Search results for: annual report

Authors: Iwuchukwu J. C., Ekeh G. Madukwe, M. C., Asadu A. N.

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Melon has significant importance of easy to plant, early maturing, low nutrient requirement and high yielding. Yet many melon farmers in the study area are either diversifying or abandoning this enterprise probably because of lack of agricultural knowledge/information and consequent reduction in output and income. The study was therefore carried out to asses effects of agricultural information on income of melon farmers in Enugu-Ezike Agricultural zone of Enugu state, Nigeria. Three blocks, nine circles and ninety melon farmers who were purposively selected constituted the sample for the study..Data were collected with interview schedule. Percentage and chart were used to present some of the data while some were analysed with mean score and correlation. The findings reveal that. average annual income of these respondents from melon was about seven thousand and five hundred Naira (approximately forty five Dollars). while their total average monthly income (income from melon and other sources) was about one thousand and two hundred Naira (approximately seven Dollars). About 42.% and 62% of the respondents in their respective order did not receive information on agricultural matters and melon production. Among the minority that received information on melon production, most of them sourced it from neighbours/friends/relatives. Majority of the respondents needed information on how to plant melon through interpersonal contact (face to face) using Igbo language as medium of communication and extension agent as teacher or resource person. The study also reveal a significant and positive relationship between number of times respondents received information on agriculture and their total monthly income. There was also a strong, positive and significant relationship between number of times respondents received information on melon and their annual income on melon production. The study therefore recommends that governmental and non-governmental organizations/ institutions should strengthen these farmers access to information on agriculture and melon specifically so as to boost their output and income.

Keywords: farmers, income, information, melon

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Authors: Ryan J. Trefethen, Vincent H. Smith

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This study explores the relationship between national spending on the Medicaid program, and total Medicaid spending and enrollment in Montana, a state that ranks thirty-third in per capita income and thirty-seventh in median household income in the United States. The purpose of the research is to estimate the potential effects that specific changes to national healthcare policy would likely have on funding for the Montana Medicaid Program and enrollees in the program, members of families in poverty whose incomes are low, even though in many cases they have steady jobs. A particular concern is the effect on access to care for children in poverty who tend to be food insecure and, therefore, especially in need of access to health care. The research uses data collected from a variety of government publications, including the Medicaid Financial Management Report, the Medicaid Managed Care Enrollment Report, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services MSIS State Summaries for fiscal years 2000-2015. These data were examined using econometric analysis, to assess these impacts. The evidence indicates that the changes included in recent congressional legislative initiatives would potentially leave an additional 50,000 to 60,000 Montana residents, five to six percent of the state’s population, in poverty without access to health care. Impacts on children in poverty would potentially be substantial.

Keywords: children, healthcare, medicaid, montana, poverty

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Authors: Luis Amador Jimenez, Md. Shohel Amin

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Pavement performance models are based on projections of observed traffic loads, which makes uncertain to study funding strategies in the long run if history does not repeat. Neural networks can be used to estimate deterioration rates but the learning rate and momentum have not been properly investigated, in addition, economic evolvement could change traffic flows. This study addresses both issues through a case study for roads of Montreal that simulates traffic for a period of 50 years and deals with the measurement error of the pavement deterioration model. Travel demand models are applied to simulate annual average daily traffic (AADT) every 5 years. Accumulated equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) are calculated from the predicted AADT and locally observed truck distributions combined with truck factors. A back propagation Neural Network (BPN) method with a Generalized Delta Rule (GDR) learning algorithm is applied to estimate pavement deterioration models capable of overcoming measurement errors. Linear programming of lifecycle optimization is applied to identify M&R strategies that ensure good pavement condition while minimizing the budget. It was found that CAD 150 million is the minimum annual budget to good condition for arterial and local roads in Montreal. Montreal drivers prefer the use of public transportation for work and education purposes. Vehicle traffic is expected to double within 50 years, ESALS are expected to double the number of ESALs every 15 years. Roads in the island of Montreal need to undergo a stabilization period for about 25 years, a steady state seems to be reached after.

Keywords: pavement management system, traffic simulation, backpropagation neural network, performance modeling, measurement errors, linear programming, lifecycle optimization

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Authors: Mohammad Abu-Taleb

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The final report of the Royal Commission into Australian financial services misconduct, released in February 2019, has had a significant impact on the financial advice industry. The recommendations released in the Commissioner’s final report include changes to ongoing fee arrangements, a new disciplinary system for financial advisers, and mandatory reporting of compliance concerns. This thesis aims to explore the impact of the Royal Commission’s recommendations on the operating model of financial advice firms in terms of advice products, processes, delivery models, and customer segments. Also, this research seeks to investigate whether the Royal Commission’s outcome has accelerated the use of enhanced technology solutions within the operating model of financial advice firms. And to identify the key challenges confronting financial advice firms whilst implementing the Commissioner’s recommendations across their operating models. In order to achieve the objectives of this thesis, a qualitative research design has been adopted through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 24 financial advisers and managers who are engaged in the operation of financial advice services. The study used the thematic analysis approach to interpret the qualitative data collected from the interviews. The findings of this thesis reveal that customer-centric operating models will become more prominent across the financial advice industry in response to the Commissioner’s final report. And the Royal Commission’s outcome has accelerated the use of advice technology solutions within the operating model of financial advice firms. In addition, financial advice firms have started more than before using simpler and more automated web-based advice services, which enable financial advisers to provide simple advice in a greater scale, and also to accelerate the use of robo-advice models and digital delivery to mass customers in the long term. Furthermore, the study identifies process and technology changes as, long with technical and interpersonal skills development, as the key challenges encountered financial advice firms whilst implementing the Commissioner’s recommendations across their operating models.

