Search results for: λ-statistical limit points

Authors: Shahram Naghizadeh Raeisi, Ali Alghooneh, Seyed Jalal Razavi Zahedkolaei

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Herein, a shelf stable (no refrigeration required) UHT processed, aseptically packaged whey protein drink was formulated by using a new strategy in microparticulate process. Applying thermal and two-dimensional mechanical treatments simultaneously, a modified protein (MWPC-80) was produced. Then the physical, thermal and thermodynamic properties of MWPC-80 were assessed using particle size analysis, dynamic temperature sweep (DTS), and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) tests. Finally, using MWPC-80, a new RTD beverage was formulated, and shelf stability was assessed for three months at ambient temperature (25 °C). Non-isothermal dynamic temperature sweep was performed, and the results were analyzed by a combination of classic rate equation, Arrhenius equation, and time-temperature relationship. Generally, results showed that temperature dependency of the modified sample was significantly (Pvalue<0.05) less than the control one contained WPC-80. The changes in elastic modulus of the MWPC did not show any critical point at all the processed stages, whereas, the control sample showed two critical points during heating (82.5 °C) and cooling (71.10 °C) stages. Thermal properties of samples (WPC-80 & MWPC-80) were assessed using DSC with 4 °C /min heating speed at 20-90 °C heating range. Results did not show any thermal peak in MWPC DSC curve, which suggested high thermal resistance. On the other hands, WPC-80 sample showed a significant thermal peak with thermodynamic properties of ∆G:942.52 Kj/mol ∆H:857.04 Kj/mole and ∆S:-1.22Kj/mole°K. Dynamic light scattering was performed and results showed 0.7 µm and 15 nm average particle size for MWPC-80 and WPC-80 samples, respectively. Moreover, particle size distribution of MWPC-80 and WPC-80 were Gaussian-Lutresian and normal, respectively. After verification of microparticulation process by DTS, PSD and DSC analyses, a 10% why protein beverage (10% w/w/ MWPC-80, 0.6% w/w vanilla flavoring agent, 0.1% masking flavor, 0.05% stevia natural sweetener and 0.25% citrate buffer) was formulated and UHT treatment was performed at 137 °C and 4 s. Shelf life study did not show any jellification or precipitation of MWPC-80 contained beverage during three months storage at ambient temperature, whereas, WPC-80 contained beverage showed significant precipitation and jellification after thermal processing, even at 3% w/w concentration. Consumer knowledge on nutritional advantages of whey protein increased the request for using this protein in different food systems especially RTD beverages. These results could make a huge difference in this industry.

Keywords: high protein whey beverage, micropartiqulation, two-dimentional mechanical treatments, thermodynamic properties

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Authors: Nadine Raidl, Benjamin Kaufmann, Michael Hofstätter, Peter Supancic

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If polycrystalline ZnO is properly doped and sintered under very specific conditions, it shows unique electrical properties, which are indispensable for today’s electronic industries, where it is used as the number one overvoltage protection material. Under a critical voltage, the polycrystalline bulk exhibits high electrical resistance but becomes suddenly up to twelve magnitudes more conductive if this voltage limit is exceeded (i.e., varistor effect). It is known that these peerless properties have their origin in the grain boundaries of the material. Electric charge is accumulated in the boundaries, causing a depletion layer in their vicinity and forming potential barriers (so-called Double Schottky Barriers, or DSB) which are responsible for the highly non-linear conductivity. Since ZnO is a piezoelectric material, mechanical stresses induce polarisation charges that modify the DSB heights and as a result the global electrical characteristics (i.e., piezotronic effect). In this work, a finite element method was used to simulate emerging stresses on individual grains in the bulk. Besides, experimental efforts were made to testify a coherent model that could explain this influence. Electron back scattering diffraction was used to identify grain orientations. With the help of wet chemical etching, grain polarization was determined. Micro lock-in infrared thermography (MLIRT) was applied to detect current paths through the material, and a micro 4-point probes method system (M4PPS) was employed to investigate current-voltage characteristics between single grains. Bulk samples were tested under uniaxial pressure. It was found that the conductivity can increase by up to three orders of magnitude with increasing stress. Through in-situ MLIRT, it could be shown that this effect is caused by the activation of additional current paths in the material. Further, compressive tests were performed on miniaturized samples with grain paths containing solely one or two grain boundaries. The tests evinced both an increase of the conductivity, as observed for the bulk, as well as a decreased conductivity. This phenomenon has been predicted theoretically and can be explained by piezotronically induced surface charges that have an impact on the DSB at the grain boundaries. Depending on grain orientation and stress direction, DSB can be raised or lowered. Also, the experiments revealed that the conductivity within one single specimen can increase and decrease, depending on the current direction. This novel finding indicates the existence of asymmetric Double Schottky Barriers, which was furthermore proved by complementary methods. MLIRT studies showed that the intensity of heat generation within individual current paths is dependent on the direction of the stimulating current. M4PPS was used to study the relationship between the I-V characteristics of single grain boundaries and grain orientation and revealed asymmetric behavior for very specific orientation configurations. A new model for the Double Schottky Barrier, taking into account the natural asymmetry and explaining the experimental results, will be given.

Keywords: Asymmetric Double Schottky Barrier, piezotronic, varistor, zinc oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Erika Yamaguchi, Sirawadee Arunyanrt, Shunichi Ohmori, Kazuho Yoshimoto

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In this paper, we suggest a simulation tool to make a decision of monthly production planning for maximizing a profit of Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel (SPA) firms. Most of SPA firms are fabless and make outsourcing deals for productions with factories of their subcontractors. Every month, SPA firms make a booking for production lines and manpower in the factories. The booking is conducted a few months in advance based on a demand prediction and a monthly production planning at that time. However, the demand prediction is updated month by month, and the monthly production planning would change to meet the latest demand prediction. Then, SPA firms have to change the capacities initially booked within a certain range to suit to the monthly production planning. The booking system is called “capacity-booking”. These days, though it is an issue for SPA firms to make precise monthly production planning, many firms are still conducting the production planning by empirical rules. In addition, it is also a challenge for SPA firms to match their products and factories with considering their demand predictabilities and regulation abilities. In this paper, we suggest a model for considering these two issues. An objective is to maximize a total profit of certain periods, which is sales minus costs of production, inventory, and capacity-booking penalty. To make a better monthly production planning at SPA firms, these points should be considered: demand predictabilities by random trends, previous and next month’s production planning of the target month, and regulation abilities of the capacity-booking. To decide matching products and factories for outsourcing, it is important to consider seasonality, volume, and predictability of each product, production possibility, size, and regulation ability of each factory. SPA firms have to consider these constructions and decide orders with several factories per one product. We modeled these issues as a linear programming. To validate the model, an example of several computational experiments with a SPA firm is presented. We suppose four typical product groups: basic, seasonal (Spring / Summer), seasonal (Fall / Winter), and spot product. As a result of the experiments, a monthly production planning was provided. In the planning, demand predictabilities from random trend are reduced by producing products which are different product types. Moreover, priorities to produce are given to high-margin products. In conclusion, we developed a simulation tool to make a decision of monthly production planning which is useful when the production planning is set every month. We considered the features of capacity-booking, and matching of products and factories which have different features and conditions.

Keywords: capacity-booking, SPA, monthly production planning, linear programming

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Authors: Vanlounni Sibounheuang, Wanarat Anusornsangiam, Pattarin Kittiboonyakun, Chanthanom Manithip

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In worldwide, one of the most common use of oral anticoagulant is warfarin. Its margin between therapeutic inhibition of clot formation and bleeding complications is narrow. Mahosot Hospital, warfarin clinic had not been established yet. The descriptive study was conducted by investigating drug-related problems of outpatients using warfarin, the value of the international normalized ratio (INR) higher than normal ranges (25.40 % of the total 272 outpatients) were mostly identified at Lao-Luxembourg Heart Centre, Mahosot Hospital, Lao PDR. This result led to the present study conducting qualitative interviews in order to help establish a warfarin clinic at Mahosot Hospital for the better outcomes of patients using warfarin. The purpose of this study was to explore perspectives of healthcare professional providing services for outpatients using warfarin. The face to face, in-depth interviews were undertaken among nine healthcare professionals (doctor=3, nurse=3, pharmacist=3) working at out-patient clinic, Lao-Luxembourg Heart Centre, Mahosot Hospital, Lao PDR. The interview guides were developed, and they were validated by the experts in the fields of qualitative research. Each interview lasted approximately 20 minutes. Three major themes emerged; healthcare professional’s experiences of current practice problems with warfarin therapy, healthcare professionals’ views of medical problems related to patients using warfarin, and healthcare professionals’ perspectives on ways of service improvement. All healthcare professionals had the same views that it’s difficult to achieve INR goal for individual patients because of some important patient barriers especially lack of knowledge about to use warfarin properly and safety, patients not regularly follow-up due to problems with transportations and financial support. Doctors and nurses agreed to have a pharmacist running a routine warfarin clinic and provided counselling to individual patients on the following points: how to take drug properly and safety, drug-drug and food-drug interactions, common side effects and how to manage them, lifestyle modifications. From the interviews, some important components of the establishment of a warfarin clinic included financial support, increased human resources, improved the system of keeping patients’ medical records, short course training for pharmacists. This study indicated the acceptance of healthcare professionals on the important roles of pharmacists and the feasibility of setting up warfarin clinic by working together with the multidisciplinary health care team in order to help improve health outcomes of patients using warfarin at Mahosot Hospital, Lao PDR.

