Search results for: long distance

Authors: Neha Babbar, S. Van Roy, W. Dejonghe, S. Sforza, K. Elst

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Pectic oligosaccharides (a class of prebiotics) are non-digestible carbohydrates which benefits the host by stimulating the growth of healthy gut micro flora. Production of prebiotic pectic oligosaccharides (POS) from pectin rich agricultural residues involves a cutting of long chain polymer of pectin to oligomers of pectin while avoiding the formation of monosaccharides. The objective of the present study is to develop a two-step continuous biocatalytic membrane reactor (MER) for the continuous production of POS (from sugar beet pulp) in which conversion is combined with separation. Optimization of the ratio of POS/monosaccharides, stability and productivities of the process was done by testing various residence times (RT) in the reactor vessel with diluted (10 RT, 20 RT, and 30 RT) and undiluted (30 RT, 40 RT and 60 RT) substrate. The results show that the most stable processes (steady state) were 20 RT and 30 RT for diluted substrate and 40 RT and 60 RT for undiluted substrate. The highest volumetric and specific productivities of 20 g/L/h and 11 g/gE/h; 17 g/l/h and 9 g/gE/h were respectively obtained with 20 RT (diluted substrate) and 40 RT (undiluted substrate). Under these conditions, the permeates of the reactor test with 20 RT (diluted substrate) consisted of 80 % POS fractions while that of 40 RT (undiluted substrate) resulted in 70% POS fractions. A two-step continuous biocatalytic MER for the continuous POS production looks very promising for the continuous production of tailor made POS. Although both the processes i.e 20 RT (diluted substrate) and 40 RT (undiluted substrate) gave the best results, but for an Industrial application it is preferable to use an undiluted substrate.

Keywords: pectic oligosaccharides, membrane reactor, residence time, specific productivity, volumetric productivity

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Authors: Anshu Radha Aggarwal

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As per the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, every child in the age group of 6-14 years shall be admitted in a neighborhood school. All the Out of School Children identified have to be enrolled / mainstreamed in to age appropriate class and there-after be provided special training. This paper addresses issues emerging from provisions in the RTE Act that specifically refer to the enrolment of out-of school children into age appropriate classes and the requirement to provide special trainings that will enable this to take place. In the context of RTE Act, the Out-of-School Children are first enrolled in the formal school and then they are provided with Special Training through NRSTCs (Long Term / Short term basis). These centers are functioning in formal school campus itself. This paper specifies the role of special training centers (STC). It presents a re-envisioning of assessment that recognizes two principal functions of assessment, assessment for learning and assessment of learning, instead of the more familiar categories of formative, diagnostic, summative, and evaluative assessment. The use of these two functions of assessment highlights and emphasizes the role of special training centers (STC) to assess their level for giving them appropriate special training and to evaluate their improvement in learning level. Challenge of problem faced by teachers to do diagnostic assessment, including its place in the sequence of assessment procedures appropriate in identifying and addressing individual children’s learning difficulties are solved by special training centers (STC). It is important that assessment is used to identify children with learning difficulties at the earliest possible stage so that appropriate support and intervention can be put in place. So appropriate challenges with tools are presented here for their assessment at entry level and at completion level of primary children by special training centers (STC).

Keywords: right to education, assessment, challenges, out of school children

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Authors: Hamed Movahedizadeh, Annuar Md Nassir, Mehdi Karimimalayer, Navid Samimi Sedeh, Ehsan Bagherpour

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The aim of this paper is to evaluate Tehran’s Stock Exchange (TSE) performance regarding with impact of four macroeconomic factors including world crude Oil Price (OP), World Gold Price (GP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) and total Supplied Oil by Iran (SO) from January 2006 to December 2012 that Iran faced with economic and oil sanctions. Iran's exports of crude oil and lease condensate reduced to roughly 1.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2012, compared to 2.5 million bbl/d in 2011 due to hard sanctions. Monthly data are collected and subjected to a battery of tests through ordinary least square by EViews7. This study found that gold price and oil price are positively correlated with stock returns while total oil supplied and consumer price index have negative relationship with stock index, however, consumer price index tends to become insignificant in stock index. While gold price and consumer price index have short run relationship with TSE index at 10% of significance level this amount for oil price is significant at 5% and there is no significant short run relationship between supplied oil and Tehran stock returns. Moreover, this study found that all macroeconomic factors have long-run relationship with Tehran Stock Exchange Index.

Keywords: consumer price index, gold price, macroeconomic, oil price, sanction, stock market, supplied oil

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Authors: Seyed Mohsen Samaei, Shirley Gato-Trinidad

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A pre-treatment stage prior to reverse osmosis (RO) is very important to ensure the long-term performance of the RO membranes in any wastewater treatment using RO. This study aims to evaluate the application of the Actiflo^® clarifier as part of a pre-treatment unit in mining operations. It involves performing analytical testing on RO feed water before and after installation of Actiflo^® unit. Water samples prior to RO plant stage were obtained on different dates from Costerfield mining operations in Victoria, Australia. Tests were conducted in an independent laboratory to determine the concentration of various compounds in RO feed water before and after installation of Actiflo^® unit during the entire evaluated period from December 2015 to June 2018. Water quality analysis shows that the quality of RO feed water has remarkably improved since installation of Actiflo^® clarifier. Suspended solids (SS) and turbidity removal efficiencies has been improved by 91 and 85 percent respectively in pre-treatment system since the installation of Actiflo^®. The Actiflo^® clarifier proved to be a valuable part of pre-treatment system prior to RO. It has the potential to conveniently condition the mining wastewater prior to RO unit, and reduce the risk of RO physical failure and irreversible fouling. Consequently, reliable and durable operation of RO unit with minimum requirement for RO membrane replacement is expected with Actiflo^® in use.

