Search results for: rising

Authors: Chun Yu, Tahlia M. Farrant, Max G. Marschall

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Most of Australia’s school classrooms are equipped with operable windows and occupant-controlled air-conditioners that do not provide fresh air. This can result in insufficient ventilation and high indoor CO₂ levels, which comes at a detriment to occupant productivity and health. This paper reports on the results of an in-situ study capturing indoor CO₂ levels in classrooms at a school in Victoria, Australia. The study consisted of 3 measurement periods: First, CO₂ levels pre-pandemic were measured, finding that the readings exceeded the recommended ASHRAE threshold of 1000 ppm more than 50% of the time, with levels often rising as high as 5000 ppm. Then, after the staff had been informed of the poor indoor air quality and the Victorian government had put COVIDSAFE measures in place, a second data set was captured; the impact was significant, with now only about 30% of readings above the ASHRAE threshold, and values rarely exceeding 2500 ppm. Finally, devices were installed that gave the occupants visual feedback when CO₂ levels were high, thus prompting them to open the windows; this further improved the air quality, with now less than 20% of readings above the threshold and values rarely exceeding 1500 ppm. The study suggests that, while relying on occupants to operate windows can lead to poor indoor air quality due to insufficient ventilation, it is possible to considerably influence occupant behavior through education and feedback devices. While these interventions alone did not mitigate the problem of inadequate ventilation entirely, they were sufficient to keep CO₂ levels within a generally healthy range. Considering the large energy savings that are possible by foregoing mechanical ventilation, it is evident that natural ventilation is a feasible operation method for school buildings in temperate climates, as long as classrooms are equipped with CO₂ feedback devices.

Keywords: COVID, CO₂, education, feedback devices, health, indoor air quality, natural ventilation, occupant behaviour

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Authors: Aliyu Shitu Said

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One of the major setbacks of every society is the proliferation of crimes that results in the inducement of fear, destruction of properties and loss of lives of people. The rising incidence of crime and general insecurity rate in the society and the inability of the policing agencies to curtail the menace necessitated the introduction of community policing in order to have a collaborative effort with community members in addressing the problem of crime. Thus, this study assessed the impact of community policing in crime prevention and control in Fagge Local Government area, Kano State, Nigeria. The study also examined the elements, roles, and challenges of community policing in crime prevention and control in the study area. The study adopted Broken Window and Routine Activity theories as frame of analysis. Mixed methods of data collection (quantitative and qualitative) were utilized for the study. Multi stage and purposive sampling techniques were adopted in selection of the study population. A total of 308 respondents were sampled for the study. These include 300 members of the public who were sampled through a multi stage sampling for questionnaire administration and 8 other respondents who were purposively sampled for in-depth interview. Findings of the study revealed that community policing has significant impact on crime prevention and control in the study area. Findings of the study further revealed that the elements and roles of community policing are effective and fully utilized, and there is cordial relationship between the police and the community members in the study area. This study therefore recommends that government should provide adequate support to community policing programmes and give more awareness to public, so as to boost the morale of the community in having a collaborative effort with the police in crime prevention and control.

Keywords: community, policing, crime, prevention, control

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Amjad Alsulami, Farah Albishri, Kholod Alzubidi, Lama Almehemadi, Salma Elhag

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Food allergy is a common and rising problem among children. Many students have their first allergic reaction at school, one of these is anaphylaxis, which can be fatal. This study discovered that several schools' processes lacked safety regulations and information on how to handle allergy issues and chronic diseases like diabetes where students were not supervised or monitored during the cafeteria purchasing process. There is no obvious prevention or effort in academic institutions when purchasing food containing allergens or negatively impacting the health status of students who suffer from chronic diseases. Students must always be stable to reflect positively on their educational development process. To address this issue, this paper uses a business reengineering process to propose the automation of the whole food-purchasing process, which will aid in detecting and avoiding allergic occurrences and preventing any side effects from eating foods that are conflicting with students' health. This may be achieved by designing a smart card with an embedded QR code that reveals which foods cause an allergic reaction in a student. A survey was distributed to determine and examine how the cafeteria will handle allergic children and whether any management or policy is applied in the school. Also, the survey findings indicate that the integration of QR technology into the food purchasing process would improve health condition detection. The suggested system would be beneficial to all parties, the family agreed, as they would ensure that their children didn't eat foods that were bad for their health. Moreover, by analyzing and simulating the as-is process and the suggested process the results demonstrate that there is an improvement in quality and time.

Keywords: QR code, smart card, food allergies, business process reengineering, health condition detection

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Authors: M. Sundaram, H. R. Sanath Kumar, A. Ramprakash

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Energy saving is a key sustainability focus area for the Indian telecom industry today. This is especially true in rural India where energy consumption contributes to 70 % of the total network operating cost. In urban areas, the energy cost for network operation ranges between 15-30 %. This expenditure on energy as a result of the lack of grid power availability highlights a potential barrier to telecom industry growth. As a result of this, telecom tower companies switch to diesel generators, making them the second largest consumer of diesel in India, consuming over 2.5 billion litres per annum. The growing cost of energy due to increasing diesel prices and concerns over rising greenhouse emissions have caused these companies to look at other renewable energy options. Even the TRAI (Telecom Regulation Authority of India) has issued a number of guidelines to implement Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in the telecom towers as part of its ‘Implementation of Green Technologies in Telecom Sector’ initiative. Our proposal suggests the implementation of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) based ‘optimisation controller’ that can not only efficiently utilize the energy from RETs but also help to conserve the power used in the telecom towers. When there are multiple RETs available to supply energy, this controller will pick the optimum amount of energy from each RET based on the availability and feasibility at that point of time, reducing the dependence on diesel generators. For effective maintenance of the towers, we are planing to implement a SCADA based monitoring system along with the ‘optimization controller’.

