Search results for: protected geographical indications

Authors: Fatiha Kaïd Berrahal, Nassima Kaïd, Djihad Affaf Selt

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The present paper is a comparative analysis of the Algerian writer Assia Djebar’s women of Algiers in Their Apartment (1982) and the Anglo-Egyptian Ahdaf Soueif’s The Map of Love (1999) foregrounded on the female protagonists’ painfully common colonial and patriarchal experiences, though in different geographical regions of North Africa. This study raises questions pertaining, first, to the emerging contemporary genre “Historiographic meta-fiction” in which the novels examined could be inscribed, then, the interplay of colonial history and personal memory that impinges on the development of the identity of the post-colonial female subject. As the novels alternate between the historical and the autobiographical, we currently seek to understand how it is pertinent and pressing for women to excavate the lost and occluded stories of the past for the adjustment of their present personal identities, which are undoubtedly an important part of the identity of a nation.

Keywords: postcolonial feminism, islamic feminism, memory, histoirographic metafiction

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Authors: Thomas D. Collin, Rachel Cunningham, Bruce Jefferson, Raffaella Villa

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Fats, oils and grease (FOG) are by-products of food preparation and cooking processes. FOG enters wastewater systems through a variety of sources such as households, food service establishments, and industrial food facilities. Over time, if no source control is in place, FOG builds up on pipe walls, leading to blockages, and potentially to sewer overflows which are a major risk to the Environment and Human Health. UK water utilities spend millions of pounds annually trying to control FOG. Despite UK legislation specifying that discharge of such material is against the law, it is often complicated for water companies to identify and prosecute offenders. Hence, it leads to uncertainties regarding the attitude to take in terms of FOG management. Research is needed to seize the full potential of implementing current practices. The aim of this research was to undertake a comprehensive study to document the extent of FOG problems in sewer lines and reinforce existing knowledge. Data were collected to develop a model estimating quantities of FOG available for recovery within Thames Water wastewater catchments. Geographical Information System (GIS) software was used in conjunction to integrate data with a geographical component. FOG was responsible for at least 1/3 of sewer blockages in Thames Water waste area. A waste-based approach was developed through an extensive review to estimate the potential for FOG collection and recovery. Three main sources were identified: residential, commercial and industrial. Commercial properties were identified as one of the major FOG producers. The total potential FOG generated was estimated for the 354 wastewater catchments. Additionally, raw and settled sewage were sampled and analysed for FOG (as hexane extractable material) monthly at 20 sewage treatment works (STW) for three years. A good correlation was found with the sampled FOG and population equivalent (PE). On average, a difference of 43.03% was found between the estimated FOG (waste-based approach) and sampled FOG (raw sewage sampling). It was suggested that the approach undertaken could overestimate the FOG available, the sampling could only capture a fraction of FOG arriving at STW, and/or the difference could account for FOG accumulating in sewer lines. Furthermore, it was estimated that on average FOG could contribute up to 12.99% of the primary sludge removed. The model was further used to investigate the relationship between estimated FOG and number of blockages. The higher the FOG potential, the higher the number of FOG-related blockages is. The GIS-based tool was used to identify critical areas (i.e. high FOG potential and high number of FOG blockages). As reported in the literature, FOG was one of the main causes of sewer blockages. By identifying critical areas (i.e. high FOG potential and high number of FOG blockages) the model further explored the potential for source-control in terms of ‘sewer relief’ and waste recovery. Hence, it helped targeting where benefits from implementation of management strategies could be the highest. However, FOG is still likely to persist throughout the networks, and further research is needed to assess downstream impacts (i.e. at STW).

Keywords: fat, FOG, GIS, grease, oil, sewer blockages, sewer networks

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Authors: Millicent N. Khumalo, Phesheya E. Dlamini

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Shrub-encroachment leads to a gain or loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) in previously open rangelands. The stabilization mechanisms controlling the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) within aggregates of shrub-encroached grassland soils are poorly understood, especially in shallow plinthic soils. In this study, physical fractionation of surface soils (0- 10 cm) collected from open and shrub-encroached grasslands was conducted to determine the distribution of SOC within macro-and- microaggregates. Soil aggregates were classified into four fractions by a wet-sieving procedure, namely >2000 (large macro-aggregates), 212-2000 (small macro-aggregates), 50-212 (microaggregates) and < 50µm (silt+clay). In both shrub-encroached and open grassland soils, SOC was greater in the silt+clay fraction. In this fraction, SOC was on average 133% greater in shrub-encroached compared to open grassland. The greater SOC within the silt+clay fraction is due to the greater surface area and thus more exchange sites for carbon absorption. This implies that the SOC physically protected within the silt+clay is stored long-term.