Keywords: perspectives, healthcare professional, warfarin therapy, Mahosot Hospital

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Authors: Stephanie Remedios, Linda Veronica Rios

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Background. Pediatric obesity is a serious health problem linked to multiple physical diseases and ailments, including diabetes, heart disease, and joint issues. While research has shown pediatric obesity can bring about an array of physical illnesses, it is less known how such a condition can affect children’s cognitive development. With childhood overweight and obesity prevalence rates on the rise, it is essential to understand the scope of their cognitive consequences. The present review of the literature tested the hypothesis that poor physical health, such as childhood obesity or malnutrition, negatively impacts a child’s cognitive development. Methodology. A systematic review was conducted to determine the relationship between poor physical health and lower cognitive functioning in children ages 4-16. Electronic databases were searched for studies dating back to ten years. The following databases were used: Science Direct, FIU Libraries, and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria consisted of peer-reviewed academic articles written in English from 2012 to 2022 that analyzed the relationship between childhood malnutrition and obesity on cognitive development. A total of 17,000 articles were obtained, of which 16,987 were excluded for not addressing the cognitive implications exclusively. Of the acquired articles, 13 were retained. Results. Research suggested a significant connection between diet and cognitive development. Both diet and physical activity are strongly correlated with higher cognitive functioning. Cognitive domains explored in this work included learning, memory, attention, inhibition, and impulsivity. IQ scores were also considered objective representations of overall cognitive performance. Studies showed physical activity benefits cognitive development, primarily for executive functioning and language development. Additionally, children suffering from pediatric obesity or malnutrition were found to score 3-10 points lower in IQ scores when compared to healthy, same-aged children. Conclusion. This review provides evidence that the presence of physical activity and overall physical health, including appropriate diet and nutritional intake, has beneficial effects on cognitive outcomes. The primary conclusion from this research is that childhood obesity and malnutrition show detrimental effects on cognitive development in children, primarily with learning outcomes. Assuming childhood obesity and malnutrition rates continue their current trade, it is essential to understand the complete physical and psychological implications of obesity and malnutrition in pediatric populations. Given the limitations encountered through our research, further studies are needed to evaluate the areas of cognition affected during childhood.

Keywords: childhood malnutrition, childhood obesity, cognitive development, cognitive functioning

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Authors: Rikke Lybæk

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This paper delves into the intricacies of recycling household plastic waste within Denmark, employing an exploratory case study methodology to shed light on the technical, strategic, and market dynamics of the plastic recycling value chain. Focusing on circular economy principles, the research identifies critical gaps and opportunities in recycling processes, particularly regarding plastic packaging waste derived from households, with a notable absence in food packaging reuse initiatives. The study uncovers the predominant practice of downcycling in the current value chain, underscoring a disconnect between the potential for high-quality plastic recycling and the market's readiness to embrace such materials. Through detailed examination of three leading companies in Denmark's plastic industry, the paper highlights the existing support for recycling initiatives, yet points to the necessity of assured quality in sorted plastics to foster broader adoption. The analysis further explores the importance of reuse strategies to complement recycling efforts, aiming to alleviate the pressure on virgin feedstock. The paper ventures into future perspectives, discussing different approaches such as biological degradation methods, watermark technology for plastic traceability, and the potential for bio-based and PtX plastics. These avenues promise not only to enhance recycling efficiency but also to contribute to a more sustainable circular economy by reducing reliance on virgin materials. Despite the challenges outlined, the research demonstrates a burgeoning market for recycled plastics within Denmark, propelled by both environmental considerations and customer demand. However, the study also calls for a more harmonized and effective waste collection and sorting system to elevate the quality and quantity of recyclable plastics. By casting a spotlight on successful case studies and potential technological advancements, the paper advocates for a multifaceted approach to plastic waste management, encompassing not only recycling but also innovative reuse and reduction strategies to foster a more sustainable future. In conclusion, this study underscores the urgent need for innovative, coordinated efforts in the recycling and management of plastic waste to move towards a more sustainable and circular economy in Denmark. It calls for the adoption of comprehensive strategies that include improving recycling technologies, enhancing waste collection systems, and fostering a market environment that values recycled materials, thereby contributing significantly to environmental sustainability goals.

Keywords: case study, circular economy, Denmark, plastic waste, sustainability, waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Igor A. Krichtafovitch

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The evolutionary processes are not linear. Long periods of quiet and slow development turn to rather rapid emergences of new species and even phyla. During Cambrian explosion, 22 new phyla were added to the previously existed 3 phyla. Contrary to the common credence the natural selection or a survival of the fittest cannot be accounted for the dominant evolution vector which is steady and accelerated advent of more complex and more intelligent living organisms. Neither Darwinism nor alternative concepts including panspermia and intelligent design propose a satisfactory solution for these phenomena. The proposed hypothesis offers a logical and plausible explanation of the evolutionary processes in general. It is based on two postulates: a) the Biosphere is a single living organism, all parts of which are interconnected, and b) the Biosphere acts as a giant biological supercomputer, storing and processing the information in digital and analog forms. Such supercomputer surpasses all human-made computers by many orders of magnitude. Living organisms are the product of intelligent creative action of the biosphere supercomputer. The biological evolution is driven by growing amount of information stored in the living organisms and increasing complexity of the biosphere as a single organism. Main evolutionary vector is not a survival of the fittest but an accelerated growth of the computational complexity of the living organisms. The following postulates may summarize the proposed hypothesis: biological evolution as a natural life origin and development is a reality. Evolution is a coordinated and controlled process. One of evolution’s main development vectors is a growing computational complexity of the living organisms and the biosphere’s intelligence. The intelligent matter which conducts and controls global evolution is a gigantic bio-computer combining all living organisms on Earth. The information is acting like a software stored in and controlled by the biosphere. Random mutations trigger this software, as is stipulated by Darwinian Evolution Theories, and it is further stimulated by the growing demand for the Biosphere’s global memory storage and computational complexity. Greater memory volume requires a greater number and more intellectually advanced organisms for storing and handling it. More intricate organisms require the greater computational complexity of biosphere in order to keep control over the living world. This is an endless recursive endeavor with accelerated evolutionary dynamic. New species emerge when two conditions are met: a) crucial environmental changes occur and/or global memory storage volume comes to its limit and b) biosphere computational complexity reaches critical mass capable of producing more advanced creatures. The hypothesis presented here is a naturalistic concept of life creation and evolution. The hypothesis logically resolves many puzzling problems with the current state evolution theory such as speciation, as a result of GM purposeful design, evolution development vector, as a need for growing global intelligence, punctuated equilibrium, happening when two above conditions a) and b) are met, the Cambrian explosion, mass extinctions, happening when more intelligent species should replace outdated creatures.

Keywords: supercomputer, biological evolution, Darwinism, speciation

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Authors: Rangrong Yoksan, Amporn Sane, Nattaporn Khanoonkon, Chanakorn Yokesahachart, Narumol Noivoil, Khanh Minh Dang

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Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most commercially available bio-based and biodegradable plastic at present. PLA has been used in plastic related industries including single-used containers, disposable and environmentally friendly packaging owing to its renewability, compostability, biodegradability, and safety. Although PLA demonstrates reasonably good optical, physical, mechanical, and barrier properties comparable to the existing petroleum-based plastics, its brittleness and mold shrinkage as well as its price are the points to be concerned for the production of rigid and semi-rigid packaging. Blending PLA with other bio-based polymers including thermoplastic starch (TPS) is an alternative not only to achieve a complete bio-based plastic, but also to reduce the brittleness, shrinkage during molding and production cost of the PLA-based products. TPS is a material produced mainly from starch which is cheap, renewable, biodegradable, compostable, and non-toxic. It is commonly prepared by a plasticization of starch under applying heat and shear force. Although glycerol has been reported as one of the most plasticizers used for preparing TPS, its migration caused the surface stickiness of the TPS products. In some cases, mixed plasticizers or natural fibers have been applied to impede the retrogradation of starch or reduce the migration of glycerol. The introduction of fibers into TPS-based materials could reinforce the polymer matrix as well. Therefore, the objective of the present research is to study the effect of starch type (i.e. native starch and phosphate starch), plasticizer type (i.e. glycerol and xylitol with a weight ratio of glycerol to xylitol of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100), and fiber content (i.e. in the range of 1-25 % wt) on properties of PLA/TPS blend and composite. PLA/TPS blends and composites were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and then converted into dumbbell-shaped specimens using an injection molding machine. The PLA/TPS blends prepared by using phosphate starch showed higher tensile strength and stiffness than the blends prepared by using the native one. In contrast, the blends from native starch exhibited higher extensibility and heat distortion temperature (HDT) than those from the modified starch. Increasing xylitol content resulted in enhanced tensile strength, stiffness, and water resistance, but decreased extensibility and HDT of the PLA/TPS blend. Tensile properties and hydrophobicity of the blend could be improved by incorporating silane treated-jute fibers.

