Search results for: structural safety

Authors: Alma Khasenovna Zhakina, Arnt Oxana Vasilievna, Vasilets Evgeny Petrovich

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The aim of this project is to develop methods for obtaining new molecularly imprinted polymers from coal waste to study their structure, structural and morphological features and properties. Recently, the development of molecularly imprinted polymers has become one of the hot topics for researchers. Modern research indicates the broad prospects of rapidly developing molecular imprinting technologies for creating a new generation of sorption materials. The attractiveness of this area of research lies in the fact that the use of imprinted polymers is not limited to scientific research; they are already being introduced in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, primarily at the stages of purification of the final product. For the use of molecularly imprinted polymers in the development of sorption material, their ability to selectively remove pollutants, including trace concentrations, is of fundamental importance, and the exceptional stability of polymeric materials under harsh conditions makes it possible to simplify the process of water purification as a whole. The scientific and technical effect is associated with the development of technologies for the production of new molecularly imprinted polymers, the establishment of optimal conditions for their production and the creation of effective imprinted sorbents on their basis for wastewater treatment from heavy metals. The social effect is due to the fact that the use of coal waste as a feedstock for the production of imprinted sorbents will make it possible in the future to create new industries with additional jobs and obtain competitive multi-purpose products. The economic and multiplier effect is associated with the low cost of the final product due to the involvement of local coal waste in the production, reduction of transport, customs and other costs.

Keywords: imprinted polymers, coal waste, polymerization, template, customized sorbents

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Authors: Ahmad Alsolami, Darren Mundy, Manuel Hernandez-Perez

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Social media networks, such as Twitter, offer the perfect opportunity to either positively or negatively affect political attitudes on large audiences. The existence of influential users who have developed a reputation for their knowledge and experience of specific topics is a major factor contributing to this impact. Therefore, knowledge of the mechanisms to identify influential users on social media is vital for understanding their effect on their audience. The concept of the influential user is related to the concept of opinion leaders' to indicate that ideas first flow from mass media to opinion leaders and then to the rest of the population. Hence, the objective of this research was to provide reliable and accurate structural mechanisms to identify influential users, which could be applied to different platforms, places, and subjects. Twitter was selected as the platform of interest, and Saudi Arabia as the context for the investigation. These were selected because Saudi Arabia has a large number of Twitter users, some of whom are considerably active in setting agendas and disseminating ideas. The study considered the scientific methods that have been used to identify public opinion leaders before, utilizing metrics software on Twitter. The key findings propose multiple novel metrics to compare Twitter influencers, including the number of followers, social authority and the use of political hashtags, and four secondary filtering measures. Thus, using ratio and percentage calculations to classify the most influential users, Twitter accounts were filtered, analyzed and included. The structured approach is used as a mechanism to explore the top ten influencers on Twitter from the political domain in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Twitter, influencers, structured mechanism, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Shweta Verma

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Background: Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable central nervous system (CNS) disorder which affects a large population of all ages. Different classes of drugs are used for the treatment of this neurological disorder, but due to augmented drug resistance and side effects, these drugs become incompetent. Therefore, we design the synthesis of ten new derivatives of Phenytoin. The moiety of Phenytoin was hybridized with different phenols by using three step approach. The synthesized molecules were then investigated for different physicochemical parameters, such as Log P values using diverse software programs and to predict the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier. Objective: The Phenytoin derivatives were designed, synthesized, and characterized to meet the structural necessities indispensable for antiepileptic activity. Method: Firstly, the chloroacetylation of the 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin was carried out, and then various substituted phenols were added to it. The synthesized compounds were characterized and evaluated for antianxiety activity by elevated plus maze method and antiepileptic activity by using subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) and maximal electroshock (MES) models and neurotoxicity. Result: The number of derivatives of 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin was developed and optimized. The number of parameters was optimized which reveal that the compound containing chloro group such as C3 and C6 showed imperative potential when compared with the standard drug Diazepam. Other compounds containing nitro and methyl group were also found to possess activity. Conclusion: It was summarized that the new compounds of 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin derivatives were synthesized. The results of the data show that the compound containing chloro group is more potent for CNS activity. The new compounds have the probability of being optimized further to engender new scaffolds to treat various CNS disorders.

Keywords: phenytoin, parameters, CNS activity, blood-brain barrier, Log P, CNS active

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Authors: Selim M. Khan, Aaron A. Goodarzi, Joshua M. Taron, Tryggve Rönnqvist

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Indoor air quality, a prime determinant of health, is strongly influenced by the presence of hazardous radon gas within the built environment. As a health issue, dangerously high indoor radon arose within the 20th century to become the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer. While the 21st century building metrics and human behaviors have captured, contained, and concentrated radon to yet higher and more hazardous levels, the issue is rapidly worsening in Canada. It is established that Canadians in the Prairies are the 2nd highest radon-exposed population in the world, with 1 in 6 residences experiencing 0.2-6.5 millisieverts (mSv) radiation per week, whereas the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission sets maximum 5-year occupational limits for atomic workplace exposure at only 20 mSv. This situation is also deteriorating over time within newer housing stocks containing higher levels of radon. Deep machine learning (LSTM) algorithms were applied to analyze multiple quantitative and qualitative features, determine the most important contributory factors, and predicted radon levels in the known past (1990-2020) and projected future (2021-2050). The findings showed gradual downwards patterns in Sweden, whereas it would continue to go from high to higher levels in Canada over time. The contributory factors found to be the basement porosity, roof insulation depthness, R-factor, and air dynamics of the indoor environment related to human window opening behaviour. Building codes must consider including these factors to ensure adequate indoor ventilation and healthy living that can prevent lung cancer in non-smokers.

