Search results for: Faffa Food Share Company

Authors: Feny Mentang, Roike Iwan Montolalu, Henny Adeleida Dien, Kristhina P. Rahael, Tomy Moga, Ayub Meko, Siegfried Berhimpon

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Smoked fish is one of the famous fish products in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Research in producing smoked fish using smoke liquid, and the use of that product as main taste for a new “natural condiment” have been done, including a series of researches to find materials for sachet. Research aims are to determine the effectiveness of smoked edible sachets, in preventing oxidation of natural condiment, stored in ambient temperature. Two kinds of natural condiment flavors were used, i.e. smoked Skipjack flavor, and Sea Food flavor. Three variables of edible sachets were used for the natural condiments, i.e. non-sachet, edible sachet without smoke liquid, and edible sachet with smoke liquid. The natural condiments were then stored in ambient temperature, for 0, 10, 20, and 30 days. To determine the effectiveness of edible sachets in preventing oxidation, analysis of TBA, water content, and pH were conducted. The results shown that natural condiment with smoked seafood taste had TBA values higher than that of smoked Skipjack. Edible sachet gave a highly significant effect (P > 0.01) on TBA. Natural condiment in smoked edible sachet has a lower TBA than natural condiment non-sachet, and with sachet without smoke liquid. The longer storing time, the higher TBA, especially for non-sachet and with sachet without smoke liquid. There were no significant effect (P > 0.05) of edible sachet on water content and pH.

Keywords: edible sachet, smoke liquid, natural condiment, oxidation

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Authors: James Gallagher, Phillip Benachour

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As location aware mobile technologies become ever more omnipresent, the prospect of exploiting their context awareness to enforce learning approaches thrives. Utilizing the growing acceptance of ubiquitous computing, and the steady progress both in accuracy and battery usage of pervasive devices, we present a case study of remote location viewing, how the application can be utilized to support mobile learning in situ using an existing scenario. Through the case study we introduce a new innovative application: Mobipeek based around a request/response protocol for the viewing of a remote location and explore how this can apply both as part of a teacher lead activity and informal learning situations. The system developed allows a user to select a point on a map, and send a request. Users can attach messages alongside time and distance constraints. Users within the bounds of the request can respond with an image, and accompanying message, providing context to the response. This application can be used alongside a structured learning activity such as the use of mobile phone cameras outdoors as part of an interactive lesson. An example of a learning activity would be to collect photos in the wild about plants, vegetation, and foliage as part of a geography or environmental science lesson. Another example could be to take photos of architectural buildings and monuments as part of an architecture course. These images can be uploaded then displayed back in the classroom for students to share their experiences and compare their findings with their peers. This can help to fosters students’ active participation while helping students to understand lessons in a more interesting and effective way. Mobipeek could augment the student learning experience by providing further interaction with other peers in a remote location. The activity can be part of a wider study between schools in different areas of the country enabling the sharing and interaction between more participants. Remote location viewing can be used to access images in a specific location. The choice of location will depend on the activity and lesson. For example architectural buildings of a specific period can be shared between two or more cities. The augmentation of the learning experience can be manifested in the different contextual and cultural influences as well as the sharing of images from different locations. In addition to the implementation of Mobipeek, we strive to analyse this application, and a subset of other possible and further solutions targeted towards making learning more engaging. Consideration is given to the benefits of such a system, privacy concerns, and feasibility of widespread usage. We also propose elements of “gamification”, in an attempt to further the engagement derived from such a tool and encourage usage. We conclude by identifying limitations, both from a technical, and a mobile learning perspective.

Keywords: context aware, location aware, mobile learning, remote viewing

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Authors: Parvin Mirmiran, Zahra Bahadoran, Nazanin Moslehi, Fereidoun Azizi

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Background and aim: We aimed to investigate the effects of green fruits and vegetables (green FV) consumption on the 3-year changes of cardiometabolic risk factors. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted in the framework of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, between 2006-2008 and 2009-2011, on 1272 adults. Dietary intake of green FV, including green cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, celery, green beans, green peas, cucumber, leafy vegetables, zucchini, green chili and bell pepper, and kiwi fruit, has been assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline and second examination. Demographics, anthropometrics and biochemical measures were evaluated at baseline and 3 years later. The associations of cardiometabolic risk changes with mean intake of green FV were estimated. Results: The mean age of men and women at baseline was 39.8±12.7 and 37.3±12.1 years, respectively. Mean intake of green FV was 152±77 g/d. More intake from green FV was accompanied to more intake of vitamin A, α and β-carotene, lutein, β-criptoxanthine, potassium, magnesium and fiber. Consumption of green FV was inversely associated with 3-year change of waist circumference (β= -0.07, P=0.01), total cholesterol (β= -0.11, P=0.01) and triglycerides (β= -0.13, P=0.01). Each 25 g/d increase in consumption of green FV decreased the incidence of hyper-triglyceridemia by 12% (OR:0.88, 95%CI:0.71-0.99) in men. In women, no significant association was observed between consumption of green FV with cardiometabolic risk factors. Conclusion: Higher consumption of green FV could have preventive effects against abdominal fat gain and lipid disorders.

Keywords: cardiometabolic risk factors, abdominal obesity, lipid disorders, fruits, vegetables

