Search results for: European economic area

Authors: Liying Li, Han Guo

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Considering the environmental issues generated by the building sector for its energy consumption, solid waste generation, water use, land use, and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this review pointed out to LCA as a decision-support tool to substantially improve the sustainability in the building and construction industry. The comprehensiveness and simplicity of LCA make it one of the most promising decision support tools for the sustainable design and construction of future buildings. This paper contains a comprehensive review of existing studies related to LCAs with a focus on their advantages and limitations when applied in the building sector. The aim of this paper is to enhance the understanding of a building life-cycle analysis, thus promoting its application for effective, sustainable building design and construction in the future. Comparisons and discussions are carried out between four categories of LCA methods: building material and component combinations (BMCC) vs. the whole process of construction (WPC) LCA，attributional vs. consequential LCA, process-based LCA vs. input-output (I-O) LCA, traditional vs. hybrid LCA. Classical case studies are presented, which illustrate the effectiveness of LCA as a tool to support the decisions of practitioners in the design and construction of sustainable buildings. (i) BMCC and WPC categories of LCA researches tend to overlap with each other, as majority WPC LCAs are actually developed based on a bottom-up approach BMCC LCAs use. (ii) When considering the influence of social and economic factors outside the proposed system by research, a consequential LCA could provide a more reliable result than an attributional LCA. (iii) I-O LCA is complementary to process-based LCA in order to address the social and economic problems generated by building projects. (iv) Hybrid LCA provides a more superior dynamic perspective than a traditional LCA that is criticized for its static view of the changing processes within the building’s life cycle. LCAs are still being developed to overcome their limitations and data shortage (especially data on the developing world), and the unification of LCA methods and data can make the results of building LCA more comparable and consistent across different studies or even countries.

Keywords: decision support tool, life-cycle analysis, LCA tools and data, sustainable building design

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Authors: Geeta, Richa, M. L. Sharma

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Himachal Pradesh, a hilly State of India located in the Western Himalayas, with varied altitudinal gradients and climatic conditions, is a repository of plant diversity and the traditional knowledge associated with plants. The State is inhabited by various tribal communities who usually depend upon local plants for curing various ailments. Utilization of plant resources in their day-to-day life has been an age old practice of the people inhabiting this State. The present study pertains to the tribal district Kinnaur of Himachal Pradesh, located between 77°45’ and 79°00’35” east longitudes and between 31°05’50” and 32°05’15” north altitudes. Being a remote area with only very basic medical facilities, local people mostly use traditional herbal medicines for primary healthcare needs. Traditional healers called “Amji” are usually very secretive in revealing their medicinal knowledge to novice and pass on their knowledge to next generation orally. As a result, no written records of healing herbs are available. The aim of present study was to collect and consolidate the ethno-medicinal knowledge of local people of the district about the use of plants for treating gastrointestinal ailments. The ethnobotanical information was collected from the local practitioners, herbal healers and elderly people having rich knowledge about the medicinal herbs through semi-structured questionnaire and key informant discussions. A total 46 plant species belonging to 40 genera and 24 families have been identified which are used as cure for gastrointestinal ailments. Among the parts used for gastointestinal ailments, aerial parts (14%) were followed by the whole plant (13%), root (8%), leaves (6%), flower (5%), fruit and seed (3%) and tuber (1%). These plant species could be prioritized for conservation and subject to further studies related to phytochemical screening for their authenticity. Most of the medicinal plants of the region are collected from the wild and are often harvested for trade. Sustainable harvesting and domestication of the highly traded species from the study area is needed.

Keywords: Amji, gastrointestinal, Kinnaur, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge

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Authors: David A. Olasehinde, Peter I. Olasehinde, Segun M. A. Adelana, Dapo O. Olasehinde

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An investigation was carried out on underground water system dynamics within Ilorin metropolis to monitor the subsurface flow and its corresponding pollution. Africa population growth rate is the highest among the regions of the world, especially in urban areas. A corresponding increase in waste generation and a change in waste composition from predominantly organic to non-organic waste has also been observed. Percolation of leachate from non-engineered landfills, the chief means of waste disposal in many of its cities, constitutes a threat to the underground water bodies. Ilorin city, a transboundary town in southwestern Nigeria, is a ready microcosm of Africa’s unique challenge. In spite of the fact that groundwater is naturally protected from common contaminants such as bacteria as the subsurface provides natural attenuation process, groundwater samples have been noted to however possesses relatively higher dissolved chemical contaminants such as bicarbonate, sodium, and chloride which poses a great threat to environmental receptors and human consumption. The Geographic Information System (GIS) was used as a tool to illustrate, subsurface dynamics and the corresponding pollutant indicators. Forty-four sampling points were selected around known groundwater pollutant, major old dumpsites without landfill liners. The results of the groundwater flow directions and the corresponding contaminant transport were presented using expert geospatial software. The experimental results were subjected to four descriptive statistical analyses, namely: principal component analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, scree plot analysis, and Ward cluster analysis. Regression model was also developed aimed at finding functional relationships that can adequately relate or describe the behaviour of water qualities and the hypothetical factors landfill characteristics that may influence them namely; distance of source of water body from dumpsites, static water level of groundwater, subsurface permeability (inferred from hydraulic gradient), and soil infiltration. The regression equations developed were validated using the graphical approach. Underground water seems to flow from the northern portion of Ilorin metropolis down southwards transporting contaminants. Pollution pattern in the study area generally assumed a bimodal pattern with the major concentration of the chemical pollutants in the underground watershed and the recharge. The correlation between contaminant concentrations and the spread of pollution indicates that areas of lower subsurface permeability display a higher concentration of dissolved chemical content. The principal component analysis showed that conductivity, suspended solids, calcium hardness, total dissolved solids, total coliforms, and coliforms were the chief contaminant indicators in the underground water system in the study area. Pearson correlation revealed a high correlation of electrical conductivity for many parameters analyzed. In the same vein, the regression models suggest that the heavier the molecular weight of a chemical contaminant of a pollutant from a point source, the greater the pollution of the underground water system at a short distance. The study concludes that the associative properties of landfill have a significant effect on groundwater quality in the study area.