Keywords: radon, building metrics, deep learning, LSTM prediction model, lung cancer, canada, sweden

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Authors: Ghadeer Mohammad Said El-Sheikh, Samer Mohamad Shalhoob

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Medical equipment operation state is a valid reflection of health care organizations' performance, where such equipment highly contributes to the quality of healthcare services on several levels in which quality improvement has become an intrinsic part of the discourse and activities of health care services. In healthcare organizations, clinical and biomedical engineering departments play an essential role in maintaining the safety and efficiency of such equipment. One of the most challenging topics when it comes to such sophisticated equipment is the lifespan of medical equipment, where many factors will impact such characteristics of medical equipment through its life cycle. So far, many attempts have been made in order to address this issue where most of the approaches are kind of arbitrary approaches and one of the criticisms of existing approaches trying to estimate and understand the lifetime of a medical equipment lies under the inquiry of what are the environmental factors that can play into such a critical characteristic of a medical equipment. In an attempt to address this shortcoming, the purpose of our study rises where in addition to the standard technical factors taken into consideration through the decision-making process by a clinical engineer in case of medical equipment failure, the dimension of environmental factors shall be added. The investigations, researches and studies applied for the purpose of supporting the decision making process by a clinical engineers and assessing the lifespan of healthcare equipment’s in the Lebanese society was highly dependent on the identification of technical criteria’s that impacts the lifespan of a medical equipment where the affecting environmental factors didn’t receive the proper attention. The objective of our study is based on the need for introducing a new well-designed plan for evaluating medical equipment depending on two dimensions. According to this approach, the equipment that should be replaced or repaired will be classified based on a systematic method taking into account two essential criteria; the standard identified technical criteria and the added environmental criteria.

Keywords: technical, environmental, healthcare, characteristic of medical equipment

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Authors: Jiaying Gao, Thammananya Sakcharoen, Wilailuk Niyommaneerat

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Haikou is the capital of Hainan, a major tourism province in China with rich ecotourism resources. There is a need to strengthen tourism destination management in Haikou toward sustainable development as a tourism city. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism in Haikou. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract six dimensions of this study. Three dimensions (10 factors) of tourism destination management were analyzed in terms of economic development, social and cultural development, and conservation of ecosystem. Sustainability awareness, tourism development experience, and tourism public infrastructure in three dimensions (12 factors) of sustainable tourism. There were 426 questionnaire respondents, including 225 tourists, 172 residents, 12 tourism agency persons, 10 government persons, 3 self-employed, and 4 others. The Structural equation modeling (SEM) model was finally conducted to test the hypotheses empirically and explore the impact relationship. The study found a significant relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism: social and cultural development had the greatest significant positive impact on the tourism development experience (0.788***). Social and cultural development also showed a significant positive impact and great impetus on tourism public infrastructure (0.561***). A negative effect relationship (-0.096***) emerged between ecosystem conversion and tourism development experience. It showed a positive relationship between economic development and social and cultural development of tourism destination management in promoting sustainable tourism. There are still some gaps for improvement, such as the need for sustainable ecological management to promote local sustainable tourism trends and enhance tourism experience development, which may require a long-term process of mitigation.

Keywords: Haikou (Hainan, China), influence relationship, sustainable tourism, tourism destination management

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Authors: Pan Lee Ching, Chua Bee Seok

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The experience of negative work-life interaction often confronted with work related stress includes workload. The appraisal of challenge and hindrance jobs depend on the type of workload to stimulate stress response. Nevertheless, the effects of challenge and hindrance jobs on distress and negative work-life interaction are scarcely explored. Thus, research objective was to examine the relationship among challenge appraisal job (qualitative workload), hindrance appraisal job (quantitative workload), and negative work-life interaction with the mediating role of distress. A survey with random sampling method was performed on current serving public secondary school teachers in Sabah. Collected data showed 447 respondents completed three questionnaires, namely Challenge-hindrance Appraisal Scale, Stress Professional Positive and Negative Questionnaire, and Survey Work-home Interaction-Nijmegan. Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse mediation effect. Results showed distress fully mediates the relationship between challenge appraisal job (qualitative workload) and negative work-life interaction. The indirect effect was significant and negative. While distress partially mediates the relationship between hindrance appraisal job (quantitative workload) and negative work-life interaction. The indirect effect was significant and positive. The study implied that challenge appraisal job could be a positive resource for teacher to facilitate work and life, whereas hindrance appraisal job could disengage the facilitation. Hence, strengthen challenge appraisal job and control hindrance appraisal job could curb distress at work and underpin life interaction among the teachers.

Keywords: challenge-hindrance job, distress, work-life, workload

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Authors: Hojjat Mohammadi, Randall Divito, Gary J. E. Kramer

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Tunnelling and pipe jacking in very soft soils (fat clays), even with an Earth Pressure Balance tunnel boring machine (EPBM), can cause large ground displacements. In this study, the short-term and long-term ground and tunnel response is predicted for twin, pipe-jacked EPBM 3 meter diameter tunnels with a narrow pillar width. Initial modelling indicated complete closure of the annulus gap at the tail shield onto the centrifugally cast, glass-fiber-reinforced, polymer mortar jacking pipe (FRP). Numerical modelling was employed to simulate the excavation and support installation sequence, examine the ground response during excavation, confirm the adequacy of the pillar width and check the structural adequacy of the installed pipe. In the numerical models, Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model with the effect of unloading was adopted for the fat clays, while for the bedrock layer, the generalized Hoek-Brown was employed. The numerical models considered explicit excavation sequences and different levels of ground convergence prior to support installation. The well-studied excavation sequences made the analysis possible for this study on a very soft clay, otherwise, obtaining the convergency in the numerical analysis would be impossible. The predicted results indicate that the ground displacements around the tunnel and its effect on the pipe would be acceptable despite predictions of large zones of plastic behaviour around the tunnels and within the entire pillar between them due to excavation-induced ground movements.

