Search results for: human resource practices

Authors: Ketevan Janashia, Tamar Tsibadze, Levan Tvildiani, Nikoloz Invia, Elguja Kubaneishvili, Vasili Kukhianidze, George Ramishvili

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This study considers the possible effects of geomagnetic activity (GMA) on humans situated on Earth by performing experiments concerning specific sensitive reactions in humans in both: natural conditions during different GMA and by the simulation of different GMA in the lab. The measurements of autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses to different GMA via measuring the heart rate variability (HRV) indices and stress index (SI) and their comparison with the K-index of GMA have been presented and discussed. The results of experiments indicate an intensification of the sympathetic part of the ANS as a stress reaction of the human organism when it is exposed to high level of GMA as natural as well as in simulated conditions. Aim: We tested the hypothesis whether the GMF when disturbed can have effects on human ANS causing specific sensitive stress-reactions depending on the initial type of ANS. Methods: The study focuses on the effects of different GMA on ANS by comparing of HRV indices and stress index (SI) of n= 78, 18-24 years old healthy male volunteers. Experiments were performed as natural conditions on days of low (K= 1-3) and high (K= 5-7) GMA as well as in the lab by the simulation of different GMA using the device of geomagnetic storm (GMS) compensation and simulation. Results: In comparison with days of low GMA (K=1-3) the initial values of HRV shifted towards the intensification of the sympathetic part (SP) of the ANS during days of GMSs (K=5-7) with statistical significance p-values: HR (heart rate, p= 0.001), SDNN (Standard deviation of all Normal to Normal intervals, p= 0.0001), RMSSD (The square root of the arithmetical mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals, p= 0.0001). In comparison with conditions during GMSs compensation mode (K= 0, B= 0-5nT), the ANS balance was observed to shift during exposure to simulated GMSs with intensities in the range of natural GMSs (K= 7, B= 200nT). However, the initial values of the ANS resulted in different dynamics in its variation depending of GMA level. In the case of initial balanced regulation type (HR > 80) significant intensification of SP was observed with p-values: HR (p= 0.0001), SDNN (p= 0.047), RMSSD (p= 0.28), LF/HF (p=0.03), SI (p= 0.02); while in the case of initial parasympathetic regulation type (HR < 80), an insignificant shift to the intensification of the parasympathetic part (PP) was observed. Conclusions: The results indicate an intensification of SP as a stress reaction of the human organism when it is exposed to high level of GMA in both natural and simulated conditions.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system, device of magneto compensation/simulation, geomagnetic storms, heart rate variability

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Authors: A. M. Attalla, A. F. lbrahim, Laila Y. Mostaffa

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This study was conducted during three seasons 2010, 2011 and 2012 on Zahhloul date palm cultivar grown in calcareous soil, Alexandria governorate, Egypt. The palms received recommended dose of mineral N only or plus different rates of organic N with or without bio fertilizer to study the effect of such treatments on date palm yield and fruit nitrate and nitrite content due to its negative influence on human, animal and environment. The obtained results clarified that all used treatments of organic and bio fertilizers were effective in improving date palm yield and decreased fruit content of NO2 and NO3 in comparison with 100 % mineral N. It was also noticed that combined treatments of 50 % mineral N + 50 % organic manure with bio fertilizer is the superior treatments for increasing the values of yield and decreasing its content of NO2 and NO3. Hence, it could be concluded that, minimizing the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizer to half of recommended dose through addition of 50 % mineral N + 50 % organic manure with bio fertilizer and also, the utilization of organic and bio fertilizers is considered as a promising alternative for chemical fertilizers to avoid pollution and reduce the costs of mineral fertilizers.

Keywords: organic and bio fertilizers, mineral fertilizer, nitrate, nitrite, zaghloul date palm cv

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Authors: Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Imran Ghani, Haiyan Ding, Zhihui Cheng, Muhammad Iqbal

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Background and Aims: In recent years, protected cultivation trend, especially in the northern parts of China, spread dynamically where production area, structure, and crops diversity have expanded gradually under plastic greenhouse vegetable cropping (PGVC) system. Under this growing system, continuous monoculture with excessive synthetic fertilizers inputs are common cultivation practices frequently adopted by commercial producers. Such long-term cumulative wild exercise year after year sponsor the continuous cropping obstacles in PGVC soil, which have greatly threatened the regional soil eco-sustainability and further impose the continuous assault on soil ecological diversity leading to the exhaustion of agriculture productivity. The aim of this study was to develop new allelopathic insights by exploiting available biological resources in the favor of sustainable PGVC to illuminate the continuous obstacle factors in plastic greenhouse. Method: A greenhouse study was executed under plastic tunnel located at the Horticulture Experimental Station of the College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, one of the prominent regions for intensive commercial PGVC in China. Post-harvest garlic residues (stalk, leaves) mechanically smashed, homogenized into powder size and incorporated at the ratio of 1:100; 3:100; 5:100 as a soil amendment in a replanted soil that have been used for continuous cucumber monoculture for 7 years (annually double cropping system in a greenhouse). Results: Incorporated C-rich garlic stalk significantly influenced the soil condition through various ways; organic matter decomposition and mineralization, moderately adjusted the soil pH, enhanced the soil nutrient availability, increased enzymatic activities, and promoted 20% more cucumber yield in short-time. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal 18S rDNA genes, the current study revealed that addition of garlic stalk/residue could also improve the microbial abundance and community composition in extensively exploited soil, and contributed in soil functionality, caused prosper changes in soil characteristics, reinforced to good crop yield. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that addition of garlic stalk as soil fertility amendment is a feasible, cost-effective and efficient resource utilization way for renovation of degraded soil health, ameliorate soil quality components and improve ecological environment in short duration. Our study may provide a better scientific understanding for efficient crop residue management typically from allelopathic source.

