Search results for: smart water management

Authors: Perpetual Onyejelem, Kenichi Matsui

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Solid waste management is one essential area for urban administration to achieve environmental sustainability. Proper solid waste management (SWM) improves the environment by reducing diseases and increasing public health. On the other way, improper SWM practices negatively impact public health and environmental sustainability. This article evaluates SWM in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with the goal of determining the current solid waste management practices and their health implications. This study used secondary data, which relies on existing published literature and official documents. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and its four-stage inclusion/exclusion criteria were utilized as part of a systematic literature review technique to locate the literature that concerns SWM practices and the implementation of solid waste management policies between 2014-2023 in PortHarcourt and its health effects from specific databases (Scopus and Google Scholar). The results found that despite the existence and implementation of the Rivers State Waste Management Policy and the formulation of the National Policy on Solid Waste Management in Port Harcourt, residents continued to dump waste in drainages. They were unaware of waste sorting and dumped waste haphazardly. This trend has persisted due to a lack of political commitment to the effective implementation and monitoring of policies and strategies and a lack of training provided to waste collectors regarding the SWM approach, which involves sorting and separating waste. In addition, inadequate remuneration for waste collectors, the absence of community participation in policy formulation, and insufficient awareness among residents regarding the 3R approach are also contributory factors. This caused the emergence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, lassa fever, and cholera in Port Harcourt, increasing the expense of healthcare for locals, particularly low-income households. The study urges the government to prioritize protecting the health of its citizens by studying the methods other nations have taken to address the problem of solid waste management and adopting those that work best for their region. The bottom-up strategy should be used to include locals in developing solutions. However, citizens who are always the most impacted by this issue should launch initiatives to address it and put pressure on the government to assist them when they have limitations.

Keywords: health effects, solid waste management practices, environmental pollution, Port-Harcourt

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Authors: Thi Huong Vu, Haelee Fenton, Thi Huong Tra Nguyen, Gary Dykes

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In the present study, a submerged fermentation of carob kibble with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) was performed. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in fermented carob kibble were determined by Folin–Ciocalteu method and scavenging capacity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS). The study showed that S. cerevisiae improved total phenolic content by 45 % and 50 % in acetone and water extracts respectively. Similarly, the antioxidant capacity of water extracts increased by 25 % and 41%, while acetone extracts indicated by 70% and 80% in DPPH and ABTS respectively. It is also found that initial pH 7.0 was more effective in improvement of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The efficiency of treatment was recorded at 15 h. This report suggested that submerged fermentation with S. cerevisiae is a potential and cost effective manner to further increase bioactive compounds in carob kibble, which are in use for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, carob kibble, saccharomyces cerevisiae, submerged fermentation, total phenolics

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Authors: Benjamin O. Opawale, Anthony K. Onifade, Ayodele O. Ogundare

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The phytochemical and antimicrobial activities of stem bark extracts (cold water, ethanol and acetone) of Lovoa trichiliodes and Trichilia heudelotii were investigated using standard methods. The percentage yield of the extracts ranged from 3.90 to 6.53% and 9.63 to 10.20% respectively for the plant materials. Phytochemical screening of the plant materials revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phlobatanins, phenols, anthraquinones and glycosides. Terpenes, cardenolides and flavonoids were absent in the two plants. All the extracts remarkably inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhii, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. The mean diameter of the zone of inhibition exhibited by the extracts was between 8.00 and 22.33mm while the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was between 2.5 and 200mg/ml. However, the cold water extracts of L. trichiliodes stem bark exhibited no inhibitory activity against the organisms. The results of this investigation confirmed the folkloric uses of these plants for the treatment of various infectious diseases.

Keywords: antimicrobial, infectious diseases, phytochemical, T. heudelotii

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Authors: Jennifer M. Penton

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Record high lake levels in 2017 and 2019 (2017 max lake level = 75.81 m; 2018 max lake level = 75.26 m; 2019 max lake level = 75.92 m) combined with a number of severe storms in the Great Lakes region, have resulted in significant wave generation across Lake Ontario. The resulting large wave heights have led to erosion of the natural shoreline, overtopping of existing revetments, backshore erosion, and partial and complete failure of several coastal structures, which in turn have led to further erosion of the shoreline and damaged existing infrastructure. Such impacts can be seen all along the coast of Lake Ontario. Three specific locations have been chosen as case studies for this paper, each addressing erosion and/or flood mitigation methods, such as revetments and sheet piling with increased land levels. Varying site conditions and the resulting shoreline damage are compared herein. The results are reflected in the case-specific design components of the mitigation and adaptation methods and are presented in this paper.

