Search results for: capital cost
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 7248

Search results for: capital cost

1938 Wetland Community and Their Livelihood Opportunities in the Face of Changing Climatic Condition in Southwest Bangladesh

Authors: Mohsina Aktar, Bishawjit Mallick

Abstract:

Bangladesh faces the multidimensional manifestations of climate change e.g. flood, cyclone, sea level rise, drainage congestion, salinity, etc. This study aimed at to find out the community’s perception of the perceived impact of climate change on their wetland resource based livelihood, to analyze their present livelihood scenario and to find out required institutional setup to strengthen present livelihood scenario. Therefore, this study required both quantitative analysis like quantification of wetland resources, occupation, etc. and also exploratory information like policy and institutional reform. For quantitative information 200 questionnaire survey and in some cases observation survey and for socially shareable qualitative and quantitative issues case study and focus group discussion were conducted. In-Depth interview was conducted for socially non-shareable qualitative issues. The overall findings of this study have been presented maintaining a sequence- perception about climate change effect, livelihood scenario and required institutional support of the wetland community. Flood has been ranked where cyclone effect is comparatively less disastrous in this area. Heavy rainfall comes after the cyclone. Female members responded almost same about the ranking and effects of frequently occurred and devastating effects of climate change. People are much more aware of the impact of climate change. Training of Care in RVCC project helps to increase their knowledge level. If the level of education can be increased, people can fight against calamity and poverty with more confidence. People seem to overcome the problems of water logging and thus besides involving in Hydroponics (33.3%) as prime occupation in monsoon; they are also engaged in other business related activities. January to May is the low-income season for the farmers. But some people don’t want to change their traditional occupation and their age is above 45. The young earning member wants to utilize their lean income period by alternative occupation. People who do not have own land and performing water transportation or other types of occupation are now interested about Hydroponics. People who give their land on rent are now thinking about renting their land in monsoon as through that they can earn a sound amount rather than get nothing. What they require is just seed, training, and capital. Present marketing system faces the problem of communication. So this sector needed to be developed. Involvement of women in income earning activity is very low (5.1%), and 100% women are housewives. They became inferior due to their educational level and dominance of their husband. Only one NGO named BCAS (Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies) has been found engage training facilities and advocacy for this purpose. Upazilla agricultural extension office like other GO remains inactive to give support the community for extension and improvement of Hydroponics agriculture. If the community gets proper support and inspiration, they can fight against crisis of low-income and climate change, with the Hydroponics cultivation system successfully.

Keywords: wetland community, hydroponics, climate change adaptation, livelihood

Procedia PDF Downloads 254
1937 Diversifying from Petroleum Products to Arable Farming as Source of Revenue Generation in Nigeria: A Case Study of Ondo West Local Government

Authors: A. S. Akinbani

Abstract:

Overdependence on petroleum is causing set back in Nigeria economy. Field survey was carried out to assess the profitability and production of selected arable crops in six selected towns and villages of Ondo southwestern. Data were collected from 240 arable crop farmers with the aid of both primary and secondary data. Data were collected with the use of oral interview and structured questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Forty farmers were randomly selected to give a total number of 240 respondents. 84 farmers interviewed had no formal education, 72 had primary education, 50 farmers attained secondary education while 38 attained beyond secondary education. The majority of the farmers hold less than 10 acres of land. The data collected from the field showed that 192 farmers practiced mixed cropping which includes mixtures of yam, cowpea, cocoyam, vegetable, cassava and maize while only 48 farmers practiced monocropping. Among the sampled farmers, 93% agreed that arable production is profitable while 7% disagreed. The findings show that managerial practices that conserve the soil fertility and reduce labor cost such as planting of leguminous crops and herbicide application instead of using hand held hoe for weeding should be encouraged. All the respondents agreed that yam, cowpea, cocoyam, sweet potato, rice, maize and vegetable production will solve the problem of hunger and increase standard of living compared with petroleum product that Nigeria relied on as means of livelihood.

Keywords: farmers, arable crop, cocoyam, respondents, maize

Procedia PDF Downloads 233
1936 Genomic Identification of Anisakis Simplex Larvae by PCR-RAPD

Authors: Fumiko Kojima, Shuji Fujimoto

Abstract:

Anisakiasis is a disease caused by infection with an anisakid larvae, mostly Anisakis simplex. The larvae commonly infect in marine fish and the disease is frequently reported in areas of the world where fish is consumed raw, lightly pickled or salted. In Japan, people have the habit of eating raw fish such as ‘sushi’ or ‘sashimi’, so they have more chance of infection with larvae of anisakid nematodes. There are three sibling species in A. simplex larvae, namely, A. simplex sensu stricto (Asss), A. pegreffii (Ap) and A. simplex C. It was revealed that Ap is dominant among the larvae from fish (Scomber japonics) in the Japan Sea side and Asss is dominant among those of the Pacific Ocean side conversely. Although anisakiasis has happened in Japan among both the Japan Sea side area and the Pacific Ocean side area. The aim of this study was to investigate genetic variations between the siblings (Asss and Ap) and within the same sibling species by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. In order to investigate the genetic difference among the each A. simplex larvae, we used RAPD technique to differentiate individuals of A. simplex obtained from Scomber japonics fish those were caught in the Japan sea (Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture) and the cost of Pacific Ocean (Kanagawa Prefecture). The RAPD patterns of the control DNA (Genus Raphidascaris) were markedly different from those of the A. simplex. There were differences in amplification patterns between Asss and Ap. The RAPD patterns for larvae obtained from fish of the same sea were somewhat different and variations were detected even among larvae from the same fish. These results suggest the considerable high genetic variability between Asss and Ap and the possible existence of genetic variation within the sibling species.

Keywords: Anisakiasis in Japan, Anisakis simplex, genomic identification, PCR-RAPD

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1935 A Study on the Effect of Cod to Sulphate Ratio on Performance of Lab Scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor

Authors: Neeraj Sahu, Ahmad Saadiq

Abstract:

Anaerobic sulphate reduction has the potential for being effective and economically viable over conventional treatment methods for the treatment of sulphate-rich wastewater. However, a major challenge in anaerobic sulphate reduction is the diversion of a fraction of organic carbon towards methane production and some minor problem such as odour problems, corrosion, and increase of effluent chemical oxygen demand. A high-rate anaerobic technology has encouraged researchers to extend its application to the treatment of complex wastewaters with relatively low cost and energy consumption compared to physicochemical methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio on the performance of lab scale UASB reactor. A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was operated for 170 days. In which first 60 days, for successful start-up with acclimation under methanogenesis and sulphidogenesis at COD/SO₄²⁻ of 18 and were operated at COD/SO₄²⁻ ratios of 12, 8, 4 and 1 to evaluate the effects of the presence of sulfate on the reactor performance. The reactor achieved maximum COD removal efficiency and biogas evolution at the end of acclimation (control). This phase lasted 53 days with 89.5% efficiency. The biogas was 0.6 L/d at (OLR) of 1.0 kg COD/m³d when it was treating synthetic wastewater with effective volume of reactor as 2.8 L. When COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio changed from 12 to 1, slight decrease in COD removal efficiencies (76.8–87.4%) was observed, biogas production decreased from 0.58 to 0.32 L/d, while the sulfate removal efficiency increased from 42.5% to 72.7%.

