Search results for: displacement based design

Authors: A. Falenski, A. Kaesbohrer, M. Filter

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Introduction: Risk assessments can be performed in various ways and in different degrees of complexity. In order to assess risks associated with imported foods additional information needs to be taken into account compared to a risk assessment on regional products. The present review is an overview on currently available best practise approaches and data sources used for food import risk assessments (IRAs). Methods: A literature review has been performed. PubMed was searched for articles about food IRAs published in the years 2004 to 2014 (English and German texts only, search string “(English [la] OR German [la]) (2004:2014 [dp]) import [ti] risk”). Titles and abstracts were screened for import risks in the context of IRAs. The finally selected publications were analysed according to a predefined questionnaire extracting the following information: risk assessment guidelines followed, modelling methods used, data and software applied, existence of an analysis of uncertainty and variability. IRAs cited in these publications were also included in the analysis. Results: The PubMed search resulted in 49 publications, 17 of which contained information about import risks and risk assessments. Within these 19 cross references were identified to be of interest for the present study. These included original articles, reviews and guidelines. At least one of the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission were referenced in any of the IRAs, either for import of animals or for imports concerning foods, respectively. Interestingly, also a combination of both was used to assess the risk associated with the import of live animals serving as the source of food. Methods ranged from full quantitative IRAs using probabilistic models and dose-response models to qualitative IRA in which decision trees or severity tables were set up using parameter estimations based on expert opinions. Calculations were done using @Risk, R or Excel. Most heterogeneous was the type of data used, ranging from general information on imported goods (food, live animals) to pathogen prevalence in the country of origin. These data were either publicly available in databases or lists (e.g., OIE WAHID and Handystatus II, FAOSTAT, Eurostat, TRACES), accessible on a national level (e.g., herd information) or only open to a small group of people (flight passenger import data at national airport customs office). In the IRAs, an uncertainty analysis has been mentioned in some cases, but calculations have been performed only in a few cases. Conclusion: The current state-of-the-art in the assessment of risks of imported foods is characterized by a great heterogeneity in relation to general methodology and data used. Often information is gathered on a case-by-case basis and reformatted by hand in order to perform the IRA. This analysis therefore illustrates the need for a flexible, modular framework supporting the connection of existing data sources with data analysis and modelling tools. Such an infrastructure could pave the way to IRA workflows applicable ad-hoc, e.g. in case of a crisis situation.

Keywords: import risk assessment, review, tools, food import

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Authors: Rashed Shah, Jeanne Koepsell, Dixmer Rivera, Eric Swedberg, David Marsh

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Success of primary health care goals of health promotion and disease prevention may well be determined by community based health workers’ overall job satisfaction. It is also important to understand the ways community health workers perceive their jobs and the importance they give to the various factors influencing their job satisfaction, which is critical before making a decision for task-shifting and for expanding their scope of work. Although brigadistas are unpaid volunteers, they are formally recognized and receive support and supervision from the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua. Brigadistas are responsible for classifying and diagnosing illnesses, administering treatment, counseling mothers and care givers within the community, encouraging referral in case of serious illness and making follow-up visits at home. Some brigadistas provide more technically advanced services, including treatment for pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis and/or distribution of contraceptives. Expanding brigadistas’ duties could threaten their heretofore ‘job satisfaction’. This study primarily aims to report on job satisfaction of brigadistas in Nicaragua before expanding the scope of their work by adding more responsibilities. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What aspects of their job made the brigadistas satisfied or dissatisfied? 2) What is the job satisfaction level of brigadistas in Nicaragua? This cross-sectional study was conducted during March – July 2014, to assess brigadistas’ job satisfaction, prior to deciding on inclusion of care for sick newborns and young infants (<2 months of age) to brigadistas’ existing service package of community case management for children of 2-59 months of age. Following stratified random sampling strategy, 15 brigadistas were randomly selected from each of the following four strata: [(1) females under 25 years of age, (2) females over 30 years of age, (3) males under 25 years of age, and (4) males over 30 years of age. Out of 45 completed in-person interview with eligible and available brigadistas, 20 (44.4%) were with female and 25 (55.6%) were with male respondents; the mean age (±sd) was found as 32.0 (±3.2) years. About 53% (24/45) brigadista mentioned “Training” as the most helpful for performing their job. Another 31% (14/45) mentioned that “feeling of doing good, supporting community, women and children” was helpful to perform their job well. When asked about difficulty, about 35.5% (16/45) brigadistas mentioned about “Lack of time” due to their responsibilities in family, farm, other work places, study and such time constraint made their job performance difficult. Measured on a 0-5 scale, estimated average job satisfaction was 4.2. Current trends in task-shifting and integrated program delivery require community health workers (like the brigadistas) to deliver several essential services, including maternal, newborn and child health, and family planning, and thereby increasing their responsibilities. Given the reported level of job satisfaction among brigadistas (4.2 out of 5), and the mentioned difficulty in performing their current job (as ‘Lack of Time’) in this study results, the policy makers and program managers in MOH should be cautious enough before making a decision to expand current scope of work for brigadistas in Nicaragua.

Keywords: Brigadisata, job satisfaction, Nicaragua, task-shifting

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Authors: Hollie Ashworth, Sarah Heath, Nick Bryan, Liam Abrahamsen, Simon Kellet

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Sellafield has a number of fuel storage ponds, some of which have been open to the air for a number of decades. This has caused corrosion of the fuel resulting in a release of some activity into solution, reduced water clarity, and accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the pond consisting of brucite (Mg(OH)2) and other uranium corrosion products. Both of these phases are also present as colloidal material. 90Sr and 137Cs are known to constitute a small volume of the radionuclides present in the pond, but a large fraction of the activity, thus they are most at risk of challenging effluent discharge limits. Organic molecules are known to be present also, due to the ponds being open to the air, with occasional algal blooms restricting visibility further. The contents of the pond need to be retrieved and safely stored, but dealing with such a complex, undefined inventory poses a unique challenge. This work aims to determine and understand the sorption-desorption interactions of 90Sr and 137Cs to brucite and uranium phases, with and without the presence of organic molecules from chemical degradation and bio-organisms. The influence of organics on these interactions has not been widely studied. Partitioning of these radionuclides and organic molecules has been determined through LSC, ICP-AES/MS, and UV-vis spectrophotometry coupled with ultrafiltration in both binary and ternary systems. Further detailed analysis into the surface and bonding environment of these components is being investigated through XAS techniques and PHREEQC modelling. Experiments were conducted in CO2-free or N2 atmosphere across a high pH range in order to best simulate conditions in the pond. Humic acid used in brucite systems demonstrated strong competition against 90Sr for the brucite surface regardless of the order of addition of components. Variance of pH did have a small effect, however this range (10.5-11.5) is close to the pHpzc of brucite, causing the surface to buffer the solution pH towards that value over the course of the experiment. Sorption of 90Sr to UO2 obeyed Ho’s rate equation and demonstrated a slow second-order reaction with respect to the sharing of valence electrons from the strontium atom, with the initial rate clearly dependent on pH, with the equilibrium concentration calculated at close to 100% sorption. There was no influence of humic acid seen when introduced to these systems. Sorption of 137Cs to UO3 was significant, with more than 95% sorbed in just over 24 hours. Again, humic acid showed no influence when introduced into this system. Both brucite and uranium based systems will be studied with the incorporation of cyanobacterial cultures harvested at different stages of growth. Investigation of these systems provides insight into, and understanding of, the effect of organics on radionuclide partitioning to brucite and uranium phases at high pH. The majority of sorption-desorption work for radionuclides has been conducted at neutral to acidic pH values, and mostly without organics. These studies are particularly important for the characterisation of legacy wastes at Sellafield, with a view to their safe retrieval and storage.

Keywords: caesium, legacy wastes, organics, sorption-desorption, strontium, uranium

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Authors: MD Mashiur Rahman, Muhammad Arshadul Haque

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Emerging conservation agriculture (CA) is an option for improving soil health and maintaining environmental sustainability for intensive agriculture, especially in the tropical climate. Three years lengthy research experiment was performed in arid climate from 2018 to 2020 at research field of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Station (RARS)F, Jamalpur (soil texture belongs to Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ)-8/9, 24˚56'11''N latitude and 89˚55'54''E longitude and an altitude of 16.46m) to evaluate the effect of CA approaches on energy use efficiency and a streamlined life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of wheat production. For this, the conservation tillage practices (strip tillage (ST) and minimum tillage (MT)) were adopted in comparison to the conventional farmers' tillage (CT), with retained a fixed level (30 cm) of residue retention. This study examined the relationship between energy consumption and life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of wheat cultivation in Jamalpur region of Bangladesh. Standard energy equivalents megajoules (MJ) were used to measure energy from different inputs and output, similarly, the global warming potential values for the 100-year timescale and a standard unit kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO₂eq) was used to estimate direct and indirect GHG emissions from the use of on-farm and off-farm inputs. Farm efficiency analysis tool (FEAT) was used to analyze GHG emission and its intensity. A non-parametric data envelopment (DEA) analysis was used to estimate the optimum energy requirement of wheat production. The results showed that the treatment combination having MT with optimum energy inputs is the best suit for cost-effective, sustainable CA practice in wheat cultivation without compromising with the yield during the dry season. A total of 22045.86 MJ ha⁻¹, 22158.82 MJ ha⁻¹, and 23656.63 MJ ha⁻¹ input energy for the practice of ST, MT, and CT was used in wheat production, and output energy was calculated as 158657.40 MJ ha⁻¹, 162070.55 MJ ha⁻¹, and 149501.58 MJ ha⁻¹, respectively; where energy use efficiency/net energy ratio was found to be 7.20, 7.31 and 6.32. Among these, MT is the most effective practice option taken into account in the wheat production process. The optimum energy requirement was found to be 18236.71 MJ ha⁻¹ demonstrating for the practice of MT that if recommendations are followed, 18.7% of input energy can be saved. The total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was calculated to be 2288 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹, 2293 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹ and 2331 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹, where GHG intensity is the ratio of kg CO₂eq emission per MJ of output energy produced was estimated to be 0.014 kg CO₂/MJ, 0.014 kg CO₂/MJ and 0.015 kg CO₂/MJ in wheat production. Therefore, CA approaches ST practice with 30 cm residue retention was the most effective GHG mitigation option when the net life cycle GHG emission was considered in wheat production in the silt clay loam soil of Bangladesh. In conclusion, the CA approaches being implemented for wheat production involving MT practice have the potential to mitigate global warming potential in Bangladesh to achieve soil carbon footprint, where the life cycle assessment approach needs to be applied to a more diverse range of wheat-based cropping systems.