Keywords: dumpsite, leachate, groundwater pollution, linear regression, principal component

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Authors: Seyi Olalekan Olawuyi, Abbyssiania Mushunje

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The potential benefits of agricultural production to improve the welfare condition of smallholder farmers in developing countries is no more a news because it has been widely documented. Yet majority of these farming households suffer from shortfall in production output to meet both the consumption needs and market demand which adversely affects output market participation and by extension welfare condition. Therefore, this study investigated the impacts of output market participation on households’ welfare of cassava-based farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 324 sample size used for this study. The findings from the data obtained and analyzed through composite score and crosstab analysis revealed that there is varying degree of output market participation among the farmers which also translate to the observed welfare profile differentials in the study area. The probit model analysis with respect to the selection equation identified gender of household head, household size, access to remittance, off-farm income and ownership of farmland as significant drivers of output market participation in the study area. Furthermore, the treatment effect model of the welfare equation and propensity score matching (PSM) technique were used as robust checks; and the findings attest to the fact that, complimentarily with other significant variables highlighted in this study, output market participation indeed has a significant impact on farming households’ welfare. As policy implication inferences, the study recommends female active inclusiveness and empowerment in farming activities, birth control strategies, secondary income smoothing activities and discouragement of land fragmentation habits, to boost productivity and output market participation, which by extension can significantly improve farming households’ welfare.

Keywords: Cassava market participation, households' welfare, propensity score matching, treatment effect model

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Authors: Usmaan Siddiqui

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In England and Wales, there is no duty to rescue strangers. We will be investigating whether this is correct, and whether we should introduce a Good Samaritan law. In order to explore this, firstly, we will be exploring the nature of our moral duties. How far do our moral duties extend? Do they extend only to our family and friends, or do they also extend to strangers? Secondly, even if there does exist a moral duty, should this duty be enforced by criminal law? To what extent should the criminal law reflect morality? Under English criminal law, the consensus is, that it is not the job of the English criminal law to perfect human behaviour, and whilst the law should prevent us from causing harm, it should not force us to be good. This approach is radically different from many other European countries that actually do have a Good Samaritan law. If there are compelling in principle reasons to introduce a Good Samaritan law how would we deal with the pragmatic institutional constraints? Such a law has been stated as being unworkable in practice and difficult in defining its limits. In order to verify this, we shall carry out a comparative analysis between England and selected states in the US to gauge how successful the Good Samaritan law has been in dealing with these institutional constraints. In terms of methodology, as well as a comparative analysis, we shall also be carrying out a doctrinal analysis exploring what the English criminal law’s position is regarding Omissions. In conclusion, the findings so far are, whilst it is not the job of the law to perfect human behaviour, both respect for the law and the level of social co-operation will be greatly improved if the law encourages morally desirable conduct. Whilst it is possible for society to exist without a duty to assist the distressed, a society which ignores the vulnerable is cold, callous, and uncaring. After all, we all need to face up to the possibility that we may be one day be vulnerable and in need of urgent aid, and it is about time English criminal law, catches up with the majority of Europe and protects the vulnerable.

Keywords: criminal, law, omissions, philosophy

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Authors: April Hueimin Lu, Liangj-Ju Yao, Jun-Tin Lin, Susan Siru Liu

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This paper discusses the application of aerial survey technology and 3D laser scanning technology in the surveying and mapping work of the settlements and slate houses of the old Taiwanese aborigines. The relics of old Taiwanese aborigines with thousands of history are widely distributed in the deep mountains of Taiwan, with a vast area and inconvenient transportation. When constructing the basic data of cultural assets, it is necessary to apply new technology to carry out efficient and accurate settlement mapping work. In this paper, taking the old Paiwan as an example, the aerial survey of the settlement of about 5 hectares and the 3D laser scanning of a slate house were carried out. The obtained orthophoto image was used as an important basis for drawing the settlement map. This 3D landscape data of topography and buildings derived from the aerial survey is important for subsequent preservation planning as well as building 3D scan provides a more detailed record of architectural forms and materials. The 3D settlement data from the aerial survey can be further applied to the 3D virtual model and animation of the settlement for virtual presentation. The information from the 3D scanning of the slate house can also be used for further digital archives and data queries through network resources. The results of this study show that, in large-scale settlement surveys, aerial surveying technology is used to construct the topography of settlements with buildings and spatial information of landscape, as well as the application of 3D scanning for small-scale records of individual buildings. This application of 3D technology, greatly increasing the efficiency and accuracy of survey and mapping work of aboriginal settlements, is much helpful for further preservation planning and rejuvenation of aboriginal cultural heritage.

Keywords: aerial survey, 3D scanning, aboriginal settlement, settlement architecture cluster, ecological landscape area, old Paiwan settlements, slat house, photogrammetry, SfM, MVS), Point cloud, SIFT, DSM, 3D model

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Authors: Lakmali Anthony, Madeline Gillies

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Purpose: Decreasing mortality has led to increased focus on patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer. Breast cancer patients often have decreased QoL even after treatment is complete. This systematic review of the literature aims to identify psychosocial factors associated with decreased QoL in post-treatment breast cancer patients. Methodology: This systematic review was performed in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations. The search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychINFO using MeSH headings. The two authors screened studies for relevance and extracted data. Results: Seventeen studies were identified, including 3,150 total participants (mean = 197) with a mean age of 51.9 years. There was substantial heterogeneity in measures of QoL. The most common was the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 (n=7, 41.1%). Most studies (n=12, 70.5%) found that emotional distress correlated with poor QoL, while 3 found no significant association. The most common measure of emotional distress was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (n=12, 70.5%). Other psychosocial factors associated with QoL were unmet needs, problematic social support, and negative affect. Clinicopathologic determinants included mastectomy without reconstruction, stage IV disease, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: This systematic review provides a summary of the psychosocial determinants of poor QoL in post-treatment breast cancer patients, as well as the most commonly reported measures of these. An understanding of these potentially modifiable determinants of poor outcome is pivotal to the provision of quality, patient-centred care in surgical oncology.