Keywords: operation costs, consumption of fuel and carbon footprint, implementation of a programmable logic controller (PLC) based ‘optimisation controller’, efficient SCADA based monitoring system

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Authors: Amany Haridy, Ahmed Elseragy, Fahd Omar

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The issue of temperature increase in the urban microclimate has been at the center of attention recently, especially in dense urban areas, such as the City of Alexandria in Egypt, where building surfaces have become the dominant element (more than green areas and streets). Temperatures have been rising during daytime as well as nighttime, however, the research focused on the rise of air temperature at night, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. This phenomenon has many effects on ecological life, as well as human health. This study provided evidence of the possibility of reducing the urban heat island by using a green building envelope (green wall and green roof) in Alexandria, Egypt. This City has witnessed a boom in growth in its urban fabric and population. A simulation analysis using the Envi-met software to find the ratio of air temperature reduction was performed. The simulation depended on the orientation of the green areas and their density, which was defined through a process of climatic analysis made by the Diva plugin using the Grasshopper software. Results showed that the reduction in air temperature varies from 0.8–2.0 °C, increasing with the increasing density of green areas. Many systems of green wall and green roof can be found in the local market. However, treating an existing building requires a careful choice of system to fit the building construction load and the surrounding nature. Among the systems of choice, there was the ‘geometric system’ of vertical greening that can be fixed on a light aluminum structure for walls and the extensive green system for roofs. Finally, native plants were the best choice in the long term because they fare well in the local climate.

Keywords: envi-met, green building envelope, urban heat island, urban microclimate

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Authors: Tongpong Sriboon, Prapita Thanarak, Chaitawatch Khunrangabsang

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Nowadays, the usage of power generated from photovoltaic system has been promoted significantly in Thailand. The targeted result which is to increase the Solar Power Generation in 2036 to 6000 megawatts (MW) was planned by Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP 2015) and Power Development Plan (PDP 2015). The solar rooftop 200 MW was promoted and supported under the Feed-in Tariff scheme (FiT) in two phases; phase I in 2012 and phase II in 2015. However, the number of people interested in supporting the projects reduced due to many reasons which range from the first process to the last that is to sell electricity back to Electricity Authority. This paper will review this situation especially in total electricity generated from solar rooftop system during the day that has been sold back to the grid utility in different capacity FiT rates. With many stakeholders involved, the regulations and criteria were established to maintain the standard of the system. Besides, lots of problems have occurred during the processes including reliability and quality. These problems were shortly followed by other irrevocably issues concerning politics, social, economic etc. In order to effectively develop solar PV power system in Thailand, the problems and solutions were compared to those from six countries including Japan, Australia. America, China, German and Malaysia. This paper particularly focuses on policies and measurement implemented to encourage the rising in solar PV system interest. This review enables one to gain insight into the nature of the changes that have taken place in each and every country mentioned above as well as the underlying reasons behind them. Brief analysis is carried out on identify key challenges and opportunities for solar PV application. This could help create a development path that is suitable with situations to enhance the overall performance of solar PV power generating system in Thailand.

Keywords: solar PV rooftop, PV policy, self-consumption, solar PV power generation

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas, Ghita Bianca-Andreea

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A case of a prostatic midline cyst is presented, which was found during a routine general ultrasound examination in an otherwise healthy young man. The incidence of prostatic cysts discovered in suprapubic ultrasound examination has constantly been rising over the previous decades. Despite the fact that the majority of them are benign, a significant amount is related to symptoms, such as pain, dysuria, infertility, and even cancer. The wide use of ultrasound examination and the increasing availability of high-resolution ultrasound systems have rendered new diagnostic challenges. Once upon a time a suprapubic ultrasound was only useful for measuring only the size and the dimensions of the prostatic gland. It did not have the ability to analyze and resolve structures such as cystic or solid nodules. The current machine equipment has managed to depict the imaging characteristics of lesions with high acuity that compares of an intrarectal ultrasound. But the last one is a specialized examination, which demands expertise and good knowledge. Maybe the time has come for the general radiologist and, especially the one who uses suprapubic ultrasound, to pay more attention to the examination of the prostate gland and to take advantage of the superb abilities and the high resolution of the new ultrasound systems. That is exactly, what this case is emphasizing. The incidental discovery of prostatic cysts, and the relatively little available literature about managing them turns them into an interesting theme for exploring and studying. The prostatic cysts are further divided into midline and paramidline cysts, with the first being usually utricle cysts. A more precise categorization is as follows: A midline cystic lesion usually regards a Mullerian duct cyst, a prostatic utricle cyst, an ejaculatory duct cyst, a prostatic cystadenoma, a ductus deferens cyst, and a TURP. On the other hand, a lateral cystic lesion usually refers to a cystic degeneration of benign prostatic hyperplasia, a prostatic retention cyst, a seminal vesicle cyst, diverticular prostatitis, a prostatic abscess, cavitatory prostatitis from chronic prostatitis, a parasitic prostatic cyst, a cystic prostatic carcinoma, e.t.c.

Keywords: prostatic cyst, radiology, benign prostatic lesions, prostatic cancer, suprapubic prostatic ultrasound

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Authors: Kajori Banerjee, Laxmi Kant Dwivedi

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“Health transition” is defined to be “a process through which high levels of mortality, morbidity and disability are reduced to low levels by influencing cultural, social and behavioural factors”. Life expectancy in India has been on the rise and parallel the burden of disease and disability has also risen noticeably. Borrowing data from Indian Census (2001, 2011), this study identifies the gender-wise burden of disability by calculating disability free life expectancy (DFLE) and life lived with disability (LWD). Sullivan’s method of calculating DFLE using proportion of disabled is used for this purpose. The change in person years lived with disability in the decade 2001-11 is further decomposed using Arriaga’s method into mortality and disability effects (ME and DE) to check the magnitude and direction of contribution of mortality and disability. Nationally, along with DFLE, LWD has amplified too. Despite having the highest life expectancy and DFLE, LWD in Kerala, was highest for both sexes in 2001. But in 2011, the LWD was highest among the males of Orissa and females of Rajasthan. For the overall population, DE is positive for the prime working age groups of 20-40years indicating that there has been an increase in the disability proportion holding mortality constant for 2001-2011. Females exhibit higher positive DE implying greater loss of healthy years due to disability than males. The findings call for an immediate attention to the causes of rising disability burden among the working population, especially females, as this might heavily effect the availability of quality labour force and its relative economic output in the Indian labour market. This also hints at the degrading quality of the elongated life and needs to be given the required attention to enhance the quality of life lead in the Nation.