Keywords: garlic stalk, microbial community dynamics, plant growth, soil amendment, soil-plant system

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Authors: Surabhi Gautam, Uma Kumar, Rima Dada

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A sustained acute-phase response in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is associated with increased joint damage and inflammation leading to progressive disability. It is induced continuously by consecutive stimuli of proinflammatory cytokines, following a wide range of pathophysiological reactions, leading to increased synthesis of acute phase proteins like C - reactive protein (CRP) and dysregulation in levels of immunomodulatory soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) molecule. This study was designed to explore the effect of yoga and meditation based lifestyle intervention (YMLI) on inflammatory markers in RA patients. Blood samples of 50 patients were collected at baseline (day 0) and after 30 days of YMLI. Patients underwent a pretested YMLI under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor for 30 days including different Asanas (physical postures), Pranayama (breathing exercises), and Dhayna (meditation). Levels of CRP, IL-6, IL-17A, soluble HLA-G and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured at day 0 and 30 interval. Parameters of disease activity, disability quotient, pain acuity and quality of life were also assessed by disease activity score (DAS28), health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), visual analogue scale (VAS), and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) respectively. There was reduction in mean levels of CRP (p < 0.05), IL-6 (interleukin-6) (p < 0.05), IL-17A (interleukin-17A) (p < 0.05) and ESR (p < 0.05) and elevation in soluble HLA-G (p < 0.05) at 30 days compared to baseline level (day 0). There was reduction seen in DAS28-ESR (p < 0.05), VAS (p < 0.05) and HAQ (p < 0.05) after 30 days with respect to the base line levels (day 0) and significant increase in WHOQOL-BREF scale (p < 0.05) in all 4 domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health. The present study has demonstrated that yoga practices are associated with regression of inflammatory processes by reducing inflammatory parameters and regulating the levels of soluble HLA-G significantly in active RA patients. Short term YMLI has significantly improved pain perception, disability quotient, disease activity and quality of life. Thus this simple life style intervention can reduce disease severity and dose of drugs used in the treatment of RA.

Keywords: inflammation, quality of life, rheumatoid arthritis, yoga and meditation

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Authors: Alok Kumar, Raviraj Patil

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The ability to respond to an incident of a disastrous event in a vulnerable area is very crucial an aspect of emergency management. The ability to constantly predict the likelihood of an event along with its severity in an area and react to those significant events which are likely to have a high impact allows the authorities to respond by allocating resources optimally in a timely manner. It provides for measuring, monitoring, and modeling facilities that integrate underlying systems into one solution to improve operational efficiency, planning, and coordination. We were particularly involved in this innovative incubation work on the current state of research and development in collaboration. technologies & systems for a disaster.

Keywords: predictive analytics, advanced analytics, area flood likelihood model, area flood severity model, level of impact model, mortality score, economic loss score, resource allocation, crew allocation

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Authors: Iryna Biskub

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The interdisciplinary approach to modern linguistic studies is exemplified by the merge of various research methods, which sometimes causes complications related to the verification of the research results. This methodological confusion can be resolved by means of creating new techniques of linguistic analysis combining several scientific paradigms. Modern linguistics has developed really productive and efficient methods for the investigation of cognitive and communicative phenomena of which language is the central issue. In the field of discourse studies, one of the best examples of research methods is the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). CDA can be viewed both as a method of investigation, as well as a critical multidisciplinary perspective. In CDA the position of the scholar is crucial from the point of view exemplifying his or her social and political convictions. The generally accepted approach to obtaining scientifically reliable results is to use a special well-defined scientific method for researching special types of language phenomena: cognitive methods applied to the exploration of cognitive aspects of language, whereas communicative methods are thought to be relevant only for the investigation of communicative nature of language. In the recent decades discourse as a sociocultural phenomenon has been the focus of careful linguistic research. The very concept of discourse represents an integral unity of cognitive and communicative aspects of human verbal activity. Since a human being is never able to discriminate between cognitive and communicative planes of discourse communication, it doesn’t make much sense to apply cognitive and communicative methods of research taken in isolation. It is possible to modify the classical CDA procedure by means of mapping human cognitive procedures onto the strategic communicative planning of discourse communication. The analysis of the electronic petition 'Block Donald J Trump from UK entry. The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry' (584, 459 signatures) and the parliamentary debates on it has demonstrated the ability to map cognitive and communicative levels in the following way: the strategy of discourse modeling (communicative level) overlaps with the extraction of semantic macrostructures (cognitive level); the strategy of discourse management overlaps with the analysis of local meanings in discourse communication; the strategy of cognitive monitoring of the discourse overlaps with the formation of attitudes and ideologies at the cognitive level. Thus, the experimental data have shown that it is possible to develop a new complex methodology of discourse analysis, where cognition would meet communication, both metaphorically and literally. The same approach may appear to be productive for the creation of computational models of human-computer interaction, where the automatic generation of a particular type of a discourse could be based on the rules of strategic planning involving cognitive models of CDA.