Keywords: polylactic acid, thermoplastic starch, Jute fiber, composite, blend

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Authors: M. Bredice, M. B. Forleo, L. Quici

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Coastal tourism is currently facing huge challenges on how to balance environmental problems and tourist activities. Recent literature shows a growing interest in the issue of sustainable tourism from a so-called civilized tourists’ perspective by investigating opinions, perceptions, and behaviors. This study investigates the opinions of youth on what makes them responsible tourists and the ability of coastal marine areas to support tourism in future scenarios. A sample of 778 Italians attending the last year of high school was interviewed. Descriptive statistics, tests, and cluster analyses are applied to highlight the distribution of opinions among youth, detect significant differences based on demographic characteristics, and make segmentation of the different profiles based on students’ opinions and behaviors. Preliminary results show that students are largely convinced (62%) that by 2050 the quality of coastal environments could limit seaside tourism, while 10% of them believe that the problem can be solved simply by changing the tourist destination. Besides the cost of the holiday, the most relevant aspect respondents consider when choosing a marine destination is the presence of tourist attractions followed by the quality of the marine-coastal environment, the specificity of the local gastronomy and cultural traditions, and finally, the activities offered to guests such as sports and events. The reduction of waste and lower air emissions are considered the most important environmental areas in which marine-coastal tourism activities can contribute to preserving the quality of seas and coasts. Areas in which, as a tourist, they believe possible to give a personal contribution were (responses “very much” and “somewhat”); do not throw litter in the sea and on the beach (84%), do not buy single-use plastic products (66%), do not use soap or shampoo when showering in beaches (53%), do not have bonfires (47%), do not damage dunes (46%), and do not remove natural materials (e.g., sand, shells) from the beach (46%). About 6% of the sample stated that they were not interested in contributing to the aforementioned activities, while another 7% replied that they could not contribute at all. Finally, 80% of the sample has never participated in voluntary environmental initiatives or citizen science projects; moreover, about 64% of the students have never participated in events organized by environmental associations in marine or coastal areas. Regarding the test analysis -based on Kruskal-Wallis and Mann and Whitney tests - gender, region, and studying area of students reveals significance in terms of variables expressing knowledge and interest in sustainability topics and sustainable tourism behaviors. The classification of the education field is significant for a great number of variables, among which those related to several sustainable behaviors that respondents declare to be able to contribute as tourists. The ongoing cluster analysis will reveal different profiles in the sample and relevant variables. Based on preliminary results, implications are envisaged in the fields of education, policy, and business strategies for sustainable scenarios. Under these perspectives, the study has the potential to contribute to the conference debate about marine and coastal sustainable development and management.

Keywords: cluster analysis, education, knowledge, young people

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Authors: Priyanka Dutta Chowdhury

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A globalized connected world, calling loud for a composite culture, was still not able to erase the pain of a desired nationalism based on cultural identity. In the South Asian region, the random drawing of the boundaries without taking the ethnic aspect into consideration have always challenged the very basis of the existence of certain groups. The urge to reunify with the fellow brothers on both sides of the border have always called for a chaos and schism in the countries of this region. Sometimes this became a tool to bargain with the state and find a favorable position in the power structure on the basis of cultural identity. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Pakhtuns who are divided across the border of the two countries, from the inception of creation of Pakistan have posed various challenges and hampered the growth of a consolidated nation. The Pakhtuns or Pashtuns of both Pakistan and Afghanistan have a strong cultural affinity which blurs their physical distancing and calls for a nationalism based on this ethnic affiliation. Both the sides wanted to create Pakhtunistan unifying all the Pakhtuns of the region. For long, this group have denied to accept the Durand line separating the two. This was an area of concern especially for the Pakhtuns of Pakistan torn between the decision either to join Afghanistan, create a nation of their own or be a part of Pakistan. This ethnic issue became a bone of contention between the two countries. Later, though well absorbed and recognized in the respective countries, they have fought for their identity and claimed for a dominant position in the politics of the nations. Because of the porous borders often influx of refugees was seen especially during Afghan Wars and later many extremists’ groups were born from them especially the Taliban. In the recent string of events, when the Taliban, who are mostly Pakhtuns ethnically, came in power in Afghanistan, a wave of sympathy arose in Pakistan. This gave a strengthening position to the religious Pakhtuns across the border. It is to be noted here that a fragmented Pakhtun identity between the religious and seculars were clearly visible, voicing for their place in the political hierarchy of the country with a vision distinct from each other especially in Pakistan. In this context the paper tries to evaluate the reasons for this cultural turmoil between the countries and this ethnic group. It also aims to analyze the concept of how the identity politics still holds its relevance in the contemporary world. Additionally, the recent trend of fragmented identity points towards instrumentalization of this ethnic groups, who are engaged in the bargaining process with the state for a robust position in the power structure. In the end, the paper aims to deduct from the theoretical conditions of identity politics, whether this is a primordial or a situational tool to have a visibility in the power structure of the contemporary world.

Keywords: cultural identity, identity politics, instrumentalization of identity pakhtuns, power structure

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Authors: Nihad Chakri, Btissam El Amrani, Faouzi Berrada, Halima Jounaid, Fouad Amraoui

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Public baths or hammams play an essential role in the Moroccan urban and peri-urban fabric, constituting part of the cultural heritage. Urbanization in Morocco has led to a significant increase in the number of these traditional hammams: between 6,000 and 15,000 units (to be updated) operate with a traditional heating system. Numerous studies on energy consumption indicate that a hammam consumes between 60 and 120m3 of water and one to two tons of wood per day. On average, one ton of wood costs 650 Moroccan dirhams (approximately 60 Euros), resulting in a daily fuel cost of around 1300 Moroccan dirhams (about 120 Euros). These high consumptions result in significant environmental nuisances generated by: Wastewater: in the case of hammams located on the outskirts of Casablanca, such as our study area, the Municipality of Dar Bouazza, most of these waters are directly discharged into the receiving environment without prior treatment because they are not connected to the sanitation network. Emissions of black smoke and ashes produced by the often incomplete combustion of wood. Reducing the liquid and gas emissions generated by these hammams thus poses an environmental and sustainable development challenge that needs to be addressed. In this context, we initiated the Eco-hammam project with the objective of implementing innovative and locally adapted solutions to limit the negative impacts of hammams on the environment and reduce water and wood energy consumption. This involves treating and reusing wastewater through a compact system with heat recovery and using alternative energy sources to increase and enhance the energy efficiency of these traditional hammams. To achieve this, on-site surveys of hammams in the Dar Bouazza Municipality and the application of statistical approaches to the results of the physico-chemical and bacteriological characterization of incoming and outgoing water from these units were conducted. This allowed us to establish an environmental diagnosis of these entities. In conclusion, the analysis of well water used by Dar Bouazza's hammams revealed the presence of certain parameters that could be hazardous to public health, such as total germs, total coliforms, sulfite-reducing spores, chromium, nickel, and nitrates. Therefore, this work primarily focuses on prospecting upstream of our study area to verify if other sources of pollution influence the quality of well water.