Keywords: anaerobic, chemical oxygen demand, organic loading rate, sulphate, up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor

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1934 Biodegradation of Direct Red 23 by Bacterial Consortium Isolated from Dye Contaminated Soil Using Sequential Air-lift Bioreactor

Authors: Lata Kumari Dhanesh Tiwary, Pradeep Kumar Mishra

Abstract:

The effluent coming from various industries such as textile, carpet, food, pharmaceutical and many other industries is big challenge due to its recalcitrant and xenobiotiocs in nature. Recently, biodegradation of dye wastewater through biological means was widely used due to eco-friendly and cost effective with the higher percentage of removal of dye from wastewater. The present study deals with the biodegradation and decolourization of Direct Red 23 dye using indigenously isolated bacterial consortium. The bacterial consortium was isolated from soil sample from dye contaminated site near a cluster of Carpet industries of Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The bacterial strain formed consortia were identified and characterized by morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The bacterial strain mainly Staphylococcus saprophyticus strain BHUSS X3 (KJ439576), Microbacterium sp. BHUMSp X4 (KJ740222) and Staphylococcus saprophyticus strain BHUSS X5 (KJ439576) were used as consortia for further studies of dye decolorization. Experimental investigations were made in a Sequencing Air- lift bioreactor using the synthetic solution of Direct Red 23 dye by optimizing various parameters for efficient degradation of dye. The effect of several operating parameters such as flow rate, pH, temperature, initial dye concentration and inoculums size on removal of dye was investigated. The efficiency of isolated bacterial consortia from dye contaminated area in Sequencing Air- lift Bioreactor with different concentration of dye between 100-1200 mg/l at different hydraulic rate (HRTs) 26h and 10h. The maximum percentage of dye decolourization 98% was achieved when operated at HRT of 26h. The percentage of decolourization of dye was confirmed by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer and HPLC.

Keywords: carpet industry, bacterial consortia, sequencing air-lift bioreactor

Procedia PDF Downloads 318
1933 Characteristing Aquifer Layers of Karstic Springs in Nahavand Plain Using Geoelectrical and Electromagnetic Methods

Authors: A. Taheri Tizro, Rojin Fasihi

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Geoelectrical method is one of the most effective tools in determining subsurface lithological layers. The electromagnetic method is also a newer method that can play an important role in determining and separating subsurface layers with acceptable accuracy. In the present research, 10 electromagnetic soundings were collected in the upstream of 5 karstic springs of Famaseb, Faresban, Ghale Baroodab, Gian and Gonbad kabood in Nahavand plain of Hamadan province. By using the emerging data, the belectromagnetic logs were prepared at different depths and compared with 5 logs of the geoelectric method. The comparison showed that the value of NRMSE in the geoelectric method for the 5 springs of Famaseb, Faresban, Ghale Baroodab, Gian and Gonbad kabood were 7.11, 7.50, respectively. It is 44.93, 3.99, and 2.99, and in the electromagnetic method, the value of this coefficient for the investigated springs is about 1.4, 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, and 1.3, respectively. In addition to the similarity of the results of the two methods, it is found that, the accuracy of the electromagnetic method based on the NRMSE value is higher than the geoelectric method. The advantage of the electromagnetic method compared to geoelectric is on less time consuming and its cost prohibitive. The depth to water table is the final result of this research work , which showed that in the springs of Famaseb, Faresban, Ghale Baroodab, Gian and Gonbad kabood, having depth of about 6, 20, 10, 2 36 meters respectively. The maximum thickness of the aquifer layer was estimated in Gonbad kabood spring (36 meters) and the lowest in Gian spring (2 meters). These results can be used to identify the water potential of the region in order to better manage water resources.

Keywords: karst spring, geoelectric, aquifer layers, nahavand

Procedia PDF Downloads 56
1932 Design and Evaluation of a Fully-Automated Fluidized Bed Dryer for Complete Drying of Paddy

Authors: R. J. Pontawe, R. C. Martinez, N. T. Asuncion, R. V. Villacorte

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Drying of high moisture paddy remains a major problem in the Philippines, especially during inclement weather condition. To alleviate the problem, mechanical dryers were used like a flat bed and recirculating batch-type dryers. However, drying to 14% (wet basis) final moisture content is long which takes 10-12 hours and tedious which is not the ideal for handling high moisture paddy. Fully-automated pilot-scale fluidized bed drying system with 500 kilograms per hour capacity was evaluated using a high moisture paddy. The developed fluidized bed dryer was evaluated using four drying temperatures and two variations in fluidization time at a constant airflow, static pressure and tempering period. Complete drying of paddy with ≥28% (w.b.) initial MC was attained after 2 passes of fluidized-bed drying at 2 minutes exposure to 70 °C drying temperature and 4.9 m/s superficial air velocity, followed by 60 min ambient air tempering period (30 min without ventilation and 30 min with air ventilation) for a total drying time of 2.07 h. Around 82% from normal mechanical drying time was saved at 70 °C drying temperature. The drying cost was calculated to be P0.63 per kilogram of wet paddy. Specific heat energy consumption was only 2.84 MJ/kg of water removed. The Head Rice Yield recovery of the dried paddy passed the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standards. Sensory evaluation showed that the color and taste of the samples dried in the fluidized bed dryer were comparable to air dried paddy. The optimum drying parameters of using fluidized bed dryer is 70 oC drying temperature at 2 min fluidization time, 4.9 m/s superficial air velocity, 10.16 cm grain depth and 60 min ambient air tempering period.