Keywords: ACTIFLO ® clarifier, mining wastewater, reverse osmosis, water treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Barbara Ballan

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Environmental Justice (EJ) and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) are trending terms used to address the impacts of corporate actions and environmental and social regulations on the people and the planet. ESG is a private governance invention (though increasingly required by public law) that aims to disclose environmental and social criteria while fostering value for businesses. On the other hand, EJ was borne as a social movement that evolved into a regulatory tool employed by EJ advocates and governmental agencies to assess inequalities in environmental impacts and regulations. However, EJ usage is expanding, and private environmental governance in the form of ESG disclosure frameworks is incorporating EJ criteria, indexes, and tools as part of its metric-driven approach. There is an existing tension between (1) the notion of social justice at the heart of the environmental justice movement and (2) the nature of for-profit corporations which generate value by externalizing costs, translated to environmental injustices. This study aims to explore the paradoxical relation of ESG, including EJ criteria, despite their opposing notions, in response to the need for innovative mechanisms to address today’s pressing social and environmental challenges. To that end, this study will evaluate and critically assess the inclusion of EJ in ESG reporting. Furthermore, it identifies gaps in ESG frameworks and proposes the integration of EJ tools to address these deficiencies. This work is intended to help both businesses looking to expand their ESG frameworks and include EJ criteria to inform corporate decisions and assure long-term corporate viability, as well as EJ supporters in understanding the complex dynamic of ESG disclosure for the pursuit of EJ objectives.

Keywords: environmental justice, ESG, sustainability reporting, corporate law, environmental law, social justice

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Authors: Anisul Islam

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The U.S. has a very strong trade relationship with China but with a large and persistent trade deficit. Some has argued that the undervalued Chinese Yuan is to be blamed for the persistent trade deficit. The empirical results are mixed at best. This paper empirically estimates the U.S. export function along with the U.S. import function with its trade with China with the purpose of testing for the existence of the Marshall-Lerner (ML) condition as well for the possible existence of the J-curve hypothesis. Annual export and import data will be utilized for as long as the time series data exists. The export and import functions will be estimated using advanced econometric techniques, along with appropriate diagnostic tests performed to examine the validity and reliability of the estimated results. The annual time-series data covers from 1975 to 2022 with a sample size of 48 years, the longest period ever utilized before in any previous study. The data is collected from several sources, such as the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, IMF Financial Statistics, IMF Direction of Trade Statistics, and several other sources. The paper is expected to shed important light on the ongoing debate regarding the persistent U.S. trade deficit with China and the policies that may be useful to reduce such deficits over time. As such, the paper will be of great interest for the academics, researchers, think tanks, global organizations, and policy makers in both China and the U.S.

Keywords: exports, imports, marshall-lerner condition, j-curve hypothesis, united states, china

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Sara Iqbal

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Introduction:Renal transplant is increasingly one of the most popular transplants within the UK; with an aging population along with obesity epidemic we are witnessing increasing rates of diabetes – one of the commonest indications for renal transplant. However, the demand is far greater than supply. Many donors are provided by women of child-bearing age; however the long-term effects are still uncertain. Aim:Determine pregnancy outcomes and complications of women of child-bearing age following renal donation. Methods: A review of the current available literature was preformed using MEDLINE and EMBASE up to 2014. Search criteria included key terms such as pregnancy outcome post-renal donor, pregnancy outcomes and complications. Relevant articles were selected based on pure methodological medical research, after careful analysis, they were recorded within this review. Results: Out of 1141 women involved in transplant studies, 574 pregnancies reported having donated a single-renal donor prior to pregnancy. Of which a staggering miscarriage rate 32.4% (n=186) was reported, amongst this other complications included gestational hypertension of 10% (n=59) and gestational diabetes 2.3% (n=13). Other significantly noted complications included chronic hypertension, low-birth weights, and pregnancy-related death. Conclusions: After unilateral renal donor transplant, haemodynamics change along with pregnancy, predisposing women to developing several complications compared to pregnancies with no history any renal-donor transplant. Despite this, further investigation is required in order to accurately determine the safety of renal-donors in women of child-bearing age.

Keywords: renal transplant, pregnancy, complications, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Arfan Ali, Idrees Ahmad Nasir

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Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an important cash crop and popular vegetable in Pakistan and throughout the world. Cold storage of potatoes accelerates the conversion of starch into reduced sugars (glucose and fructose). This process causes dry mass and bitter taste in the potatoes that are not acceptable to end consumers. In the current study, the phosphofructokinase B gene was cloned into the pET-30 vector for protein expression and the pCambia-1301 vector for plant expression. Amplification of a 930bp product from an E. coli strain determined the successful isolation of the phosphofructokinase B gene. Restriction digestion using NcoI and BglII along with the amplification of the 930bp product using gene specific primers confirmed the successful cloning of the PfkB gene in both vectors. The protein was expressed as a His-PfkB fusion protein. Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of the 35 Kda PfkB protein when hybridized with anti-His antibodies. The construct Fani-01 was evaluated transiently using a histochemical gus assay. The appearance of blue color in the agroinfiltrated area of potato leaves confirmed the successful expression of construct Fani-01. Further, the area displaying gus expression was evaluated for PfkB expression using ELISA. Moreover, PfkB gene expression evaluated through transient expression determined successful gene expression and highlighted its potential utilization for stable expression in potato to reduce sweetening due to long-term storage.