Keywords: disability-free life expectancy, disability effect, life expectancy, mortality effect

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Authors: Firsan Nova

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The average Indonesian watches 5.5 hours of TV a day. With a population of 242 million people and a Free-to-Air (FTA) TV penetration rate of 56%, that equates to 745 million hours of television watched each day. With such potential, it is no wonder that many companies are now attempting to get into the Pay TV market. Research firm Media Partner Asia has forecast in its study that the number of Indonesian pay-television subscribers will climb from 2.4 million in 2012 to 8.7 million by 2020, with penetration scaling up from 7 percent to 21 percent. Key drivers of market growth, the study says, include macro trends built around higher disposable income and a rising middle class, with leading players continuing to invest significantly in sales, distribution and content. New entrants, in the meantime, will boost overall prospects. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of Market Attractiveness and the Core Competence on Value Creation and Competitive Advantage and its impact to Business Performance in the pay TV industry in Indonesia. The study using strategic management science approach with the census method in which all members of the population are as sample. Verification method is used to examine the relationship between variables. The unit of analysis in this research is all Indonesian Pay TV business units totaling 19 business units. The unit of observation is the director and managers of each business unit. Hypothesis testing is performed by using statistical Partial Least Square (PLS). The conclusion of the study shows that the market attractiveness affects business performance through value creation and competitive advantage. The appropriate value creation comes from the company ability to optimize its core competence and exploit market attractiveness. Value creation affects competitive advantage. The competitive advantage can be determined based on the company's ability to create value for customers and the competitive advantage has an impact on business performance.

Keywords: market attractiveness, core competence, value creation, competitive advantage, business performance

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Authors: Karl Gerrard Tiu See

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Military bases are an indelible mark of prolonged US defense relationships in the Pacific. Bases like the Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City have irreversible consequences for their host communities, not all of which are positive. One consequence the Subic Naval Base had for Olongapo City was the rise of vibrant sex industry. While the Philippine Senate voted to remove US bases like Subic in 1991, the question remains as to why did prostitution not end after the bases pull-out? To answer this question, the study used an institutionalist lens coupled with focus group discussions from the sex industry. It found that prostitution persisted due to two main reasons. The first was that like Olongapo City; the sex industry successfully shifted its reliance from the military to foreign tourism. The second was that agreements such as the 1996 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) ensured that the sex industry continued to receive US military clientele. With the contextual factors as the backdrop, this study used the Theory of Institutional Change to study institutions pivotal in altering Olongapo City and its sex industry after Subic Naval Base. These include local government, civil society actors such as NGOs, and the city’s economic base. The study found that policy such as the VFA allowed the bases period status quo to revive (Symbionts). This led to renewed exploitation from the military presence coupled with foreign tourism (Opportunists). The local government, however, shifted focus away from base reliance which allowed a reinvigorated civil society to effect a gradual change (Subversives). Furthermore, uncertainties like rising HIV incidence, abandoned children born from US soldiers, and the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) remain to change the sex industry’s future, for better or worse.

Keywords: Philippine-USA defence relations, overseas USA basing, 1991 Philippine-USA bases pull-out, Olongapo city, Subic naval base, institutional change

Procedia PDF Downloads 439

Authors: Giovanna Carugno

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The concept of invention is rarely scrutinized by legal scholars since it is a slippery one, full of nuances and difficult to be defined. When does an idea become relevant for the patent law? When is it simply possible to talk of what an invention is? It is the first question to be answered to obtain a patent, but it is sometimes neglected by treaties or reduced to very simple and automatically re-cited definitions. Maybe, also because it is more a transnational and cultural concept than a mere institution of law. Tautology is used to avoid the challenge (in the United States patent regulation, the inventor is the one who contributed to have a patentable invention); in other case, a clear definition is surprisingly not even provided (see, e.g., the European Patent Convention). In Europe, the issue is still more complicated because there are several different solutions elaborate inorganically be national systems of courts varying one to the other only with the aim of solving different IP cases. Also a neighbor domain, like copyright law, is not assisting us in the research, since an author in this field is entitles to be the 'inventor' or the 'author' and to protect as far as he produces something new. Novelty is not enough in patent law. A simple distinction between mere improvement that can be achieved by a man skilled in the art (a sort of reasonable man, in other sectors) or a change that is not obvious rising to the dignity of protection seems not going too far. It is not still defining this concept; it is rigid and not fruitful. So, setting aside for the moment the issue related to the definition of the invention/inventor, our proposal is to scrutinize the possible self-sufficiency of a system in which the inventor or the improver should be awarded of royalties or similar compensation according to the economic improvement he was able to bring. The law, in this case, is in the penumbras of misleading concepts, divided between facts that are obscure and technical, and not involving necessarily legal issues. The aim of this paper is to find out a single definition (or, at least, the minimum elements common in the different legal systems) of what is (legally) an invention and what can be the hints to practically identify an authentic invention. In conclusion, it will propose an alternative system in which the invention is not considered anymore and the only thing that matters are the revenues generated by technological improvement, caused by the worker's activity.

