (mean age=49.39, SD=11.07, 50% female) answered courtesy about things they use daily and the degree of sense of unity with the things using the inclusion of other in the self scale, replacing 'Other' with 'Your thing'. The ANOVA was conducted to examine the effect of courtesy (high/low level of two factors) on the score of sense of unity. The results showed the main effect of care level. People with a high level of care have a stronger sense of unity with the thing. The tendency of an interaction effect is also found. The condition with a high level of care and a high level of learning enhances the sense of unity more than the condition of a low level of care and high level in learning. Study 1 found that courtesy is composed of care and learning. That is, courtesy is not only active care to the things but also to learn the meaning of the things and grow personally with the things. Study 2 revealed that people with a high level of care feel a stronger sense of unity and also people with both a high level of care and learn tend to do so. The findings support the idea of the teaching of Buddha. In the future, it is necessary to examine a combined effect of care and learning.

Keywords: courtesy, things, sense of unity, the teaching of Buddha

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Authors: Brian Bacia, Esther Githaiga, Teresia Kabucho, Paul Moses Ndegwa, Lucy Gichohi

Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of the study is to ensure an appropriate mix of evidence-based prevention strategies geared towards the reduction of new HIV infections and the incidence of Sexually transmitted Illnesses Background: In Nakuru County, more than 90% of all HIV-infected patients are adults and on a single-dose medication-one pill that contains a combination of several different HIV drugs. Nakuru town has been identified as the hardest hit by HIV/Aids in the County according to the latest statistics from the County Aids and STI group, with a prevalence rate of 5.7 percent attributed to the high population and an active urban center. Method: 2 key studies were carried out to provide evidence for the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) when used optimally on preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Discussions based on an examination, assessments of successes in planning, program implementation, and ultimate impact of prevention and treatment were undertaken involving health managers, health workers, community health workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS between February -August 2021. Questionnaires were carried out by a trained duo on ethical procedures at 15 HIV treatment clinics targeting patients on ARVs and caregivers on ARV prevention and treatment of pediatric HIV infection. Findings: Levels of AIDS awareness are extremely high. Advances in HIV treatment have led to an enhanced understanding of the virus, improved care of patients, and control of the spread of drug-resistant HIV. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of people living with HIV having access to life-long antiretroviral drugs (ARV), mostly on generic medicines. Healthcare facilities providing treatment are stressed challenging the administration of the drugs, which require a clinical setting. Women find it difficult to take a daily pill which reduces the effectiveness of the medicine. ART adherence can be strengthened largely through the use of innovative digital technology. The case management approach is useful in resource-limited settings. The county has made tremendous progress in mother-to-child transmission reduction through enhanced early antenatal care (ANC) attendance and mapping of pregnant women Recommendations: Treatment reduces the risk of transmission to the child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Promote research of medicines through patients and community engagement. Reduce the risk of transmission through breastfeeding. Enhance testing strategies and strengthen health systems for sustainable HIV service delivery. Need exists for improved antenatal care and delivery by skilled birth attendants. Develop a comprehensive maternal reproductive health policy covering equitability, efficient and effective delivery of services. Put in place referral systems.

Keywords: evidence-based prevention strategies, service delivery, human management, integrated approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Sonia A. Stoica, Lexi Frankel, Amalia Ardeljan, Selena Rashid, Ali Yasback, Omar Rashid

Abstract:

Introduction Enterococcus is a vast genus of lactic acid bacteria, gram-positivecocci species. They are common commensal organisms in the intestines of humans: E. faecalis (90–95%) and E. faecium (5–10%). Rare groups of infections can occur with other species, including E. casseliflavus, E. gallinarum, and E. raffinosus. The most common infections caused by Enterococcus include urinary tract infections, biliary tract infections, subacute endocarditis, diverticulitis, meningitis, septicemia, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The treatment for sensitive strains of these bacteria includes ampicillin, penicillin, cephalosporins, or vancomycin, while the treatment for resistant strains includes daptomycin, linezolid, tygecycline, or streptogramine. Enterococcus faecalis CECT7121 is an encouraging nominee for being considered as a probiotic strain. E. faecalis CECT7121 enhances and skews the profile of cytokines to the Th1 phenotype in situations such as vaccination, anti-tumoral immunity, and allergic reactions. It also enhances the secretion of high levels of IL-12, IL-6, TNF alpha, and IL-10. Cytokines have been previously associated with the development of cancer. The intention of this study was to therefore evaluate the correlation between Enterococcus infections and incidence of bone carcinoma. Methods A retrospective cohort study (2010-2019) was conducted through a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database and conducted using International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9th and 10th codes for bone carcinoma diagnosis in a previously Enterococcus infected population. Patients were matched for age range and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Access to the database was granted by Holy Cross Health for academic research. Chi-squared test was used to assess statistical significance. Results A total number of 17,056 patients was obtained in Enterococcus infected group as well as in the control population (matched by Age range and CCI score). Subsequent bone carcinoma development was seen at a rate of 1.07% (184) in the Enterococcal infectious group and 3.42% (584) in the control group, respectively. The difference was statistically significant by p= 2.2x10-¹⁶, Odds Ratio = 0.355 (95% CI 0.311 - 0.404) Treatment for enterococcus infection was analyzed and controlled for in both enterococcus infected and noninfected populations. 78 out of 6,624 (1.17%) patients with a prior enterococcus infection and treated with antibiotics were compared to 202 out of 6,624 (3.04%) patients with no history of enterococcus infection (control) and received antibiotic treatment. Both populations subsequently developed bone carcinoma. Results remained statistically significant (p<2.2x10-), Odds Ratio=0.456 (95% CI 0.396-0.525). Conclusion This study shows a statistically significant correlation between Enterococcus infection and a decreased incidence of bone carcinoma. The immunologic response of the organism to Enterococcus infection may exert a protecting mechanism from developing bone carcinoma. Further exploration is needed to identify the potential mechanism of Enterococcus in reducing bone carcinoma incidence.

Keywords: anti-tumoral immunity, bone carcinoma, enterococcus, immunologic response

Procedia PDF Downloads 159