Search results for: patterns of traditional sustainability for residential buildings

Authors: Lucile Rapin, Cynthia El Hage, Rihab Gamaoun, Maria-Fernanda Arboleda, Erin Prosk

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Introduction: Sante Cannabis (SC), a Canadian group of clinics dedicated to medical cannabis, based in Montreal and in the province of Quebec, has served more than 8000 patients seeking cannabis-based treatment over the past five years. As randomized clinical trials with natural medical cannabis are scarce, real-world evidence offers the opportunity to fill research gaps between scientific evidence and clinical practice. Data on the use of medical cannabis products from SC patients were prospectively collected, leading to a large real-world database on the use of medical cannabis. The aim of this study was to report information on the profiles of both patients and prescribed medical cannabis products at SC clinics, and to assess the safety of medical cannabis among Canadian patients. Methods: This is an observational retrospective study of 1342 adult patients who were authorized with medical cannabis products between October 2017 and September 2019. Information regarding demographic characteristics, therapeutic indications for medical cannabis use, patterns in dosing and dosage form of medical cannabis and adverse effects over one-year follow-up (initial and 4 follow-up (FUP) visits) were collected. Results: 59% of SC patients were female, with a mean age of 56.7 (SD= 15.6, range= (19-97)). Cannabis products were authorized mainly for patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain (68.8% of patients), cancer (6.7%), neurological disorders (5.6%), and mood disorders (5.4 %). At initial visit, a large majority (70%) of patients were authorized exclusively medical cannabis products, 27% were authorized a combination of pharmaceutical cannabinoids and medical cannabis and 3% were prescribed only pharmaceutical cannabinoids. This pattern was recurrent over the one-year follow-up. Overall, oil was the preferred formulation (average over visits 72.5%) followed by a combination of oil and dry (average 19%), other routes of administration accounted for less than 4%. Patients were predominantly prescribed products with a balanced THC:CBD ratio (59%-75% across visits). 28% of patients reported at least one adverse effect (AE) at the 3-month follow-up visit and 12% at the six-month FUP visit. 84.8% of total AEs were mild and transient. No serious AE was reported. Overall, the most common side effects reported were dizziness (11.95% of total AEs), drowsiness (11.4%), dry mouth (5.5%), nausea (4.8%), headaches (4.6%), cough (4.4%), anxiety (4.1%) and euphoria (3.5%). Other adverse effects accounted for less than 3% of total AE. Conclusion: Our results confirm that the primary area of clinical use for medical cannabis is in pain management. Patients in this cohort are largely utilizing plant-based cannabis oil products with a balanced ratio of THC:CBD. Reported adverse effects were mild and included dizziness and drowsiness. This real-world data confirms the tolerable safety profile of medical cannabis and suggests medical indications not yet validated in controlled clinical trials. Such data offers an important opportunity for the investigation of the long-term effects of cannabinoid exposure in real-life conditions. Real-world evidence can be used to direct clinical trial research efforts on specific indications and dosing patterns for product development.

Keywords: medical cannabis, safety, real-world data, Canada

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Authors: Abdur Raheem, Ado Yakub

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Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years of which most of them are the result of intense and bitter competition for political power, the control of limited economic, social and environmental resources. In Nigeria, the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in most parts of the north eastern parts have ignited violence, bloodshed, refuge exodus and internal migration. Not only do the persistent attacks of the sect create widespread insecurity and fear, it has also stifled normal processes of trade and investments most especially real property investment which is acclaimed to accelerate the economic cycle, thus the need to evolve strategies for an improved property market in such areas. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of these social crisis on effective and efficient utilization of real properties as a resource towards the development of the economy, using a descriptive analysis approach where particular emphasis was based on trends in residential housing values; volume of estimated property transactions and real estate investment decisions by affected individuals. Findings indicate that social crisis in the affected areas have been a clog on the wheels of property development and investment as properties worth hundreds of millions have been destroyed thereby having great impact on property values. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to include the need to strategically continue investing in property during such times, the need for Nigerian government to establish an active conflict monitoring and management unit for prompt response, encourage community and neighbourhood policing to ameliorate security challenges in Nigeria.

Keywords: social crisis, property market, economy, resources, north-eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Naima Fatehi

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The paper reports on 107 medicinal plants, traditionally used in the South-West of Algeria (Bechar region). The information has been documented by interviewing traditional herbalists, various elderly men and women following different ethnobotanical methods. Ethnobotanical data was arranged alphabetically by botanical name, followed by family name, vernacular name, and part used. The present paper represents significant ethnobotanical information on medical plants used extensively in Bechar region for treating various diseases and provides baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical studies.