Keywords: aggregate fractions, shrub-encroachment, soil organic carbon, stabilization

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Authors: Mahmut Genc, Seda Genc

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Wine is the most popular alcoholic drink in the World with 274.4 million of hectoliter annual production in the year of 2015. The wine industry is very important for some regions as well as creating significant value in their economies. This industry is very sensitive to the global warming since viticulture highly depends on climate and geographical region. Sustainability concept is a crucial issue for the wine industry and sustainability performances of wine production processes should be determined. Although wine production industry is an energy intensive sector as a whole, the most energy intensive products are widely used both in the viti and vinicultural process. In this study, gate-to-gate LCA approach in energy resource utilization and global warming potential impacts for white wine production line were attempted and carbon footprint and exergy destruction footprint were calculated, accordingly. As a result, carbon footprint and exergy destruction footprint values were calculated to be 1.75 kg CO2eq and 365.3kW, respectively.

Keywords: carbon footprint, exergy analysis, exergy destruction footprint, white wine

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Authors: Sen Tanmoy, Jain Sarika, Panda Jagabandhu

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The studies regarding the impact of urbanization using the WRF-ARW model rely heavily on the static geographical information selected, including domain configuration and land use land cover (LULC) data. Accurate representation of LULC data provides essential information for understanding urban growth and simulating meteorological parameters such as temperature, precipitation etc. Researchers are using different LULC data as per availability and their requirements. As far as India is concerned, we have very limited resources and data availability. So, it is important to understand how we can optimize our results using limited LULC data. In this review article, we explored how a LULC map is generated from different sources in the Indian context and what its significance is in WRF-ARW modeling to study urbanization/Climate change or any other meteorological parameters. Bibliometric analyses were also performed in this review article based on countries of study and indexed keywords. Finally, some key points are marked out for selecting the most suitable LULC map for any urbanization-related study.

Keywords: LULC, LULC mapping, LANDSAT, WRF-ARW, ISRO, bibliometric Analysis.

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Authors: Khalid Obaed Mahmod, Mesut Cevik

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The term smart city has appeared recently and was accompanied by many definitions and concepts, but as a simplified and clear definition, it can be said that the smart city is a geographical location that has gained efficiency and flexibility in providing public services to citizens through its use of technological and communication technologies, and this is what distinguishes it from other cities. Smart cities connect the various components of the city through the main and sub-networks in addition to a set of applications and thus be able to collect data that is the basis for providing technological solutions to manage resources and provide services. The basis of the work of the smart city is the use of artificial intelligence and the technology of the Internet of Things. The work presents the concept of smart cities, the pillars, standards, and evaluation indicators on which smart cities depend, and the reasons that prompted the world to move towards its establishment. It also provides a simplified hypothetical way to measure the ideal smart city model by defining some indicators and key pillars, simulating them with logic circuits, and testing them to determine if the city can be considered an ideal smart city or not.

Keywords: factors, indicators, logic gates, pillars, smart city

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Authors: Ilija Musa

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Positive legal regulation of juvenile privacy protection, current state of showing a child in BH media and possibilities of a child’s privacy protection by more adequate media legislature which should be arranged in accordance to recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Privacy of the minors in Bosnian-Herzegovinian media is insufficiently legally arranged. Due to the fact that there is no law on media area arrangement at the state level, electronic media are under jurisdiction of Communications regulatory agency, which at least partially, regulated the sector of radio and television broadcasting by adequate protection of child’s privacy. However, print and online media are under jurisdiction of non-governmental association Print and online media council in B&H which is not authorized to punish violators of this body’s Codex, what points out the necessity of passing the unique media law which would enable sanctioning the child’s privacy violation. The analysis of media content, which is a common violation of the child's privacy, analysis of positive legislation which regulates the media, confirmed the working hypothesis by which the minor’s protection policy in BH media is not protected at the appropriate level. Taking this into consideration, in the conclusion of this article the author gives recommendations for the regulation of legal protection of minor’s privacy in BH media.

Keywords: children, media, legislation, privacy protection, Bosnia Herzegovina

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Authors: Abdus-Samii Imam Arikewuyo

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The human rights phenomenon increasingly gains universal prominence in the contemporary age. This embraces the clamour for a just treatment of individuals in society. The human rights agitation is a global pursuit which virtually gave birth to many national and international human rights organizations. In particular, Nigeria accedes to a number of human rights covenants. Invariably, there are some provisions which are recognized as inalienable rights of man in his society by which his intrinsic worth and dignity are protected by law. Nonetheless, the constituents of human rights differ in various societies. Conversely, Islam, as a complete code of life, guarantees the rights of a man vis-à-vis the rights of others in his environment regardless of place and time. Human rights pressure in Nigeria in recent times prompted proactive steps to address the issue through various legal instruments. Amazingly, the struggle appears to be a rhetorical noise because the human rights violation subsists. This provokes the present research on a comparative study of the Nigerian legal provisions and the Islamic law perspectives on human rights. It is discovered that the first is simply theoretical, while the other contains both the theoretical framework and the practical measures for its enforcement. The study adopts analytical and descriptive methods. It concludes with the assertion that the Islamic law provisions are all-embracing, universal and more efficacious. Hence, it recommends the adoption of the Islamic law approach to human rights issues.