Keywords: cognition, communication, discourse, strategy

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Authors: Kimutai Joan Jepkorir, Moturi Wilkister Nyaora

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The practice of open defecation can be devastating for human health as well as the environment, and this practice persistence could be due to ingrained habits that individuals continue to engage in despite having a better alternative. Safe disposal of human excreta is essential for public health protection. This study sought to find if open defecation relates to fecal-oral infections in Burat and Ngaremara Wards in Isiolo County. This was achieved through conducting a cross-sectional study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 385 households that were used in the study. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires and observation checklists. The result show that 66% of the respondents disposed-off fecal matter in a safe manner, whereas 34% disposed-off fecal matter in unsafe manner through open defecation. The prevalence proportions per 1000 of diarrhea and intestinal worms among children under-5 years of age were 142 and 21, respectively. The prevalence proportions per 1000 of diarrhea and typhoid among children over-5 years of age were 20 and 20, respectively.

Keywords: faecal-oral infections, open defecation, prevalence proportion, sanitation

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Authors: Ozge Celik, Elvan Ender

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With rapidly increasing population growth and industrial revolution in the 1950s, in Turkey migration began to the cities from the countryside. Along the rapid growth of urban population has started to bring many problems. Depending on the uncontrolled urban development, concerns about the protection of natural values has increased day by day. As a result of disturbance on the natural environment, human health has started to be under threat. After all, much urban planning approaches outspread that protecting natural resources by respect to human health and troubleshooting problems emerging with anthropogenic effects. Smart growth concept is one of the chosen methods to resolve the problems in Turkey. In this paper, smart growth concept idea and its criteria will be explained while ecological planning and urban planning problems will be mentioned in Turkey according to the need of concept. Studies, consisting of practical and theoretical smart growth ideas, shows that ecological landscape planning is not included in the urban development process in Turkey. The main idea is to initiate urban development plans considering social and cultural structures of cultural assets and also natural values.

Keywords: ecological landscape planning, smart growth, Turkey, urban development

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Authors: Romi Hardiyansyah, Raden Sugeng Joko Sarwono, Agus Samsi

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Indonesian people have a mother language but not Arabic. Meanwhile, they must be able to pronounce the Arabic because Islam is the biggest religion in Indonesia. Arabic is composed by ḫijaiyaḫ letters which has its own pronunciation. Sound production process in humans can be divided into three physiological processes, namely: the formation of airflow from the lungs, the change in airflow from the lungs into the sound, and articulation (the modulation/sound setting into a specific sound). Ḫijaiyaḫ letters has its own articulation, some of which seem strange for most people in Indonesia. Those letters come out from the middle and upper throat so that the letters has its own acoustic characteristics. Acoustic characteristics of voice can be observed by source-filter approach that has parameters: pitch, formant, and formant bandwidth. Pitch is the basic tone in every human being. Formant is the resonance frequency of the human voice. Formant bandwidth is the time-width of a formant. After recording the sound from 21 subjects, data is processed by software Praat version 5.3.39. The analysis showed that each pronunciation, syakal (vowel changer), and the place of discharge letters has the same timbre which are determined by third and fourth formant.

Keywords: ḫijaiyaḫ, articulation, pitch, formant, formant bandwidth, timbre

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Authors: Ming-Yeh Lu, Shiao-Shing Chen, Saikat Sinha Ray, Hung-Te Hsu

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Recently, anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) has been widely utilized, which combines anaerobic biological treatment process and membrane filtration, that can be present an attractive option for wastewater treatment and water reuse. Conventional AnMBR is having several advantages, such as improving effluent quality, compact space usage, lower sludge yield, without aeration and production of energy. However, the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in the AnMBR permeate was negligible which become the biggest disadvantage. In recent years, forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology that utilizes osmotic pressure as driving force to extract clean water without additional external pressure. The pore size of FO membrane is kindly mentioned the pore size, so nitrogen or phosphorus could effectively improve removal of nitrogen or phosphorus. Anaerobic bioreactor with FO membrane (AnOMBR) can retain the concentrate organic matters and nutrients. However, phosphorus is a non-renewable resource. Due to the high rejection property of FO membrane, the high amount of phosphorus could be recovered from the combination of AnMBR and FO. In this study, development of novel submerged anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor integrated with periodic microfiltration (MF) extraction for simultaneous phosphorus and clean water recovery from wastewater was evaluated. A laboratory-scale AnOMBR utilizes cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes with effective membrane area of 130 cm² was fully submerged into a 5.5 L bioreactor at 30-35℃. Active layer-facing feed stream orientation was utilized, for minimizing fouling and scaling. Additionally, a peristaltic pump was used to circulate draw solution (DS) at a cross flow velocity of 0.7 cm/s. Magnesium sulphate (MgSO₄) solution was used as DS. Microfiltration membrane periodically extracted about 1 L solution when the TDS reaches to 5 g/L to recover phosphorus and simultaneous control the salt accumulation in the bioreactor. During experiment progressed, the average water flux was achieved around 1.6 LMH. The AnOMBR process show greater than 95% removal of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD), nearly 100% of total phosphorous whereas only partial removal of ammonia, and finally average methane production of 0.22 L/g sCOD was obtained. Therefore, AnOMBR system periodically utilizes MF membrane extracted for phosphorus recovery with simultaneous pH adjustment. The overall performance demonstrates that a novel submerged AnOMBR system is having potential for simultaneous wastewater treatment and resource recovery from wastewater, and hence, the new concept of this system can be used to replace for conventional AnMBR in the future.