Keywords: medicinal plants, ethnobotanical survey, South-West Algeria, Bechar region

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Authors: Saowapa Phaithayawat

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The objectives of the study are the following: 1) To study the way of life in terms of one hundred years co-existence of the Muslim and local community in this area 2) To analyze factors affect to this community with happy co-existence. The study requires quantitative research to study a history together with the study of humanity. The result of this study showed that the area of Petchburi 7 community is an ancient area which has owned by the Muslim for almost 100 years. There is a sanctuary as the center of unity. Later Bangkok becomes more developed and provides more infrastructures like the motorway and other transportation: however, the owners of lands in this community still keep their lands and build many buildings to run the business. With this purpose, there are many non-Muslim people come to live here with co-existence. Not only do they convenient to work but also easy to transport by sky train. There are factors that make them live harmonious as following: 1) All Muslims in this area are strict to follow their rules and allocate their community for business. 2) All people, who come and live here, are middle-aged and working men and women. They rent rooms closed to their work. 3) There are Muslim food and desserts, especially Roti, the popular fried flour, and local Chachak, tea originated from the south of Thailand. All these food and deserts are famous for working men and women to home and join after work 4) All Muslim in this area are independent to lead their own lives although a society changes rapidly.

Keywords: co-existence, Muslims, other group of people, the ancient community, social sciences

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Authors: Swee Kun Yap, Sachin Jangam, Suraj Vasudevan

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Experiential learning is dubbed as a highly effective way to enhance learning. Virtual reality (VR) is thus a helpful tool in providing a safe, memorable, and interactive learning environment. A class of 49 fluid mechanics students participated in starting up a pump, one of the most used equipment in the chemical industry, in VR. They experience the process in VR to familiarize themselves with the safety training and the standard operating procedure (SOP) in guided mode. Students subsequently observe their peers (in groups of 4 to 5) complete the same training. The training first brings each user through the personal protection equipment (PPE) selection, before guiding the user through a series of steps for pump startup. One of the most common feedback given by industries include the weakness of our graduates in pump design and operation. Traditional fluid mechanics is a highly theoretical module loaded with engineering equations, providing limited opportunity for visualization and operation. With VR pump, students can now learn to startup, shutdown, troubleshoot and observe the intricacies of a centrifugal pump in a safe and controlled environment, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practical application. Following the completion of the guided mode operation, students then individually complete the VR assessment for pump startup on the same day, which requires students to complete the same series of steps, without any cues given in VR to test their recollection rate. While most students miss out a few minor steps such as the checking of lubrication oil and the closing of minor drain valves before pump priming, all the students scored full marks in the PPE selection, and over 80% of the students were able to complete all the critical steps that are required to startup a pump safely. The students were subsequently tested for their recollection rate by means of an online quiz 3 weeks later, and it is again found that over 80% of the students were able to complete the critical steps in the correct order. In the survey conducted, students reported that the VR experience has been enjoyable and enriching, and 79.5% of the students voted to include VR as a positive supplementary exercise in addition to traditional teaching methods. One of the more notable feedback is the higher ease of noticing and learning from mistakes as an observer rather than as a VR participant. Thus, the cycling between being a VR participant and an observer has helped tremendously in their knowledge retention. This reinforces the positive impact VR has on learning.

Keywords: experiential learning, learning by doing, pump, unit operations, virtual reality

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Authors: Dhananjoy Dutta

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Field studies in lower Gangetic plains of India reveal that over-abstraction of groundwater for irrigation to paddy leads to a substantial depletion of groundwater over the decades, resulting in negative effects on lowering of the water table, drying up of surface water sources and aquifer pollution with leached-out arsenic. The aggravating arsenic toxicity in drinking water is manifested in health problems and ‘arsenicosis’ of people. A social conflict arises between farmers, who intend to grow paddy for livelihoods, and the groundwater authority, which enacts the ‘Regulation Laws’ by putting a check on the excessive installation of private tube-wells for irrigation. Hence, considering the challenges of resource sustainability, health issues, and food security, the study calls for a paradigm shift in policy from further groundwater development to sustainable water resources management and evaluates some strategies integrating supply and demand side management for mitigating the problems.

Keywords: groundwater, irrigation, paddy farming, water table depletion, arsenic pollution, gangetic plains

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Authors: Elifcan Oztekin

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Compliment response strategies in cross-linguistic contexts have received a considerable amount of interest in sociolinguistic research in various language settings. In this respect, a common finding of these studies indicates that speakers of different languages employ different patterns in strategies to respond to compliments. This has triggered varying theoretical approaches to compliment responses within theories of politeness and the universality of speech acts. In the light of previous studies, the present study investigates compliment response strategies that Turkish-English bilingual university students use in English and Turkish response conditions through a cross-linguistic discourse completion task and interviews. Data were analyzed using Holmes’ (1988) taxonomy and the results indicate a similar pattern to what has been observed in Turkish compliments responses in previous research. Turkish-English comparisons also display noticeable similarities in macro-level strategies, while subtle differences in micro-level strategies were also observed.