Keywords: hayne royal commission, financial planning advice, operating model, advice products, advice processes, delivery models, customer segments, digital advice solutions

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Authors: Waheed O. Majekodunmi

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Climate change is a real global phenomenon and an unquestionable threat to our quest for a healthy and livable planet. It is now regarded as potentially the most monumental environmental challenge people and the planet will be confronted with over the next centuries. Expectedly, climate change mitigation was one of the central themes of COP 28. Despite contributing the least to climate change, Africa is and remains the hardest hit by the negative consequences of climate change including poor growth performance. Currently, it is being hypothesized that the high level of vulnerability and exposure to climate-related disasters, low adaptive capacity against global warming and high mitigation costs of climate change across the continent could be linked to the recent abysmal economic performance of African countries, especially in oil-producing countries where greenhouse gas emissions, is potentially more prevalent. This paper examines the impact of climate change on the economic performance of selected oil-producing countries in Africa using evidence from Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. The objective of the study is to determine whether or not climate change influences the economic performance of oil-producing countries in Africa by examining the nexus between economic growth and climate-related variables. The study seeks to investigate the effect of climate change on the pace of economic growth in African oil-producing countries. To achieve the research objectives, this study utilizes a quantitative approach by using historical and current secondary data sets to determine the relationship between climate-related variables and economic growth variables in the selected countries. The study employed numbers, percentages, tables and trend graphs to explain the trends or common patterns between climate change, economic growth and determinants of economic growth: governance effectiveness, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability and regulatory efficiency. Results from the empirical analysis of data show that the trends of economic growth and climate-related variables in the selected oil-producing countries are in the opposite directions as the increasing share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the oil-producing countries did not translate to higher economic growth. Further findings show that annual surface temperatures in the selected countries do not share similar trends with the food imports ratio and GDP per capita annual growth rate suggesting that climate change does not impact significantly agricultural productivity and economic growth in oil-producing countries in Africa. Annual surface temperature was also found to not share a similar pattern with governance effectiveness, macroeconomic stability and regulatory efficiency reinforcing the claim that some economic growth variables are independent of climate change. The policy implication of this research is that oil-producing African countries need to focus more on improving the macroeconomic environment and streamlining governance and institutional processes to boost their economic performance before considering the adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Keywords: climate change, climate vulnerability, economic growth, greenhouse gas emissions per capita, oil-producing countries, share of renewable energy in total energy consumption

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Authors: Amir AlAmeeri, Mohamed Ibrahim

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Various data points are constantly being measured in the production system, and due to the nature of the wells, these data points, such as pressure, temperature, water cut, etc.., fluctuations are constant, which requires high frequency monitoring and collection. It is a very difficult task to analyze these parameters manually using spreadsheets and email. An automated system greatly enhances efficiency, reduce errors, the need for constant emails which take up disk space, and frees up time for the operator to perform other critical tasks. Various production data is being recorded in an oil field, and this huge volume of data can be seen as irrelevant to some, especially when viewed on its own with no context. In order to fully utilize all this information, it needs to be properly collected, verified and stored in one common place and analyzed for surveillance and monitoring purposes. This paper describes how data is recorded by different parties and departments in the field, and verified numerous times as it is being loaded into a repository. Once it is loaded, a final check is done before being entered into a production monitoring system. Once all this is collected, various calculations are performed to report allocated production. Calculated production data is used to report field production automatically. It is also used to monitor well and surface facility performance. Engineers can use this for their studies and analyses to ensure field is performing as it should be, predict and forecast production, and monitor any changes in wells that could affect field performance.

Keywords: automation, oil production, Cheleken, exploration and production (E&P), Caspian Sea, allocation, forecast

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Authors: Yinsheng Zhang

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Changes in the extent and amount of snow cover in Eurasia are of great interest because of their vital impacts on the global climate system and regional water resource management. This study investigated the spatial and temporal variability of the snow cover extent (SCE) and snow water equivalent (SWE) of continental Eurasia using the Northern Hemisphere Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid (EASE-Grid) Weekly SCE data for 1972–2006 and the Global Monthly EASE-Grid SWE data for 1979–2004. The results indicated that, in general, the spatial extent of snow cover significantly decreased during spring and summer, but varied little during autumn and winter over Eurasia in the study period. The date at which snow cover began to disappear in spring has significantly advanced, whereas the timing of snow cover onset in autumn did not vary significantly during 1972–2006. The snow cover persistence period declined significantly in the western Tibetan Plateau as well as the partial area of Central Asia and northwestern Russia but varied little in other parts of Eurasia. ‘Snow-free breaks’ (SFBs) with intermittent snow cover in the cold season were mainly observed in the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia, causing a low sensitivity of snow cover persistence period to the timings of snow cover onset and disappearance over the areas with shallow snow. The averaged SFBs were 1–14 weeks in the Tibetan Plateau during 1972–2006 and the maximum intermittence could reach 25 weeks in some extreme years. At a seasonal scale, the SWE usually peaked in February or March but fell gradually since April across Eurasia. Both annual mean and annual maximum SWE decreased significantly during 1979–2004 in most parts of Eurasia except for eastern Siberia as well as northwestern and northeastern China.

Keywords: Eurasia, snow cover extent, snow cover persistence period, snow-free breaks, onset and disappearance timings, snow water equivalent

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Authors: Abdullah Al Mamoon, Niels E. Joergensen, Ataur Rahman, Hassan Qasem