Keywords: erosion mitigation, flood mitigation, great lakes, high water levels

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Authors: Beatriz dos Anjos Furtado, Marina Barreiros Lamim, Camila Avozani Zago, Julianne Alvim Milward-de-Azevedo, Luís Cláudio Meirelles de Medeiros

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The intense process of economic acceleration, expansion of industrial activities and capitalism, combined with population growth, while promoting the development, bring environmental consequences and dynamics of locations. It can be seen that society is seeking to break with old paradigms of capitalist society, seeking to reconcile growth with sustainable development, with a change of mentality of the stakeholders of the production process (shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, governments, and neighbors, groups citizens and the public in general). In this context, this research aims to map the stakeholders interested in environmental management in industries located in the city of Três Rios/RJ. The city of Três Rios is located in South-Central region of the state of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. Methodological resources used refer to descriptive and field research, whose nature is qualitative and quantitative. It is also of multicases studies in the study area, and the data collection occurred by means of semi-structured questionnaires and interviews with employees related to the environmental area of the industries located in Três Rios and registered at the Federation of Industries the State of Rio de Janeiro - FIRJAN in the version of 2013 and active in federal revenue. Through this research it observed, among other things, the stakeholders involved in the environmental management process of “Três Rios” industry respondents, and those responding to the demands of environmental management.

Keywords: stakeholders, environmental management, industry, state, customer

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Authors: Abdulmutallib U. Baraya, Aishatu M. Chadi, Zainab A. Aliyu, Agatha Samson

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Learning Resources is the field of study that investigates the process of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating learning materials, learners, and the learning process in order to improve teaching and learning in university-level education essential for empowering students and various sectors of Nigeria’s economy to succeed in a fast-changing global economy. Innovation in the information age of the 21st century is the use of educational technologies in the classroom for instructional delivery, it involves the use of appropriate educational technologies like smart boards, computers, projectors and other projected materials to facilitate learning and improve performance. The study examined learning resources as determinants for improving the teaching and learning process in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Bauchi state of Nigeria. Three objectives, three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a Survey research design. The population of the study was 880 lecturers. A sample of 260 was obtained using the research advisor table for determining sampling, and 250 from the sample was proportionately selected from the seven faculties. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was subjected to validation by two experts. The reliability of the instrument stood at 0.81, which is reliable. The researchers, assisted by six research assistants, distributed and collected the questionnaire with a 75% return rate. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, whereas simple linear regression was used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that physical facilities and digital technology tools significantly improved the teaching and learning process. Also, consumables, supplies and equipment do not significantly improve the teaching and learning process in the faculties. It was recommended that lecturers in the various faculties should strengthen and sustain the use of digital technology tools, and there is a need to strive and continue to properly maintain the available physical facilities. Also, the university management should, as a matter of priority, continue to adequately fund and upgrade equipment, consumables and supplies frequently to enhance the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.

Keywords: education, facilities, learning-resources, technology-tools

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Authors: Giulia Leoni, Cristina Florio

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The paper aims to investigate the factors driving the increasing alignment of Italian earnings management (EM) research to US research on the same field. After characterizing the progressive similarity of Italian EM research with respect to US one by means of an historical comparison, the paper relies on a subsequent secondary source analysis to detect the possible causes of said alignment. Once identified that the alignment increased along three subsequent periods, the paper analyses and discusses this incremental similarity according to new institutional sociology (NIS) and highlights the presence of different combination of isomorphic pressures that help explaining this incremental similarity. The paper contributes to the institutional literature by providing evidence of isomorphism in academic research; it also contributes to accounting research by indicating the forces that are able to drive change and development in accounting research at national and international level. The paper also enlarges the explanatory value of NIS in alternative contexts, like academic accounting research.

Keywords: accounting research, earnings management, international comparison, Italy, new institutional sociology, US

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Authors: Suleiman Hassan Otuoze, Dexter Vernon Lloyd Hunt, Ian Jefferson

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Urbanization has continued to widen the gap between demand and resources available to provide resilient and sustainable transport services in many fast-growing developing countries' cities. Transport demand management is a decision-based optimization concept for both benchmarking and ensuring efficient use of transport resources. This study assesses the service quality of infrastructure and mobility services in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Lagos through five dimensions of quality (i.e., Tangibility, Reliability, Responsibility, Safety Assurance and Empathy). The methodology adopts a hybrid AHP-SERVQUAL model applied on questionnaire surveys to gauge the quality of satisfaction and the views of experts in the field. The AHP results prioritize tangibility, which defines the state of transportation infrastructure and services in terms of satisfaction qualities and intervention decision weights in the two cities. The results recorded ‘unsatisfactory’ indices of quality of performance and satisfaction rating values of 48% and 49% for Kano and Lagos, respectively. The satisfaction indices are identified as indicators of low performances of transportation demand management (TDM) measures and the necessity to re-order priorities and take proactive steps towards infrastructure. The findings pilot a framework for comparative assessment of recognizable standards in transport services, best ethics of management and a necessity of quality infrastructure to guarantee both resilient and sustainable urban mobility.

Keywords: transportation demand management, multi-criteria decision support, transport infrastructure, service quality, sustainable transport

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Authors: Hong Chen, Li Heping

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China's urbanization rate has exceeded 60%, and in the long term, China's urbanization development will enter a new stage of transformation and development focusing on quality improvement, and urban renewal has become an important part of China's urban development. In the past, many cities in the process of renewal in order to maximize the pursuit of economic interests, large-scale demolition of the old to build new, accelerating the disappearance of regional history and culture, aggravating the homogenization of the city. With the changes in the economic and social development environment, urban renewal requires a more comprehensive perspective of action. Starting from the perspective of the core of urban management theory, this paper is oriented to culture-enabled urban renewal and takes the urban renewal of Changbin Road Area in Yuzhong District of Chongqing as an example to expound the problems and renewal strategies in its urban renewal, so as to provide references for the urban renewal of other Chinese cities in the new period.