Keywords: compliment response strategies, cross-cultural differences, bilingualism, sociolinguistics

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Authors: Shyam Sunder Kawan

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Museums are enclosed buildings encompassing and displaying creative artworks, artefacts, and discoveries for people’s knowledge and observation. In the context of Nepal, museums and exhibition areas are either adaptive to small gallery spaces in residences or ‘neo-classical palatial complexes’ that evolved during the 19th century. This study accepts the sparse occurrence of a diverse range of artworks and expressions in the country's complex cultural manifestations within vivid ethnic groups. This study explores the immense potential of one such prevalence beyond the delimitation of physical boundaries. Taking Bhaktapur World Heritage Site as a case, the study perpetuates its investigation into real-time life activities that this city and its cultural landscapes ensemble. Seeking the ‘musealization’ as an urban process to induce museums into the city precinct, this study anticipates art space into urban spaces to offer a limitless experience for this contemporary world. Unveiling art as an experiential component, this study aims to conceptualize a living heritage as an infinite resource for museum interpretation beyond just educational institute purposes.

Keywords: living museum, site museum, museulization, contemporary arts, cultural heritage, historic cities

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Authors: Anil Kumar Pandey

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A compact planar monopole antenna with dual-band operation suitable for wireless local area network (WLAN) application is presented in this paper. The antenna occupies an overall area of 18 ×12 mm². The antenna is fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line and it combines two folded strips, which radiates at 2.4 and 5.2 GHz. In the proposed antenna, by optimally selecting the antenna dimensions, dual-band resonant modes with a much wider impedance matching at the higher band can be produced. Prototypes of the obtained optimized design have been simulated using EM solver. The simulated results explore good dual-band operation with -10 dB impedance bandwidths of 50 MHz and 2400 MHz at bands of 2.4 and 5.2 GHz, respectively, which cover the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN operating bands. Good antenna performances such as radiation patterns and antenna gains over the operating bands have also been observed. The antenna with a compact size of 18×12×1.6 mm³ is designed on an FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.4.

Keywords: CPW antenna, dual-band, electromagnetic simulation, wireless local area network (WLAN)

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Authors: Zhdanova A. O., Volkov R. S., Kuznetsov G. V., Strizhak P. A.

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Fires in different types of facilities are a serious problem worldwide.It is still an unaccomplished science and technology objective to establish the minimum number and type of sensors in automatic systems of compartment fire suppression which would turn the fire-extinguishing agent spraying on and off in real time depending on the state of the fire, minimize the amount of agent applied, delay time in fire suppression and system response, as well as the time of combustion suppression. Based on the results of experimental studies, the conclusion was made that it is reasonable to use a gas analysis system and heat sensors (in the event of their prior activation) to determine the effectiveness of fire suppression (fire-extinguishing composition interacts with the fire). Thus, the concentration of CO in the interaction of the firefighting liquid with the fire increases to 0.7–1.2%, which indicates a slowdown in the flame combustion, and heat sensors stop responding at a gas medium temperature below 80 ºC, which shows a gradual decrease in the heat release from the fire. The evidence from this study suggests that the information received from the video recording equipment (video camera) should be used in real time as an additional parameter confirming fire suppression. Research was supported by Russian Science Foundation (project No 21-19-00009, https://rscf.ru/en/project/21-19-00009/).

Keywords: compartment fires, fire suppression, continuous control of fire behavior, feedback systems

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Authors: Marzie Shahini, Rasoul Mirghaderi

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This paper describes collapse assessments of a steel moment-frame high-rise tower with setback irregularity, designed per the 2010 ASCE7 code, under spectral-matched ground motion records. To estimate a safety margin against life-threatening collapse, an analytical model of the tower is subjected to a suite of ground motions with incremental intensities from maximum considered earthquake hazard level to the incipient collapse level. Capability of the structural system to collapse prevention is evaluated based on the similar methodology reported in FEMA P695. Structural performance parameters in terms of maximum/mean inter-story drift ratios, residual drift ratios, and maximum plastic hinge rotations are also compared to the acceptance criteria recommended by the TBI Guidelines. The results demonstrate that the structural system satisfactorily safeguards the building against collapse. Moreover, for this tower, the code-specified requirements in ASCE7-10 are reasonably adequate to satisfy seismic performance criteria developed in the TBI Guidelines for the maximum considered earthquake hazard level.

Keywords: high-rise buildings, set back, residual drift, seismic performance

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Authors: Patricia Kermeci

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Policies related to the reduction of both carbon dioxide and energy consumption within the residential sector have contributed towards a growing number of energy-efficient houses being built in several countries. Many of these energy-efficient houses rely on the construction of very well insulated and highly airtight structures, ventilated mechanically. Although energy-efficient houses are indeed more energy efficient than conventional houses, concerns have been raised over the quality of their indoor air and, consequently, the possible adverse health and wellbeing effects for their occupants. Using a longitudinal study design over three different weather seasons (winter, spring and summer), this study has investigated the indoor climate and indoor air quality of different rooms (bedroom, living room and kitchen) in five energy-efficient houses and four conventional houses in the UK. Occupants have kept diaries of their activities during the studied periods and interviews have been conducted to investigate possible behavioural explanations for the findings. Data has been compared with reviews of epidemiological, toxicological and other health related published literature to reveals three main findings. First, it shows that the indoor environment quality of energy-efficient houses cannot be treated as a holistic entity as different rooms presented dissimilar indoor climate and indoor air quality. Thus, such differences might contribute to the health and wellbeing of occupants in different ways. Second, the results show that the indoor environment quality of energy-efficient houses can vary following changes in weather season, leaving occupants at a lower or higher risk of adverse health and wellbeing effects during different weather seasons. Third, one cannot assume that even identical energy-efficient houses provide a similar indoor environment quality. Fourth, the findings reveal that the practices and behaviours of the occupants of energy-efficient houses likely determine whether they enjoy a healthier indoor environment when compared with their control houses. In conclusion, it has been considered vital to understand occupants’ practices and behaviours in order to explain the ways they might contribute to the indoor climate and indoor air quality in energy-efficient houses.