Keywords: finite element modeling (FEM), pipe-jacked tunneling, very soft clay, EPBM

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Authors: Wilman Septina, Rajiv R. Prabhakar, Thomas Moehl, David Tilley

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Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising absorber material for the fabrication of scalable, low cost solar energy conversion devices, due to the high abundance and low toxicity of copper. It is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of around 1.5 eV, absorbing a significant portion of the solar spectrum. One of the main challenges in using CuO as solar absorber in an aqueous system is its tendency towards photocorrosion, generating Cu2O and metallic Cu. Although there have been several reports of CuO as a photocathode for hydrogen production, it is unclear how much of the observed current actually corresponds to H2 evolution, as the inevitability of photocorrosion is usually not addressed. In this research, we investigated the effect of the deposition of overlayers onto CuO thin films for the purpose of enhancing its photostability as well as performance for water splitting applications. CuO thin film was fabricated by galvanic electrodeposition of metallic copper onto gold-coated FTO substrates, followed by annealing in air at 600 °C. Photoelectrochemical measurement of the bare CuO film using 1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.9) under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight showed a current density of ca. 1.5 mA cm-2 (at 0.4 VRHE), which photocorroded to Cu metal upon prolonged illumination. This photocorrosion could be suppressed by deposition of 50 nm-thick TiO2, deposited by atomic layer deposition. In addition, we found that insertion of an n-type CdS layer, deposited by chemical bath deposition, between the CuO and TiO2 layers was able to enhance significantly the photocurrent compared to without the CdS layer. A photocurrent of over 2 mA cm-2 (at 0 VRHE) was observed using the photocathode stack FTO/Au/CuO/CdS/TiO2/Pt. Structural, electrochemical, and photostability characterizations of the photocathode as well as results on various overlayers will be presented.

Keywords: CuO, hydrogen, photoelectrochemical, photostability, water splitting

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Authors: Weaam Aldeeban, Majd Aljamali, Lama A. Youssef

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Background & Objective: Warfarin is considered a problematic drug due to its narrow therapeutic window and wide inter-individual response variations, which are attributed to demographic, environmental, and genetic factors, particularly single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the genes encoding VKORC1 and CYP2C9 involved in warfarin's mechanism of action and metabolism, respectively. CYP2C9*2rs1799853 and CYP2C9*3rs1057910 alleles are linked to reduced enzyme activity, as carriers of either or both alleles are classified as moderate or slow metabolizers, and therefore exhibit higher sensitivity of warfarin compared with wild type (CYP2C9*1*1). Our study aimed to assess the frequency of *1, *2, and *3 alleles in the CYP2C9 gene in a cohort of Syrian patients receiving a maintenance dose of warfarin for different indications, the impact of genotypes on warfarin dosing, and the frequency of adverse effects (i.e., bleedings). Subjects & Methods: This retrospective cohort study encompassed 94 patients treated with warfarin. Patients’ genotypes were identified by sequencing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific products of the gene encoding CYP2C9, and the effects on warfarin therapeutic outcomes were investigated. Results: Sequencing revealed that 43.6% of the study population has the *2 and/or *3 SNPs. The mean weekly maintenance dose of warfarin was 37.42 ± 15.5 mg for patients with the wild-type allele (CYP2C9*1*1), whereas patients with one or both variants (*2 and/or *3) demanded a significantly lower dose (28.59 ±11.58 mg) of warfarin, (P= 0.015). A higher percentage (40.7%) of patients with allele *2 and/or *3 experienced hemorrhagic accidents compared with only 17.9% of patients with the wild type *1*1, (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Our study proves an association between *2 and *3 genotypes and higher sensitivity to warfarin and a tendency to bleed, which necessitates lowering the dose. These findings emphasize the significance of CYP2C9 genotyping prior to commencing warfarin therapy in order to achieve optimal and faster dose control and to ensure effectiveness and safety.

Keywords: warfarin, CYP2C9, polymorphisms, Syrian, hemorrhage

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Authors: David Lloyd, David Owen, Martin Jardine

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Introduction: European weight regulations with respect to food products require a full understanding of regulation guidelines to assure regulatory compliance. It is suggested that the complexity of regulation leads to practices which result to over filling of food packages by food processors. Purpose: To establish current practices by food processors and the financial, sustainable and societal impacts on the food supply chain of ineffective food production practices. Methods: An analysis of food packing controls with 10 companies of varying food categories and quantitative based research of a further 15 food processes on the confidence in weight control analysis of finished food packs within their organisation. Results: A process floor analysis of manufacturing operations focussing on 10 products found over fill of packages ranging from 4.8% to 20.2%. Standard deviation figures for all products showed a potential for reducing average weight of the pack whilst still retain the legal status of the product. In 20% of cases, an automatic weight analysis machine was in situ however weight packs were still significantly overweight. Collateral impacts noted included the effect of overfill on raw material purchase and added food miles often on a global basis with one raw material alone creating 10,000 extra food miles due to the poor weight control of the processing unit. A case study of a meat and bakery product will be discussed with the impact of poor controls resulting from complex legislation. The case studies will highlight extra energy costs in production and the impact of the extra weight on fuel usage. If successful a risk assessment model used primarily on food safety but adapted to identify waste /sustainability risks will be discussed within the presentation.

