Search results for: international environmental law

Authors: Rishmidevi Kirtie Algoe

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Advocating for gender equality in sports is a global struggle but a greater challenge for small nations with weak economies like Suriname, a Dutch-speaking country in the Caribbean. This paper presents the experience of the Suriname Olympic Committee (SOC) in addressing gender inequality in sports in the global context of the policies implemented by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The case of Suriname is interesting because it shows the results of a small nation in creating protective measures. The SOC has succeeded in developing a code of conduct for sports and is now taking steps to establish a sports justice institute. All of this is happening in a situation where there are few women leaders in sport: only three of the seventeen national member federations are led by women, and there are two women on SOC's 9-member board. Three arguments are made. First, gender inequality in sports in Suriname is a reflection of national power structures and cultural barriers to women in sports. Second, IOC policies and resources to reduce gender inequality in sports, while important, do not guarantee national change. Third, and more importantly, the SOC has addressed gender inequality with an approach based on the principles of "walk the talk" and "trial and error." All three arguments are elaborated on using the framework of intersectionality. The study draws empirically on data collected during and on SOC Gender and Sport Commission seminars and workshops, including two surveys, transcripts, and newspaper articles.

Keywords: Caribbean, gender inequality, safeguarding, Suriname Olympic Committee

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Authors: Badri Gechbaia, Levan Gvarishvili

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Despite the fact that a lot of Georgian scientists have worked on the issue of the business competitiveness, it think that it is necessary to deepen the works in this sphere, it is necessary also to perfect the methodology in the estimation of the business competitiveness, we have to display the main factors which define the competitive advantages in the business sphere, we have also to establish the interconnections between the business competitiveness level and the quality of states economical involvement in the international economic processes, we have to define the ways to rise the business competitiveness and its role in the upgrading of countries economic development. The introduction part justifies the actuality of the studied topic and the thesis; It defines the survey subject, the object, and the goals with relevant objectives; theoretical-methodological and informational-statistical base for the survey; what is new in the survey and what the value for its theoretical and practical application is. The aforementioned study is an effort to raise public awareness on this issue. Analysis of the fundamental conditions for the efficient functioning of business in Georgia, identification of reserves for increasing its efficiency based on the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the business sector. Methods of system analysis, abstract-logic, induction and deduction, synthesis and generalization, and positive, normative, and comparative analysis are used in the research process. Specific regularities of the impact of the globalization process on the determinants of business competitiveness are established. The reasons for business competitiveness in Georgia have been identified

Keywords: competitiveness, methodology, georgian, economic

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Authors: Zain Khalid

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The paper outlines the trends of cyber financial crimes and frauds – approximating upto – in Pakistan after the enactment of The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in 2016. The paper elaborates on the newer methods that fraudsters have adopted after tighter preventive and counter measures were employed in Pakistan partly as a result of following the international finance related commitments, particularly the FATF regulations. The paper adopts case studies methods to highlight various aspects of the financial frauds and crimes committed and later investigated jointly by Pakistan’s one of the federal law enforcement agencies, the Federal Investigation Agency, and Mobilink Microfinance Bank , Pakistan’s premier microfinance bank. It additionally enriches the data through expert interviews – with crime investigators and the experts to carry out an in-depth analysis of the various factors involving the crime. This paper emphasizes the structural and situational factors that shape up the cyber financial crimes in Pakistan vis-à-vis digital illiteracy and lack of awareness among the users of financial services. This paper, thus, on the basis of findings and expert interviews, suggests policy reforms to reduce the instances of the financial crimes, especially in the remotest areas of the country.

Keywords: financial crimes, cyber crimes, digital literacy, terrorism financing, banking sector

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Authors: Abduladim Maitieg, Kevin Lynch, Mark Johnson

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The goal of the Libyan Environmental General Authority (EGA) and National Oil Corporation (Department of Health, Safety & Environment) during the last 5 years has been to adopt a common approach to coastal and marine spatial planning. Protection and planning of the coastal zone is a significant for Libya, due to the length of coast and, the high rate of oil export, and spills’ potential negative impacts on coastal and marine habitats. Coastal resource scenarios constitute an important tool for exploring the long-term and short-term consequences of oil spill impact and available response options that would provide an integrated perspective on mitigation. To investigate that, this paper reviews the Misratah coastal parameters to present the physical and human controls and attributes of coastal habitats as the first step in understanding how they may be damaged by an oil spill. This paper also investigates costal resources, providing a better understanding of the resources and factors that impact the integrity of the ecosystem. Therefore, the study described the potential spatial distribution of oil spill risk and the coastal resources value, and also created spatial maps of coastal resources and their vulnerability to oil spills along the coast. This study proposes an analysis of coastal resources condition at a local level in the Misratah region of the Mediterranean Sea, considering the implementation of coastal and marine spatial planning over time as an indication of the will to manage urban development. Oil spill contamination analysis and their impact on the coastal resources depend on (1) oil spill sequence, (2) oil spill location, (3) oil spill movement near the coastal area. The resulting maps show natural, socio-economic activity, environmental resources along of the coast, and oil spill location. Moreover, the study provides significant geodatabase information which is required for coastal sensitivity index mapping and coastal management studies. The outcome of study provides the information necessary to set an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) for the Misratah shoreline, which can be used for management of coastal resources and setting boundaries for each coastal sensitivity sectors, as well as to help planners measure the impact of oil spills on coastal resources. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools were used in order to store and illustrate the spatial convergence of existing socio-economic activities such as fishing, tourism, and the salt industry, and ecosystem components such as sea turtle nesting area, Sabkha habitats, and migratory birds feeding sites. These geodatabases help planners investigate the vulnerability of coastal resources to an oil spill.

