Search results for: urban index

Authors: Syed M. Rizvi, Yiqing Meng, Simon Iwnicki

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With an increased demand in the land cargo industry, it is predicted that the freight trade will rise to a record $1.1 trillion in revenue and volume in the following years to come. This increase is mainly driven by the e-commerce model ever so popular in the consumer market. Many innovative ideas have stemmed from this demand and change in lifestyle likes of which include e-bike cargo and drones. Rural and urban areas are facing air quality challenges to keep pollution levels in city centre to a minimum. For this purpose, this paper presents the design and implementation of a non-linear PID control system, employing a micro-controller and low cost sensing technique, for controlling an electrical motor based cargo vehicle with various loads, to follow a leading vehicle (bike). Within using this system, the cargo vehicle will have no load influence on the bike rider on different gradient conditions, such as hill climbing. The system is being integrated with a microcontroller to continuously measure several parameters such as relative displacement between bike and the cargo vehicle and gradient of the road, and process these measurements to create a portable controller capable of controlling the performance of electrical vehicle without the need of a PC. As a result, in the case of carrying 180kg of parcel weight, the cargo vehicle can maintain a reasonable spacing over a short length of sensor travel between the bike and itself.

Keywords: cargo, e-bike, microcontroller, embedded system, nonlinear pid, self-adaptive, inertial measurement unit (IMU)

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Authors: Hamid Yazdani, Fatemeh Abbasi

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Understanding the natural potentials, as the basis for the prevailing context of human activities, environmental planning, and land-use form shows. In this regard, regional characteristics and spatial distribution of the dominant elements in shaping human behavior and environment play a role Knndhayy. As far as today's studies of human Byvklymay basis for urban planning, settlement, architecture, Tourism and so on. In this study, comfort or lack of comfort in Shiraz in Horn of models and indices based on eco-Baker, Trjvng, were examined and the best time to do-using 39 years of data (TCI) stress, and the effective temperature Environmental activities and tourism in the city was established. The results showed that the worth parameters used, the ability to detect Terms of comfort and discomfort are Shiraz, despite minor differences, relatively homogenous aspects of the city provide a comfortable climate. Studies showed that having diversity in the worth of Shiraz during the year, the situation is heating up much coolness; during winter and summer Find out eco comfort zone and during the transition from cold to warm in spring and autumn (April) and warm to cold (November) climate Iran is close to human comfort. Totally, unique human comfort conditions in spring, the best season for environmental activities Tourism in Shiraz.

Keywords: BIO comfort Klymayy, Trjvng, baker, effective temperature, stress and (TCI)

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Authors: Qiao Yushuang, Shao Longyi

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This paper presents the result of plasmid assay of inhalable particulates PM10 and PM2.5 that were collected during the period of the 11th Hanyuan temple fair of ancestor worship in Kaifeng City. By use of a high-resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and image analysis (IA) technology, the morphological characteristics and Particle Size Distribution (PSD) of each were analyzed and the Bioreactivity of PM10 was evaluated by using plasmid DNA assay. The result shows that, as the dominant component of the samples taken in the urban area of Kaifeng City, the mineral particles, compared with the other components including the soot aggregates, coal ash, and unidentified particles, have a much greater amount and volume. The mineral particles exhibited a decentralized quantity - size distribution, whose presence could be available among the particles sizing 2.5μm or smaller. In contrast, the volume-size distribution of mineral particles is scattered in a relatively narrow range of between1μm and 2.5μm. According to the plasmid assay the TD50 (toxic dose of PM causing 50% of plasmid damage, expressed in μg/ml) of water-soluble PM10 and whole fraction of Kaifeng airborne PM10 was measured respectively at 220-208μg/ml and 300-400μg/ml versus 160μg/ml and 190μg/ml for PM2.5. It can be seen that the whole fraction of airborne particles caused more oxidative damage than the water-soluble fractions, and the PM2.5 has a greater oxidative capacity than the PM10.

Keywords: inhalable particulates (PM10 and PM2.5), morphological features, bioreactivity, Kaifeng

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Authors: Lulu Liao, Huijing Chen, Yinan Zhao, Hongting Ning, Hui Feng

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Urinary tract infection rate is an important index of care quality in nursing homes. The aim of the study is to understand the nursing assistant's current knowledge and attitudes of urinary incontinence and to explore related stakeholders' viewpoint about urinary incontinence training. This explanatory sequential study used Knowledge, Practice, and Attitude Model (KAP) and Adult Learning Theories, as the conceptual framework. The researchers collected data from 509 nursing assistants in sixteen nursing homes in Hunan province in China. The questionnaire survey was to assess the knowledge and attitude of urinary incontinence of nursing assistants. On the basis of quantitative research and combined with focus group, training demands were identified, which nurse managers should adopt to improve nursing assistants’ professional practice ability in urinary incontinence. Most nursing assistants held the poor knowledge (14.0 ± 4.18) but had positive attitudes (35.5 ± 3.19) toward urinary incontinence. There was a significant positive correlation between urinary incontinence knowledge and nursing assistants' year of work and educational level, urinary incontinence attitude, and education level (p < 0.001). Despite a general awareness of the importance of prevention of urinary tract infections, not all nurse managers fully valued the training in urinary incontinence compared with daily care training. And the nursing assistants required simple education resources to equip them with skills to address problem about urinary incontinence. The variety of learning methods also highlighted the need for educational materials, and nursing assistants had shown a strong interest in online learning. Related education material should be developed to meet the learning need of nurse assistants and provide suitable training method for planned quality improvement in urinary incontinence.

