Search results for: district heating

Authors: Sungik Kang, Ja-Hoon Koo

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Globally, urban environments have become unequal, and cities have been segmented by income class. It is predicted that urban inequality has arisen by urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects that improve the urban environment and innovate cities. This study aims to analyze the occurrence and characteristics of urban inequality by using the housing price and sale price and demonstrating the correlation with the urban redevelopment project. This study measures 14 years of urban inequality index for 25 autonomous districts in Seoul and analyzes the correlation between urban inequality with urban redevelopment projects. As a conclusion of this study, first, the urban inequality index of Seoul has been continuously rising since 2015. Trends from 2006 to 2019 have been in U-curved shape in between 2015. In 2019, Seoul's urban inequality index was 0.420, a level similar to that of the 2007 financial crisis. Second, the correlation between urban redevelopment and urban inequality was not statistically significant. Therefore, we judged that urban redevelopment's scale or project structure has nothing with urban inequality. Third, while district designation of urban reconstruction temporarily alleviates urban inequality, the completion of the project increases urban inequality. When designating a district, urban inequality is likely to decrease due to decreased outdated housing transactions. However, the correlation with urban inequality increases as expensive houses has been placed after project completion.

Keywords: urban inequality, urban redevelopment projects, urban reconstruction projects, housing price inequality, panel analysis

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Authors: Ahmed M. Seyam, Rita Nemes

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In this study, the influence of elevated temperature and concrete age on the compressive strength of concrete produced by normal quartz aggregate, expanded clay, expanded glass, crushed andesite and crushed clay bricks aggregates were investigated. For this purpose, six different mixtures were prepared by 100% replacement of the coarse aggregate. The specimens were cured in water for seven days, then kept in the laboratory for 120 days and 240 days. The concrete specimens were heated in an electric furnace up to 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C and kept at these temperatures for two hours heating, then for 24 hours cooling. The residual compressive strength of the specimens was measured. The results showed that, the elevated temperature induces a significant decrease in a compressive strength in both normal weight and lightweight aggregate concrete, by comparing the behavior of different mixes, in all cases, the strength of the specimens containing crushed andesite aggregates showed a better performance for compressive strength after exposure to elevated temperatures over 800 °C, while the specimens containing expanded glass showing the least residual strength after subjected to elevated temperature; moreover the age of the concrete in all mixes has also been an effective factor, the behavior of the concrete strength loss by increasing heating temperature was not changed but the strength results showing the better performance and higher compressive strength in both ambient and elevated temperature.

Keywords: elevated temperature, concrete age, compressive strength, expanded clay, expanded glass, crushed andesite, crushed clay bricks

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Authors: Muhammad Afzal, Shahbaz Mushtaq, Duc-Anh-An-Vo, Kathryn Reardon Smith, Thanh Ma

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Climate change has become one of the most challenging environmental issues in the 21st century. Climate change-induced natural disasters, especially floods, are the major factors of livelihood vulnerability, impacting millions of individuals worldwide. Evaluating and mitigating the effects of floods requires an in-depth understanding of the relationship between vulnerability and livelihood capital assets. Using an integrated approach, sustainable livelihood framework, and system thinking approach, the study developed a conceptual model of a generalized livelihood system in District Rajanpur, Pakistan. The model visualizes the livelihood vulnerability system as a whole and identifies the key feedback loops likely to influence the livelihood vulnerability. The study suggests that such conceptual models provide effective communication and understanding tools to stakeholders and decision-makers to anticipate the problem and design appropriate policies. It can also serve as an evaluation technique for rural livelihood policy and identify key systematic interventions. The key finding of the study reveals that household income, health, and education are the major factors behind the livelihood vulnerability of the rural poor of District Rajanpur. The Pakistani government tried to reduce the livelihood vulnerability of the region through different income, health, and education programs, but still, many changes are required to make these programs more effective especially during the flood times. The government provided only cash to vulnerable and marginalized families through income support programs, but this study suggests that along with the cash, the government must provide seed storage facilities and access to crop insurance to the farmers. Similarly, the government should establish basic health units in villages and frequent visits of medical mobile vans should be arranged with advanced medical lab facilities during and after the flood.