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Authors: Pamela Aimee Rigor

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This study aims to examine the representation of Syrian refugees resettled in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland in local community and major newspapers. While there is strong support for immigration in Canada, public opinion towards refugees and asylum seekers is a bit more varied. Concerns about the legitimacy of refugee claims are among the common concerns of Canadians, and hateful or negative narratives are still present in Canadian media discourse which affects how people view refugees. To counter the narratives, these Syrian refugees must publicly declare how grateful they are because they are resettled in Canada. The dominant media discourse is that these refugees should be grateful as they have been graciously accepted by Canada and Canadians, once again upholding the image of Canada being a generous and humanitarian nation. The study examined the representation of Syrian refugees and the Syrian refugee resettlement in Canadian newspapers from September 2015 to October 2017 – around the time Prime Minister Trudeau came into power up until the present. Using a combination of content and discourse analysis, it aimed to uncover how local community and major newspapers in Vancouver covered the Syrian refugee ‘crisis’ – more particularly, the arrival and resettlement of the refugees in the country. Using the qualitative data analysis software Nvivo 12, the newspapers were analyzed and sorted into themes. Based on the initial findings, the discourse of Canada being a humanitarian country and Canadians being generous, as well as the idea of Syrian refugees having to publicly announce how grateful they are, is still present in the local community newspapers. This seems to be done to counter the hateful narratives of citizens who might view them as people who are abusing help provided by the community or the services provided by the government. However, compared to the major and national newspapers in Canada, many these local community newspapers are very inclusive of Syrian refugee voices. Most of the News and Community articles interview Syrian refugees and ask them their personal stories of plight, survival, resettlement and starting a ‘new life’ in Canada. They are not seen as potential threats nor are they dismissed – the refugees were named and were allowed to share their personal experiences in these news articles. These community newspapers, even though their representations are far from perfect, actually address some aspects of the refugee resettlement issue and respond to their community’s needs. There are quite a number of news articles that announce community meetings and orientations about the Syrian refugee crisis, ways to help in the resettlement process, as well as community fundraising activities to help sponsor refugees or resettle newly arrived refugees. This study aims to promote awareness of how these individuals are socially constructed so we can, in turn, be aware of the certain biases and stereotypes present, and its implications on refugee laws and public response to the issue.

Keywords: forced migration and conflict, media representations, race and multiculturalism, refugee studies

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Authors: Jaroslav Kraus

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Spatial information about demographic processes are a standard part of outputs in the Czech Republic. That was also the case of Population and Housing Census which was held on 2011. This is a starting point for a follow up study devoted to two basic types of households: single person households and households of one completed family. Single person households and one family households create more than 80 percent of all households, but the share and spatial structure is in long-term changing. The increase of single households is results of long-term fertility decrease and divorce increase, but also possibility of separate living. There are regions in the Czech Republic with traditional demographic behavior, and regions like capital Prague and some others with changing pattern. Population census is based - according to international standards - on the concept of currently living population. Three types of geospatial approaches will be used for analysis: (i) firstly measures of geographic distribution, (ii) secondly mapping clusters to identify the locations of statistically significant hot spots, cold spots, spatial outliers, and similar features and (iii) finally analyzing pattern approach as a starting point for more in-depth analyses (geospatial regression) in the future will be also applied. For analysis of this type of data, number of households by types should be distinct objects. All events in a meaningful delimited study region (e.g. municipalities) will be included in an analysis. Commonly produced measures of central tendency and spread will include: identification of the location of the center of the point set (by NUTS3 level); identification of the median center and standard distance, weighted standard distance and standard deviational ellipses will be also used. Identifying that clustering exists in census households datasets does not provide a detailed picture of the nature and pattern of clustering but will be helpful to apply simple hot-spot (and cold spot) identification techniques to such datasets. Once the spatial structure of households will be determined, any particular measure of autocorrelation can be constructed by defining a way of measuring the difference between location attribute values. The most widely used measure is Moran’s I that will be applied to municipal units where numerical ratio is calculated. Local statistics arise naturally out of any of the methods for measuring spatial autocorrelation and will be applied to development of localized variants of almost any standard summary statistic. Local Moran’s I will give an indication of household data homogeneity and diversity on a municipal level.

Keywords: census, geo-demography, households, the Czech Republic

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Authors: Ikenna Stephen Ezennia, Sebnem Onal Hoscara

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Successive governments in Nigeria are faced with the pressing problem of how to house an ever-expanding urban population, usually low-income earners. The question of housing and affordability presents a complex challenge for these governments, as the commodification of housing links it inextricably to markets and capital flows. Therefore, placing it as at the center of the government’s agenda. However, the provision of decent and affordable housing for average Nigerians has remained an illusion, despite copious schemes, policies and programs initiated and carried out by various successive governments. Similarly, this phenomenon has also been observed in many countries of Africa, which is largely a result of economic unpredictability, lack of housing finance and insecurity, among other factors peculiar to a struggling economy. This study reviews recent dynamics and factors challenging the provision and development of affordable housing for the low income urban populace of Nigeria. Thus, the aim of the study is to present a comprehensive approach for understanding recent trends in the provision of affordable housing for Nigerians. The approach is based on a new paradigm of research: transdisciplinarity; a form of inquiry that crosses the boundaries of different disciplines. Therefore, the review takes a retrospective gaze at the various housing development programs/schemes/policies taken by successive governments of Nigeria within the last few decades and exams recent efforts geared towards eradicating the problems of housing delivery. Sources of data included relevant English language articles and the results of literature search of Elsevier Science Direct, ISI Web of Knowledge, Pro Quest Central, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The findings reveal that factors such as; rapid urbanization, inadequate planning and land use control, lack of adequate and favorable finance, high prices of land, high prices of building material, youth/touts harassment of developers, poor urban infrastructure, multiple taxation, and risk share are the major factors posing as a hindrance to adequate housing delivery. The results show that the majority of Nigeria’s affordable housing schemes, programs and policies are in most cases poorly implemented and abandoned without proper coordination. Consequently, the study concludes that the affordable housing delivery strategies in Nigeria are an epitome of lip service politics by successive governments; and the current trend of leaving housing provision to the vagaries of market forces cannot be expected to support affordable housing especially for the low income urban populace.

Keywords: affordable housing, housing delivery, national housing policy, urban poor

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Authors: Chen Yang, Jun Hu, Ping Li, Lili Xue