Keywords: legislation, overfill, profile, waste

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Authors: Sohayla Khaled El Fakahany

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Cultural and structural limitations and conservative social norms have direct effects on the availability of sources of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the Arab Region. Nevertheless, SRHR advocates, healthcare providers, and organizations have created online spaces like websites, blogs, and social media platforms to increase people’s access and ability to share information, experiences, and services. While these efforts help increase the accessibility to information and services, they also create and reflect inequalities based on limited internet access. Furthermore, these emergent ways of sharing and raising awareness online cannot be seen as a substitute for the urgent need for public healthcare systems and services to address SRHR issues in Arab states. This research aims to analyze the impact of the increasing importance of the role of social media platforms and technologies in the dissemination of SRHR-related information online to the youth as well as the associated inequalities of access. It also seeks to assess the effects and inequalities of the dependence on online platforms, which should be complementary to public and private SRHR services. The theoretical framework adopts Asef Bayat’s concept of social non-movements to analyze how collective mobilization around SRHR issues is exercised in repressive and conservative settings in the Arab region. Using digital ethnography of four prominent digital platforms and a qualitative survey of people aged 18-30 years, the research draws attention to the urgent need for better access to knowledge and services around gender, bodily autonomy, and sexual and reproductive health in the Arab region.

Keywords: sexual and reproductive health and rights, social non-movements, digital platforms, Arab region

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Authors: Muhammad Muzamil Khan, Asadullah Madni, Nina Filipczek, Jiayi Pan, Nayab Tahir, Hassan Shah, Vladimir Torchilin

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Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNP) are delivery systems for controlled drug delivery at tumor sites. The superior biocompatible properties of lipid and structural advantages of polymer can be obtained via this system for controlled drug delivery. In the present study, cisplatin-loaded lipid-chitosan hybrid nanoparticles were formulated by the single step ionic gelation method based on ionic interaction of positively charged chitosan and negatively charged lipid. Formulations with various chitosan to lipid ratio were investigated to obtain the optimal particle size, encapsulation efficiency, and controlled release pattern. Transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering analysis demonstrated a size range of 181-245 nm and a zeta potential range of 20-30 mV. Compatibility among the components and the stability of formulation were demonstrated with FTIR analysis and thermal studies, respectively. The therapeutic efficacy and cellular interaction of cisplatin-loaded LPHNP were investigated using in vitro cell-based assays in A2780/ADR ovarian carcinoma cell line. Additionally, the cisplatin loaded LPHNP exhibited a low toxicity profile in rats. The in-vivo pharmacokinetics study also proved a controlled delivery of cisplatin with enhanced mean residual time and half-life. Our studies suggested that the cisplatin-loaded LPHNP being a promising platform for controlled delivery of cisplatin in cancer therapy.

Keywords: cisplatin, lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle, chitosan, in vitro cell line study

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Authors: Hye Jin Choi, Mirim Jin, Jeong June Choi

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Green tea, which is one of the most popular of tea, contains various ingredients that help health. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is one of the main active polyphenolic compound possessing diverse biologically beneficial effects such as anti-oxidation, anti-cancer founding in green tea. This study was performed to investigate the anti-diabetic effect of high-purity EGCG ( > 98%) in a spontaneous diabetic mellitus animal model, db/db mouse. Four-week-old male db/db mice, which was induced to diabetic mellitus by the high-fat diet, were orally administered with high-purity EGCG (10, 50 and 100 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. Daily weight and diet efficiency were examined, and blood glucose level was assessed once a week. After 4 weeks of EGCG administration, fasting blood glucose level was measured. Then, the mice were sacrificed and total abdominal fat was sampled to examine the change in fat weight. Plasma was separated from the blood and the levels of aspartate amino-transferase (ALT) and alanine amino-transferase (AST) were investigated. As results, blood glucose and body weight were significantly decreased by EGCG treatment compared to the control group. Also, the amount of abdominal fat was down-regulated by EGCG. However, ALT and AST levels, which are indicators of liver function, were similar to those of control group. Taken together, our study suggests that high purity EGCG is capable of treating diabetes mellitus based in db / db mice with safety and has a potent to develop a therapeutics for metabolic disorders. This work was supported by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry (IPET) through High Value-added Food Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (317034-03-2-HD030)

Keywords: anti-diabetic effect, db/db mouse, diabetes mellitus, green tea, epigallocatechin gallate

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Authors: Yogendra K. Karna, Lauren T. Bennett

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Fire-tolerant eucalypt forests are one of the major forest ecosystems of south-eastern Australia and thought to be highly resistant to frequent high severity wildfires. However, the impact of different severity wildfires on the canopy structure of fire-tolerant forest type is under-studied, and there are significant knowledge gaps in relation to the assessment of tree and stand level canopy structural dynamics and recovery after fire. Assessment of canopy structure is a complex task involving accurate measurements of the horizontal and vertical arrangement of the canopy in space and time. This study examined the utility of multitemporal, small-footprint lidar data to describe the changes in the horizontal and vertical canopy structure of fire-tolerant eucalypt forests seven years after wildfire of different severities from the tree to stand level. Extensive ground measurements were carried out in four severity classes to describe and validate canopy cover and height metrics as they change after wildfire. Several metrics such as crown height and width, crown base height and clumpiness of crown were assessed at tree and stand level using several individual tree top detection and measurement algorithm. Persistent effects of high severity fire 8 years after both on tree crowns and stand canopy were observed. High severity fire increased the crown depth but decreased the crown projective cover leading to more open canopy.