Keywords: anaerobic treatment, forward osmosis, phosphorus recovery, membrane bioreactor

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Authors: Clinton Adas

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Industrial animal farming contributes to numerous problems that humans face, and among these, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified by the World Health Organisation as a real possibility for the 21st Century. While numerous factors contribute to AMR, one of them is industrial animal farming and its effect on the food chain and environment. In 2017, livestock were given around 73% of all antibiotics worldwide to make them grow faster for profit purposes, to prevent illness caused by unhealthy living conditions, and to treat disease when it breaks out. Many of the antibiotics used provide little benefit to animals, and most are the same as those used by humans - including many deemed critical to human health that should be used sparingly. AMR contributes to millions of illnesses, and in 2019 was responsible for around 4.95 million deaths worldwide. It costs Europe around nine billion euros per year, while it costs the United States (US) around 20 billion dollars per year. While not a simple or quick solution, one way to begin to address the challenge of AMR and other harms from this type of farming is to focus on animal welfare as part of a One Health and Welfare approach, as better welfare requires less antibiotics usage, which may begin to break the cycle.

Keywords: animal and human welfare, industrial animal farming, antimicrobial resistance, one health and welfare, sustainable development goals

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Authors: ELdessouky Sheta, Sayed Elzomor, Haithem Farghali, Kawkab A. Ahmed, Naglaa A. Abd Elkader

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The present investigation has been dealt with Spirocerca (S.) lupi infested mongrel dogs. This parasitic disease is highly infective to human beings and carnivores. The diagnosis march has been comprised the lateral contrast thoracic radiographs, fecal examination, blood profile, endoscopic examination and histopathological sections of deep seated pinch biopsies. These infested dogs have been put under an adopted treatment with Ivermectin injection combined with oral prednisolone. The obtained results reveal an absence of the pessimistic recognitions particularly after 3 weeks from the onset of treatment. Endoscopically the presented esophageal nodules are marked out in the distal third of infested dogs' esophagus as masses assigned into the esophageal lumen and fundus of stomach. The endoscopic outlook of Spirocerca lupi lesions has been considered an integral procedure of the diagnostic march and for evaluation of treatment follow up. The diagnostic procedures and the recommended treatment are the vet's guidance to care for Spirocerca lupi in dogs, hoping in future to prevent this disease from being spread among human beings and other carnivores.

Keywords: endoscopy, esophagus, stomach spirocercosis, dogs

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Authors: Theingi Shwe, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki, Juko Ito

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The growing cities of the developing country are characterized by rapid growth and poor infrastructure management inviting and accelerating relative environmental problems. Even though the movements of the sustainability had already been developed around the world, it is still increasing in the developing countries to plant sustainable practices. Aligned with the sustainable development actions, many sustainable assessment tools are also developed to rate and evaluate the sustainability performances through the building to community level. Among them, CASBEE is developed by Japanese organizations and is recognized as one of the international well-known assessment tools. The main purpose of the study is to find out the potential of CASBEE tool reflecting sustainability city level performances in developing countries. The research framework was designed with three major phases: Quantitative Approach, Qualitative Approach and Evaluation Reflection. The first two approaches were based on the investigation of tool’s contents and indicators by means of three sustainable dimensions and sustainability categories. To know the reality and reflection on developing country, Pathein City from Myanmar was selected and evaluated by 2012 version of CASBEE for Cities. The evaluation practices went through assigned indicators and the evaluation outcome presents the performances of Pathein city’s environmental efficiency as a very good in current conditions. The results of this study indicate that the indicators of this tool have balance coverage among three dimensions of sustainability but it has not yet counted enough for some indicators like location, infrastructure and institution which are relative to society dimension. In the developing countries’ cities, the most critical issues on development such as affordable housing and heritage preservation which are already planted in Pathein City but the tool does not account for those issues. Moreover, in some of the indicators, the benchmark and the weighting coefficient are strongly linked to the system birth region. By means of this study, it can be stated that CASBEE for Cities would be potential for delivering sustainable city level development in developing country especially in Myanmar along with further inclusion of the indicators.

Keywords: assessment tool, CASBEE, developing country, Myanmar, Pathein city, sustainable development

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Authors: Siyao Zhu, Yifang Xu

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After natural and man-made disasters, robots can bypass the danger, expedite the search, and acquire unprecedented situational awareness to design rescue plans. The hands-free requirement from the first responders excludes the use of tedious manual control and operation. In unknown, unstructured, and obstructed environments, natural-language-based supervision is not amenable for first responders to formulate, and is difficult for robots to understand. Brain-computer interface is a promising option to overcome the limitations. This study aims to test the feasibility of using electroencephalography (EEG) signals to decode human intentions and detect the level of consensus on robot-provided information. EEG signals were classified using machine-learning and deep-learning methods to discriminate search intentions and agreement perceptions. The results show that the average classification accuracy for intention recognition and consensus assessment is 67% and 72%, respectively, proving the potential of incorporating recognizable users’ bioelectrical responses into advanced robot-assisted systems for emergency response.