Keywords: public baths, hammams, cultural heritage, urbanization, water consumption, wood consumption, environmental nuisances, wastewater, environmental challenge, sustainable development, Eco-hammam project, innovative solutions, local adaptation, negative impacts, water conservation, wastewater treatment, heat recovery, alternative energy sources, on-site surveys, Dar Bouazza Municipality, statistical approaches, physico-chemical characterization, bacteriological characterization, environmental diagnosis, well water analysis, public health, pollution sources, well water quality

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Authors: A. D'Alessandro, F. Ubertini, A. L. Materazzi

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In the field of civil engineering, Structural Health Monitoring is a topic of growing interest. Effective monitoring instruments permit the control of the working conditions of structures and infrastructures, through the identification of behavioral anomalies due to incipient damages, especially in areas of high environmental hazards as earthquakes. While traditional sensors can be applied only in a limited number of points, providing a partial information for a structural diagnosis, novel transducers may allow a diffuse sensing. Thanks to the new tools and materials provided by nanotechnology, new types of multifunctional sensors are developing in the scientific panorama. In particular, cement-matrix composite materials capable of diagnosing their own state of strain and tension, could be originated by the addition of specific conductive nanofillers. Because of the nature of the material they are made of, these new cementitious nano-modified transducers can be inserted within the concrete elements, transforming the same structures in sets of widespread sensors. This paper is aimed at presenting the results of a research about a new self-sensing nanocomposite and about the implementation of smart sensors for Structural Health Monitoring. The developed nanocomposite has been obtained by inserting multi walled carbon nanotubes within a cementitious matrix. The insertion of such conductive carbon nanofillers provides the base material with piezoresistive characteristics and peculiar sensitivity to mechanical modifications. The self-sensing ability is achieved by correlating the variation of the external stress or strain with the variation of some electrical properties, such as the electrical resistance or conductivity. Through the measurement of such electrical characteristics, the performance and the working conditions of an element or a structure can be monitored. Among conductive carbon nanofillers, carbon nanotubes seem to be particularly promising for the realization of self-sensing cement-matrix materials. Some issues related to the nanofiller dispersion or to the influence of the nano-inclusions amount in the cement matrix need to be carefully investigated: the strain sensitivity of the resulting sensors is influenced by such factors. This work analyzes the dispersion of the carbon nanofillers, the physical properties of the fresh dough, the electrical properties of the hardened composites and the sensing properties of the realized sensors. The experimental campaign focuses specifically on their dynamic characterization and their applicability to the monitoring of full-scale elements. The results of the electromechanical tests with both slow varying and dynamic loads show that the developed nanocomposite sensors can be effectively used for the health monitoring of structures.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, self-sensing nanocomposites, smart cement-matrix sensors, structural health monitoring

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Authors: Rafael Castilho Carvalho, Edjair de Souza Mota

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As the largest contributor to the biogeochemical functioning of the Earth system, the Amazon Rainforest has the greatest biodiversity on the planet, harboring about 15% of all the world's flora. Recognition and preservation are the focus of research that seeks to mitigate drastic changes, especially anthropic ones, which irreversibly affect this biome. Functional and low-cost monitoring alternatives to reduce these impacts are a priority, such as those using technologies such as Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN). Promising, reliable, secure and with low energy consumption, LPWAN can connect thousands of IoT devices, and in particular, LoRa is considered one of the most successful solutions to facilitate forest monitoring applications. Despite this, the forest environment, in particular the Amazon Rainforest, is a challenge for these technologies, requiring work to identify and validate the use of technology in a real environment. To investigate the feasibility of deploying LPWAN in remote water quality monitoring of rivers in the Amazon Region, a LoRa-based test bed consisting of a Lora transmitter and a LoRa receiver was set up, both parts were implemented with Arduino and the LoRa chip SX1276. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Amazonas, which contains one of the largest urban forests in Brazil. There are several springs inside the forest, and the main goal is to collect water quality parameters and transmit the data through the forest in real time to the gateway at the uni. In all, there are nine water quality parameters of interest. Even with a high collection frequency, the amount of information that must be sent to the gateway is small. However, for this application, the battery of the transmitter device is a concern since, in the real application, the device must run without maintenance for long periods of time. With these constraints in mind, parameters such as Spreading Factor (SF) and Coding Rate (CR), different antenna heights, and distances were tuned to better the connectivity quality, measured with RSSI and loss rate. A handheld spectrum analyzer RF Explorer was used to get the RSSI values. Distances exceeding 200 m have soon proven difficult to establish communication due to the dense foliage and high humidity. The optimal combinations of SF-CR values were 8-5 and 9-5, showing the lowest packet loss rates, 5% and 17%, respectively, with a signal strength of approximately -120 dBm, these being the best settings for this study so far. The rains and climate changes imposed limitations on the equipment, and more tests are already being conducted. Subsequently, the range of the LoRa configuration must be extended using a mesh topology, especially because at least three different collection points in the same water body are required.

Keywords: IoT, LPWAN, LoRa, coverage, loss rate, forest

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Authors: Payal Sudhan

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Popular films in India, Bollywood, and other local industries make a range of commercial films that attract vast viewership. Love, Heroism, Action, Adventure, Revenge, etc., are some of the dearest themes chosen by many filmmakers of various popular film Industries across the world. However, sexuality has become an issue to address within the cinema. Such films feature in small numbers compared to other themes. One can easily assume that homosexuality is unlikely to be a favorite theme found in Indian popular cinema. It doesn’t mean that there is absolutely no film made on the issues of homosexuality. There have been several attempts. Earlier, some movies depicted homosexual (gay) characters as comedians, which continued until the beginning of the 21st century. The study aims to explore how modern homophobia and stereotype are represented in the films and how it affects homosexuality in the recent Malayalam Cinema. The study wills primarily focusing on Mumbai Police (2013) and My Life Partner (2014). The study tries to explain social space, the idea of a cure, and criminality. The film that has been selected for the analysis Mumbai Police (2013) is a crime thriller. The nonlinear narration of the movie reveals, towards the end, the murderer of ACP Aryan IPS, who was shot dead in a public meeting. In the end, the culprit is the enquiring officer, ACP Antony Moses, himself a close friend and colleague of the victim. Much to one’s curiosity, the primary cause turns out to be the sexual relation Antony has. My Life Partner generically can be classified as a drama. The movie puts forth male bonding and visibly riddles the notions of love and sex between Kiran and his roommate Richard. Running through the same track, the film deals with a different ‘event.’ The ‘event’ is the exclusive celebration of male bonding. The socio-cultural background of the cinema is heterosexual. The elements of heterosexual social setup meet the ends of diplomacy of the Malayalam queer visual culture. The film reveals the life of two gays who were humiliated by the larger heterosexual society. In the end, Kiran dies because of extreme humiliation. The paper is a comparative and cultural analysis of the two movies, My Life Partner and Mumbai Police. I try to bring all the points of comparison together and explain the similarities and differences, how one movie differs from another. Thus, my attempt here explains how stereotypes and homophobia with other related issues are represented in these two movies.

Keywords: queer cinema, homophobia, malayalam cinema, queer films

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Authors: Pikria Vardosanidze

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The term Apokatástasis (Greek: Apokatástasis) is Greek and means "re-establishment", the universal resurrection. The term dates back to ancient times, in Stoic thought denoting the end of a constantly evolving cycle of the universe and the beginning of a new beginning, established in Christendom by the Eastern Fathers and Origen as the return of the entire created world to a state of goodness. "Universal resurrection" means the resurrection of mankind after the second coming of Jesus Christ. The first thing the Savior will do immediately upon His glorious coming will be that "the dead will be raised up first by Christ." God's animal action will apply to all the dead, but not with the same result. The action of God also applies to the living, which is accomplished by changing their bodies. The degree of glorification of the resurrected body will be commensurate with the spiritual life. An unclean body will not be glorified, and the soul will not be happy. He, as a resurrected body, will be unbelieving, strong, and spiritual, but because of the action of the passions, all this will only bring suffering to the body. The court judges both the soul and the flesh. At the same time, St. The letter nowhere says that at the last 4trial, someone will be able to change their own position. In connection with this dogmatic teaching, one of the greatest fathers of the Church, Sts. Gregory Nossell had a different view. He points out that the miracle of the resurrection is so glorious and sublime that it exceeds our faith. There are two important circumstances: one is the reality of the resurrection itself, and the other is the face of its fulfillment. The first is founded by Gregory Nossell on the Uado authority, Sts. In the letter: Jesus Christ preached about the resurrection of Christ and also foretold many other events, all of which were later fulfilled. Gregory Nossell clarifies the issues of the substantiality of good and evil and the relationship between them and notes that only good has an inherent dependence on nothing because it originated from nothing and exists eternally in God. As for evil, it has no self-sustaining substance and, therefore, no existence. It appears only through the free will of man from time to time. As St., The Father says that God is the supreme goodness that gives beings the power to exist in existence , all others who are without Him are non-existent. St. The above-mentioned opinion of the father about the universal apocatastasis comes from the thought of Origen. This teaching was introduced by the resolution of the Fifth World Ecclesiastical Assembly. Finally, it was unanimously stated by ecclesiastical figures that the doctrine of universal salvation is not valid. For if the resurrection takes place in this way, that is, all beings, including the evil spirit, are resurrected, then the worldly controversy between good and evil, the future common denominator, the eternal torment - all that Christian dogma acknowledges.