Keywords: potato, Solanum tuberosum, transformation, PfkB, anti-sweetening

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Authors: Ya-Ching Wang, Yi-Maun Subeq

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Background: There is a lack of evidence to understand differences in risk for developing breast cancer between sexual minority women and heterosexual women in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to compare differences in risk for developing breast cancer between the two groups of Taiwanese women. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. A total of 238 Taiwanese women (mean age 30.69 years old, SD=8.231, range 20-60) were recruited between December 2016 and February 2017, including 115 heterosexual women and 123 sexual minority women. Results: There were no significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in body mass index, history of non-malignant breast disease, age at menarche and menopause, use of hormone replacement therapy, use of hormone replacement therapy, nor the prevalence of breast cancer. The sexual minority women had higher rates of current drinking, smoking and using breast-bindings and also reported exercise more a week; the heterosexual women had higher rates of pregnancy, children, breastfeed, miscarriages, abortion and use of birth control pills. Discussion/Conclusion: There were significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in reproductive factors and behavioral risk factors for the development of breast cancer. In particular, the finding that the sexual minority women had higher rate of using breast-bindings (56.6%) than the heterosexual women (4.7%) should be further explore, in order to understand whether long-term breast compression is associated with the development of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, risk, sexual orientation, Taiwan

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Authors: Elkington Sibusiso Mnguni

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In South Africa, mining has been a key economic sector since the discovery of gold in 1886 in the Witwatersrand region, where the city of Johannesburg is located. However, some mines have since been decommissioned, and the continuous pumping of acid mine drainage (AMD) also stopped causing the AMD to rise towards the ground surface. This posed a serious environmental risk to the groundwater resources and river systems in the region. This paper documents the development and extent of the environmental damage as well as the measures implemented by the government to alleviate such damage. The study will add to the body of knowledge on the subject of AMD treatment to prevent environmental degradation. The method used to gather and collate relevant data and information was the desktop study. The key findings include the social and environmental impact of the AMD, which include the pollution of water sources for domestic use leading to skin and other health problems and the loss of biodiversity in some areas. It was also found that the technical intervention of constructing a plant to pump and treat the AMD using the high-density sludge technology was the most effective short-term solution available while a long-term solution was being explored. Some successes and challenges experienced during the implementation of the project are also highlighted. The study will be a useful record of the current status of the AMD treatment interventions in the region.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, groundwater resources, pollution, river systems, technical intervention, high density sludge

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Mary Esere, Mogbekeloluwa Fakokunde, Adetoun Idowu

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Background: Working in a military setting could elicit some amount of stressful doses into ones system because of the attendant peculiar characteristics found in the military environment. Thus, this study was carried out to find out the sources of occupational stress among teachers in various Command Secondary Schools within 2 Division of Nigerian Army. Method: The study employed a survey method. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the schools in the Division. A total of 200 respondents participated in the study. Sources of Teachers’ Occupational Stress Questionnaire (STOSQ) was administered to the respondents to collect relevant data. The t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics were used to test the hypotheses. Findings: From the study, it was discovered that teachers in this setting do experience occupational stress. Their major sources of stress bother on issues relating to salaries and allowances and staff welfare concerns. The findings also revealed that there were no significant differences in the sources of occupational stress among the teachers in respect to gender and marital status. Discussion: Based on these findings, it was recommended that the Appropriate Superior Authority (ASA) should reconstitute the proscribed Armed Forces Schools Management Board (AFSMB) where issues, such as staff salaries and welfare concerns for teachers working in the schools under the three services (Army, Navy, Airforce) will always be addressed. This will go a long way in enhancing the psychological well-being of the teachers.

Keywords: Nigerian army, occupational stress, sources, teachers

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Authors: Harshit Agrawal, Salman Muhammad

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Degradation to reinforced concrete (RC), primarily due to corrosion of embedded reinforcement, has been a major cause of concern worldwide. Among several ways to control corrosion, the use of coated reinforcement has gained significant interest in field applications. However, the choice of proper coating material and the effect of damage over coating are yet to be addressed for effective application of coated reinforcements. The present study aims to investigate and compare the performance of three different types of coated reinforcements —Fusion-Bonded Epoxy Coating (FBEC), Cement Polymer Composite Coating (CPCC), and Dual Zinc-Epoxy Coating (DZEC) —in concrete structures. The aim is to assess their corrosion resistance, durability, and overall effectiveness as coated reinforcement materials both in undamaged and simulated damaged conditions. Through accelerated corrosion tests, electrochemical analysis, and exposure to aggressive marine environments, the study evaluates the long-term performance of each coating system. This research serves as a crucial guide for engineers and construction professionals in selecting the most suitable corrosion protection for reinforced concrete, thereby enhancing the durability and sustainability of infrastructure.