Keywords: consensus assessment, electroencephalogram, emergency response, human-robot collaboration, intention recognition, search and rescue

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Authors: Yousefali Ziari, Hamidreza Joudaki

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Humans have regularly been interacting with their environment, and have a close relation with their environment. House as a shelter which protects us against hot and cold weather and the other climatic occurrences in the environment has a close relation with climate. Before human could have access to the fossil fuels, preparing the comfort for the house was done by adjusting the building according to the climate conditions, and the help of natural resources. However after the man could access the fossil fuel, this way was forgotten, and caused much use of energy for heating & cooling. This research is trying to find some methods for designing suitable building that create comfort fitting with the zone by studying the climate condition of Arak city and as a result to find a way to reduce the use of energy and improving the design. So for the aim of this research we have used the statistics and information such as temperature, rain, wind and the approximate moisture from a period of 40 years from synoptic station of Arak. After specifying the climate of Arak by the use of effective temperature, Ulgi, Guni, Mahani and Ovenz indicator, we investigated the climate comfort conditions and the harmonious architecture with the climate and then some suggestion was given according to the climate situation of each month of the year and quality of human comfort according to this indicators.

Keywords: climate, architecture, traditional and modern architecture, comfort indicator, Arak city

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Authors: Renata Martins Pacheco, João Claro

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Wildfires are becoming an increasing concern worldwide, causing substantial social, economic, and environmental disruptions. This situation is especially relevant in Mediterranean-climate regions, present in all the five continents of the world, in which fire is not only a natural component of the environment but also perhaps one of the most important evolutionary forces. The rise in wildfire occurrences and their associated impacts suggests the need for identifying knowledge gaps and enhancing the basis of scientific evidence on how managers and policymakers may act effectively to address them. Considering that the main goal of a systematic map is to collate and catalog a body of evidence to describe the state of knowledge for a specific topic, it is a suitable approach to be used for this purpose. In this context, the aim of this study is to systematically map the research trends in wildfire management practices in Mediterranean-climate regions. A total of 201 wildfire management studies were analyzed and systematically mapped in terms of their: Year of publication; Place of study; Scientific outlet; Research area (Web of Science) or Research field (Scopus); Wildfire phase; Central research topic; Main objective of the study; Research methods; and Main conclusions or contributions. The results indicate that there is an increasing number of studies being developed on the topic (most from the last 10 years), but more than half of them are conducted in few Mediterranean countries (60% of the analyzed studies were conducted in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy or France), and more than 50% are focused on pre-fire issues, such as prevention and fuel management. In contrast, only 12% of the studies focused on “Economic modeling” or “Human factors and issues,” which suggests that the triple bottom line of the sustainability argument (social, environmental, and economic) is not being fully addressed by fire management research. More than one-fourth of the studies had their objective related to testing new approaches in fire or forest management, suggesting that new knowledge is being produced on the field. Nevertheless, the results indicate that most studies (about 84%) employed quantitative research methods, and only 3% of the studies used research methods that tackled social issues or addressed expert and practitioner’s knowledge. Perhaps this lack of multidisciplinary studies is one of the factors hindering more progress from being made in terms of reducing wildfire occurrences and their impacts.

Keywords: wildfire, Mediterranean-climate regions, management, policy

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Authors: Nirit Raichel, Dorit Alt

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Although university teaching is claimed to have a special task to support students in adopting ways of thinking and producing new knowledge anchored in scientific inquiry practices, it is argued that students' habits of learning are still overwhelmingly skewed toward passive acquisition of knowledge from authority sources rather than from collaborative inquiry activities. In order to overcome this critical inadequacy between current educational goals and instructional methods, the LLAF consortium is aimed at developing updated instructional practices that put a premium on adaptability to the emerging requirements of present society. LLAF has created a practical guide for teachers containing updated pedagogical strategies based on the constructivist approach for learning, arranged along Delors’ four theoretical ‘pillars’ of education: Learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. This presentation will be limited to problem-based learning (PBL), as a strategy introduced in the second pillar. PBL leads not only to the acquisition of technical skills, but also allows the development of skills like problem analysis and solving, critical thinking, cooperation and teamwork, decision- making and self-regulation that can be transferred to other contexts. This educational strategy will be exemplified by a case study conducted in the pre-piloting stage of the project. The case describes a three-fold process implemented in a postgraduate course for in-service teachers, including: (1) learning about PBL (2) implementing PBL in the participants' classes, and (3) qualitatively assessing the contributions of PBL to students' outcomes. An example will be given regarding the ways by which PBL was applied and assessed in civic education for high-school students. Two 9th-grade classes have participated the study; both included several students with learning disability. PBL was applied only in one class whereas traditional instruction was used in the other. Results showed a robust contribution of PBL to students' affective and cognitive outcomes as reflected in their motivation to engage in learning activities, and to further explore the subject. However, students with learning disability were less favorable with this "active" and "annoying" environment. Implications of these findings for the LLAF project will be discussed.