Keywords: apolatastasisi ortodox, orthodox doctrine, gregogory of nusse, eschatology

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Authors: Pascale Brasseur, Binu Gurung, Nicholas Halfpenny, James Eaton

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Development of minimally invasive treatments in recent years provides a potential alternative to invasive surgical interventions which are of limited value to patients with spinal metastases due to short life expectancy. A systematic review was conducted to explore the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a minimally invasive treatment in patients with spinal metastases. EMBASE, Medline and CENTRAL were searched from database inception to March 2017 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomised studies. Conference proceedings for ASCO and ESMO published in 2015 and 2016 were also searched. Fourteen studies were included: three prospective interventional studies, four prospective case series and seven retrospective case series. No RCTs or studies comparing RFA with another treatment were identified. RFA was followed by cement augmentation in all patients in seven studies and some patients (40-96%) in the remaining seven studies. Efficacy was assessed as pain relief in 13/14 studies with the use of a numerical rating scale (NRS) or a visual analogue scale (VAS) at various time points. Ten of the 13 studies reported a significant decrease in pain outcome, post-RFA compared to baseline. NRS scores improved significantly at 1 week (5.9 to 3.5, p < 0.0001; 8 to 4.3, p < 0.02 and 8 to 3.9, p < 0.0001) and this improvement was maintained at 1 month post-RFA compared to baseline (5.9 to 2.6, p < 0.0001; 8 to 2.9, p < 0.0003; 8 to 2.9, p < 0.0001). Similarly, VAS scores decreased significantly at 1 week (7.5 to 2.7, p=0.00005; 7.51 to 1.73, p < 0.0001; 7.82 to 2.82, p < 0.001) and this pattern was maintained at 1 month post-RFA compared to baseline (7.51 to 2.25, p < 0.0001; 7.82 to 3.3; p < 0.001). A significant pain relief was achieved regardless of whether patients had cement augmentation in two studies assessing the impact of RFA with or without cement augmentation on VAS pain scores. In these two studies, a significant decrease in pain scores was reported for patients receiving RFA alone and RFA+cement at 1 week (4.3 to 1.7. p=0.0004 and 6.6 to 1.7, p=0.003 respectively) and 15-36 months (7.9 to 4, p=0.008 and 7.6 to 3.5, p=0.005 respectively) after therapy. Few minor complications were reported and these included neural damage, radicular pain, vertebroplasty leakage and lower limb pain/numbness. In conclusion, the efficacy and safety of RFA were consistently positive between prospective and retrospective studies with reductions in pain and few procedural complications. However, the lack of control groups in the identified studies indicates the possibility of selection bias inherent in single arm studies. Controlled trials exploring efficacy and safety of RFA in patients with spinal metastases are warranted to provide robust evidence. The identified studies provide an initial foundation for such future trials.

Keywords: pain relief, radiofrequency ablation, spinal metastases, systematic review

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Authors: Arun Perumbilavil Anand

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It may no longer be just anecdotal that every twelfth person in Kerala is a migrant worker from outside the state. For the past few years, the state has been witnessing large inflow of migrants from other states of India, which emerged as a result of demographic transition and Gulf emigration. Initially, the migrants were from the neighbouring states but, at a later period, the state started getting migrants from the distant parts of the country. Currently, migrants have turned to be a decisive force in the state and their increasing numbers have already started creating turbulences in the state. Over the past years, the increasing involvement of migrants in unlawful and criminal activities have generated apprehensions on their presence in the state. Moreover, at present, the Kerala society is not just hosting the first generation migrants, but there has been an increase in the second generation migrants making the situations more complex and diverse. In such a paradigm, the study ponders into the issues of migrants concerning their assimilation and well-being in the host society. Also, the study looks into the factors that impede the assimilation process, along with the perceptions of the migrants about the host society and the people. The study also tries to bring out the differences in the levels of assimilation among the migrants along the lines of religion, caste, state of origin, gender, stay duration and education. Methodology: The study is based on the empirical findings obtained out of the primary survey conducted on migrants employed in the Kanjikode industrial area of Kerala. The samples were selected through purposive sampling and the study employed techniques like observation, questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The findings are based on interviews conducted with 100 migrants. Findings and Conclusion: The study was an attempt of its kind in addressing the issues of assimilation and integration of interstate migrants working in the Kerala. As mentioned, the study could bring out differences in the levels of assimilation along the lines of different characteristics. The study could also locate the importance, and the role played by the peer groups and neighborhoods in accelerating the process of assimilation among the migrants. As an extension, the study also looked at the assimilation and educational issues of the migrant children living in Kerala, and it found that the place of birth, age at entry and the peer group plays a pivotal role in the assimilation process. The study through its findings recommends the need for incorporating the concept of inclusive education into the state educational system by giving due emphasis to the needs of the marginalized. The study points out that owing to the existing demographic conditions, the state will inevitably have to depend on migrant labor in future. Moreover, in such a paradigm, the host community and the government should strive to create a conducive environment for the proper assimilation of the migrants and which in turn can be an impetus for the fulfilment of the needs of both the migrants and the state.

Keywords: assimilation, integration, Kerala, migrant workers, well-being

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Authors: Wang Yang

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Shenzhen is a modern city of China's reform and opening-up policy, the development of urban morphology has been established on the administration of the Chinese government. This city`s planning paradigm is primarily affected by the spatial structure and human behavior. The subjective urban agglomeration center is divided into several groups and centers. In comparisons of this effect, the city development law has better to be neglected. With the continuous development of the internet, extensive data technology has been introduced in China. Data mining and data analysis has become important tools in municipal research. Data mining has been utilized to improve data cleaning such as receiving business data, traffic data and population data. Prior to data mining, government data were collected by traditional means, then were analyzed using city-relationship research, delaying the timeliness of urban development, especially for the contemporary city. Data update speed is very fast and based on the Internet. The city's point of interest (POI) in the excavation serves as data source affecting the city design, while satellite remote sensing is used as a reference object, city analysis is conducted in both directions, the administrative paradigm of government is broken and urban research is restored. Therefore, the use of data mining in urban analysis is very important. The satellite remote sensing data of the Shenzhen city in July 2018 were measured by the satellite Modis sensor and can be utilized to perform land surface temperature inversion, and analyze city heat island distribution of Shenzhen. This article acquired and classified the data from Shenzhen by using Data crawler technology. Data of Shenzhen heat island and interest points were simulated and analyzed in the GIS platform to discover the main features of functional equivalent distribution influence. Shenzhen is located in the east-west area of China. The city’s main streets are also determined according to the direction of city development. Therefore, it is determined that the functional area of the city is also distributed in the east-west direction. The urban heat island can express the heat map according to the functional urban area. Regional POI has correspondence. The research result clearly explains that the distribution of the urban heat island and the distribution of urban POIs are one-to-one correspondence. Urban heat island is primarily influenced by the properties of the underlying surface, avoiding the impact of urban climate. Using urban POIs as analysis object, the distribution of municipal POIs and population aggregation are closely connected, so that the distribution of the population corresponded with the distribution of the urban heat island.

Keywords: POI, satellite remote sensing, the population distribution, urban heat island thermal map

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Authors: Hooriya Sadr Dadras, Shiva Seyed Erfani

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Speaking skills merit meticulous attention both on the side of the learners and the teachers. In particular, accuracy is a critical component to guarantee the messages to be conveyed through conversation because a wrongful change may adversely alter the content and purpose of the talk. Different types of tasks have served teachers to meet numerous educational objectives. Besides, negotiation of meaning and the use of different strategies have been areas of concern in socio-cultural theories of SLA. Negotiation of meaning is among the conversational processes which have a crucial role in facilitating the understanding and expression of meaning in a given second language. Conversational strategies are used during interaction when there is a breakdown in communication that leads to the interlocutor attempting to remedy the gap through talk. Therefore, this study was an attempt to investigate if there was any significant difference between the effect of reasoning gap tasks and information gap tasks on the frequency of conversational strategies used in negotiation of meaning in classrooms on one hand, and on the accuracy in speaking of Iranian intermediate EFL learners on the other. After a pilot study to check the practicality of the treatments, at the outset of the main study, the Preliminary English Test was administered to ensure the homogeneity of 87 out of 107 participants who attended the intact classes of a 15 session term in one control and two experimental groups. Also, speaking sections of PET were used as pretest and posttest to examine their speaking accuracy. The tests were recorded and transcribed to estimate the percentage of the number of the clauses with no grammatical errors in the total produced clauses to measure the speaking accuracy. In all groups, the grammatical points of accuracy were instructed and the use of conversational strategies was practiced. Then, different kinds of reasoning gap tasks (matchmaking, deciding on the course of action, and working out a time table) and information gap tasks (restoring an incomplete chart, spot the differences, arranging sentences into stories, and guessing game) were manipulated in experimental groups during treatment sessions, and the students were required to practice conversational strategies when doing speaking tasks. The conversations throughout the terms were recorded and transcribed to count the frequency of the conversational strategies used in all groups. The results of statistical analysis demonstrated that applying both the reasoning gap tasks and information gap tasks significantly affected the frequency of conversational strategies through negotiation. In the face of the improvements, the reasoning gap tasks had a more significant impact on encouraging the negotiation of meaning and increasing the number of conversational frequencies every session. The findings also indicated both task types could help learners significantly improve their speaking accuracy. Here, applying the reasoning gap tasks was more effective than the information gap tasks in improving the level of learners’ speaking accuracy.