Keywords: canopy gaps, canopy structure, crown architecture, crown projective cover, multi-temporal lidar, wildfire severity

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Authors: MyungGu Yeo, JongHan Ha, Gi-Hoon Yang, JaeYoon Lee, SeungHyun Ahn, Hyeongjin Lee, HoJun Jeon, YongBok Kim, Minseong Kim, GeunHyung Kim

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Tissue engineering is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary research area that may provide options for treating damaged tissues and organs. As a promising technique for regenerating various tissues, this technology requires biomedical scaffolds, which serve as an artificial extracellular matrix (ECM) to support neotissue growth. Electrospun micro/nanofibers have been used widely in tissue engineering because of their high surface-area-to-volume ratio and structural similarity to extracellular matrix. However, low mechanical sustainability, low 3D shape-ability, and low cell infiltration have been major limitations to their use. In this work, we propose new hybrid scaffolds interlayered with cell-laden electrospun micro/nano fibers and poly(caprolactone) microstructures. Also, we applied various concentrations of alginate and electric field strengths to determine optimal conditions for the cell-electrospinning process. The combination of cell-laden bioink (2 ⅹ 10^5 osteoblast-like MG63 cells/mL, 2 wt% alginate, 2 wt% poly(ethylene oxide), and 0.7 wt% lecithin) and a 0.16 kV/mm electric field showed the highest cell viability and fiber formation in this process. Using these conditions and PCL microstructures, we achieved mechanically stable hybrid scaffolds. In addition, the cells embedded in the fibrous structure were viable and proliferated. We suggest that the cell-embedded hybrid scaffolds fabricated using the cell-electrospinning process may be useful for various soft- and hard-tissue regeneration applications.

Keywords: bioink, cell-laden scaffold, micro/nanofibers, poly(caprolactone)

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Authors: Sara Cumming, Julianne DiSanto, Leah Burton

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Homelessness in Canada is a persistent problem. It has been widely argued that the best tactic for eradicating homelessness is to approach social issues from a Housing First perspective—an approach that centers on quickly moving people into permanent and independent housing and then providing them additional support and services as needed. It is recognized that life skills training is both necessary and an effective way to reduce cyclical homelessness; however, there is a scarcity of research on effective ways to teach life skills; this problem was exacerbated in a pandemic context, where in-person delivery was severely restricted or no longer possible. Very little attention has been paid to the diverse cultural needs of clients in a multicultural context and the need to foster cultural knowledge/awareness in individuals to successfully contribute to the cultural safety of communities. This research attempts to fill these gaps in the literature and in practice by employing a community-engaged research (CER) approach. Academic, government, funders, front-line staff, and clients at 15 not-for-profits from across the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, collaborated to co-create a virtual, client-centric, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) informed life skill learning management system. We employed a triangulation methodology for this research. An environmental scan was conducted for best practices. Two separate Creative Problem Solving Sessions were held with over 100 front-line workers, managers, and executive directors who work with homeless populations. Quantitative and open-ended surveys were completed by over 200 individuals with experience with homelessness. All sections of this research aimed to discover the areas of skills that individuals need to maintain housing and to ascertain what a more client-driven EDI approach to life skills training should include. This research will showcase which life skills are deemed essential for homeless and precariously housed individuals.

Keywords: homelessness, Housing First, life skills, community engaged research

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Authors: Umit Cali

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The integration of intermittent energy sources like wind farms into the electricity grid has become an important challenge for the utilization and control of electric power systems, because of the fluctuating behaviour of wind power generation. Wind power predictions improve the economic and technical integration of large amounts of wind energy into the existing electricity grid. Trading, balancing, grid operation, controllability and safety issues increase the importance of predicting power output from wind power operators. Therefore, wind power forecasting systems have to be integrated into the monitoring and control systems of the transmission system operator (TSO) and wind farm operators/traders. The wind forecasts are relatively precise for the time period of only a few hours, and, therefore, relevant with regard to Spot and Intraday markets. In this work predictive data mining techniques are applied to identify a statistical and neural network model or set of models that can be used to predict wind power output of large onshore and offshore wind farms. These advanced data analytic methods helps us to amalgamate the information in very large meteorological, oceanographic and SCADA data sets into useful information and manageable systems. Accurate wind power forecasts are beneficial for wind plant operators, utility operators, and utility customers. An accurate forecast allows grid operators to schedule economically efficient generation to meet the demand of electrical customers. This study is also dedicated to an in-depth consideration of issues such as the comparison of day ahead and the short-term wind power forecasting results, determination of the accuracy of the wind power prediction and the evaluation of the energy economic and technical benefits of wind power forecasting.

Keywords: renewable energy sources, wind power, forecasting, data mining, big data, artificial intelligence, energy economics, power trading, power grids

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Authors: Lina Vyas

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Gender gap, unfortunately, is still prevalent in the workplace around the world. In most countries, women are less likely than men to participate in the workplace. They earn considerably less than men for doing the same work and are generally expected to prioritize family obligations over work responsibilities. Women often face more conflicts while balancing the increasingly normalized roles of both worker and mother. True gender equality in the workplace is still a long way off. In Hong Kong, no less is this true. Despite the fact that female students are outnumbered by males at universities, only 55% of women are active participants in the labour market, and for those in the workforce, the gender pay gap is 22%. This structural inequality also exacerbates the issues of confronting biases at work for choosing to be employed as a mother, as well as reinforces the societal expectation of women to be the primary caregiver at home. These pressures are likely to add up for women and contribute to increased levels of work-life conflict, which may be a further barrier for the inclusion of women into the workplace. Family-friendly policies have long been thought to be an alleviator of work-life conflict through helping employees balance the demands in both work and family. Particularly, for women, this could be a facilitator of their integration into the workplace. However, little research has looked at how family-friendly policies may also have a gender differential in effect, as opposed to traditional notions of having universal efficacy. This study investigates both how and how much the gender dimension impacts work-family conflict. In addition to disentangling the reasons for gender gaps existing in work-life conflict for women, this study highlights what can be done at an organizational level to alleviate these conflicts. Most importantly, the policies recommendations derived from this study serve as an avenue for more active participation for women in the workplace and can be considered as a pathway for promoting greater gender egalitarianism and fairness in a traditionally gender-segregated society.