Keywords: human rights, Nigerian legal provisions, shariah law, comparative study, charter

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Authors: Francky Fouedjio

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Multivariate geostatistical data have become omnipresent in the geosciences and pose substantial analysis challenges. One of them is the grouping of data locations into spatially contiguous clusters so that data locations within the same cluster are more similar while clusters are different from each other, in some sense. Spatially contiguous clusters can significantly improve the interpretation that turns the resulting clusters into meaningful geographical subregions. In this paper, we develop an agglomerative hierarchical clustering approach that takes into account the spatial dependency between observations. It relies on a dissimilarity matrix built from a non-parametric kernel estimator of the spatial dependence structure of data. It integrates existing methods to find the optimal cluster number and to evaluate the contribution of variables to the clustering. The capability of the proposed approach to provide spatially compact, connected and meaningful clusters is assessed using bivariate synthetic dataset and multivariate geochemical dataset. The proposed clustering method gives satisfactory results compared to other similar geostatistical clustering methods.

Keywords: clustering, geostatistics, multivariate data, non-parametric

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Authors: Luisa Carrer, Lorenzo De Masi

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In this paper, we exploit the massive amount of information from Facebook to build a measure of gender attitudes in Italy at a previously impossible resolution—the municipal level. We construct our index via a machine learning method to replicate a benchmark region-level measure. Interestingly, we find that most of the variation in our Gender Norms Index (GNI) is across towns within narrowly defined geographical areas rather than across regions or provinces. In a second step, we show how this local variation in norms can be leveraged for identification purposes. In particular, we use our index to investigate whether these differences in norms carry over to the policy activity of politicians elected in the Italian Parliament. We document that females are more likely to sit in parliamentary committees focused on gender-sensitive matters, labor, and social issues, but not if they come from a relatively conservative town. These effects are robust to conditioning the legislative term and electoral district, suggesting the importance of social norms in shaping legislators’ policy activity.

Keywords: gender equality, gender norms index, Facebook, machine learning, politics

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Authors: Mercy Chepkirui, Paul Orina, Robin Abell, Leonard Akwany, Tonny Orina, Mercy Matuma, Rasowo Joseph

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Lake jipe, a shared water resource between Kenya and Tanzania located at the East African Coast, is under multiple pressures. The lake has receded from 30Km2 to 27.32Km2 due to prolonged dry spells and intensified water abstraction for irrigation and re-route to Mungu ya Nyumba Dam in Tanzania. Agricultural activities have significantly (90%) contributed to the lake levels decline and further affected the lakes’ aquatic biodiversity. Among the most affected are the commercially important endemic fish species of the lake, of which Oreochromis jipe has experienced the greatest decline. Overfishing, use of illegal unreported and unregulated fishing gears, intensified fishing along protected fish breeding areas as well as poor management and uncoordinated conservation efforts have significantly contributed to the decline of fish catches from 348 kg of O. jipe in 2016 to 90 kg daily catches in 2022. Therefore, the lake is on the verge of extinction if no action is taken. This calls for awareness of the significance of the L. Jipe ecosystems and its immediate and long-term benefits. Further, there is a need to revive alternative economic activities, including aquaculture and sustainable agriculture, to offer alternative livelihood to local communities.

Keywords: biodiversity, ecosystem, conservation, fisheries

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Authors: Luksanaporn Krungkraipetch

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Pterygium is a frequent ocular surface lesion that begins in the limbal conjunctiva within the palpebral fissure and spreads to the cornea. The lesion is more common in the nasal limbus than in the temporal, and it has a wing-like aspect. Indications for surgery, in decreasing order of significance, are growth over the corneal center, decreased vision due to corneal deformation, documented growth, sensations of discomfort, and esthetic concerns. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to determine the frequency of pterygium recurrence after surgery at the mentioned hospital, and second, to identify the factors that influence the recurrence of pterygium. The research design is a retrospective examination of 164 patient samples in an eastern Thai university hospital (Code 13766). Data analysis is descriptive statistics analysis, i.e., basic data details about pterygium surgery and the risk of recurrent pterygium, and for factor analysis, the inferential statistics chi-square and ANOVA are utilized. Twenty-four of the 164 patients who underwent surgery exhibited recurrent pterygium. Consequently, the incidence of recurrent pterygium after surgery was 14.6%. There were an equal number of men and women present. The participants' ages ranged from 41 to 60 years (62, 8 percent). According to the findings, the majority of patients were female (60.4%), over the age of 60 (51.2%), did not live near the beach (83.5%), did not have an underlying disease (92.1%), and 95.7% did not have any other eye problems. Gender (X² = 1.26, p = .289), age (X² = 5.86, p = .119), an address near the sea (X² = 3.30, p = .081)), underlying disease (X² = 0.54, p = .694), and eye disease (X² = 0.00, p = 1.00) had no effect on pterygium recurrence. Recurrences occurred in 79.1% of all surgical procedures and 11.6% of all patients using the bare sclera technique. The recurrence rate for conjunctival autografts was 20.9% for all procedures and 3.0% for all participants. Mitomycin-C and amniotic membrane transplant techniques had no recurrence following surgery. Comparing the surgeries done on people with recurrent pterygium did not show anything important (F = 1.13, p = 0.339). In conclusion, the prevalence of pterygium recurrence following pterygium, 14.6%, does not differ from earlier research. Underlying disease, other eye conditions, and surgical procedures such as pterygium recurrence are unaffected by pterygium surgery.