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Most companies pay careful attention to consumer feedback collection, so it is popular to find the ‘feedback’ button of all kinds of mobile apps. Yet it is much more changeling to analyze these feedback texts and to catch the true feelings of a consumer regarding either a problem or a complimentary of consumers who hands out the feedback. Especially to the Chinese content, it is possible that; in one context the Chinese feedback expresses positive feedback, but in the other context, the same Chinese feedback may be a negative one. For example, in Chinese, the feedback 'operating with loudness' works well with both refrigerator and stereo system. Apparently, this feedback towards a refrigerator shows negative feedback; however, the same feedback is positive towards a stereo system. By introducing Bradley, M. and Lang, P.'s Affective Norms for English Text (ANET) theory and Bucci W.’s Referential Activity (RA) theory, we, usability researchers at Pingan, are able to decipher the feedback and to find the hidden feelings behind the content. We subtract 2 disciplines ‘valence’ and ‘dominance’ out of 3 of ANET and 2 disciplines ‘concreteness’ and ‘specificity’ out of 4 of RA to organize our own rating system with a scale of 1 to 5 points. This rating system enables us to judge the feelings/emotion behind each feedback, and it works well with both single word/phrase and a whole paragraph. The result of the rating reflects the strength of the feeling/emotion of the consumer when he/she is typing the feedback. In our daily work, we first require a consumer to answer the net promoter score (NPS) before writing the feedback, so we can determine the feedback is positive or negative. Secondly, we code the feedback content according to company problematic list, which contains 200 problematic items. In this way, we are able to collect the data that how many feedbacks left by the consumer belong to one typical problem. Thirdly, we rate each feedback based on the rating system mentioned above to illustrate the strength of the feeling/emotion when our consumer writes the feedback. In this way, we actually obtain two kinds of data 1) the portion, which means how many feedbacks are ascribed into one problematic item and 2) the severity, how strong the negative feeling/emotion is when the consumer is writing this feedback. By crossing these two, and introducing the portion into X-axis and severity into Y-axis, we are able to find which typical problem gets the high score in both portion and severity. The higher the score of a problem has, the more urgent a problem is supposed to be solved as it means more people write stronger negative feelings in feedbacks regarding this problem. Moreover, by introducing hidden Markov model to program our rating system, we are able to computerize the scoring system and are able to process thousands of feedback in a short period of time, which is efficient and accurate enough for the industrial purpose.

Keywords: computerized scoring system, feeling/emotion of consumer feedback, referential activity, text mining

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Authors: Arredondo Valdés Roberto, Hernández Castillo Francisco Daniel, Laredo Alcalá Elan Iñaky, Gonzalez Gallegos Esmeralda, Castro Del Angel Epifanio

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The common bean or Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most important food legume for direct consumption in the world. Fusarium dry rot in the major fungus disease affects Phaseolus vulgaris L, after planting. In another hand, Rhizoctonia can be found on all underground parts of the plant and various times during the growing season. In recent years, the world has conducted studies about the use of natural products as substitutes for herbicides and pesticides, because of possible ecological and economic benefits. Plants respond to fungal invasion by activating defense responses associated with accumulation of several enzymes and inhibitors, which prevent pathogen infection. This study focused on the role of proteins, peroxidase (POD), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), in imparting resistance to soft rot pathogens by applied different bacterial consortium, formulated and provided by Biofertilizantes de Méxicanos industries, analyzing the enzyme activity at different times of application (6 h, 12 h and 24 h). The resistance of these treatments was correlated with high POD and PAL enzyme activity as well as increased concentrations of proteins. These findings show that PAL, POD and synthesis of proteins play a role in imparting resistance to Phaseolus vulgaris L. soft rot infection by Fusarium and Rhizoctonia.

Keywords: fusarium, peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, rhizoctonia

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Authors: Alireza Karimi

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping various industries, and accounting is no exception. With the ability to process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, AI is revolutionizing how financial professionals manage, analyze, and report financial information. In this article, we will explore the diverse applications of AI in accounting and its profound impact on the field. Automation of Repetitive Tasks: One of the most significant contributions of AI in accounting is automating repetitive tasks. AI-powered software can handle data entry, invoice processing, and reconciliation with minimal human intervention. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors, leading to more accurate financial records. Pattern Recognition and Anomaly Detection: AI algorithms excel at pattern recognition. In accounting, this capability is leveraged to identify unusual patterns in financial data that might indicate fraud or errors. AI can swiftly detect discrepancies, enabling auditors and accountants to focus on resolving issues rather than hunting for them. Real-Time Financial Insights: AI-driven tools, using natural language processing and computer vision, can process documents faster than ever. This enables organizations to have real-time insights into their financial status, empowering decision-makers with up-to-date information for strategic planning. Fraud Detection and Prevention: AI is a powerful tool in the fight against financial fraud. It can analyze vast transaction datasets, flagging suspicious activities and reducing the likelihood of financial misconduct going unnoticed. This proactive approach safeguards a company's financial integrity. Enhanced Data Analysis and Forecasting: Machine learning, a subset of AI, is used for data analysis and forecasting. By examining historical financial data, AI models can provide forecasts and insights, aiding businesses in making informed financial decisions and optimizing their financial strategies. Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally transforming the accounting profession. From automating mundane tasks to enhancing data analysis and fraud detection, AI is making financial processes more efficient, accurate, and insightful. As AI continues to evolve, its role in accounting will only become more significant, offering accountants and finance professionals powerful tools to navigate the complexities of modern finance. Embracing AI in accounting is not just a trend; it's a necessity for staying competitive in the evolving financial landscape.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, accounting automation, financial analysis, fraud detection, machine learning in finance

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Authors: Lauren E. Church

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Background: Extravehicular activities (EVAs) are a critical aspect of missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It has long been noted that the spaceflight environment and the physical demands of EVA cause physiological and metabolic changes in humans; this review aims to combine these findings with nutritional studies in analogues of the spaceflight and EVA environments to make nutritional recommendations for astronauts scheduled for and immediately returning from EVAs. Results: Energy demands increase during orbital spaceflight and see further increases during EVA. Another critical element of EVA nutrition is adequate hydration. Orbital EVA appears to provide adequate hydration under current protocol, but during lunar surface EVA (LEVA) and in a 10km lunar walk-back test astronauts have stated that up to 20% more water was needed. Previous attempts for in-suit edible sustenance have not been adequately taken up by astronauts to be economically viable. In elite endurance athletes, a mixture of glucose and fructose is used in gels, improving performance. Discussion: A combination of non-caffeinated energy drink and simple water should be available for astronauts during EVA, allowing more autonomy. There should also be provision of gels or a similar product containing appropriate sodium levels to maintain hydration, but not so much as to hyperhydrate through renal water reabsorption. It is also suggested that short breaks be built into the schedule of EVAs for these gels to be consumed, as it is speculated that reason for low uptake of in-suit sustenance is the lack of time available in which to consume it.