Keywords: conservation agriculture and tillage, energy use efficiency, life cycle GHG, Bangladesh

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Authors: Mara Aparecida De Castilho Lopes. Maria Eliza Mattosinho Bernardes

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The education of deaf individuals in Brazil is grounded in the bilingual approach, which presupposes Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) as the first language for these students. In this perspective, Portuguese should be taught as a second language in its written form, ensuring that deaf students also have access to various academic subjects in sign language. Brazilian legislation (Federal Decree No. 5626 of 2005) mandates the teaching of Brazilian Sign Language in university teacher training programs, but there is no pre-established minimum workload. As a result, there is a significant disparity in the teaching and quality of teacher education across the Brazilian territory. Added to this fact is the general lack of awareness within society regarding the linguistic status of Libras, leading to a shortage of competent teachers for its use and instruction, particularly in higher education. Recently, Federal Law No. 14191 of 2021 established bilingual education for the deaf as a mode of instruction, indicating the need for adjustments in teacher training within higher education teacher preparation programs. Given this context, the objective of the present study was to analyze the teaching proposals for Brazilian Sign Language for students in teacher training programs at public universities in Brazil, presenting alternatives to overcome the current models and academic pathways of teaching and learning. In addition to analyzing Brazilian teaching models, an analysis of a continuing education model for teachers in a French institution was also conducted - considering the historical Franco-Brazilian path of deaf education in Brazil. The analysis of the current teacher training model for deaf education in Brazil revealed that initial exposure to sign language and its linguistic structure is not sufficient to provide future teachers with opportunities to reflect on bilingual teaching methods and practices, as seen in other definitions of bilingualism - bilingual education for proficient listeners in two oral languages. As a result, a training proposal was developed for an experimental interdisciplinary course, integrating the curriculum of an initial and continuing teacher training program alongside the Alfredo Bossi Chair at the University of São Paulo. This proposal is structured into three disciplines, which constitute consecutive moments in teacher education: Fundamental Aspects of Brazilian Sign Language, Bilingual Teaching Methodology, and Teaching Investigation Project - interdisciplinary engagement in the field of deafness. The last offered discipline represents an interdisciplinary supervised internship proposal, considering the multi-professional context that constitutes deaf education within a bilingual approach. In interdisciplinary work within the field of deafness, dialogue between teachers and other professionals who work with deaf students from different perspectives - teachers, speech therapists, and sign language interpreters - is frequently necessary. Through alternative avenues, these actions aim to direct the linguistic development of deaf students within their learning processes. Based on the innovative curriculum proposal described here, the intention is to contribute to the enhancement of teacher education in Brazil, with the goal of ensuring bilingual education for deaf students.

Keywords: bilingual education, teacher training, historical-cultural approach, interdisciplinary education, inclusive education

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Authors: Jadwiga Fila, Mateusz Jezowski, Pawel Poszytek

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The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic started the times of crisis full of uncertainty, especially in the field of transnational cooperation projects based on the international mobility of their participants. This is notably the case of Erasmus+ Program for higher education, which is the flagship European initiative boosting cooperation between educational institutions, businesses, and other actors, enabling students and staff mobility, as well as strategic partnerships between different parties. The aim of this abstract is to study whether competences 4.0 are able to empower Erasmus+ project leaders in sustaining their international cooperation in times of global crisis, widespread online learning, and common project disruption or cancellation. The concept of competences 4.0 emerged from the notion of the industry 4.0, and it relates to skills that are fundamental for the current labor market. For the aim of the study presented in this abstract, four main 4.0 competences were distinguished: digital, managerial, social, and cognitive competence. The hypothesis for the study stipulated that the above-mentioned highly-developed competences may act as a protective shield against the pandemic challenges in terms of projects’ sustainability and continuation. The objective of the research was to assess to what extent individual competences are useful in managing projects in times of crisis. For this purpose, the study was conducted, involving, among others, 141 Polish higher education project leaders who were running their cooperation projects during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (Mar-Nov 2020). The research explored the self-perception of the above-mentioned competences among Erasmus+ project leaders and the contextual data regarding the sustainability of the projects. The quantitative character of data permitted validation of scales (Cronbach’s Alfa measure), and the use of factor analysis made it possible to create a distinctive variable for each competence and its dimensions. Finally, logistic regression was used to examine the association of competences and other factors on project status. The study shows that the project leaders’ competence profile attributed the highest score to digital competence (4.36 on the 1-5 scale). Slightly lower values were obtained for cognitive competence (3.96) and managerial competence (3.82). The lowest score was accorded to one specific dimension of social competence: adaptability and ability to manage stress (1.74), which proves that the pandemic was a real challenge which had to be faced by project coordinators. For higher education projects, 10% were suspended or prolonged because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas 90% were undisrupted (continued or already successfully finished). The quantitative analysis showed a positive relationship between the leaders’ levels of competences and the projects status. In the case of all competences, the scores were higher for project leaders who finished projects successfully than for leaders who suspended or prolonged their projects. The research demonstrated that, in the demanding times of the COVID-19 pandemic, competences 4.0, to a certain extent, do play a significant role in the successful management of Erasmus+ projects. The implementation and sustainability of international educational projects, despite mobility and sanitary obstacles, depended, among other factors, on the level of leaders’ competences.

Keywords: Competences 4.0, COVID-19 pandemic, Erasmus+ Program, international education, project sustainability

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Authors: S. M. Islam, Wasi Uddin, Nazmun Nahar

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Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, faces two contrasting problems; excess of water during monsoon season and scarcity of water during dry season. The first problem occurs due to rapid urbanization and mismanagement of rainwater whereas the second problem is related to climate change and increasing urban population. Inadequate drainage system also worsens the overall water management scenario in Dhaka city. Dhaka has a population density of 115,000 people per square miles. This results in a 2.5 billion liter water demand every day, 87% of which is fulfilled by groundwater. Over dependency on groundwater has resulted in more than 200 feet drop in the last 50 years and continues to decline at a rate of 9 feet per year. Considering the gravity of the problem, it is high time that practitioners, academicians and policymakers consider different water management practices and look into their cumulative impacts at different scales. The present study assesses different rainwater management options for North South University of Bangladesh and recommends the most feasible and sustainable rainwater management measure. North South University currently accommodates over 20,000 students, faculty members, and administrative staffs. To fulfill the water demand, there are two deep tube wells, which bring up approximately 150,000 liter of water every hour. The annual water demand is approximately 103 million liters. Dhaka receives approximately 1800 mm of rainfall every year. For the current study, two academic buildings and one administrative building consist of 4924 square meters of rooftop area was selected as catchment area. Both rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge options were analyzed separately. It was estimated that by rainwater harvesting, annually a total of 7.2 million liters of water can be reused which is approximately 7% of the total annual water usage. In the monsoon, rainwater harvesting fulfills 12.2% of the monthly water demand. The approximate cost of the rainwater harvesting system is estimated to be 940975 bdt (USD 11500). For direct groundwater recharge, a system comprises of one de-siltation tank, two recharge tanks and one siltation tank were designed that requires approximately 532788 bdt (USD 6500). The payback period is approximately 7 years and 4 months for the groundwater recharge system whereas the payback period for rainwater harvesting option is approximately 12 years and 4 months. Based on the cost-benefit analysis, the present study finds the groundwater recharge system to be most suitable for North South University. The present study also demonstrates that if only one institution like North South University can add up a substantial amount of water to the aquifer, bringing other institutions in the network has the potential to create significant cumulative impact on replenishing the declining groundwater level of Dhaka city. As an additional benefit, it also prevents large amount of water being discharged into the storm sewers which results in severe flooding in Dhaka city during monsoon.