Keywords: drying, fluidized bed dryer, head rice yield, paddy

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1931 Nutritional Status of Surgical and Orthopedic Patients: 3B Ward

Authors: Jitaree Tantiyasawatdikul, Bantita Jadnok, Sarunya Tijana

Abstract:

Background: Nutritional status is an important factor before, during, and after an operation. It can help wound healing. If the patients have good nutritional status before and after an operation, wound healing can occur more easily. It can strengthen the immune system leading to decreased infection, reduced length of stay, and reducing the cost to patients and caregivers. Therefore, screening to evaluate the nutritional status of patients in 3B becomes the database for further developing the treatment and also will lead to excellent service from the interdisciplinary team. Objective: To study the nutritional status of patients in surgical ward 3B at Surgical and Orthopedics Nursing Division, Srinagarind Hospital. Method: A descriptive study, to evaluate the nutritional status of 86 patients admitted in 3B between October 2014 and March 2015.The instruments used in this study consisted of two parts: 1) personal data, 2) Screening nutritional status. The data were analyzed by percentage and mean. Results: A sample population of 86 patients aged 22-81 years old, mean age 52.59years, 90.69% are married, female were 55.81%, regular diet 70.93%, patients with no problem oral cavity was 87.21%.The sample population had high incidence of CA 47.67% and secondly cardiovascular disease 36.05 %. Patients with high-risk nutrition was 12.79 % including 45.45% cardiovascular disease and 36.36% CA. Screening of nutritional status of high-risk nutrition was 39.36% severe triceps skinfold (TSF), severe mid-arm muscle circumference(MAMC) 9.09% and severe total lymphocyte 39.36%. Conclusion: The result of nutritional status screening of surgical ward 3B found 12.79% patients with high-risk nutrition including 45.45% with cardiovascular disease .There was no problem with oral cavity and eating.

Keywords: nutritional status, screening, surgical patients, 3B ward, Srinagarind Hospital

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1930 Repeated Batch Production of Biosurfactant from Pseudomonas mendocina NK41 Using Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Wastes as Substate

Authors: Natcha Ruamyat, Nichakorn Khondee

Abstract:

The potential of an alkaliphilic bacteria isolated from soil in Thailand to utilized agro-industrial and agricultural wastes for the production of biosurfactants was evaluated in this study. Among five isolates, Pseudomonas mendocina NK41 used soapstock as substrate showing a high biosurfactant concentration of 7.10 g/L, oil displacement of 97.8 %, and surface tension reduction to 29.45 mN/m. Various agricultural residues were applied as mixed substrates with soapstock to enhance the synthesis of biosurfactants. The production of biosurfactant and bacterial growth was found to be the highest with coconut oil cake as compared to Sacha inchi shell, coconut kernel cake, and durian shell. The biodegradability of agro-industrial wastes was better than agricultural wastes, which allowed higher bacterial growth. The pretreatment of coconut oil cake by combined alkaline and hydrothermal method increased the production of biosurfactant from 12.69 g/L to 13.82 g/L. The higher microbial accessibility was improved by the swelling of the alkali-hydrothermal pretreated coconut oil cake, which enhanced its porosity and surface area. The pretreated coconut oil cake was reused twice in the repeated batch production, showing higher biosurfactant concentration up to 16.94 g/L from the second cycle. These results demonstrated the capability of using lignocellulosic wastes from agricultural and agro-industrial activities to produce a highly valuable biosurfactant. High biosurfactant yield with low-cost substrate reveals its potential towards further commercialization of biosurfactant on large-scale production.

Keywords: alkaliphilic bacteria, agricultural/agro-industrial wastes, biosurfactant, combined alkaline-hydrothermal pretreatment

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1929 An Epidemiological Analysis of the Occurrence of Bovine Brucellosis and Adopted Control Measures in South Africa during the Period 2014 to 2019

Authors: Emily Simango, T. Chitura

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Background: Bovine brucellosis is among the most neglected zoonotic diseases in developing countries, where it is endemic and a growing challenge to public health. The development of cost-effective control measures for the disease can only be affirmed by the knowledge of the disease epidemiology and the ability to define its risk profiles. The aim of the study was to document the trend of bovine brucellosis and the control measures adopted following reported cases during the period 2014 to 2019 in South Africa. Methods: Data on confirmed cases of bovine brucellosis was retrieved from the website of the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH). Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, 2022) version 29.0. Descriptive analysis (frequencies and percentages) and the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized for statistical significance (p<0.05). Results: The data retrieved in our study revealed an overall average bovine brucellosis prevalence of 8.48. There were statistically significant differences in bovine brucellosis prevalence across the provinces for the years 2016 and 2019 (p≥0.05), with the Eastern Cape Province having the highest prevalence in both instances. Documented control measures for the disease were limited to killing and disposal of disease cases as well as vaccination of susceptible animals. Conclusion: Bovine brucellosis is real in South Africa, with the risk profiles differing across the provinces. Information on brucellosis control measures in South Africa, as reported to the WOAH, is not comprehensive.

Keywords: zoonotic, endemic, Eastern Cape province, vaccination

Procedia PDF Downloads 45
1928 Hybridization and Evaluation of Jatropha to Improve High Yield Varieties in Indonesia

Authors: Rully D. Purwati, Tantri D.A. Anggraeni, Bambang Heliyanto, M. Machfud, Joko Hartono

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The availability of fuel in the world will be reduced in next few years, it is necessary to find alternative energy sources. Jatropha curcas L. is one of oil crops producing non-edible oil which is potential for bio-diesel. Jatropha cultivation and development program in Indonesia is facing several problems especially low seed yield resulting in inefficient crop cultivation cost. To cope with the problem, development of high yielding varieties is necessary. Development of new varieties to improve seed yield was conducted by hybridization and selection and resulted in fourteen potential genotypes. The yield potential of the fourteen genotypes were evaluated and compared with two check varieties. The objective of the evaluation was to find Jatropha hybrids with some characters i.e. their productivity was higher than check varieties, oil content > 40% and harvesting age ≤ 110 days. Hybridization and individual plant selection were carried out from 2010 to 2014. Evaluation of high yield was conducted in Asembagus experimental station, Situbondo, East Java in three years (2015-2017). The experimental designed was Randomized Complete Block Design with three replication, and plot size 10 m x 8 m. The characters observed were number of capsules per plant, dry seed yield (kg/ha) and seed oil content (%). The results of this experiment indicated that all the hybrids evaluated have higher productivity than check variety IP-3A. There were two superior hybrids i.e. HS-49xSP-65/32 and HS-49xSP-19/28 with highest seed yield per hectare and number of capsules per plant for three years.