Keywords: pterygium, recurrence pterygium, pterygium surgery, excision pterygium

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Authors: Shahbaz G. Hassan

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Water quality models are very important to predict the changes in surface water quality for environmental management. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the water qualities, and to provide directions for selecting models in specific situation. Water quality models include one kind of model based on a mechanistic approach, while other models simulate water quality without considering a mechanism. Mechanistic models can be widely applied and have capabilities for long-time simulation, with highly complexity. Therefore, more spaces are provided to explain the principle and application experience of mechanistic models. Mechanism models have certain assumptions on rivers, lakes and estuaries, which limits the application range of the model, this paper introduces the principles and applications of water quality model based on the above three scenarios. On the other hand, mechanistic models are more easily to compute, and with no limit to the geographical conditions, but they cannot be used with confidence to simulate long term changes. This paper divides the empirical models into two broad categories according to the difference of mathematical algorithm, models based on artificial intelligence and models based on statistical methods.

Keywords: empirical models, mathematical, statistical, water quality

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Authors: Ziwen Wang

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There are close links between religion and migration. As newcomers to a foreign nation, new immigrants endured many pressures and challenges. Religion can be an important part of a migrant’s personal identity, and religious communities can offer valued connections and relationships. During the migration process, religion can undergo significant changes as migrants travel across geographical and cultural gaps and as they face new opportunities or new constraints. For those migrants who are not religious, during this unsettling time, people might become sensitive to the "sacredness", accepting its guidance, and occasionally contemplating religious conversion. This research examines the role of faith and the church in supporting new Chinese immigrants from the perspective of the social function of Christianity, utilizing Chinese immigrants in New Zealand as a case study. Through participant observation in four Chinese churches and over seventy semi-structured interviews, this research illustrates how religion has provided them with a haven and how the church provides indispensable material, spiritual, and informational resources essential for their adaptation to life in New Zealand.

Keywords: migration and religion, overseas chinese, religious capital, christianity

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Authors: J. K. Pis-An

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Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the vulnerability of farmers to the effects of climate change, specifically the El Niño phenomenon was felt in the Philippines in 2009-2010. Methods: KAP Survey determines behavioral response to vulnerability to the effects of El Niño. Body Mass Index: Dietary Assessment using 24-hour food recall. Results: 75% of the respondents claimed that crop significantly decreased during drought. Indications that households of farmers are large where 51.6% are composed of 6-10 family members with 68% annual incomes below Php 100,00. Anthropometric assessment showed that the prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency Grade 1 among females 17% and 28.57% for low normal. While male body mass index result for chronic energy deficiency grade 1 10%, low normal 18.33% and and obese grade 1, 31.67%. Dietary assessment of macronutrient intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fat 31.6 % among respondents are below recommended amounts. Micronutrient deficiency of calcium, iron, vit. A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and Vit. C. Conclusion: Majority of the rural populations are engaged into farming livelihood that makes up the backbone of their economic growth. Placing the current nutritional status of the farmers in the context of food security, there are reasons to believe that the status will go for worse if the extreme climatic conditions will once again prevail in the region. Farmers rely primarily on home grown crops for their food supply, a reduction in farm production during drought is expected to adversely affect dietary intake. The local government therefore institute programs to increase food resiliency and to prioritize health of the population as the moving force for productivity and development.

Keywords: world health organization, united nation framework convention on climate change, anthropometric, macronutrient, micronutrient

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Authors: Ahmed Hamid Nassr

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The significant of the old stone ages in the Sudan, seems from the longest times and the large differentiation in antiquities, so many Neolithic cemeteries have been discovered in the Sudan, which the studies revealed costumes’ funerary from the Form of grave and the contents has been contrasted in some elements and constant in the others. Many interpretations of the late Neolithic cemeteries tradition written from the earlier studies, most of them focus of the development and change in the burial from society’s development and ideas of afterlife beginnings. Another emphasis undertaken is the relationship between societies cultural aspects and the environmental conditions of the period; it has been considered that it hyper-affected the development of farming in one way or another. The site of Qalaat Shanan noted in earlier 1990 and excavated by the Author from 2011-2013, the site located north of Khartoum about 170 km in Shendi town. Site setting lies amongst a group of Neolithic sites in the Shendi area, it reflected a succession of various Neolithic activities from the early to the late horizons. Excavation revealed many late Neolithic graves, the adult and child graves show large funerary content, different in quality and quantity, which indicates of societies development and related to religion and ideas about the afterlife. This presentation discusses the variations of the Late Neolithic cemeteries in Galaat Shanan site from the grave form, content and differentiation of the sex and age and compared with other late Neolithic discoveries in Sudan and the Nile valley. The study shows many changes in the graves related to the societies changes in late Neolithic in Sudan, climate and economic subsistence's are well reasons, but also the idea change is the main reason for the changes. That is clear from the variations of grave shape and content in age and sex and might be society’s status and levels.