Keywords: family-friendly policies, Hong Kong, work-family conflict, workplace

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Authors: Saba Daneshmand, Assal Habibi

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Studying musicians has become a prominent approach in macrostructural neuroscience research aimed at exploring the influence of environmental factors on brain development due to the significant impact of musical training on the brain. Although longitudinal studies can establish a direct causal relationship between musical training and brain development, only a limited number of studies have been conducted for a long enough duration. We recruited children for the experimental music group to participate in an after-school music program which was compared to the control group that had no such after-school program or enrichment activities. We ultimately calculated cortical thickness, a distinct measure of development. When a task such as playing an instrument occurs frequently, the associated neural processes become quicker and more refined over time, causing only the necessary pathways to remain; this, therefore, results in cortical thinning. The Brain and Music Lab has identified the anterior and posterior superior temporal gyrus, Heschl's gyrus, and the inferior regions to be involved with musicianship. The past study only found that the posterior superior temporal gyrus experienced a larger thinning in the music group compared to the control; however, we expect our ongoing study to produce similar but more intense results, including thinning in the other regions associated with musicianship. We believe the limited results of the previous study are due to its short duration which is why this ongoing and more lengthy longitudinal study is a significant and indispensable contribution in helping us discover the important developmental aspects of musical training.

Keywords: cortical thickness, music, neuroimaging, child development

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Authors: Nail Nazarov, Alexandra Vyshtakalyuk, Vyacheslav Semenov, Irina Galyametdinova, Vladimir Zobov, Vladimir Reznik

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Among hepatic pyrimidine used as a means of stimulating protein synthesis and recovery of liver cells in her damaged toxic and infectious etiology. When an experimental toxic hepatitis hepatoprotective activity detected some pyrimidine derivatives. There are literature data on oksimetiluratcila hepatoprotective effect. For analogs of pyrimidine nucleobases - drugs Methyluracilum pentoxy and hepatoprotective effect of weakly expressed. According to the American scientists broad spectrum of biological activity, including hepatoprotective properties, have a 2,4-dioxo-5-arilidenimino uracils. Influenced Xymedon medicinal preparation (1- (beta-hydroxyethyl) -4,6-dimethyl-1,2-dihydro-2-oksopirimidin) developed as a means of stimulating the regeneration of tissue revealed increased activity of microsomal oxidases human liver. In studies on the model of toxic liver damage in rats have shown hepatoprotective effect xymedon and stimulating its impact on the recovery of the liver tissue. Hepatoprotective properties of the new compound in the series of pyrimidine derivatives L-ascorbate 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4,6-dimethyl-1,2-dihydropirimidine-2-one synthesized on the basis Xymedon preparation were firstly investigated on rats under the carbon tetrachloride action. It was shown the differences of biochemical parameters from the reference value and severity of structural-morphological liver violations decreased in comparison with control group under the influence of the compound injected before exposure carbon tetrachloride. Hepatoprotective properties of the investigated compound were more pronounced in comparison with Xymedon.

Keywords: hepatoprotectors, pyrimidine derivatives, toxic liver damage, xymedon

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Authors: M. C. Schloesser

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The purpose of this paper is to explore the use and impact of business analytics in European football. Despite good evidence from other major sports leagues, research on this topic in Europe is currently very scarce. This research relies on expert interviews on the use and objective of business analytics. Along with revenue data over 16 seasons spanning from 2004/05 to 2019/20 from Manchester City FC, we conducted a time series analysis to detect a structural breakpoint on the different revenue streams, i.e., sponsorship and ticketing, after analytical tools have been implemented. We not only find that business analytics have indeed been applied at Manchester City FC and revenue increase is the main objective of their utilization but also that business analytics is indeed a good means to increase revenues if applied sufficiently. We can thereby support findings from other sports leagues. Consequently, professional sports organizations are advised to apply business analytics if they aim to increase revenues. This research has shown that analytical practices do, in fact, support revenue growth and help to work more efficiently. As the knowledge of analytical practices is very confidential and not publicly available, we had to select one club as a case study which can be considered a research limitation. Other practitioners should explore other clubs or leagues. Further, there are other factors that can lead to increased revenues that need to be considered. Additionally, sports organizations need resources to be able to apply and utilize business analytics. Consequently, findings might only apply to the top teams of the European football leagues. Nonetheless, this paper combines insights and results on usage, objectives, and impact of business analytics in European professional football and thereby fills a current research gap.

Keywords: business analytics, expert interviews, revenue management, time series analysis

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Authors: Ahmad Naqi

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Today, the passively controlled buildings are extensively becoming popular due to its excellent lateral load resistance circumstance. Typically, these buildings are enhanced with a damping device that has high market demand. Some manufacturer falsified the damping device parameter during the production to achieve the market demand. Therefore, this paper evaluates the seismic performance of buildings equipped with damping devices, which their parameter modified to simulate the falsified devices, intentionally. For this purpose, three benchmark buildings of 4-, 10-, and 20-story were selected from JSSI (Japan Society of Seismic Isolation) manual. The buildings are special moment resisting steel frame with oil damper in the longitudinal direction only. For each benchmark buildings, two types of structural elements are designed to resist the lateral load with and without damping devices (hereafter, known as Trimmed & Conventional Building). The target building was modeled using STERA-3D, a finite element based software coded for study purpose. Practicing the software one can develop either three-dimensional Model (3DM) or Lumped Mass model (LMM). Firstly, the seismic performance of 3DM and LMM models was evaluated and found excellent coincide for the target buildings. The simplified model of LMM used in this study to produce 66 cases for both of the buildings. Then, the device parameters were modified by ± 40% and ±20% to predict many possible conditions of falsification. It is verified that the building which is design to sustain the lateral load with support of damping device (Trimmed Building) are much more under threat as a result of device falsification than those building strengthen by damping device (Conventional Building).