Keywords: Dhaka, groundwater, harvesting, rainwater, recharge

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Authors: Gabriela Wyszogrodzka, Przemyslaw Dorozynski, Barbara Gil, Maciej Strzempek, Bartosz Marszalek, Piotr Kulinowski, Wladyslaw Piotr Weglarz, Elzbieta Menaszek

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MOFs (Metal-Organic Frameworks) belong to a new group of porous materials with a hybrid organic-inorganic construction. Their structure is a network consisting of metal cations or clusters (acting as metallic centers, nodes) and the organic linkers between nodes. The interest in MOFs is primarily associated with the use of their well-developed surface and large porous. Possibility to build MOFs of biocompatible components let to use them as potential drug carriers. Furthermore, forming MOFs structure from cations possessing paramagnetic properties (e.g. iron cations) allows to use them as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) contrast agents. The concept of formation of particles that combine the ability to transfer active substance with imaging properties has been called theranostic (from words combination therapy and diagnostics). By building MOF structure from iron cations it is possible to use them as theranostic agents and monitoring the distribution of the active substance after administration in real time. In the study iron-MOF: Fe-MIL-101-NH2 was chosen, consisting of iron cluster in nodes of the structure and amino-terephthalic acid as a linker. The aim of the study was to investigate the possibility of applying Fe-MIL-101-NH2 as inhalable theranostic particulate system for the first-line anti-tuberculosis antibiotic – isoniazid. The drug content incorporated into Fe-MIL-101-NH2 was evaluated by dissolution study using spectrophotometric method. Results showed isoniazid encapsulation efficiency – ca. 12.5% wt. Possibility of Fe-MIL-101-NH2 application as the MRI contrast agent was demonstrated by magnetic resonance tomography. FeMIL-101-NH2 effectively shortening T1 and T2 relaxation times (increasing R1 and R2 relaxation rates) linearly with the concentrations of suspended material. Images obtained using multi-echo magnetic resonance imaging sequence revealed possibility to use FeMIL-101-NH2 as positive and negative contrasts depending on applied repetition time. MOFs micronization via ultrasound was evaluated by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, FTIR, SEM imaging and did not influence their crystal shape and size. Ultrasonication let to break the aggregates and achieve very homogeneously looking SEM images. MOFs cytotoxicity was evaluated in in vitro test with a highly sensitive resazurin based reagent PrestoBlue™ on L929 fibroblast cell line. After 24h no inhibition of cell proliferation was observed. All results proved potential possibility of application of ironMOFs as an isoniazid carrier and as MRI contrast agent in inhalatory treatment of tuberculosis. Acknowledgments: Authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Center Poland for providing financial support, grant no 2014/15/B/ST5/04498.

Keywords: imaging agents, metal-organic frameworks, theranostics, tuberculosis

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Authors: Abdelkader Soumaya, Noureddine Ben Ayed, Ali Kadri, Said Maouche, Hayet Khayati Ammar, Ahmed Braham

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The historic sites of Bulla Regia and Chemtou are among the most important archaeological monuments in northwestern Tunisia, which flourished as large, wealthy settlements during the Roman and Byzantine periods (2nd to 7th centuries AD). An archaeoseismological study provides the first indications about the impact of a possible ancient strong earthquake in the destruction of these cities. Based on previous archaeological excavation results, including numismatic evidence, pottery, economic meltdown and urban transformation, the abrupt ruin and destruction of the cities of Bulla Regia and Chemtou can be bracketed between 613 and 647 AD. In this study, we carried out the first attempt to use the analysis of earthquake archaeological effects (EAEs) that were observed during our field investigations in these two historic cities. The damage includes different types of EAEs: folds on regular pavements, displaced and deformed vaults, folded walls, tilted walls, collapsed keystones in arches, dipping broken corners, displaced-fallen columns, block extrusions in walls, penetrative fractures in brick-made walls and open fractures on regular pavements. These deformations are spread over 10 different sectors or buildings and include 56 measured EAEs. The structural analysis of the identified EAEs can indicate an ancient destructive earthquake that probably destroyed the Bulla Regia and Chemtou archaeological sites. We then analyzed these measurements using structural geological analysis to obtain the maximum horizontal strain of the ground (e.g., S ₕₘₐₓ) on each building-oriented damage. After the collection and analysis of these strain datasets, we proceed to plot the orientation of Sₕₘₐₓ trajectories on the map of the archaeological site (Bulla Regia). We concluded that the obtained Sₕₘₐₓ trajectories within this site could then be related to the mean direction of ground motion (oscillatory movement of the ground) triggered by a seismic event, as documented for some historical earthquakes across the world. These Sₕₘₐₓ orientations closely match the current active stress field, as highlighted by some instrumental events in northern Tunisia. In terms of the seismic source, we strongly suggest that the reactivation of a neotectonic strike-slip fault trending N50E must be responsible for this probable historic earthquake and the recent instrumental seismicity in this area. This fault segment, affecting the folded quaternary deposits south of Jebel Rebia, passes through the monument of Bulla Regia. Stress inversion of the observed and measured data along this fault shows an N150 - 160 trend of Sₕₘₐₓ under a transpressional tectonic regime, which is quite consistent with the GPS data and the state of the current stress field in this region.

Keywords: NW Tunisia, archaeoseismology, earthquake archaeological effect, bulla regia - Chemtou, seismotectonic, neotectonic fault

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Authors: Brigitte Mischler, Marget Hund, Hilfiker Roger, Clare Maguire

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Background: Brain injury is one of the main causes of permanent physical disability, and improving walking ability is one of the most important goals for patients. After inpatient rehabilitation, most do not receive long-term rehabilitation services. Physical activity is important for the health prevention of the musculoskeletal system, circulatory system and the psyche. Objective: This follow-up study measured physical activity in subacute patients after traumatic brain injury and stroke. The difference in the number of steps in the inpatient setting was compared to the number of steps 1 year after the event in the outpatient setting. Methods: This follow-up study is a cross-sectional observational study with 29 participants. The measurement of daily step count over a seven-day period one year after the event was evaluated with the StepWatch™ ankle sensor. The number of steps taken one year after the event in the outpatient setting was compared with the number of steps taken during the inpatient stay and evaluated if they reached the recommended target value. Correlations between steps-count and exit domain, FAC level, walking speed, light touch, joint position sense, cognition, and fear of falling were calculated. Results: The median (IQR) daily step count of all patients was 2512 (568.5, 4070.5). During follow-up, the number of steps improved to 3656(1710,5900). The average difference was 1159(-2825, 6840) steps per day. Participants who were unable to walk independently (FAC 1) improved from 336(5-705) to 1808(92, 5354) steps per day. Participants able to walk with assistance (FAC 2-3) walked 700(31-3080) and at follow-up 3528(243,6871). Independent walkers (FAC 4-5) walked 4093(2327-5868) and achieved 3878(777,7418) daily steps at follow-up. This value is significantly below the recommended guideline. Step-count at follow-up showed moderate to high and statistically significant correlations: positive for FAC score, positive for FIM total score, positive for walking speed, and negative for fear of falling. Conclusions: Only 17% of all participants achieved the recommended daily step count one year after the event. We need better inpatient and outpatient strategies to improve physical activity. In everyday clinical practice, pedometers and diaries with objectives should be used. A concrete weekly schedule should be drawn up together with the patient, relatives, or nursing staff after discharge. This should include daily self-training, which was instructed during the inpatient stay. A good connection to social life (professional connection or a daily task/activity) can be an important part of improving daily activity. Further research should evaluate strategies to increase daily step counts in inpatient settings as well as in outpatient settings.

Keywords: neurorehabilitation, stroke, traumatic brain injury, steps, stepcount

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Authors: İsmail Kavdır, M. Burak Büyükcan, Ferhat Kurtulmuş

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Table olive is a valuable product especially in Mediterranean countries. It is usually consumed after some fermentation process. Defects happened naturally or as a result of an impact while olives are still fresh may become more distinct after processing period. Defected olives are not desired both in table olive and olive oil industries as it will affect the final product quality and reduce market prices considerably. Therefore it is critical to sort table olives before processing or even after processing according to their quality and surface defects. However, doing manual sorting has many drawbacks such as high expenses, subjectivity, tediousness and inconsistency. Quality criterions for green olives were accepted as color and free of mechanical defects, wrinkling, surface blemishes and rotting. In this study, it was aimed to classify fresh table olives using different classifiers and NIR spectroscopy readings and also to compare the classifiers. For this purpose, green (Ayvalik variety) olives were classified based on their surface feature properties such as defect-free, with bruised defect and with fly defect using FT-NIR spectroscopy and classification algorithms such as artificial neural networks, ident and cluster. Bruker multi-purpose analyzer (MPA) FT-NIR spectrometer (Bruker Optik, GmbH, Ettlingen Germany) was used for spectral measurements. The spectrometer was equipped with InGaAs detectors (TE-InGaAs internal for reflectance and RT-InGaAs external for transmittance) and a 20-watt high intensity tungsten–halogen NIR light source. Reflectance measurements were performed with a fiber optic probe (type IN 261) which covered the wavelengths between 780–2500 nm, while transmittance measurements were performed between 800 and 1725 nm. Thirty-two scans were acquired for each reflectance spectrum in about 15.32 s while 128 scans were obtained for transmittance in about 62 s. Resolution was 8 cm⁻¹ for both spectral measurement modes. Instrument control was done using OPUS software (Bruker Optik, GmbH, Ettlingen Germany). Classification applications were performed using three classifiers; Backpropagation Neural Networks, ident and cluster classification algorithms. For these classification applications, Neural Network tool box in Matlab, ident and cluster modules in OPUS software were used. Classifications were performed considering different scenarios; two quality conditions at once (good vs bruised, good vs fly defect) and three quality conditions at once (good, bruised and fly defect). Two spectrometer readings were used in classification applications; reflectance and transmittance. Classification results obtained using artificial neural networks algorithm in discriminating good olives from bruised olives, from olives with fly defect and from the olive group including both bruised and fly defected olives with success rates respectively changing between 97 and 99%, 61 and 94% and between 58.67 and 92%. On the other hand, classification results obtained for discriminating good olives from bruised ones and also for discriminating good olives from fly defected olives using the ident method ranged between 75-97.5% and 32.5-57.5%, respectfully; results obtained for the same classification applications using the cluster method ranged between 52.5-97.5% and between 22.5-57.5%.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, statistical classifiers, NIR spectroscopy, reflectance, transmittance

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Authors: Emilia Pietiläinen, Heikki Kyröläinen, Tommi Vasankari, Matti Santtila, Tiina Luukkaala, Kai Parkkola