Keywords: Urban management, Urban culture, Urban renewal in mountainous areas, urban renewal

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Authors: S. Zenia, A. Menasseria, A. E. Kheidous, F. Larinouna, A. Smai, H. Saadi, F. Haddadj, A. Milla, F. Marniche

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Pheasant, is a bird of great ornamental value through the beauty of its form and colors, it is among the most popular birds. The present study was conducted in an experimental breeding. The objective of this work is to know the quality of the eggs of this bird. A total of 938 eggs were collected. To deepen the knowledge about the characteristics of external shell quality, biometric parameters were studied, among them we find the weight with a mean value of 29.2± 2, 24 g. Egg length (mm) and egg width (mm) mean value are respectively 43.01 ± 1,84 cm and 34.05 ± 1,44cm. The volume and shape index of eggs obtained are respectively 25,63±2,88cm3 and 79.00 ± 3%, shell index which recorded an average of 68%. Water loss recorded is 13%. Note that all these parameters and others may influence hatching. The analysis of variance applied for the comparison of egg weight shows that there is no significant difference in the same form factor (P> 0.05). Otherwise, the comparison test used shows a significant difference with P <0.05 for length, width, volume, density, indices of shell and water loss of eggs between the different. Indeed, several factors may explain the difference as the absence of sorting eggs during incubation and other factors that will be exposing later.

Keywords: analysis of variance, egg, hatching, morphometry of eggs Phaisan (Phasianus colchicus.L.)

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Authors: Glykeria A. Visvini, George N. Mathioudakis, Amaia Soto Beobide, Aris E. Giannakas, George A. Voyiatzis

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Polymeric nanocomposites have generated considerable interest in both academic research and industry because their properties can be tailored by adjusting the type & concentration of nano-inclusions, resulting in complementary and adaptable characteristics. The exceptional and/or unique properties of the nanocomposites, including the high mechanical strength and stiffness, the ease of processing, and their lightweight nature, are attributed to the high surface area, the electrical and/or thermal conductivity of the nano-fillers, which make them appealing materials for a wide range of engineering applications. Polymeric «breathable» membranes enabling water vapor permeability (WVP) can be designed either by using micro/nano-fillers with the ability to interrupt the continuity of the polymer phase generating micro/nano-porous structures or/and by creating micro/nano-pores into the composite material by uniaxial/biaxial stretching. Among the nanofillers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit particular high WVP and for this reason, they have already been proposed for gas separation membranes. In a similar context, they could prove to be promising alternative/complementary filler nano-materials, for the development of "breathable" products. Polypropylene (PP) is a commonly utilized thermoplastic polymer matrix in the development of composite films, due to its easy processability and low price, combined with its good chemical & physical properties. PP is known to present several crystalline phases (α, β and γ), depending on the applied treatment process, which have a significant impact on its final properties, particularly in terms of WVP. Specifically, the development of the β-phase in PP in combination with stretching is anticipated to modify the crystalline behavior and extend the microporosity of the polymer matrix exhibiting enhanced WVP. The primary objective of this study is to develop breathable nano-carbon based (functionalized MWCNTs) PP composite membranes, potentially also avoiding the stretching process. This proposed alternative is expected to have a better performance/cost ratio over current stretched PP/CaCO3 composite benchmark membranes. The focus is to investigate the impact of both β-nucleator(s) and nano-carbon fillers on water vapor transmission rate properties of relevant PP nanocomposites.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, nanocomposites, nucleating agents, polypropylene, water vapor permeability

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Authors: Kazi Ashief Mahmood

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Geographically Bangladesh is located in a natural hazard prone area. Compared to the rest of the areas, the coastal sub-districts are more vulnerable to climate variability and change. However, the hydro-geophysical reality of the sub-districts predominantly determines their contexts of vulnerability and its nature differs accordingly. Intriguingly enough, the poorest of the areas appear to be the most cornered among the different vulnerable sectors. Among of these deprived segments; however, the women, the persons with disability and the minorities are generally more vulnerable and they face a high risk of marginalized. The most threatening hydro-geophysical climate vulnerability have been created by prolonged dry season as observed at Koyra Upazilla in Khulna districts and Shyamnagar in Satkhira districts. The prolonged dry season creates severe surface salinity by which farmers cannot produce or use their to cultivate. The absence of land-based production and employment in the area has led to severe food insecurity. As a result, farmers tend to change their livelihood option and many of them are forced to migrate to the other areas of the country in search of livelihood. Besides salinity intrusion, water logging, drought and different climate change induced hazards are endangering safe drinking water sources and putting small-holders out of agriculture-based livelihoods in the Koyra and Shyamnagar Upazilla. A sizeable fraction of small-holders are still trying to hold on to their small scale shrimp production, despite being under pressure to sell off their cultivating lands to their influential shrimp merchants. While their desperate effort to take advantage of the increasing salinity is somewhat successful, their families still face a greater risk of health hazards owing to the lack of safe drinking water. Unless the issues of salinity in drinking water cannot be redressed, the state of the affected people will be in great jeopardy. Most of the inhabitants of oKyra and Shyamnagar Upazilla are living under the poverty line. Thus, poverty is a major factor that intensifies the vulnerability caused by hydro-geophysical climatic conditions. The government and different NGOs are trying to improve the present scenario by implementing different disaster risk reduction projects along with poverty reduction for community empowerment.