Keywords: energy-efficient house, health and wellbeing, indoor environment, indoor air quality

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Authors: Tharwat Girgis Farag Girgis

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The link between development and human rights has long been the subject of scholarly debate. As a result, a number of principles have been adopted, from the right to development to the human rights-based development approach, to understand the dynamics between the two concepts. Despite the initiatives taken, the exact relationship between development and human rights remains unclear. However, the rapprochement between the two concepts and the need for development efforts regarding human rights have increased in recent years. On the other hand, the emergence of sustainable development as an acceptable method in development goals and policies makes this consensus even more unstable. The place of sustainable development in the legal debate on human rights and its role in promoting sustainable development programs require further research. Therefore, this article attempts to map the relationship between development and human rights, with particular emphasis on the place given to sustainable development principles in international human rights law. It will continue to investigate whether it recognizes sustainable development rights. The article will therefore give a positive answer to question mentioned here. The jurisprudence and interpretive guidelines of human rights institutions travel to confirm this hypothesis.

Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security

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Authors: Kevin F. Hsu, Alvin Chua, Sarah X. Lin

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As a multilingual society, Singaporean names for different parts of the city have changed over time. Residents included Indigenous Malays, dialect-speakers from China, European settler-colonists, and Tamil-speakers from South India. Each group would name locations in their own languages. Today, as ancestral tongues are increasingly supplanted by English, contemporary Singaporeans’ understanding of once-common place names is disappearing. After demolition or redevelopment, some urban places will only exist in archival records or in human memory. United Nations conferences on the standardization of geographic names have called attention to how place names relate to identity, well-being, and a sense of belonging. The Singapore Place-Naming Project responds to these imperatives by capturing past and present place names through digitizing historical maps, mining archival records, and applying selective crowd-sourcing to trace the evolution of place names throughout the city. The project ensures that both formal and vernacular geographical names remain accessible to historians, city planners, and the public. The project is compiling a gazetteer, a geospatial archive of placenames, with streets, buildings, landmarks, and other points of interest (POI) appearing in the historic maps and planning documents of Singapore, currently held by the National Archives of Singapore, the National Library Board, university departments, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. To create a spatial layer of information, the project links each place name to either a geo-referenced point, line segment, or polygon, along with the original source material in which the name appears. This record is supplemented by crowd-sourced contributions from civil service officers and heritage specialists, drawing from their collective memory to (1) define geospatial boundaries of historic places that appear in past documents, but maybe unfamiliar to users today, and (2) identify and record vernacular place names not captured in formal planning documents. An intuitive interface allows participants to demarcate feature classes, vernacular phrasings, time periods, and other knowledge related to historical or forgotten spaces. Participants are stratified into age bands and ethnicity to improve representativeness. Future iterations could allow additional public contributions. Names reveal meanings that communities assign to each place. While existing historical maps of Singapore allow users to toggle between present-day and historical raster files, this project goes a step further by adding layers of social understanding and planning documents. Tracking place names illuminates linguistic, cultural, commercial, and demographic shifts in Singapore, in the context of transformations of the urban environment. The project also demonstrates how a moderated, selectively crowd-sourced effort can solicit useful geospatial data at scale, sourced from different generations, and at higher granularity than traditional surveys, while mitigating negative impacts of unmoderated crowd-sourcing. Stakeholder agencies believe the project will achieve several objectives, including Supporting heritage conservation and public education; Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage; Providing historical context for street, place or development-renaming requests; Enhancing place-making with deeper historical knowledge; Facilitating emergency and social services by tagging legal addresses to vernacular place names; Encouraging public engagement with heritage by eliciting multi-stakeholder input.

Keywords: collective memory, crowd-sourced, digital heritage, geospatial, geographical names, linguistic heritage, place-naming, Singapore, Southeast Asia

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Authors: Umedov Mekhroz, Griaznova Svetlana

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The quality of life and well-being of patients, staff and visitors are central to the delivery of health care. Architecture and design are becoming an integral part of the healing and recovery approach. The most significant point that can be implemented in hospital buildings is the therapeutic value of the artificial environment, the design and integration of plants to bring the natural world into the healthcare environment. The hospital environment should feel like home comfort. The techniques that therapeutic architecture uses are very cheap, but provide real benefit to patients, staff and visitors, demonstrating that the difference is not in cost but in design quality. The best environment is not necessarily more expensive - it is about special use of light and color, rational use of materials and flexibility of premises. All this forms innovative concepts in modern hospital architecture, in new construction, renovation or expansion projects. The aim of the study is to identify the methods and principles of therapeutic architecture. The research methodology consists in studying and summarizing international experience in scientific research, literature, standards, methodological manuals and project materials on the research topic. The result of the research is the development of graphic-analytical tables based on the system analysis of the processed information; 3d visualization of hospital interiors based on processed information.