Keywords: coastal and marine spatial planning advancement training, GIS mapping, human uses, ecosystem components, Misratah coast, Libyan, oil spill

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Authors: Tanwarat Kajsongkram, Saowalux Rotamporn, Sirinat Limbunruang, Sirinan Thubthimthed.

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High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of 6-Gingerol(6G) and 6-Shogaol(6S) in joint pain relief gel containing ginger extract. The chromatographic separation was achieved by using C18 column, 150 x 4.6mm i.d., 5μ Luna, mobile phase containing acetonitrile and water (gradient elution). The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min and the absorbance was monitored at 282 nm. The proposed method was validated in terms of the analytical parameters such as specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, range, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and determined based on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The linearity ranges of 6G and 6S were obtained over 20-60 and 6-18 µg/ml respectively. Good linearity was observed over the above-mentioned range with linear regression equation Y= 11016x- 23778 for 6G and Y = 19276x-19604 for 6S (x is concentration of analytes in μg/ml and Y is peak area). The value of correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9994 for both markers. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for 6G were 0.8567 and 2.8555 µg/ml and for 6S were 0.3672 and 1.2238 µg/ml respectively. The recovery range for 6G and 6S were found to be 91.57 to 102.36 % and 84.73 to 92.85 % for all three spiked levels. The RSD values from repeated extractions for 6G and 6S were 3.43 and 3.09% respectively. The validation of developed method on precision, accuracy, specificity, linearity, and range were also performed with well-accepted results.

Keywords: ginger, 6-gingerol, HPLC, 6-shogaol

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Authors: Sri Suryaningsum

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The achievement ‘Best Practice Model’ holds by the government on behalf of the success implementation corporate social responsibility program that held on PT. Kaltim Prima Coal which had operation located in the isolated district in Sanggata, it could be the reference for the other companies to improve the social welfare in surrounding area, especially for the companies that have operated in the isolated area in Indonesia. The rule of Kaltim Prima Coal as the catalyst in the development progress to push up the independence of district especially for the district which has located in surrounding mining operation from village level to the regency level, those programs had written in the 7 field program in Corporate Social Responsibility, it was doing by stakeholders. The stakeholders are village government, sub-district government, Regency and citizen. One of the best programs that implement at PT. Kaltim Prima Coal is Regarding Resettlement that was completed based on Asian Development Bank Resettlement Best Practice and International Financial Corporation Resettlement Action Plan. This program contributed on the resettlement residences to develop the isolated and the neglected district.

Keywords: CSR, isolated, neglected, poverty, mining industry

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Authors: Tania Vazquez, Aida Huerta

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Way to get our food has changed over the time, and it is a daily necessity. Nowadays we found a lot of problems involved with the economy, environment, and society, which affect the agrifood system. Some problems as construction of big cities and growing population have been increasing demand food directly. Due to the countryside are far away from the city, another alternative systems have come from, such as Urban Agriculture (UA). UA system offers food production into the cities, products with characteristics as quality, healthy and good prices, close to the customers, recycling culture and the promote environmental education. Last years in Mexico City urban gardens have taken strongly in various politic delegations. There are establishment’s public and private initiatives. Moreover, these places have had different issues like low income, many activities, few workers, low production, lack of training and advice, devaluation of your work and low sales, all these shortcomings generate the devaluation of their work. The aim of this paper is to evaluate a business plan in Mexico City´s urban gardens that contribute to ensuring economic, environmental and social sustainability; to adjust business plan for this places so that they reach viability over time. As a part of soft systems methodology developed of Peter Checkland, we interviewed owners of urban gardens and we found that recurring problem was lack planning manager activities and a master plan about their business. We evaluate the business plan based on “Ten principles in sustainable food value chain development” proposed for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). With this study was possible measure, understand and improve performance of business plan in the three pillars of the sustainability in addition to this it allowed us to fit in with the needs of urban gardens.

Keywords: business plan, Mexico City, urban agriculture, urban gardens

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Authors: S. Tavuyanago

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Cartels within the international competition law framework have been dubbed the most egregious of competition law violations; this is because they entail a concerted effort by two or more competitor firms to knowingly ‘rob’ consumers of their welfare through their cooperation instead of competition. The net effect of cartel conduct is that the market is distorted as the colluding firms gain enough market power to constrain the supply of goods or services, ultimately driving up prices. As a result, consumers end up paying inflated prices for goods and services, which eventually affects their welfare. It is against this backdrop that competition authorities worldwide have mounted a robust fight against the proliferation of cartels. In South Africa, the fight against cartels saw an amendment to the Competition Act to allow for criminal prosecution of individuals who cause their firms to take part in cartels. The Competition Amendment Act 1 of 2009 introduced section 73A into the principal Competition Act, making it a criminal offence to engage in cartel conduct. This paper assesses the rationale for criminalisation of cartel conduct, discusses the challenges or potential challenges associated with criminalisation, and provides an evaluation of the efficacy of criminalisation of cartel conduct. It questions whether criminal sanctions for cartel conduct as a competition enforcement tool aimed at deterring such conduct are generally effective and whether they have been effective in South Africa specifically. It concludes by offering recommendations on how to effectively root out cartels.