Keywords: assessment, climate change, climate induced hazards, coastal zone

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Authors: A. Julio, R. Caparica, S. Costa Lima, S. Reis, J. G. Costa, P. Fonte, T. Santos De Almeida

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The Mycobacterium leprae causes a chronic and infectious disease called leprosy, which the most common symptoms are peripheral neuropathy and deformation of several parts of the body. The pharmacological treatment of leprosy is a combined therapy with three different drugs, rifampicin, clofazimine, and dapsone. However, clofazimine and dapsone have poor solubility in water and also low bioavailability. Thus, it is crucial to develop strategies to overcome such drawbacks. The use of ionic liquids (ILs) may be a strategy to overcome the low solubility since they have been used as solubility promoters. ILs are salts, liquid below 100 ºC or even at room temperature, that may be placed in water, oils or hydroalcoholic solutions. Another approach may be the encapsulation of drugs into polymeric nanoparticles, which improves their bioavailability. In this study, two different classes of ILs were used, the imidazole- and the choline-based ionic liquids, as solubility enhancers of the poorly soluble antileprotic drugs. Thus, after the solubility studies, it was developed IL-PLGA nanoparticles hybrid systems to deliver such drugs. First of all, the solubility studies of clofazimine and dapsone were performed in water and in water: IL mixtures, at ILs concentrations where cell viability is maintained, at room temperature for 72 hours. For both drugs, it was observed an improvement on the drug solubility and [Cho][Phe] showed to be the best solubility enhancer, especially for clofazimine, where it was observed a 10-fold improvement. Later, it was produced nanoparticles, with a polymeric matrix of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) 75:25, by a modified solvent-evaporation W/O/W double emulsion technique in the presence of [Cho][Phe]. Thus, the inner phase was an aqueous solution of 0.2 % (v/v) of the above IL with each drug to its maximum solubility determined on the previous study. After the production, the nanosystem hybrid was physicochemically characterized. The produced nanoparticles had a diameter of around 580 nm and 640 nm, for clofazimine and dapsone, respectively. Regarding the polydispersity index, it was in agreement of the recommended value of this parameter for drug delivery systems (around 0.3). The association efficiency (AE) of the developed hybrid nanosystems demonstrated promising AE values for both drugs, given their low solubility (64.0 ± 4.0 % for clofazimine and 58.6 ± 10.0 % for dapsone), that prospects the capacity of these delivery systems to enhance the bioavailability and loading of clofazimine and dapsone. Overall, the study achievement may signify an upgrading of the patient’s quality of life, since it may mean a change in the therapeutic scheme, not requiring doses of drug so high to obtain a therapeutic effect. The authors would like to thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), UID/DTP/04567/2016-CBIOS/PRUID/BI2/2018).

Keywords: ionic liquids, ionic liquids-PLGA nanoparticles hybrid systems, leprosy treatment, solubility

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Authors: Talal Asif, Maya Kosinska, Lucas Georger, Krish Sardesai, Muhammad Shah Miran

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This article presents a case review and literature review focused on the challenges of managing subaortic membranes (SAM) in young adult patients with mild aortic regurgitation (AR) or aortic stenosis (AS). The study aims to discuss the diagnosis of SAM, imaging studies used for assessment, management strategies in young patients, the risk of valvular damage, and the controversy surrounding prophylactic resection in mild AR. The management of SAM in adults poses challenges due to limited treatment options and potential complications, necessitating further investigation into the progression of AS and AR in asymptomatic SAM patients. The case presentation describes a 40-year-old male with muscular dystrophy who presented with symptoms and was diagnosed with SAM. Various imaging techniques, including CT chest, transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), and transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE), were used to confirm the presence and severity of SAM. Based on the patient's clinical profile and the absence of surgical indications, medical therapy was initiated, and regular outpatient follow-up was recommended to monitor disease progression. The discussion highlights the challenges in diagnosing SAM, the importance of imaging studies, and the potential complications associated with SAM in young patients. The article also explores the management options for SAM, emphasizing surgical resection as the definitive treatment while acknowledging the limited success rates of alternative approaches. Close monitoring and prompt intervention for complications are crucial in the management of SAM. The concluding statement emphasizes the need for further research to explore alternative treatments for SAM in young patients.