Keywords: mixed methods, nursing assistants, nursing homes, urinary incontinence

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Authors: Hasan Frookh Jamal

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This is a case of a 36-year-old Bahraini gentleman diagnosed to have Cushing's Syndrome with a large anterior mediastinal mass. He was sent abroad to the Speciality hospital in Jordan, where he underwent diagnostic video-assisted thoracoscopy, partial thymectomy and pericardial fat excision. Histopathology of the mass was reported to be an Atypical carcinoid tumor with a low Ki67 proliferation index of 5%, the mitotic activity of 4 MF/10HPF and pathological stage classification(pTNM): pT1aN1. MRI of the pituitary gland showed an ill-defined non-enhancing focus of about 3mm on the Rt side of the pituitary on coronal images, with a similar but smaller one on the left side, which could be due to enhancing pattern rather than a real lesion as reported. The patient underwent Ga68 Dotate PET/CT scan post-operatively, which showed multiple somatostatin receptor-positive lesions seen within the tail, body and head of the pancreas and positive somatostatin receptor lymph nodes located between the pancreatic head and IVC. There was no uptake detected at the anterior mediastinum nor at the site of thymic mass resection. There was no evidence of any positive somatostatin uptake at the soft tissue or lymph nodes. The patient underwent IPSS, which proved that the source is, in fact, an ectopic source of ACTH secretion. Unfortunately, the patient's serum cortisol remained elevated after surgery and failed to be suppressed by 1 mg ODST and by 2 days LLDST with a high ACTH value. The patient was started on Osilodrostat for treatment of hypercortisolism for the time being and his future treatment plan with Lutetium-177 Dotate therapy vs. bilateral adrenalectomy is to be considered in an MDT meeting.

Keywords: cushing syndrome, neuroendocrine tumur, carcinoid tumor, Thymoma

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Authors: Teklay Gebrecherkos, Mahmud Abdulkader, Tobias Rinke De Wit, Britta C. Urban, Feyissa Chala, Yazezew Kebede, Dawit Welday

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Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are a reliable surrogate for interleukin-6 bioactivity that plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cytokine storm associated with severe COVID-19. There is a lack of data on the role of CRP as a determinant of COVID-19 severity status in the African context. Methods: We determined the longitudinal kinetics of CRP levels on 78 RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients (49 non-severe and 29 severe cases) and 50 PCR-negative controls. Results: COVID-19 patients had overall significantly elevated CRP at baseline when compared to PCR-negative controls [median 11.1 (IQR: 2.0-127.8) mg/L vs. 0.9 (IQR: 0.5-1.9) mg/L; p=0.0004)]. Moreover, severe COVID-19 patients had significantly higher median CRP levels than non-severe cases [166.1 (IQR: 48.6-332.5) mg/L vs. 2.4 (IQR: 1.2-7.6) mg/L; p<0.00001)]. In addition, persistently elevated levels of CRP were exhibited among those with comorbidities and higher age groups. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis of CRP levels distinguished PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients from the ones with PCR-negative non-COVID-19 individuals, with an AUC value of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.68-0.84; p=0.001). Moreover, it clearly distinguished severe from non-severe COVID-19 patients, with an AUC value of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73-0.91). After adjusting for age and the presence of comorbidities, CRP levels above 30 mg/L were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 (adjusted relative risk 3.99 (95%CI: 1.35-11.82; p=0.013). Conclusions: Determining CRP levels in COVID-19 patients in African settings may provide a simple, prompt, and inexpensive assessment of the severity status at baseline and monitoring of treatment outcomes.

Keywords: CRP, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, biomarker

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Authors: Jayakant Singh, Enu Anand

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Background: Child marriage is widely prevalent in India. It is a form of gross human right violation that succumbs a child bride to be subservient to her husband within a marital relation. We investigated the relationship between age at marriage of women and her level of empowerment with physical violence experienced 12 months preceding the survey among young women aged 20-24 in two culturally distinct states- Bihar and Tamil Nadu of India. Methods: We used the information collected from 10514 young married women (20-24 years) at all India level, 373 in Bihar and 523 in Tamil Nadu from the third round of National Family Health Survey. Empowerment index was calculated using different parameters such as mobility, economic independence and decision making power of women using Principal Component Analysis method. Bivariate analysis was performed primarily using chi square for the test of significance. Logistic regression was carried out to assess the effect of age at marriage and empowerment on physical violence. Results: Lower level of women empowerment was significantly associated with physical violence in Tamil Nadu (OR=2.38, p<0.01) whereas child marriage (marriage before age 15) was associated with physical violence in Bihar (OR=3.27, p<0.001). The mean difference in age at marriage between those who experienced physical violence and those who did not experience varied by 7 months in Bihar and 10 months in Tamil Nadu. Conclusion: Culture specific intervention may be a key to reduction of violence against women as the results showed association of different factors contributing to physical violence in Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Marrying at an appropriate age perhaps is protective of abuse because it equips a woman to assert her rights effectively. It calls for an urgent consideration to curb both violence and child marriage with stricter involvement of family, civil society and the government. In the meanwhile physical violence may be recognized as a public health problem and integrate appropriate treatment to the victims within the health care institution.