Keywords: astronaut, nutrition, space, sport

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Authors: Zelin Zhou, Timothy Langrish

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Spray drying is the final stage of milk powder production. Traditionally, the quality of spray-dried milk powders has mainly been assessed using their physical properties, such as their moisture contents, while chemical changes occurring during the spray drying process have often been ignored. With growing concerns about food quality, it is necessary to establish a better understanding of heat-induced degradation due to the spray-drying process of skim milk. In this study, the extent of thermal degradation for skim milk in a pilot-scale spray dryer has been investigated using different inlet gas temperatures. The extent of heat-induced damage has been measured by the formation of advanced Maillard reaction products and the loss of soluble proteins at pH 4.6 as assessed by a fluorometric method. A significant increase in the extent of thermal degradation has been found when the inlet gas temperature increased from 170°C to 190°C, suggesting protein unfolding may play an important role in the kinetics of heat-induced degradation for milk in spray dryers. Colour changes of the spray-dried skim milk powders have also been analysed using a standard lighting box. Colourimetric analysis results were expressed in CIELAB colour space with the use of the E index (E) and the Chroma (C) for measuring the difference between colours and the intensity of the colours. A strong linear correlation between the colour intensity of the spray-dried skim milk powders and the formation of advanced Maillard reaction products has been observed.

Keywords: colour formation, Maillard reactions, spray drying, skim milk powder

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Authors: Marjan Javanmard

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The rheological properties of dairy products critically depend on the underlying organisation of proteins at multiple length scales. When heated and acidified, milk proteins form particle gel that is viscoelastic, solvent rich, ‘soft’ material. In this work recent developments on the rheology of soft particles suspensions were used to interpret and potentially define the properties of dairy gel structures. It is discovered that at volume fractions below random close packing (RCP), the Maron-Pierce-Quemada (MPQ) model accurately predicts the viscosity of the dairy gel suspensions without fitting parameters; the MPQ model has been shown previously to provide reasonable predictions of the viscosity of hard sphere suspensions from the volume fraction, solvent viscosity and RCP. This surprising finding demonstrates that up to RCP, the dairy gel system behaves as a hard sphere suspension and that the structural aggregates behave as discrete particulates akin to what is observed for microgel suspensions. At effective phase volumes well above RCP, the system is a soft solid. In this region, it is discovered that the storage modulus of the sheared AMG scales with the storage modulus of the set gel. The storage modulus in this regime is reasonably well described as a function of effective phase volume by the Evans and Lips model. Findings of this work has potential to aid in rational design and control of dairy food structure-properties.

Keywords: dairy suspensions, rheology-structure, Maron-Pierce-Quemada Model, Evans and Lips Model

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Authors: Joel Podgorski, Manouchehr Amini, Annette Johnson, Michael Berg

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One-third of the world’s population relies on groundwater for its drinking water. Natural geogenic arsenic and fluoride contaminate ~10% of wells. Prolonged exposure to high levels of arsenic can result in various internal cancers, while high levels of fluoride are responsible for the development of dental and crippling skeletal fluorosis. In poor urban and rural settings, the provision of drinking water free of geogenic contamination can be a major challenge. In order to efficiently apply limited resources in the testing of wells, water resource managers need to know where geogenically contaminated groundwater is likely to occur. The Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP) fulfills this need by providing state-of-the-art global arsenic and fluoride contamination hazard maps as well as enabling users to create their own groundwater quality models. The global risk models were produced by logistic regression of arsenic and fluoride measurements using predictor variables of various soil, geological and climate parameters. The maps display the probability of encountering concentrations of arsenic or fluoride exceeding the World Health Organization’s (WHO) stipulated concentration limits of 10 µg/L or 1.5 mg/L, respectively. In addition to a reconsideration of the relevant geochemical settings, these second-generation maps represent a great improvement over the previous risk maps due to a significant increase in data quantity and resolution. For example, there is a 10-fold increase in the number of measured data points, and the resolution of predictor variables is generally 60 times greater. These same predictor variable datasets are available on the GAP platform for visualization as well as for use with a modeling tool. The latter requires that users upload their own concentration measurements and select the predictor variables that they wish to incorporate in their models. In addition, users can upload additional predictor variable datasets either as features or coverages. Such models can represent an improvement over the global models already supplied, since (a) users may be able to use their own, more detailed datasets of measured concentrations and (b) the various processes leading to arsenic and fluoride groundwater contamination can be isolated more effectively on a smaller scale, thereby resulting in a more accurate model. All maps, including user-created risk models, can be downloaded as PDFs. There is also the option to share data in a secure environment as well as the possibility to collaborate in a secure environment through the creation of communities. In summary, GAP provides users with the means to reliably and efficiently produce models specific to their region of interest by making available the latest datasets of predictor variables along with the necessary modeling infrastructure.

Keywords: arsenic, fluoride, groundwater contamination, logistic regression

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Authors: Beverly Black

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Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem with severe negative impact on youths’ mental and physical health and well-being. Exacerbating the negative impact of TDV victimization is the fact that teens rarely report the violence. They are fearful to tell friends or family, especially parents. The family context is the first place where children learn about interpersonal relationships, and therefore, parental response of teens’ life experiences influences teens’ actions and development. This study examined youths’ perspectives on parental responses to TDV. Effective parental responses to TDV may increase the likelihood that youth will leave abusive relationships. Method. Eleven gender-separate focus groups were conducted with 27 females and 28 males, ages 12 to 17, to discuss parental responses to teen dating violence. Youth were recruited from a metropolitan community in the southwestern part of the United States. Focus groups questions asked the middle and high school youth how they would want their parents to respond to them if they approached them about various incidents of dating violence. All focus groups were transcribed. Using QSR-N10, two researchers’ analyzed data first using open and axial coding techniques to find overarching themes. Researchers triangulated the coded data to ensure accurate interpretations of the participants’ messages and used the scenario questions to structure the coded results. Results. Most youths suggested that parents should simply talk with them; they recognized the importance of communication. Teens wanted parents to ask questions, educate them about healthy relationships, share their personal experiences, and give teens advice (tell them to break up, limit contact with perpetrator, go to police). Younger youth expressed more willingness to listen to parental advice. Older youth wanted their parents to give them the opportunity to make their decisions. Many of the teens’ comments focused on the importance of parents protecting the teen, providing support and empathy for the teen, and especially refraining from overreacting (not yelling, not getting angry and staying calm). Implications. Parents need to know how to effectively respond to youth needing to leave unhealthy relationships. Demanding that their children end a relationship may not be a realistic approach to TDV. A parent’s ineffective response, when approached by an adolescent for assistance in TDV, may influence a youth to dismiss parents and other adults as viable options for seeking assistance. Parents and prevention educators can learn from hearing youths’ voices about effective responses to TDV.