Keywords: Sudan, Shendi town, Qalaat Shanan, late neolithic, cemeteries, funerary, tradition

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Authors: Nassima Elyebdri, Asma Boumediou, Soumia Addoun

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Traditional medicine has been part of the Algerian culture for decades. In particular, the city of Tlemcen still retains practices based on phytotherapy to the present day, as this kind of medicine fulfills the needs of its followers among the local population. The toxic plants contain diverse natural substances which supplied a lot of medicine in the pharmaceutical industry. In order to explore new medicinal sources among toxic plants, an ethnobotanical study was carried out on the use of these plants by the population, at Emir Abdelkader Square of the city of Tlemcen, a rather busy place with a high number of traditional health practitioners and herbalists. This is a descriptive and transversal study aimed at estimating the frequency of using toxic plants among the studied population, for a period of 4 months. The information was collected, using self-anonymous questionnaires, and analyzed by the IBM SPSS Statistics software used for statistical analysis. A sample of 200 people, including 120 women and 80 men, were interviewed. The mean age was 41 ± 16 years. Among those questioned, 83.5% used plants; 8% of them used toxic plants and 35% used plants that can be toxic under certain conditions. Some improvements were observed in 88% of the cases where toxic plants were used. 80 medicinal plants, belonging to 36 botanical families, were listed, identified and classified. The most frequent indications for these plants were for respiratory diseases in 64.7% of cases, and for digestive disorders in 51.5% of cases. 11% of these plants are toxic, 26% could be toxic under certain conditions. Among toxics plants, the most common ones are Berberis vulgaris with 5.4%, indicated in the treatment of uterine fibroids and thyroid, Rhamnus alaternus with 4.8% for hepatic jaundice, Nerium oleander with 3% for hemorrhoids, Ruta chalepensis with 1.2%, indicated for digestive disorders and dysmenorrhea, and Viscum album with 1.2%, indicated for respiratory diseases. The most common plants that could be toxic are Mentha pulegium (15.6%), Eucalyptus globulus (11.4%), and Pimpinella anisum (10.2%). This study revealed interesting results on the use of toxic plants, which are likely to serve as a basis for further ethno-pharmacological investigations in order to get new drug sources.

Keywords: ethnobotany, phytotherapy, Tlemcen, toxic plants

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Authors: Yeliz Sarı Nayim, B. N. Nayim

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Vertical natural gardens encountered in urban ecosystems are important elements contributing to urban ecology by raising the quality of urban life. This research covers the investigation of the semi-natural plant walls of Bartın city which is located on the western Black Sea coast of Turkey. Landscape analysis and evaluation as a result of land and office work have resulted in vertical garden ecosystems that have been processed in the urban habitat map, mostly in natural stone walls, wooden garden fences, garden entrance doors, historical buildings and building walls. Structural surfaces on old building facades, especially with abandoned or still in use with natural stone walls, have been found to have many natural vertical gardens over time. Parietaria judaica, Cymbalaria longipes and Hedera helix species were dominant, and other types of content were recorded, providing information on the current biotope potential, human activities and effects on them. It has been emphasized that the described vertical gardens together with the species they contain should be protected in terms of Bartin urban ecology and biodiversity. It has been stated that sustainable urban planning, design and management should be considered as a compensation for open and green area losses.

Keywords: semi-natural vertical gardens, urban ecology, sustainable urban planning and design, Bartın

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Authors: Mariem Meddeb Sidhom, Souhayel Hedfi, Rjaibia Houda, Mehdi Dridi, Mohamed Ali Yousfi, Sâadia Gargouri

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Considering the important increase in costs of caspofungin treatments and ahead the evolution of its indication, pharmacy department was prompted to realize a review of the adequacy of prescriptions in the medical intensive care units (ICU). A retrospective observational study was conducted in Tunis military hospital concerning ICU prescriptions of caspofungin from 2008 until 2013. A pharmacist had returned to the patient’s medical records to collect data and to the microbiology department for parasitological results. The adequacy of prescriptions was evaluated by a pharmacist and an infectiologist parasitologist, referring to predefined scale of criteria resuming the indications of the marketing authorization (MA) and grade AI-AII of the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Sixty two ICU patients have been treated with caspofungin during the period of study; however, 8 files were lost. Thus, 54 patients were included in the study having received 55 prescriptions of caspofungin. Males were a majority with 64.8% of the population. Mean age was 51 years. Caspofungin was indicated in accordance with the IDSA recommendations in 43.6% of the cases. The most case of non respect to the guidelines was the indication of caspofungin as empirical treatment in non neutropenic patients. Caspofungin was utilized as a first line treatment in 9 cases where it was possible to give fluconazole first, as germs were fluconazole- sensitive. Caspofungin was indicated in 2 patients with good renal function and in which nor amphotericin B, liposomal ampho B neither itraconazole had been previously used, as indicates the MA. The posology of caspofungin was respected in all prescriptions with a loading dose of 70 mg in the first day and a maintenance dose of 50 mg daily. Seven patients had received a daily dose of 70 mg, the recommended dose for people weighing more than 80 Kg. Caspofungin prescriptions are far to be adequately done. There is a clear need of optimization in indicating this molecule and that must be done in collaboration between the pharmacy department, the ICUs and parasitology department.