Keywords: corrosion, reinforced concrete, coated reinforcement, seawater exposure, electrochemical analysis, service life, corrosion prevention

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: Gubiani Rino, Nicola Zucchiatti, Da Broi Ugo, Bietresato Marco

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The problem of vibrations in agriculture is very important due to the different types of machinery used for the different types of soil in which work is carried out. One of the most commonly used machines is the tractor, where the phenomenon has been studied for a long time by measuring the whole body and placing the sensor on the seat. However, this measurement system does not take into account the characteristics of the drivers, such as their body index (BMI), their gender (male, female) or the muscle fatigue they are subjected to, which is highly dependent on their age for example. The aim of the research was therefore to place sensors not only on the seat but along the spinal column to check the transmission of vibration on drivers with different BMI on different tractors and at different travel speeds and of different genders. The test was also done using wearable sensors such as a dynamometer applied to the muscles, the data of which was correlated with the vibrations produced by the tractor. Initial data show that even on new tractors with pneumatic seats, the vibrations attenuate little and are still correlated with the roughness of the track travelled and the forward speed. Another important piece of data are the root-mean square values referred to 8 hours (A(8)x,y,z) and the maximum transient vibration values (MTVVx,y,z) and, the latter, the MTVVz values were problematic (limiting factor in most cases) and always aggravated by the speed. The MTVVx values can be lowered by having a tyre-pressure adjustment system, able to properly adjust the tire pressure according to the specific situation (ground, speed) in which a tractor is operating.

Keywords: fatigue, effect vibration on health, tractor driver vibrations, vibration, muscle skeleton disorders

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Fahad Raj Khan, Suleman Khan

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There is a lack of consensus about the predictive value of raised blood glucose levels in terms of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in non-diabetic patients admitted for acute decompensated heart failure. The purpose of this research was to examine the long-term prognosis of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in non-diabetic persons who had increased blood glucose levels, i.e., stress hyperglycemia, at the time of their ADHF hospitalization. The research involved 650 non-diabetic patients. Based on their admission stress hyperglycemia, they were divided into two groups.ie with and without (SHGL). The two groups' one-year outcomes for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were compared, and key predictors of MACEs were discovered. For statistical analysis, the two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher's exact test, and binary logistic regression analysis were utilized. SHGL was found in 353 (54.3%) individuals. It was more frequent in men than in women. About 27% of patients with SHGL had previously been admitted for ADHF. Almost 62% were hypertensive, whereas 14 % had CKD. MACEs were significantly predicted by SHGL, HTN, prior hospitalization for ADHF, CKD, and cardiogenic shock upon admission. SHGL at the time of ADHF admission, independent of DM status, may be a predictive indication of MACEs.

Keywords: stress hyperglycemia, acute heart failure, major adverse cardiac events, MACEs

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Authors: Peyman Soltani, Mohammad Sadegh Amin Din

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The relation between religion and education has been considered for a long time. Approaching education through religion and sovereignty has been a kind of idealism in past centuries` educational systems and no opposition between religion and education has been felt. The doctrine of human education and training is mentioned in the Qur’an, as the most important reason of Prophet Mohammad ` first revelation, Verse 129 of Chapter Baqara, Verse 164 of Chapter Aali-ʻimraan and verse 2 of Chapter Jumʻah have addressed this issue. During Middle age, temples and mosques were engaged in children education. Religious materials have played an important role in the content of educational courses. In this era, the main goal of education was to study the religious books and behaving in society accordingly. Also in this training period, the European countries were considerably influenced by religion. Children in these countries were trained in churches and monasteries. Training and religion are closely connected with each other. It should be noted that experience and religious knowledge is a heart and emotional issue with no-imposition, therefore, the educational space should be designed in such a way that students, themselves, shift to experiencing some religious feelings. The important factors in Islamic Educational system are as follow: - Religious-based - Strengthening national identity - Authenticity of learner role 4- Importance of teacher` authority role. These factors are explained in Conceptual and intertwined network and in practical process, training each of them, proportional to student needs and conditions, can be the beginning of a course of religious education for students, and can strengthen other elements.

Keywords: education and training, Islamic educational system, the Qur'an, religious knowledge

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Authors: P. G. Siddheshwar, R. K. Vanishree, C. Kanchana

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A local nonlinear stability analysis using a eight-mode expansion is performed in arriving at the coupled amplitude equations for Rayleigh-Bénard-Brinkman convection (RBBC) in the presence of LTNE effects. Streamlines and isotherms are obtained in the two-dimensional unsteady finite-amplitude convection regime. The parameters’ influence on heat transport is found to be more pronounced at small time than at long times. Results of the Rayleigh-Bénard convection is obtained as a particular case of the present study. Additional modes are shown not to significantly influence the heat transport thus leading us to infer that five minimal modes are sufficient to make a study of RBBC. The present problem that uses rolls as a pattern of manifestation of instability is a needed first step in the direction of making a very general non-local study of two-dimensional unsteady convection. The results may be useful in determining the preferred range of parameters’ values while making rheometric measurements in fluids to ascertain fluid properties such as viscosity. The results of LTE are obtained as a limiting case of the results of LTNE obtained in the paper.