Keywords: adolescents dating abuse, adolescent and parent communication, parental responses to teen dating violence, teen dating violence

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Authors: Malte Brettel, Niklas Friederichsen, Michael Keller, Marius Rosenberg

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The German manufacturing industry has to withstand an increasing global competition on product quality and production costs. As labor costs are high, several industries have suffered severely under the relocation of production facilities towards aspiring countries, which have managed to close the productivity and quality gap substantially. Established manufacturing companies have recognized that customers are not willing to pay large price premiums for incremental quality improvements. As a consequence, many companies from the German manufacturing industry adjust their production focusing on customized products and fast time to market. Leveraging the advantages of novel production strategies such as Agile Manufacturing and Mass Customization, manufacturing companies transform into integrated networks, in which companies unite their core competencies. Hereby, virtualization of the process- and supply-chain ensures smooth inter-company operations providing real-time access to relevant product and production information for all participating entities. Boundaries of companies deteriorate, as autonomous systems exchange data, gained by embedded systems throughout the entire value chain. By including Cyber-Physical-Systems, advanced communication between machines is tantamount to their dialogue with humans. The increasing utilization of information and communication technology allows digital engineering of products and production processes alike. Modular simulation and modeling techniques allow decentralized units to flexibly alter products and thereby enable rapid product innovation. The present article describes the developments of Industry 4.0 within the literature and reviews the associated research streams. Hereby, we analyze eight scientific journals with regards to the following research fields: Individualized production, end-to-end engineering in a virtual process chain and production networks. We employ cluster analysis to assign sub-topics into the respective research field. To assess the practical implications, we conducted face-to-face interviews with managers from the industry as well as from the consulting business using a structured interview guideline. The results reveal reasons for the adaption and refusal of Industry 4.0 practices from a managerial point of view. Our findings contribute to the upcoming research stream of Industry 4.0 and support decision-makers to assess their need for transformation towards Industry 4.0 practices.

Keywords: Industry 4.0., mass customization, production networks, virtual process-chain

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Authors: Pooja Booluck

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This project seeks to translate a chapter in Le Silence des Chagos by Shenaz Patel a Mauritian author whose work has never been translated before. The chapter discusses the attempt of the protagonist to return to her home country Diego Garcia after her deportation. The English translation will offer an historical account to the target audience of the deportation of Chagossians to Mauritius during the 1970s. The target audience comprises of English-speaking translation scholars translation students and African literature scholars. In light of making the cultural elements of Mauritian culture accessible the translation will maintain the cultural items such as food and oral discourses in Creole so as to preserve the authenticity of the source culture. In order to better comprehend the cultural elements mentioned the target reader will be provided with detailed footnotes explaining the cultural and historical references. This translation will also address the importance of folkloric songs in Mauritius and its intergenerational function in Mauritian communities which will also remain in Creole. While such an approach will help to preserve the meaning of the source text the borrowing technique and the foreignizing method will be employed which will in turn help the reader in becoming more familiar with the Mauritian community. Translating a text from French to English while maintaining certain words or discourses in a minority language such as Creole bears certain challenges: How does the translator ensure the comprehensibility of the reader? Are there any translation losses? What are the choices of the translator?

Keywords: Chagos archipelagos in Exile, English translation, Le Silence des Chagos, Mauritian culture and history

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Authors: Ceyda Dadali, Yeşim Elmaci

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Coffee was introduced as an economic crop during the fifteenth century; nowadays it is the most important food commodity ranking second after crude oil. Desirable sensory properties make coffee one of the most often consumed and most popular beverages in the world. The coffee preparation method has a significant effect on flavor and composition of coffee brews. Three different extraction methodologies namely decoction, infusion and pressure methods have been used for coffee brew preparation. Each of these methods is related to specific granulation (coffee grind) of coffee powder, water-coffee ratio temperature and brewing time. Coffee is a mixture of 1500 chemical compounds. Chemical composition of coffee highly depends on brewing methods, coffee bean species and roasting time-temperature. Coffee contains a wide number of very important bioactive compounds, such as diterpenes: cafestol and kahweol, alkaloids: caffeine, theobromine and trigonelline, melanoidins, phenolic compounds. The phenolic compounds of coffee include chlorogenic acids (quinyl esters of hidroxycinnamic acids), caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric acid. In coffee caffeoylquinic acids, feruloylquinic acids and di-caffeoylquinic acids are three main groups of chlorogenic acids constitues 6% -10% of dry weight of coffee. The bioavailability of chlorogenic acids in coffee depends on the absorption and metabolization to biomarkers in individuals. Also, the interaction of coffee polyphenols with other compounds such as dietary proteins affects the biomarkers. Since bioactive composition of coffee depends on brewing methods effect of coffee brewing method on bioactive compounds of coffee will be discussed in this study.

Keywords: bioactive compounds of coffee, biomarkers, coffee brew, effect of brewing

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Authors: David Edgar

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To understand how the brain’s subconscious and conscious functions, we must conquer the physics of Unity, which leads to duality’s algorithm. Where the subconscious (bottom-up) and conscious (top-down) processes function together to produce and consume intelligence, we use terms like ‘time is relative,’ but we really do understand the meaning. In the brain, there are different processes and, therefore, different observers. These different processes experience time at different rates. A sensory system such as the eyes cycles measurement around 33 milliseconds, the conscious process of the frontal lobe cycles at 300 milliseconds, and the subconscious process of the thalamus cycle at 5 milliseconds. Three different observers experience time differently. To bridge observers, the thalamus, which is the fastest of the processes, maintains a synchronous state and entangles the different components of the brain’s physical process. The entanglements form a synchronous cohesion between the brain components allowing them to share the same state and execute in the same measurement cycle. The thalamus uses the shared state to control the firing sequence of the brain’s linear subconscious process. Sharing state also allows the brain to cheat on the amount of sensory data that must be exchanged between components. Only unpredictable motion is transferred through the synchronous state because predictable motion already exists in the shared framework. The brain’s synchronous subconscious process is entirely based on energy conservation, where prediction regulates energy usage. So, the eyes every 33 milliseconds dump their sensory data into the thalamus every day. The thalamus is going to perform a motion measurement to identify the unpredictable motion in the sensory data. Here is the trick. The thalamus conducts its measurement based on the original observation time of the sensory system (33 ms), not its own process time (5 ms). This creates a data payload of synchronous motion that preserves the original sensory observation. Basically, a frozen moment in time (Flat 4D). The single moment in time can then be processed through the single state maintained by the synchronous process. Other processes, such as consciousness (300 ms), can interface with the synchronous state to generate awareness of that moment. Now, synchronous data traveling through a separate faster synchronous process creates a theoretical time tunnel where observation time is tunneled through the synchronous process and is reproduced on the other side in the original time-relativity. The synchronous process eliminates time dilation by simply removing itself from the equation so that its own process time does not alter the experience. To the original observer, the measurement appears to be instantaneous, but in the thalamus, a linear subconscious process generating sensory perception and thought production is being executed. It is all just occurring in the time available because other observation times are slower than thalamic measurement time. For life to exist in the physical universe requires a linear measurement process, it just hides by operating at a faster time relativity. What’s interesting is time dilation is not the problem; it’s the solution. Einstein said there was no universal time.