Keywords: cartels, criminalisation, competition, deterrence, South Africa

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Authors: kaveh Jalilzadeh, Maryam Rastgari

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Motivation for learning a foreign language is needed for learners of any foreign language to effectively learn language skills. However, there are some factors that lead to the learners’ demotivation. Therefore, teachers of foreign languages, most notably English language which turned out to be an international language for academic and business purposes, need to be well aware of the demotivation sources and know how to reduce learners’ demotivation. This study is an attempt to explore demotivation-reducing strategies employed by Turkish EFL learners in L2 writing. The researchers used a qualitative case study and employed semi-structured interviews to collect data. The informants recruited in this study were 20 English writing lecturers who were selected through purposive sampling among university lecturers/instructors at the state and non-state universities in Istanbul and Ankara. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and MAXQDA software (version 2022) was used for performing coding and thematic analysis of the data. Findings revealed that Turkish EFL teachers use 18 strategies to reduce language learners’ demotivation. The most frequently reported strategies were: writing in a group, writing about interesting topics, writing about new topics, writing about familiar topics, writing about simple topics, and writing about relevant topics. The findings have practical implications for writing teachers and learners of the English language.

Keywords: phenomenological study, emotional vulnerability, motivation, digital Settings

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Authors: Y. Hajjam, I. T. Alami, S. M. Udupa, S. Cherkaoui

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Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important food legume crop in Morocco. It is mainly used as human food and feed for animals. Faba bean also plays an important role in cereal-based cropping systems, when rotated with cereals it improves soil fertility by fixing N2 in root nodules mediated by Rhizobium. Both faba bean and its biological nitrogen fixation symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium are affected by different stresses such as: salinity, drought, pH, heavy metal, and the uptake of inorganic phosphate compounds. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the phenotypic diversity among the faba bean rhizobial isolates and to select the tolerant strains that can fix N2 under environmental constraints for inoculation particularly for affected soils, in order to enhance the productivity of faba bean and to improve soil fertility. Result have shown that 62% of isolates were fast growing with the ability of producing acids compounds , while 38% of isolates are slow growing with production of alkalins. Moreover, 42.5% of these isolates were able to solubilize inorganic phosphate Ca3(PO4)2 and the index of solubilization was ranged from 2.1 to 3.0. The resistance to extreme pH, temperature, water stress heavy metals and antibiotics lead us to classify rhizobial isolates into different clusters. Finally, the authentication test under greenhouse conditions showed that 55% of the rhizobial isolates could induce nodule formation on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) under greenhouse experiment. This phenotypic characterization may contribute to improve legumes and non legumes crops especially in affected soils and also to increase agronomic yield in the dry areas.

Keywords: rhizobia, vicia faba, phenotypic characterization, nodule formation, environmental constraints

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Authors: Catarina Grande, Barbara Mota

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The main goal of the present study was to understand the impact of childhood cancer on the quality of life of survivors and the extent to which oncologic disease affects the functionality and participation of survivors at the present time, compared to the time of diagnosis. Six survivors of pediatric cancer participated in the study. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview, adapted from two instruments present in the literature - QALY and QLACS - and piloted through a previous study. This study is based on a qualitative approach using content analysis, allowing the identification of categories and subcategories. Subsequently, the correspondence between the units of meaning and the codes in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Children and Young, which contributed to a more detailed analysis of the impact on the quality of life of survivors in relation to the domains under study. The results showed significant changes between the moment of diagnosis and the present moment, concretely at the microsystem of the survivor. Regarding functionality and participation, the results show that the functions of the body are the most affected domain, emphasizing the emotional component that currently has a greater impact on the quality of life of survivors. The present study allowed identifying a set of codes for the development of a CIF-CJ core set for pediatric cancer survivors. He also indicated the need for future studies to validate and deepen these issues.

Keywords: cancer, participation, quality of life, survivor

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Authors: Nadia Pourabbas Tahvildari

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National identity is formed in the process of time and in the community while influenced by the historical events. The country which has a more coherent national and historical identity would be successful as well as strengthening solidarity and social cohesion. Among the international community where the various likes challenge the subject of identity, taking into consideration the components which using identity seems to be very critical. Handicrafts as reflecting the historical and cultural characteristics of the product location can be used as an important component in order to introduce the culture and identity to be evaluated. As one of the most durable crafts for man, handicrafts have played a continuous role in sustaining human culture. Today without the presence of handicrafts, restoration of culture and national identity and religious beliefs of the past clans and people, is not only difficult but is even impossible also. Due to its brilliant historical experience and having rich culture and civilization, Iran has accomplished to the high competence in the field of traditional arts and handicrafts. This article is a scientific approach which by using descriptive – analytic method based on library studies tried to address the issue of handicrafts looking to examine the position of the industry to consolidate the national identity. Studies indicate that Iran as one of the original human habitats in the field of handicrafts has adequate enrichment and in case there will be an appropriate planning and investment away from oil-based industry, it would be beneficent. Furthermore, the quality and variety of handicrafts can be used as an essential yardstick for the consolidation of Iran national identity in the age of globalization.