Keywords: child marriage, empowerment, India, physical violence

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Authors: Rabiatu Bonku, Faisal Alkaabneh

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Inspired by a food banks distribution operation for non-profit organization, we study a variant synchronized vehicle routing problem for equitable resource allocation. This research paper introduces a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model aimed at addressing the complex challenge of efficiently distributing vital resources, particularly for food banks serving vulnerable populations in urban areas. Our optimization approach places a strong emphasis on social equity, ensuring a fair allocation of food to partner agencies while minimizing wastage. The primary objective is to enhance operational efficiency while guaranteeing fair distribution and timely deliveries to prevent food spoilage. Furthermore, we assess four distinct models that consider various aspects of sustainability, including social and economic factors. We conduct a comprehensive numerical analysis using real-world data to gain insights into the trade-offs that arise, while also demonstrating the models’ performance in terms of fairness, effectiveness, and the percentage of food waste. This provides valuable managerial insights for food bank managers. We show that our proposed approach makes a significant contribution to the field of logistics optimization and social responsibility, offering valuable insights for improving the operations of food banks.

Keywords: food banks, humanitarian logistics, equitable resource allocation, synchronized vehicle routing

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Authors: Sajjad Shojaeidoust, Mohsen Ghanbarzadeh, Abdolhamid Habibi

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Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is a transitory condition of airflow obstruction that is associated with physical activities. It is noted that high ventilation can lead to an increase in the heat and reduce in the moisture in airways resistance of trachea. Also causes of pathophysiological mechanism are EIB. Accordingly, studying some parameters of pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1) among active people seems quintessential. The aim of this study was to analyze bronchospasm following the implementation of a program of maximum aerobic exercise in active men at Chamran University of Ahwaz. Method: In this quasi-experimental study, the population consisted of all students at Chamran University. Among from 55 participants, of which, 15 were randomly selected as the experimental group. In this study, the size of the maximum oxygen consumption was initially measured, and then, based on the maximum oxygen consumed, the active individuals were identified. After five minutes’ warm-up, Strand treadmill exercise test was taken (one session) and pulmonary parameters were measured at both pre- and post-tests (spirometer). After data normalization using KS and non-normality of the data, the Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the data. The significance level for all statistical surveys was considered p≤0/05. Results: The results showed that the ventilation factors and bronchospasm (FVC, FEV1) in the pre-test and post-test resulted in no significant difference among the active people (p≥0/05). Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results observed in this study, it appears that pulmonary indices in active individuals increased after aerobic test. The increase in this indicator in active people is due to increased volume and elasticity of the lungs as well. In other words, pulmonary index is affected by rib muscles. It is considered that progress over respiratory muscle strength and endurance has raised FEV1 in the active cases.

Keywords: aerobic active maximum, bronchospasm, pulmonary function, spirometer

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Authors: Kadeejah Alsolami, Zainab Alrefay, Husaam Awad

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Obesity and vitamin D deficiency have both been related to cardiovascular disease. The present work aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of vitamin D on cardiac apoptosis in a rat model of dietary-induced obesity. Methods: 30 male Wistar rats included in this study. They were allocated into 4 groups: Control (n=5), animal were fed standard diet for 3 months: Control + vitamin D (VD) (n=5),animals were fed a standard diet with 400IU VD/kg for 3 months: hypercaloric diets group (n=10), animals were fed a high fat diet for 3 months: hypercaloric diet with VD group (n=10), animals were fed a high fat diet with 400IU VD/kg for 3 months. At the beginning of the experiment, the weight and length were measured to assess body mass index (BMI) and repeated every 45 days. Food intake and body weight were monitored throughout the study period. Then rats were sacrificed and heart tissues collected for Quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR used to detect different genetic markers of apoptosis (anti-apoptotic gene (BCL2), a pro-apoptotic gene(BAX), pro-apoptotic genes (FAS, FAS-L), tumour necrosis factor (TNF), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK). Results: FAS and FAS-L gene expression were significantly upregulated in rats fed with high fat diet. And FAS-L gene expression was significantly upregulated in all groups on comparison with control. Whereas Bax gene expression was significantly downregulated in rats fed with high-fat diet supplied with vitamin D. TNF was significantly upregulated in rats fed with high-fat diet treated with vitamin D. MAPK was significantly upregulated in rats fed with high fat diet group, and in rats fed with high-fat diet supplied with vitamin D. Conclusion: The cardiac apoptotic pathways were more activated in rats fed with high-fat than lean rats. And vitamin D protect the heart from the cardiac mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway.

Keywords: apoptosis, heart, obesity, Vitamin D

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Authors: Fatima Majeed Almonajim

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Panucum miliaceum L is a plant from the genus Gramineae, In the world, millets are regarded as a significant grain, however, they are very little exploited. Millet grain is abundant in nutrients and health-beneficial phenolic compounds, making it suitable as food and feed. The plant has received considerable attention for its high content of phenolic compounds, low glycemic index, the presence of unsaturated fats and lack of gluten which are beneficial to human health, and thus, have made the plant being effective in treating celiac disease, diabetes, lowering blood lipids (cholesterol) and preventing tumors. Moreover, the plant requires little water to grow, a property that is worth considering. This study provides an overview of the nutritional and health benefits provided by millet types grown in 2 areas Iraq and Iran, aiming to compare the effect of climate on the components of millet. In this research, millet samples collected from the both Babylon (Iraqi) and Isfahan (Iranian) types were extracted and after HPTLC, the resulted pattern of the two samples were compared. As a result, the Iranian millet showed more terpenoid compounds than Iraqi millet, and therefore, Iranian millet has a higher priority than Iraqi millet in increasing the human body's immunity. On the other hand, in view of the number of essential amino acids, the Iraqi millet contains more nutritional value compared to the Iranian millet. Also, due to the higher amount of histidine in the Iranian millet, compiled to the lack of gluten found from previous studies, we came to the conclusion that the addition of millet in the diet of children, more specifically those children with irritable bowel syndrome, can be considered beneficial. Therefore, as a component of dairy products, millet can be used in preparing food for children such as dry milk.