Keywords: neural synchronization, natural intelligence, 99.95% IoT data transmission savings, artificial subconscious intelligence (ASI)

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Authors: Viacheslav Sushko, Viktor Sushko

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Pre-cancerous breast diseases are pathological changes that precede the appearance of adenocarcinoma. The most common benign breast disease is mastopathy. We examined the life and disease history of 114 women aged 58-69 who were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the breast at different stages of development. They filled out the Reeder Scale to determine the level of stress. The results of the study revealed that 62 of them had mastopathy at the age of 30-45 years old. These women refused surgical treatment for mastopathy. Five to six years before their diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the mammary gland, 84 women had experienced severe stress (death of a beloved close relative, torture accompanied by rape, prolonged stay in extreme conditions (under bombardment and bombardment). In the assessment of data from completed Reeder scales, 114 women had a high level of mental stress, with a score from 1-1.72. The 84 women who suffered from severe stress showed overeating or a significant decrease in food intake, insomnia, apathy, increased irritability and restlessness, loss of interest in sexual relationships, forgetfulness, difficulty in performing routine work, prolonged uncontrollable headaches, unexplained fatigue, heart pain, reduced capacity for work. In conclusion, it is important to provide psychotherapy for breast cancer patients as the diagnosis, and the different stages of treatment are very stressful. It is also advisable to see a psychiatrist at an early stage and prevent distress and treat precancerous breast disease.

Keywords: breast cancer, distress, mastopathy, severe stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Warunpun Kongsom, Chaiwat Kongsom

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The objective of this study was to investigate the awareness, knowledge and consumer behavior towards organic products in Thailand. For this study, a purposive sampling technique was used to identify a sample group of 2,575 consumers over the age of 20 years who intended or made purchases from 1) green shops; 2) supermarkets with branches; and, 3) green markets. A questionnaire was used for data collection across the country. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The results showed that more than 92% of consumers were aware of organic agriculture, but had less knowledge about it. More than 60% of consumers knew that organic agriculture production and processing did not allow the use of chemicals. And about 40% of consumers were confused between the food safety logo and the certified organic logo, and whether GMO was allowed in organic agriculture practice or not. In addition, most consumers perceived that organic agricultural products, good agricultural practice (GAP) products, agricultural chemicals free products, and hydroponic vegetable products had the same standard. In the view of organic consumers, the organic Thailand label was the most seen and reliable among various organic labels. Less than 3% of consumers thought that the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Global Organic Mark (GOM) was the most seen and reliable. For the behaviors of organic consumers, they purchased organic products mainly at the supermarket and green shop (55.4%), one to two times per month, and with a total expenditure of about 200 to 400 baht each time. The main reason for buying organic products was safety and free from agricultural chemicals. The considered factors in organic product selection were price (29.5%), convenience (22.4%), and a reliable certification system (21.3%). The demands for organic products were mainly rice, vegetables and fruits. Processed organic products were relatively small in quantity.

Keywords: consumer behavior, consumer knowledge, organic products, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Aysen Celen Ozturk, Hatice Dulger

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University may be defined as a teaching institution consisting of faculties, institutes, colleges, and units that have undergraduate and graduate education, scientific research and publications. It has scientific autonomy and public legal personality. Today, universities are not only the institutions in which students and lecturers experience education, training and scientific work. They also offer social, cultural and artistic activities that strengthen the link with the city. This also incorporates all city users into the campus borders. Thus, universities contribute to social and individual development of the country by providing science, art, socio-cultural development, communication and socialization with people of different cultural and social backgrounds. Moreover, universities provide an active social life, where the young population is the majority. This enables the sense of belonging to the users to develop, to increase the interaction between academicians and students, and to increase the learning / producing community by continuing academic sharing environments outside the classrooms. For this reason, besides academic spaces in university campuses, the users also need closed and open spaces where they can socialize, spend time together and relax. Public open spaces are the most important social spaces that individuals meet, express themselves and share. Individuals belonging to different socio-cultural structures and ethnic groups maintain their social experiences with the physical environment they are in, the outdoors, and their actions and sharing in these spaces. While university campuses are being designed for their individual and social development roles, user needs must be determined correctly and design should be realized in this direction. While considering that requirements may change over time, user satisfaction should be questioned at certain periods and new arrangements should be made in existing applications in the direction of current demands. This study aims to determine the user requirements through the case of Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Meşelik Campus / Turkey. Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) questionnaire, cognitive mapping and deep interview methods are used in the research process. All these methods show that the students, academicians and other officials in the Meşelik Campus of Eskişehir Osmangazi University find way finding elements insufficient and are in need of efficient landscape design and social spaces. This study is important in terms of determining the needs of the users as a design input. This will help improving the quality of common space in Eskişehir Osmangazi University and in other similar universities.