Keywords: coupled Ginzburg–Landau model, local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE), local thermal equilibrium (LTE), Rayleigh–Bénard-Brinkman convection

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Authors: Ali M. Subyani

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The increase in the greenhouse gas emission has had a severe impact on global climate change and is bound to affect the weather patterns worldwide. This climate change impacts are among the future significant effects on any society. Rainfall levels are drastically increasing with flash floods in some places and long periods of droughts in others, especially in arid regions. These extreme events are causes of interactions concerning environmental, socio-economic and cultural life and their implementation. This paper presents the detailed features of dry and wet spell durations and rainfall intensity series available (1971-2012) on daily basis for the Jeddah area, Western, Saudi Arabia. It also presents significant articles for combating the climate change impacts on this area. Results show trend changes in dry and wet spell durations and rainfall amount on daily, monthly and annual time series. Three rain seasons were proposed in this investigation: high rain, low rain, and dry seasons. It shows that the overall average dry spell durations is about 80 continuous days while the average wet spell durations is 1.39 days with an average rainfall intensity of 8.2 mm/day. Annual and seasonal autorun analyses confirm that the rainy seasons are tending to have more intense rainfall while the seasons are becoming drier. This study would help decision makers in future for water resources management and flood risk analysis.

Keywords: climate change, daily rainfall, dry and wet spill, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Nathalie Stephenne, Mathieu Veschkens, Stéphane Palm, Christophe Charlemagne, Jacques Defoux

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According to Europe’s first River basin Management Plans (RBMPs), 56% of European rivers failed to achieve the good status targets of the Water Framework Directive WFD. In Central European countries such as Belgium, even more than 80% of rivers failed to achieve the WFD quality targets. Although the RBMP’s should reduce the stressors and improve water body status, their potential to address multiple stress situations is limited due to insufficient knowledge on combined effects, multi-stress, prioritization of measures, impact on ecology and implementation effects. This paper describes a webGis prototype developed for the Walloon administration to improve the communication and the management of sediment dredging actions carried out in rivers and lakes in the frame of RBMPs. A large number of stakeholders are involved in the management of rivers and lakes in Wallonia. They are in charge of technical aspects (client and dredging operators, organizations involved in the treatment of waste…), management (managers involved in WFD implementation at communal, provincial or regional level) or policy making (people responsible for policy compliance or legislation revision). These different kinds of stakeholders need different information and data to cover their duties but have to interact closely at different levels. Moreover, information has to be shared between them to improve the management quality of dredging operations within the ecological system. In the Walloon legislation, leveling dredged sediments on banks requires an official authorization from the administration. This request refers to spatial information such as the official land use map, the cadastral map, the distance to potential pollution sources. The production of a collective geodatabase can facilitate the management of these authorizations from both sides. The proposed internet system integrates documents, data input, integration of data from disparate sources, map representation, database queries, analysis of monitoring data, presentation of results and cartographic visualization. A prototype of web application using the API geoviewer chosen by the Geomatic department of the SPW has been developed and discussed with some potential users to facilitate the communication, the management and the quality of the data. The structure of the paper states the why, what, who and how of this communication tool.

Keywords: sediments, web application, GIS, rivers management

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Authors: Azad Khalid, Sifa Dogan

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Because of its persistence in conventional treatment plants and broad prevalence in water bodies, the pharmaceutical chemical carbamazepine (CBZ) has been suggested as an anthropogenic marker to evaluate water quality. This study provides a thorough examination of the origins and occurrences of CBZ in water bodies, as well as the drug's toxicological effects and laws. Given CBZ's well-documented negative consequences on the human body when used medicinally, cautious monitoring in water is advised. CBZ residues in drinking water may enter embryos and newborns via intrauterine exposure or breast-feeding, causing congenital abnormalities and/or neurodevelopmental issues over time. The insufficiency of solo solutions was shown after an in-depth technical study of traditional and sophisticated treatment technologies. Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes are more successful at removing CBZ than traditional activated sludge and membrane bioreactor techniques. Recent research has shown that severe chemical cleaning, which is essential to prevent membrane fouling, may lower long-term removal efficiency. Furthermore, despite the efficacy of activated carbon adsorption and advanced oxidation processes, a few issues such as chemical cost and activated carbon renewal must be carefully examined. Individual technology constraints lead to the benefits of combined and hybrid systems, namely the heterogeneous advanced oxidation process.

Keywords: carbamazepine, occurrence, toxicity, conventical treatment, advanced oxidation process (AOPs)

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Authors: Mohammad Talei, Neda Ranjbar Nosheri, Reza Kazemi Gorzadini

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Today municipalities are searching for the new tools for increasing the public participation in different levels of urban planning. This approach of urban planning involves the community in planning process using participatory approaches instead of the long traditional top-down planning methods. These tools can be used to obtain the particular problems of urban furniture form the residents’ point of view. One of the tools that is designed with this goal is public participation GIS (PPGIS) that enables citizen to record and following up their feeling and spatial knowledge regarding main problems of the city, specifically urban furniture, in the form of maps. However, despite the good intentions of PPGIS, its practical implementation in developing countries faces many problems including the lack of basic supporting infrastructure and services and unavailability of sophisticated public participatory models. In this research we develop a PPGIS using of Web 2 to collect voluntary geodataand to perform spatial analysis based on Spatial OnLine Analytical Processing (SOLAP) and Spatial Data Mining (SDM). These tools provide urban planners with proper informationregarding the type, spatial distribution and the clusters of reported problems. This system is implemented in a case study area in Tehran, Iran and the challenges to make it applicable and its potential for real urban planning have been evaluated. It helps decision makers to better understand, plan and allocate scarce resources for providing most requested urban furniture.