Keywords: HPTLC, phytochemicals, specialty foods, Panucum miliaceum L, nutrition

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Authors: Parmeet Kaur, Nighat Yaseen Sofi, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Veena Pandey, Rajvaedhan Azad

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Nutritional status and prevailing blood glucose level trends amongst hospitalized patients has been linked to clinical outcome. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess hospitalized Diabetic Eye Disease (DED) patients' anthropometric and dietary intake trends. DED patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes > 20 years were enrolled. Actual food intake was determined by weighed food record method. Mifflin St Joer predictive equation multiplied by a combined stress and activity factor of 1.3 was applied to estimate caloric needs. A questionnaire was further administered to obtain reasons of inadequate dietary intake. Results indicated validity of joint analyses of body mass index in combination with waist circumference for clinical risk prediction. Dietary data showed a significant difference (p < 0.0005) between average daily caloric and carbohydrate intake and actual daily caloric and carbohydrate needs. Mean fasting and post-prandial plasma glucose levels were 150.71 ± 72.200 mg/dL and 219.76 ± 97.365 mg/dL, respectively. Improvement in food delivery systems and nutrition educations were indicated for reducing plate waste and to enable better understanding of dietary aspects of diabetes management. A team approach of nurses, physicians and other health care providers is required besides the expertise of dietetics professional. To conclude, findings of the present study will be useful in planning nutritional care process (NCP) for optimizing glucose control as a component of quality medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in hospitalized DED patients.

Keywords: nutritional status, diabetic eye disease, nutrition care process, medical nutrition therapy

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Authors: Weiju Zhou, Alex Hopkins, Ruoling Chen

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Background: China has increased the gap in income between richer and poorer over the past 40 years, and the number of deaths from people with angina has been rising. It is unclear whether socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with increased mortality in older people with angina. Methods: Data from a cohort study of 2,380 participants aged ≥ 65 years, who were randomly recruited from 5-province urban communities were examined in China. The cohort members were interviewed to record socio-demographic and risk factors and document doctor-diagnosed angina at baseline and were followed them up in 3-10 years, including monitoring vital status. Multivariate Cox regression models were employed to examine all-cause mortality in relation to low SES. Results: The cohort follow-up identified 373 deaths occurred; 41 deaths in 208 angina patients. Compared to participants without angina (n=2,172), patients with angina had increased mortality (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.41, 95% CI 1.01-1.97). Within angina patients, the risk of mortality increased with low satisfactory income (2.51, 1.08-5.85) and having financial problem (4.00, 1.07-15.00), but significantly with levels of education and occupation. In non-angina participants, none of these four SES indicators were associated with mortality. There was a significant interaction effect between angina and low satisfactory income on mortality. Conclusions: In China, having low income and financial problem increase mortality in older people with angina. Strategies to improve economic circumstances in older people could help reduce inequality in angina survival.

Keywords: angina, mortality, older people, socio-economic status

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Authors: Jagdish Baheti, Sampat Navale

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The present study was performed to evaluate the anti-ulcerogenic activity of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ficus bengalensis Linn. against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats and pylorus ligation gastric secretion in rats. Five groups of adult wistar rats were orally pre-treated respectively with carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) solution (ulcer control group), Omeprazole 20 mg/kg (reference group), and 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract in CMC solution (experimental groups), one hour before oral administration of absolute ethanol to generate gastric mucosal injury. Rats were sacrificed and the ulcer index, gastric volume, gastric pH, free acidity, total acidity of the gastric content was determined. Grossly, the ulcer control group exhibited severe mucosal injury, whereas pre-treatment with F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract exhibited significant protection of gastric mucosal injury in both model. Histological studies revealed that ulcer control group exhibited severe damage of gastric mucosa, along with edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer compared to rats pre-treated with F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract which showed gastric mucosal protection, reduction or absence of edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer. Acute toxicity study did not manifest any toxicological signs in rats. The present finding suggests that F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract promotes ulcer protection as ascertained grossly and histologically compared to the ulcer control group.

Keywords: Ficus bengalensis Linn., gastric ulcer, hydroalcoholic, pylorus ligation

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Authors: Endah Tri Lestari, Mustafa Mahmud Amin, Elmeida Effendy