Keywords: breast cancer, quality of life, psychosocial determinants, cancer surgery

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Authors: E. M. H. Maggie, M. N. A. Nazmey, M. A. Abdel-Sattar, S. A. Saied

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A successful trial of transplanting cotton is reported. Seeds grown in trays for 4-5 weeks in an easily prepared supporting medium such as peat moss or similar plant waste are tried. Careful transplanting of seedlings, with root system as intact as possible, is being made in the permanent field. The practice reduced damping-off incidence rate and allowed full winter crop revenues. Further work is needed to evaluate certain parameters such as growth curve, flowering curve, and yield at economic bases.

Keywords: cotton, transplanting cotton, damping-off diseases, environment sciences

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Authors: J. A. López, J. E. Olguín, C. W. Camargo, G. A. Quijano, R. Martínez

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This paper presents an anthropometric study conducted to 300 employees in a maquiladora industry that belongs to the cluster of medical products as part of a research project to pretend simulate workplace conditions under which operators conduct their activities. This project is relevant because traditionally performed a study to design ergonomic workspaces according to anthropometric profile of users, however, this paper demonstrates the importance of making decisions when the infrastructure cannot be adapted for economic whichever put emphasis on user activity.

Keywords: anthropometry, biomechanics, design, ergonomics, productivity

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Authors: Haitham Magdy Hamad, Mohamed Ahmed Madkour

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The essential role of the digital library in developing museum display methods, recording ancient Egyptian antiquities, facilitating scientific research, and storing antiquities in the Grand Egyptian Museum, which helped and saved a lot of time and money spent to equip the Grand Egyptian Museum. The technology of digital libraries, linking it to ancient Egyptian antiquities and the latest results, which scientific research has reached in the field of libraries and its impact on many areas of tourism and antiquities. The research also aims to show the main role of the digital library and the Arab countries emulating European countries in digitizing libraries and recent developments in Egyptian libraries and their role in many areas of life and linking them to Egyptology. The research will also explain how the museum display methods will be developed in the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the recording of ancient Egyptian antiquities in order to facilitate the process of scientific research and methods of storing antiquities will also work to save time and effort for researchers. The research will also deal with lighting and its prominent role in the display in the interior design and coordination of the Grand Egyptian Museum, through which the unique artifacts and artifacts displayed can be displayed, and they can be used in a strong or simple form. Depending on the condition of the piece to be displayed. The research will also go to show the role of the digital library in how the Grand Egyptian Museum contains gathering areas and how to distribute spaces, guidance, information, reception, libraries, lecture halls, restaurants, cafeterias, shops, permanent and temporary galleries, and bathrooms.

Keywords: knowledge, library, culture, archaeology, grand Egyptian museum, numbering

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Authors: Vojtech Stejskal, Hana Skalova, Petr Kvapil, George Hutchinson

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Algae growth has been an important issue in water management of water plants, ponds and lakes, swimming pools, aquaculture & fish farms, gardens or golf courses for last decades. There are solutions based on chemical or biological principles. Apart of these traditional principles for inhibition of algae growth and biofilm production there are also physical methods which are very competitive compared to the traditional ones. Ultrasonic technology is one of these alternatives. Ultrasonic emitter is able to eliminate the biofilm which behaves as a host and attachment point for algae and is original reason for the algae growth. The ultrasound waves prevent majority of the bacteria in planktonic form becoming strongly attached sessile bacteria that creates welcoming layer for the biofilm production. Biofilm creation is very fast – in the serene water it takes between 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on temperature and other parameters. Ultrasound device is not killing bacteria. Ultrasound waves are passing through bacteria, which retract as if they were in very turbulent water even though the water is visually completely serene. In these conditions, bacteria does not excrete the polysaccharide glue they use to attach to the surface of the pool or pond, where ultrasonic technology is used. Ultrasonic waves decrease the production of biofilm on the surfaces in the selected area. In case there are already at the start of the application of ultrasonic technology in a pond or basin clean inner surfaces, the biofilm production is almost absolutely inhibited. This paper talks about two different pilot applications – one in Czech Republic and second in United States of America, where the used ultrasonic technology (AlgaeControl) is coming from. On both sites, there was used Mezzo Ultrasonic Algae Control System with very positive results not only on biofilm production, but also algae growth in the surrounding area. Technology has been successfully tested in two different environments. The poster describes the differences and their influence on the efficiency of ultrasonic technology application. Conclusions and lessons learned can be possibly applied also on other sites within Europe or even further.

Keywords: algae growth, biofilm production, ultrasonic solution, ultrasound

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Authors: Mirko Klaric

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In different countries, sub-municipal units have different organizational and political positions. In some countries, the role of sub-municipal units is important; in others, it is marginal. That depends on the organization of the local government system in different countries, and the political role of local self-government units, their size, public authorities, and the possibility for managing various local public tasks. This paper attempts to analyze the sub-municipal government as an organizational form of local governance participation of citizens in the local community with a comparative perspective. Secondly, it presents elements that generally format sub-municipal government as a tool for strengthening of democratization processes in local government units. Those elements are crucial for the understanding of the dynamic in relation to local government vs. sub-municipal government. Special focus is put on the sub-municipal government in South-Eastern European countries, which have a common history and institutional framework, with this main question: how can sub-municipal government contribute to strengthening democratic processes in these countries. In centralized countries, the sub-municipal government usually has a reduced role, which relates to managing public tasks connected with local community needs. The purpose of this comparative research methodology is used for analyzing the present organization and role of sub-municipal government in local government systems in Croatia and other significant countries in Europe, with a special focus on the states in South-Eastern Europe and Croatia. Comparative analyses attempt to show that local government systems with bigger local government units have more significant sub-municipal government. On the other hand, local government systems with small local government units don’t have a strong sub-municipal government. Finally, this paper aims to present ideas on how the sub-municipal government can improve decentralization and contribute to better development of the local community and the whole of society.