Keywords: handicrafts, Iran national identity, globalization, cultural heritage

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Authors: Malak M. Shatnawi

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Infrastructure is the fundamental facility that plays an important part in socio-economic development for modern societies, if such sector is well planned, managed by decision makers in a way that is compatible with the population growth, safety, and national security needs; it will enrich progress, prosperity, awareness, social and economic welfare for any country. Infrastructure is the most important aspect of life because it can provide materials, products, and services that will improve and facilitate living conditions and maintain sustainability at the same time, and in order to study critical infrastructure, in general, we must think sustainability. Otherwise there will be a significant gap. The planning processes for sustainability include urban infrastructure and public transportation are considered the most important sectors for economic development for both developed and developing countries as they are linked to the civilizational and urban development, meanwhile, choosing the appropriate transportation mode that will provide a good level of service, and increase the satisfaction of the potential users is a difficult task. This research paper tries to assess where is Jordan located vs. each transportation sustainability dimensions in aspects related to social, economic and environmental dimensions based on (Zietsman et al. 2006) adopted model for sustainability transportation infrastructure. Measures of performance indicators for each dimensional goal were traced and supported with needed data, figures and statistical findings. The study uses analytical, descriptive style and methodology based on different references and previous studies from secondary data sources to support the case. Recommendations for enhancing sustainability were concluded, and future reform directions were proposed which can be applied to Jordan and generalized for other developing countries with similar circumstances.

Keywords: infrastructure transportation sustainability, economic, social, environmental

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Authors: Raymond Awinbilla

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The call for tree planting has long been set in motion by the government of Ghana. The Forestry Commission encourages plantation development through numerous interventions including formulating policies and enacting legislations. However, forest policies have failed and that has generated a major concern over the vast gap between the intentions of national policies and the realities established. This study addresses three objectives;1) Assessing the farmers' response and contribution to the tree planting initiative, 2) Identifying socio-economic factors hindering the development of smallholder plantations as a livelihood strategy, and 3) Determining the level of support available for smallholder tree growers and the factors influencing it. The field work was done in 12 farming communities in Ghana. The article illuminates that farmers have responded to the call for tree planting and have planted both exotic and indigenous tree species. Farmers have converted 17.2% (369.48ha) of their total land size into plantations and have no problem with land tenure. Operations and marketing constraints include lack of funds for operations, delay in payment, low price of wood, manipulation of price by buyers, documentation by buyers, and no ready market for harvesting wood products. Environmental institutions encourage tree planting; the only exception is with the Lands Commission. Support availed to farmers includes capacity building in silvicultural practices, organisation of farmers, linkage to markets and finance. Efforts by the Government of Ghana to enhance forest resources in the country could rely on the input of local populations.

Keywords: livelihood strategy, marketing constraints, environmental institutions, silvicultural practices

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Authors: Muhammad Jawad Hashmi

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The idea of nuclear terrorism is as old as nuclear weapons but the global concerns of likelihood of nuclear terrorism are uncertain. Post 9/11 trends manifest that terrorists are believers of massive causalities. Innovation in terrorist’s tactics, sophisticated weaponry, vulnerability, theft and smuggling of nuclear/radiological material, connections between terrorists, black market and rough regimes are signaling seriousness of upcoming challenges as well as global trends of “terror-transnationalism.” Furthermore, the International-Atomic-Energy-Agency’s database recorded 2734 incidents regarding misuse, unauthorized possession, trafficking of nuclear material etc. Since, this data also includes incidents from south Asia, so, there is every possibility to claim that such illicit activities may increase in future, mainly due to expansion of nuclear industry in South Asia. Moreover, due to such mishaps the region is vulnerable to threats of nuclear terrorism. This is also a reason that the region is in limelight along with issues such as rapidly growing nuclear arsenals, nuclear safety and security, terrorism and political instability. With this backdrop, this study is aimed to investigate the prevailing threats and challenges in South Asia vis a vis nuclear safety and security. A comparative analysis of the overall capabilities would be done to identify the areas of cooperation to eliminate the probability of nuclear/radiological terrorism in the region.

Keywords: nuclear terrorism, safety, security, South Asia, india, Pakistan

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Authors: Crysovaladou Kefaloudi, Kassiani Mellou, Eirini Saranti-Papasaranti, Athanasios Koustenis, Chrysoula Botsi, Agapios Terzidis

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Recent migration crisis led to a vast migrant – refugees movement to Greece which created an urgent need for hosting settlements. Taken into account the protection of public health from possible pathogens related to water and food supply as well as waste and sewage accumulation, a 'Living Conditions Recording Form' was created in the context of 'PHILOS' European Program funded by the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of EU’s DG Migration and Home Affairs, in order to assess a number of environmental sanitation parameters, in refugees – migrants camps in mainland. The assessment will be completed until the end of July. From March to June 2017, mobile unit teams comprised of health inspectors of sub-action 2 of “PHILOS” proceeded with the assessment of living conditions in twenty-two out of thirty-one camps and 'Stata' was used for the statistical analysis of obtained information. Variables were grouped into the following categories: 1) Camp administration, 2) hosted population number, 3) accommodation, 4) heating installations, 5) personal hygiene, 6) sewage collection and disposal, 7) water supply, 8) waste collection and management, 9) pest control, 10) fire safety, 11) food handling and safety. Preliminary analysis of the results showed that camp administration was performed in 90% of the camps by a public authority with the coordination of various NGOs. The median number of hosted population was 222 ranging from 62 to 3200, and the median value of hosted population per accommodation type was 4 in 19 camps. Heating facilities were provided in 86.1% of camps. In 18.2 % of the camps, one personal hygiene facility was available per 6 people ranging in the rest of the camps from 1 per 3 to 1 per 20 hosted refugees-migrants. Waste and sewage collection was performed depending on populations demand in an adequate way in all recorded camps. In 90% of camps, water was supplied through the central water supply system. In 85% of camps quantity and quality of water supply inside camps was regularly monitored for microbial and chemical indices. Pest control was implemented in 86.4% of the camps as well as fire safety measures. Food was supplied by catering companies in 50% of the camps, and the quality and quantity food was monitored at a regular basis. In 77% of camps, food was prepared by the hosted population with the availability of proper storage conditions. Furthermore, in all camps, hosted population was provided with personal hygiene items and health sanitary educational programs were implemented in 77.3% of camps. In conclusion, in the majority of the camps, environmental sanitation parameters were satisfactory. However, waste and sewage accumulation, as well as inadequate pest control measures were recorded in some camps. The obtained data have led to a number of recommendations for the improvement of sanitary conditions, disseminated to all relevant stakeholders. Special emphasis was given to hygiene measures implementation during food handling by migrants – refugees, as well as to waste and sewage accumulation taking in to account the population’s cultural background.