Keywords: Jatropha, bio energy, hybrid, high seed yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 126
1927 Fed-Batch Mixotrophic Cultivation of Microalgae Scenedesmus sp., Using Airlift Photobioreactor

Authors: Lakshmidevi Rajendran, Bharathidasan Kanniappan, Gopi Raja, Muthukumar Karuppan

Abstract:

This study investigates the feasibility of fed-batch mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. in a 3-litre airlift photobioreactor under standard operating conditions. The results of this study suggest the algae species may serve as an excellent feed for aquatic species using organic byproducts. Microalgae Scenedesmus sp., was cultured using a synthetic wastewater by stepwise addition of crude glycerol concentration ranging from 2-10g/l under fed-batch mixotrophic mode for a period of 15 days. The attempts were made with the stepwise addition of crude glycerol as a carbon source in the initial growth phase to evade the inhibitory nature of high glycerol concentration on the growth of Scenedesmus sp. Crude glycerol was chosen since it is readily accessible as byproduct from biodiesel production sectors. Highest biomass concentration was achieved to be 2.43 g/l at the crude glycerol concentration of 6g/l after 10 days which is 3 fold times the increase in the biomass concentration compared with the control medium without the addition of glycerol. Biomass growth data obtained for the microalgae Scenedesmus sp. was fitted well with the modified Logistic equation. Substrate utilization kinetics was also employed to model the biomass productivity with respect to the various crude glycerol concentration. The results indicated that the supplement of crude glycerol to the mixotrophic culture of Scenedesmus sp., enhances the biomass concentration, chlorophyll and lutein productivity. Thus the application of fed-batch mixotrophic cultivation with stepwise addition of crude glycerol to Scenedesmus sp., provides a subtle way to reduce the production cost and improvisation in the large-scale cultivation along with biochemical compound synthesis.

Keywords: airlift photobioreactor, crude glycerol, microalgae Scenedesmus sp., mixotrophic cultivation, lutein production

Procedia PDF Downloads 158
1926 Real-Time Generative Architecture for Mesh and Texture

Authors: Xi Liu, Fan Yuan

Abstract:

In the evolving landscape of physics-based machine learning (PBML), particularly within fluid dynamics and its applications in electromechanical engineering, robot vision, and robot learning, achieving precision and alignment with researchers' specific needs presents a formidable challenge. In response, this work proposes a methodology that integrates neural transformation with a modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for generating transformed 3D fluid simulations. This approach is useful for nanoscale science, where the unique and complex behaviors of viscoelastic medium demand accurate neurally-transformed simulations for materials understanding and manipulation. In electromechanical engineering, the method enhances the design and functionality of fluid-operated systems, particularly microfluidic devices, contributing to advancements in nanomaterial design, drug delivery systems, and more. The proposed approach also aligns with the principles of PBML, offering advantages such as multi-fluid stylization and consistent particle attribute transfer. This capability is valuable in various fields where the interaction of multiple fluid components is significant. Moreover, the application of neurally-transformed hydrodynamical models extends to manufacturing processes, such as the production of microelectromechanical systems, enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The system's ability to perform neural transfer on 3D fluid scenes using a deep learning algorithm alongside physical models further adds a layer of flexibility, allowing researchers to tailor simulations to specific needs across scientific and engineering disciplines.

Keywords: physics-based machine learning, robot vision, robot learning, hydrodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 47
1925 Sustainable Urban Growth of Neighborhoods: A Case Study of Alryad-Khartoum

Authors: Zuhal Eltayeb Awad

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Alryad neighborhood is located in Khartoum town– the administrative center of the Capital of Sudan. The neighborhood is one of the high-income residential areas with villa type development of low-density. It was planned and developed in 1972 with large plots (600-875m²), wide crossing roads and balanced environment. Recently the area transformed into more compact urban form of high density, mixed-use integrated development with more intensive use of land; multi-storied apartments. The most important socio-economic process in the neighborhood has been the commercialization and deinitialization of the area in connect with the displacement of the residential function. This transformation affected the quality of the neighborhood and the inter-related features of the built environment. A case study approach was chosen to gather the necessary qualitative and quantitative data. A detailed survey on existing development pattern was carried out over the whole area of Alryad. Data on the built and social environment of the neighborhoods were collected through observations, interviews and secondary data sources. The paper reflected a theoretical and empirical interest in the particular characteristics of compact neighborhood with high density, and mixed land uses and their effect on social wellbeing of the residents all in the context of the sustainable development. The research problem is focused on the challenges of transformation that associated with compact neighborhood that created multiple urban problems, e.g., stress of essential services (water supply, electricity, and drainage), congestion of streets and demand for parking. The main objective of the study is to analyze the transformation of this area from residential use to commercial and administrative use. The study analyzed the current situation of the neighborhood compared to the five principles of sustainable neighborhood prepared by UN Habitat. The study found that the neighborhood is experienced changes that occur to inner-city residential areas and the process of change of the neighborhood was originated by external forces due to the declining economic situation of the whole country. It is evident that non-residential uses have taken place uncontrolled, unregulated and haphazardly that led to damage the residential environment and deficiency in infrastructure. The quality of urban life and in particular on levels of privacy was reduced, the neighborhood changed gradually to be a central business district that provides services to the whole Khartoum town. The change of house type may be attributed to a demand-led housing market and absence of policy. The results showed that Alryad is not fully sustainable and self-contained, street network characteristics and mixed land-uses development are compatible with the principles of sustainability. The area of streets represents 27.4% of the total area of the neighborhood. Residential density is 4,620 people/ km², that is lower than the recommendations, and the limited block land-use specialization is higher than 10% of the blocks. Most inhabitants have a high income so that there is no social mix in the neighborhood. The study recommended revision of the current zoning regulations in order to control and regulate undesirable development in the neighborhood and provide new solutions which allow promoting the neighborhood sustainable development.

Keywords: compact neighborhood, land uses, mixed use, residential area, transformation

Procedia PDF Downloads 113
1924 Liquid Chromatography Microfluidics for Detection and Quantification of Urine Albumin Using Linear Regression Method

Authors: Patricia B. Cruz, Catrina Jean G. Valenzuela, Analyn N. Yumang

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Nearly a hundred per million of the Filipino population is diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The early stage of CKD has no symptoms and can only be discovered once the patient undergoes urinalysis. Over the years, different methods were discovered and used for the quantification of the urinary albumin such as the immunochemical assays where most of these methods require large machinery that has a high cost in maintenance and resources, and a dipstick test which is yet to be proven and is still debated as a reliable method in detecting early stages of microalbuminuria. This research study involves the use of the liquid chromatography concept in microfluidic instruments with biosensor as a means of separation and detection respectively, and linear regression to quantify human urinary albumin. The researchers’ main objective was to create a miniature system that quantifies and detect patients’ urinary albumin while reducing the amount of volume used per five test samples. For this study, 30 urine samples of unknown albumin concentrations were tested using VITROS Analyzer and the microfluidic system for comparison. Based on the data shared by both methods, the actual vs. predicted regression were able to create a positive linear relationship with an R2 of 0.9995 and a linear equation of y = 1.09x + 0.07, indicating that the predicted values and actual values are approximately equal. Furthermore, the microfluidic instrument uses 75% less in total volume – sample and reagents combined, compared to the VITROS Analyzer per five test samples.

Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease, Linear Regression, Microfluidics, Urinary Albumin

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
1923 The Influence of Microscopic Features on the Self-Cleaning Ability of Developed 3D Printed Fabric-Like Structures Using Different Printing Parameters

Authors: Ayat Adnan Atwah, Muhammad A. Khan

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Self-cleaning surfaces are getting significant attention in industrial fields. Especially for textile fabrics, it is observed that self-cleaning textile fabric surfaces are created by manipulating the surface features with the help of coatings and nanoparticles, which are considered costly and far more complicated. However, controlling the fabrication parameters of textile fabrics at the microscopic level by exploring the potential for self-cleaning has not been addressed. This study aimed to establish the context of self-cleaning textile fabrics by controlling the fabrication parameters of the textile fabric at the microscopic level. Therefore, 3D-printed textile fabrics were fabricated using the low-cost fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique. The printing parameters, such as orientation angle (O), layer height (LH), and extruder width (EW), were used to control the microscopic features of the printed fabrics. The combination of three printing parameters was created to provide the best self-cleaning textile fabric surface: (LH) (0.15, 0.13, 0.10 mm) and (EW) (0.5, 0.4, 0.3 mm) along with two different (O) of (45º and 90º). Three different thermoplastic flexible filament materials were used: (TPU 98A), (TPE felaflex), and (TPC flex45). The printing parameters were optimised to get the optimum self-cleaning ability of the printed specimens. Furthermore, the impact of these characteristics on mechanical strength at the fabric-woven structure level was investigated. The study revealed that the printing parameters significantly affect the self-cleaning properties after adjusting the selected combination of layer height, extruder width, and printing orientation. A linear regression model was effectively developed to demonstrate the association between 3D printing parameters (layer height, extruder width, and orientation). According to the experimental results, (TPE felaflex) has a better self-cleaning ability than the other two materials.

Keywords: 3D printing, self-cleaning fabric, microscopic features, printing parameters, fabrication

Procedia PDF Downloads 60
1922 Stainless Steel Swarfs for Replacement of Copper in Non-Asbestos Organic Brake-Pads

Authors: Vishal Mahale, Jayashree Bijwe, Sujeet K. Sinha

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Nowadays extensive research is going on in the field of friction materials (FMs) for development of eco-friendly brake-materials by removing copper as it is a proven threat to the aquatic organisms. Researchers are keen to find the solution for copper-free FMs by using different metals or without metals. Steel wool is used as a reinforcement in non-asbestos organic (NAO) FMs mainly for increasing thermal conductivity, and it affects wear adversely, most of the times and also adds friction fluctuations. Copper and brass used to be the preferred choices because of superior performance in almost every aspect except cost. Since these are being phased out because of a proven threat to the aquatic life. Keeping this in view, a series of realistic multi-ingredient FMs containing stainless steel (SS) swarfs as a theme ingredient in increasing amount (0, 5, 10 and 15 wt. %- S₅, S₁₀, and S₁₅) were developed in the form of brake-pads. One more composite containing copper instead of SS swarfs (C₁₀) was developed. These composites were characterized for physical, mechanical, chemical and tribological performance. Composites were tribo-evaluated on a chase machine with various test loops as per SAE J661 standards. Various performance parameters such as normal µ, hot µ, performance µ, fade µ, recovery µ, % fade, % recovery, wear resistance, etc. were used to evaluate the role of amount of SS swarfs in FMs. It was concluded that SS swarfs proved successful in Cu replacement almost in all respects except wear resistance. With increase in amount of SS swarfs, most of the properties improved. Worn surface analysis and wear mechanism were studied using SEM and EDAX techniques.

Keywords: Chase type friction tester, copper-free, non-asbestos organic (NAO) friction materials, stainless steel swarfs

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1921 The Fabrication of Stress Sensing Based on Artificial Antibodies to Cortisol by Molecular Imprinted Polymer

Authors: Supannika Klangphukhiew, Roongnapa Srichana, Rina Patramanon

Abstract:

Cortisol has been used as a well-known commercial stress biomarker. A homeostasis response to psychological stress is indicated by an increased level of cortisol produced in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Chronic psychological stress contributing to the high level of cortisol relates to several health problems. In this study, the cortisol biosensor was fabricated that mimicked the natural receptors. The artificial antibodies were prepared using molecular imprinted polymer technique that can imitate the performance of natural anti-cortisol antibody with high stability. Cortisol-molecular imprinted polymer (cortisol-MIP) was obtained using the multi-step swelling and polymerization protocol with cortisol as a target molecule combining methacrylic acid:acrylamide (2:1) with bisacryloyl-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-ethylenediamine and ethylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine as cross-linkers. Cortisol-MIP was integrated to the sensor. It was coated on the disposable screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for portable electrochemical analysis. The physical properties of Cortisol-MIP were characterized by means of electron microscope techniques. The binding characteristics were evaluated via covalent patterns changing in FTIR spectra which were related to voltammetry response. The performance of cortisol-MIP modified SPCE was investigated in terms of detection range, high selectivity with a detection limit of 1.28 ng/ml. The disposable cortisol biosensor represented an application of MIP technique to recognize steroids according to their structures with feasibility and cost-effectiveness that can be developed to use in point-of-care.

Keywords: stress biomarker, cortisol, molecular imprinted polymer, screen-printed carbon electrode

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1920 PRENACEL: Development and Evaluation of an M-Health Strategy to Improve Prenatal Care in Brazil

Authors: E. M. Vieira, C. S. Vieira, L. P. Bonifácio, L. M. de Oliveira Ciabati, A. C. A. Franzon, F. S. Zaratini, J. A. C. Sanchez, M. S. Andrade, J. P. Dias de Souza

Abstract:

The quality of prenatal care is key to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Communication between the health service and users can stimulate prevention and care. M-health has been an important and low cost strategy to health education. The PRENACEL programme (prenatal in the cell phone) was developed. It consists of a programme of information via SMS from the 20th week of pregnancy up to 12th week after delivery. Messages were about prenatal care, birth, contraception and breastfeeding. Communication of the pregnant woman asking questions about their health was possible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of PRENACEL as a useful complement to the standard prenatal care. Twenty health clinics were selected and randomized by cluster, 10 as the intervention group and 10 as the control group. In the intervention group, women and their partner were invited to participate. The control group received the standard prenatal care. All women were interviewed in the immediate post-partum and in the 12th and 24th week post-partum. Most women were married, had more than 8 years of schooling and visit the clinic more than 6 times during prenatal care. The intervention group presented lowest percentage of higher economic participants (5.6%), less single mothers and no drug user. It also presented more prenatal care visits than the control group and it was less likely to present Severe Acute Maternal Mortality when compared to control group as well as higher percentage of partners (75.4%) was present at the birth compared to control group. Although the study is still being carried out, preliminary data are showing positive results of the compliance of women to prenatal care.