Keywords: university campuses, public open space, user requirement, post occupancy evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Beata Kaczmarek-Szczepańska, Lidia Zasada

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Marine collagens such as fish skin, bone, cartilage, and scales, including both marine vertebrates and invertebrates sources, are more bioavailable compared to bovine or porcine collagen and have a higher absorption capability and more rapid bloodstream circulation due to their low molecular weight and small particle size. Fish skin may be used as a source of bioactive compounds. The advantage is that fish skin is a by-product of the food industry. The subject of the study is a lyophilizate consisting of a mixture of compounds from the group of glycosaminoglycans and collagen obtained as a result of processing fish skins. Bioactive compounds may find biomedical use in the production of dressing materials for wounds or in tissue engineering for the production of scaffolds for cells. Collagen and glycosaminoglycans were isolated from Salmo salar skin. The final mixture was obtained by the freeze-drying method. In the obtained lyophilizate, the content of amino acids was studied as well as the presence of polysaccharides. The studies showed the presence of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are the main amino acids of collagen. The HPLC analysis showed the presence of glucose which is a product of polysaccharides hydrolyzation and then reduction of glucuronic acid. It may be assumed that the lyophilizate contains both collagen and polysaccharide, which is probably hyaluronic acid. Acknowledgment: This work was carried out as a result of research project no. TANGO-V-A/0020/2021 financed by the National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: collagen, glycosaminoglycans, bioactive compounds, fish skin

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Gloria G. Delan, Alfonso S. Piquero, Rachel Luz V. Rica, Christine M. Corrales

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The selected marine protected areas (MPAs) of southern Cebu, Philippines were assessed after these have been established between the years 2000 to 2007. These include Casay of Argao, Cawayan of Dalaguete, Guiwang-Daang Lungsod of Alcoy, North Granada of Boljoon and Sta. Cruz of Ronda. These MPAs were assessed to gather baseline information on its coral life-form structure. Point-intercept transect (PIT) method was used in the observation. Benthic life form and reef substrate at each 0.25 m point interval were identified and recorded along 50 meters transect line both inside and outside of these MPAs. It has been observed that massive, branching and digitate form of corals dominated among the five sanctuaries. Percentage of Live Hard Corals was much higher inside than outside in all sanctuaries. Common to all sanctuaries were noticeable presence of dead corals with algae and coral rubbles indicating an over-exploited habitat. Casay, Cawayan and Daan-Lungsod MPAs had some Crown of Thorn Starfish (COTS) which may pose threat to its coral community. It has been recommended that there should be strict law enforcement and a long term monitoring to continuously conserve and protect coral reef which is an important habitat for fishes for its sustainability as food for human.

Keywords: coral rubbles, coral reef, live hard coral, point-intercept transect

Procedia PDF Downloads 418

Authors: Pholosho M. Kgopa, Phatu W. Mashela

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Due to high incidents of marginal land in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and increasing demand for arable land, small-holder farmers tend to continuously cultivate the same fields and at the same time, applying fertilisers to improve yields for meeting local food security. These practices might have an impact on the distribution of trace and essential elements. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to assess the distribution of essential elements and trace metals in a continuously cultivated and fertilised field, at the University of Limpopo Experimental Farm. Three fields, 3 ha each were identified as continuously cultivated (CC), moderately cultivated (MC) and virgin fields (VF). Each field was divided into 12 equal grids of 50 m × 50 m for sampling. A soil profile was opened in each grid, where soil samples were collected from 0-20; 20-40 and 40-60; 60-80 and 80-100 cm depths for analysis. Samples were analysed for soil texture, pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter content, selected essential elements (Ca, P and Mg), Na and trace elements (Cu, Fe, Ni, and Zn). Results suggested that most of the variables were vertically different, with high concentrations of the test elements except for magnesium. Soil pH in depth 0-20 cm was high (6.44) in CC when compared to that in VF (5.29), but lower than that of MC (7.84). There were no distinctive vertical trends of the variables, except for Mg, Na, and K which displayed a declining trend at 40-60 cm depth when compared to the 0-20 cm depth. Concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Ni were generally low which might be due to their indirect relationship with soil pH. Continuous cultivation and fertilisation altered soil chemical properties; which could explain the unproductivity of such fields.

Keywords: over-cultivation, soil chemical properties, vertical distribution, spatial distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Pukhtoon Yar

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Peshawar City is experiencing a rapid spatial urban growth primarily as a result of high rate of urbanization along with economic development. This paper was designed to understand the impacts of urbanization on agriculture land use change by particularly focusing on land use change trajectories from the past (1991-2014). We used Landsat imageries (30 meters) for1991along with Spot images (2.5 meters) for year 2014. . The ground truthing of the satellite data was performed by collecting information from Peshawar Development Authority, revenue department, real estate agents and interviews with the officials of city administration. The temporal satellite images were processed by applying supervised maximum likelihood classification technique in ArcGIS 9.3. The procedure resulted into five main classes of land use i.e. built-up area, farmland, barren land, cultivable-wasteland and water bodies. The analysis revealed that, in Peshawar City the built-up environment has been doubled from 8.1 percent in 1991 to over 18.2 percent in 2014 by predominantly encroaching land producing food. Furthermore, the CA-Markov Model predicted that the area under impervious surfaces would continue to flourish during the next three decades. This rapid increase in built-up area is accredited to the lack of proper land use planning and management, which has caused chaotic urban sprawl with detrimental social and environmental consequences.

Keywords: Urban Expansion, Land use, GIS, Remote Sensing, Markov Model, Peshawar City

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Felipa M. Rico

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Linguistic oral competence plays a vital role in attaining effective communication. Since the English language is considered as universally used language and has a high demand skill needed in the work-place, mastery is the expected output from learners. To achieve this, learners should be given integrated differentiated tasks which help them develop and strengthen the expected skills. This study aimed to develop speaking instructional supplementary material to enhance the English linguistic competence of Grade 9 students in areas of pronunciation, intonation and stress, voice projection, diction and fluency. A descriptive analysis was utilized to analyze the speaking level of performance of the students in order to employ appropriate strategies. There were two sets of respondents: 178 Grade 9 students selected through a stratified sampling and chosen at random. The other set comprised English teachers who evaluated the usefulness of the devised teaching materials. A teacher conducted a speaking test and activities were employed to analyze the speaking needs of students. Observation and recordings were also used to evaluate the students’ performance. The findings revealed that the English pronunciation of the students was slightly unclear at times, but generally fair. There were lapses but generally they rated moderate in intonation and stress, because of other language interference. In terms of voice projection, students have erratic high volume pitch. For diction, the students’ ability to produce comprehensible language is limited, and as to fluency, the choice of vocabulary and use of structure were severely limited. Based on the students’ speaking needs analyses, the supplementary material devised was based on Nunan’s IM model, incorporating context of daily life and global work settings, considering the principle that language is best learned in the actual meaningful situation. To widen the mastery of skill, a rich learning environment, filled with a variety instructional material tends to foster faster acquisition of the requisite skills for sustained learning and development. The role of IM is to encourage information to stick in the learners’ mind, as what is seen is understood more than what is heard. Teachers say they found the IM “very useful.” This implied that English teachers could adopt the materials to improve the speaking skills of students. Further, teachers should provide varied opportunities for students to get involved in real life situations where they could take turns in asking and answering questions and share information related to the activities. This would minimize anxiety among students in the use of the English language.