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Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) in its fourth Assessment Report AR4 predicts a more extreme climate towards the end of the century, which is likely to impact the design of engineering infrastructure projects with a long design life. A recent study in 2013 developed new design rainfall for Qatar, which provides an improved design basis of drainage infrastructure for the State of Qatar under the current climate. The current design standards in Qatar do not consider increased rainfall intensity caused by climate change. The focus of this paper is to update recently developed design rainfalls in Qatar under the changing climatic conditions based on IPCC's AR4 allowing a later revision to the proposed design standards, relevant for projects with a longer design life. The future climate has been investigated based on the climate models released by IPCC’s AR4 and A2 story line of emission scenarios (SRES) using a stationary approach. Annual maximum series (AMS) of predicted 24 hours rainfall data for both wet (NCAR-CCSM) scenario and dry (CSIRO-MK3.5) scenario for the Qatari grid points in the climate models have been extracted for three periods, current climate 2010-2039, medium term climate (2040-2069) and end of century climate (2070-2099). A homogeneous region of the Qatari grid points has been formed and L-Moments based regional frequency approach is adopted to derive design rainfalls. The results indicate no significant changes in the design rainfall on the short term 2040-2069, but significant changes are expected towards the end of the century (2070-2099). New design rainfalls have been developed taking into account climate change for 2070-2099 scenario and by averaging results from the two scenarios. IPCC’s AR4 predicts that the rainfall intensity for a 5-year return period rain with duration of 1 to 2 hours will increase by 11% in 2070-2099 compared to current climate. Similarly, the rainfall intensity for more extreme rainfall, with a return period of 100 years and duration of 1 to 2 hours will increase by 71% in 2070-2099 compared to current climate. Infrastructure with a design life exceeding 60 years should add safety factors taking the predicted effects from climate change into due consideration.

Keywords: climate change, design rainfalls, IDF, Qatar

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Authors: Abrha Ybeyn Gebremedhn, Yitea Seneshaw Getahun, Alebachew Shumye Moges, Fikrey Tesfay

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Rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia has failed to produce enough food, to achieve the increasing demand for food. Pinpointing the appropriate site for rainwater harvesting (RWH) have a substantial contribution to increasing the available water and enhancing agricultural productivity. The current study related to the identification of the potential RWH sites was conducted at the Chacha watershed central highlands of Ethiopia which is endowed with rugged topography. The Geographic Information System with Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to generate the different maps for identifying appropriate sites for RWH. In this study, 11 factors that determine the RWH locations including slope, soil texture, runoff depth, land cover type, annual average rainfall, drainage density, lineament intensity, hydrologic soil group, antecedent moisture content, and distance to the roads were considered. The overall analyzed result shows that 10.50%, 71.10%, 17.90%, and 0.50% of the areas were found under highly, moderately, marginally suitable, and unsuitable areas for RWH, respectively. The RWH site selection was found highly dependent on a slope, soil texture, and runoff depth; moderately dependent on drainage density, annual average rainfall, and land use land cover; but less dependent on the other factors. The highly suitable areas for rainwater harvesting expansion are lands having a flat topography with a soil textural class of high-water holding capacity that can produce high runoff depth. The application of this study could be a baseline for planners and decision-makers and support any strategy adoption for appropriate RWH site selection.

Keywords: runoff depth, antecedent moisture condition, AHP, weighted overlay, water resource

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Authors: Shantanu Vyas, Neerja Meena

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Facial infiltrating lipomatosis is a rare lipomatous lesion, first described by Slavin in 1983. It is a benign pseudotumor pathology. It corresponds to a non-encapsulated collection of mature adipocytes infiltrating the local tissue and hyperplasia of underlying bone leading to a craniofacial deformity. Very few cases have been reported in the literature. We report the case of a 19-year-old female patient, who was consulted for a swelling of the right hemiface progressively evolving since birth. Physical examination revealed facial asymmetry. On palpation, the mass was soft, painless, not compressible, not pulsatile, not fluctuating. In view of the asymptomatic nature and slow progression of the lesion, a lipomatous tumour, namely lipoma, was suggested. CT scan image shows a hyperplastic subcutaneous fat on the right hemiface. On the right jugal and temporal areas, there is a subcutaneous formation of fatty density, poorly limited, with no detectable peripheral capsule. It merges with the adjacent fat. In the bone window, there was a hyperplasia of underlying bone. Facial lipomatosis infiltration of the face is a benign pseudotumor pathology. As a result, it can be confused with other disorders, in particular, hemifacial hyperplasia. Combination of physical and radiological findings can establish the diagnosis. Surgical treatment is done for cosmetic purposes.

Keywords: cosmetic correction and facial assemetry, aesthetic results, facial infiltration, surgery

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Authors: Hamd Ahmed

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During the Persian Gulf War in 1991s, The confederation forces were surprised when they were being shot at by friendly forces in Iraqi desert. As obvious was the fact that they were mislead due to the lack of proper guidance and technology resulting in unnecessary loss of life and bloodshed. This unforeseen incident along with many others led the US department of defense to open the doors of GPS. In the very beginning, this technology was for military use, but now it is being widely used and increasingly popular among the public due to its high accuracy and immeasurable significance. The GPS system simply consists of three segments, the space segment (the satellite), the control segment (ground control) and the user segment (receiver). This project work is about designing a 1.57GHZ mixer for triple conversion GPS receiver .The GPS Front-End receiver based on super heterodyne receiver which improves selectivity and image frequency. However the main principle of the super heterodyne receiver depends on the mixer. Many different types of mixers (single balanced mixer, Single Ended mixer, Double balanced mixer) can be used with GPS receiver, it depends on the required specifications. This research project will provide an overview of the GPS system and details about the basic architecture of the GPS receiver. The basic emphasis of this report in on investigating general concept of the mixer circuit some terms related to the mixer along with their definitions and present the types of mixer, then gives some advantages of using singly balanced mixer and its application. The focus of this report is on how to design mixer for GPS receiver and discussing the simulation results.

Keywords: GPS , RF filter, heterodyne, mixer

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Authors: Asiful H. Seikh, Jabair A. Mohammed, Ubair A. Samad, Mohammad A. Alam, Saeed M. Al-Zahrani, El-Sayed M. Sherif

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Three coating formulations were fabricated by incorporating different percentages of MIO (micaceous iron oxide ) (1, 2, and wt%) with ball-milled nanocrystalline Al (2 wt%) particles, which was optimized earlier. These coatings were characterized by means of different methods, namely, SEM, TGA, pendulum hardness, scratch test, and nano-indentation. The EIS measurements were carried out to report the effect of adding MIO powder in fabricated coatings on their corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt% NaCl solutions. In order to report the effect of immersion time on the corrosion and degradation of the prepared coatings, the EIS data were also acquired after various exposure periods of time, i.e., 1 h, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 30 d in the test chloride solution. It has been found that the obtained EIS data for the fabricated coatings proved that the presence of 2% MIO provided the highest corrosion resistance amongst all coatings and that effect was recorded after all immersion periods of time. But, the MIO-incorporated coatings have less corrosion resistance than Al based epoxy coatings. It was also shown that with prolonged immersion, the resistance to corrosion declined after 7d, then with a longer period of immersion, i.e. 14 d, 21 d, and 30 d increases the resistance to corrosion by forming oxide products on the coatings surface. The results obtained from both mechanical and electrochemical testing confirmed that the fabricated coating with 2 wt% Al exhibited better hardness and higher resistance to corrosion as compared to coatings with 1 wt% Al and 3 wt% Al.