Keywords: accuracy in speaking, conversational strategies, information gap tasks, reasoning gap tasks

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Authors: B. Shaw, K. Doherty

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The Cultural Communication and Computing Research Institute (C3RI) is a diverse multidisciplinary research institute including art, design, media production, communication studies, computing and engineering. Across these disciplines it can seem like there are enormous differences of research practice and convention, including differing positions on objectivity and subjectivity, certainty and evidence, and different political and ethical parameters. These differences sit within, often unacknowledged, histories, codes, and communication styles of specific disciplines, and it is all these aspects that can make understanding of research practice across disciplines difficult. To explore this, a one day event was orchestrated, testing how a PhD community might communicate and share research in progress in a multi-disciplinary context. Instead of presenting results at a conference, research students were tasked to articulate their method of inquiry. A working party of students from across disciplines had to design a conference call, visual identity and an event framework that would work for students across all disciplines. The process of establishing the shape and identity of the conference was revealing. Even finding a linguistic frame that would meet the expectations of different disciplines for the conference call was challenging. The first abstracts submitted either resorted to reporting findings, or only described method briefly. It took several weeks of supported intervention for research students to get ‘inside’ their method and to understand their research practice as a process rich with philosophical and practical decisions and implications. In response to the abstracts the conference committee generated key methodological categories for conference sessions, including sampling, capturing ‘experience’, ‘making models’, researcher identities, and ‘constructing data’. Each session involved presentations by visual artists, communications students and computing researchers with inter-disciplinary dialogue, facilitated by alumni Chairs. The apparently simple focus on method illuminated research process as a site of creativity, innovation and discovery, and also built epistemological awareness, drawing attention to what is being researched and how it can be known. It was surprisingly difficult to limit students to discussing method, and it was apparent that the vocabulary available for method is sometimes limited. However, by focusing on method rather than results, the genuine process of research, rather than one constructed for approval, could be captured. In unlocking the twists and turns of planning and implementing research, and the impact of circumstance and contingency, students had to reflect frankly on successes and failures. This level of self – and public- critique emphasised the degree of critical thinking and rigour required in executing research and demonstrated that honest reportage of research, faults and all, is good valid research. The process also revealed the degree that disciplines can learn from each other- the computing students gained insights from the sensitive social contextualizing generated by communications and art and design students, and art and design students gained understanding from the greater ‘distance’ and emphasis on application that computing students applied to their subjects. Finding the means to develop dialogue across disciplines makes researchers better equipped to devise and tackle research problems across disciplines, potentially laying the ground for more effective collaboration.

Keywords: interdisciplinary, method, research student, training

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Authors: Maturin Désiré Sop Sop, Didien Njumba Besende, Samuel Fosso Wamba

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This study seeks to examine the nexus between drinking water sources in the Kumba municipality and its related health implications vis-à-vis the recurrent incidences of waterborne diseases such as Typhoid, Cholera, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Hepatitis A and malaria. The study adopted a purposive sampling technique in which surveys were conducted between the months of June to December 2022. 150 questionnaires were retrieved from the 210 administered to the affected population of Kosala, Buea Road and Mambanda. Information for the study was collected using surveys, questionnaires, key informant interviews, the laboratory analysis of collected drinking water samples, the researcher’s direct observation as well and hospital reports on the prevalence of waterborne diseases. Water samples from the nearby streams and wells, which were communally used by the local population for drinking, and five slaughterhouses within the affected areas were laboratory tested to determine alterations in their chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics. The collected water samples from all the streams and wells used for drinking were tested for changes in properties such as temperature, turbidity, EC, pH, TDS, TSS, Cl, SO42-, PO43-, NO3-, Fe, Na, BOD, COD, DO, E.coli and total coliform concentration. These results were then compared with the WHO regulations for water quality. The results from the laboratory analysis of drinking water sources, which were at the same time used by the surrounding abattoirs revealed significant alterations in the water quality parameters such as temperature, turbidity, EC, pH, TDS, TSS, Cl, SO42-, PO43-, NO3-, Fe, Na, BOD, COD, DO, E.coli and total coliform concentration. This is due to the channeling of untreated wastes into the different drinking water points as well as the inter-use of dirty utensils such as buckets from slaughterhouses to fetch water from the streams and wells that serve as drinking water sources for the local population. On the human health aspect, the results were later compared with hospital data, and they revealed that the consumption of such contaminated water in the localities of Kosala, Mambanda, and Buea road negatively affected the local population because of the high incidences of Typhoid Cholera, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Hepatitis A and malaria. The poor management of drinking water sources pollutes streams and significantly exposes the local population to lots of waterborne diseases. Efforts should be made to provide clean pipe-borne water to the affected localities of Kumba as well as to ensure the proper management of wastes.

Keywords: drinking water, diseases, Kumba, municipality

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Authors: Febrian Tegar Wicaksana, Niqmatul Kurniati, Surya Nandika

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Indonesia is one of the countries that have great number of disaster occurrence and threat because it is located in not only between three tectonic plates such as Eurasia plates, Indo-Australia plates and Pacific plates, but also in the Ring of Fire path, like earthquake, Tsunami, volcanic eruption and many more. Recently, research shows that there are potential areas that will be devastated by Tsunami in southern coast of Java. Tsunami is a series of waves in a body of water caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean. When the waves enter shallow water, they may rise to several feet or, in rare cases, tens of feet, striking the coast with devastating force. The parameter for reference such as magnitude, the depth of epicentre, distance between epicentres with land, the depth of every points, when reached the shore and the growth of waves. Interaction between parameters will bring the big variance of Tsunami wave. Based on that, we can formulate preparation that needed for disaster mitigation strategies. The mitigation strategies will take the important role in an effort to reduce the number of victims and damage in the area. It will reduce the number of victim and casualties. Reducing is directed to the most difficult mobilization casualties in the tsunami disaster area like old people, sick people and disabilities people. Until now, the method that used for rescuing people from Tsunami is basic horizontal evacuation. This evacuation system is not optimal because it needs so long time and it cannot be used by people with disabilities. The writers propose to create a vertical evacuation model with an escape bunker system. This bunker system is chosen because the downward vertical evacuation is considered more efficient and faster. Especially in coastal areas without any highlands surround it. The downward evacuation system is better than upward evacuation because it can avoid the risk of erosion at the ground around the structure which can affect the building. The structure of the bunker and the evacuation process while, and even after, disaster are the main priority to be considered. The power of bunker has quake’s resistance, the durability from water stream, variety of interaction to the ground, and waterproof design. When the situation is back to normal, victim and casualties can go into the safer place. The bunker will be located near the hospital and public places, and will have wide entrance supported by large slide in it so it will ease the disabilities people. The technology of the escape bunker system is expected to reduce the number of victims who have low mobility in the Tsunami.

Keywords: escape bunker, tsunami, vertical evacuation, mitigation, disaster management

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Authors: Man Fung Ho, Lap So, Jiaqi Zhang, Yuheng Zhao, Huiyang Lu, Tat Shing Choi, K. Y. Michael Wong

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Nowadays, a tremendous amount of data is available in the transportation system, enabling the development of various machine learning approaches to make short-term latency predictions. A natural question is then the choice of relevant information to enable accurate predictions. Using traffic data collected from the Taiwan Freeway System, we consider the prediction of short-term latency of a freeway segment with a length of 17 km covering 5 measurement points, each collecting vehicle-by-vehicle data through the electronic toll collection system. The processed data include the past latencies of the freeway segment with different time lags, the traffic conditions of the individual segments (the accumulations, the traffic fluxes, the entrance and exit rates), the total accumulations, and the weekday latency profiles obtained by Gaussian process regression of past data. We arrive at several important conclusions about how data should be refined to obtain accurate predictions, which have implications for future system-wide latency predictions. (1) We find that the prediction of median latency is much more accurate and meaningful than the prediction of average latency, as the latter is plagued by outliers. This is verified by machine-learning prediction using XGBoost that yields a 35% improvement in the mean square error of the 5-minute averaged latencies. (2) We find that the median latency of the segment 15 minutes ago is a very good baseline for performance comparison, and we have evidence that further improvement is achieved by machine learning approaches such as XGBoost and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). (3) By analyzing the feature importance score in XGBoost and calculating the mutual information between the inputs and the latencies to be predicted, we identify a sequence of inputs ranked in importance. It confirms that the past latencies are most informative of the predicted latencies, followed by the total accumulation, whereas inputs such as the entrance and exit rates are uninformative. It also confirms that the inputs are much less informative of the average latencies than the median latencies. (4) For predicting the latencies of segments composed of two or three sub-segments, summing up the predicted latencies of each sub-segment is more accurate than the one-step prediction of the whole segment, especially with the latency prediction of the downstream sub-segments trained to anticipate latencies several minutes ahead. The duration of the anticipation time is an increasing function of the traveling time of the upstream segment. The above findings have important implications to predicting the full set of latencies among the various locations in the freeway system.