Keywords: subaortic membrane, management, case report, literature review, aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis, left ventricular outflow obstruction, guidelines, heart failure

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Authors: Juan C. Gutierrez-Estrada, Inmaculada Pulido-Calvo, Ignacio De La Rosa, Antonio Peregrin, Fernando Gomez-Bravo, Samuel Lopez-Dominguez, Alejandro Garrocho-Cruz, Jairo Castro-Gutierrez

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The semi-intensive aquaculture in traditional earth ponds is the main rearing system in Southern Spain. These fish rearing systems are approximately two thirds of aquatic production in this area which has made a significant contribution to the regional economy in recent years. In this type of rearing system, a crucial aspect is the correct quantification and control of the fish abundance in the ponds because the fish farmer knows how many fishes he puts in the ponds but doesn’t know how many fishes will harvest at the end of the rear period. This is a consequence of the mortality induced by different causes as pathogen agents as parasites, viruses and bacteria and other factors as predation of fish-eating birds and poaching. Track the fish abundance in these installations is very difficult because usually the ponds take up a large area of land and the management of the water flow is not automatized. Therefore, there is a very high degree of uncertainty on the abundance fishes which strongly hinders the management and planning of the sales. A novel and non-invasive procedure to count fishes in the ponds is by the means of imaging sonars, particularly fixed systems and/or linked to aquatic vehicles as Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). In this work, a method based on census stations procedures is proposed to evaluate the fish abundance estimation accuracy using images obtained of multibeam sonars. The results indicate that it is possible to obtain a realistic approach about the number of fishes, sizes and therefore the biomass contained in the ponds. This research is included in the framework of the KTTSeaDrones Project (‘Conocimiento y transferencia de tecnología sobre vehículos aéreos y acuáticos para el desarrollo transfronterizo de ciencias marinas y pesqueras 0622-KTTSEADRONES-5-E’) financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) 2014-2020.

Keywords: census station procedure, fish biomass, semi-intensive aquaculture, multibeam sonars

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Authors: Muhammet M. Erdem, Erdoğan Özbay, Ibrahim H. Durmuş, Mustafa Erdemir, Murat Bikçe, Müzeyyen Balçıkanlı

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In this paper, rheological behavior of alkali activated slag concretes were investigated depending on the sodium concentration (SC), waiting time (WT) after production, and constituents’ temperature (CT) parameters. For this purpose, an experimental program was conducted with four different SCs of 1.85, 3.0, 4.15, and 5.30%, three different WT of 0 (just after production), 15, and 30 minutes and three different CT of 18, 30, and 40 °C. Solid precursors are activated by water glass and sodium hydroxide solutions with silicate modulus (Ms = SiO₂/Na₂O) of 1. Slag content and (water + activator solution)/slag ratio were kept constant in all mixtures. Yield stress and plastic viscosity values were defined for each mixture by using the ICAR rheometer. Test results were demonstrated that all of the three studied parameters have tremendous effect on the yield stress and plastic viscosity values of the alkali activated slag concretes. Increasing the SC, WT, and CT drastically augmented the rheological parameters. At the 15 and 30 minutes WT after production, most of the alkali activated slag concretes were set instantaneously, and rheological measurements were not performed.

Keywords: alkali activation, slag, rheology, yield stress, plastic viscosity

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Authors: Mara Balestrieri, Clara Pusceddu

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Issues relating to the destructive phenomena that can damage people and goods have returned to the centre of debate in Italy with the increase in catastrophic episodes in recent years in a country which is highly vulnerable to hydrological risk. Environmental factors and geological and geomorphological territorial characteristics play an important role in determining the level of vulnerability and the natural tendency to risk. However, a territory has also been subjected to the requirements of and transformations of society, and this brings other relevant factors. The reasons for the increase in destructive phenomena are often to be found in the territorial development models adopted. Stewardship of the landscape and management of risk are related issues. This study aims to summarize the most relevant elements about this connection and at the same time to clarify the role of environmental risk assessment as a tool to aid in the sustainable management of landscape. How planners relate to this problem and which aspects should be monitored in order to prepare responsible and useful interventions?

Keywords: assessment, landscape, risk, planning

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Authors: Dagnija Blumberga, Toms Prodanuks, Ivars Veidenbergs, Andra Blumberga

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Gas condensing units with inner tubes heat exchangers represent third generation technology and differ from second generation heat and mass transfer units, which are fulfilled by passive filling material layer. The first one improves heat and mass transfer by increasing cooled contact surface of gas and condensate drops and film formed in inner tubes heat exchanger. This paper presents a selection of significant factors which influence the heat and mass transfer. Experimental planning is based on the research and analysis of main three independent variables; velocity of water and gas as well as density of spraying. Empirical mathematical models show that the coefficient of heat transfer is used as dependent parameter which depends on two independent variables; water and gas velocity. Empirical model is proved by the use of experimental data of two independent gas condensing units in Lithuania and Russia. Experimental data are processed by the use of heat transfer criteria-Kirpichov number. Results allow drawing the graphical nomogram for the calculation of heat and mass transfer conditions in the innovative and energy efficient gas cooling unit.