Keywords: epoxy coatings, nanomaterials, corrosion resistance, EIS, nanoindentation

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Authors: M. P. Tripathi, Priti Tiwari

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Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a distributed parameter continuous time model and was tested on daily and fortnightly basis for a small agricultural watershed (Dhangaon) of Chhattisgarh state in India. The SWAT model recently interfaced with ArcGIS and called as ArcSWAT. The watershed and sub-watershed boundaries, drainage networks, slope and texture maps were generated in the environment of ArcGIS of ArcSWAT. Supervised classification method was used for land use/cover classification from satellite imageries of the years 2009 and 2012. Manning's roughness coefficient 'n' for overland flow and channel flow and Fraction of Field Capacity (FFC) were calibrated for monsoon season of the years 2009 and 2010. The model was validated on a daily basis for the years 2011 and 2012 by using the observed daily rainfall and temperature data. Calibration and validation results revealed that the model was predicting the daily surface runoff and sediment yield satisfactorily. Sensitivity analysis showed that the annual sediment yield was inversely proportional to the overland and channel 'n' values whereas; annual runoff and sediment yields were directly proportional to the FFC. The model was also tested (calibrated and validated) for the fortnightly runoff and sediment yield for the year 2009-10 and 2011-12, respectively. Simulated values of fortnightly runoff and sediment yield for the calibration and validation years compared well with their observed counterparts. The calibration and validation results revealed that the ArcSWAT model could be used for identification of critical sub-watershed and for developing management scenarios for the Dhangaon watershed. Further, the model should be tested for simulating the surface runoff and sediment yield using generated rainfall and temperature before applying it for developing the management scenario for the critical or priority sub-watersheds.

Keywords: watershed, hydrologic and water quality, ArcSWAT model, remote sensing, GIS, runoff and sediment yield

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Authors: Milica Lazic, Jovana Jestrovic

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The aim of this research is to examine moderating role of positive and negative affect, defined as traits, in relationship between a number of stressful life events to which an individual is exposed and life satisfaction. The tendency to experience positive and negative emotions is considered as relatively independent, and life satisfaction depends on presence and intensity of emotions of different valence. However, the role of positive and negative affect can be much more complex. It can change the direction and/or intensity of correlation between a number of stressful life events and life satisfaction. Thus, this question is important for two reasons, (I) better comprehension of inconsistent result of correlation intensity between stressful events and life satisfaction (II) verification on what conditions positive and negative affect have a protective role, and on what conditions the positive and/or negative affect is vulnerability factor. Longitudinal data were collected in two waves from 660 adolescents. Firstly, participants completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. A year later, Life events questionnaire, which measures the number of stressful events in the past six months and Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analyses: three-way interaction. The results show that number of life events, positive and negative effect contribute to the level of life satisfaction. The check of moderation role shows the significant three-way interaction of number of life event, and both, positive and negative affect. Individuals who report high level of positive affect, estimate to be moderate to highly satisfied with their lives, regardless of number of stressors to which they are exposed and also how often they experience negative emotions. Individuals, who often experience negative emotions and rarely positive, report the lowest level of life satisfaction. It doesn't change despite the number of stressors they were exposed to. Individuals who report that rarely experience not only positive than also negative emotions estimate different level of life satisfaction depending on number of stressors they were exposed to. Under the influence of numerous stressors, their level of life satisfaction is low, and it's equal to life satisfaction level of individuals who often experience negative and rarely positive emotions. The result of this research shows that tendency to often experience positive emotions is the protective factor in situation when individuals are exposed to high number of stressors. On the other hand, tendency to rarely experience positive emotions present vulnerability factor. Conclusions and practical implications are further discussed.

Keywords: life events, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, positive and negative affect

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Authors: Vikram Singh

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This paper aims to take into account carbon tax or cap-and-trade legislation to manage Delhi carbon emissions after a post-Kyoto treaty. This report estimated the influence of the carbon taxes or rebate/compensation cost at the household level. Here, the three possible scenarios will help to comprehend the difference between a straightforward compensation/rebate, and two clearly denoting progressive formula. The straightforward compensation is basically minimizing the regressive applications that will bears on cost. On the other hand, both the progressive formula will generate extra revenue, which will help for feasibility of more efficient, vehicles, appliances and buildings in the low-income household. For the hypothetical case of carbon price $40/tonne, low-income household for both urban and rural region could experience price burden up to 5% and 9% on their income as compared to 3% and 7% for high-income household respectively. The survey report also shown that carbon emission due low-income household are primarily by the substantive requirement like housing and transportation whereas almost 40% emission due to high-income household are by luxurious and non-essential items. The equal distribution of revenue cum incentives will not completely overcome high-income household’s investment in inessential items. However, it will merely help in investing their income in energy efficient and less carbon intensive items. Therefore, the rebate distribution on per capita basis instead on per households will benefit more especially large families at low-income group.