Keywords: PPGIS, spatial information, urbanizing futures, urban planning

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Authors: Lu Anne A. Godinez, May Claudine I. Gador, Preacious G. Gumolon, Louiechi Von R. Mendoza, Neil Bryan N. Moninio

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Gender equality and women empowerment is the third of eight Millennium Development Goals. Understanding corruption’s linkages to gender equality issues and how it impacts women’s empowerment is part of the broader process of advancing women’s rights and understanding the gender dimensions of democratic governance. Taking a long view of political (corruption index) and the social (women empowerment) dimension — a view from 2015 to 2030, a context based forecast was conducted to forecast the ASEAN corruption index in the next 15 years, answering the question: “Does women political involvement decrease corruption rate index of ASEAN countries in the next 15 years?” The study have established that there will be an increase women political involvement in the ASEAN countries in the next 15 years that will cause a drop on corruption rate index. There will be a significant decline on corruption rate index in 2030. This change entails reform not only in the political aspect of progress, but to the social aspect as well. Finally, the political aspect is increasing at a constant rate however a double or triple increase of the social aspect is seen to be the key solution for corruption.

Keywords: women, women political involvement, corruption, gender equity index, economic participation, educational attainment, political empowerment, control of corruption, regulatory quality, rule of law, voice and accountability government effectiveness, political stability and corruption perception index

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Authors: Ibrahim Tiryakioglu, Mehmet Ali Ugur, Caglar Ozkaymak

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The development of GNSS technology has led to increasingly widespread and successful applications of GNSS surveys for monitoring crustal movements. However, multi-period GPS survey solutions have not been applied in monitoring vertical surface deformation. This study uses long-term GNSS time series that are required to determine vertical deformations. In recent years, the surface deformations that are parallel and semi-parallel to Bolvadin fault have occurred in Western Anatolia. These surface deformations have continued to occur in Bolvadin settlement area that is located mostly on alluvium ground. Due to these surface deformations, a number of cracks in the buildings located in the residential areas and breaks in underground water and sewage systems have been observed. In order to determine the amount of vertical surface deformations, two continuous GNSS stations have been established in the region. The stations have been operating since 2015 and 2017, respectively. In this study, GNSS observations from the mentioned two GNSS stations were processed with GAMIT/GLOBK (GNSS Analysis Massachusetts Institute of Technology/GLOBal Kalman) program package to create a coordinate time series. With the time series analyses, the GNSS stations’ behavior models (linear, periodical, etc.), the causes of these behaviors, and mathematical models were determined. The study results from the time series analysis of these two 2 GNSS stations shows approximately 50-80 mm/yr vertical movement.

Keywords: Bolvadin fault, GAMIT, GNSS time series, surface deformations

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Authors: Lin Peng, Jin Zhang, Yuanyuan Miao, Quanquan Zheng

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Group discussion and group decision-making have long been a topic of research interest. Traditional research on group decision making typically focuses on the strategies or functional models of combining members’ preferences to reach an optimal consensus. In this research, we want to explore natural process group decision making through discussion and examine relevant, influential factors--common superordinate identity shared by group and size of the groups. We manipulated the social identity of the groups into either a shared superordinate identity or different subgroup identities. We also manipulated the size to make it either a big (6-8 person) group or small group (3-person group). Using experimental methods, we found members of a superordinate identity group tend to modify more of their own opinions through the discussion, compared to those only identifying with their subgroups. Besides, members of superordinate identity groups also formed stronger identification with group decision--the results of group discussion than their subgroup peers. We also found higher member modification in bigger groups compared to smaller groups. Evaluations of decisions before and after discussion as well as group decisions are strongly linked to group identity, as members of superordinate group feel more confident and satisfied with both the results and decision-making process. Members’ opinions are more similar and homogeneous in smaller groups compared to bigger groups. This research have many implications for further research and applied behaviors in organizations.

Keywords: group decision making, group size, identification, modification, superordinate identity

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Authors: Pouya Khaleghi

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Dental implants are a successful treatment modality for restoring both function and aesthetics. Dental implant treatment has predictive results in the replacement of the lost teeth and has a high success rate even in the long term. The most important factor which is responsible for the positive course of implant treatment is the process of osseointegration between the implant structure and the host’s bone tissue. During recent years, many studies have focused on surgical and prosthetic factors, as well as the implant-related factors. However, implant failure still occurs despite the improvements that have led to the increased survival rate of dental implants, which suggests the possible role of some host-related risk factors. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin regulating calcium and phosphorus metabolism in tissues. The role of vitamin D in bone healing has been under investigation for several years. Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with impaired and delayed callus formation and fractures healing; however, the role of vitamin D has not been clarified. Therefore, it is extremely important to study the phenomenon of a connection formed between bone tissue and the surface of a titanium implant and find correlations between the 25- hydroxycholecalciferol concentration in blood serum and the course of osseointegration. Because the processes of bone remodeling are very dynamic in the period of actual osseointegration, it is necessary to obtain the correct concentration of vitamin D3 metabolites in blood serum. In conclusion, the correct level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol on the day of surgery and vitamin D deficiency treatment have a significant influence on the increase in the bone level at the implant site during the process of osseointegration assessed radiologically.