Keywords: therapeutic architecture, healthcare interiors, sustainable design, materials, color scheme, lighting, environment.

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Authors: Iyasu Eibedingil

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The construction industry is one of the major factors responsible for causing a negative impact on the environment. It has the largest share in the use of natural resources including land use, material extraction, and greenhouse gases emissions. For this reason, it is imperative to reduce its environmental impact through the construction of sustainable buildings with less impact. These days, it is possible to measure the environmental impact by using different tools such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Given this premise, this study explored the environmental impact of two types of roofing systems through comparative life cycle assessment approach. The tiles were analyzed to select the most environmentally friendly roofing system for the villa at Khalifa City A, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. These products are available in various forms; however, in this study concrete roof tiles and clay roof tiles were considered. The results showed that concrete roof tiles have lower environmental impact. In all scenarios considered, manufacturing the roof tiles locally, using recovered fuels for firing clay tiles, and using renewable energy (electricity from PV plant) showed that the concrete roof tiles were found to be excellent in terms of its embodied carbon, embodied the energy and various other environmental performance indicators.

Keywords: clay roof tile, concrete roof tile, life cycle assessment, sensitivity analysis

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Authors: Felix Aberu

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The high rate of greenhouse gas (CO₂) emission and increased concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere are not unconnected to both human and natural activities. This has caused climate change and global warming in the world. The adverse effect of these climatic changes has no doubt threatened human existence. Hence, this study examined the effects of environmental and climate influence on mortality and morbidity rates, with particular reference to the world’s leading CO₂ emission countries, using both the pre-estimation, estimation, and post-estimation techniques for more dependable outcomes. Hence, the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) was adopted as the main estimation technique for the data analysis from 1996 to 2023. The coefficient of carbon emissions confirmed a positive and significant relationship among CO₂ emission, mortality, and morbidity rates in the world’s leading CO₂ emissions countries, which implies that carbon emission has contributed to mortality and morbidity rates in the world. Therefore, significant action should be taken to facilitate the expansion of environmental protection and sustainability initiatives in any CO₂ emissions nations of the world.

Keywords: environmental, mortality, morbidity, health outcomes, carbon emissions

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Authors: Laura Roe

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This study draws on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2017 with heroin and poly-substance users in Scotland and explores experiences of time and temporality as factors in continuing drug use. The research largely took place over the year in which drug-related deaths in Scotland reached a record high, and were statistically recorded as the highest in Europe. This qualitative research is therefore significant in understanding both evolving patterns of drug use and the experiential lifeworlds of those who use heroin and other substances in high doses. Methodologies included participant observation, structured and semi-structured interviews, and unstructured conversations with twenty-two regular participants. The fieldwork was conducted in two needle exchanges, a community recovery group and in the community. The initial aim of the study was to assess evolving patterns of drug preferences in order to explore a clinical and user-reported rise in the use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), which are typically considered to be highly potent, synthetic substances, often available at a low cost. It was found, however, that while most research participants had experimented with NPS with varying intensity, those who used every day regularly consumed heroin, methadone, and alcohol with benzodiazepines such as diazepam or anticonvulsants such as gabapentin. The research found that many participants deliberately pursued the non-fatal effects of overdose, aiming to induce states of dissociation, detachment and uneven consciousness, and did so by both mixing substances and experimenting with novel modes of consumption. Temporality was significant in the decision to consume cocktails of substances, as users described wishing to sever themselves from time; entering into states of ‘non-time’ and insensibility through specific modes of intoxication. Time and temporality similarly impacted other aspects of addicted life. Periods of attempted abstinence witnessed a slowing of time’s passage that was tied to affective states of boredom and melancholy, in addition to a disruptive return of distressing and difficult memories. Abject past memories frequently dominated and disrupted the present, which otherwise could be highly immersive due to the time and energy-consuming nature of seeking drugs while in financial difficulty. There was furthermore a discordance between individual user temporalities and the strict time-based regimes of recovery services and institutional bodies, and the study aims to highlight the impact of such a disjuncture on the efficacy of treatment programs. Many participants had difficulty in adhering to set appointments or temporal frameworks due to their specific temporal situatedness. Overall, exploring increasing tendencies of heroin users in Scotland towards poly-substance use, this study draws on experiences and perceptions of time, analysing how temporality comes to bear on the ways drugs are sought and consumed, and how recovery is imagined and enacted. The study attempts to outline the experiential, intimate and subjective worlds of heroin and poly-substance users while explicating the structural and historical factors that shape them.