Keywords: comparative law, intellectual property, invention, patents

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Megha Jain, K. K. Pathak

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In sub-tropical humid climates, it is estimated most of the urban peak load of energy consumption is used to satisfy air-conditioning or air-coolers cooling demand in summer time. As the urbanization rate in developing nation – like the case in India is rising rapidly, the pressure placed on energy resources to satisfy inhabitants’ indoor comfort requirements is consequently increasing too. This paper introduces passive cooling through roof as a means of reducing energy cooling loads for satisfying human comfort requirements in a sub-tropical climate. Experiments were performed by applying different insulators which are locally available solar reflective materials to insulate the roofs of five rooms of 4 case buildings; three rooms having RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) roof and two having Asbestos sheet roof of existing buildings. The results are verified by computer simulation using Computational Fluid Dynamics tools with FLUENT software. The result of using solar reflective paint with high albedo coating shows a fall of 4.8⁰C in peak hours and saves 303 kWh considering energy load with air conditioner during the summer season in comparison to non insulated flat roof energy load of residential buildings in Bhopal. An optimum solution of insulator for both types of roofs is presented. It is recommended that the selected cool roof solution be combined with insulation on other elements of envelope, to increase the indoor thermal comfort. The application is intended for low cost residential buildings in composite and warm climate like Bhopal.

Keywords: cool roof, computational fluid dynamics, energy loads, insulators, passive cooling, subtropical climate, thermal performance

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Authors: Auwal Garba, Rabiu Maijama’a, Abdullahi Muhammad Jalam

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Variability in climate has affected the agricultural production all over the globe. This concern has motivated important changes in the field of research during the last decade. Climate variability is believed to have declining effects towards rice production in Nigeria. This study examined climate variability and its impact on rice productivity in Dass Local Government Area, Bauchi State, by employing Linear Trend Model (LTM), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis. Annual seasonal data of the climatic variables for temperature (min. and max), rainfall, and solar radiation from 1990 to 2015 were used. Results confirmed that 74.4% of the total variation in rice yield in the study area was explained by the changes in the independent variables. That is to say, temperature (minimum and maximum), rainfall, and solar radiation explained rice yield with 74.4% in the study area. Rising mean maximum temperature would lead to reduction in rice production while moderate increase in mean minimum temperature would be advantageous towards rice production, and the persistent rise in the mean maximum temperature, in the long run, will have more negatively affect rice production in the future. It is, therefore, important to promote agro-meteorological advisory services, which will be useful in farm planning and yield sustainability. Closer collaboration among the meteorologist and agricultural scientist is needed to increase the awareness about the existing database, crop weather models among others, with a view to reaping the full benefits of research on specific problems and sustainable yield management and also there should be a special initiative by the ADPs (State Agricultural Development Programme) towards promoting best agricultural practices that are resilient to climate variability in rice production and yield sustainability.

Keywords: climate variability, impact, productivity, rice

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Authors: Shirin Sadat Ahmadi

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The number of people, particularly university students, migrating from Iran and applying for American and European universities has been rising during recent years. Different people may have various reasons and goals for migration, but one of the common issues among all these people is the cultural challenges they experience when living in the adopted society. Immigrants usually confront obstacles during the Intercultural transition and adaption process. Different variables such as age, religion, gender, education, knowing the spoken language in destination country, financial condition, interactions with natives, and using social media can affect the cultural challenges people face after migration and how they conquer issues appearing due to intercultural differences and conflicts. In this research we have interviewed a sample consisted of 15 Iranian students living and studying abroad found by using snowball sampling technique via video call to realize what cultural challenges they have experienced in the new society, how the mentioned variables above eased these challenges or made them harder and what approaches and solutions they adopted to adjust themselves to the new society and its cultural dimensions. Based on John Berry's acculturation theory of migrant-host relationship, we have classified these 15 people in five different categories: Assimilation, Separation, Marginalization, and Integration. In addition we have considered Y.Y. Kim's communication-based theory of cross-cultural adaption to explain how communications helped migrant populations in adaption process. Based on the findings of this study, 12 of 15 interviewed members of the study used the integration strategy to adapt to the new cultural environment, 3 of them used the assimilation strategy, and none of them used marginalization or separation strategies. Communicating with natives, knowing the language, and education were the factors that helped all the interviewed members of the sample to overcome the difficulties of intercultural transition.

Keywords: acculturation, culture, intercultural transition, migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Isabel Gouveia

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Antimicrobial textile materials may significantly reduce the risk of infections and because they are able to absorb substances from the skin and release therapeutic compounds to the skin, they can also find applications as complementary therapy of skin-diseases as part of standard management. Although functional textiles may be a promising area in skin disease/injury management, as part of standard management, few offer complementary treatment even though they are well known to reduce scratching and aiding emollient absorption, reducing infection, and alleviating pruritus. The reason for this may rely on the low quality of supporting evidence and negative effect that antimicrobial agents may exert on skin microbiome, as for example additional irritation of the vulnerable skin, and by causing resistant bacteria. Several antimicrobial agents have been tested in textiles: quaternary ammonium compounds, silver, polyhexamethylene-biguanides and triclosan have been used, with success. They have powerful bactericidal activity but the majority have a reduce spectrum of microbial inhibition and may cause skin irritation, ecotoxicity and bacteria resistance. Furthermore, the rising flow of strains resistant to last-resort antibiotics rekindles interest in alternative strategies. In this regard, new functional textiles incorporating highly specific antimicrobial agents towards pathogenic bacteria, are required. Recent research has been conducted on naturally occurring antimicrobials as novel alternatives to antibiotics. Conscious of this need our team firstly reported new approaches using L-cysteine and antimicrobial peptides (AMP). Briefly, we were able to develop different immobilization processes towards 6 Log Reduction against bacteria such as S. aureus and K. pneumoniae. Therefore, here we present several innovative antimicrobial textiles incorporating AMP and L-Cysteine which may open new avenues for the medical textiles market and biomaterials in general. Team references will be discussed as an overview and for comparison purposes in terms of potential therapeutic applications.