Keywords: cellphone, health technology, prenatal care, prevention

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1919 Northern Istanbul Urban Infrastructure Projects: A Critical Account on the Environmental, Spatial, Social and Economical Impacts

Authors: Evren Aysev Denec

Abstract:

As an urban settlement dating as early as 8000 years and the capital for Byzantine and Ottoman empires; İstanbul has been a significant global city throughout history. The most drastic changes in the macro form of Istanbul have taken place in the last seven decades; starting from 1950’s with rapid industrialization and population growth; pacing up after the 1980’s with the efforts of integration to the global capitalist system; reaching to a climax in the 2000’s with the adaptation of a neoliberal urban regime. Today, the rate of urbanization together with land speculation and real estate investment has been growing enormously. Every inch of urban land is conceptualized as a commodity to be capitalized. This neoliberal mindset has many controversial implementations, from the privatization of public land to the urban transformation of historic neighbourhoods and consumption of natural resources. The planning decisions concerning the city have been mainly top down initiations; conceptualising historical, cultural and natural heritage as commodities to be capitalised and consumed in favour of creating rent value. One of the most crucial implementations of this neoliberal urban regime is the project of establishing a ‘new city’ around northern Istanbul; together with a number of large-scale infrastructural projects such as the Third Bosporus Bridge; a new highway system, a Third Airport Project and a secondary Bosporus project called the ‘Canal Istanbul’. Urbanizing northern Istanbul is highly controversial as this area consists of major natural resources of the city; being the northern forests, water supplies and wildlife; which are bound to be destroyed to a great extent following the implementations. The construction of the third bridge and the third airport has begun in 2013, despite environmental objections and protests. Over five hundred thousand trees are planned be cut for solely the construction of the bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway. Yet the real damage will be the urbanization of the forest area; irreversibly corrupting the natural resources and attracting millions of additional population towards Istanbul. Furthermore, these projects lack an integrated planning scope as the plans prepared for Istanbul are constantly subjected to alterations forced by the central government. Urban interventions mentioned above are executed despite the rulings of Istanbul Environmental plan, due to top down planning decisions. Instead of an integrated action plan that prepares for the future of the city, Istanbul is governed by partial plans and projects that are issued by a profit based agenda; supported by legal alterations and laws issued by the central government. This paper aims to discuss the ongoing implementations with regards to northern Istanbul; claiming that they are not merely infrastructural interventions but parts of a greater neoliberal urbanization strategy. In the course of the study, firstly a brief account on the northern forests of Istanbul will be presented. Then, the projects will be discussed in detail, addressing how the current planning schemes deal with the natural heritage of the city. Lastly, concluding remarks on how the implementations could affect the future of Istanbul will be presented.

Keywords: Istanbul, urban design, urban planning, natural resources

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1918 Corporate Governance of Enterprise IT: Research Study on IT Governance Maturity

Authors: Mario Spremic

Abstract:

Despite the financial crisis and ongoing need for cost cutting, companies all around the world heavily invest in information systems (IS) and underlying information technology (IT). Information systems (IS) play very important role in modern business organizations supporting its organizational efficiency or, under certain circumstances, fostering business model innovation and change. IS can influence organization competitiveness in two ways: supporting operational efficiency (IS as a main infrastructure for the current business), or differentiating business through business model innovation and business process change. In either way, IS becomes very important to the business and needs to be aligned with strategic objectives in order to justify massive investments. A number of studies showed that investments in IS and underlying IT resulted in added business value if they are truly connected with strategic business objectives. In that sense proliferation of governance of enterprise IT helps companies manage, or rather, governs IS as a primary business function with executive management involved in making a decision about IS and IT. The quality of IT governance is rising with the large number of decisions about IS made by executive management, not IT departments. The more executive management is engaged in making a decision about IS and IT, the IT governance is of better quality. In this paper, the practice of governing the enterprise IT will be investigated on a sample of the largest 100 Croatian companies. Research questions posed here will reveal if there are some formal IT governance mechanisms, are there any differences in perceived role of IS and IT between CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) of the sampled companies and what are the mechanisms to govern massive investment in enterprise IT.

Keywords: IT governance, governance of enterprise IT, information system auditing, operational efficiency

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1917 Problems Associated with Fibre-Reinforced Composites Ultrasonically-Assisted Drilling

Authors: Sikiru Oluwarotimi Ismail, Hom Nath Dhakal, Anish Roy, Dong Wang, Ivan Popov

Abstract:

The ultrasonically-assisted drilling (UAD) is a non-traditional technique which involves the superimposition of a high frequency and low amplitude vibration, usually greater than 18kHz and less than 20µm respectively, on a drill bit along the feed direction. UAD has remarkable advantages over the conventional drilling (CD), especially the high drilling-force reduction. Force reduction improves the quality of the drilled holes, reduces power consumption rate and cost of production. Nevertheless, in addition to the setbacks of UAD including expensiveness of set-up, unpredicted results and chipping effects, this paper presents the problems of insignificant force reduction and poor surface quality during UAD of hemp fibre-reinforced composites (HFRCs), a natural composite, with polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix. The experimental results obtained depict that HFRCs/PCL samples have more burnt chip-materials attached on the drilled holes during UAD than CD. This effect produced a very high surface roughness (Ra), up to 13µm. In a bid to reduce these challenges, different drilling parameters (feed rates and cutting speeds, frequencies and amplitudes for UAD), conditions (dry machining and airflow cooling) and diameters of drill bits (3mm and 6mm of high speed steel), as well as HFRCs/PCL samples of various fibre aspect ratios, including 0 (neat), 19, 26, 30 and 38 have been used. However, the setbacks still persisted. Evidently, the benefits of UAD are not obtainable for the drilling of the HFRCs/PCL laminates. These problems occurred due to the 60 °C melting temperature of PCL, quite lower than 56-90.2 °C and 265–290.8 °C composite-tool interface temperature during CD and UAD respectively.