Keywords: implant, osseointegration, vitamin d, dental

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Authors: Alicja Kot-Niewiadomska

Abstract:

Securing sustainable access to raw materials is vital for the growth of the European economy and for the goals laid down in Strategy Europe 2020. One of the most important sources of mineral raw materials are primary deposits. The efficient management of them, including extraction, will ensure competitiveness of the European economy. A critical element of this approach is mineral deposits safeguarding and the most important tool - spatial planning. The safeguarding of deposits should be understood as safeguarding of land access, and safeguarding of area against development, which may (potential) prevent the use of the deposit and the necessary mining activities. Many European Union countries successfully integrated their mineral policy and spatial policy, which has ensured the proper place of mineral deposits in their spatial planning systems. These, in turn, are widely recognized as the most important mineral deposit safeguarding tool, the essence of which is to ensure long-term access to its resources. The examples of Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, discussed in the paper, are often mentioned as examples of good practices in this area. Although none of these countries managed to avoid cases of social and environmental conflicts related to mining activities, the solutions they implement certainly deserve special attention. And for many countries, including Poland, they can be a potential source of solutions aimed at improving the protection of mineral deposits.

Keywords: mineral deposits, land use planning, mineral deposit safeguarding, European practices

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Authors: L. R. Shobin, S. Manivannan

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One dimensional silver nanowires and nanoparticles gained more interest in developing transparent conducting films, catalysis, biological and chemical sensors. Silver nanostructures can be synthesized by varying reaction conditions such as the precursor concentration, molar ratio of the surfactant, injection speed of silver ions, etc. in the polyol process. However, the reaction proceeds for greater than 2 hours for the formation of silver nanowires. The introduction of etchant in the medium promotes the growth of silver nanowires from silver nanoparticles along the [100] direction. Rapid growth of silver nanowires is accomplished using the Cl- ions from NaCl and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as surfactant. The role of Cl- ion was investigated in the growth of the nanostructured silver. Silver nanoparticles (<100 nm) were harvested from glycerol medium in the absence of Cl- ions. Trace amount of Cl- ions (2.5 mM -NaCl) produced the edge joined nanowires of length upto 2 μm and width ranging from 40 to 65 nm. Formation and rapid growth (within 25 minutes) of long, uniform silver nanowires (upto 5 μm) with good yield were realized in the presence of 5 mM NaCl at 200ºC. The growth of nanostructures was monitored by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. Scanning and transmission electron microscopes reveal the morphology of the silver nano harvests. The role of temperature in the reduction of silver ions, growth mechanism for nanoparticles, edge joined and straight nanowires will be discussed.

Keywords: silver nanowires, glycerol mediated polyol process, scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis- NIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy

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Authors: Liat Shamri-Zeevi, Neta Ram-Vlasov

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Today the world as a whole is attempting to cope with the COVID-19, which has affected all facets of personal and social life from country-wide confinement to maintaining social distance and taking protective measures to maintain hygiene. One of the populations faced with the most severe restrictions is seniors. Various studies have shown that creativity plays a crucial role in dealing with crisis events. Painting - regardless of media - allows for emotional and cognitive processing of these situations, and enables the expression of experiences in a tangible creative way that conveys and endows meaning to the artwork. The current study was conducted in Israel immediately after a 6-week lockdown. It was designed to specifically examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of elderly women as reflected in their artworks. The sample was composed of 21 Israeli women aged 60-90, in good mental health (without diagnosed dementia or Alzheimer's), all of whom were Hebrew-speaking, and retired with an extended family, who indicated that they painted and had engaged in artwork on an ongoing basis throughout the lockdown (from March 12 to May 30, 2020). The participants' artworks were collected, and a semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted that lasted one to two hours. The participants were asked about their feelings during the pandemic and the artworks they produced during this time, and completed a questionnaire on well-being and mental health. The initial analysis of the interviews and artworks revealed themes related to the specific role of each piece of artwork. The first theme included notions that the artwork was an activity and a framework for doing, which supported positive emotions, and provided a sense of vitality during the closure. Most of the participants painted images of nature and growth which were ascribed concrete and symbolic meaning. The second theme was that the artwork enabled the processing of difficult and /or conflicting emotions related to the situation, including anxiety about death and loneliness that were symbolically expressed in the artworks, such as images of the Corona virus and the respiratory machines. The third theme suggested that the time and space prompted by the lockdown gave the participants time for a gathering together of the self, and freed up time for creative activities. Many participants stated that they painted more and more frequently during the Corona lockdown. At the conference, additional themes and findings will be presented.

Keywords: Corona virus, artwork, quality of life of elderly

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Authors: Zs. Csanádi, A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, J. Erdős

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Atmospheric aerosols have several important environmental impacts and health effects in point of air quality. Monitoring the PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could have important environmental significance and health protection aspects. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is the most relevant indicator of these PAH compounds. In Hungary, the Hungarian Air Quality Network provides air quality monitoring data for several air pollutants including BaP, but these data show only the annual mean concentrations and maximum values. Seasonal variation of BaP concentrations comparing the heating and non-heating periods could have important role and difference as well. For this reason, the main objective of this study was to assess the annual concentration and seasonal variation of BaP associated with PM10 in the ambient air of Northwestern Hungary seven different sampling sites (six urban and one rural) in the sampling period of 2008–2013. A total of 1475 PM10 aerosol samples were collected in the different sampling sites and analyzed for BaP by gas chromatography method. The BaP concentrations ranged from undetected to 8 ng/m3 with the mean value range of 0.50-0.96 ng/m3 referring to all sampling sites. Relatively higher concentrations of BaP were detected in samples collected in each sampling site in the heating seasons compared with non-heating periods. The annual mean BaP concentrations were comparable with the published data of the other Hungarian sites.