Keywords: Antimicrobials, Antimicrobial Textiles, Biomedical Textiles, Biomimetic surface functionalization

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Authors: Aslihan Caliskan

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The term Mediterranean comes from the Latin “mediterraneus” (Medius, "middle" plus Terra, "land, earth"). For the ancient Romans, the Mediterranean was the center of the earth as they knew it. The desire to gain control of the Mediterranean has led to disputes between many nations throughout history, some of which continue to this day. The recent major natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean have aggravated ongoing tensions in some neighboring countries. The sea border dispute between Turkey and Greece & Greek-Cypriot side is one of the most critical conflicts in the Mediterranean Sea region. This unresolved dispute has many implications for all countries involved, as well as for third parties that have direct or indirect interests in the region. The research question of this context is what are the implications of this controversial sea border problem on the maritime security of Turkey and its military spending. In this paper, the quantitative method is used. Records from the Turkish Defense Ministry, data from the Turkish naval forces have been obtained. In addition, literature research and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) application cases were evaluated, and an incident analysis was carried out. This research shows that the sea border dispute issue has a significant impact on the Turkish military both in terms of the structures required to ensure maritime and border security, as well as rising military costs and its macroeconomic implications. The paper begins with a brief overview of relevant principles and methods applied for delimiting th esea borders. The paper continues with a brief description and a background of the sea border dispute between Turkey and Greece & Greek-Cypriot side in the light of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). An analysis of the implications of the dispute on Turkey’s maritime security and its military spending is provided in the following chapters. The paper ends with concluding remarks of the author, including suggestions for the way forward.

Keywords: sea border security, mediterranean sea, greece-turkey dispute, limitation of sea, united nations convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS)

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Authors: Guillaume Mullier, Jean François Chatelain

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Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRPs) are widely used for advanced applications, in particular in aerospace, automotive and wind energy industries. Once cured to near net shape, CFRP parts need several finishing operations such as trimming, milling or drilling in order to accommodate fastening hardware and meeting the final dimensions. The present research aims to study the effect of the cutting temperature in trimming on the mechanical strength of high performance CFRP laminates used for aeronautics applications. The cutting temperature is of great importance when dealing with trimming of CFRP. Temperatures higher than the glass-transition temperature (Tg) of the resin matrix are highly undesirable: they cause degradation of the matrix in the trimmed edges area, which can severely affect the mechanical performance of the entire component. In this study, a 9.50 mm diameter CVD diamond coated carbide tool with six flutes was used to trim 24-plies CFRP laminates. A 300 m/min cutting speed and 1140 mm/min feed rate were used in the experiments. The tool was heated prior to trimming using a blowtorch, for temperatures ranging from 20°C to 300°C. The temperature at the cutting edge was measured using embedded K-Type thermocouples. Samples trimmed for different cutting temperatures, below and above Tg, were mechanically tested using three-points bending short-beam loading configurations. New cutting tools as well as worn cutting tools were utilized for the experiments. The experiments with the new tools could not prove any correlation between the length of cut, the cutting temperature and the mechanical performance. Thus mechanical strength was constant, regardless of the cutting temperature. However, for worn tools, producing a cutting temperature rising up to 450°C, thermal damage of the resin was observed. The mechanical tests showed a reduced mean resistance in short beam configuration, while the resistance in three point bending decreases with increase of the cutting temperature.

Keywords: composites, trimming, thermal damage, surface quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 318

Authors: David Ahiamadia, Ramilan Thiagarajah, Peter Tozer

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In Sub Saharan Africa, farm typologies have been used as a practical way to address heterogeneity among farming systems which is mostly done by grouping farms into subsets with similar characteristics. Due to the complexity in farming systems among farm households, it is not possible to formulate policy recommendations for individual farmers. As a result, this study employs a multivariate statistical approach using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) coupled with cluster analysis to reduce heterogeneity in a 615-household data set from the Africa Rising Baseline Evaluation Survey for 25 farming communities in Northern Ghana. Variables selected for the study were mostly socio-economic, production potential, production intensity, production orientation, crop diversity, food security, resource endowments, and climate risk variables. To avoid making some individuals in the subpopulation worse off when aclimate risk intervention is broadly implemented, the findings of the study also account for diversity in climate risk perception among the different farm types identified and their response strategies towards climate risk. The climate risk variables used in this study involve the most severeclimate shock types perceived by the household, household response to climate shock type, and reason for crop failure (i.e., maize, rice, and groundnut). Eventually, four farm types, each with an adequate level of homogeneity in climate risk perception and response strategies, were identified. Farm type 1 and 3 were wealthy with a lower degree of climate risk perception compared to farm type 2 and 4. Also, relatively wealthy farmers used asset liquidation as a climate risk management strategy, whereas poor farmers resorted to engaging in spiritual activities such as prayers, sacrifices, and divine consultations.

Keywords: smallholder, households, climate risk, variables, typologies

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Durga Toshniwal, Lokesh Agrawal

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As the web continues to play an increasing role in information exchange, and conducting daily activities, computer users have become the target of miscreants which infects hosts with malware or adware for financial gains. Unfortunately, even a single visit to compromised web site enables the attacker to detect vulnerabilities in the user’s applications and force the downloading of multitude of malware binaries. We provide an approach to effectively scan the so-called drive-by downloads on the Internet. Drive-by downloads are result of URLs that attempt to exploit their visitors and cause malware to be installed and run automatically. To scan the web for malicious pages, the first step is to use a crawler to collect URLs that live on the Internet, and then to apply fast prefiltering techniques to reduce the amount of pages that are needed to be examined by precise, but slower, analysis tools (such as honey clients or antivirus programs). Although the technique is effective, it requires a substantial amount of resources. A main reason is that the crawler encounters many pages on the web that are legitimate and needs to be filtered. In this paper, to characterize the nature of this rising threat, we present implementation of a web crawler on Python, an approach to search the web more efficiently for pages that are likely to be malicious, filtering benign pages and passing remaining pages to antivirus program for detection of malwares. Our approaches starts from an initial seed of known, malicious web pages. Using these seeds, our system generates search engines queries to identify other malicious pages that are similar to the ones in the initial seed. By doing so, it leverages the crawling infrastructure of search engines to retrieve URLs that are much more likely to be malicious than a random page on the web. The results shows that this guided approach is able to identify malicious web pages more efficiently when compared to random crawling-based approaches.