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Working in the military sets special demands on physical fitness, however, reduced physical activity levels among employees in the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF), a trend also being seen among the working-age population in Finland, is leading to reduced physical fitness levels and increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, something which also increases human resource costs. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop an eHealth intervention using accelerometer- smartphone app feedback technique, telephone counseling and physical activity recordings to increase physical activity of the personnel and thereby improve their health. Specific aims were to reduce stress, improve quality of sleep and mental and physical performance, ability to work and reduce sick leave absences. Employees from six military brigades around Finland were invited to participate in the study, and finally, 260 voluntary participants were included (66 women, 194 men). The participants were randomized into intervention (156) and control groups (104). The eHealth intervention group used accelerometers measuring daily physical activity and duration and quality of sleep for six months. The accelerometers transmitted the data to smartphone apps while giving feedback about daily physical activity and sleep. The intervention group participants were also encouraged to exercise for two hours a week during working hours, a benefit that was already offered to employees following existing FDF guidelines. To separate the exercise done during working hours from the accelerometer data, the intervention group marked this exercise into an exercise diary. The intervention group also participated in telephone counseling about their physical activity. On the other hand, the control group participants continued with their normal exercise routine without the accelerometer and feedback. They could utilize the benefit of being able to exercise during working hours, but they were not separately encouraged for it, nor was the exercise diary used. The participants were measured at baseline, after the entire intervention period, and six months after the end of the entire intervention. The measurements included accelerometer recordings, biochemical laboratory tests, body composition measurements, physical fitness tests, and a wide questionnaire focusing on sociodemographic factors, physical activity and health. In terms of results, the primary indicators of effectiveness are increased physical activity and fitness, improved health status, and reduced sick leave absences. The evaluation of the present scientific reach is based on the data collected during the baseline measurements. Maintenance of the studied outcomes is assessed by comparing the results of the control group measured at the baseline and a year follow-up. Results of the study are not yet available but will be presented at the conference. The present findings will help to develop an easy and cost-effective model to support the health and working capability of employees in the military and other workplaces.

Keywords: accelerometer, health, mobile applications, physical activity, physical performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Kristina Gordon

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One in three children in the United States is a victim of a maltreatment investigation, and about one in nine children has a substantiated investigation. Home visiting is one of several preventative strategies rooted in an early childhood approach that fosters maternal, infant, and early childhood health, protection, and growth. In the United States, 88% of states report administering home visiting programs or state-designed models. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review on home visiting programs in the United States focused on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This systematic review included 17 articles which found that most of the studies reported optimistic results. Common across studies was program content related to (1) typical child development, (2) parenting education, and (3) child physical health. Although several factors common to home visiting and parenting interventions have been identified, no research has examined the common components of manualized home visiting programs to prevent child maltreatment. Child maltreatment can be addressed with home visiting programs with evidence-based components and cultural adaptations that increase prevention by assisting families in tackling the risk factors they face. An innovative approach to child maltreatment prevention is bringing together at-risk families with the aging community. This innovative approach was prompted due to existing home visitation programs only focusing on improving skillsets and providing temporary relationships. This innovative approach can provide the opportunity for families to build a relationship with an aging individual who can share their wisdom, skills, compassion, love, and guidance, to support families in their well-being and decrease child maltreatment occurrence. Families would be identified if they experience any of the risk factors, including parental substance abuse, parental mental illness, domestic violence, and poverty. Families would also be identified as at risk if they lack supportive relationships such as grandparents or relatives. Families would be referred by local agencies such as medical clinics, hospitals, schools, etc., that have interactions with families regularly. The aging community would be recruited at local housing communities and community centers. An aging individual would be identified by the elderly community when there is a need or interest in a relationship by or for the individual. Cultural considerations would be made when assessing for compatibility between the families and aging individuals. The pilot program will consist of a small group of participants to allow manageable results to evaluate the efficacy of the program. The pilot will include pre-and post-surveys to evaluate the impact of the program. From the results, data would be created to determine the efficacy as well as the sufficiency of the details of the pilot. The pilot would also be evaluated on whether families were referred to Child Protective Services during the pilot as it relates to the goal of decreasing child maltreatment. The ideal findings will display a decrease in child maltreatment and an increase in family well-being for participants.

Keywords: child maltreatment, home visiting, neglect, preventative, abuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Amanullah Lagharil, Majid Ali Laghari, M. Qasim, Jan. M., Asif Khan, M. Hassan Agheem

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The Nagar Parkar area in southeastern Sindh is a part of the Thar Desert adjacent to the Runn of Kutchh, and covers 480 km2. It contains exposures of a variety of igneous rocks referred to as the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex. The complex comprises rocks belonging to at least six phases of magmatism, from oldest to youngest: 1) amphibolitic basement rocks, 2) riebeckite-aegirine grey granite, 3) biotite-hornblende pink granite, 4) acid dykes, 5) rhyolite “plugs”, and basic dykes (Jan et al., 1997). The last three of these are not significant in volume. Radiometric dates are lacking but the grey and pink granites are petrographically comparable to the Siwana and Jalore plutons, respectively, emplaced in the Malani volcanic series. Based on these similarities and proximity, the phase 2 to 6 bodies in the Nagar Parkar may belong to the Late Proterozoic (720–745 Ma) Malani magmatism that covers large areas in western Rajasthan. Khan et al. (2007) have reported a 745 ±30 – 755 ±22 Ma U-Th-Pb age on monazite from the pink granite. The grey granite is essentially composed of perthitic feldspar (microperthite, mesoperthite), quartz, small amount of plagioclase and, characteristically, sodic minerals such as riebeckite and aegirine. A few samples lack aegirine. Fe-Ti oxide and minute, well-developed crystals of zircon occur in almost all the studied samples. Tourmaline, fluorite, apatite and rutile occur in only some samples and astrophyllite is rare. Allanite, sphene and leucoxene occur as minor accessories along with local epidote. The pink granite is mostly leucocratic, but locally rich in biotite (up to 7 %). It is essentially made up of microperthite and quartz, with local microcline, and minor plagioclase (albite-oligoclase). Some rocks contain sufficient oligoclase and can be called adamellite or quartz mozonite. Biotite and hornblende are main accessory minerals along with iron oxide, but in a few samples are without hornblende. Fayalitic olivine, zircon, sphene, apatite, tourmaline, fluorite, allanite and cassiterite occur as sporadic accessory minerals. Epidote, carbonate, sericite and muscovite are produced due to the alteration of feldspar. This work concerns the major element geochemistry and comparison of the principal granitic rocks of Nagar Parkar. According to the scheme of De La Roche et al. (1980), majority of the grey and pink granites classify as alkali granite, 20 % as granite and 10 % as granodiorite. When evaluated on the basis of Shand's indices (after Maniar and Piccoli, 1989), the grey and pink granites span all three fields (peralkaline, metaluminous and peraluminous). Of the analysed grey granites, 67 % classify as peralkaline, 20 % as peraluminous and 10 % as metaluminous, while 50 % of pink granites classify as peralkaline, 30 % metaluminous and 20 % peraluminous.

Keywords: petrography, nagar parker, granites, geological sciences

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: J. O. Njoku, G. C. Soronnadi-Ononiwu, E. J. Acrra, C. C. Agoha, T. C. Anyawu

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The high impact ecostratigraphic and biostratigrapgic study of parts of Anambra basin was carried out using samples from two exploration wells (Amama-1 and Bara-1), Amama-1 (219M–1829M) and Bara-1 (317M-1594M). Palynological and paleontological analyses were carried out on 100 ditch-cutting samples. The faunal and floral succession were of terrestrial and marine origin as described and logged. The well penetrated four stratigraphic units in Anambra Basin (the Nkporo, Mamu, Ajali and Nsukka) the wells yielded well preserved formanifera and palynormorphs. The well yielded 53 species of foram and 69 species of palynomorphs, with 12 genera Bara-1 (25 Species of foram and 101 species of palynormorphs). Amama-1 permitted the recognition of 21 genera with 31 formainiferal assemblage zones, 32 pollen and 37 spores assemblage zones, and dinoflagellate cyst, biozonation, ranging from late Campanian – early Paleocene. Bara-1 yielded (60 pollen, 41 spore assemblage zone and 18 dinoflagellate cyst). The zones, in stratigraphically ascending order for the foraminifera and palynomorphs are as follows: Amama Biozone A-Globotruncanella havanensis zone: Late Campanian –Maastrichtian (695 – 1829m) Biozone B-Morozovella velascoensis zone: Early Paleocene(165–695m) Bara-1 Biozone A-Globotruncanella havanensis zone: Late Campanian(1512m) Biozone B-Bolivina afra, B. explicate zone: Maastrichtian (634–1204m) Biozone C - Indeterminate (305 – 634m) palynomorphs Amama-1 A. Ctenolophonidites costatus zone: Early Maastrichtian (1829m) B-Retidiporites miniporatus Zone: Late Maastrichtian (1274m) Constructipollenites ineffectus Zone: Early Paleocene(695m) Bara-1 Droseridites senonicus Zone: Late Campanian (994– 1600m) B. Ctenolophonidites costatus Zone: Early Maastrichtian (713–994m) C. Retidiporites miniporatus Zone: Late Maastrichtian (305 –713m) The paleo-environment of deposition were determined to range from non-marine to outer netritic. A detailed categorization of the palynormorphs into terrestrially derived palynormorphs and marine derived palynormorphs based on the distribution of three broad vegetational types; mangrove, fresh water swamps and hintherland communities were used to evaluate sea level fluctuations with respect to sediments deposited in the basins and linked with a particular depositional system tract. Amama-1 recorded 4 maximum flooding surface(MFS) at depth 165-1829, dated b/w 61ma-76ma and three sequence boundary(SB) at depth1048m - 1533m and 1581 dated b/w 634m - 1387m, dated 69.5ma - 82ma and four sequence boundary(SB) at 552m-876m, dated 68ma-77.5ma respectively. The application of ecostratigraphic description is characterised by the prominent expansion of the hinterland component consisting of the Mangrove to Lowland Rainforest and Afromontane – Savannah vegetation.