Keywords: environmental sanitation parameters, food borne diseases risk assessment, refugee – migrants camps, water borne diseases risk assessment

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Authors: Cristina Siserman-Gray

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TheTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons(TPNW)will mark in January 2022 one year since the entry into force of the treaty. TPNW provides that within one year of entry into force, the 86 countries that have signed it so far will convene to discuss and take decisions on the treaty’s implementation at the first meeting of states-parties. Austria has formally offered to host the meeting in Vienna in the spring of 2022. At this first meeting, the States Parties would need to work. Among others, on the interpretations of some of the provisions of the Treaty, disarmament timelines under Article 4, and address universalization of the Treaty. The main objective of this paper is to explore the legal implications of the TPNW for States-Parties and discuss how these will impact non-State Parties, particularly the United States. In a first part, the article will address the legal requirements that States Parties to this treaty must adhere to by illustrating some of the progress made by these states regarding the implementation of the TPNW. In a second part, the paper will address the challenges and opportunities for universalizing the treaty and will focus on the response of Nuclear Weapons States, and particularly the current US administration. Since it has become clear that TPNW has become a new and important element to the nonproliferation and disarmament architecture, the article will provide a number of suggestions regarding ways US administration could positively contribute to the international discourse on TPNW.

Keywords: disarmament, arms control and nonproliferation, legal regime, TPNW

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Authors: Maydariana Ayuningtyas, Bambang Riyanto, Akhiruddin Maddu

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Industrial waste of crustacean shells, such as shrimp and crab, has been considered as one of the major issues contributing to environmental pollution. The waste processing mechanisms to form new, practical substances with added value have been developed. Chitosan, a derived matter from chitin, which is obtained from crab and shrimp shells, performs prodigiously in broad range applications. A chitosan composite-based diaphragm is a new inspiration in fiber optic acoustic sensor advancement. Elastic modulus, dynamic response, and sensitivity to acoustic wave of chitosan-based composite film contribute great potentials of organic-based sound-detecting material. The objective of this research was to develop chitosan diaphragm application in fiber optic microphone system. The formulation was conducted by blending 5% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution with dissolved chitosan at 0%, 1% and 2% in 1:1 ratio, respectively. Composite diaphragms were characterized for the morphological and mechanical properties to predict the desired acoustic sensor sensitivity. The composite with 2% chitosan indicated optimum performance with 242.55 µm thickness, 67.9% relative humidity, and 29-76% light transmittance. The Young’s modulus of 2%-chitosan composite material was 4.89×104 N/m2, which generated the voltage amplitude of 0.013V and performed sensitivity of 3.28 mV/Pa at 1 kHz. Based on the results above, chitosan from crustacean shell waste can be considered as a viable alternative material for fiber optic acoustic sensor sensing pad development. Further, the research in chitosan utilisation is proposed as novel optical microphone development in anthropogenic noise controlling effort for environmental and biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: acoustic sensor, chitosan, composite, crab shell, diaphragm, waste utilisation

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Authors: Donatello Cardone

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Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have great potential for use in the field of civil engineering. The author of this manuscript has been involved, since 1996, in several experimental and theoretical studies on the application of SMAs in structural engineering, within national and international research projects. This paper provides an overview of the main results achieved, including the conceptual design, implementation, and testing of different SMA-based devices, namely: (i) energy-dissipating braces for RC buildings, (ii) seismic isolation devices for buildings and bridges, (iii) smart tie-rods for arches and vaults and (iv) seismic restrainers for bridges. The main advantages of using SMA-based devices in the seismic protection of structures derive from the double-flag shape of their hysteresis loops, which implies three favourable features, i.e., self-centering capability, good energy dissipation capability, and high stiffness for small displacements. The main advantages of SMA-based units for steel tie-rods are associated with the thermal behaviour of superelastic SMAs, which is antagonistic compared to that of steel. This implies a strong reduction of force changes due to air temperature variations. Finally, SMA-based seismic restrainers proved to be effective in preventing bridge deck unseating and pounding.

Keywords: seismic protection of structures, shape memory alloys, structural engineering, steel tie-rods, seismic restrainers for bridges

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Authors: Sijing Xiong, Ran Su, Lit-Hsin Loo, Daniele Zink

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The kidney is a major target for toxic effects of drugs, industrial and environmental chemicals and other compounds. Typically, nephrotoxicity is detected late during drug development, and regulatory animal models could not solve this problem. Validated or accepted in silico or in vitro methods for the prediction of nephrotoxicity are not available. We have established the first and currently only pre-validated in vitro models for the accurate prediction of nephrotoxicity in humans and the first predictive platforms based on renal cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells. In order to further improve the efficiency of our predictive models, we recently developed a high content screening (HCS) platform. This platform employed automated imaging in combination with automated quantitative phenotypic profiling and machine learning methods. 129 image-based phenotypic features were analyzed with respect to their predictive performance in combination with 44 compounds with different chemical structures that included drugs, environmental and industrial chemicals and herbal and fungal compounds. The nephrotoxicity of these compounds in humans is well characterized. A combination of chromatin and cytoskeletal features resulted in high predictivity with respect to nephrotoxicity in humans. Test balanced accuracies of 82% or 89% were obtained with human primary or immortalized renal proximal tubular cells, respectively. Furthermore, our results revealed that a DNA damage response is commonly induced by different PTC-toxicants with diverse chemical structures and injury mechanisms. Together, the results show that the automated HCS platform allows efficient and accurate nephrotoxicity prediction for compounds with diverse chemical structures.