Keywords: web crawler, malwares, seeds, drive-by-downloads, security

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Authors: Akim Borbuev, Francisco de León

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Economic and population growth in densely-populated urban areas introduce major challenges to distribution system operators, planers, and designers. To supply added loads, utilities are frequently forced to invest in new distribution feeders. However, this is becoming increasingly more challenging due to space limitations and rising installation costs in urban settings. This paper proposes the conversion of critical alternating current (ac) distribution feeders into direct current (dc) feeders to increase the power transfer capacity by a factor as high as four. Current trends suggest that the return of dc transmission, distribution, and utilization are inevitable. Since a total system-level transformation to dc operation is not possible in a short period of time due to the needed huge investments and utility unreadiness, this paper recommends that feeders that are expected to exceed their limits in near future are converted to dc. The increase in power transfer capacity is achieved through several key differences between ac and dc power transmission systems. First, it is shown that underground cables can be operated at higher dc voltage than the ac voltage for the same dielectric stress in the insulation. Second, cable sheath losses, due to induced voltages yielding circulation currents, that can be as high as phase conductor losses under ac operation, are not present under dc. Finally, skin and proximity effects in conductors and sheaths do not exist in dc cables. The paper demonstrates that in addition to the increased power transfer capacity utilities substituting ac feeders by dc feeders could benefit from significant lower costs and reduced losses. Installing dc feeders is less expensive than installing new ac feeders even when new trenches are not needed. Case studies using the IEEE 342-Node Low Voltage Networked Test System quantify the technical and economic benefits of dc feeders.

Keywords: DC power systems, distribution feeders, distribution networks, power transfer capacity

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Authors: Varsha Kheradiya, Ganga Prasad Pandey

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The use of wearable antennas is rising because wireless devices become small. The wearable antenna is part of clothes used in communication applications, including energy harvesting, medical application, navigation, and tracking. In current years, Antennas embroidered on clothes, conducting antennas based on fabric, polymer embedded antennas, and inkjet-printed antennas are all attractive ways. Also shows the analysis required for wearable antennas, such as wearable antennae interacting with the human body. The primary requirements for the antenna are small size, low profile minimizing radiation absorption by the human body, high efficiency, structural integrity to survive worst situations, and good gain. Therefore, research in energy harvesting, biomedicine, and military application design is increasingly favoring flexible wearable antennas. Textile materials that are effectively used for designing and developing wearable antennas for body area networks. The wireless body area network is primarily concerned with creating effective antenna systems. The antenna should reduce their size, be lightweight, and be adaptable when integrated into clothes. When antennas integrate into clothes, it provides a convenient alternative to those fabricated using rigid substrates. This paper presents a study of U slot loaded wearable textile antenna. U slot patch antenna design is illustrated for wideband from 1GHz to 6 GHz using textile material jeans as substrate and pure copper polyester taffeta fabric as conducting material. This antenna design exhibits dual band results for WLAN at 2.4 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequencies. Also, study U slot position horizontal and vertical shifting. Shifting the horizontal positive X-axis position of the U slot produces the third band at 5.8 GHz.

Keywords: microstrip patch antenna, textile material, U slot wearable antenna, wireless body area network

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Authors: Reyhan Azeriansyah, Yudo Prasetyo, Bambang Darmo Yuwono

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Land subsidence is one of the problems that occur in the coastal areas of Java Island, one of which is the Semarang and Demak areas located in the northern region of Central Java. The impact of sea erosion, rising sea levels, soil structure vulnerable and economic development activities led to both these areas often occurs on land subsidence. To know how much land subsidence that occurred in the region needs to do the monitoring carried out by remote sensing methods such as PS-InSAR method. PS-InSAR is a remote sensing technique that is the development of the DInSAR method that can monitor the movement of the ground surface that allows users to perform regular measurements and monitoring of fixed objects on the surface of the earth. PS InSAR processing is done using Standford Method of Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS). Same as the recent analysis technique, Persistent Scatterer (PS) InSAR addresses both the decorrelation and atmospheric problems of conventional InSAR. StaMPS identify and extract the deformation signal even in the absence of bright scatterers. StaMPS is also applicable in areas undergoing non-steady deformation, with no prior knowledge of the variations in deformation rate. In addition, this method can also cover a large area so that the decline in the face of the land can cover all coastal areas of Semarang and Demak. From the PS-InSAR method can be known the impact on the existing area in Semarang and Demak region per year. The PS-InSAR results will also be compared with the GPS monitoring data to determine the difference in land decline that occurs between the two methods. By utilizing remote sensing methods such as PS-InSAR method, it is hoped that the PS-InSAR method can be utilized in monitoring the land subsidence and can assist other survey methods such as GPS surveys and the results can be used in policy determination in the affected coastal areas of Semarang and Demak.

Keywords: coastal area, Demak, land subsidence, PS-InSAR, Semarang, StaMPS

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Authors: Aneesh Mathew, Arunab K. S., Atul Kumar Sharma

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The uncontrolled rise in population has led to unplanned, swift, and unsustainable urban expansion, causing detrimental environmental impacts on both local and global ecosystems. This research delves into a comprehensive examination of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India. It centers on the spatial and temporal distribution of UHI and its correlation with air pollutants. Conducted across summer and winter seasons from 2001 to 2021 in Bangalore and Hyderabad, this study discovered that UHI intensity varies seasonally, peaking in summer and decreasing in winter. The annual maximum UHI intensities range between 4.65 °C to 6.69 °C in Bengaluru and 5.74 °C to 6.82 °C in Hyderabad. Bengaluru particularly experiences notable fluctuations in average UHI intensity. Introducing the Urban Thermal Field Variance Index (UTFVI), the study indicates a consistent strong UHI effect in both cities, significantly impacting living conditions. Moreover, hotspot analysis demonstrates a rising trend in UHI-affected areas over the years in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. This research underscores the connection between air pollutant concentrations and land surface temperature (LST), highlighting the necessity of comprehending UHI dynamics for urban environmental management and public health. It contributes to a deeper understanding of UHI patterns in swiftly urbanizing areas, providing insights into the intricate relationship between urbanization, climate, and air quality. These findings serve as crucial guidance for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers, facilitating the development of innovative, sustainable strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of uncontrolled expansion while promoting the well-being of local communities and the global environment.