Keywords: public administration, local government, sub-municipal government, decentralization

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Authors: S. K. M. Basha

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Nallamalas one of the centres of Plant Diversity (CPD) (WWF&IUCN,1995) is located in the central eastern Ghats between latitudes 15.20’-16.30’N and Longitude 78.30-80.10E in Andhra Pradesh, extended to an area of 7640 Sq.Km. No Comprehensive work available for RET Plants in the study area, therefore the objective of the present paper is to document the RET Medicinal Plants of Nallamalias and their uses by the local people of the area. In India, one of the major resources to know about the number of plant species and their medicinal values is the groups who are habituated in near and deep forests. The most common groups in south Indian forests are Yanadis and Yerukulas. These two groups of people are residing in the forest, which is located very far from the modern society, towns and cities. They are following traditional methods obtained from their forefathers in all respects, including medication. They are the only source to know many medicinal plants in the areas where they reside and are also important to record the medicinal properties of various plant species which are not reported. The new reports may help in drug industry in order to develop pharmaceutical herbal medicine for human health. In the present study, nearly 150 rare species have been found to be used for various ailments. Out of these 23 species are critically endangered, over 25 are vulnerable and around 22 comes under the category of near threatened. Some important species like Christella dentate, Careya arborea are used for curing cough and cold. Piper attnuatum, piper nigrum are used for curing skin disease. Ipomoea mauritiana is used against male impotency.Glycosmis cochinensis, Entada perseatha are used as contraceptives. The roots of Andrographis nallamalayana and Acrocephalus indicus are used for leucorrhoea. While the stem barks of Gyrocarpus americanus is given orally for spider bite. Piper hymenophyllum leaves mixed with turmeric and gingerly oil is used externally for mouth ulcers in cattle. Piper nigrum fruits are used for skin diseases. Vernonia anthelmentica seeds are used for indigestion. It was widely distributed in this hills. Due to over exploitation this species was in declined condition. Sterculia urens which is a sorce of gum for tribal, due to over exploitation this species declaimed in these hills. Hence, there is an urgent need to conserve the medicinal plants and prevent their exploitation and extinction with the help of tribals. There is a need to adopt sustainable utilization, cultivation and micro propagation techniques. Medicinal plants are as potent and effective today as they were thousands of years ago. They are natures wonderful gift to mankind and are involved in India as a very rich ancient heritage of traditional systems medicine i.e., ayurveda, siddha and unani. Unfortunately, these traditions have been largely eroded because of lack of support and recognition as well as rapid destruction of natural habitats which has led to shrinkage of medicinal plants therefore the conservation of medicinal plants and the revitalization of local health traditions has been taken up on priority basis.

Keywords: RET plants CPD, IUCN, nallamalas, yanadis, yerukulas

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Authors: Simona Pileviciene

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On 24th January 2014, Lithuania notified two primary cases of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boars. The animals were tested positive for ASF virus (ASFV) genome by real-time PCR at the National Reference Laboratory for ASF in Lithuania (NRL), results were confirmed by the European Union Reference Laboratory for African swine fever (CISA-INIA). Intensive wild and domestic animal monitoring program was started. During the period of 2014-2017 ASF was confirmed in two large commercial pig holding with the highest biosecurity. Pigs were killed and destroyed. Since 2014 ASF outbreak territory from east and south has expanded to the middle of Lithuania. Diagnosis by PCR is one of the highly recommended diagnostic methods by World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for diagnosis of ASF. The aim of the present study was to compare singleplex real-time PCR assays to a duplex assay allowing the identification of ASF and internal control in a single PCR tube and to compare primers, that target the p72 gene (ASF 250 bp and ASF 75 bp) effectivity. Multiplex real-time PCR assays prove to be less time consuming and cost-efficient and therefore have a high potential to be applied in the routine analysis. It is important to have effective and fast method that allows virus detection at the beginning of disease for wild boar population and in outbreaks for domestic pigs. For experiments, we used reference samples (INIA, Spain), and positive samples from infected animals in Lithuania. Results show 100% sensitivity and specificity.

Keywords: African swine fewer, real-time PCR, wild boar, domestic pig

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Authors: Magdalena Barbara Kaziuk, Waldemar Kosiba

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Introduction: Despite the development of technologies and improvements in the interior of dialysis stations, dialysis remains an unpleasant procedure, difficult to accept by the patients (who undergo it 2 to 3 times a week, a single treatment lasting several hours). Haemodialysis is one of the renal replacement therapies, in Poland most commonly used in patients with chronic or acute kidney failure. Purpose: An attempt was made to evaluate the quality of life in haemodialysed patients using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Material and methods: The study covered 422 patients (200 women and 222 men, aged 60.5 ± 12.9 years) undergoing dialysis at three selected stations in Poland. The patients were divided into 2 groups, depending on the duration of their dialysis treatment. The evaluation was conducted with the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire containing 26 questions analysing 4 areas of life, as well as the perception of the quality of life and health self-assessment. A 5-point scale is used to answer them. The maximum score in each area is 20 points. The results in individual areas have a positive direction. Results: In patients undergoing dialysis for more than 3 years, a reduction in the quality of life was found in the physical area and in their environment versus a group of patients undergoing dialysis for less than 3 years, where a reduced quality of life was found in the areas of social relations and mental well-being (p < 0.05). A significant correlation (p < 0.01) between the two groups was found in self-perceived general health, while no significant differences were observed in the general perception of the quality of life (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The study confirmed that in patients undergoing dialysis for more than three years, the quality of life is especially reduced in their environment (access to and quality of healthcare, financial resources, and mental and physical safety). The assessment of the quality of life should form a part of the therapeutic process, in which the role of the patient in chronic renal care should be emphasised, reflected in the quality of services provided by dialysis stations.