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Background: Vitamin D levels with schizophrenia is lower than the control due to lifestyle and physical health factors such as smoking, increases of body mass index, inactivity, and social withdrawal including decreases of sunlight exposure. Asia has the lowest average of vitamin D serum levels and Europe with lighter colored skin has higher serum levels of vitamin D. Indonesia is a tropical region in the area of the equator, and has only two seasons: the rainy season and summer. The Indonesian people are known as a nation that has a diversity of ethnic groups that exist in many areas. Each tribe has differences in living habits. Ethnic diversity, culture, religion, customs, geographical location, this is reflected in our daily lives that will affect the levels of vitamin D in patients with schizophrenic. Individuals with darker skin tend to be deficient in vitamin D and increases the chance of schizophrenia than the general population. Aims: To determine the difference of vitamin D serum by ethnicity between Bataknese and Malayan schizophrenic patient. Methods: This study was an analytical study to recruited 60 subjects of schizophrenic male patient (30 Bataknese and 30 Malayan), aged between 15 to 55 years old, period at May - November 2016, the acute phase with no agitation. Statistical analysis was using T- independent test. Blood sample for vitamin D serum was using ELFA method. Results: The vitamin D serum levels were lower in Bataknese ethnic group schizophrenic patients in highland than Malayan ethnic group in lowland, reaching statistically (22.9±3.33 ng/ml) vs (27.9±4.19 ng/ml) p < 0,001. Conclusion: There are significant differences of vitamin D serum Status by Ethnicity between Bataknese in the Highland and Malayan in the Lowland on Schizophrenic Patient in North Sumatera.

Keywords: schizophrenia, serum vitamin D, ethnicity

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Authors: Hicham Gourgue, Ahmed Aharoune, Ahmed Ihlal

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We present in this work our model of road traffic emissions (line sources) and dispersion of these emissions, named DISPOLSPEM (Dispersion of Poly Sources and Pollutants Emission Model). In its emission part, this model was designed to keep the consistent bottom-up and top-down approaches. It also allows to generate emission inventories from reduced input parameters being adapted to existing conditions in Morocco and in the other developing countries. While several simplifications are made, all the performance of the model results are kept. A further important advantage of the model is that it allows the uncertainty calculation and emission rate uncertainty according to each of the input parameters. In the dispersion part of the model, an improved line source model has been developed, implemented and tested against a reference solution. It provides improvement in accuracy over previous formulas of line source Gaussian plume model, without being too demanding in terms of computational resources. In the case study presented here, the biggest errors were associated with the ends of line source sections; these errors will be canceled by adjacent sections of line sources during the simulation of a road network. In cases where the wind is parallel to the source line, the use of the combination discretized source and analytical line source formulas minimizes remarkably the error. Because this combination is applied only for a small number of wind directions, it should not excessively increase the calculation time.

Keywords: air pollution, dispersion, emissions, line sources, road traffic, urban transport

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Authors: Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Mahvish Maqbool, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Saqib, Haroon Ahmad

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Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasite that causes a decrease in production and economic losses and affects mammals, reptiles, and birds. Hyalomma anatolicum is the main vector for CCHF transmission and Pakistan has faced several outbreaks of CCHF in the recent past. Ferritin (fer)is a highly conserved molecule that is ubiquitous in most tick tissues and responsible for iron metabolism and storage. It was hypothesized that the development of acaricidal resistance and residual effects of commercially used acaricides could be controlled by using alternative control methods, including RNA interference. The current study aimed to evaluate the fer silencing effects on tick feeding, average body weight, egg mass index, and mortality. Ticks, collected through the standard collection protocols were further subjected to RNA isolation using the Trizol method. Commercially available kit procedures were followed for cDNA and dsRNA synthesis. The soaking/Immersion method was used for dsRNA delivery. Our findings have shown a 27% reduction in body weight of fer silenced group and showed a significant association of fer and body weight. Silencing of fer had a significant effect on the engorgement percentage (P= 0.0007), oviposition (P=0.008), egg mass (P= 0.004) and hatching (P= 0.001). The soaking method was used for dsRNA delivery and 15°C was found to be an optimum temperature for inducing gene silencing in ticks as at this temperature, maximum survivability after immersion was attained. This study along with previous studies, described that iron toxicity due to the silencing of fer could play an important role in the control of ticks and fer can be used as a potent candidate for vaccine development.

Keywords: ticks, iron, ferritin, engorgement, oviposition, immersion, RNA interference

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Authors: Kwadwo Afari Gyan

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Cities are growing at unprecedented levels. Meanwhile, governments in the Global South are already overwhelmed by this growth and are unable to provide infrastructure proactively as expected. As a result, urban residents resort to providing their own infrastructure, such as drainage systems, as part of self-built housing development. Their small-scale, incremental housing practices, which often represent the formation of dense and diverse housing types, styles, and ages, have been identified to affect the planning of drainage systems at the regional scale. Such developments reflect the varied, affordable responses as part of a collective effort to curb regional problems, specifically flooding in this case. However, while some are included in this collective action, others are excluded as they are unable to afford to be included. This phenomenon, in addition to the formation of new autonomous localities, has led to challenges in mitigating flooding and has affected resilience to climate change. Using a qualitative approach, this paper explores how the mismatch between housing development, which occurs at an individual scale, and drainage infrastructure, which is provided at a regional scale, affects a regional effort to mitigate flooding in Tema, Ghana. It seeks to explore and reveal a relationship between affordability and inclusiveness. It also explores how density and diversity influence public infrastructure provision and their connection with affordability.