Keywords: urban heat island effect, land surface temperature, air pollution, urban thermal field variance index

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Authors: Sonia Besbes, Mahmoud El Hajem, Habib Ben Aissia, Jean Yves Champagne, Jacques Jay

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In this work, we present a computational study for the characterization of the flow in a rectangular bubble column. To simulate the dynamic characteristics of the flow, a three-dimensional transient numerical simulations based on a coupled discrete phase model (DPM) and Volume of Fluid (VOF) model are performed. Modeling of bubble column reactor is often carried out under the assumption of a flat liquid surface with a degassing boundary condition. However, the dynamic behavior of the top surface surmounting the liquid phase will to some extent influence the meandering oscillations of the bubble plume. Therefore it is important to capture the surface behavior, and the assumption of a flat surface may not be applicable. So, the modeling approach needs to account for a dynamic liquid surface induced by the rising bubble plume. The volume of fluid (VOF) model was applied for the liquid and top gas which both interacts with bubbles implemented with a discrete phase model. This model treats the bubbles as Lagrangian particles and the liquid and the top gas as Eulerian phases with a sharp interface. Two-way coupling between Eulerian phases and Lagrangian bubbles are accounted for in a single set continuous phase momentum equation for the mixture of the two Eulerian phases. The effect of gas flow rate on the dynamic and time-averaged flow properties was studied. The time averaged liquid velocity field predicted from simulations and from our previous PIV measurements shows that the liquid is entrained up flow in the wake of the bubbles and down flow near the walls. The simulated and measured vertical velocity profiles exhibit a reasonable agreement looking at the minimum velocity values near the walls and the maximum values at the column center.

Keywords: bubble column, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), coupled DPM and VOF model, hydrodynamics

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Authors: Chakrit Chotamonsak

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This study was analyzed changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in northern Thailand for the period 1981-2011.The study includes an analysis of the average and trends of changes in temperature and precipitation using 22 climate indices, related to the intensity, frequency and duration of extreme climate events. The results showed that the averaged trend of maximum, minimum and mean temperature is likely to increase over the study area in rate of 0.5, 0.9 and 0.7 °C in last 30 years. Changes in temperature at nighttime, then rising at a rate higher daytime is resulting to decline of diurnal temperature range throughout the area. Trend of changes in average precipitation during the year 1981-2011 is expected to increase at an average rate of 21%. The intensity of extreme temperature events is increasing almost all station. In particular, the changes of the night were unusually hot has intensified throughout the region. In some provinces such as Chiang Mai and Lampang are likely be faced with the severity of hot days and hot nights in increasing rate. Frequency of extreme temperature events are likely to increase each station, especially hot days, and hot nights are increasing at a rate of 2.38 and 3.58 days per decade. Changes in the cold days and cold nights are declining at a rate of 0.82 and 3.03 days per decade. The duration of extreme temperature events is expected to increase the events hot in every station. An average of 17.8 days per decade for the number of consecutive cold winter nights likely shortens the rate of 2.90 days per decade. The analysis of the precipitation indices reveals the intensity of extreme precipitation is increasing almost across the region. The intensify expressed the heavy rain in one day (Rx1day) and very heavy rain accumulated in 5 days (RX5day) which is likely to increase, and very heavy rainfall is likely to increase in intensity. Frequency of extreme precipitation events is likely to increase over the station. The average frequency of heavy precipitation events increased xxx days per decade. The duration of extreme precipitation events, such as the consecutive dry days are likely to reduce the numbers almost all station while the consecutive wet days tends to increase and decrease at different numbers in different areas.

Keywords: climate extreme, temperature extreme, precipitation extreme, Northern Thailand

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Authors: Edwina Owusu Panin, Kwame Baah Owusu Panin

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This abstract intends to demonstrate multiple strategies of autism management in Ghana by exploring the possibilities. The advantages of adopting creative art forms as a therapeutic method. Autism is a developmental disorder that includes social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviours. In Ghana, as in many other countries, there is a rising demand for effective intervention and support for people with autism and their families. Creative arts such as music, dance, drama and visual arts have shown promise in promoting communication, social interaction and inclusion of people with autism. These art forms provide alternative channels for self-expression and can be powerful tools for autistic people to interact with the world, their friends and families around them. Creative art forms interventions have been found to improve social skills, improve emotion regulation, promote creativity and increase self-confidence in people with autism. This study examines existing programs and interventions in Ghana involving creative art forms for people with autism through a comparative analysis. It explores the different approaches, methods and results of these interventions. By comparing and evaluating these programs, the study aims to identify best practices, challenges and areas for development in managing autism through the creative arts in Ghana. Although many schools and rehabilitation centres employ various forms in therapeutic approaches for autism. There is no comparative analysis of which type of autism and which creative art forms is suitable. The results of this study will contribute to the development of evidence-based practices for the management of autism in Ghana. It provides valuable information about the effectiveness of creative arts interventions and helps inform policy makers, educators, therapists and other stakeholders involved in autism support. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the well-being and quality of life of people with autism in Ghana and their families by promoting inclusive and accessible interventions that harness the power of creative art forms.