Keywords: haemodialysis, perception of quality of life, quality of services provided, dialysis station

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Authors: Nilam Bano, Uzma Iram

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Globally, the dilemma of undernutrition has become a notable concern for the researchers, academicians, and policymakers because of its severe consequences for many centuries. The nutritional deficiencies create hurdles for the people to achieve goals related to live a better lifestyle. Not only at micro level but also at the macro level, the consequences of undernutrition affect the economic progress of the country. The initial five years of a child’s life are considered critical for the physical growth and brain development. In this regard, children require special care and good quality food (nutrient intake) to fulfill their nutritional demand of the growing body. Having the sensitive stature and health, children specially under the age of 5 years are more vulnerable to the poor economic, housing, environmental and other social conditions. Beside confronting economic challenges and political upheavals, Pakistan is also going through from a rough patch in the context of social development. Majority of the children are facing serious health problems in the absence of required nutrition. The complexity of this issue is getting severe day by day and specially children are left behind with different type of immune problems and vitamins and mineral deficiencies. It is noted that children from the well-off background are less likely affected by the undernutrition. In order to underline this issue, the present study aims to highlight the existing nutritional inequalities among the children of under five years in Pakistan. Moreover, this study strives to decompose those factors that severely affect the existing nutritional inequality and standing in the queue to capture the consideration of concerned authorities. Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012-13 was employed to assess the relevant indicators of undernutrition such as stunting, wasting, underweight and associated socioeconomic factors. The objectives were executed through the utilization of the relevant empirical techniques. Concentration indices were constructed to measure the nutritional inequalities by utilizing three measures of undernutrition; stunting, wasting and underweight. In addition to it, the decomposition analysis following the logistic regression was made to unfold the determinants that severely affect the nutritional inequalities. The negative values of concentration indices illustrate that children from the marginalized background are affected by the undernutrition more than their counterparts who belong from rich households. Furthermore, the result of decomposition analysis indicates that child age, size of a child at birth, wealth index, household size, parents’ education, mother’s health and place of residence are the most contributing factors in the prevalence of existing nutritional inequalities. Considering the result of the study, it is suggested to the policymakers to design policies in a way so that the health sector of Pakistan can stimulate in a productive manner. Increasing the number of effective health awareness programs for mothers would create a notable difference. Moreover, the education of the parents must be concerned by the policymakers as it has a significant association with the present research in terms of eradicating the nutritional inequalities among children.

Keywords: concentration index, decomposition analysis, inequalities, undernutrition, Pakistan

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Authors: Uraib Sharaha, Guy Beck, Joseph Kapelushnik, Adam H. Agbaria, Itshak Lapidot, Shaul Mordechai, Ahmad Salman, Mahmoud Huleihel

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Infectious diseases cause a significant burden on the public health and the economic stability of societies all over the world for several centuries. A reliable detection of the causative agent of infection is not possible based on clinical features, since some of these infections have similar symptoms, including fever, sneezing, inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Moreover, physicians usually encounter difficulties in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections based on symptoms. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for sensitive, specific, and rapid methods for identification of the etiology of the infection. This intricate issue perplex doctors and researchers since it has serious repercussions. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the mid-infrared spectroscopic method for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial and viral infections based on simple peripheral blood samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered a successful diagnostic method in the biological and medical fields. Many studies confirmed the great potential of the combination of FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning as a powerful diagnostic tool in medicine since it is a very sensitive method, which can detect and monitor the molecular and biochemical changes in biological samples. We believed that this method would play a major role in improving the health situation, raising the level of health in the community, and reducing the economic burdens in the health sector resulting from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. We collected peripheral blood samples from young 364 patients, of which 93 were controls, 126 had bacterial infections, and 145 had viral infections, with ages lower than18 years old, limited to those who were diagnosed with fever-producing illness. Our preliminary results showed that it is possible to determine the infectious agent with high success rates of 82% for sensitivity and 80% for specificity, based on the WBC data.

Keywords: infectious diseases, (FTIR) spectroscopy, viral infections, bacterial infections.

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Authors: Shamas Ul Hassan, Nasir Mukhtar, Sajjad Ur Rehman, Asghar Ali Mian, Iftikhar Hussain, Muhammad Safdar Anjum

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The Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is the major cause of economic looses in birds which is transmitted by free flying birds in the environment. These demands for improving the biosecurity measures at farm level including proper disposal of farm mortality and other wastes along with the inclusion of zoos and wild life parks in the MG surveillance programme. For the purpose of doing surveillance of MG in different pet, game and free flying birds a total of 12 samples each of peacocks, pheasants, ducks, pigeons, parrots, and house crows were included in the first ever study of its nature in Pakistan. During the study, the relevant samples along with recording clinical and postmortem findings were subjected to sero-prevalence, culture isolation and PCR system. Further PCR being more sensitive proves to be a better epidemiological tool. Seropositive findings revealed in peacocks, pheasants, ducks, pigeons, parrots, and crows were 66.7%, 58.3%, 41.7%, 41.7%, 16.7% and 16.7% respectively with some free flying birds giving ambiguous reactions. Whereas in the same order the culture/isolation positive results were recorded as 25%, 16.7%, 8.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, and 25%. The samples were further confirmed on the basis of 732 bp product in PCR system. High rate of prevalence of MG in the pet, game and free flying birds regardless to their clinical findings demands to improve the biosecurity measures at the farm level with the minimum interaction of these birds with commercial poultry. Further the proper and timely disposal of all sorts of carcasses contaminated litter and wasted feed in such ways that the free flying birds are denied of picking up at those wastages. Moreover, MG surveillance system including the advances diagnostic techniques in wildlife parks and zoos be devised with proper timely preventive and therapeutic measures. The study proves that a variety of birds other then chicken either with or without clinical exhibitions carry MG organism which could be the potential source of infection for commercial poultry. The routine surveillance will be done to reduce the economic losses in poultry production.

Keywords: epidemiology, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), free flying birds, surveillance, PCR

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Authors: Rasim M. Alguliyev, Alovsat G. Aliyev

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In the paper information on economic development trends in developed countries are analyzed. The current status of information society and economy of the country is reviewed and some recommendations are given for future development. The problems of Information Society and establishment of its innovative economy are studied. In this turn, development trends information economy in developed countries are analyzed.