Keywords: household emission, carbon credit, carbon intensity, green house gas emission, carbon generation based insentives

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Authors: Esther Cabezas-Rivas

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Ordinary differential equations (ODE) are a fundamental part of the curriculum for most engineering degrees, and students typically have difficulties in the subsequent abstract mathematical calculations. To enhance their motivation and profit that they are digital natives, we propose a teamwork project that includes the creation of a video. It should explain how to model mathematically a real-world problem transforming it into an ODE, which should then be solved using the tools learned in the lectures. This idea was indeed implemented with first-year students of a BSc in Engineering and Management during the period of online learning caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 in Spain. Each group of 4 students was assigned a different topic: model a hot water heater, search for the shortest path, design the quickest route for delivery, cooling a computer chip, the shape of the hanging cables of the Golden Gate, detecting land mines, rocket trajectories, etc. These topics should be worked out through two complementary channels: a written report describing the problem and a 10-15 min video on the subject. The report includes the following items: description of the problem to be modeled, detailed obtention of the ODE that models the problem, its complete solution, and interpretation in the context of the original problem. We report the outcomes of this teaching in context and active learning experience, including the feedback received by the students. They highlighted the encouragement of creativity and originality, which are skills that they do not typically relate to mathematics. Additionally, the video format (unlike a common presentation) has the advantage of allowing them to critically review and self-assess the recording, repeating some parts until the result is satisfactory. As a side effect, they felt more confident about their oral abilities. In short, students agreed that they had fun preparing the video. They recognized that it was tricky to combine deep mathematical contents with entertainment since, without the latter, it is impossible to engage people to view the video till the end. Despite this difficulty, after the activity, they claimed to understand better the material, and they enjoyed showing the videos to family and friends during and after the project.

Keywords: active learning, contextual teaching, models in differential equations, student-produced videos

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Authors: Sukhvinder Kaur, Ashok Agarwal

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Background: For the first time in 2009, India was able to generate estimates of HIV incidence (the number of new HIV infections per year). Analysis of epidemic projections helped in revealing that the number of new annual HIV infections in India had declined by more than 50% during the last decade (GOI Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2010). Then, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) planned to scale up its efforts in generating projections through epidemiological analysis and modelling by taking recent available sources of evidence such as HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS), India Census data and other critical data sets. Recently, NACO generated current round of HIV estimates-2012 through globally recommended tool “Spectrum Software” and came out with the estimates for adult HIV prevalence, annual new infections, number of people living with HIV, AIDS-related deaths and treatment needs. State level prevalence and incidence projections produced were used to project consequences of the epidemic in spectrum. In presence of HIV estimates generated at state level in India by NACO, USIAD funded PIPPSE project under the leadership of NACO undertook the estimations and projections to district level using same Spectrum software. In 2011, adult HIV prevalence in one of the high prevalent States, Maharashtra was 0.42% ahead of the national average of 0.27%. Considering the heterogeneity of HIV epidemic between districts, two districts of Maharashtra – Thane and Mumbai were selected to estimate and project the number of People-Living-with-HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), HIV-prevalence among adults and annual new HIV infections till 2017. Methodology: Inputs in spectrum included demographic data from Census of India since 1980 and sample registration system, programmatic data on ‘Alive and on ART (adult and children)’,‘Mother-Baby pairs under PPTCT’ and ‘High Risk Group (HRG)-size mapping estimates’, surveillance data from various rounds of HSS, National Family Health Survey–III, Integrated Biological and Behavioural Assessment and Behavioural Sentinel Surveillance. Major Findings: Assuming current programmatic interventions in these districts, an estimated decrease of 12% points in Thane and 31% points in Mumbai among new infections in HRGs and migrants is observed from 2011 by 2017. Conclusions: Project also validated decrease in HIV new infection among one of the high risk groups-FSWs using program cohort data since 2012 to 2016. Though there is a decrease in HIV prevalence and new infections in Thane and Mumbai, further decrease is possible if appropriate programme response, strategies and interventions are envisaged for specific target groups based on this evidence. Moreover, evidence need to be validated by other estimation/modelling techniques; and evidence can be generated for other districts of the state, where HIV prevalence is high and reliable data sources are available, to understand the epidemic within the local context.

Keywords: HIV sentinel surveillance, high risk groups, projections, new infections

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Authors: Hanifa Maryani Ahmad, Muslim Yusuf

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Background: Unilateral crossbite can be defined as an abnormal transverse relationship between the upper and lower teeth where the mandibular buccal cusp occluding to the maxillary buccal cusp and which involves only one side of the arch. This report describes the treatment of an adolescent female with Class III malocclussion unilateral crossbite resulting from a mildly constricted maxillary arch. The patient had a Class III skeletal relationship, Class III molar relationships, unilateral crossbite on the left side, and deviated midlines. Objectives: The treatment objectives were to correct the abnormal transverse relationship, achieve proper dental inclination, and correct the unilateral crossbites to improve the facial profile. Case management: The treatment protocol was using transpalatal arch with extension arm modification to expand the maxillary arch. Following the levelling and aligning stage of treatment, using a vertical loop while mandibular arch was expanded after getting an end to end relationship on the anterior side. Results: Corrections of the unilateral crossbite were achieved in 4 months. The treatment is still on process because the canines relationship were not corrected. Conclusions: This report highlights a treatment using transpalatal arch with extension arm modification that can be used to expand the transverse width of an arch to correct the discrepancy. Even though the treatment processes were still ongoing, the correction of the unilateral crossbite have been achieved in 4 months by only using the transpalatal arch.

Keywords: crossbite unilateral, late growing, non-extraction, transpalatal arch

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Authors: Reza Sadeghi

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Carbon dioxide treatment is one of the new methods for storage pest control. It can be used to replace chemical approaches for postharvest. Hazelnut has a considerable share in the annual exports of Iran. In the present study, hazelnut was studied after being exposed to different CO2 pressures (0.1-0.5bar) within 24 hours. Changes in organoleptic properties (colour, firmness, aroma, crispness, and overall acceptability) during fumigation were studied. The results showed that the sensory evaluation showed that carbon dioxide had no effect on the qualitative characteristics of hazelnut.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, hazelnut, qualitative characteristics, organoleptic

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Authors: Barbosa M. L. S., von Ancken A. C. B., Coelho C. P.