Keywords: data refinement, machine learning, mutual information, short-term latency prediction

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Authors: Johannes Van Der Sandt

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This quantitative study investigates different approaches of community singing, in building social capital in South Tyrol, Italy, and South Africa. The impact of the various approaches of community singing is examined by investigating the main components of social capital, namely, social norms and obligations, social networks and associations and trust, and how these components are manifested in two different societies. The research is based on the premise that community singing is an important agent for the development of social capital. It seeks to establish in what form community singing can best enhance the social capital of communities in South Tyrol that are undergoing significant changes in the ways in which social capital is generally being generated on account of demographic, economic, technological and cultural changes. South Tyrol and South Africa share some similarities in the management of their multi-cultural composition. By comparing the different approaches to community singing in two multi-cultural societies, it is hoped to gain insight, and an understanding of the connections between culture, social cohesion, identity and therefore to be able to add to the understanding of the building of social capital through community singing. Participation in music contributes to the growth of social capital in communities, this is amongst others the finding of an ever increasing amount of research. In sociological discourses on social capital generation, the dimension of community music making is recognized as an important factor. Trust and mutual cooperation are products when people listen to each other, when they work or play together, and when they care about each other. This is how social capital develops as an important shared resource. Scholars of Community Music still do not agree on a short and concise definition for Community Music. For the purpose of this research, the author concurs with the definition of Community Music of the Community Music Activity commission of the International Society of Music Education as having the following characteristics: decentralization, accessibility, equal opportunity, and active participation in music-making. These principles are social and political ones, and there can be no doubt that community music activity is more than a purely musical one. Trust, shared norms and values civic and community involvement, networks, knowledge resources, contact with families and friends, and fellowship are key components in fostering group cohesion and social capital development in a community. The research will show that there is no better place for these factors to flourish than in a community singing group. Through this comparative study, it is the aim to identify, analyze and explain similarities and differences in approaches to community across societies that find themselves in a rapid transition from traditional cultural to global cultural habits characterized by a plurality of orientation points, with the aim to gain a better understanding of the various directions South Tyrolean singing culture can take.

Keywords: community music, multicultural, singing, social capital

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Authors: Christian T. Lystbaek

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Background: The importance of innovation management has traditionally been ascribed to private production companies, however, there is an increasing interest in public services innovation management. One of the major theoretical challenges arising from this situation is to understand public values justifying public services innovation management. However, there is not single and stable definition of public value in the literature. The research question guiding this paper is: What is the supposed added value operating in the public sphere? Methodology: The study takes an action research strategy. This is highly contextualized methodology, which is enacted within a particular set of social relations into which on expects to integrate the results. As such, this research strategy is particularly well suited for its potential to generate results that can be applied by managers. The aim of action research is to produce proposals with a creative dimension capable of compelling actors to act in a new and pertinent way in relation to the situations they encounter. The context of the study is a workshop on public services innovation within elderly care. The workshop brought together different actors, such as managers, personnel and two groups of users-citizens (elderly clients and their relatives). The process was designed as an extension of the co-construction methods inherent in action research. Scenario methods and focus groups were applied to generate dialogue. The main strength of these techniques is to gather and exploit as much data as possible by exposing the discourse of justification used by the actors to explain or justify their points of view when interacting with others on a given subject. The approach does not directly interrogate the actors on their values, but allows their values to emerge through debate and dialogue. Findings: The public values related to public services innovation management in elderly care were identified in two steps. In the first step, identification of values, values were identified in the discussions. Through continuous analysis of the data, a network of interrelated values was developed. In the second step, tracking group consensus, we then ascertained the degree to which the meaning attributed to the value was common to the participants, classifying the degree of consensus as high, intermediate or low. High consensus corresponds to strong convergence in meaning, intermediate to generally shared meanings between participants, and low to divergences regarding the meaning between participants. Only values with high or intermediate degree of consensus were retained in the analysis. Conclusion: The study shows that the fundamental criterion for justifying public services innovation management is the capacity for actors to enact public values in their work. In the workshop, we identified two categories of public values, intrinsic value and behavioural values, and a list of more specific values.

Keywords: public services innovation management, public value, co-creation, action research

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Authors: Chiyoung Kim, Jaegeol Yim

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Bus service is often either main or the only public transportation available in cities. In metropolitan areas, both subways and buses are available whereas in the medium sized cities buses are usually the only type of public transportation available. Bus Information Systems (BIS) provide current locations of running buses, efficient routes to travel from one place to another, points of interests around a given bus stop, a series of bus stops consisting of a given bus route, and so on to users. Thanks to BIS, people do not have to waste time at a bus stop waiting for a bus because BIS provides exact information on bus arrival times at a given bus stop. Therefore, BIS does a lot to promote the use of buses contributing to pollution reduction and saving natural resources. BIS implementation costs a huge amount of budget as it requires a lot of special equipment such as road side equipment, automatic vehicle identification and location systems, trunked radio systems, and so on. Consequently, medium and small sized cities with a low budget cannot afford to install BIS even though people in these cities need BIS service more desperately than people in metropolitan areas. It is possible to provide BIS service at virtually no cost under the assumption that everybody carries a smartphone and there is at least one person with a smartphone in a running bus who is willing to reveal his/her location details while he/she is sitting in a bus. This assumption is usually true in the real world. The smartphone penetration rate is greater than 100% in the developed countries and there is no reason for a bus driver to refuse to reveal his/her location details while driving. We have developed a mobile app that periodically reads values of sensors including GPS and sends GPS data to the server when the bus stops or when the elapsed time from the last send attempt is greater than a threshold. This app detects the bus stop state by investigating the sensor values. The server that receives GPS data from this app has also been developed. Under the assumption that the current locations of all running buses collected by the mobile app are recorded in a database, we have also developed a web site that provides all kinds of information that most BISs provide to users through the Internet. The development environment is: OS: Windows 7 64bit, IDE: Eclipse Luna 4.4.1, Spring IDE 3.7.0, Database: MySQL 5.1.7, Web Server: Apache Tomcat 7.0, Programming Language: Java 1.7.0_79. Given a start and a destination bus stop, it finds a shortest path from the start to the destination using the Dijkstra algorithm. Then, it finds a convenient route considering number of transits. For the user interface, we use the Google map. Template classes that are used by the Controller, DAO, Service and Utils classes include BUS, BusStop, BusListInfo, BusStopOrder, RouteResult, WalkingDist, Location, and so on. We are now integrating the mobile app system and the web app system.