Keywords: information economy, ICT sector, ICT infrastructure, innovation, innovation system hi-tech products, antimonopoly policy

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Authors: Hassan Mahmoudzadeh

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The bacterium of Agrobacterium vitis causes crown and root gall disease, an important disease of grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. Also, Phylloxera is one of the most important pests in viticulture. Grapevine rootstocks were developed to provide increased resistance to soil-borne pests and diseases, but rootstock effects on some traits remain unclear. The interaction between rootstock, scion and environment can induce different responses to the grapevine physiology. 'Sultsna' (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most valuable raisin grape cultivars in Iran. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the rootstock effect on the growth characteristics and yield components and quality of 'Sultana' grapevine grown in the Urmia viticulture region. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks, with four treatments, four replicates and 10 vines per plot. The results show that all variables evaluated were significantly affected by the rootstock. The Sultana/110R and Sultana/Nazmieh were among other combinations influenced by the year and had a higher significant yield/vine (13.25 and 12.14, respectively). Indeed, they were higher than that of Sultana/5BB (10.56 kg/vine) and Sultana/Spota (10.25 kg/vine). The number of clusters per burst bud and per vine and the weight of clusters were affected by the rootstock as well. Pruning weight/vine, yield/pruning weight, leaf area/vine and leaf area index are variables related to the physiology of grapevine, which was also affected by the rootstocks. In general, rootstocks had adapted well to the environment where the experiment was carried out, giving vigor and high yield to Sultana grapevine, which means that they may be used by grape growers in this region. In sum, the study found the best rootstocks for 'Sultana' to be Nazmieh and 110R in terms of root and shoot growth. However, the choice of the right rootstock depends on various aspects, such as those related to soil characteristics, climate conditions, grape varieties, and even clones, and production purposes.

Keywords: grafting, vineyards, grapevine, succeptability

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Authors: Marzieh Khezerloo, Lyazid Djenidi

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Owing to wide range of the micro-device applications, the problems of mixing at small scales is of significant interest. Also, because most of the processes produce heat, it is needed to develop and implement strategies for heat removal in these devices. There are many studies which focus on the effect of roughness or suction on heat transfer performance, separately, although it would be useful to take advantage of these two methods to improve heat transfer performance. Unfortunately, there is a gap in this area. The present numerical study is carried to investigate the combined effects of roughness and wall suction on heat transfer performance of a laminar channel flow; suction is applied on the top and back faces of the roughness element, respectively. The study is carried out for different Reynolds numbers, different suction rates, and various locations of suction area on the roughness. The flow is assumed two dimensional, incompressible, laminar, and steady state. The governing Navier-Stokes equations are solved using ANSYS-Fluent 18.2 software. The present results are tested against previous theoretical results. The results show that by adding suction, the local Nusselt number is enhanced in the channel. In addition, it is shown that by applying suction on the bottom section of the roughness back face, one can reduce the thickness of thermal boundary layer, which leads to an increase in local Nusselt number. This indicates that suction is an effective means for improving the heat transfer rate (suction by controls the thickness of thermal boundary layer). It is also shown that the size and intensity of vortical motion behind the roughness element, decreased with an increasing suction rate, which leads to higher local Nusselt number. So, it can be concluded that by using suction, strategically located on the roughness element, one can control both the recirculation region and the heat transfer rate. Further results will be presented at the conference for coefficient of drag and the effect of adding more roughness elements.

Keywords: heat transfer, laminar flow, numerical simulation, roughness, suction

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Authors: Kofi Nkonkonya Mpuangnan, Samantha Govender, Hlengiwe Romualda Mhlongo

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In recent years, a noticeable and worrisome pattern has emerged in numerous developing nations which is a steady and persistent rise in unemployment rates. This escalation of economic struggles has become a cause of great concern for parents who, having invested significant resources in their children's education, harboured hopes of achieving economic prosperity and stability for their families through secure employment. To effectively tackle this pressing unemployment issue, it is imperative to adopt a holistic approach, and a pivotal aspect of this approach involves incorporating entrepreneurial education seamlessly into the entire educational system. In this light, the authors explored approaches to integrating entrepreneurial education into school curriculum focusing on the following questions. How can an entrepreneurial mindset among learners be promoted in school? And how far have pedagogical approaches improved entrepreneurship in schools? To find answers to these questions, a systematic literature review underpinned by Human Capital Theory was adopted. This method was supported by the three stages of guidelines like planning, conducting, and reporting. The data were specifically sought from publishers with expansive coverage of scholarly literature like Sage, Taylor & Francis, Emirate, and Springer, covering publications from 1965 to 2023. The search was supported by two broad terms such as promoting entrepreneurial mindset in learners and pedagogical strategies for enhancing entrepreneurship. It was found that acquiring an entrepreneurial mindset through an innovative classroom environment, resilience, and guest speakers and industry experts. Also, teachers can promote entrepreneurial education through the adoption of pedagogical approaches such as hands-on learning and experiential activities, role-playing, business simulation games and creative and innovative teaching. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education should develop tailored training programs and workshops aimed at empowering educators with the essential competencies and insights to deliver impactful entrepreneurial education.

Keywords: education, entrepreneurship, school curriculum, pedagogical approaches, integration

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Authors: Bilge Afşar, Zeynep Karaçor, Burcu Guvenek

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The aim of this study is to examine and analyze the effect of macroeconomic policies on foreign trade. In the study, the effect of the macroeconomic policies applied in Turkey after 2001 on foreign trade was scrutinized carrying out a survey study in the sample of the province Konya. In the survey study, the survey was administered to a total of 209 exporter firms, which are the members of Konya Chamber of Commerce. While 51 of the firms, to which the survey was administered, exported below $ 100,000, 158 of them are the firms exporting above $ 100,000. Survey was realized in the way of face to face interview with the firms in the rate of 79%. 47% of the institutions forming the mass were reached. In forming survey questionnaire, in general, 5-point Likert scale was used. In order to assess the study results, SPSS 15 package program was utilized. In the survey, foreign trade activities of the firms in Konya were analyzed; and the problems they face, while performing foreign trade, and those needing to be carried out for increasing foreign trade volume of Konya were revealed by determining how and at what degree they were affected from the macroeconomic policies applied. Thus, foreign trade structure and state of the province Konya were attempted to be analyzed. In the survey study, it emerges that although the problems Konya faces in foreign trade overlap with the problems across Turkey, the province Konya seems to be affected relatively less from the last crisis with its equity capital in either trade or other areas. Until the year 2008, while Konya is in a position of the province continuously increasing its export, also with the effect of global crisis, in 2009, a fall was seen in the amount of export. The results emerging in the survey study also confirm this case. In parallel with demand inadequacy and recession all over the world, firms experience trouble. However, again according to our survey result, foreign market weight of firms shifted from EU countries to Russia, East Bloc, and Middle East countries. This prevented Konya from negative affecting from EU crisis at maximum level. That is, Russian and Middle East market express significance for Konya. That market is diversified, and being relatively rid of dependence to EU is extremely important in terms of Konya export.