Keywords: force reduction, hemp fibre-reinforced composites, ultrasonically-assisted drilling, surface quality

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1916 Electrochemical Detection of the Chemotherapy Agent Methotrexate in vitro from Physiological Fluids Using Functionalized Carbon Nanotube past Electrodes

Authors: Shekher Kummari, V. Sunil Kumar, K. Vengatajalabathy Gobi

Abstract:

A simple, cost-effective, reusable and reagent-free electrochemical biosensor is developed with functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode (f-CNTPE) for the sensitive and selective determination of the important chemotherapeutic drug methotrexate (MTX), which is widely used for the treatment of various cancer and autoimmune diseases. The electrochemical response of the fabricated electrode towards the detection of MTX is examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). CV studies have shown that f-CNTPE electrode system exhibited an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of MTX in phosphate buffer (0.2 M) compared with a conventional carbon paste electrode (CPE). The oxidation peak current is enhanced by nearly two times in magnitude. Applying the DPV method under optimized conditions, a linear calibration plot is achieved over a wide range of concentration from 4.0×10⁻⁷ M to 5.5×10⁻⁶ M with the detection limit 1.6×10⁻⁷ M. further, by applying the SWV method a parabolic calibration plot was achieved starting from a very low concentration of 1.0×10⁻⁸ M, and the sensor could detect as low as 2.9×10⁻⁹ M MTX in 10 s and 10 nM were detected in steady state current-time analysis. The f-CNTPE shows very good selectivity towards the specific recognition of MTX in the presence of important biological interference. The electrochemical biosensor detects MTX in-vitro directly from pharmaceutical sample, undiluted urine and human blood serum samples at a concentration range 5.0×10⁻⁷ M with good recovery limits.

Keywords: amperometry, electrochemical detection, human blood serum, methotrexate, MWCNT, SWV

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1915 Opinion Mining to Extract Community Emotions on Covid-19 Immunization Possible Side Effects

Authors: Yahya Almurtadha, Mukhtar Ghaleb, Ahmed M. Shamsan Saleh

Abstract:

The world witnessed a fierce attack from the Covid-19 virus, which affected public life socially, economically, healthily and psychologically. The world's governments tried to confront the pandemic by imposing a number of precautionary measures such as general closure, curfews and social distancing. Scientists have also made strenuous efforts to develop an effective vaccine to train the immune system to develop antibodies to combat the virus, thus reducing its symptoms and limiting its spread. Artificial intelligence, along with researchers and medical authorities, has accelerated the vaccine development process through big data processing and simulation. On the other hand, one of the most important negatives of the impact of Covid 19 was the state of anxiety and fear due to the blowout of rumors through social media, which prompted governments to try to reassure the public with the available means. This study aims to proposed using Sentiment Analysis (AKA Opinion Mining) and deep learning as efficient artificial intelligence techniques to work on retrieving the tweets of the public from Twitter and then analyze it automatically to extract their opinions, expression and feelings, negatively or positively, about the symptoms they may feel after vaccination. Sentiment analysis is characterized by its ability to access what the public post in social media within a record time and at a lower cost than traditional means such as questionnaires and interviews, not to mention the accuracy of the information as it comes from what the public expresses voluntarily.

Keywords: deep learning, opinion mining, natural language processing, sentiment analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 149
1914 Bio-Surfactant Production and Its Application in Microbial EOR

Authors: A. Rajesh Kanna, G. Suresh Kumar, Sathyanaryana N. Gummadi

Abstract:

There are various sources of energies available worldwide and among them, crude oil plays a vital role. Oil recovery is achieved using conventional primary and secondary recovery methods. In-order to recover the remaining residual oil, technologies like Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) are utilized which is also known as tertiary recovery. Among EOR, Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a technique which enables the improvement of oil recovery by injection of bio-surfactant produced by microorganisms. Bio-surfactant can retrieve unrecoverable oil from the cap rock which is held by high capillary force. Bio-surfactant is a surface active agent which can reduce the interfacial tension and reduce viscosity of oil and thereby oil can be recovered to the surface as the mobility of the oil is increased. Research in this area has shown promising results besides the method is echo-friendly and cost effective compared with other EOR techniques. In our research, on laboratory scale we produced bio-surfactant using the strain Pseudomonas putida (MTCC 2467) and injected into designed simple sand packed column which resembles actual petroleum reservoir. The experiment was conducted in order to determine the efficiency of produced bio-surfactant in oil recovery. The column was made of plastic material with 10 cm in length. The diameter was 2.5 cm. The column was packed with fine sand material. Sand was saturated with brine initially followed by oil saturation. Water flooding followed by bio-surfactant injection was done to determine the amount of oil recovered. Further, the injection of bio-surfactant volume was varied and checked how effectively oil recovery can be achieved. A comparative study was also done by injecting Triton X 100 which is one of the chemical surfactant. Since, bio-surfactant reduced surface and interfacial tension oil can be easily recovered from the porous sand packed column.

Keywords: bio-surfactant, bacteria, interfacial tension, sand column

Procedia PDF Downloads 389
1913 A Finite Element/Finite Volume Method for Dam-Break Flows over Deformable Beds

Authors: Alia Alghosoun, Ashraf Osman, Mohammed Seaid

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A coupled two-layer finite volume/finite element method was proposed for solving dam-break flow problem over deformable beds. The governing equations consist of the well-balanced two-layer shallow water equations for the water flow and a linear elastic model for the bed deformations. Deformations in the topography can be caused by a brutal localized force or simply by a class of sliding displacements on the bathymetry. This deformation in the bed is a source of perturbations, on the water surface generating water waves which propagate with different amplitudes and frequencies. Coupling conditions at the interface are also investigated in the current study and two mesh procedure is proposed for the transfer of information through the interface. In the present work a new procedure is implemented at the soil-water interface using the finite element and two-layer finite volume meshes with a conservative distribution of the forces at their intersections. The finite element method employs quadratic elements in an unstructured triangular mesh and the finite volume method uses the Rusanove to reconstruct the numerical fluxes. The numerical coupled method is highly efficient, accurate, well balanced, and it can handle complex geometries as well as rapidly varying flows. Numerical results are presented for several test examples of dam-break flows over deformable beds. Mesh convergence study is performed for both methods, the overall model provides new insight into the problems at minimal computational cost.