Keywords: air quality, benzo(a)pyrene, PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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Authors: D. Signore, M. Ferraiuolo, P. Caramuta, O. Petrella, C. Toscano

Abstract:

The Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a newly developed optical technique that is spreading in all engineering sectors because it allows the non-destructive estimation of the entire surface deformation without any contact with the component under analysis. These characteristics make the DIC very appealing in all the cases the global deformation state is to be known without using strain gages, which are the most used measuring device. The DIC is applicable to any material subjected to distortion caused by either thermal or mechanical load, allowing to obtain high-definition mapping of displacements and deformations. That is why in the civil and the transportation industry, DIC is very useful for studying the behavior of metallic materials as well as of composite materials. DIC is also used in the medical field for the characterization of the local strain field of the vascular tissues surface subjected to uniaxial tensile loading. DIC can be carried out in the two dimension mode (2D DIC) if a single camera is used or in a three dimension mode (3D DIC) if two cameras are involved. Each point of the test surface framed by the cameras can be associated with a specific pixel of the image, and the coordinates of each point are calculated knowing the relative distance between the two cameras together with their orientation. In both arrangements, when a component is subjected to a load, several images related to different deformation states can be are acquired through the cameras. A specific software analyzes the images via the mutual correlation between the reference image (obtained without any applied load) and those acquired during the deformation giving the relative displacements. In this paper, a metrological characterization of the digital image correlation is performed on aluminum and composite targets both in static and dynamic loading conditions by comparison between DIC and strain gauges measures. In the static test, interesting results have been obtained thanks to an excellent agreement between the two measuring techniques. In addition, the deformation detected by the DIC is compliant with the result of a FEM simulation. In the dynamic test, the DIC was able to follow with a good accuracy the periodic deformation of the specimen giving results coherent with the ones given by FEM simulation. In both situations, it was seen that the DIC measurement accuracy depends on several parameters such as the optical focusing, the parameters chosen to perform the mutual correlation between the images and, finally, the reference points on image to be analyzed. In the future, the influence of these parameters will be studied, and a method to increase the accuracy of the measurements will be developed in accordance with the requirements of the industries especially of the aerospace one.

Keywords: accuracy, deformation, image correlation, mechanical analysis

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Authors: Imran Aziz Tunio

Abstract:

Islamkot is an underdeveloped sub-district (Taluka) in the Tharparkar district Sindh province of Pakistan located between latitude 24°25'19.79"N to 24°47'59.92"N and longitude 70° 1'13.95"E to 70°32'15.11"E. The Islamkot has an arid desert climate and the region is generally devoid of perennial rivers, canals, and streams. It is highly dependent on rainfall which is not considered a reliable surface water source and groundwater is the only key source of water for many centuries. To assess groundwater’s potential, an electrical resistivity survey (ERS) was conducted in Islamkot Taluka. Groundwater investigations for 128 Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) were collected to determine the groundwater potential and obtain qualitatively and quantitatively layered resistivity parameters. The PASI Model 16 GL-N Resistivity Meter was used by employing a Schlumberger electrode configuration, with half current electrode spacing (AB/2) ranging from 1.5 to 100 m and the potential electrode spacing (MN/2) from 0.5 to 10 m. The data was acquired with a maximum current electrode spacing of 200 m. The data processing for the delineation of dune sand aquifers involved the technique of data inversion, and the interpretation of the inversion results was aided by the use of forward modeling. The measured geo-electrical parameters were examined by Interpex IX1D software, and apparent resistivity curves and synthetic model layered parameters were mapped in the ArcGIS environment using the inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation technique. Qualitative interpretation of vertical electrical sounding (VES) data shows the number of geo-electrical layers in the area varies from three to four with different resistivity values detected. Out of 128 VES model curves, 42 nos. are 3 layered, and 86 nos. are 4 layered. The resistivity of the first subsurface layers (Loose surface sand) varied from 16.13 Ωm to 3353.3 Ωm and thickness varied from 0.046 m to 17.52m. The resistivity of the second subsurface layer (Semi-consolidated sand) varied from 1.10 Ωm to 7442.8 Ωm and thickness varied from 0.30 m to 56.27 m. The resistivity of the third subsurface layer (Consolidated sand) varied from 0.00001 Ωm to 3190.8 Ωm and thickness varied from 3.26 m to 86.66 m. The resistivity of the fourth subsurface layer (Silt and Clay) varied from 0.0013 Ωm to 16264 Ωm and thickness varied from 13.50 m to 87.68 m. The Dar Zarrouk parameters, i.e. longitudinal unit conductance S is from 0.00024 to 19.91 mho; transverse unit resistance T from 7.34 to 40080.63 Ωm2; longitudinal resistance RS is from 1.22 to 3137.10 Ωm and transverse resistivity RT from 5.84 to 3138.54 Ωm. ERS data and Dar Zarrouk parameters were mapped which revealed that the study area has groundwater potential in the subsurface.

Keywords: electrical resistivity survey, GIS & RS, groundwater potential, environmental assessment, VES

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