Keywords: gas condensing unit, filling, inner heat exchanger, package, spraying, tunes

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Authors: Pradip Baishya, D. K. Mahanta

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Rapid and unplanned urbanisation in most cities of India has progressively increased the problem of managing municipal waste in the past few years. With insufficient infrastructure and funds, Municipalities in most cities are struggling to cope with the pace of waste generated. Open dumping is widely in practice as a cheaper option. Scientific disposal of waste in such a large scale with the elements of segregation, recycling, landfill, and incineration involves sophisticated and expensive plants. In an effort to finding affordable and simple solutions to address this burning issue of waste disposal, a semi-mechanized plant has been designed underlying the concept of a zero waste community. The fabrication work of the waste management unit is carried out by local skills from locally available materials. A resident colony in the city of Guwahati has been chosen, which is seen as a typical representative of most cities in India in terms of size and key issues surrounding waste management. Scientific management and disposal of waste on site is carried out on the principle of reduce, reuse and recycle from segregation to compositing. It is a local community participatory model, which involves all stakeholders in the process namely rag pickers, residents, municipality and local industry. Studies were conducted to testify the plant as revenue earning self-sustaining model in the long term. Current working efficiency of plant for segregation was found to be 1kg per minute. Identifying bottlenecks in the success of the model, data on efficiency of the plant, economics of its fabrication were part of the study. Similar satellite waste management plants could potentially be a solution to supplement the waste management system of municipalities of similar sized cities in India or South East Asia with similar issues surrounding waste disposal.

Keywords: affordable, rag pickers, recycle, reduce, reuse, segregation, zero waste

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Authors: Jing Ren, Guifeng Han

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The mental health of most college students in China is negative due to the multiple pressures of academics, life, and employment. The problem of psychological stress has been widely discussed and needs to be resolved immediately. Therefore, six typical green spaces in Chongqing University, China, were selected to explore the relationship between eight environmental characteristics and students' stress relief. A path analysis model is established using Amos26.0 to explain the paths for environmental characteristics influencing psychological stress relief. The results show that (1) tree species diversity (TSD) has a positive effect on stress relief, thus green coverage ratio (GCR), the proportion of water area (WAP), visual green index (VGI), and color richness (CR) have both positive and negative effects; (2) CR could reduce stress directly and indirectly, while GCR, TSD, WAP, and VGI could only reduce stress indirectly, and the most effective path is TSD→extent→stress relief; (3) CR can reduce stress more greatly for males than females, CR and VGI have better effects for art students than science students. The study can provide a theoretical reference for planning and designing campus living environments to improve students' mental health.

Keywords: public health, residential environment, space planning and management, mental health, path analysis

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Authors: Mohammad Yousefikia, Sara Moridpour, Ehsan Mazloumi

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Perceiving track geometry deterioration decisively influences the optimization of track maintenance operations. The effective management of this deterioration and increasingly utilized system with limited financial resources is a significant challenge. This paper provides a review of degradation models relevant for railroad tracks. Furthermore, due to the lack of long term information on the condition development of tram infrastructures, presents the methodology which will be used to derive degradation models from the data of Melbourne tram network.

Keywords: deterioration modeling, asset management, railway, tram

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Authors: Mohammad Yousuf Khan, Bhavya Alankar

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Blockchain is a promising technology with its features such as immutability and decentralized database. It has applications in various fields such as pharmaceutical, finance, & the food industry. At the core of its heart lies its feature, traceability which is the most desired key in supply chains. However, supply chains have always been hit rock bottom by scandals and controversies. In this review paper, we have explored the advancement and research gaps of blockchain technology (BT) in supply chain management (SCM). We have used the Prisma framework for systematic literature review (SLR) and included a minuscule amount of grey literature to reduce publication bias. We found that supply chain traceability and transparency is the most researched objective in SCM. There was hardly any research in supply chain resilience. Further, we found that 40 % of the papers were application based. Most articles have focused on the advantages of BT, rather than analyzing it critically. This study will help identify gaps and suitable actions to be followed for an efficient implementation of BT in SCM.

Keywords: blockchain technology, supply chain management, supply chain transparency, supply chain resilience

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Authors: Abdikarim Barqadle Igale

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The main objective of this study is to find out the indicators of excellent supply chain management based on game theory. The study employed a survey design to collect data. A total of 268 respondents participated in this research. The results indicate that both companies (Coca-cola & Yousran International) managed to effectively use the physical and information flows but were different from the focus on the items in the two key areas. The Coca-cola, for instance, sustained to utilize the flows of excellent planning, starting from row materials, timing, transformation, transportation, and storage of goods to reach consumer’s hands on one side and solid linkage to strategic partners to plan and work together for long-term control of better day-to-day supply chains of goods and materials down to customers’ consumption on the other. Meanwhile, the Yousran International heavily concentrated on the physical side with moderate rapports with strategic partners for long-term improvement on supply chain. The study proposes that strong combination of effective use of both physical and information flows are good indicators of better supply chain management in today’s emerging companies.