Keywords: passive control system, oil damper, seismic assessment, lumped mass model

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Authors: L. Mentar, O. Baka, M. R. Khelladi, A. Azizi

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Zinc oxide (ZnO), as a transparent semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.4 eV and a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature, is one of the most promising materials for a wide range of modern applications. With the development of film growth technologies and intense recent interest in nanotechnology, several varieties of ZnO nanostructured materials have been synthesized almost exclusively by thermal evaporation methods, particularly chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which generally require a high growth temperature above 550 °C. In contrast, wet chemistry techniques such as hydrothermal synthesis and electro-deposition are promising alternatives to synthesize ZnO nanostructures, especially at a significantly lower temperature (below 200°C). In this study, the electro-deposition method was used to produce zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated conducting glass substrate from chloride bath. We present the influence of KCl concentrations on the electro-deposition process, morphological, structural and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures. The potentials of electro-deposition of ZnO were determined using the cyclic voltammetry. From the Mott-Schottky measurements, the flat-band potential and the donor density for the ZnO nanostructure are determined. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed different sizes and morphologies of the nanostructures which depends on the concentrations of Cl-. Very netted hexagonal grains are observed for the nanostructures deposited at 0.1M of KCl. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study confirms the Wurtzite phase of the ZnO nanostructures with a preferred oriented along (002) plane normal to the substrate surface. UV-Visible spectra showed a significant optical transmission (~80%), which decreased with low Cl-1 concentrations. The energy band gap values have been estimated to be between 3.52 and 3.80 eV.

Keywords: Cl-, electro-deposition, FESEM, Mott-Schottky, XRD, ZnO

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Authors: Marcel Duh, Jadranka Stricevic, David Halozan, Dusan Celan

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Back pain is not only the result of structural or biomechanical abnormalities of the spine but is also associated with cognitive and behavioral aspects of pain and thus represents biopsychosocial problem. Stressors are not only interpersonal conflicts, negative life events, and dangerous situations but also noise. Effects of noise on human beings are psychological (excitement, stress), sensory, and physiological. The harmful effects of noise can be seen in the 40-65 dB range and are manifested as fatigue, irritability, poor sleep and psychological discomfort of the worker. Within 65-90 dB range, body metabolism increases, oxygen consumption is higher, tachycardia and hypertension appear, and the tone of skeletal muscles increases. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the stress caused by noise at the work place increases the incidence of back pain. Measurements of noise levels were carried out in three different wards of social care institution. The measurement on each ward was repeated 3 times (total of 9 measurements) for 8 hours during the morning shift. The device was set up in the room where clients spent most of the day. The staff on the ward replied to the questionnaire consisting of closed type questions about basic demographic information and information about back pain. We find that noise levels as measured in our study had no statistically significant effect on the incidence of back pain (p = 0.90). We also find that health care workers who perceive their work as stressful, have more back pain than those who perceive their job as unstressful, but correlation is statistically insignificant (p = 0.682). With our study, we have proven findings of other authors, that noise level below 65 dB does not have a significant influence on the incidence of back pain.

Keywords: health care workers, musculoskeletal disorder, noise, sick leave

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Authors: Adeshina Fadeyibi

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Application of pure thermoplastic film in food packaging is greatly limited because of its poor service performance, often enhanced by the addition of organic or inorganic particles in the range of 1–100 nm. Thus, this study was conducted to develop cassava starch zinc-nanocomposite films for applications in food packaging. Three blending ratios of 1000 g cassava starch, 45–55 % (w/w) glycerol and 0–2 % (w/w) zinc nanoparticles were formulated, mixed and mechanically homogenized to form the nanocomposite. Thermoplastic were prepared, from a dispersed mixture of 24 g of the nanocomposite and 600 ml of distilled water, and heated to 90oC for 30 minutes. Plastic molds of 350 ×180 mm dimension and 8, 10 and 12 mm depths were used for film casting and drying at 60oC and 80 % RH for 24 hour. The average thicknesses of the dried films were found to be 15, 16 and 17 µm. The films were characterized based on their barrier, thermal, mechanical and structural properties. The results show that the oxygen and water vapor barrier properties increased with glycerol concentration and decreased with thickness; but the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and d- spacing increased with thickness. The higher degree of d- spacing obtained is a consequence of higher polymer intercalation and exfoliation. Also, only 2 % weight degradation was observed when the films were exposed to temperature between 30–60oC; indicating that they are thermally stable and can be used for packaging applications in the tropics. The mechanical properties of the film were higher than that of the pure thermoplastic but comparable with the LDPE films. The information on the characterized attributes and optimization of the cassava starch zinc-nanocomposite films justifies their alternative application to pure thermoplastic and conventional films for food packaging.