Keywords: economy, foreign trade, economic crise, macro economic politicies

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Authors: Vivek Hokam, Vishrut Landge

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An ideal maintenance program for an industrial road network is one that would maintain all sections at a sufficiently high level of functional and structural conditions. However, due to various constraints such as budget, manpower and equipment, it is not possible to carry out maintenance on all the needy industrial road sections within a given planning period. A rational and systematic priority scheme needs to be employed to select and schedule industrial road sections for maintenance. Priority analysis is a multi-criteria process that determines the best ranking list of sections for maintenance based on several factors. In priority setting, difficult decisions are required to be made for selection of sections for maintenance. It is more important to repair a section with poor functional conditions which includes uncomfortable ride etc. or poor structural conditions i.e. sections those are in danger of becoming structurally unsound. It would seem therefore that any rational priority setting approach must consider the relative importance of functional and structural condition of the section. The maintenance priority index and pavement performance models tend to focus mainly on the pavement condition, traffic criteria etc. There is a need to develop the model which is suitably used with respect to limited budget provisions for maintenance of pavement. Linear programming is one of the most popular and widely used quantitative techniques. A linear programming model provides an efficient method for determining an optimal decision chosen from a large number of possible decisions. The optimum decision is one that meets a specified objective of management, subject to various constraints and restrictions. The objective is mainly minimization of maintenance cost of roads in industrial area. In order to determine the objective function for analysis of distress model it is necessary to fix the realistic data into a formulation. Each type of repair is to be quantified in a number of stretches by considering 1000 m as one stretch. A stretch considered under study is having 3750 m length. The quantity has to be put into an objective function for maximizing the number of repairs in a stretch related to quantity. The distress observed in this stretch are potholes, surface cracks, rutting and ravelling. The distress data is measured manually by observing each distress level on a stretch of 1000 m. The maintenance and rehabilitation measured that are followed currently are based on subjective judgments. Hence, there is a need to adopt a scientific approach in order to effectively use the limited resources. It is also necessary to determine the pavement performance and deterioration prediction relationship with more accurate and economic benefits of road networks with respect to vehicle operating cost. The infrastructure of road network should have best results expected from available funds. In this paper objective function for distress model is determined by linear programming and deterioration model considering overloading is discussed.

Keywords: budget, maintenance, deterioration, priority

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Authors: Ourvashi Bissoon

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Sub-Saharan Africa in addition to being resource rich is increasingly being seen as having a huge growth potential and as a result, is increasingly attracting MNEs on its soil. To empirically assess the effectiveness of GDP in tracking sustainable resource use and the role played by MNEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, a panel data analysis has been undertaken for 32 countries over thirty-five years. The time horizon spans the period 1980-2014 to reflect the evolution from before the publication of the pioneering Brundtland report on sustainable development to date. Multinationals’ presence is proxied by the level of FDI stocks. The empirical investigation first focuses on the impact of trade openness and MNE presence on the traditional measure of economic growth namely the GDP growth rate, and then on the genuine savings (GS) rate, a measure of weak sustainability developed by the World Bank, which assumes the substitutability between different forms of capital and finally, the impact on the adjusted Net National Income (aNNI), a measure of green growth which caters for the depletion of natural resources is examined. For countries with significant exhaustible natural resources and important foreign investor presence, the adjusted net national income (aNNI) can be a better indicator of economic performance than GDP growth (World Bank, 2010). The issue of potential endogeneity and reverse causality is also addressed in addition to robustness tests. The findings indicate that FDI and openness contribute significantly and positively to the GDP growth of the countries in the sample; however there is a threshold level of institutional quality below which FDI has a negative impact on growth. When the GDP growth rate is substituted for the GS rate, a natural resource curse becomes evident. The rents being generated from the exploitation of natural resources are not being re-invested into other forms of capital namely human and physical capital. FDI and trade patterns may be setting the economies in the sample on a unsustainable path of resource depletion. The resource curse is confirmed when utilising the aNNI as well, thus implying that GDP growth measure may not be a reliable to capture sustainable development.

Keywords: FDI, sustainable development, genuine savings, sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: Yuhan Wu, CTB (Kees) Ahaus, Martina Buljac-Samardzic

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Patient aggression and violence is a complex occupational hazards for physicians working in hospitals, and it can have multiple severe negative effects for physicians and hospitals. Although there is a range of interventions in the healthcare sector applied in various countries, China lacks a comprehensive set of interventions at the hospital level in this area. Therefore, due to cultural differences, this study investigates whether international interventions are important and feasible in the Chinese cultural context by conducting a Delphi study. Based on a literature search, a list of 47 hospital interventions to prevent and manage patient aggression and violence was constructed, including 8 categories: hospital environment design, access and entrance, staffing and work practice, training and education, leadership and culture, support, during/after-the-event actions, and hospital policy. The list of interventions will be refined, extended and brought back during a three-round Delphi study. The panel consists of 17 Chinese experts, including physicians experiencing patient aggression and violence, hospital management team members, scientists working in this research area, and policymakers in the healthcare sector. In each round, experts will receive the possible interventions with the instruction to indicate the importance and feasibility of each intervention for preventing and managing patient violence and aggression in Chinese hospitals. Experts will be asked about the importance and feasibility of interventions for patient violence and aggression at the same time. This study will exclude or include interventions based on the score of importance. More specifically, an intervention will be included after each round if >80% of the experts judged it as important or very important and excluded if >50% judged an intervention as not or moderately important. The three-round Delphi study will provide a list of included interventions and assess which of the 8 categories of interventions are considered as important. It is expected that this study can bring new ideas and inspiration to Chinese hospitals in the prevention and management of patient aggression and violence.

Keywords: patient aggression and violence, hospital interventions, feasibility, importance

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Authors: Ziyi Zhou, Qiuxiao Chen, Shuang Wu

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Population diversification phenomena becomes quite common in villages located in China’s developed coastal area. Based on the analysis of the traditional rural society and its landscape characteristics, and in consideration of diversified landscape requirements due to the population diversification, with dual ideas of heritage and innovation, methods for rural landscape design were explored by taking Duxuao Village in Zhejiang Province of China as an example.