Keywords: caspofungin, prescription, intensive care units, marketing authorization, Tunisian hospital cohort

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Authors: Avirup Chowdhury, Angus K. McFadyen, Linsey Batchelor

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Blood cultures (BCs) are an important aspect of management of the septic patient, identifying the underlying pathogen and its antibiotic sensitivities. However, while the current literature outlines indications for initial BCs to be taken, there is little guidance for repeat sampling in the following 5-day period and little information on how antibiotic use can affect the usefulness of this investigation. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using inpatients who had undergone 2 or more BCs within 5 days between April 2016 and April 2017 at a 400-bed hospital in the west of Scotland and received antibiotic therapy between the first and second BCs. The data for BC sampling was collected from the electronic microbiology database, and cross-referenced with data from the hospital electronic prescribing system. Overall, 283 BCs were included in the study, taken from 92 patients (mean 3.08 cultures per patient, range 2-10). All 92 patients had initial BCs, of which 83 were positive (90%). 65 had a further sample within 24 hours of commencement of antibiotics, with 35 positive (54%). 23 had samples within 24-48 hours, with 4 (17%) positive; 12 patients had sampling at 48-72 hours, 12 at 72-96 hours, and 10 at 96-120 hours, with none positive. McNemar’s Exact Test was used to calculate statistical significance for patients who received blood cultures in multiple time blocks (Initial, < 24h, 24-120h, > 120h). For initial vs. < 24h-post BCs (53 patients tested), the proportion of positives fell from 46/53 to 29/53 (one-tailed P=0.002, OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.48-7.96). For initial vs 24-120h (n=42), the proportions were 38/42 and 4/42 respectively (P < 0.001, OR 35.0, 95% CI 4.79-255.48). For initial vs > 120h (n=36), these were 33/36 and 2/36 (P < 0.001,OR ∞). These were also calculated for a positive in initial or < 24h vs. 24-120h (n=42), with proportions of 41/42 and 4/42 (P < 0.001, OR 38.0, 95% CI 5.22-276.78); and for initial or < 24h vs > 120h (n=36), with proportions of 35/36 and 2/36 respectively (P < 0.001, OR ∞). This data appears to show that taking an initial BC followed by a BC within 24 hours of antibiotic commencement would maximise blood culture yield while minimising the risk of false negative results. This could potentially remove the need for as many as 46% of BC samples without adversely affecting patient care. BC yield decreases sharply after 48 hours of antibiotic use, and may not provide any clinically useful information after this time. Further multi-centre studies would validate these findings, and provide a foundation for future health policy generation.

Keywords: antibiotics, blood culture, efficacy, inpatient

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Authors: Michael Ajide Oyinloye

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The natural environment is made up of air, water and soil. The release of emission of industrial waste into anyone of the components of the environment causes pollution. Industrial pollution significantly threatens the inherent right of people, to the enjoyment of a safe and secure environment. The aim of this paper is to assess the effect of environmental pollution and health risks of residents living near Ewekoro Cement factory. The research made use of IKONOS imagery for Geographical Information System (GIS) to buffer and extract buildings that are less than 1 km to the plant, within 1 km to 5 km and above 5 km to the factory. Also, a questionnaire was used to elicit information on the socio-economic factors, the effect of environmental pollution on residents and measures adopted to control industrial pollution on the residents. Findings show that most buildings that between less than 1 km and 1 km to 5 km to the factory have high health risk in the study area. The study recommended total relocation for the residents of the study area to reduce risk health problems.

Keywords: environmental pollution, health risk, GIS, satellite imagery, ewekoro

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Authors: Nandini Mukhopadhyay

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The prominence of terracotta as a building material in Bengal is well justified by its geographical location. The architectural knowledge system associated with terracotta can be comprehended in the typology of the built structures as they act as texts to interpret the knowledge. The history of Bengal has witnessed the influence of several rulers in developing the architectural vocabulary of the region. This metamorphosis of the architectural knowledge systems in the region includes the Bhakti movement, the Islamic influence, and the British rule, which led to the evolution of the use of terracotta from decorative elements to structural elements in the present-day context. This paper intends to develop an understanding of terracotta as a building material, its use in a built structure, the common problems associated with terracotta construction, and the techniques of maintenance, repair, and conservation. This paper also explores the size, shape, and geometry of the material and its varied use in temples, mosques in the region. It also takes into note that the use of terracotta was concentrated majorly to religious structures and not in the settlements of the common people. And the architectural style of temples and mosques of Bengal is hugely influenced by the houses of the common.