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In order to improve the treatment of epileptic dogs, this case report aims toobjective todescribe the use of the homeopathic medicine Cicuta virosa for the treatmentof seizuresin dogs that already use allopathy to control them. Howeach patient presents symptoms individually, the choice of medicationhomeopathic treatment must also be individualized. He was treated in the municipality of RibeirãoPires, São Paulo - Brazil, an animal of the canine species, female, 7 years old, SRD, with a history of seizuregeneralized tonic-clonic for two years, with a variable frequency of 1-2 seizures perday. With no identifiable etiology, the patient used phenobarbital daily, and the dose ofmedication was increased according to the frequency of seizures. The serum concentration of phenobarbital within 12 hours of itsadministration via blood sample was within the range ofreference. The patient experienced weight gain and intermittent sedation. the choice ofhomeopathic medicine Cicuta virosa 6 cH, prepared according to the PharmacopoeiaBrazilian Homeopathic Medicine, occurred due to its characteristic action on the nervous system, especially in epileptic animals that present with seizures, spasmodic contractions of the muscles of the whole body starting from the head, mouth, extremely violent, with rigidity and opisthotonos, extreme agitation, contortionsmultiple. The animal was submitted to treatment with 2 globules orally twicea day for 30 days. The treatment resulted in a clinical cure as there was no moreseizures, being effective to control this symptom.

Keywords: homeopathy, cicuta virosa, epilepsy, veterinary medicine

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Authors: Chanho Park, Juneseok You, Kuewhan Jang, Sungsoo Na

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Detection technique of nanotoxic materials is strongly imperative, because nano-toxic materials can harmfully influence human health and environment as their engineering applications are growing rapidly in recent years. In present work, we report the DNA immobilized quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) based sensor for detection of nano-toxic materials such as silver ions, Hg2+ etc. by using functionalization of quartz crystal with a target-specific DNA. Since the mass of a target material is comparable to that of an atom, the mass change caused by target binding to DNA on the quartz crystal is so small that it is practically difficult to detect the ions at low concentrations. In our study, we have demonstrated fast and in situ detection of nanotoxic materials using quartz crystal microbalance. We report the label-free and highly sensitive detection of silver ion for present case, which is a typical nano-toxic material by using QCM and silver-specific DNA. The detection is based on the measurement of frequency shift of Quartz crystal from constitution of the cytosine-Ag+-cytosine binding. It is shown that the silver-specific DNA measured frequency shift by QCM enables the capturing of silver ions below 100pM. The results suggest that DNA-based detection opens a new avenue for the development of a practical water-testing sensor.

Keywords: nano-toxic ions, quartz crystal microbalance, frequency shift, target-specific DNA

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Authors: Syed Hammad Ali, Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, Danial Hashmi, Richard Armstrong, Ahuti Shrestha, Iram Bano, Javed Hassan

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This paper presents the results of a semi-distributed modified positive degree-day model (MPDDM) for estimating snow and ice melt contributions to discharge from the glacierized Hunza River basin, Pakistan. The model uses daily temperature data, daily precipitation data, and positive degree day factors for snow and ice melt. The model is calibrated for the period 1995-2001 and validated for 2002-2013, and demonstrates close agreements between observed and simulated discharge with Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiencies of 0.90 and 0.88, respectively. Furthermore, the Weather Research and Forecasting model projected temperature, and precipitation data from 2016-2050 are used for representative concentration pathways RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and bias correction was done using a statistical approach for future discharge estimation. No drastic changes in future discharge are predicted for the emissions scenarios. The aggregate snow-ice melt contribution is 39% of total discharge in the period 1993-2013. Snow-ice melt contribution ranges from 35% to 63% during the high flow period (May to October), which constitutes 89% of annual discharge; in the low flow period (November to April) it ranges from 0.02% to 17%, which constitutes 11 % of the annual discharge. The snow-ice melt contribution to total discharge will increase gradually in the future and reach up to 45% in 2041-2050. From a sensitivity analysis, it is found that the combination of a 2°C temperature rise and 20% increase in precipitation shows a 10% increase in discharge. The study allows us to evaluate the impact of climate change in such basins and is also useful for the future prediction of discharge to define hydropower potential, inform other water resource management in the area, to understand future changes in snow-ice melt contribution to discharge, and offer a possible evaluation of future water quantity and availability.

Keywords: climate variability, future discharge projection, positive degree day, regional climate model, water resource management

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Authors: Thomas Suarez, Anne-Sophie Grenouilleau, Erwan Autin, Alexandre Biosse-Duplan, Emmanuelle Blondet, Laurence Chazalette, Marie Coniel, Agnes Dessaigne, Sylvie Lascols, Andrea Lasserre, Candice Legris, Pierre Liot, Aline Metais, Karine Petitprez, Christophe Varlet, Christian Saout

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Background: The role of biological sex and gender identity -whether assigned or chosen- as health determinants are far from a recent discovery: several reports have stressed out how being a woman or a man could affect health on various scales. However, taking it into consideration beyond stereotypes and rigid binary assumptions still seems to be a work in progress. Method: The report is a synthesis on a variety of specific topics, each of which was studied by a specialist from the French National Authority for Health (HAS), through an analysis of existing literature on both healthcare policy construction process and instruments (norms, data analysis, clinical trials, guidelines, and professional practices). This work also implied a policy analysis of French recent public health laws and a retrospective study of guidelines with a gender mainstreaming approach. Results: The analysis showed that though sex and gender were well-known determinants of health, their consideration by both public policy and health operators was often incomplete, as it does not incorporate how sex and gender interact, as well as how they interact with other factors. As a result, the health and social care systems and their professionals tend to reproduce some stereotypical and inadequate habits. Though the data available often allows to take sex and gender into consideration, such data is often underused in practice guidelines and policy formulation. Another consequence is a lack of inclusiveness towards transgender or intersex persons. Conclusions: This report first urges for raising awareness of all the actors of health, in its broadest definition, that sex and gender matter beyond first-look conclusions. It makes a series of recommendations in order to reshape policy construction in the health sector on the one hand and to design public health instruments to make them more inclusive regarding sex and gender on the other hand. The HAS finally committed to integrate sex and gender preoccupations in its workings methods, to be a driving force in the spread of these concerns.