Keywords: climate change, affordability, inclusivity, equity, contextualization, regionalism

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Authors: Ida Ngurah

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Indonesia is one of the most prone disaster countries, which has earthquake, tsunami or high wave, flood and landslide as well as volcano eruption and drought. Disaster risk reduction has been developing extensively and comprehensively, particularly after tsunami hit in 2004. Yet, saving people live including children and youth from disaster risk is still far from succeed. Poor management of environment, poor development of policy and high level of corruption has become challenges for Indonesia to save its people from disaster impact. Indonesia is struggling to ensure its future best investment, children and youth to have better protection when disaster strike in school hours and have basic knowledge on disaster risk reduction. The program of safe school is being initiated and developed by Plan Indonesia since 2010, yet this effort still needs to be elaborated. This paper is reviewing sporadic safe school programs that have been implemented or currently being implemented Plan Indonesia in few areas of Indonesia, including both rural and urban setting. Methods used are in-depth interview with dedicated person for the program from Plan Indonesia and its implementing patners and analysis of project documents. The review includes program’s goal and objectives, implementation activity, result and achievement as well as its monitoring and evaluation scheme. Moreover, paper will be showing challenges, lesson learned and best practices of the program. Eventually, paper will come up with recommendation for strategy for better implementation of safe school program in Indonesia.

Keywords: disaster impact, safe school, programs, children, youth

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Authors: Ari Istiany, Guspri Devi Artanti, M. Si

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Based on the results Riskesdas, it is known that breastfeeding awareness about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding is still low at only 15.3 %. These conditions resulted in a very infant at risk for infectious diseases, such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infection. Therefore, the aim of this study to evaluate the video development about exclusive breastfeeding as a nutrition education media for posyandu cadre. This research used development methods for making the video about exclusive breastfeeding. The study was conducted in urban areas Rawamangun, East Jakarta. Respondents of this study were 1 media experts from the Department of Educational Technology - UNJ, 2 subject matter experts from Department of Home Economics - UNJ and 20 posyandu cadres to assess the quality of the video. Aspects assessed include the legibility of text, image display quality, color composition, clarity of sound, music appropriateness, duration, suitability of the material and language. Data were analyzed descriptively likes frequency distribution table, the average value, and deviation standard. The result of this study showed that the average score assessment according to media experts, subject matter experts, and posyandu cadres respectively was 3.43 ± 0.51 (good), 4.37 ± 0.52 (very good) and 3.6 ± 0.73 (good). The conclusion is on exclusive breastfeeding video as feasible as a media for nutrition education. While suggestions for the improvement of visual media is multiply illustrations, add material about the correct way of breastfeeding and healthy baby pictures.

Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, posyandu cadre, video, nutrition education

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Authors: Insaf Sayar, Moôtez Marzougui, Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman

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Background: Physical Education and Sports (PES) plays an important role in the overall education of the student. It has physical, affective, psychological, and social repercussions. In fact, overweight children are sometimes underestimated by their lower physical performance and suffer from discriminatory attitudes by their peers and their physical education (PE) teachers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of both teacher’s pedagogy and overweight or obesity on the inclusion of obese students in physical education classes in the school setting in the Emirate of Ajman (United Arab Emirates) and to understand how physical education and sports (PES) teachers adapt their pedagogical interventions towards this category. Methods: A sample of 48 overweight or obese students and 20 teachers were approached from different schools in Ajman Emirate. Two standardized questionnaires for obese students and PSE teachers were used. Overweight and obesity were defined using age and sex-specific Body Mass Index (BMI). Results: Our results showed that the average BMI of the surveyed students is 28.58 ± 3.14 kg/m². According to the collected data, 85.42% of obese students report that they do not practice physical activity or rarely practice outside of school, and 73.42% go to school by bus or car. In addition, 66.7% of the surveyed students said that being overweight is a barrier to PES practice, and 100% of obese or overweight students do not prefer some physical activities such as running and jumping. Similarly, 75% of the surveyed teachers said that obese students are not integrated into the PES course, but only 55% of teachers reported that the obese student became an obstacle in PES sessions, while 80% of teachers reported that obese or overweight students were marginalized by their colleagues. In the same way, most of them (75%) said that obese students are exempted from PES courses. Conclusion: Overweight/obesity is prevalent among school children in the Emirate of Ajman, with a high correlation with sedentary behavior. The study confirmed an urgent need and effective teaching strategies/ pedagogies for including overweight or obese students in physical education engagement and learning.

Keywords: adolescent, mainstreaming, obesity, PES education, UAE

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Authors: Zhou Yang, Heli Sun, Jianbin Huang, Jizhong Zhao, Shaojie Qiao

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Traffic prediction is essential in a multitude of ways in modern urban life. The researchers of earlier work in this domain carry out the investigation chiefly with two major focuses: (1) the accurate forecast of future values in multiple time series and (2) knowledge extraction from spatial-temporal correlations. However, two key considerations for traffic prediction are often missed: the completeness of raw data and the full context of the prediction timestamp. Concentrating on the two drawbacks of earlier work, we devise an approach that can address these issues in a two-phase framework. First, we utilize the raw trajectories to a greater extent through building a VLA table and data compression. We obtain the intra-trajectory features with graph-based encoding and the intertrajectory ones with a grid-based model and the technique of back projection that restore their surrounding high-resolution spatial-temporal environment. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study direct feature extraction from raw trajectories for traffic prediction and attempt the use of raw data with the least degree of reduction. In the prediction phase, we provide a broader context for the prediction timestamp by taking into account the information that are around it in the training dataset. Extensive experiments on several well-known datasets have verified the effectiveness of our solution that combines the strength of raw trajectory data and prediction context. In terms of performance, our approach surpasses several state-of-the-art methods for traffic prediction.