Keywords: addiction, poly-substance use, temporality, timelessness

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Authors: Mahdi Daghmhehci Firoozjaei, Minchang Kim, Dima Alhadidi

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In this paper, we present a power profiling model for smart grid consumers based on real time load data acquired smart meters. It profiles consumers’ power consumption behaviour using the dynamic time warping (DTW) clustering algorithm. Due to the invariability of signal warping of this algorithm, time-disordered load data can be profiled and consumption features be extracted. Two load types are defined and the related load patterns are extracted for classifying consumption behaviour by DTW. The classification methodology is discussed in detail. To evaluate the performance of the method, we analyze the time-series load data measured by a smart meter in a real case. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed profiling method with 90.91% true positive rate for load type clustering in the best case.

Keywords: power profiling, user privacy, dynamic time warping, smart grid

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Authors: Suparwoko, M. Hardyan Prastyanto, Aisah Azhari Marwangi

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Today, we face with some paradoxical tendencies. In the field of culture, on the one hand, we are witnessing the emergence of ethnic and religious fervor that is becoming stronger, but on the other hand, we are also witnessing a new ideology that characterized the flow of transnationalism, globalism, and secularism. Through social media, the globalization movement is accommodated to spread all over the world. Globalization also requires the commercialization of many fields, including architecture. In the architecture of commercial buildings, the appeal of the building is an important aspect for the function of the building. That theory is the basis for research of this study. This study aimed to know the influence of social media on the changing trends in the design of restaurant in urban areas of Yogyakarta Province. This study is using observation (survey) method to restaurants in Yogyakarta and surrounding areas to collect data, then the assessment of data by using the theory of the social media Path and Instagram that provide trend information from interior and building facades of the restaurant. By using social media Path and Instagram based survey methods, it can be seen that the intensity of social media users who publish or promote restaurant that has been chosen. Generally, conventional character of the restaurant have changed into a material and visually conceptual restaurant.

Keywords: influence, social media, changes, architecture trend

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Authors: Tran Trong Thang, Nguyen Phan Kien, Trinh Quang Duc

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The phased-array ultrasound transducer types are utilities for medical ultrasonography as well as optical imaging. However, their discontinuity characteristic limits the applications due to the artifacts contaminated into the reconstructed images. Because of the effects of the ultrasound pressure field pattern to the echo ultrasonic waves as well as the optical modulated signal, the side lobes of the focused ultrasound beam induced by discontinuity of the phased-array ultrasound transducer might the reason of the artifacts. In this paper, a simple method in approach of numerical simulation was used to investigate the limitation of discontinuity of the elements in phased-array ultrasound transducer and their effects to the ultrasound pressure field. Take into account the change of ultrasound pressure field patterns in the conditions of variation of the pitches between elements of the phased-array ultrasound transducer, the appropriated parameters for phased-array ultrasound transducer design were asserted quantitatively.

Keywords: phased-array ultrasound transducer, sound pressure pattern, discontinuous sound field, numerical visualization

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Authors: Asma Omri, Iheb Sifaoui, Sofiane Sayahi, Hichem Besbes

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Future vehicle systems demand advanced capabilities, notably in-cabin life detection and driver monitoring systems, with a particular emphasis on drowsiness detection. To meet these requirements, several techniques employ artificial intelligence methods based on real-time vital sign measurements. In parallel, Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) radar technology has garnered considerable attention in the domains of healthcare and biomedical engineering for non-invasive vital sign monitoring. FMCW radar offers a multitude of advantages, including its non-intrusive nature, continuous monitoring capacity, and its ability to penetrate through clothing. In this paper, we propose a system utilizing the AWR6843AOP radar from Texas Instruments (TI) to extract precise vital sign information. The radar allows us to estimate Ballistocardiogram (BCG) signals, which capture the mechanical movements of the body, particularly the ballistic forces generated by heartbeats and respiration. These signals are rich sources of information about the cardiac cycle, rendering them suitable for heart rate estimation. The process begins with real-time subject positioning, followed by clutter removal, computation of Doppler phase differences, and the use of various filtering methods to accurately capture subtle physiological movements. To address the challenges associated with FMCW radar-based vital sign monitoring, including motion artifacts due to subjects' movement or radar micro-vibrations, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks are implemented. LSTM's adaptability to different heart rate patterns and ability to handle real-time data make it suitable for continuous monitoring applications. Several crucial steps were taken, including feature extraction (involving amplitude, time intervals, and signal morphology), sequence modeling, heart rate estimation through the analysis of detected cardiac cycles and their temporal relationships, and performance evaluation using metrics such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and correlation with reference heart rate measurements. For dataset construction and LSTM training, a comprehensive data collection system was established, integrating the AWR6843AOP radar, a Heart Rate Belt, and a smart watch for ground truth measurements. Rigorous synchronization of these devices ensured data accuracy. Twenty participants engaged in various scenarios, encompassing indoor and real-world conditions within a moving vehicle equipped with the radar system. Static and dynamic subject’s conditions were considered. The heart rate estimation through LSTM outperforms traditional signal processing techniques that rely on filtering, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), and thresholding. It delivers an average accuracy of approximately 91% with an RMSE of 1.01 beat per minute (bpm). In conclusion, this paper underscores the promising potential of FMCW radar technology integrated with artificial intelligence algorithms in the context of automotive applications. This innovation not only enhances road safety but also paves the way for its integration into the automotive ecosystem to improve driver well-being and overall vehicular safety.