Keywords: foraminifera, palynomorphs, Campanian, Maastritchian, ecostratigraphic, Anambra

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Authors: J.O. Njoku, G.C Soronnadi-Ononiwu, E.J. Acrra, C.C AGOHA, T.C ANYAWU

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The High Impact Ecostratigraphic And Biostratigrapgic Study of parts of Anambra basin was carried out using samples from two exploration wells (Amama-1 and Bara-1), Amama-1 (219M–1829M) and Bara-1 (317M-1594M). Palynological and Paleontological analyses were carried out on 100 ditch cutting samples. The faunal and floral succession were of terrestrial and marine origin as described and logged. The well penetrated four stratigraphic units in Anambra Basin (the Nkporo, Mamu, Ajali and Nsukka) the wells yielded well preserved formanifera and palynormorphs. The well yielded 53 species of foram and 69 species of palynomorphs, with 12 genera Bara-1 (25 Species of foram and 101 species of palynormorphs). Amama-1permitted the recognition of 21 genera with 31 formainiferal assemblage zones, 32 pollen and 37 spores assemblage zones, and dinoflagellate cyst, biozonation, ranging from late Campanian – early Paleocene. Bara-1 yielded (60 pollen, 41 spore assemblage zone and 18 dinoflagellate cyst).The zones, in stratigraphically ascending order for the foraminifera and palynomorphs are as follows. Amama Biozone A-Globotruncanella havanensis zone: Late Campanian –Maastrichtian (695 – 1829m) Biozone B-Morozovella velascoensis zone: Early Paleocene(165–695m) Bara-1 Biozone A-Globotruncanella havanensis zone: Late Campanian(1512m) Biozone B-Bolivina afra, B. explicate zone: Maastrichtian (634–1204m) Biozone C - Indeterminate (305 – 634m) palynomorphs Amama-1 A.Ctenolophonidites costatus zone:Early Maastrichtian (1829m) B-Retidiporites miniporatus Zone: Late Maastrichtian (1274m) Constructipollenites ineffectus Zone: Early Paleocene(695m) Bara-1 Droseridites senonicus Zone: Late Campanian (994– 1600m) B. Ctenolophonidites costatus Zone: Early Maastrichtian (713–994m) C. Retidiporites miniporatus Zone: Late Maastrichtian (305 –713m) The paleo – environment of deposition were determined to range from non-marine to outer netritic. A detailed categorization of the palynormorphs into terrestrially derived palynormorphs and marine derived palynormorphs based on the distribution of three broad vegetational types; mangrove, fresh water swamps and hintherland communities were used to evaluate sea level fluctuations with respect to sediments deposited in the basins and linked with a particular depositional system tract. Amama-1 recorded 4 maximum flooding surface(MFS) at depth 165-1829, dated b/w 61ma-76ma and three sequence boundary(SB) at depth1048m - 1533m and 1581 dated b/w 634m - 1387m, dated 69.5ma - 82ma and four sequence boundary(SB) at 552m-876m, dated 68ma-77.5ma respectively. The application of ecostratigraphic description is characterised by the prominent expansion of the hinterland component consisting of the Mangrove to Lowland Rainforest and Afromontane – Savannah vegetation.

Keywords: formanifera, palynomorphs. Campanian, Maastritchian, Ecostratigraphic, Anambra

Procedia PDF Downloads 17

Authors: Jasna Hrncic

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Poor family relations predict depression, but also to other mental health issues. Mediating effect of self-efficacy and differentiation of self and moderating effect of decreased accessibility and/or success of other adaptive and defensive mechanisms for overcoming social disadvantages could explain depression as a specific outcome of dysfunctional family relations. The present study analyzes the mediation effect of self-efficacy and differentiation of self from poor family functioning to depressive symptoms and the moderation effect of deprivation of liberty on the listed mediation effect. Deprivation of liberty has, as a general consequence, a decreased accessibility and/or success of many adaptive and defensive mechanisms. It is hypothesized that: 1) self-efficacy and differentiation of self will mediate between family functioning and depressiveness in the total sample, and 2) deprivation of liberty will moderate the stated relations. Cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 male juveniles in Serbia divided in three groups: 98 adolescents deprived of their liberty due to antisocial behavior (incarcerated antisocial group - IAG), 121 adolescents with antisocial behavior in their natural setting (antisocial control group - CAG) and 105 adolescents in general population (general control group - CGG). The CAG was included along with GCG to control the possible influence that comorbidity of antisocial behavior and depressiveness could have on results. Instruments for family relations assessment were: for a whole family of origin the emotional exchange scale and individuation scale from GRADIR by Knezevic, and for a relationship with mother PCS-YSR and CRPBI by barber, and intimacy, rejection, sacrifice, punishment, demands, control and internal control by Opacic and Kos. Differentiation of self (DOS) is measured by emotional self scale (Opacic), self-efficacy (SE) by general incompetence scale by Bezinovic, and depression by BDI (Back), CES-D (Radloff) and D6R (Momirovic). Two-path structural equation modeling based on most commonly reported fit indices, showed that the mediation model had unfavorable fit to our data for total sample [(χ2 (1, N = 324) = 13.73); RMSEA= .20 (90% CI= [.12, .30]); CFI= .98; NFI= .97; AIC=31.73]. Path model provided an adequate fit to the data only for AIG - and not to the data from ACG and GCG. SE and DOS mediated the relationship between PFF and depressiveness. Test of the indirect effects revealed that 23.85% of PFF influences on depressiveness is mediated by these two mediators (the quotient of mediated effect = .24). Test of specific indirect effects showed that SE mediates 22.17%, while DOS mediates 1.67% of PFF influence on depressiveness. Lack of expected mediation effect could be explained by missing other potential mediators (i.e., relationship with that father, social skills, self-esteem) and lower variability of both predictor and criterion variable due to their low levels on the whole sample and on control subsamples. Results suggested that inaccessibility and/or successfulness of other adaptive and defensive mechanisms for overcoming social disadvantages has a strong impact on the mediation effect of self/efficacy and differentiation of self from poor family functioning to depressive symptoms. Further researches could include other potential mediators and a sample of clinically depressed people.

Keywords: antisocial behavior, mediating effect, moderating effect, natural setting, incarceration

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: M. D. Nirmani, K. L. N. Perera, G. H. Galhena

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Dengue has become one of the most important arbo-viral disease in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Aedes aegypti, is the principal vector of the virus, vary in both epidemiological and behavioral characteristics, which could be finely measured through DNA sequence comparison at their population level. Such knowledge in the population differences can assist in implementation of effective vector control strategies allowing to make estimates of the gene flow and adaptive genomic changes, which are important predictors of the spread of Wolbachia infection or insecticide resistance. As such, this study was undertaken to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of Ae. aegypti from Galle and Colombo, Sri Lanka, based on the ribosomal protein region which spans between two exons, in order to understand the geographical distribution of genetically distinct mosquito clades and its impact on mosquito control measures. A 320bp DNA region spanning from 681-930 bp, corresponding to the ribosomal protein, was sequenced in 62 Ae. aegypti larvae collected from Galle (N=30) and Colombo (N=32), Sri Lanka. The sequences were aligned using ClustalW and the haplotypes were determined with DnaSP 5.10. Phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes were constructed using the maximum likelihood method under Tamura 3 parameter model in MEGA 7.0.14 including three previously reported sequences of Australian (N=2) and Brazilian (N=1) Ae. aegypti. The bootstrap support was calculated using 1000 replicates and the tree was rooted using Aedes notoscriptus (GenBank accession No. KJ194101). Among all sequences, nineteen different haplotypes were found among which five haplotypes were shared between 80% of mosquitoes in the two populations. Seven haplotypes were unique to each of the population. Phylogenetic tree revealed two basal clades and a single derived clade. All observed haplotypes of the two Ae. aegypti populations were distributed in all the three clades, indicating a lack of genetic differentiation between populations. The Brazilian Ae. aegypti haplotype and one of the Australian haplotypes were grouped together with the Sri Lankan basal haplotype in the same basal clade, whereas the other Australian haplotype was found in the derived clade. Phylogram showed that Galle and Colombo Ae. aegypti populations are highly related to each other despite the large geographic distance (129 Km) indicating a substantial genetic similarity between them. This may have probably arisen from passive migration assisted by human travelling and trade through both land and water as the two areas are bordered by the sea. In addition, studied Sri Lankan mosquito populations were closely related to Australian and Brazilian samples. Probably this might have caused by shipping industry between the three countries as all of them are fully or partially enclosed by sea. For example, illegal fishing boats migrating to Australia by sea is perhaps a good mean of transportation of all life stages of mosquitoes from Sri Lanka. These findings indicate that extensive mosquito migrations occur between populations not only within the country, but also among other countries in the world which might be a main barrier to the successful vector control measures.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti, dengue control, extensive mosquito migration, haplotypes, phylogeny, ribosomal protein