Keywords: high content screening, in vitro models, nephrotoxicity, toxicity prediction

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Authors: Falntina Ahmad Alata, Natheer Abu Obeid

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This paper is a research report of an experimental study on a proposed typology system to diagnose and evaluate the affordances of varying architectural environments. The study focused on architectural environments which have been developed with a shift in their use of adaptive reuse. The novelty in the newly developed environments was tested in terms of human responsiveness and interaction using a variety of selected cases. The study is a follow-up on previous research by the same authors, in which a typology of 16 categories of environmental affordances was developed and introduced. The current study introduced other new categories, which together with the previous ones establish what could be considered a basic language of affordance typology. The experiment was conducted on ten architectural environments while adopting two processes: 1. Diagnostic process, in which the environments were interpreted in terms of their affordances using the previously developed affordance typology, 2. The evaluation process, in which the diagnosed environments were evaluated using measures of emotional experience and architectural evaluation criteria of beauty, economy and function. The experimental study demonstrated that the typology system was capable of diagnosing different environments in terms of their affordances. It also introduced new categories of human interaction: “multiple affordances,” “conflict affordances,” and “mix affordances.” The different possible combinations and mixtures of categories demonstrated to be capable of producing huge numbers of other newly developed categories. This research is an attempt to draw a roadmap for designers to diagnose and evaluate the affordances within different architectural environments. It is hoped to provide future guidance for developing the best possible adaptive reuse according to the best affordance category within their proposed designs.

Keywords: affordance theory, affordance categories, architectural environments, architectural evaluation criteria, adaptive reuse environment, emotional experience, shift in use environment

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Authors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Mounica Guturu

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The United Stated (U.S.) populous spends the majority of their time indoors in spaces where building codes and voluntary sustainability standards provide clear Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) metrics. The existing sustainable building standards and codes are aimed towards improving IEQ, health of occupants, and reducing the negative impacts of buildings on the environment. While they address the post-occupancy stage of buildings, there are fewer standards on the pre-occupancy stage thereby placing a large labor population in environments much less regulated. Construction personnel are often exposed to a variety of uncomfortable and unhealthy elements while on construction sites, primarily thermal, visual, acoustic, and air quality related. Construction site power generators, equipment, and machinery generate on average 9 decibels (dBA) above the U.S. OSHA regulations, creating uncomfortable noise levels. Research has shown that frequent exposure to high noise levels leads to chronic physiological issues and increases noise induced stress, yet beyond OSHA no other metric focuses directly on the impacts of noise on contractors’ well-being. Research has also associated natural light with higher productivity and attention span, and lower cases of fatigue in construction workers. However, daylight is not always available as construction workers often perform tasks in cramped spaces, dark areas, or at nighttime. In these instances, the use of artificial light is necessary, yet lighting standards for use during lengthy tasks and arduous activities is not specified. Additionally, ambient air, contaminants, and material off-gassing expelled at construction sites are one of the causes of serious health effects in construction workers. Coupled with extreme hot and cold temperatures for different climate zones, health and productivity can be seriously compromised. This research evaluates the impact of existing green building metrics on construction and risk management, by analyzing two codes and nine standards including LEED, WELL, and BREAM. These metrics were chosen based on the relevance to the U.S. construction industry. This research determined that less than 20% of the sustainability context within the standards and codes (texts) are related to the pre-occupancy building sector. The research also investigated the impact of construction personnel’s health and well-being on construction management through two surveys of project managers and on-site contractors’ perception of their work environment on productivity. To fully understand the risks of limited Environmental and Health Quality metrics for contractors (EHQ) this research evaluated the connection between EHQ factors such as inefficient lighting, on construction workers and investigated the correlation between various site coping strategies for comfort and productivity. Outcomes from this research are three-pronged. The first includes fostering a discussion about the existing conditions of EQH elements, i.e. thermal, lighting, ergonomic, acoustic, and air quality on the construction labor force. The second identifies gaps in sustainability standards and codes during the pre-occupancy stage of building construction from ground-breaking to substantial completion. The third identifies opportunities for improvements and mitigation strategies to improve EQH such as increased monitoring of effects on productivity and health of contractors and increased inclusion of the pre-occupancy stage in green building standards.