Keywords: problem-based learning, higher education, pedagogical strategies

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Authors: Moon-Tak Oh, Kyung-Min Park, Tae-Eun Yoon, Hoon Choi, Chil-Woo Lee

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This paper is about middle-ware which enables group-user applications on mobile devices in physical proximity to interact with other devices without intervention of a central server. Requirements of the middle-ware are identified from service usage scenarios, and the functional architecture of the middle-ware is specified. These requirements include group management, synchronization, and resource management. Group Management needs to provide various capabilities to such applications with respect to managing multiple users (e.g., creation of groups, discovery of group or individual users, member join/leave, election of a group manager and service-group association) using D2D communication technology. We designed the middle-ware for the above requirements on the Android platform.

Keywords: group user, middleware, mobile service, physical proximity

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Authors: Abdullahi Musa Yusuf

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Culture and traditions are an embodiment of every society. In Africa, people are socialized into believing that the world is full of mysteries. Mysteries that can only be explain through the interpretation of some forces which are ordinarily beyond the comprehension of Man. These forces have the power and capability of influencing the lives of the living either benevolently or malevolently. To decipher these mysteries various religious and cultural practices were evolved. This paper is therefore an attempt to explain the traditional religious belief system and the relationship existing between the forces of the living and dead among the Igala people of the Central Nigeria Region.

Keywords: culture, tradition, mythology, Nigeria

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Authors: Ghaleb Y. Abbasi, Israa Abu Rumman

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This paper modeled sales history archived from 2012 to 2015 bulked in monthly bins for five products for a medical supply company in Jordan. The sales forecasts and extracted consistent patterns in the sales demand history from the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system were used to predict future forecasting and generate sales demand forecasting using time series analysis statistical technique called Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). This was used to model and estimate realistic sales demand patterns and predict future forecasting to decide the best models for five products. Analysis revealed that the current replenishment system indicated inventory overstocking.

Keywords: ARIMA models, sales demand forecasting, time series, R code

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Authors: A. K. M. Anisur Rahman

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Brucellosis is an ancient and one of the world's most widespread zoonotic diseases affecting both, public health and animal production. Its current status in humans and domestic ruminants along with probable means to control further in Bangladesh are described. The true exposure prevalence of brucellosis in cattle, goats, and sheep seems to be low: 0.3% in cattle, 1% in goats and 1.2% in sheep. The true prevalence of brucellosis in humans was also reported to be around 2%. In such a low prevalence scenario both in humans and animals, the positive predictive values of the diagnostic tests were very low. The role Brucella species in the abortion of domestic ruminants is less likely. Still now, no Brucella spp. was isolated from animal and human samples. However, Brucella abortus DNA was detected from seropositive humans, cattle, and buffalo; milk of cow, goats, and gayals and semen of an infected bull. Consuming raw milk and unpasteurized milk products by Bangladeshi people are not common. Close contact with animals, artificial insemination using semen from infected bulls, grazing mixed species of animals together in the field and transboundary animal movement are important factors, which should be considered for the further control of this zoonosis in Bangladesh.

Keywords: brucellosis, control, human, zoonosis

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Authors: Rohit Lall

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The adoption of Micro Irrigation (MI) technologies in India has helped in achieving higher cropping and irrigation intensity with significant savings on resource savings such as labour, fertilizer and improved crop yields. These technologies have received considerable attention from policymakers, growers and researchers over the years for its perceived ability to contribute towards agricultural productivity and economic growth with the well-being of the growers of the country. Keeping the pace with untapped theoretical potential to cover government had launched flagship programs/centre sector schemes with earmarked budget to capture the potential under these waters saving techniques envisaged under these technologies by way of providing financial assistance to the beneficiaries for adopting these technologies. Micro Irrigation technologies have been in the special attention of the policymakers over the years. India being an agrarian economy having engaged 75% of the population directly or indirectly having skilled, semi-skilled and entrepreneurs in the sector with focused attention and financial allocations from the government under these technologies in covering the untapped potential under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) 'Per Drop More Crop component.' During the year 2004, a Taskforce on Micro Irrigation was constituted to estimate the potential of these technologies in India which was estimated 69.5 million hectares by the Task Force Report on MI however only 10.49 million hectares have been achieved so far. Technology collaborations by leading manufacturing companies in overseas have proved to a stepping stone in technology advancement and product up gradation with increased efficiencies. Joint ventures by the leading MI companies have added huge business volumes which have not only accelerated the momentum of achieving the desired goal but in terms of area coverage but had also generated opportunities for the polymer manufacturers in the country. To provide products matching the global standards Bureau of Indian Standards have constituted a sectional technical committee under the Food and Agriculture Department (FAD)-17 to formulated/devise and revise standards pertaining to MI technologies. The research lobby has also contributed at large by developing in-situ analysis proving MI technologies a boon for farming community of the country with resource conservation of which water is of paramount importance. Thus, Micro Irrigation technologies have proved to be the key tool for feeding the grueling demand of food basket of the growing population besides maintaining soil health and have been contributing towards doubling of farmers’ income.