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Sinisa J. Vukicevic

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Edmonton is currently one of the youngest North American cities and has achieved significant growth over the past 40 years. Strong urban shift requires a new approach to how the city is envisioned, planned, and built. This approach is evidence-based scenario development, and an urban growth model was a key support tool in framing Edmonton development strategies, developing urban policies, and assessing policy implications. The urban growth model has been developed using the Metronamica software platform. The Metronamica land use model evaluated the dynamic of land use change under the influence of key development drivers (population and employment), zoning, land suitability, and land and activity accessibility. The model was designed following the Big City Moves ideas: become greener as we grow, develop a rebuildable city, ignite a community of communities, foster a healing city, and create a city of convergence. The Big City Moves were converted to three development scenarios: ‘Strong Central City’, ‘Node City’, and ‘Corridor City’. Each scenario has a narrative story that expressed scenario’s high level goal, scenario’s approach to residential and commercial activities, to transportation vision, and employment and environmental principles. Land use demand was calculated for each scenario according to specific density targets. Spatial policies were analyzed according to their level of importance within the policy set definition for the specific scenario, but also through the policy measures. The model was calibrated on the way to reproduce known historical land use pattern. For the calibration, we used 2006 and 2011 land use data. The validation is done independently, which means we used the data we did not use for the calibration. The model was validated with 2016 data. In general, the modeling process contain three main phases: ‘from qualitative storyline to quantitative modelling’, ‘model development and model run’, and ‘from quantitative modelling to qualitative storyline’. The model also incorporates five spatial indicators: distance from residential to work, distance from residential to recreation, distance to river valley, urban expansion and habitat fragmentation. The major finding of this research could be looked at from two perspectives: the planning perspective and technology perspective. The planning perspective evaluates the model as a tool for scenario development. Using the model, we explored the land use dynamic that is influenced by a different set of policies. The model enables a direct comparison between the three scenarios. We explored the similarities and differences of scenarios and their quantitative indicators: land use change, population change (and spatial allocation), job allocation, density (population, employment, and dwelling unit), habitat connectivity, proximity to objects of interest, etc. From the technology perspective, the model showed one very important characteristic: the model flexibility. The direction for policy testing changed many times during the consultation process and model flexibility in applying all these changes was highly appreciated. The model satisfied our needs as scenario development and evaluation tool, but also as a communication tool during the consultation process.

Keywords: urban growth model, scenario development, spatial indicators, Metronamica

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Authors: Mostafa Feiz, Mohammad Safari, Hossein Hadizadeh

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The Chalpo copper area is located in northeastern Iran, which is part of the structural zone of central Iran and the back-arc basin of Sabzevar. This sedimentary basin accumulated in destructive-oligomiocene sediments is named the Nasr-Chalpo-Sangerd (NCS) basin. The sedimentary layers in this basin originated mainly from Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks and intermediate to mafic-post ophiolitic volcanic rocks, deposited as a nonconformity. The mineralized sandstone layers in the Chalpo area include leached zones (with a thickness of 5 to 8 meters) and mineralized lenses with a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 meters. Ore minerals include primary sulfide minerals, such as chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite, as well as secondary minerals, such as covellite, digenite, malachite, and azurite, formed in three stages that comprise primary, simultaneously, and supergene stage. The best agents that control the mineralization in this area include the permeability of host rocks, the presence of fault zones as the conduits for copper oxide solutions, and significant amounts of plant fossils, which create a reducing environment for the deposition of mineralized layers. The calculations of mass changes on copper-bearing layers and primary sandstone layers indicate that Pb, As, Cd, Te, and Mo are enriched in the mineralized zones, whereas SiO₂, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, V, Sr, and Ba are depleted. The combination of geological, stratigraphic, and geochemical studies suggests that the origin of copper may have been the underlying red strata that contained hornblende, plagioclase, biotite, alkaline feldspar, and labile minerals. Dehydration and hydrolysis of these minerals during the diagenetic process caused the leaching of copper and associated elements by circling fluids, which formed an oxidant-hydrothermal solution. Copper and silver in this oxidant solution might have moved upwards through the basin-fault zones and deposited in the reducing environments in the sandstone layers that have had abundant organic matter. Copper in these solutions was probably carried by chloride complexes. The collision of oxidant and reduced solutions caused the deposition of Cu and Ag, whereas some s elements in oxidant environments (e.g., Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂, REEs) become uns in the reduced condition. Therefore, the copper-bearing sandstones in the study area are depleted from these elements resulting from the leaching process. The results indicate that during the mineralization stage, LREEs and MREEs were depleted, but Cu, Ag, and S were enriched. Based on field evidence, it seems that the circulation of connate fluids in the reb-bed strata, produced by diagenetic processes, encountered to reduced facies, which formed earlier by abundant fossil-plant debris in the sandstones, is the best model for precipitating sulfide-copper minerals.

Keywords: Chalpo, Oligo-Miocene red beds, sandstone-hosted copper mineralization, mass change, LREEs and MREEs

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Authors: Keiwoma Mark Yila, Mathew Lamrana Siaffa Gboku, Mohamed Sahr Lebbie, Lamin Ibrahim Kamara

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Rainfall and temperature are the important variables which are often used to trace climate variability and change. A perception study and analysis of climatic data were conducted to assess the changes in rainfall and temperature and their impact on crop production in Moyamba district, Sierra Leone. For the perception study, 400 farmers were randomly selected from farmer-based organizations (FBOs) in 4 chiefdoms, and 30 agricultural extension workers (AWEs) in the Moyamba district were purposely selected as respondents. Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s test of concordance was used to analyze the data collected from the farmers and AEWs. Data for the analysis of variability and trends of rainfall and temperature from 1991 to 2020 were obtained from the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency and Njala University and grouped into monthly, seasonal and annual time series. Regression analysis was used to determine the statistical values and trend lines for the seasonal and annual time series data. The Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s Slope Estimator were used to analyze the trends' significance and magnitude, respectively. The results of both studies show evidence of climate change in the Moyamba district. A substantial number of farmers and AEWs perceived a decrease in the annual rainfall amount, length of the rainy season, a late start and end of the rainy season, an increase in the temperature during the day and night, and a shortened harmattan period over the last 30 years. Analysis of the meteorological data shows evidence of variability in the seasonal and annual distribution of rainfall and temperature, a decreasing and non-significant trend in the rainy season and annual rainfall, and an increasing and significant trend in seasonal and annual temperature from 1991 to 2020. However, the observed changes in rainfall and temperature by the farmers and AEWs partially agree with the results of the analyzed meteorological data. The majority of the farmers perceived that; adverse weather conditions have negatively affected crop production in the district. Droughts, high temperatures, and irregular rainfall are the three major adverse weather events that farmers perceived to have contributed to a substantial loss in the yields of the major crops cultivated in the district. In response to the negative effects of adverse weather events, a substantial number of farmers take no action due to their lack of knowledge and technical or financial capacity to implement climate-sensitive agricultural (CSA) practices. Even though few farmers are practising some CSA practices in their farms, there is an urgent need to build the capacity of farmers and AEWs to adapt to and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The most priority support needed by farmers is the provision of climate-resilient crop varieties, whilst the AEWs need training on CSA practices.

Keywords: climate change, crop productivity, farmer’s perception, rainfall, temperature, Sierra Leone

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Sean Griffiths

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Introduction: This paper examines the expression of ‘objectivity’ in architecture in the context of the post-war rejection of this concept. It aims to re-examine the question in light of the assault on truth characterizing contemporary culture and of the unassailable truth of the climate emergency. The paper analyses the search for objective truth as it was prosecuted in the Modern Movement in the early 20th century, looking at the extent to which this quest was successful in contributing to the development of a radically new, politically-informed architecture and the extent to which its particular interpretation of objectivity, limited that development. The paper studies the influence of the Vienna Circle philosophers Rudolph Carnap and Otto Neurath on the pedagogy of the Bauhaus and the architecture of the Neue Sachlichkeit in Germany. Their logical positivism sought to determine objective truths through empirical analysis, expressed in an austere formal language as part of a ‘scientific world conception’ which would overcome metaphysics and unverifiable mystification. These ideas, and the concurrent prioritizing of measurement as the determinant of environmental quality, became key influences in the socially-driven architecture constructed in the 1920s and 30s by Bauhaus architects in numerous German Cities. Methodology: The paper reviews the history of the early Modern Movement and summarizes accounts of the relationship between the Vienna Circle and the Bauhaus. It looks at key differences in the approaches Neurath and Carnap took to the achievement of their shared philosophical and political aims. It analyses how the adoption of Carnap’s foundationalism influenced the architectural language of modern architecture and compares, through a close reading of the structure of Neurath’s ‘protocol sentences,’ the latter’s alternative approach, speculating on the possibility that its adoption offered a different direction of travel for Modern Architecture. Findings: The paper finds that the adoption of Carnap’s foundationalism, while helping Modern Architecture forge a new visual language, ultimately limited its development and is implicated in its failure to escape the very metaphysics against which it had set itself. It speculates that Neurath’s relational language-based approach to the issue of establishing objectivity has its architectural corollary in the process of revision and renovation that offers new ways an ‘objective’ language of architecture might be developed in a manner that is more responsive to our present-day crisis. Conclusion: The philosophical principles of the Vienna Circle and the architects of the Modern Movement had much in common. Both contributed to radical historical departures which sought to instantiate a world scientific conception in their respective fields, which would attempt to banish mystification and metaphysics and would align itself with socialism. However, in adopting Carnap’s foundationalism as the theoretical basis for the new architecture, Modern Architecture not only failed to escape metaphysics but arguably closed off new avenues of development to itself. The adoption of Neurath’s more open-ended and interactive approach to objectivity offers possibilities for new conceptions of the expression of objectivity in architecture that might be more tailored to the multiple crises we face today.