Keywords: traffic prediction, raw data utilization, context building, data reduction

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Authors: Emmanuel Iyamuremye

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Extreme rainfall events have caused significant damage to agriculture, ecology, and infrastructure, disruption of human activities, injury, and loss of life. They also have significant social, economic, and environmental consequences because they considerably damage urban as well as rural areas. Early detection of extreme maximum rainfall helps to implement strategies and measures, before they occur, hence mitigating the consequences. Extreme value theory has been used widely in modeling extreme rainfall and in various disciplines, such as financial markets, the insurance industry, failure cases. Climatic extremes have been analyzed by using either generalized extreme value (GEV) or generalized Pareto (GP) distributions, which provides evidence of the importance of modeling extreme rainfall from different regions of the world. In this paper, we focused on Peak Over Thresholds approach, where the Poisson-generalized Pareto distribution is considered as the proper distribution for the study of the exceedances. This research also considers the use of the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution with a Poisson model for arrivals to describe peaks over a threshold. The research used statistical techniques to fit models that used to predict extreme rainfall in Kigali. The results indicate that the proposed Poisson-GP distribution provides a better fit to maximum monthly rainfall data. Further, the Poisson-GP models are able to estimate various return levels. The research also found a slow increase in return levels for maximum monthly rainfall for higher return periods, and further, the intervals are increasingly wider as the return period is increasing.

Keywords: exceedances, extreme value theory, generalized Pareto distribution, Poisson generalized Pareto distribution

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Authors: Mustafa Abdul Rahman, Maisarah Abdullah, Nurfarahin Azizan, Mohd-Azlan Jayasilan, Andrew Alek Tuen

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Common myna (Acridotheres tristis) and Javan myna (A. javanicus) belong to the family Sturnidae. These two species range from Iran, Afghanistan, and east through the Indian subcontinent to south China, Indochina and the mainland Southeast Asia. It was introduced to Sarawak in 1980’s and since then the population has increased tremendously. A study to determine the density of these two species was conducted in the Kuching and Samarahan Districts, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo between November 2013 and January 2014. In Kuching City a total of 12 transect lines of 500 m each were established totaling 6 km. In Samarahan District, six 500 m transect lines were established both within Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) campus and in Serian Town totaling 6 km. The results showed that the density of Javan myna in Kuching City (east) was 13.9 birds/ha, Kuching City (center) was 21.3 birds/ha and Kuching City (west) was 43.1 birds/ha. The density of common myna at UNIMAS campus was 20.3 birds/ha and Serian Town was 13.2 birds/ha. The density of human population probably plays an important role in determining the density of mynas in an area as it is associated with the availability of food sources, roosting and nesting places originating from human activity.

Keywords: density, myna, transect, invasive, Sarawak, Borneo

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Authors: Ki-seok Kwon, Dong-woo Ryu, Heung-Youl Kim

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Although high-strength concrete has many advantages over generic concrete at normal temperatures (around 20℃), it undergoes spalling at high temperatures, which constitutes its structurally fatal drawback. In this study, fire resistance tests were conducted for 3 hours in accordance with ASTM E119 on bearing wall specimens which were 3,000mm x 3,000mm x 300mm in dimensions to investigate the influence the type of admixtures would exert on the fire resistance performance of high-strength concrete. Portland cement, blast furnace slag, fly ash and silica fume were used as admixtures, among which 2 or 3 components were combined to make 7 types of mixtures. In 56MPa specimens, the severity of spalling was in order of SF5 > F25 > S65SF5 > S50. Specimen S50 where an admixture consisting of 2 components was added did not undergo spalling. In 70MPa specimens, the severity of spalling was in order of SF5 > F25SF5 > S45SF5 and the result was similar to that observed in 56MPa specimens. Acknowledgements— This study was conducted by the support of the project, “Development of performance-based fire safety design of the building and improvement of fire safety” (18AUDP-B100356-04) which is under the management of Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement as part of the urban architecture research project for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, for which we extend our deep thanks.

Keywords: high strength concrete, mineral admixture, fire resistance, social disaster

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Authors: Shiva Kumar G.

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The present study is to know the level of noises emanated from vehicles in intersections located in urban areas using Sound Level Meter and the possibility of reducing noise levels through traffic flow optimization. The main objective is to study traffic noise level of the Intersections located at on-going metro construction activities and which are away from metro construction activities. To compare traffic noise level between stop phase, go phase and drive phase at the Intersections. To study the effect of traffic noise level of directional movement of traffic and variation in noise level during day and night times. The range of Noise level observed at intersections is between 60 to 105 decibel. The noise level of stop and drive phases were minimum and almost same where go phase had maximum noise level. By comparing noise level of directional movement of traffic, it has been noticed that Vijayanagar intersection has no significant difference in their noise level and all other intersection has a significant difference in their noise level. By comparing noise level of stop, go and drive phase it has been noticed that there was a significant difference in noise level during peak hours compared to off-peak hour. By comparing noise level between Metro and Non-Metro construction activity intersections it has been noticed that there was a significant difference in noise level. By comparing noise level during day and night times, significant differences in noise level were observed at all intersections.