Keywords: terracotta, material, knowledge system, conservation

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Authors: Chung-Hao Wu, Tung-Dju Lin, Ming-Chin Ho, Minehiro Nishiyama

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This paper discusses reported fire tests of concrete beams and columns, future fire tests of beam/column frames, and an innovative concept for designing a beam/column furnace. The proposed furnace could be designed to maximize the efficiency of fire test procedures and minimize the cost of furnace construction and fuel consumption. ASTM E119 and ISO 834 standards were drafted based on prescriptive codes and have several weaknesses. The first involves a provision allowing the support regions of a test element to be protected from fire exposure. The second deals with the L/30 deflection end point instead of the structural end point (collapse) in order to protect the hydraulic rams from fire damage. Furthermore, designers commonly use the measured fire endurances of interior columns to assess fire ratings of edge and corner columns of the same building. The validity of such an engineering practice is theoretically unsound. Performance-Based Codes (PBC) require verification tests of structural frames including the beam/column joints to overcome these weaknesses but allow the use of element test data as reference only. In the last 30 years, PBC have gained global popularity because the innovative design and flexibility in achieving an ultimate performance goal.

Keywords: fire resistance, concrete structure, beam/column frame, fire tests

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Authors: Renzo Palomino, Alessandra Trujillo, Lidia Pacheco

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The document presents a study based on the incremental bearing capacity of silty clay soil with the incorporation of crushed PET fibers. For a better understanding of the behavior of soil, it is necessary to know its origin. The analyzed samples came from the subgrade layer of a highway that connects the cities of Muniches and Yurimaguas in Loreto, Peru. The material in this area usually has properties such as low support index, medium to high plasticity, and other characteristics that make it considered a ‘problematic’ soil due to factors such as climate, humidity, and geographical location. In addition, PET fibers are obtained from the decomposition of plastic bottles that are polluting agents with a high production rate in our country; in that sense, their use in a construction process represents a considerable reduction in environmental impact. Moreover, to perform a precise analysis of the behavior of this soil mixed with PET, tests such as the hydrometer test, Proctor and CBR with 15%, 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, and 1% of PET with respect to the mass of the sample of natural soil were carried out. The results show that when a low percentage of PET is used, the support index increases.

Keywords: environmental impact, geotechnics, PET, silty clay soil

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino

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The development of tourism causes negative impacts on the environment. It is in this context, through the Ecological Footprint (EF) method that this study aimed to characterize the impacts of ecotourism on the community of Mateiros, Jalapão, Brazil. The EF, which consisted in its original a method to construct a land use matrix, considering some major categories of human consumption such as food, housing, transportation, consumer goods and services, and six other categories from the main land use which are divided into the topics: land use, degraded environment, gardens, fertile land, pasture and forests protected by the government. The main objective of this index is to calculate the land area required for the production and maintenance of goods and services consumed by a community. The field research was conducted throughout the year of 2014 until July 2015. After the calculations of each category, these components were added according to the presented method in order to determine the annual EF of the tourism sector in Mateiros. The results show that the EF resulting from tourism in Mateiros is 2,194.22 hectares of land required for tourism activities in the region. The EF of tourism was considered high, nevertheless, if it is added the total of hectares needed annually for tourism activities, the result found would be 2,194.22 hectares needed to absorb the CO₂ emissions generated in the region directly from the tourism sector.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, tourism ecological footprint, Jalapão/TO/Brazil

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Authors: Maria Casoria

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Throughout the last decade developing countries have been undergoing substantial reforms to promote the establishment of competition regimes, as consequence of the trade liberalization and the spread of a ‘competition awareness movement’ across the globe. The legislative trend affected the whole Asia. Notwithstanding the existence of extensive joint ventures, cartels and other collusive business relationships in this geographical area, almost all the countries have already passed or are committed to enforce specific laws in the field. The study dwells into legal solutions adopted in the five sub-regions in which the continent is commonly divided –i.e. Central, East, South, Southeast, and Western Asia- and, using a comparative methodology, shed lights on the main differences and similarities in place. The final outcome of the analysis is that, despite the undeniable divergences of approach, what links together the legislation in force in the region is the unveiled influence exercised by the European Union competition regulation. Consequently, in order to properly evaluate the deterrence of the rule of law in the sector concerned, it is fundamental to scrutinize the major role played by the EU and its policy for the evolution of pro-competitive practices in the continent.