Keywords: Bauhaus, logical positivism, Neue Sachlichkeit, rationalism, Vienna Circle

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Hasen Keder Edris, Ryuji Matsunaga, Toshi Yamanaka

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The issue of climate change and its impact is a major contemporary global concern. Ethiopia is one of the countries experiencing adverse climate change impact including frequent extreme weather events that are exacerbating drought and water scarcity. Due to this reason, the government of Ethiopia develops a strategic document which focuses on the climate resilience green economy. One of the major components of the strategic framework is designed to improve community adaptation capacity and mitigation of drought. For effective implementation of the strategy, identification of regions relative vulnerability to drought is vital. There is a growing tendency of applying Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing technologies for collecting information on duration and severity of drought by direct measure of the topography as well as an indirect measure of land cover. This study aims to show an application of remote sensing technology and GIS for developing drought vulnerability index by taking lowland of Ethiopia as a case study. In addition, it assesses integrated Information Communication Technology (ICT) potential of Ethiopia lowland and proposes integrated solution. Satellite data is used to detect the beginning of the drought. The severity of drought risk prone areas of livestock keeping pastoral is analyzed through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and ten years rainfall data. The change from the existing and average SPOT NDVI and vegetation condition index is used to identify the onset of drought and potential risks. Secondary data is used to analyze geographical coverage of mobile and internet usage in the region. For decades, the government of Ethiopia introduced some technologies and approach to overcoming climate change related problems. However, lack of access to information and inadequate technical support for the pastoral area remains a major challenge. In conventional business as usual approach, the lowland pastorals continue facing a number of challenges. The result indicated that 80% of the region face frequent drought occurrence and out of this 60% of pastoral area faces high drought risk. On the other hand, the target area mobile phone and internet coverage is rapidly growing. One of identified ICT solution enabler technology is telecom center which covers 98% of the region. It was possible to identify the frequently affected area and potential drought risk using the NDVI remote-sensing data analyses. We also found that ICT can play an important role in mitigating climate change challenge. Hence, there is a need to strengthen implementation efforts of climate change adaptation through integrated Remote Sensing and web based information dissemination and mobile alert of extreme events.

Keywords: climate changes, ICT, pastoral, remote sensing

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Authors: Joy Tweed, Jon Pike

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In Thailand, a 4.0 policy has been initiated that is designed to prepare and train an appropriate workforce to support the move to a value-based economy. One aspect of support for this policy is a project to encourage the creation of double degree programmes, specifically between Thai and UK universities. This research into the project, conducted with its key players, explores the factors that can either enable or hinder the development of such programmes. It is an area that has received little research attention to date. Key findings focus on differences in quality assurance requirements, attitudes to benefits, risks, and committed levels of institutional support, thus providing valuable input into future policy making. The Transnational Education (TNE) Development Project was initiated in 2015 by the British Council, in conjunction with the Office for Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Thailand. The purpose of the project was to facilitate opportunities for Thai Universities to partner with UK Universities so as to develop double degree programme models. In this arrangement, the student gains both a UK and a Thai qualification, spending time studying in both countries. Twenty-two partnerships were initiated via the project. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data sources included participation in TNE project workshops, peer reviews, and over 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants within the participating UK and Thai universities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for key themes. The research has revealed that the strength of the relationship between the two partner institutions is critical. Successful partnerships are often built on previous personal contact, have senior-level involvement and are strengthened by partnership on different levels, such as research, student exchange, and other forms of mobility. The support of the British Council was regarded as a key enabler in developing these types of projects for those universities that had not been involved in TNE previously. The involvement of industry is apparent in programmes that have high scientific content but not well developed in other subject areas. Factors that hinder the development of partnership programmes include the approval processes and quality requirements of each institution. Significant differences in fee levels between Thai and UK universities provide a challenge and attempts to bridge them require goodwill on the part of the latter that may be difficult to realise. This research indicates the key factors to which attention needs to be given when developing a TNE programme. Early attention to these factors can reduce the likelihood that the partnership will fail to develop. Representatives in both partner universities need to understand their respective processes of development and approval. The research has important practical implications for policy-makers and planners involved with TNE, not only in relation to the specific TNE project but also more widely in relation to the development of TNE programmes in other countries and other subject areas. Future research will focus on assessing the success of the double degree programmes generated by the TNE Development Project from the perspective of universities, policy makers, and industry partners.

Keywords: double-degree, internationalization, partnerships, Thai-UK

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Nkeiruka Elsie Ezomike, Chinwe L. Onyekonwu, Anthony N. Ikefuna, Bede C. Ibe

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Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are one of the common cutaneous infections that affect children worldwide. They may lead to school absenteeism or school drop-out and hence setback in the education of the child. Community-based studies in any locality are good reflections of the health conditions within that area. There is a dearth of information in the literature about SFI among primary school children in Enugu. This study aimed to determine the clinicomycological pattern of SFIs among primary school children in rural and urban communities in Enugu. This was a comparative descriptive cross-sectional study among primary school children in Awgu (rural) and Enugu North (urban) Local Government Areas (LGAs). Subjects' selection was made over 6 months using a multi-stage sampling method. Information such as age, sex, parental education, and occupation were collected using questionnaires. Socioeconomic classes of the children were determined using the classification proposed by Oyedeji et al. The samples were collected from subjects with SFIs. Potassium hydroxide tests were done on the samples. The samples that tested positive were cultured for SFI by inoculating onto Sabouraud's dextrose chloramphenicol actidione agar. The characteristics of the isolates were identified according to their morphological features using Mycology Online, Atlas 2000, and Mycology Review 2003. Equal numbers of children were recruited from the two LGAs. A total of 1662 pupils were studied. The mean ages of the study subjects were 9.03 ± 2.10years in rural and 10.46 ± 2.33years in urban communities. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1 in rural and 1:1.1 in urban communities. The personal hygiene of the children was significantly related to the presence of SFIs. The overall prevalence of SFIs among the study participants was 45%. In the rural, the prevalence was 29.6%, and in the urban prevalence was 60.4%. The types of SFIs were tinea capitis (the commonest), tinea corporis, pityriasis Versicolor, tinea unguium, and tinea manuum with prevalence rates lower in rural than urban communities. The clinical patterns were gray patch and black dot type of non-inflammatory tinea capitis, kerion, tinea corporis with trunk and limb distributions, and pityriasis Versicolor with face, trunk and limb distributions. Gray patch was the most frequent pattern of SFI seen in rural and urban communities. Black dot type was more frequent in rural than urban communities. SFIs were frequent among children aged 5 to 8years in rural and 9 to 12 years in urban communities. SFIs were commoner in males in the rural, whereas female dominance was observed in the urban. SFIs were more in children from low social class and those with poor hygiene. Trichophyton tonsurans and Trichophyton soudanese were the common mycological isolates in rural and urban communities, respectively. In conclusion, SFIs were less prevalent in rural than in urban communities. Trichophyton species were the most common fungal isolates in the communities. Health education of mothers and their children on SFI and good personal hygiene will reduce the incidence of SFIs.

Keywords: clinicomycological pattern, communities, primary school children, superficial fungal infections

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Ali Kazemi

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The digital evolution of financial services, while offering unprecedented convenience and accessibility, has also escalated the vulnerabilities to fraudulent activities. In this study, we introduce a distinct approach to real-time anomaly detection in financial transactions, aiming to fortify the defenses of banking and financial institutions against such threats. Utilizing unsupervised machine learning algorithms, specifically autoencoders and isolation forests, our research focuses on identifying irregular patterns indicative of fraud within transactional data, thus enabling immediate action to prevent financial loss. The data we used in this study included the monetary value of each transaction. This is a crucial feature as fraudulent transactions may have distributions of different amounts than legitimate ones, such as timestamps indicating when transactions occurred. Analyzing transactions' temporal patterns can reveal anomalies (e.g., unusual activity in the middle of the night). Also, the sector or category of the merchant where the transaction occurred, such as retail, groceries, online services, etc. Specific categories may be more prone to fraud. Moreover, the type of payment used (e.g., credit, debit, online payment systems). Different payment methods have varying risk levels associated with fraud. This dataset, anonymized to ensure privacy, reflects a wide array of transactions typical of a global banking institution, ranging from small-scale retail purchases to large wire transfers, embodying the diverse nature of potentially fraudulent activities. By engineering features that capture the essence of transactions, including normalized amounts and encoded categorical variables, we tailor our data to enhance model sensitivity to anomalies. The autoencoder model leverages its reconstruction error mechanism to flag transactions that deviate significantly from the learned normal pattern, while the isolation forest identifies anomalies based on their susceptibility to isolation from the dataset's majority. Our experimental results, validated through techniques such as k-fold cross-validation, are evaluated using precision, recall, and the F1 score alongside the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Our models achieved an F1 score of 0.85 and a ROC AUC of 0.93, indicating high accuracy in detecting fraudulent transactions without excessive false positives. This study contributes to the academic discourse on financial fraud detection and provides a practical framework for banking institutions seeking to implement real-time anomaly detection systems. By demonstrating the effectiveness of unsupervised learning techniques in a real-world context, our research offers a pathway to significantly reduce the incidence of financial fraud, thereby enhancing the security and trustworthiness of digital financial services.