Keywords: construction contractors, health and well-being, environmental quality, risk management

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Authors: Daniele Lerede, Gianvito Colucci, Matteo Nicoli, Laura Savoldi

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The European Green Deal is the first internationally agreed set of measures to contrast climate change and environmental degradation. Besides the main target of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030, it sets the target of accompanying European countries through an energy transition to make the European Union into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive net-zero emissions economy by 2050, decoupling growth from the use of resources and ensuring a fair adaptation of all social categories to the transformation process. While the general purpose to allow the realization of the purposes of the Green Deal already dates back to 2019, strategies and policies keep being developed coping with recent circumstances and achievements. However, general long-term measures like the Circular Economy Action Plan, the proposals to shift from fossil natural gas to renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular biomethane and hydrogen, and to end the sale of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035, will all have significant effects on energy supply and demand evolution across the next decades. The interactions between energy supply and demand over long-term time frames are usually assessed via energy system models to derive useful insights for policymaking and to address technological choices and research and development. TEMOA-Europe is a newly developed energy system optimization model instance based on the minimization of the total cost of the system under analysis, adopting a technologically integrated, detailed, and explicit formulation and considering the evolution of the system in partial equilibrium in competitive markets with perfect foresight. TEMOA-Europe is developed on the TEMOA platform, an open-source modeling framework totally implemented in Python, therefore ensuring third-party verification even on large and complex models. TEMOA-Europe is based on a single-region representation of the European Union and EFTA countries on a time scale between 2005 and 2100, relying on a set of assumptions for socio-economic developments based on projections by the International Energy Outlook and a large technological dataset including 7 sectors: the upstream and power sectors for the production of all energy commodities and the end-use sectors, including industry, transport, residential, commercial and agriculture. TEMOA-Europe also includes an updated hydrogen module considering its production, storage, transportation, and utilization. Besides, it can rely on a wide set of innovative technologies, ranging from nuclear fusion and electricity plants equipped with CCS in the power sector to electrolysis-based steel production processes and steel in the industrial sector – with a techno-economic characterization based on public literature – to produce insightful energy scenarios and especially to cope with the very long analyzed time scale. The aim of this work is to examine in detail the scheme of measures and policies for the realization of the purposes of the Green Deal and to transform them into a set of constraints and new socio-economic development pathways. Based on them, TEMOA-Europe will be used to produce and comparatively analyze scenarios to assess the consequences of Green Deal-related measures on the future evolution of the energy mix over the whole energy system in an economic optimization environment.

Keywords: European Green Deal, energy system optimization modeling, scenario analysis, TEMOA-Europe

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Authors: Diana Mariz Catangay, Irish-Ann Montano, Frances Janine Suyat

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As an active pedestal for student’s interaction with both issues happening inside the school and out; may it be political, societal, international, or other current events, a school paper should at least meet the standard of providing a representation of the school’s morals and values and help the institution uplift its image. The researchers seek to ascertain how the two student publications from the Philippines’ two prime state universities, the University of the Philippines’ Philippine Collegian, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ the Catalyst, presents iii their school through balanced journalism and objective documentation. The objectives include determining the number of school-related articles published versus those articles that are concerned outside the school’s jurisdiction, analyzing the insight it provides on the image of the university, assessing the similarities and/or differences between the two publications, and, finally, coming up with the conclusion of how the two newspapers uses their medium to present their respective schools. The research used the quantitative method of research in order to further analyze the articles that will serve as bases in coming up with the right conclusion based on the objectives of the study. Coding sheets and coding guides are utilized for the chosen research method. The gathered findings will then be interpreted as fitting to the goal of the research.

Keywords: content analysis, journalistic presentation, student publications, state universities

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Authors: Malinwo Estone Ayikpa

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Electric power systems are likely to operate with minimum losses and voltage meeting international standards. This is made possible generally by control actions provide by automatic voltage regulators, capacitors and transformers with on-load tap changer (OLTC). With the development of photovoltaic (PV) systems technology, their integration on distribution networks has increased over the last years to the extent of replacing the above mentioned techniques. The conventional analysis and simulation tools used for electrical networks are no longer able to take into account control actions necessary for studying distributed PV generation impact. This paper presents an unbalanced optimal power flow (OPF) model that minimizes losses with association of active power generation and reactive power control of single-phase and three-phase PV systems. Reactive power can be generated or absorbed using the available capacity and the adjustable power factor of the inverter. The unbalance OPF is formulated by current balance equations and solved by primal-dual interior point method. Several simulation cases have been carried out varying the size and location of PV systems and the results show a detailed view of the impact of PV distributed generation on distribution systems.

Keywords: distribution system, loss, photovoltaic generation, primal-dual interior point method

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Authors: Shivankar Agrawal, Sunil Kumar Deshmukh, Colin Barrow, Alok Adholeya

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A variety of genetic and environmental factors cause various cosmetics and dermatological problems. There are already claimed drugs available in market for treating these problems. However, the challenge remains in finding more potent, environmental friendly, causing minimal side effects and economical cosmeceuticals. This leads to an increased demand for natural cosmeceutical products in the last few decades. Plant derived ingredients are limited because plants either contain toxic metabolites, grow too slow or seasonal harvesting is a problem. The research work carried out in this project aims at isolation, characterization of marine fungal secondary metabolite and evaluating their potential use in future cosmetic skin care products. We have isolated and purified 35 morphologically different fungal isolates from various marine habitats of the India. These isolates have been functionally characterized for anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant and anti-acne activities. For molecular characterization, the Internal Transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 15 functionally active marine fungal isolates was amplified using universal primers, ITS1 and ITS4 and sequenced. Out of 15 marine fungal isolates crude extract of strains D4 (Aspergillus terreus) and P2 (Talaromyces stipitatus) showed 70% and 57% tyrosinase inhibition at 1mg/mL respectively. Strain D5 (Simplicillium lamellicola) has showed significant inhibition against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. In addition, all these strains also displayed DPPH- radical scavenging activity and may be utilized as skin cosmeceutical applications. Purification and characterization of crude extracts for identification of active lead molecule is under process.