Keywords: biological sex, determinants of health, gender, healthcare policy instruments, social accompaniment

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Authors: Robin Ratnasingham, Maher Elshakankiri

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This research report will look at how to make a smart washroom to increase public hygiene and cleanliness. The system would use IoT devices to pick up various activities in the washroom and notify the appropriate stakeholders or devices to regulate the condition of the washroom. As more people are required to physically go back to the office or school, ensuring a clean and sanitized washroom is even more important now than before. It would help prevent virus outbreaks and safeguard the organization from shutdowns or slowdowns in their business. A framework of the suggested smart washroom was introduced to help reduce the chances of a virus outbreak. Most organizations outsource renovation or implementation to an external party. Using the smart washroom framework, we looked at vendors that provide smart washroom solutions. There are IoT vendors that cannot match the framework, and there are vendors that can support the framework design. This segment is a niche market, and most of the devices are similar in their basic functions. However, all the vendors have unique characteristics to give them a competitive advantage over the rest of the IoT washroom companies. Ultimately, the organization would need to decide if they want to add IoT devices to enable smart capability or renovate the washroom to create a fluid IoT smart washroom design. The report would introduce an IoT smart washroom framework to help organizations design a cohesive preventive measure network for the daily maintenance routine. The framework is designed to help understand how to manage washroom cleanliness more efficiently and to provide guidance in achieving this goal. The leading result is eliminating potential viral outbreaks that could jeopardize the organization.

Keywords: IoT, smart washroom, public hygiene, cleanliness, virus outbreaks, safeguard

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Authors: Emil Danehorn, Ulla Peterson, Marie Oscarsson, Goldina Smirthwaite, Katarina Swahnberg

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Swedish students who choose to study abroad are common, but there has been limited research on exchange students. There are indications that some Swedish exchange students have been exposed to violence, but it is not known if they, already before their semester abroad, are more exposed to violence than students who remain on campus. Our aim was to investigate potential differences in exposure to physical, sexual, and emotional violence between prospective exchange students and campus students and between male and female students in general, as well as to determine any associations between mental health and exposure to violence among students in the total sample. Method: Comparative cross-sectional design using an online survey containing the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire 12. A total of 565 participants took part in the study. Results: Prospective exchange students were less exposed to emotional violence compared to campus students. About one-half of all the participating female students had been exposed to sexual violence and about one-third of all the male students had been exposed to physical violence. The results also indicated that exposure to more than one form of violence was associated with poor mental health for students as a group. Conclusion: Prospective exchange students as a group do not report more exposure to physical and sexual violence than campus students but do report less exposure to emotional violence. However, the overall frequency of exposure to violence among the students was high. This highlights the need for proactive efforts for everyone, not least for exchange students who will be staying in a new environment unknown to them.

Keywords: sexual violence, physical violence, emotional violence, exchange students, mental health

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Authors: Vincent Mokoka, Kai Behn, Edwin Mudongo, Jan Ruppert, Kingsley Ayisi, Anja Linstädter

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Severe drought may trigger a transition of vegetation composition in dryland grasslands, with productive perennial grasses often being replaced by annual grasses. Grazing pressure is thought to exacerbate drought effects, but little is known on the joint effects of grazing and drought on the functional and taxonomic composition of the herbaceous vegetation in African savannas. This study thus aimed to elucidate which herbaceous species and plant functional types (PFTs) are most resistant to prolonged drought and grazing and whether resting plays a role in this context. Thus, we performed a six-year field experiment in South Africa’s Limpopo province, combining drought and grazing treatments. Aboveground herbaceous biomass was harvested annually and separated into species. We grouped species into five PFTs, i.e. very broad-leaved perennial grasses, broad-leaved perennial grasses, narrow-leaved perennial grasses, annual grasses, and forbs. For all species, we also recorded three-leaf traits (leaf area - LA, specific leaf area – SLA, and leaf dry matter content – LDM) to describe their resource acquisition strategies. We used generalized linear models to test for treatment effects and their interaction. Association indices were used to detect the relationship between species and treatments. We found that there were no absolute winner species or PFTs, as the six-year severe drought had a pronounced negative impact on the biomass production of all species and PFTs. However, we detected relative winners with increases in relative abundances, mainly forbs and less palatable narrow-leafed grasses with comparatively low LA and high LDMC, such as Aristida stipidata Hack. These species and PFTs also tended to be favored by grazing. Although few species profited from resting, for most species, the combination of drought and resting proved to be particularly unfavorable. Winners and losers can indicate ecological transition and may be used to guide management decisions.

Keywords: aboveground net primary production, drought, functional diversity, winner and loser species

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Authors: Leigh Ann Wilson, Melanie Borrego

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The purpose of institutional learning outcomes (ILOs) is to assess what students across the university know and what they do not. The issue is gathering this information in a systematic and usable way. This presentation will explain how one institution has engineered this process for both student success and maximum faculty curriculum and course design input. At Brandman University, there are three levels of learning outcomes: course, program, and institutional. Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) are mapped to specific courses. Faculty course developers write the signature assignments (SAs) in alignment with the Institutional Learning Outcomes for each course. These SAs use a specific rubric that is applied consistently by every section and every instructor. Each year, the 12-member General Education Team (GET), as a part of their work, conducts the calibration and assessment of the university-wide SAs and the related rubrics for one or two of the five ILOs. GET members, who are senior faculty and administrators who represent each of the university's schools, lead the calibration meetings. Specifically, calibration is a process designed to ensure the accuracy and reliability of evaluating signature assignments by working with peer faculty to interpret rubrics and compare scoring. These calibration meetings include the full time and adjunct faculty members who teach the course to ensure consensus on the application of the rubric. Each calibration session is chaired by a GET representative as well as the course custodian/contact where the ILO signature assignment resides. The overall calibration process GET follows includes multiple steps, such as: contacting and inviting relevant faculty members to participate; organizing and hosting calibration sessions; and reviewing and discussing at least 10 samples of student work from class sections during the previous academic year, for each applicable signature assignment. Conversely, the commitment for calibration teams consist of attending two virtual meetings lasting up to three hours in duration. The first meeting focuses on interpreting the rubric, and the second meeting involves comparing scores for sample work and sharing feedback about the rubric and assignment. Next, participants are expected to follow all directions provided and participate actively, and respond to scheduling requests and other emails within 72 hours. The virtual meetings are recorded for future institutional use. Adjunct faculty are paid a small stipend after participating in both calibration meetings. Full time faculty can use this work on their annual faculty report for "internal service" credit.