Keywords: Asia, competition law, differences and similarities, European union, influences

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Authors: Ahmed Shinkafi, Craig Lawson

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There is a great advancement towards the All-Electric Aircraft (AEA) technology. The AEA concept assumes that all aircraft systems will be integrated into one electrical power source in the future. The principle of the electro-thermal system is to transfer the energy required for anti/de-icing to the protected areas in electrical form. However, powering a large aircraft anti-icing system electrically could be quite excessive in cost and system weight. Hence, maximising the anti/de-icing efficiency of the electro-thermal system in order to minimise its power demand has become crucial to electro-thermal de-icing system sizing. In this work, an enhanced methodology has been developed for conceptual sizing of aircraft electro-thermal de-icing System. The work factored those critical terms overlooked in previous studies which were critical to de-icing energy consumption. A case study of a typical large aircraft wing de-icing was used to test and validate the model. The model was used to optimise the system performance by a trade-off between the de-icing peak power and system energy consumption. The optimum melting surface temperatures and energy flux predicted enabled the reduction in the power required for de-icing. The weight penalty associated with electro-thermal anti-icing/de-icing method could be eliminated using this method without under estimating the de-icing power requirement.

Keywords: aircraft, de-icing system, electro-thermal, in-flight icing

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Authors: Fatiha Benghanem, Mokhtar Berarma, Saida Keraghel, Ali Ourari

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Corrosion is the result of the reaction between a material and its environment. Steel in concrete is protected from corrosion by a passive film promoted by concrete alkalinity. For the initiation of corrosion, this protective film must be destroyed and this can be mainly done in two ways: by the attack of chlorides on the steel or by carbonation of the cover concrete due the reaction with carbon dioxide, which causes reduction in the alkalinity of concrete. The literature reports several ways to decrease or to prevent reinforcement corrosion. Among them, the use of corrosion inhibitors has been an envisaged solution. Two approaches are generally used to evaluate the efficiency of inhibitors for concrete application; one uses simulated pore solution testing , and the other uses actual concrete or mortar specimens. Both methods are some times used in conjunction. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of 2,3-diaminopyridine as a corrosion inhibitors of steel in alkaline media which simulate the electrolyte in the concrete pores. The effectiveness of this compound as corrosion inhibitor was investigated by measuring the corrosion potentials, the polarization curves and the corrosion current densities of steel with and without chlorides. The study of corrosion inhibition by this compound led to the conclusion that he has low rates of inhibition in the absence of aggressive ions and high rates in their presence. This type of organic compounds are promoting for the protection of armatures in concrete.

Keywords: corrosion, inhibitors, mild steel, conjunction

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Authors: Atul Kumar, Veeranjaneyulu Gannedi, Qazi Naveed Ahmed

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Oligosaccharides, which are essential to all cellular organisms, play vital roles in cell recognition, signaling, and are involved in a broad range of biological processes. The chemical synthesis of carbohydrates represents a powerful tool to provide homogeneous glycans. In carbohydrate synthesis, the major concern is the orthogonal protection of hydroxyl groups that can be unmasked independently. Classical protecting groups include benzyl ethers (Bn), which are normally cleaved through hydrogenolysis or by means of metal reduction, and acetate (Ac), benzoate (Bz) or pivaloate esters, which are removed using base promoted hydrolysis. In present work a series of α-Oxoester (COBz) protected saccharides, with divergent base sensitivity profiles against benzoyl (Bz) and acetyl (Ac), were designed and KHSO₅/CH₃COCl in methanol was identified as an easy, mild, selective and efficient deprotecting reagent for their removal in the perspective of carbohydrate synthesis. Timely monitoring of later reagent was advantageous in establishing both sequential as well as simultaneous deprotecting of COBz, Bz, and Ac. The salient feature of our work is its ease to generate different acceptors using designed monosaccharides. In summary, we demonstrated α-Oxoester (COBz) as a new protecting group for carbohydrates and the application of this group for the synthesis of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor are in progress.

Keywords: α-Oxoester, oligosaccharides, new protecting group, acceptor synthesis, glycosylation

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Authors: Ika Jorum

Abstract:

The aim of this collaborative project was to develop library support that contributes in a long-term way to a technical university’s work on increased equality in education. The background was an assessment made by the Higher Education Authority that showed the need for improvement regarding equality in several programs at the university. The university’s Vice President for equality and Vice President for sustainability announced funds for projects that supported the improvement of equality in education. The library was granted funding for a one-year project that aimed both to support teachers in order to embed equality in education and to support the library staff and improve the organization’s own work. The part of the project that was directed to teachers was performed as activities in different areas and forms, such as acquisition and collections, teaching, exhibitions and book discussions. Besides the activities and support that was offered to teachers, the education team had journal clubs in order to develop and embed equality in their own teaching. The part that was directed to library staff and management was performed as workshops in collaboration with Equality Office in order to identify areas where the library could make improvements on work with equality and inclusion. The expectation was that the activities would be well attended since the project team had got indications that the content would be relevant. The outcome of this project was that some activities turned out to be more attended than others and what is expected to be found relevant, for example, a workshop on information searching from a gender and equality perspective for teachers, might still not attract participants. On the other hand, Ph.D. students and students participated in the book discussions and wanted them to continue after the project had ended. Results will be shared both on what was successful and what was challenging. Some reflections will be given on what can be done to attract participants to activities in the area of gender equality that is most likely relevant for the expected attendants and how results from a project on gender equality can be integrated into an organization’s daily work.

Keywords: equality, higher education, critical information literacy, collaboration

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