Keywords: diction, fluency, intonation, instructional materials, linguistic competence

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Yousef Abdulaziz Almolhem

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Geographically, the most Arabic countries locate in areas confined to arid or semiarid regions. For this reason, most of our countries have adopted the seawater desalination as a strategy to overcome this problem. For example, the water supply of AUE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia is almost 100% from the seawater desalination plants. Many areas in Saudia Arabia and other countries in the world suffer from lack of fresh water which hinders the development of these areas, despite the availability of saline water and high solar radiation intensity. Furthermore, most developing countries do not have sufficient meteorological data to evaluate if the solar radiation is enough to meet the solar desalination. A mathematical model was developed to simulate and predict the thermal behavior of the solar still which used direct solar energy for distillation of seawater. Measurement data were measured in the Environment and Natural Resources Department, Faculty of Agricultural and Food sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, in order to evaluate the present model. The simulation results obtained from this model were compared with the measured data. The main results of this research showed that there are slight differences between the measured and predicted values of the elements studied, which is resultant from the change of some factors considered constants in the model such as the sky clearance, wind velocity and the salt concentration in the water in the basin of the solar still. It can be concluded that the present model can be used to estimate the average total solar radiation and the thermal behavior of the solar still in any area with consideration to the geographical location.

Keywords: mathematical model, sea water, distillation, solar radiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Kajal Zarei

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Supply chain management is becoming an increasingly important issue in many businesses today. In such circumstances, a number of reasons such as management deficiency in different segments of the supply chain, lack of streamlined processes, resistance to change the current systems and technologies, and lack of advanced information system have paved the ground to ask for innovative research studies. To this end, information technology (IT) is becoming a major driver to overcome the supply chain limitations and deficiencies. The emergence of IT has provided an excellent opportunity for redefining the supply chain to be more effective and competitive. This paper has investigated the IT impact on two-digit industry codes in the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) that are operating in four groups of the supply chains. Firstly, the primary fields of the supply chain were investigated, and then paired comparisons of different industry parts were accomplished. Using experts' ideas and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the status of industrial activities in Kurdistan Province in Iran was determined. The results revealed that manufacturing and inventory fields have been more important compared to other fields of the supply chain. In addition, IT has had greater impact on food and beverage industry, chemical industry, wood industry, wood products, and production of basic metals. The results indicated the need to IT awareness in supply chain management; in other words, IT applications needed to be developed for the identified industries.

Keywords: supply chain, information technology, analytical hierarchy process, two-digit codes, international standard industrial classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Marike Venter de Villiers, Alicia Kruger

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The rapid development of the Internet has facilitated the proliferation of online stores. It has, therefore, become a pertinent issue for online retailers to provide the ultimate experience to customers in an attempt to maintain market share in this competitive landscape. Experiential marketing refers to the sensory dimensions that consumers experience when being faced with a purchase decision, such as getting them to sense, feel, think, act, and relate. The goal of experiential marketing is to provide a holistic experience for customers that allow them to engage in an activity where they may be motivated to purchase the concept behind the product. Creating a unique online experience holds several benefits to brands such as increased customer satisfaction, increased revisit intention, and higher levels of customer loyalty. Although several studies have explored the topic of experiential marketing in an online context, a lack of research exists on South African consumers, an emerging economy that is often overlooked globally. More specifically, the present study focused on professional females and their perceptions of experiential marketing when shopping for fashion products online. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the experiential factors that influence the online purchase intention of fashion products among female professionals. Furthermore, this study aimed to achieve the following objectives: firstly, to gain insight into key website characteristics that consumers value when shopping online for fashion products; secondly, to apply Pine and Gilmore’s (1989) Four Realms of an Experience (entertainment, education, esthetics, and escapism) to ground the study; and thirdly, to gain in-depth insight into the importance of these dimensions and identifying sub-categories that fashion marketers can use to enhance consumers’ online experience. By means of a qualitative study, a focus group was conducted comprising six professional females by using semi-structured questions. Respondents were selected using convenience sampling, and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis. The present research suggests that three of the four realms of experience influence purchase intention of fashion products online, namely, escapism, esthetics, and education. The fourth dimension, pleasure, was present but to a lesser degree. In other words, ‘escapism’ provides online shoppers with a sense of emotional and intellectual pleasure, while ‘esthetics’ refers to the website design, functionality, and product range, and ‘education’ comprises the product information such as the quality, fabric, price and available sizes. The findings of this study provide fashion marketers with insight into how they can maximize on experiential marketing when selling fashion products online. It further provides strategies and techniques for creating an enhanced online experience that ultimately may lead to increased purchase intention.

Keywords: experiential marketing, fashion, online, retail

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Marziyeh Khavari

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In recent decades, climate change, global warming, and the growing population worldwide face some challenges, such as increasing food consumption and shortage of resources. Assessing how climate change could disturb crops, especially hazelnut production, seems crucial for sustainable agriculture production. For hazelnut cultivation in the mid-warm condition, such as in Iran, here we present an investigation of climate parameters and how much they are effective on fertility and nut production of hazelnut trees. Therefore, the climate change of the northern zones in Iran has investigated (1960-2017) and was reached an uptrend in temperature. Furthermore, the descriptive analysis performed on six cultivars during seven years shows how this small-scale survey could demonstrate the effects of climate change on hazelnut production and stability. Results showed that some climate parameters are more significant on nut production, such as solar radiation, soil temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation. Moreover, some cultivars have produced more stable production, for instance, Negret and Segorbe, while the Mervill de Boliver recorded the most variation during the study. Another aspect that needs to be met is training and predicting an actual model to simulate nut production through a neural network and linear regression simulation. The study developed and estimated the ANN model's generalization capability with different criteria such as RMSE, SSE, and accuracy factors for dependent and independent variables (environmental and yield traits). The models were trained and tested while the accuracy of the model is proper to predict hazelnut production under fluctuations in weather parameters.

Keywords: climate change, neural network, hazelnut, global warming

Procedia PDF Downloads 132