Keywords: noise, metro and non-metro intersections, traffic flow optimization, stop-go and drive phase

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Authors: H. Z. M. Chong, M. E. Y. Leong, G. L. Khor, S. C. Loke

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Vitamin D insufficiency is reported to be prevalent among women living in different altitudes including the equator where sunshine is available throughout the year. Multiple factors for vitamin D insufficiency include poor intake of vitamin D rich food and inadequate sun exposure, especially among women working indoor with a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, Muslim women in Malaysia whose attire covers the entire body are likely to receive poor sun exposure. This research determined serum vitamin D status, vitamin D intake and sun exposure of women aged 20-45 years of different ethnicity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Blood samples were collected from 106 women for determination of serum 25(OH)D levels. Information about vitamin D intake and sun exposure were obtained by interviewing the subjects using pre-tested questionnaires. The overall mean serum 25(OH)D was found to be 29.9 ± 14 nmol/L. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was prevalent and highest among the Malay women. Less than ten percent of the subjects in this study met the sufficient vitamin D level recommendation of ≥50 nmol/L. Intake of vitamin D rich food such as oily fishes was poor across the different ethnicity. Other dietary sources of vitamin D in the diet were fortified bread and skim milk. On the other hand, the median sunlight exposure of the subjects was 3.9 hours per week. The Malay women reported to have the highest duration being exposed to the sun. Nevertheless, due to cultural clothing practices, these women had the least body surface area exposed to sunlight, resulting in the lowest calculated sun index score compared to the Chinese and the Indians. Low intake of vitamin D rich foods and sun exposure were negatively correlated with serum 25(OH)D level. In conclusion, intake of food sources rich in vitamin D and adequate body surface area exposed to the sun are essential to ensure healthy vitamin D level. Supplementation of vitamin D may be recommended to women whom unable to meet these recommendations.

Keywords: serum 25-OH, sun exposure, vitamin D food frequency, vitamin D deficiency

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Authors: Newton Muhury, Armando A. Apan, Tek N. Marasani, Gebiaw T. Ayele

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The changing climate has degraded freshwater availability in Australia that influencing vegetation growth to a great extent. This study assessed the vegetation responses to groundwater using Terra’s moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and soil water content (SWC). A hydrological model, SWAT, has been set up in a southeast Australian river catchment for groundwater analysis. The model was calibrated and validated against monthly streamflow from 2001 to 2006 and 2007 to 2010, respectively. The SWAT simulated soil water content for 43 sub-basins and monthly MODIS NDVI data for three different types of vegetation (forest, shrub, and grass) were applied in the machine learning tool, Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA), using two supervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). The assessment shows that different types of vegetation response and soil water content vary in the dry and wet seasons. The WEKA model generated high positive relationships (r = 0.76, 0.73, and 0.81) between NDVI values of all vegetation in the sub-basins against soil water content (SWC), the groundwater flow (GW), and the combination of these two variables, respectively, during the dry season. However, these responses were reduced by 36.8% (r = 0.48) and 13.6% (r = 0.63) against GW and SWC, respectively, in the wet season. Although the rainfall pattern is highly variable in the study area, the summer rainfall is very effective for the growth of the grass vegetation type. This study has enriched our knowledge of vegetation responses to groundwater in each season, which will facilitate better floodplain vegetation management.

Keywords: ArcSWAT, machine learning, floodplain vegetation, MODIS NDVI, groundwater

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Authors: Villiam Ambong, Kevin Banawag, Wynne Shane Bugatan, Mark Alvin Jay Carpio, Hwan Hee Choi, Moises Kevin Chungalao

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This survey research investigated the perception of primary school teachers on the efficacy of MTB-MLE in SLU-LES, Baguio City. SLU-LES has a total of 21 primary school teachers who served as respondents of this study in an attempt to answer the major questions regarding the efficacy of MTB-MLE among primary school teachers. A questionnaire was used in collecting the data which were analyzed using weighted mean and ANOVA. The questionnaire was validated by a statistician and it was administered to a school which does not differ from the intended respondents for further validation of the items. Findings revealed from the intended respondents that they perceive MTB-MLE as effective; however, they do not prefer the use of Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction. A research on the same topic was conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria by Dr. David O. Fakeye and although his respondents were students; the results came out that the respondents do perceive MTB-MLE to be efficacious. The results of this study also showed that years of teaching experience and the number of languages spoken by the teachers have no bearing on the preference of the respondents between MT medium and English medium gave that the respondents are in melting pot community. Comparative studies between rural and urban schools are encouraged. Future researchers should include questions that elicit reasons of the respondents on the efficacy of mother tongue as well as their preference between mother tongue medium and English.

Keywords: mother tongue, primary teachers, perception, multilingual education

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Authors: Sharareh Hekmat, Michelle Lane

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Pregnancy during adolescence affects both the growth and development of mother and baby, particularly in low socioeconomic and food insecure areas. This mixed methods study is aimed at discovering a need for a community-based probiotic yogurt program to assist pregnant women in the Mukuru slum Nairobi, Kenya. Surveys were conducted with pregnant women (14-25 years old, n=43), which included questionnaires on dietary intake, food access, and health/quality of life perception. The frequency and means procedure was used to analyze maternal characteristics, Women’s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) and Household Hunger Scale. 24-hour recalls were analyzed via ESHA Food Processor, and median nutrient intakes were reported as a percent of recommendations. An environmental scan was conducted to assess food availability, accessibility, and quality. WDDS reflected a low-moderate diet variation (3.86 food groups out of 9, SD ± 1.3) among the women. The 24-hour recall suggested an inadequate intake of many nutrients, most significantly B12, potassium and calcium. 86% of women reported little to no household hunger. However, the environmental scan revealed low quality and poor sanitation of food. This study provides evidence that a probiotic program would be desirable, and contribute to the nutritional status of women in the Mukuru community.

Keywords: dietary diversity, pregnant women, probiotics, urban slum, Kenya

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