Keywords: dam-break flows, deformable beds, finite element method, finite volume method, hybrid techniques, linear elasticity, shallow water equations

Procedia PDF Downloads 155
1912 Dietary Habit and Anthropometric Status in Hypertensive Patients Compared to Normotensive Participants in the North of Iran

Authors: Marjan Mahdavi-Roshan, Arsalan Salari, Mahbobeh Gholipour

Abstract:

Hypertension is one of the important reasons of morbidity and mortality in countries, including Iran. It has been shown that hypertension is a consequence of the interaction of genetics and environment. Nutrients have important roles in the controlling of blood pressure. We assessed dietary habit and anthropometric status in patients with hypertension in the north of Iran, and that have special dietary habit and according to their culture. This study was conducted on 127 patients with newly recognized hypertension and the 120 normotensive participants. Anthropometric status was measured and demographic characteristics, and medical condition were collected by valid questionnaires and dietary habit assessment was assessed with 3-day food recall (two weekdays and one weekend). The mean age of participants was 58 ± 6.7 years. The mean level of energy intake, saturated fat, vitamin D, potassium, zinc, dietary fiber, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, copper and magnesium was significantly lower in the hypertensive group compared to the control (p < 0.05). After adjusting for energy intake, positive association was observe between hypertension and some dietary nutrients including; Cholesterol [OR: 1.1, P: 0.001, B: 0.06], fiber [OR: 1.6, P: 0.001, B: 1.8], vitamin D [OR: 2.6, P: 0.006, B: 0.9] and zinc [OR: 1.4, P: 0.006, B: 0.3] intake. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was not significant association between hypertension, weight and waist circumference. In our study, the mean intake of some nutrients was lower in the hypertensive individuals compared to the normotensive individual. Health training about suitable dietary habits and easier access to vitamin D supplementation in patients with hypertension are cost-effective tools to improve outcomes in Iran.

Keywords: hypertension, north of Iran, dietary intake, weight

Procedia PDF Downloads 163
1911 The Impact of Trade on Stock Market Integration of Emerging Markets

Authors: Anna M. Pretorius

Abstract:

The emerging markets category for portfolio investment was introduced in 1986 in an attempt to promote capital market development in less developed countries. Investors traditionally diversified their portfolios by investing in different developed markets. However, high growth opportunities forced investors to consider emerging markets as well. Examples include the rapid growth of the “Asian Tigers” during the 1980s, growth in Latin America during the 1990s and the increased interest in emerging markets during the global financial crisis. As such, portfolio flows to emerging markets have increased substantially. In 2002 7% of all equity allocations from advanced economies went to emerging markets; this increased to 20% in 2012. The stronger links between advanced and emerging markets led to increased synchronization of asset price movements. This increased level of stock market integration for emerging markets is confirmed by various empirical studies. Against the background of increased interest in emerging market assets and the increasing level of integration of emerging markets, this paper focuses on the determinants of stock market integration of emerging market countries. Various studies have linked the level of financial market integration with specific economic variables. These variables include: economic growth, local inflation, trade openness, local investment, budget surplus/ deficit, market capitalization, domestic bank credit, domestic institutional and legal environment and world interest rates. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate to what extent trade-related determinants have an impact on stock market integration. The panel data sample include data of 16 emerging market countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey for the period 1998-2011. The integration variable for each emerging stock market is calculated as the explanatory power of a multi-factor model. These factors are extracted from a large panel of global stock market returns. Trade related explanatory variables include: exports as percentage of GDP, imports as percentage of GDP and total trade as percentage of GDP. Other macroeconomic indicators – such as market capitalisation, the size of the budget deficit and the effectiveness of the regulation of the securities exchange – are included in the regressions as control variables. An initial analysis on a sample of developed stock markets could not identify any significant determinants of stock market integration. Thus the macroeconomic variables identified in the literature are much more significant in explaining stock market integration of emerging markets than stock market integration of developed markets. The three trade variables are all statistically significant at a 5% level. The market capitalisation variable is also significant while the regulation variable is only marginally significant. The global financial crisis has highlighted the urgency to better understand the link between the financial and real sectors of the economy. This paper comes to the important finding that, apart from the level of market capitalisation (as financial indicator), trade (representative of the real economy) is a significant determinant of stock market integration of countries not yet classified as developed economies.

Keywords: emerging markets, financial market integration, panel data, trade

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1910 The Concept of Accounting in Islamic Transactions

Authors: Ahmad Abdulkadir Ibrahim

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The Islamic law of transactions laid down the methods and instruments of accounting and analyzed its basic assumptions in the modern world. There is a need to examine the implications of accounting initiatives in the Muslim world and attempt to outline the important characteristics of Islamic accounting and how Islamic accounting resolves the problem of measuring the cost of Murabaha goods in case of exchange rate variation. The research tends to discuss an analytical approach to the Islamic accounting concept as well as elaborating the jurisprudential matter and practical aspects of accounting in Islamic financial transactions. It also aims to alert the practitioners of accounting in the Islamic world to be aware of the concept of accounting in Islamic jurisprudence and its historical development. The methodology adopted in this research is the qualitative method through the consultation of relevant literature, which focuses on the thematic study of the subject matter. This is followed by an analysis and discussion of the contents of the materials used. It is concluded that Islamic accounting is unique in its norms as it has been characterized by fairness, accuracy in measuring tools, truthfulness, mutual trust, moderation in making a profit, and tolerance. It was also qualified by capacity and flexibility in terms of the tools and terminology used and invented by Islamic jurisprudence in the accounting system, which indicates its validity and consistency anytime and anywhere. An important conclusion of the research also lies in the refutation of the popular idea that an Italian writer known as Luca Pacilio was the first writer who developed the basis of double-entry due to the presented proofs by Muslim scholars of critical accounting developments, which cannot be ignored. It concludes further that Islamic jurisprudence draws the accounting system codified in the foundations of a market that is far from usury, fraud, cheating, and unfair competition in all areas.

Keywords: accounting, Islamic accounting, Islamic transactions, Islamic jurisprudence, double entry, murabaha, characteristics

Procedia PDF Downloads 46
1909 CMPD: Cancer Mutant Proteome Database

Authors: Po-Jung Huang, Chi-Ching Lee, Bertrand Chin-Ming Tan, Yuan-Ming Yeh, Julie Lichieh Chu, Tin-Wen Chen, Cheng-Yang Lee, Ruei-Chi Gan, Hsuan Liu, Petrus Tang

Abstract:

Whole-exome sequencing focuses on the protein coding regions of disease/cancer associated genes based on a priori knowledge is the most cost-effective method to study the association between genetic alterations and disease. Recent advances in high throughput sequencing technologies and proteomic techniques has provided an opportunity to integrate genomics and proteomics, allowing readily detectable mutated peptides corresponding to mutated genes. Since sequence database search is the most widely used method for protein identification using Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics technology, a mutant proteome database is required to better approximate the real protein pool to improve disease-associated mutated protein identification. Large-scale whole exome/genome sequencing studies were launched by National Cancer Institute (NCI), Broad Institute, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which provide not only a comprehensive report on the analysis of coding variants in diverse samples cell lines but a invaluable resource for extensive research community. No existing database is available for the collection of mutant protein sequences related to the identified variants in these studies. CMPD is designed to address this issue, serving as a bridge between genomic data and proteomic studies and focusing on protein sequence-altering variations originated from both germline and cancer-associated somatic variations.

Keywords: TCGA, cancer, mutant, proteome

Procedia PDF Downloads 571