Keywords: rural landscape, population diversification, landscape design, urban management

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Authors: Cesar Leines

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The social effects of the pandemic are significant and diverse, most of those effects have widened the gap of economic inequality. Without a doubt, each country faces difficulties associated with the strengths and weaknesses of its own institutions that can address these causes and consequences. Around the world, pricing practices that have no connection to production costs have been used extensively in numerous markets beyond those relating to the supply of essential goods and services, and although it is not unlawful to adjust pricing considering the increased demand of certain products, shortages and disruption of supply chains, illegitimate pricing practices may arise and these tend to transfer wealth from consumers to producers that affect the purchasing power of the former, making people worse off. High prices with no objective justification indicate a poor state of the competitive process in any market and the impact of those underlying competition issues leading to inefficiency is increased when national competition agencies are weak and ineffective in enforcing competition in law and policy. It has been observed that in those countries where competition authorities are perceived as weak or ineffective, price increases of a wide range of products and services were more significant during the pandemic than those price increases observed in countries where the perception of the effectiveness of the competition agency is high. When a perception is created of a highly effective competition authority, one which enforces competition law and its non-enforcement activities result in the fulfillment of its substantive functions of protecting competition as the means to create efficient markets, the price rise observed in markets under its jurisdiction is low. A case study focused on the effectiveness of the national competition agency in Mexico (COFECE) points to institutional weakness as one of the causes leading to excessive pricing. There are many factors that contribute to its low effectiveness and which, in turn, have led to a very significant price hike, potentiated by the pandemic. This paper contributes to the discussion of these factors and proposes different steps that overall help COFECE or any other competition agency to increase the perception of effectiveness for the benefit of the consumers.

Keywords: agency effectiveness, competition, institutional weakness, price gouging

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Authors: Amjad Ali Khan, Muhammad Ishaq Saqi, Kashif Ali

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The focus of hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan has been primarily on conventional hydrocarbon resources. Directorate General Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) has taken the lead on the assessment of indigenous unconventional oil and gas resources, which has resulted in a ‘Shale Oil/Gas Resource Assessment Study’ conducted with the help of USAID. This was critically required in the energy-starved Pakistan, where the gap between indigenous oil & gas production and demand continues to widen for a long time. Exploration & exploitation of indigenous unconventional resources of Pakistan have become vital to meet our energy demand and reduction of oil and gas import bill of the country. This study has attempted to bridge a critical gap in geological information about the potential of shale gas & oil in Pakistan in the four formations, i.e., Sembar, Lower Goru, Ranikot and Ghazij in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, which were selected for the study as for resource assessment for shale gas & oil. The primary objective of the study was to estimate and establish shale oil/gas resource assessment of the study area by carrying out extensive geological analysis of exploration, appraisal and development wells drilled in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, along with identification of fairway(s) and sweet spots in the study area. The Study covers the Lower parts of the Middle Indus basins located in Sindh, southern Punjab & eastern parts of the Baluchistan provinces, with a total sedimentary area of 271,795 km2. Initially, 1611 wells were reviewed, including 1324 wells drilled through different shale formations. Based on the availability of required technical data, a detailed petrophysical analysis of 124 wells (21 Confidential & 103 in the public domain) has been conducted for the shale gas/oil potential of the above-referred formations. The core & cuttings samples of 32 wells and 33 geochemical reports of prospective Shale Formations were available, which were analyzed to calibrate the results of petrophysical analysis with petrographic/ laboratory analyses to increase the credibility of the Shale Gas Resource assessment. This study has identified the most prospective intervals, mainly in Sembar and Lower Goru Formations, for shale gas/oil exploration in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins of Pakistan. The study recommends seven (07) sweet spots for undertaking pilot projects, which will enable to evaluate of the actual production capability and production sustainability of shale oil/gas reservoirs of Pakistan for formulating future strategies to explore and exploit shale/oil resources of Pakistan including fiscal incentives required for developing shale oil/gas resources of Pakistan. Some E&P Companies are being persuaded to make a consortium for undertaking pilot projects that have shown their willingness to participate in the pilot project at appropriate times. The location for undertaking the pilot project has been finalized as a result of a series of technical sessions by geoscientists of the potential consortium members after the review and evaluation of available studies.

Keywords: conventional resources, petrographic analysis, petrophysical analysis, unconventional resources, shale gas & oil, sweet spots

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Authors: Rajandeep Kaur, Rajeev Gupta

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Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is the most common leukaemia in India. The annual incidence of chronic myeloid leukemia in India was originally reported to be 0.8 to 2.2 per 1,00,000 population. CML is a clonal disorder that is usually easily diagnosed because the leukemic cells of more than 95% of patients have a distinctive cytogenetic abnormality, the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1). The approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which target BCR-ABL1 kinase activity, has significantly reduced the mortality rate associated with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and revolutionized treatment. Material and Methods: 80 diagnosed cases of CML were taken. Investigations were done. Bone marrow and molecular studies were also done and with EUTOS, patients were stratified into low and high-risk groups and then treatment with Imatinib was given to all patients and the molecular response was evaluated at 6 months and 12 months follow up with BCR-ABL by RT-PCR quantitative assay. Results: In the study population, out of 80 patients in the study population, 40 were females and 40 were males, with M: F is 1:1. Out of total 80 patients’ maximum patients (54) were in 31-60 years age group. Our study showed a most common symptom of presentation is abdominal discomfort followed by fever. Out of the total 80 patients, 25 (31.3%) patients had high EUTOS scores and 55 (68.8%) patients had low EUTOS scores. On 6 months follow up 36.3% of patients had Complete Molecular Response, 16.3% of patients had Major Molecular Response and 47.5% of patients had No Molecular Response but on 12 months follow up 71.3% of patients had Complete Molecular Response, 16.25% of patients had Major Molecular Response and 12.5% patients had No Molecular Response. Conclusion: In this study, we found a significant correlation between EUTOS score and Molecular response at 6 months and 12 months follow up after Imatinib therapy.

Keywords: chronic myeloid leukemia, European treatment and outcome study score, hematological response, molecular response, tyrosine kinase inhibitor

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