Keywords: ballistocardiogram, FMCW Radar, vital sign monitoring, LSTM

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Authors: Ahmet Kaya

Abstract:

Incoming cash flows and outgoing claims play an important role to determine how is companies’ profit or loss. In this matter, ruin probability provides to describe vulnerability of the companies against ruin. Quantum mechanism is one of the significant approaches to model ruin probability as stochastically. Using the Hamiltonian method, we have performed formalisation of quantum mechanics < x|e-ᵗᴴ|x' > and obtained the transition probability of 2x2 and 3x3 matrix as traditional and eigenvector basis where A is a ruin operator and H|x' > is a Schroedinger equation. This operator A and Schroedinger equation are defined by a Hamiltonian matrix H. As a result, probability of not to be in ruin can be simulated and calculated as stochastically.

Keywords: ruin probability, quantum mechanics, Hamiltonian technique, operator approach

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Authors: Masoomeh Alsadat Mirshafaei

Abstract:

The present study aims to explore the effect of an 8-week aerobic training regimen combined with cinnamon extract on serum irisin and leptin levels in insulin-resistant rats. Additionally, this research leverages various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to model the complex interdependencies between exercise, nutrition, and metabolic markers, offering a groundbreaking approach to obesity and diabetes research. Forty-eight Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into four groups: control, training, cinnamon, and training cinnamon. The training protocol was conducted over 8 weeks, with sessions 5 days a week at 75-80% VO2 max. The cinnamon and training-cinnamon groups were injected with 200 ml/kg/day of cinnamon extract. Data analysis included serum data, dietary intake, exercise intensity, and metabolic response variables, with blood samples collected 72 hours after the final training session. The dataset was analyzed using one-way ANOVA (P<0.05) and fed into various ML and DL models, including Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). Traditional statistical methods indicated that aerobic training, with and without cinnamon extract, significantly increased serum irisin and decreased leptin levels. Among the algorithms, the CNN model provided superior performance in identifying specific interactions between cinnamon extract concentration and exercise intensity, optimizing the increase in irisin and the decrease in leptin. The CNN model achieved an accuracy of 92%, outperforming the SVM (85%) and RF (88%) models in predicting the optimal conditions for metabolic marker improvements. The study demonstrated that advanced ML and DL techniques could uncover nuanced relationships and potential cellular responses to exercise and dietary supplements, which is not evident through traditional methods. These findings advocate for the integration of advanced analytical techniques in nutritional science and exercise physiology, paving the way for personalized health interventions in managing obesity and diabetes.

Keywords: aerobic training, cinnamon extract, insulin resistance, irisin, leptin, convolutional neural networks, exercise physiology, support vector machines, random forest

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Authors: Mohamad Musa

Abstract:

The history of mental health practices and services in the Middle East region has been deeply intertwined with its rich cultural, religious, and societal context. Tracing back to ancient times, mental health approaches were heavily influenced by the traditions of major monotheistic religions, with a strong emphasis on spiritual and traditional healing methods. As psychiatric institutions and Western medicine gradually gained a foothold in the region during the 20th century, a notable shift occurred. However, the integration of Western psychiatric practices faced significant challenges due to cultural barriers and deeply rooted beliefs. Families and communities often turned to traditional healers and religious practices as their initial recourse for mental health concerns, viewing Western interventions with skepticism and hesitation. Historically, mental health services in the Middle East have been overshadowed by a focus on physical health and the biomedical model. Mental illness carried substantial stigma, with individuals and families often reluctant to disclose mental health struggles due to fears of societal ostracization and discrimination. This stigma posed a significant barrier to accessing and accepting formal mental health support. Later in the 20th century, governments in the Middle East began recognizing the need for modernizing mental health services and integrating them into the broader healthcare system. However, this process was hindered by several factors, including limited resources, inadequate training for healthcare professionals, and ongoing conflicts and instability in certain regions, which disrupted the delivery of mental health services. As the 21st century progressed, several Middle Eastern nations, particularly those in the Arabian Gulf region, began implementing national mental health strategies and legislative reforms to address the growing need for comprehensive mental health care. These efforts aimed to destigmatize mental illness, protect the rights of individuals with mental health conditions, and promote public awareness and education. Despite these positive developments, the historical legacy of stigma, cultural barriers, and limited resources continues to pose challenges in the provision of accessible and culturally responsive mental health services across the diverse populations of the Middle East.

Keywords: mental health, history, middle east, literature review

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Authors: A. O. Idris, J. Virgone, A. I. Ibrahim, D. David, E. Vergnault

Abstract:

In hot countries, the major challenge is the air conditioning. The increase in energy consumption by air conditioning stems from the need to live in more comfortable buildings, which is understandable. But in Djibouti, one of the countries with the most expensive electricity in the world, this need is exacerbated by an architecture that is inappropriate and unsuitable for climatic conditions. This paper discusses the design of the roof which is the surface receiving the most solar radiation. The roof determines the general behavior of the building. The study presents Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling and analysis of the energy performance of a double skin ventilated roof. The particularity of this study is that it considers the climate of Djibouti characterized by hot and humid conditions in winter and very hot and humid in summer. Roof simulations are carried out using the Ansys Fluent software to characterize the flow and the heat transfer induced in the ventilated roof in steady state. This modeling is carried out by comparing the influence of several parameters such as the internal emissivity of the upper surface, the thickness of the insulation of the roof and the thickness of the ventilated channel on heat gain through the roof. The energy saving potential compared to the current construction in Djibouti is also presented.