Keywords: task force on MI, standards, per drop more crop, doubling farmers’ income

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Authors: John O. Jacob, Abdullahi Mann, Olanrewaju I. Adeshina, Mohammed M. Ndamitso

Abstract:

Strychnos spinosa, Detarium microcarpum, Diospyros mespiliformis, Dialium guineese and Gardenia ternifolia are some of the wild fruits consume in the villages around Minna, Niger State. This investigation was conducted to assess the nutritional potentials of these fruits both for human consumption and for possible application in animal feed formulations. Standard analytical methods were employed in the determination of the various nutritional parameters. The proximate analysis results showed that the moisture contents ranged between (6.17-10.70%); crude fat (2.04-8.85%); crude protein (5.16-6.80%); crude fibre (7.23-19.65%); Ash (3.46-5.56%); carbohydrate (57.77-69.79%); energy value (284.49-407 kcal/mg); Vitamin C (7.2-39.93 mg/100g). The mineral analysis shows that the selected wild fruits could contribute considerable amount of both micro and macro elements to human nutrition potassium, sodium and calcium range between; potassium (343.27-764.71%); sodium (155.04-348.44%); calcium (52.47-101%). The macro element for the fruits pulp were in the order K>Na>Mg>Ca, hence, they could be included in diet to supplement daily nutrient requirement and in animal feed formulations. The domestication of these fruits is also encouraged.

Keywords: mineral, micro-elements, macro-elements, feed suppleme

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Authors: Ivana R. Moser, Joao C. Souza

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Building fires are random phenomena that can be extremely violent, and safe evacuation of people is the most guaranteed tactic in saving lives. The correct evacuation of buildings, and other spaces occupied by people, means leaving the place in a short time and by the appropriate way. It depends on the perception of spaces by the individual, the architectural layout and the presence of appropriate routing systems. As historical buildings were constructed in other times, when, as in general, the current security requirements were not available yet, it is necessary to adapt these spaces to make them safe. Computer models of evacuation simulation are widely used tools for assessing the safety of people in a building or agglomeration sites and these are associated with the analysis of human behaviour, makes the results of emergency evacuation more correct and conclusive. The objective of this research is the performance evaluation of historical interest buildings, regarding the safe evacuation of people, through computer simulation, using PTV Viswalk software. The buildings objects of study are the Colégio Catarinense, centennial building, located in the city of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina / Brazil. The software used uses the variables of human behaviour, such as: avoid collision with other pedestrians and avoid obstacles. Scenarios were run on the three-dimensional models and the contribution to safety in risk situations was verified as an alternative measure, especially in the impossibility of applying those measures foreseen by the current fire safety codes in Brazil. The simulations verified the evacuation time in situations of normality and emergency situations, as well as indicate the bottlenecks and critical points of the studied buildings, to seek solutions to prevent and correct these undesirable events. It is understood that adopting an advanced computational performance-based approach promotes greater knowledge of the building and how people behave in these specific environments, in emergency situations.

Keywords: computer simulation, escape routes, fire safety, historic buildings, human behavior

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Authors: Elvis Nyirenda

Abstract:

This research study work was done to evaluate and propose an optimum measure to enhance the uptake of clean energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, the study also aims at enhancing the country’s energy mix from the overdependence on hydro power which is susceptible to droughts and climate change challenges The country in the years 2015 - 2016 and 2018 - 2019 had received rainfall below average due to climate change and a shift in the weather pattern; this resulted in prolonged power outages and load shedding for more than 10 hours per day. ZESCO Limited, the utility company that owns infrastructure in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity (state-owned), is seeking alternative sources of energy in order to reduce the over-dependence on hydropower stations. One of the alternative sources of energy is Solar Energy from the sun. However, solar power is intermittent in nature and to smoothen the load curve, investment in robust energy storage facilities is of great importance to enhance security and reliability of electricity supply in the country. The methodology of the study looked at the historical performance of the Kafue gorge upper power station and utilised the hourly generation figures as input data for generation modelling in Homer software. The average yearly demand was derived from the available data on the system SCADA. The two dams were modelled as natural battery with the absolute state of charging and discharging determined by the available water resource and the peak electricity demand. The software Homer Energy System is used to simulate the scheme incorporating a pumped storage facility and Solar photovoltaic systems. The pumped hydro scheme works like a natural battery for the conservation of water, with the only losses being evaporation and water leakages from the dams and the turbines. To address the problem of intermittency on the solar resource and the non-availability of water for hydropower generation, the study concluded that utilising the existing Hydro power stations, Kafue Gorge upper and Kafue Gorge Lower to work conjunctively with Solar energy will reduce power deficits and increase the security of supply for the country. An optimum capacity of 350MW of solar PV can be integrated while operating Kafue Gorge power station in both generating and pumping mode to enable efficient utilisation of water at Kafue Gorge upper Dam and Kafue Gorge Lower dam.

Keywords: hydropower, solar power systems, energy storage, photovoltaics, solar irradiation, pumped hydro storage system, supervisory control and data acquisition, Homer energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Tzen-Ying Ling

Abstract:

Recently, the resilience of dwellings in urban areas has been deliberated, as to accommodate the growing demand for changing the demography and rapid urbanization. The need to incorporate sustainability and cleaner production thinking have intensified to mitigate climate risks and satisfy the demand for housing. The modular thinking satisfies both the pressing call for fast-tracked housing stocks; while meeting the goal of more sustainable production. In the other side, the importance of the dwelling as a podium for well-being and social connectedness are sought to explore the key human/environment design thinking for the modular system in dwelling. We argue the best practice incorporates the concept of systemic components thinking. The fieldwork reported in this paper illustrates the process of the case study in a modular dwelling unit prototype development; focusing on the systemic frame system design process and adjustment recommendation hereafter. Using a case study method, the study identified that: (1) inclusive human dimensional factoring through systemic design thinking results in affordable implementations possibilities. (2) The environmental dimension encourages the place-based solution suited for the locality and the increasing demand for dwelling in the urban system. (3) Prototype design consideration avails module system component as dwelling construction alternative. (4) Building code often acts as an inhibitor for such dwelling units by the restriction in lot sizes and units placement. The demand for fast-track dwelling construction and cleaner production decisively outweighs the code inhibition; we further underscored the sustainability implication of the alternative prototype as the core of this study. The research suggests that modular thinking results in a resilient solution suited for the locality and the increasing demand for dwelling in the urban system.