Keywords: game theory, physical flow, supply chain management, indicators

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Authors: Waraporn Boonchieng, Ekkarat Boonchieng, Wilawan Senaratana, Jaras Singkaew

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Geographical information system (GIS) is a designated system widely used for collecting and analyzing geographical data. Since the introduction of ultra-mobile, 'smart' devices, investigators, clinicians, and even the general public have had powerful new tools for collecting, uploading and accessing information in the field. Epidemiology paired with GIS will increase the efficacy of preventive health care services. The objective of this study is to apply GPS location services that are available on the common mobile device with district health systems, storing data on our private cloud system. The mobile application has been developed for use on iOS, Android, and web-based platforms. The system consists of two parts of district health information, including recorded resident data forms and individual health recorded data forms, which were developed and approved by opinion sharing and public hearing. The application's graphical user interface was developed using HTML5 and PHP with MySQL as a database management system (DBMS). The reporting module of the developed software displays data in a variety of views, from traditional tables to various types of high-resolution, layered graphics, incorporating map location information with street views from Google Maps. Multi-extension exporting is also supported, utilizing standard platforms such as PDF, PNG, JPG, and XLS. The data were collected in the database beginning in March 2013, by district health volunteers and district youth volunteers who had completed the application training program. District health information consisted of patients’ household coordinates, individual health data, social and economic information. This was combined with Google Street View data, collected in March 2014. Studied groups consisted of 16,085 (67.87%) and 47,811 (59.87%) of the total 23,701 households and 79,855 people were collected by the system respectively, in Saraphi district, Chiang Mai Province. The report generated from the system has had a major benefit directly to the Saraphi District Hospital. Healthcare providers are able to use the basic health data to provide a specific home health care service and also to create health promotion activities according to medical needs of the people in the community.

Keywords: health, public health, GIS, geographic information system

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Authors: Hailyie Tekleselase

Abstract:

Deep learning is increasingly used as a building block of security systems. However, neural networks are hard to interpret and typically solid to the practitioner. This paper presents a detail survey of computing methods in cyber security, and analyzes the prospects of enhancing the cyber security capabilities by suggests that of accelerating the intelligence of the security systems. There are many AI-based applications used in industrial scenarios such as Internet of Things (IoT), smart grids, and edge computing. Machine learning technologies require a training process which introduces the protection problems in the training data and algorithms. We present machine learning techniques currently applied to the detection of intrusion, malware, and spam. Our conclusions are based on an extensive review of the literature as well as on experiments performed on real enterprise systems and network traffic. We conclude that problems can be solved successfully only when methods of artificial intelligence are being used besides human experts or operators.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, cyber security, big data

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Authors: Ahmed Alghurabi, Mysara Mohyaldinn, Shiferaw Jufar, Obai Younis, Abdullah Abduljabbar

Abstract:

Erosion modeling equations were typically acquired from regulated experimental trials for solid particles entrained in single-phase or multi-phase flows. Evidently, those equations were later employed to predict the erosion damage caused by the continuous impacts of solid particles entrained in streamflow. It is also well-known that the particle impact angle and velocity do not change drastically in gas-sand flow erosion prediction; hence an accurate prediction of erosion can be projected. On the contrary, high-density fluid flows, such as water flow, through complex geometries, such as sand screens, greatly affect the sand particles’ trajectories/tracks and consequently impact the erosion rate predictions. Particle tracking models and erosion equations are frequently applied simultaneously as a method to improve erosion visualization and estimation. In the present work, computational fluid dynamic (CFD)-based erosion modeling was performed using a commercially available software; ANSYS Fluent. The continuous phase (water flow) behavior was simulated using the realizable K-epsilon model, and the secondary phase (solid particles), having a 5% flow concentration, was tracked with the help of the discrete phase model (DPM). To accomplish a successful erosion modeling, three erosion equations from the literature were utilized and introduced to the ANSYS Fluent software to predict the screen wire-slot velocity surge and estimate the maximum erosion rates on the screen surface. Results of turbulent kinetic energy, turbulence intensity, dissipation rate, the total pressure on the screen, screen wall shear stress, and flow velocity vectors were presented and discussed. Moreover, the particle tracks and path-lines were also demonstrated based on their residence time, velocity magnitude, and flow turbulence. On one hand, results from the utilized erosion equations have shown similarities in screen erosion patterns, locations, and DPM concentrations. On the other hand, the model equations estimated slightly different values of maximum erosion rates of the wire-wrapped screen. This is solely based on the fact that the utilized erosion equations were developed with some assumptions that are controlled by the experimental lab conditions.

Keywords: CFD simulation, erosion rate prediction, material loss due to erosion, water-sand flow

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Authors: Sara Patricia Ibarra-Zavaleta, Rabindranarth Romero-Lopez, Rosario Langrave, Annie Poulin, Gerald Corzo, Mathias Glaus, Ricardo Vega-Azamar, Norma Angelica Oropeza

Abstract:

The progressive change in climatic conditions worldwide has increased frequency and severity of extreme hydrometeorological events (EHE). Mexico is an example; this has been affected by the presence of EHE leaving economic, social and environmental losses. The objective of this research was to apply a Canadian distributed hydrological model (DHM) to tropical conditions and to evaluate its capacity to predict flows in a basin in the central Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the DHM (once calibrated and validated) was used to calculate the theoretical hydraulic power and the performance to predict streamflow before the presence of an EHE. The results of the DHM show that the goodness of fit indicators between the observed and simulated flows in the calibration process (NSE=0.83, RSR=0.021 and BIAS=-4.3) and validation: temporal was assessed at two points: point one (NSE=0.78, RSR=0.113 and BIAS=0.054) and point two (NSE=0.825, RSR=0.103 and BIAS=0.063) are satisfactory. The DHM showed its applicability in tropical environments and its ability to characterize the rainfall-runoff relationship in the study area. This work can serve as a tool for identifying vulnerabilities before floods and for the rational and sustainable management of water resources.