Keywords: anomaly detection, financial fraud, machine learning, autoencoders, isolation forest, transactional data analysis

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Authors: X. King, E. Nazarzadeh, J. Reboud, J. Cooper

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Pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, are generally treated by the inhalation of aerosols that has the advantage of reducing the off-target (e.g., toxicity) effects associated with systemic delivery in blood. Effective respiratory drug delivery requires a droplet size distribution between 1 and 5 µm. Inhalation of aerosols with wide droplet size distribution, out of this range, results in deposition of drug in not-targeted area of the respiratory tract, introducing undesired side effects on the patient. In order to solely deliver the drug in the lower branches of the lungs and release it in a targeted manner, a control mechanism to produce the aerosolized droplets is required. To regulate the drug release and to facilitate the uptake from cells, drugs are often encapsulated into protective liposomes. However, a multistep process is required for their formation, often performed at the formulation step, therefore limiting the range of available drugs or their shelf life. Using surface acoustic waves (SAWs), a pulmonary drug delivery platform was produced, which enabled the formation of defined size aerosols and the formation of liposomes in situ. SAWs are mechanical waves, propagating along the surface of a piezoelectric substrate. They were generated using an interdigital transducer on lithium niobate with an excitation frequency of 9.6 MHz at a power of 1W. Disposable silicon superstrates were etched using photolithography and dry etch processes to create an array of cylindrical through-holes with different diameters and pitches. Superstrates were coupled with the SAW substrate through water-based gel. As the SAW propagates on the superstrate, it enables nebulisation of a lipid solution deposited onto it. The cylindrical cavities restricted the formation of large drops in the aerosol, while at the same time unilamellar liposomes were created. SAW formed liposomes showed a higher monodispersity compared to the control sample, as well as displayed, a faster production rate. To test the aerosol’s size, dynamic light scattering and laser diffraction methods were used, both showing the size control of the aerosolised particles. The use of silicon superstate with cavity size of 100-200 µm, produced an aerosol with a mean droplet size within the optimum range for pulmonary drug delivery, containing the liposomes in which the medicine could be loaded. Additionally, analysis of liposomes with Cryo-TEM showed formation of vesicles with narrow size distribution between 80-100 nm and optimal morphology in order to be used for drug delivery. Encapsulation of nucleic acids in liposomes through the developed SAW platform was also investigated. In vitro delivery of siRNA and DNA Luciferase were achieved using A549 cell line, lung carcinoma from human. In conclusion, SAW pulmonary drug delivery platform was engineered, in order to combine multiple time consuming steps (formation of liposomes, drug loading, nebulisation) into a unique platform with the aim of specifically delivering the medicament in a targeted area, reducing the drug’s side effects.

Keywords: acoustics, drug delivery, liposomes, surface acoustic waves

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Authors: Susan C. Graham

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Authenticity has grown to be ubiquitous within the tourism vernacular. Yet, agreement regarding what authenticity means in relation to tourism remains nebulous. In its simplest form, authenticity in tourism refers to products and experiences that provide insights into the social, cultural, economic, natural, historical, and political life of a place. But this definition is unwieldy in its scope and may not help industry leaders nor tourist in identifying that which is authentic. Much of what is projected as authentic is a carefully curated and crafted message developed by marketers to appeal to visitors and bears little resemblance to the everyday lives of locals. So perhaps one way to identify authentic tourism experiences is to ask locals themselves. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of locals with respect to what constituted an authentic tourism experience in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. Over 600 volunteers in a tourism research panel were sent a survey asking them to describe authentic PEI experiences within ten sub-categories relevant to the local tourism industry. To make participation more manageable, each respondent was asked their perspectives on any three of the tourism sub-categories. Over 400 individuals responded, providing 1391 unique responses. The responses were grouped thematically using interpretive phenomenological analysis whereby the participants’ responses were clustered into higher order groups to extract meaning. Two interesting thematic observations emerged: first, that respondents tended to clearly articulate and differentiate between intra- versus interpersonal experiences as a means of authentically experiencing PEI; and second, while respondents explicitly valued unstaged experiences over staged, several exceptions to this general rule were expressed. Responses could clearly be grouped into those that emphasized “going off the beaten path,” “exploring pristine and untouched corners,” “lesser known,” “hidden”, “going solo,” and taking the opportunity to “slow down.” Each of these responses was “self” centered, and focused on the visitor discovering and exploring in search of greater self-awareness and inner peace. In contrast, other responses encouraged the interaction of visitors with locals as a means of experiencing the authentic place. Respondents sited “going deep-sea fishing” to learn about local fishers and their communities, stopping by “local farm stands” and speaking with farmers who worked the land for generations,” patronizing “local restaurants, pubs, and b&bs”, and partaking in performances or exhibits by local artists. These kinds of experiences, the respondents claimed, provide an authentic glimpse into a place’s character. The second set of observations focused on the distinction between staged and unstaged experiences, with respondents overwhelmingly advocating for unstaged. Responses were clear in shunning “touristy,” “packaged,” and “fake” offerings for being inauthentic and misrepresenting the place as locals view it. Yet many respondents made exceptions for certain “staged” experiences, including (quite literally) the stage production of Anne of Green Gables based on the novel of the same name, the theatrical re-enactment of the founding of Canada, and visits to PEI’s many provincial and national parks, all of which respondents considered both staged and authentic at the same time.

Keywords: authentic, local, Prince Edward Island, tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: J. Roberto Lopez, Hened Saade, Graciela Morales, Javier Enriquez, Raul G. Lopez

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Implementation of systems based on nanostructures for drug delivery applications have taken relevance in recent studies focused on biomedical applications. Although there are several nanostructures as drugs carriers, the use of polymeric nanoparticles (PNP) has been widely studied for this purpose, however, the main issue for these nanostructures is the size control below 50 nm with a narrow distribution size, due to they must go through different physiological barriers and avoid to be filtered by kidneys (< 10 nm) or the spleen (> 100 nm). Thus, considering these and other factors, it can be mentioned that drug-loaded nanostructures with sizes varying between 10 and 50 nm are preferred in the development and study of PNP/drugs systems. In this sense, the Semicontinuous Heterophase Polymerization (SHP) offers the possibility to obtain PNP in the desired size range. Considering the above explained, methacrylic copolymer nanoparticles were obtained under SHP. The reactions were carried out in a jacketed glass reactor with the required quantities of water, ammonium persulfate as initiator, sodium dodecyl sulfate/sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate as surfactants, methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid as monomers with molar ratio of 2/1, respectively. The monomer solution was dosed dropwise during reaction at 70 °C with a mechanical stirring of 650 rpm. Nanoparticles of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) were loaded with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, aspirin) by a chemical adsorption technique. The purified latex was put in contact with a solution of ASA in dichloromethane (DCM) at 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 wt-%, at 35°C during 12 hours. According to the boiling point of DCM, as well as DCM and water densities, the loading process is completed when the whole DCM is evaporated. The hydrodynamic diameter was measured after polymerization by quasi-elastic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, before and after loading procedures with ASA. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of PNP loaded with ASA were measured by infrared spectroscopy, differential scattering calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Also, the molar mass distributions of polymers were determined in a gel permeation chromatograph apparatus. The load capacity and efficiency were determined by gravimetric analysis. The hydrodynamic diameter results for methacrylic PNP without ASA showed a narrow distribution with an average particle size around 10 nm and a composition methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid molar ratio equal to 2/1, same composition of Eudragit S100, which is a commercial compound widely used as excipient. Moreover, the latex was stabilized in a relative high solids content (around 11 %), a monomer conversion almost 95 % and a number molecular weight around 400 Kg/mol. The average particle size in the PNP/aspirin systems fluctuated between 18 and 24 nm depending on the initial percentage of aspirin in the loading process, being the drug content as high as 24 % with an efficiency loading of 36 %. These average sizes results have not been reported in the literature, thus, the methacrylic nanoparticles here reported are capable to be loaded with a considerable amount of ASA and be used as a drug carrier.

Keywords: aspirin, biocompatibility, biodegradable, Eudragit S100, methacrylic nanoparticles

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Authors: Monika Saha, A. T. M. Hasan Zobeyer, Nasreen Jahan

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El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the interaction between atmosphere and ocean in tropical Pacific which causes inconsistent warm/cold weather in tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Due to the impact of climate change, ENSO events are becoming stronger in recent times, and therefore it is very important to study the influence of ENSO in climate studies. Bangladesh, being in the low-lying deltaic floodplain, experiences the worst consequences due to flooding every year. To reduce the catastrophe of severe flooding events, non-structural measures such as flood forecasting can be helpful in taking adequate precautions and steps. Forecasting seasonal flood with a longer lead time of several months is a key component of flood damage control and water management. The objective of this research is to identify the possible strength of teleconnection between ENSO and river flow of Surma and examine the potential possibility of long lead flood forecasting in the wet season. Surma is one of the major rivers of Bangladesh and is a part of the Surma-Meghna river system. In this research, sea surface temperature (SST) has been considered as the ENSO index and the lead time is at least a few months which is greater than the basin response time. The teleconnection has been assessed by the correlation analysis between July-August-September (JAS) flow of Surma and SST of Nino 4 region of the corresponding months. Cumulative frequency distribution of standardized JAS flow of Surma has also been determined as part of assessing the possible teleconnection. Discharge data of Surma river from 1975 to 2015 is used in this analysis, and remarkable increased value of correlation coefficient between flow and ENSO has been observed from 1985. From the cumulative frequency distribution of the standardized JAS flow, it has been marked that in any year the JAS flow has approximately 50% probability of exceeding the long-term average JAS flow. During El Nino year (warm episode of ENSO) this probability of exceedance drops to 23% and while in La Nina year (cold episode of ENSO) it increases to 78%. Discriminant analysis which is known as 'Categoric Prediction' has been performed to identify the possibilities of long lead flood forecasting. It has helped to categorize the flow data (high, average and low) based on the classification of predicted SST (warm, normal and cold). From the discriminant analysis, it has been found that for Surma river, the probability of a high flood in the cold period is 75% and the probability of a low flood in the warm period is 33%. A synoptic parameter, forecasting index (FI) has also been calculated here to judge the forecast skill and to compare different forecasts. This study will help the concerned authorities and the stakeholders to take long-term water resources decisions and formulate policies on river basin management which will reduce possible damage of life, agriculture, and property.

Keywords: El Nino-Southern Oscillation, sea surface temperature, surma river, teleconnection, cumulative frequency distribution, discriminant analysis, forecasting index

Procedia PDF Downloads 152