Keywords: autism, therapeutic, creative art, art form

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Authors: Siqin Wang, Jonathan Corcoran, Yan Liu, Thomas Sigler

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Australia is a quintessentially immigrant nation with 28 percent of its residents being foreign-born. By 2011, People’s Republic of China (PRC) overtook the United Kingdom to become the largest source country in Australia. Significantly, the profile of PRC-born migrants has changed to mirror broader global shifts towards high-skilled labour, education-related, and investment-focussed migration, all of which reflect an increasing trend in the mobility of wealthy and/or educated cohorts. Together, these coalesce to form a more complex pattern of migrant settlement –both spatially and socio-economically. This paper focuses on the PRC-born migration, redresses these lacunae, with regard to the settlement outcomes of PRC migrants to Australia, with a particular focus on spatial evolution and residential mobility at both the metropolitan and national scales. By drawing on Census Data and migration Micro Datasets, the aim of this paper is to examine the shifting dynamics of PRC-born migrants in Australian capital cities to unveil their socioeconomic characteristics, residential patterns and change of spatial concentrations during their transition into the new host society. This paper finds out three general patterns in the residential evolution of PRC-born migrants depending on the size of capital cities where they settle down, as well as the association of socio-economic characters with the formation of enclaves. It also examines the residential mobility across states and cities from 2001 to 2011 indicating the rising status of median-size Australian capital cities for receiving PRC-born migrants. The paper concludes with a discussion of evidences for policy formation, facilitates the effective transition of PRC-born populations into the mainstream of host society and enhances social harmony to help Australia become a more successful multicultural nation.

Keywords: Australia, Chinese migrants, residential mobility, spatial evolution

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Authors: Mounir Azzam, Valerie Graw, Andreas Rienow

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The Syrian war, which commenced in 2011, has resulted in significant changes in the real estate market in the Damascus metropolitan area, with rising levels of insecurity and disputes over tenure rights. The quest for spatial justice is, therefore, imperative, and this study performs a spatiotemporal analysis to investigate the impact of the war on real estate differentiation. Using the hedonic price models including 2,411 housing transactions over the period 2010-2022, this study aims to understand the spatial dynamics of the real estate market in wartime. Our findings indicate that war variables have had a significant impact on the differentiation and depreciation of property prices. Notably, property attributes have a more substantial impact on real estate values than district location, with severely damaged buildings in Damascus city resulting in an 89% decline in prices, while prices in Rural Damascus districts have decreased by 50%. Additionally, this study examines the urban texture of Damascus using correlation and homogeneity statistics derived from the gray-level co-occurrence matrix obtained from Google Earth Engine. We monitored 250 samples from hedonic datasets within three different years of the Syrian war (2015, 2019, and 2022). Our findings show that correlation values were highly differentiated, particularly among Rural Damascus districts, with a total decline of 87.2%. While homogeneity values decreased overall between 2015 and 2019, they improved slightly after 2019. The findings have valuable implications, not only for investment prospects in setting up a successful reconstruction strategy but also for spatial justice of property rights in strongly encouraging sustainable real estate development.

Keywords: hedonic price, real estate differentiation, reconstruction strategy, spatial justice, urban texture analysis

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Authors: Debit Datta, Jeffrey J. Coleman, Scott A. Enebak, Lori G. Eckhardt

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Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is a leading productive timber species in the southeastern USA. Over the past three years, an emerging threat is expressed by successive needle defoliation followed by stunted growth and tree mortality in loblolly pine plantations. Considering economic significance, it has now become a rising concern among landowners, forest managers, and forest health state cooperators. However, the symptoms of the disease were perplexed somewhat with root disease(s) and recurrently attributed to invasive Phytophthora species due to the similarity of disease nature and devastation. Therefore, the study investigated the potential causal agent of this disease and characterized the fungi associated with loblolly pine needle defoliation in the southeastern USA. Besides, 70 trees were selected at seven long-term monitoring plots at Chatom, Alabama, to monitor and record the annual disease incidence and severity. Based on colony morphology and ITS-rDNA sequence data, a total of 28 species of fungi representing 17 families have been recovered from diseased loblolly pine needles. The native brown-spot pathogen, Lecanosticta acicola, was the species most frequently recovered from unhealthy loblolly pine needles in combination with some other common needle cast and rust pathogen(s). Identification was confirmed using morphological similarity and amplification of translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene region of interest. Tagged trees were consistently found chlorotic and defoliated from 2019 to 2020. The current emergence of the brown-spot pathogen causing loblolly pine mortality necessitates the investigation of the role of changing climatic conditions, which might be associated with increased pathogen pressure to loblolly pines in the southeastern USA.

Keywords: brown-spot needle blight, loblolly pine, needle defoliation, plantation forestry

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Authors: Tesleem Adewale Ibrahim

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Introduction: The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been slowly rising in Nigeria for the past few decades. Therefore, novel classes of antibiotics are indispensable to combat the increased incidence of newly emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria like MRSA. Plants have been commonly used in popular medicine of most cultures for the treatment of disease. The in vitro antibacterial activity of some Nigerian common medicinal plants used in traditional medicine has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial and anti-biofilm of these native plants (Entada abysinnica (leaves), Croton macrostachyus (leaves), Bridelia speciosa (seeds, bark), and Aframomum melegueta (leaves, seeds, and stem) collected in Southwestern Nigeria against a panel of seven biofilm-forming MRSA. Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the plant extracts against MRSA were determined by the broth dilution method, and the anti-biofilm assay of the most potent plant extract was performed. Result: The results revealed that, of the four plants, water extracts of leaves of Entada abysinnica, leaves of Croton macrostachyus, seeds and bark Bridelia speciosa, and seeds of Aframomum melegueta exhibited significant antibacterial activity. Based on the MIC/MBC ratio, the extracts of these plants were determined to be bacteriostatic in nature. Anti-biofilm assay showed that the extract of seeds of Aframomum melegueta and leaves of Croton macrostachyus fairly inhibited the growth of MRSA in the preformed biofilm matrix. Conclusion: These four medicinal plant species may represent a source of alternative drugs derived from plant extracts based on folklore use and ethnobotanical knowledge from southwest Nigeria.

Keywords: extract, MRSA, antibacterial, biofilm, medicinal plants

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