Keywords: bus information system, GPS, mobile app, web site

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Authors: Fei Jia, Xingjian Bai, Xiaowei Zhang, Wenjie Yan, Ruitong Dai, Xingmin Li, Jozef Kokini

Abstract:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, aerobic, opportunistic human pathogen that is present in the soil, water, and food. This microbe has been recognized as a representative food-borne spoilage bacterium that can lead to many types of infections. Considering the casualties and property loss caused by P. aeruginosa, the development of a rapid and reliable technique for the detection of P. aeruginosa is crucial. The whole-cell aptasensor, an emerging biosensor using aptamer as a capture probe to bind to the whole cell, for food-borne pathogens detection has attracted much attention due to its convenience and high sensitivity. Here, a low-field magnetic resonance imaging (LF-MRI) aptasensor for the rapid detection of P. aeruginosa was developed. The basic detection principle of the magnetic relaxation switch (MRSw) nanosensor lies on the ‘T₂-shortening’ effect of magnetic nanoparticles in NMR measurements. Briefly speaking, the transverse relaxation time (T₂) of neighboring water protons get shortened when magnetic nanoparticles are clustered due to the cross-linking upon the recognition and binding of biological targets, or simply when the concentration of the magnetic nanoparticles increased. Such shortening is related to both the state change (aggregation or dissociation) and the concentration change of magnetic nanoparticles and can be detected using NMR relaxometry or MRI scanners. In this work, two different sizes of magnetic nanoparticles, which are 10 nm (MN₁₀) and 400 nm (MN₄₀₀) in diameter, were first immobilized with anti- P. aeruginosa aptamer through 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) chemistry separately, to capture and enrich the P. aeruginosa cells. When incubating with the target, a ‘sandwich’ (MN₁₀-bacteria-MN₄₀₀) complex are formed driven by the bonding of MN400 with P. aeruginosa through aptamer recognition, as well as the conjugate aggregation of MN₁₀ on the surface of P. aeruginosa. Due to the different magnetic performance of the MN₁₀ and MN₄₀₀ in the magnetic field caused by their different saturation magnetization, the MN₁₀-bacteria-MN₄₀₀ complex, as well as the unreacted MN₄₀₀ in the solution, can be quickly removed by magnetic separation, and as a result, only unreacted MN₁₀ remain in the solution. The remaining MN₁₀, which are superparamagnetic and stable in low field magnetic field, work as a signal readout for T₂ measurement. Under the optimum condition, the LF-MRI platform provides both image analysis and quantitative detection of P. aeruginosa, with the detection limit as low as 100 cfu/mL. The feasibility and specificity of the aptasensor are demonstrated in detecting real food samples and validated by using plate counting methods. Only two steps and less than 2 hours needed for the detection procedure, this robust aptasensor can detect P. aeruginosa with a wide linear range from 3.1 ×10² cfu/mL to 3.1 ×10⁷ cfu/mL, which is superior to conventional plate counting method and other molecular biology testing assay. Moreover, the aptasensor has a potential to detect other bacteria or toxins by changing suitable aptamers. Considering the excellent accuracy, feasibility, and practicality, the whole-cell aptasensor provides a promising platform for a quick, direct and accurate determination of food-borne pathogens at cell-level.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, meat spoilage, P. aeruginosa, transverse relaxation time

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Authors: Rory Austin Clark

Abstract:

This primary research represents an ongoing two year inductive mixed-methods project endeavouring to unravel the subjective reality of hyperconnected young adults in Western societies who have come of age with social media and smartphones. It is to be presented as well as analyzed and contextualized through a written master’s thesis as well as a documentary/mockumentary meshed with a Web 2.0 app providing the capacity for prosumer, 'audience 2.0' functionality. The media component seeks to explore not only thematic issues via real-life research interviews and fictional narrative but technical issues within the format relating to the quest for intimate, authentic connection as well as compelling dissemination of scholarly knowledge in an age of ubiquitous personalized daily digital media creation and consumption. The overarching hypothesis is that the aforementioned individuals process and make sense of their world, find shared meaning, and formulate notions-of-self in ways drastically different than pre-2007 via hyper-mediation-of-self and surroundings. In this pursuit, research questions have progressed from examining how young adult digital natives understand their use of social media to notions relating to the potential functionality of Web 2.0 for prosocial and altruistic engagement, on and offline, through the eyes of these individuals no longer understood as simply digital natives, but social media natives, and at the conclusion of that phase of research, as 'neoliberalized social media natives' (NSMN). This represents the two most potent macro factors in the paradigmatic shift in NSMS’s worldview, that they are not just children of social media, but of the palpable shift to neoliberal ways of thinking and being in the western socio-cultures since the 1980s, two phenomena that have a reflexive æffective relationship on their perception of figure and ground. This phase also resulted in the working hypothesis of 'social media comparison anxiety' and a nascent understanding of NSMN’s habitus and habitation in a subjective reality of fully converged online/offline worlds, where any phenomena originating in one realm in some way are, or at the very least can be, re-presented or have effect in the other—creating hyperreal reception. This might also be understood through a 'society as symbolic cyborg model', in which individuals have a 'digital essence'-- the entirety of online content that references a single person, as an auric living, breathing cathedral, museum, gallery, and archive of self of infinite permutations and rhizomatic entry and exit points.

Keywords: affect, hyperreal, neoliberalism, postmodernism, social media native, subjective reality, Web 2.0

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Authors: Bahar Salavati Vie Le Sage, Ismaïl Ben Hariz, Flavien Viguier, Sirine Noura Kahil, Audrey Jacquin, Maxime Convert

Abstract:

The ballast layer plays a key role in railroad maintenance and the geometry of the track structure. Ballast also holds the track in place as the trains roll over it. Track ballast is packed between the sleepers and on the sides of railway tracks. An imbalance in ballast volume on the tracks can lead to safety issues as well as a quick degradation of the overall quality of the railway segment. If there is a lack of ballast in the track bed during the summer, there is a risk that the rails will expand and buckle slightly due to the high temperatures. Furthermore, the knowledge of the ballast quantities that will be excavated during renewal works is important for efficient ballast management. The volume of excavated ballast per meter of track can be calculated based on excavation depth, excavation width, volume of track skeleton (sleeper and rail) and sleeper spacing. Since 2012, SNCF has been collecting 3D points cloud data covering its entire railway network by using 3D laser scanning technology (LiDAR). This vast amount of data represents a modelization of the entire railway infrastructure, allowing to conduct various simulations for maintenance purposes. This paper aims to present an automated method for ballast volume estimation based on the processing of LiDAR data. The estimation of abnormal volumes in ballast on the tracks is performed by analyzing the cross-section of the track. Further, since the amount of ballast required varies depending on the track configuration, the knowledge of the ballast profile is required. Prior to track rehabilitation, excess ballast is often present in the ballast shoulders. Based on 3D laser scans, a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) was generated and automatic extraction of the ballast profiles from this data is carried out. The surplus in ballast is then estimated by performing a comparison between this ballast profile obtained empirically, and a geometric modelization of the theoretical ballast profile thresholds as dictated by maintenance standards. Ideally, this excess should be removed prior to renewal works and recycled to optimize the output of the ballast renewal machine. Based on these parameters, an application has been developed to allow the automatic measurement of ballast profiles. We evaluated the method on a 108 kilometers segment of railroad LiDAR scans, and the results show that the proposed algorithm detects ballast surplus that amounts to values close to the total quantities of spoil ballast excavated.

Keywords: ballast, railroad, LiDAR , cloud point, track ballast, 3D point

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Hamed Jafargholi

Abstract:

Global warming presents an immense environmental risk, causing detrimental impacts on ecological systems and putting coastal areas at risk. Implementing efficient measures to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels is essential to reducing global warming. Vapor compression heat pumps provide a practical method for harnessing energy from waste heat sources and reducing energy consumption. However, traditional working fluids used in these heat pumps generally contain a significant global warming potential (GWP), which might cause severe greenhouse effects if they are released. The goal of the emphasis on low-GWP (below 150) refrigerants is to further the vapor compression heat pumps. A classification system for vapor compression heat pumps is offered, with different boundaries based on the needed heat temperature and advancements in heat pump technology. A heat pump could be classified as a low temperature heat pump (LTHP), medium temperature heat pump (MTHP), high temperature heat pump (HTHP), or ultra-high temperature heat pump (UHTHP). The HTHP/UHTHP border is 160 °C, the MTHP/HTHP and LTHP/MTHP limits are 100 and 60 °C, respectively. The refrigerant is one of the most important parts of a vapor compression heat pump system. Presently, the main ways to choose a refrigerant are based on ozone depletion potential (ODP) and GWP, with GWP being the lowest possible value and ODP being zero. Pure low-GWP refrigerants, such as natural refrigerants (R718 and R744), hydrocarbons (R290, R600), hydrofluorocarbons (R152a and R161), hydrofluoroolefins (R1234yf, R1234ze(E)), and hydrochlorofluoroolefin (R1233zd(E)), were selected as candidates for vapor compression heat pump systems based on these selection principles. The performance, characteristics, and potential uses of these low-GWP refrigerants in heat pump systems are investigated in this paper. As vapor compression heat pumps with pure low-GWP refrigerants become more common, more and more low-grade heat can be recovered. This means that energy consumption would decrease. The research outputs showed that the refrigerants R718 for UHTHP application, R1233zd(E) for HTHP application, R600, R152a, R161, R1234ze(E) for MTHP, and R744, R290, and R1234yf for LTHP application are appropriate. The selection of an appropriate refrigerant should, in fact, take into consideration two different environmental and thermodynamic points of view. It might be argued that, depending on the situation, a trade-off between these two groups should constantly be considered. The environmental approach is now far stronger than it was previously, according to the European Union regulations. This will promote sustainable energy consumption and social development in addition to assisting in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the management of global warming.

Keywords: vapor compression, global warming potential, heat pumps, greenhouse

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