Keywords: anti-acne, anti-tyrosinase, cosmeceutical, marine fungi

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Authors: Michał Witas

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This paper presents a technical approach to analysis of security of SCADA systems. Main goal of the paper is to make SCADA administrators aware of risks resulting from SCADA systems usage and to familiarize with methods that can be adopt to existing or planned system, to increase overall system security level. Because SCADA based systems become a industrial standard, more attention should be paid to the security of that systems. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) like SCADA are responsible for controlling crucial aspects of wide range of industrial processes. In pair with that responsibility, goes a lot of money that can be earned or lost – this fact is main reason of increased interest of attackers. Additionally ICS are often responsible for maintaining resources strategic from the point of view of national economy, like electricity (including nuclear power plants), heating, water resources or military facilities, so they can be targets of terrorist cybernetic attacks. Without proper risk analysis and management, vulnerabilities resulting from the usage of SCADA can be easily exploited by potential attacker. Paper is based mostly on own experience in systems security, gathered during academic studies and professional work in international company. As title suggests, it will cover only basics of topic, because every of points mentioned in the document can be base for additional research and papers.

Keywords: denial of service, SCADA, security policy, distributed network

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Authors: Meryem Saban Guler, Saniye Bilici

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Malnutrition is a problem that significantly affects patients with cancer throughout the course of their illness, and it may be present from the moment of diagnosis until the end of treatment. We searched electronic databases using key terms such as ‘malnutrition in cancer patients’ or ‘nutritional status in cancer’ or ‘nutritional screening tools’ etc. Decline in nutritional status and continuing weight loss are associated with an increase in number and severity of complications, impaired quality of life and decreased survival rate. Nutrition is an important factor in the treatment and progression of cancer. Cancer patients are particularly susceptible to nutritional depletion due to the combined effects of the malignant disease and its treatment. With increasing incidence of cancer, identification and management of nutritional deficiencies are needed. Early identification of malnutrition, is substantial to minimize or prevent undesirable outcomes throughout clinical course. In determining the nutritional status; food consumption status, anthropometric methods, laboratory tests, clinical symptoms, psychosocial data are used. First-line strategies must include routine screening and identification of inpatients or outpatients at nutritional risk with the use of a simple and standardized screening tool. There is agreement among international nutrition organizations and accredited health care organizations that routine nutritional screening should be a standard procedure for every patient admitted to a hospital. There are f management of all cancer patients therefore routine nutritional screening with validated tools can identify cancer patients at risk.

Keywords: cancer, malnutrition, nutrition, nutritional screening

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Authors: Komal Fizza

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All around the world in every field professionals are taking great support from their computers. Computer assisted strategies not only increase the efficiency of the professionals but also in case of healthcare they help in life-saving interventions. The background of this current research is aimed towards two things; first to find out if computer assisted strategies are useful for Pharmacist for not and secondly how much these assist a Pharmacist to do quality interventions. Shifa International Hospital is a 500 bedded hospital, and it is running Antimicrobial Stewardship, during their stewardship rounds pharmacists observed that a lot of wrong doses of antibiotics were coming at times those were being overlooked by the other pharmacist even. So, with the help of MIS team the patients were categorized into adult and peads depending upon their age. Minimum and maximum dose of every single antibiotic present in the pharmacy that could be dispensed to the patient was developed. These were linked to the order entry window. So whenever pharmacist would type any order and the dose would be below or above the therapeutic limit this would give an alert to the pharmacist. Whenever this message pop-up this was recorded at the back end along with the antibiotic name, pharmacist ID, date, and time. From 14th of January 2015 and till 14th of March 2015 the software stopped different users 350 times. Out of this 300 were found to be major errors which if reached to the patient could have harmed them to the greater extent. While 50 were due to typing errors and minor deviations. The pilot study showed that computer assisted strategies can be of great help to the pharmacist. They can improve the efficacy and quality of interventions.

Keywords: antibiotics, computer assisted strategies, pharmacist, stewardship

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Authors: Marcello De Falco, Gianluca Natrella, Mauro Capocelli

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CO₂ capture and utilization (CCU) is a promising approach to reduce GHG(greenhouse gas) emissions. Many technologies in this field are recently attracting attention. However, since CO₂ is a very stable compound, its utilization as a reagent is energetic intensive. As a consequence, it is unclear whether CCU processes allow for a net reduction of environmental impacts from a life cycle perspective and whether these solutions are sustainable. Among the tools to apply for the quantification of the real environmental benefits of CCU technologies, exergy analysis is the most rigorous from a scientific point of view. The exergy of a system is the maximum obtainable work during a process that brings the system into equilibrium with its reference environment through a series of reversible processes in which the system can only interact with such an environment. In other words, exergy is an “opportunity for doing work” and, in real processes, it is destroyed by entropy generation. The exergy-based analysis is useful to evaluate the thermodynamic inefficiencies of processes, to understand and locate the main consumption of fuels or primary energy, to provide an instrument for comparison among different process configurations and to detect solutions to reduce the energy penalties of a process. In this work, the exergy analysis of a process for the production of Dimethyl Ether (DME) from green hydrogen generated through an electrolysis unit and pure CO₂ captured from flue gas is performed. The model simulates the behavior of all units composing the plant (electrolyzer, carbon capture section, DME synthesis reactor, purification step), with the scope to quantify the performance indices based on the II Law of Thermodynamics and to identify the entropy generation points. Then, a plant optimization strategy is proposed to maximize the exergy efficiency.

Keywords: green DME production, exergy analysis, energy penalties, exergy efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 248