Keywords: system prototype, urban resilience, human/environment dimension, modular thinking, dwelling alternative

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Shaghayegh Shajari, Mehdi Mahmoodi, Mahmood Rajabian, Uttandaraman Sundararaj, Les J. Sudak

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Although several strain sensors based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been reported, the stretchability and sensitivity of these sensors have remained as a challenge. Highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors are in great demand for human motion monitoring and human-machine interface. This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of a new type of strain sensors based on a stretchable fluoropolymer / CNT nanocomposite system made via melt-mixing technique. Electrical and mechanical characterizations were obtained. The results showed that this nanocomposite sensor has high stretchability up to 280% of strain at an optimum level of filler concentration. The piezoresistive properties and the strain sensing mechanism of the strain sensor were investigated using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). High sensitivity was obtained (gauge factor as large as 12000 under 120% applied strain) in particular at the concentrations above the percolation threshold. Due to the tunneling effect, a non- linear piezoresistivity was observed at high concentrations of CNT loading. The nanocomposites with good conductivity and lightweight could be a promising candidate for strain sensing applications.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, fluoropolymer, piezoresistive, strain sensor

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Authors: Aamir Shahzad, Hubert Roth

Abstract:

This paper is presenting the bilateral telecontrol of AutoMerlin Mobile Robot having communication delay. Passivity Observers has been designed to monitor the net energy at both ports of a two port network and if any or both ports become active making net energy negative, then the passivity controllers dissipate the proper energy to make the overall system passive in the presence of time delay. The environment force is modeled and sent back to human operator so that s/he can feel it and has additional information about the environment in the vicinity of mobile robot. The experimental results have been presented to show the performance and stability of bilateral controller. The results show the whenever the passivity observers observe active behavior then the passivity controller come into action to neutralize the active behavior to make overall system passive.

Keywords: bilateral control, human operator, haptic device, communication network, time domain passivity control, passivity observer, passivity controller, time delay, mobile robot, environment force

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: Mohit Gupta, Chialing Wei, Thomas Czerniawski

Abstract:

In this paper, we have built a neural network that can detect walls on 2D sheets and subsequently create a 3D model in Revit using Dynamo. The training set includes 3500 labeled images, and the detection algorithm used is YOLO. Typically, engineers/designers make concentrated efforts to convert 2D cad drawings to 3D models. This costs a considerable amount of time and human effort. This paper makes a contribution in automating the task of 3D walls modeling. 1. Detecting Walls in 2D cad and generating 3D pop-ups in Revit. 2. Saving designer his/her modeling time in drafting elements like walls from 2D cad to 3D representation. An object detection algorithm YOLO is used for wall detection and localization. The neural network is trained over 3500 labeled images of size 256x256x3. Then, Dynamo is interfaced with the output of the neural network to pop-up 3D walls in Revit. The research uses modern technological tools like deep learning and artificial intelligence to automate the process of generating 3D walls without needing humans to manually model them. Thus, contributes to saving time, human effort, and money.

Keywords: neural networks, Yolo, 2D to 3D transformation, CAD object detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Michelle V. Tomczak, Reyhaneh Bakhtiari, Aaron Granley, Anthony Singhal

Abstract:

Objective: Cannabis and cocaine are associated with a range of mental and physical effects that can impair aspects of human behavior. Driving is a complex cognitive behavior that is an essential part of everyday life and can be broken down into many subcomponents, each of which can uniquely impact road safety. With the growing movement of jurisdictions to legalize cannabis, there is an increased focus on impairment and driving. The purpose of this study was to identify driving-related cognitive-performance deficits that are impacted by recreational drug use. Design and Methods: With the assistance of law enforcement agencies, we recruited over 300 participants under the influence of various drugs including cannabis and cocaine. These individuals performed a battery of computer-based tasks scientifically proven to be re-lated to on-road driving performance and designed to test response-speed, memory processes, perceptual-motor skills, and decision making. Data from a control group with healthy non-drug using adults was collected as well. Results: Compared to controls, the drug group showed def-icits in all tasks. The data also showed clear differences between the cannabis and cocaine groups where cannabis users were faster, and performed better on some aspects of the decision-making and perceptual-motor tasks. Memory performance was better in the cocaine group for simple tasks but not more complex tasks. Finally, the participants who consumed both drugs performed most similarly to the cannabis group. Conclusions: Our results show distinct and combined effects of cannabis and cocaine on human performance relating to driving. These dif-ferential effects are likely related to the unique effects of each drug on the human brain and how they distinctly contribute to mental states. Our results have important implications for road safety associated with driver impairment.

Keywords: driving, cognitive impairment, recreational drug use, cannabis and cocaine

Procedia PDF Downloads 110