Keywords: assessment, assurance of learning, course design, institutional learning outcomes, rubrics, signature assignments

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Authors: Elena Carcano, Mirzi Betasolo

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This study helps Public Water Bureaus in giving reliable answers to water concession requests. Rapidly increasing water requests can be supported provided that further uses of a river course are not totally compromised, and environmental features are protected as well. Strictly speaking, a water concession can be considered a continuous drawing from the source and causes a mean annual streamflow reduction. Therefore, deciding if a water concession is appropriate or inappropriate seems to be easily solved by comparing the generic demand to the mean annual streamflow value at disposal. Still, the immediate shortcoming for such a comparison is that streamflow data are information available only for few catchments and, most often, limited to specific sites. Subsequently, comparing the generic water demand to mean daily discharge is indeed far from being completely satisfactory since the mean daily streamflow is greater than the water withdrawal for a long period of a year. Consequently, such a comparison appears to be of little significance in order to preserve the quality and the quantity of the river. In order to overcome such a limit, this study aims to complete the information provided by flow duration curves introducing a link between Flow Duration Curves (FDCs) and recession curves and aims to show the chronological sequence of flows with a particular focus on low flow data. The analysis is carried out on 25 catchments located in North-Eastern Italy for which daily data are provided. The results identify groups of catchments as hydrologically homogeneous, having the lower part of the FDCs (corresponding streamflow interval is streamflow Q between 300 and 335, namely: Q(300), Q(335)) smoothly reproduced by a common recession curve. In conclusion, the results are useful to provide more reliable answers to water request, especially for those catchments which show similar hydrological response and can be used for a focused regionalization approach on low flow data. A mathematical link between streamflow duration curves and recession curves is herein provided, thus furnishing streamflow duration curves information upon a temporal sequence of data. In such a way, by introducing assumptions on recession curves, the chronological sequence upon low flow data can also be attributed to FDCs, which are known to lack this information by nature.

Keywords: chronological sequence of discharges, recession curves, streamflow duration curves, water concession

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Authors: Ahmed Aljudaya, Derek Ingham, Lin Ma, Kevin Hughes, Mohammed Pourkashanian

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Researchers, power companies, and state politicians have given concentrated solar power (CSP) much attention due to its capacity to generate large amounts of electricity whereas overcoming the intermittent nature of solar resources. The Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) is a well-known CSP technology type for being inexpensive, having a low land use factor, and suffering from low optical efficiency. The LFR was considered a cost-effective alternative option to the Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) because of its simplistic design, and this often outweighs its lower efficiency. The LFR has been found to be a promising option for directly producing steam to a thermal cycle in order to generate low-cost electricity, but also it has been shown to be promising for indirect steam generation. The purpose of this important analysis is to compare the annual performance of the Direct Steam Generation (DSG) and Indirect Steam Generation (ISG) of LFR power plants using molten salt and other different Heat Transfer Fluids (HTF) to investigate their technical and economic effects. A 50 MWe solar-only system is examined as a case study for both steam production methods in extreme weather conditions. In addition, a parametric analysis is carried out to determine the optimal solar field size that provides the lowest Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) while achieving the highest technical performance. As a result of optimizing the optimum solar field size, the solar multiple (SM) is found to be between 1.2 – 1.5 in order to achieve as low as 9 Cent/KWh for the direct steam generation of the linear Fresnel reflector. In addition, the power plant is capable of producing around 141 GWh annually and up to 36% of the capacity factor, whereas the ISG produces less energy at a higher cost. The optimization results show that the DSG’s performance overcomes the ISG in producing around 3% more annual energy, 2% lower LCOE, and 28% less capital cost.

Keywords: concentrated solar power, levelized cost of electricity, linear Fresnel reflectors, steam generation

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Authors: Fatma Al Abdullah, Shahad Al Ameer, Ritaj Jaragh, Fatimah Khajah, Rawan Qambar, Amr Nounou

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Kuwait currently manufactures its tankers in foreign countries. Oil tankers play a role in the supply chain of the oil industry. Therefore, with Kuwait’s sufficient financial resources, the country should secure itself strategically in order to protect its oil industry to sustain economic development. The purpose of this report is designing an oil tankers’ shipyard facility. Basing the shipyard facility in Kuwait will have great economic rewards. The shipbuilding industry directly enhances the industrial chain in terms of new job and business opportunities as well as educational fields. Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Co. K.S.C. (HEISCO) was chosen as a host due to benefits that will result from HEISCO’s existing infrastructure and expertise to reduce cost. The Facility Design methodology chosen has been used because it covers all aspects needed for the report. The oil tanker market is witnessing a shift from crude tankers to product tankers. Therefore the Panamax tanker (product tanker) was selected to be manufactured in the facility. The different departments needed in shipyards were identified based on studying different global shipyards. Technologies needed to build ships helped in the process design. It was noticed that ships are engineer to order. The new layout development of the proposed shipyard is currently in progress. A feasibility study will be conducted to ensure the success of the facility after developing the shipyard’s layout.

Keywords: oil tankers, shipbuilding, shipyard, facility design, Kuwait

Procedia PDF Downloads 466