Keywords: synthesis, characterization, casaava Starch, nanocomposite film, packaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Ali panahi-Kosar Khosravi

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Earthquake resilience is one of the most important theoretical and practical concepts in crisis management. Over the past few decades, the rapid growth of urban areas and developing lower urban areas (especially in developing countries) have made them more vulnerable to human and natural crises. Therefore, the resilience of urban communities, especially low-income and unhealthy neighborhoods, is of particular importance. The present study seeks to assess and evaluate the resilience of neighborhoods in the center of district 6 of Tabriz in terms of awareness, knowledge and personal skills, social and psychological capital, managerial-institutional, and the ability to return to appropriate and sustainable conditions. The research method in this research is descriptive-analytical. The authors used library and survey methods to collect information and a questionnaire to assess resilience. The statistical population of this study is the total households living in the four neighborhoods of Shanb Ghazan, Khatib, Gharamalek, and Abuzar alley. Three hundred eighty-four families from four neighborhoods were selected based on the Cochran formula using a simple random sampling method. A one-sample t-test, simple linear regression, and structural equations were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings showed that only two social and psychological awareness and capital indicators in district 6 of Tabriz had a favorable and approved status. Therefore, considering the multidimensional concept of resilience, district 6 of Tabriz is in an unfavorable resilience situation. Also, the findings based on the analysis of variance indicated no significant difference between the neighborhoods of district 6 in terms of resilience, and most neighborhoods are in an unfavorable situation.

Keywords: resilience, statistical analysis, earthquake, district 6 of tabriz

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Authors: Jonathan Rodriguez, Dominga Guerrero, Surupa Shaw

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Automobiles are modeled in various forms, and they interact with air when in motion. Aerodynamics is the study of such interactions where solid bodies affect the way air moves around them. The shape of solid bodies can impact the ease at which they move against the flow of air; due to which any additional freightage, or loads, impact its aerodynamics. It is important to transport people and cargo safely. Despite the various safety measures, there are a large number of vehicle-related accidents. This study precisely explores the effects an automobile experiences, with added cargo and covers. The addition of these items changes the original vehicle shape and the approved design for safe driving. This paper showcases the effects of the changed vehicle shape and design via experimental testing conducted on a physical 1:27 scale and CAD model of an F-150 pickup truck, the most common pickup truck in the United States, with differently shaped loads and weight traveling at a constant speed. The additional freightage produces unwanted drag or lift resulting in lower fuel efficiencies and unsafe driving conditions. This study employs an adjustable external shell on the F-150 pickup truck to create a controlled aerodynamic geometry to combat the detrimental effects of additional freightage. The results utilize colored powder [ which acts as a visual medium for the interaction of air with the vehicle], to highlight the impact of the additional freight on the automobile’s external shell. This will be done along with simulation models using Altair CFD software of twelve cases regarding the effects of an added load onto an F-150 pickup truck. This paper is an attempt toward standardizing the geometric design of the external shell, given the uniqueness of every load and its placement on the vehicle; while providing real-time data to be compared to simulation results from the existing literature.

Keywords: aerodynamics, CFD, freightage, pickup cover

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Authors: Yuzhen Hu, Sirui Wang

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As a training base for intellectual talents, universities have a large number of students. Teaching is a primary activity in universities, and during the teaching process, a large number of people gather both inside and outside the teaching buildings, posing a strong risk of close contact. The class schedule is the fundamental basis for teaching activities in universities and plays a crucial role in the management of teaching order. Different class schedules can lead to varying degrees of indoor gatherings and trajectories of class attendees. In recent years, highly contagious diseases have frequently occurred worldwide, and how to reduce the risk of infection has always been a hot issue related to public safety. "Reducing gatherings" is one of the core measures in epidemic prevention and control, and it can be controlled through scientific scheduling in specific environments. Therefore, the scientific prevention and control goal can be achieved by considering the reduction of the risk of excessive gathering of people during the course schedule arrangement. Firstly, we address the issue of personnel gathering in various pathways on campus, with the goal of minimizing congestion and maximizing teaching effectiveness, establishing a nonlinear mathematical model. Next, we design an improved genetic algorithm, incorporating real-time evacuation operations based on tracking search and multidimensional positive gradient cross-mutation operations, considering the characteristics of outdoor crowd evacuation. Finally, we apply undergraduate course data from a university in Harbin to conduct a case study. It compares and analyzes the effects of algorithm improvement and optimization of gathering situations and explores the impact of path blocking on the degree of gathering of individuals on other pathways.

Keywords: the university timetabling problem, risk prevention, genetic algorithm, risk control

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Authors: Oleg Redkin, Olga Bernikova

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It is commonly accepted that every language is both pure linguistic phenomenon as well as socially significant communicative system, which exists on the basis of certain society - its collective 'native speaker'. Therefore the language evolution and features besides its own linguistic rules and regulations are also defined by the influence of a number of extra-linguistic factors. The above mentioned statement may be illustrated by the example of the Arabic language which may be characterized by the following peculiarities: - the inner logic of the Arabic language - the 'algebraicity' of its morphological paradigms and grammar rules; - association of the Arabic language with the sacred texts of Islam, its close ties with the pre-Islamic and Islamic cultural heritage - the pre-Islamic poetry and Islamic literature and science; - territorial distribution, which in recent years went far beyond the boundaries of its traditional realm due to the development of new technologies and the spread of mass media, and what is more important, migration processes; - association of the Arabic language with the so called 'Renaissance of Islam'. These peculiarities should be remembered while considering the status of the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) language or the Classical Arabic (CA) language as well as the Modern Arabic (MA) dialects in synchrony or from the diachronic point of view. Continuity of any system in diachrony on the one hand depends on the level of its ability to adapt itself to changing environment and by its internal ties on the other. Structural durability of language is characterized by its inner logic, hierarchy of paradigms and its grammar rules, as well as continuity of their implementation in acts of everyday communication. Since the Arabic language is both linguistic and social phenomenon the process of the Arabic language acquisition and study should not be focused only on the knowledge about linguistic features or development of communicative skills alone, but must be supplied with the information related to culture, history and religion of peoples of certain region that will expand and enrich competences of the target audience.

Keywords: Arabic, culture, Islam, language

Procedia PDF Downloads 276