Keywords: building, double skin roof, CFD, thermo-fluid analysis, energy saving, forced convection, natural convection

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Authors: Yue Wang, Fan Chen

Abstract:

After the economic reform in 1978, the urbanization in China has grown fast. It urged cities to expand in an unprecedented high speed. Villages around were annexed unprepared, and it turned out to be a new type of community called 'village in city.' Two things happened here. First, the locals gave up farming and turned to secondary industry and tertiary industry, as a result of losing their land. Secondly, attracted by the high income in cities and low rent here, plenty of migrants came into the community. This area is important to a city in rapid growth for providing a transitional zone. But thanks to its passivity and low development, 'village in city' has caused lots of trouble to the city. Densities of population and construction are both high, while facilities are severely inadequate. Unplanned and illegal structures are built, which creates a complex mixed-function area and leads to a bad residential area. Besides, the locals have a strong property right consciousness for the land. It holds back the transformation and development of the community. Although the land capitalization can bring significant benefits, it’s inappropriate to make a great financial compensation to the locals, and considering the large population of city migrants, it’s important to explore the relationship among the 'village in city,' city immigrants and the city itself. Taking the example of Hangzhou, this paper analyzed the developing process, functions spatial distribution, industrial structure and current traffic system of 'village in city.' Above the research on the community, this paper put forward a common method to make urban planning through the following ways: adding city functions, building civil facilities, re-planning functions spatial distribution, changing the constitution of local industry and planning new traffic system. Under this plan, 'village in city' finally can be absorbed into cities and make its own contribution to the urbanization.

Keywords: China, city immigrant, urbanization, village in city

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Authors: A. Chtourou, K. Ben Youssef, M. Friel, T. Leicht

Abstract:

These Place attributes and destination images associated with tourism destinations are often crucial important for tourist travel decisions and choice behavior. Understanding the interactions between them is fundamental for developing sustainable place brands. Despite their extensive use on an empirical ground, little research has been done in terms of analyzing the constructs that determine the sense of place in the marketing of cultural heritage sites and on how tourist experiences at such places influence tourist motivations to revisit destinations. By referring to the Italian city of Vicenza, internationally renowned for its gold jewelry production and for the Palladian architectures and buildings which have been recognized World Heritage by the UNESCO, the paper aims to identify how destination image, place familiarity and travel satisfaction influence tourists’ motivations to revisit Vicenza. After an introduction and literature review, the paper investigates the importance of the core constructs that determine the sense of place in the tourist practice. In accordance with previous research, the results provide evidence that favorable travel experiences influence revisit intentions positively. The managerial implications and recommendations for the city of Vicenza are discussed.

Keywords: consumer behavior, heritage tourism, sense of place, place branding, territorial marketing

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Authors: Inseok Yeo, Tae-Ho Song

Abstract:

To practically apply vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) to buildings or home appliances, VIPs have demanded long-term lifespan with outstanding insulation performance. Service lives of VIPs enveloped with Al-foil and three-layer Al-metallized envelope are calculated. For Al-foil envelope, the service life is longer but edge conduction is too large compared with the Al metallized envelope. To increase service life even more, the proposed double enveloping method and metal-barrier-added enveloping method are further analyzed. The service lives of the VIP to employ two enveloping methods are calculated. Also, pressure increase and thermal insulation performance characteristics are investigated. For the metal- barrier-added enveloping method, effective thermal conductivity increase with time is close to that of Al-foil envelope, especially, for getter-inserted VIPs. For the double enveloping method, if water vapor is perfectly adsorbed, the effect of service life enhancement becomes much greater. From these methods, the VIP can be guaranteed for the service life of more than 20 years.

Keywords: vacuum insulation panels, service life, double enveloping, metal-barrier-added enveloping, edge conduction

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Authors: Sisi Xia, Dezhuan Tao, Junyan Yang, Weiting Xiong

Abstract:

Under the background of Chinese urbanization changing from incremental development to stock development, the completion of urban public service facilities is essential to urban spatial quality. As public services facilities is a huge and complicated system, clarifying the various types of internal rules associated with the land market price is key to optimizing spatial layout. This paper takes Wuxi City as a representative sample location and establishes the digital analysis platform using urban price and several high-precision big data acquisition methods. On this basis, it analyzes the coupling relationship between different public service categories and land price, summarizing the coupling patterns of urban public facilities distribution and urban land price fluctuations. Finally, the internal mechanism within each of the two elements is explored, providing the reference of the optimum layout of urban planning and public service facilities.

Keywords: public service facilities, land price, urban spatial morphology, big data

Procedia PDF Downloads 216