Keywords: HYDROTEL, hydraulic power, extreme hydrometeorological events, streamflow

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Authors: Shazia Ali, Yves Mard, Éric Severin

Abstract:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to have analyzed the impact of a) firm-specific product-market power and b) industry competition on earnings management behavior of European firms in distress versus healthy years while controlling for firm-level characteristics. We predicted a significant relationship between firms’ product market power and earnings management tools and their trade-off under the moderation effect of financial distress. We found that the firm-level market power hereinafter referred to as MP (proxied by the industry-adjusted Lerner Index) is positively associated with both real and accrual earnings management. However, MP is associated with a higher level of real earnings management compared to accrual earnings management in distress years compared to healthy years. On the other hand, industry product market power (representing low competition and proxied by the inverse of the total number of firms in an industry hereinafter referred to as NUMB) and firms product market power (proxied by firm market share hereinafter referred to as MS) are associated with lower inflationary accruals and higher deflationary accruals respectively. On the other hand, they are found to be linked with higher real earnings management in distress versus healthy years. When we divided the sample into small and big firms based on their respective industry-year median total assets, we found that all three measures of industry competition (Industry Median Lerner Index (hereinafter referred to as IMLI), NUMB, and Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (hereinafter referred to as HHI) indicate that small firms in low-competitive industries in financial distress are more likely to inflate their earnings through discretionary accruals. While big firms in this situation are more likely to lower the use of both inflationary and deflationary discretionary accruals as indicated by IMLI and HHI and trade-off accruals earnings management for real earnings management as indicated by NUMB. Moreover, IMLI and HHI did not show any interesting results when we divided the sample based on the firm Lerner Index/Market Power. However, the distressed firms with high market power (MP>industry median) are found to engage in income-decreasing discretionary accruals in low-competitive industries (high NUMB). Whereas firms with low market power in the same industry use downward discretionary accruals but inflate income using real activities (abnCFO). Our findings are robust across alternate measures of discretionary accruals and financial distress, such as the Altman Z-Score. The finding of the study is valuable for accounting standard setters, competition authorities, policymakers, and investors alike to help in informed decision-making.

Keywords: financial distress, earnings management, market competition

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Authors: Abbas S. Alwan, Waleed K. Hussan

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In this paper, a general verification of possible heat treatment of steel has been done with the view of conditions of real abrasive wear of rotivater with soil texture. This technique is found promising to improve the quality of agriculture components working with the soil in dry condition. Abrasive wear resistance is very important in many applications and in most cases it is directly correlated with the hardness of materials surface. Responded of heat treatments were carried out in various media (Still air, Cottonseed oil, and Brine water 10 %) and follow by low-temperature tempering (250°C) was applied on steel type (AISI 1030). After heat treatment was applied wear with soil texture by using tillage process to determine the (actual wear rate) of the specimens depending on weight loss method. It was found; the wear resistance Increases with increase hardness with varying quenching media as follows; 30 HRC, 45 HRC, 52 HRC, and 60 HRC for nontreated (as received) cooling media as still air, cottonseed oil, and Brine water 10 %, respectively. Martensitic structure with retained austenite can be obtained depending on the quenching medium. Wear was presented on the worn surfaces of the steels which were used in this work.

Keywords: microstructures, hardness, abrasive wear, heat treatment, soil texture

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Authors: Veera J. Allu, Shreya Pal, Anang Pangeni

Abstract:

Introduction: Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is usually managed conservatively. Failed conservative management leads to operative intervention by an open approach. However, laparoscopic management of ASBO is increasingly being reported in the literature. We report an unusual case of ASBO secondary to a band from the appendicular tip which was managed laparoscopically. Case Description: This patient was a 61-year-old female, otherwise fit and healthy, presenting with abdominal pain and mild distension with vomiting of 3 days duration. She had undergone ultrasound-guided drainage of an appendicular abscess three months ago and laparoscopic right inguinal hernia repair (TEP) in the past. CTAP showed small bowel obstruction with a transition point in the pelvis and the possible cause being adhesions. She was initially managed conservatively; however, as she was not improving for two days, she was consented to diagnostic laparoscopy. Intraoperatively, an adhesive band was found between the appendicular tip and distal ileum around 100cm proximal to the ileocolic junction, resulting in mechanical bowel obstruction. Laparoscopic division of band was performed, followed by appendicectomy, and the patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on postoperative day 1. Conclusion: In highly selected patients and with appropriate expertise, laparoscopic management of ASBO is feasible and safe.

Keywords: bowel obstruction, adhesions, laparoscopy, open procedure

Procedia PDF Downloads 67