Keywords: livelihood vulnerability, rural communities, flood, sustainable livelihood framework, system dynamics, Pakistan

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Authors: Beruk Berhanu Desalegn, Tona Diddana, Alemneh Daba

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Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and determinants of overnutrition among school going adolescents from Dale District of Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was done between November and December 2020. A total of 333 school going adolescents aged 10-19 years were participated. Socio-demographic, lifestyle, physical activity level, an estimated individual dietary energy intake; and height and weight data were collected. Body Mass Index for age (BAZ) was computed. Results: The magnitude of over-nutrition was 7.2% (10.8% in urban vs. 3.6% in rural). Lack of adequate playing area (AOR=2.53, 95% CI:1.02, 6.26), being an urban resident (AOR=3.05, 95% CI:1.12, 8.29), having more energy intake than expenditure (AOR=9.47, 95% CI:1.58, 56.80), ever consumed fast foods a month before the survey (AOR=2.60, 95% CI:1.93, 6.83), having moderate physical activity (PA) (AOR =9.28, 95% CI: 6.70, 71.63), low PA (AOR=7.95, 95% CI:1.12, 56.72), and having snack between meals (AOR=3.32, 95% CI:1.15, 9.58) were positively associated with over-nutrition. Conclusion: The magnitude of over-nutrition among school going adolescents was lower compared to previous reports in Ethiopia. Sedentary lifestyles, excess calorie intake, not having adequate playing areas in the schools, and having snacks between meals were statistically predicted determinants for over-nutrition in the study area.

Keywords: adolescent, over-nutrition, school, Ethiopia

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Authors: Krismonika Khoirunnisa

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This research article aims to describe the variation of the Javanese lexicon "Sleep " and its distribution in the Jombang area, East Java. The objectives of this study were (1) to classify the variation of the "Sleep" lexicon in the Jombang area and (2) to design the fish rips for the variation of the "Sleep" lexicon according to their distribution. This type of research is a qualitative descriptive study using the method of leading proficiency, namely conducting interviews with speakers without directly meeting the speakers (interviews via WhatsApp and email as the media). This research article uses techniques record as support and tools for mapping and classifying data, collecting data in this study conducted at four points, namely the Kaliwungu village (Jombang City), Banjardowo village (District of Jombang), Mayangan Village (Subdistrict Jogoroto), and Karobelah village (Subdistrict Mojoagung) as a target investigators to conduct the interview. This study uses the dialectology theory as a basis for analyzing the data obtained. The results of this study found that the Javanese language variation "Sleep" has many different linguals, meanings, and forms even though they are in the same area (Jombang).

Keywords: geographical dialectology, lexicon variations, jombangan dialect, sssavanese language

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Authors: Evln Ranga Charyulu, S. P. Venu Madhavarao, S. Udaya kumar, S. V. S. S. N. V. G. Krishna Murthy

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With the advent of new nanometer process technologies, it is possible to integrate billion transistors on a single substrate. When more and more functionality included there is the possibility of multi-million transistors switching simultaneously consuming more power and dissipating more power along with more leakage of current into the substrate of porous silicon or germanium material. These results in substrate heating and thermal noise generation coupled to signals of interest. The heating process is represented by coupled nonlinear partial differential equations in porous silicon and germanium. By identifying heat sources and heat fluxes may results in designing of ultra-low power circuits. The PDEs are solved by finite difference scheme assuming that boundary layer equations in porous silicon and germanium. Local heat fluxes along the vertical isothermal surface immersed in porous SI/Ge are considered. The parameters considered for optimization are thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal diffusion ratio, permeability, specific heat at constant temperatures, Rayleigh number, amplitude of wavy surface, mass expansion coefficient. The diffusion of heat was caused by the concentration gradient. Thermal physical properties are homogeneous and isotropic. By using L8, TAGUCHI method the parameters are optimized.

Keywords: heat transfer, pde, taguchi optimization, SI/Ge

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Authors: Hanieh Sadat Jannesari, Hoori Jannesar, Alireza Hajian HosseinAbadi

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In general, buildings are responsible for a considerable share of consumed energy and carbon emissions worldwide and play a significant role in formulating sustainable development strategies. Therefore, a lot of effort is put into the design and construction of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) to help eliminate the problems associated with the reduction of energy resources and environmental degradation. Two strategies are significant in designing ZEBs: minimizing the need for energy utilization in buildings (particularly for cooling and heating) through highly energy-efficient designs and using renewable energies and other technologies to meet the remaining energy needs. This paper reviews the works related to these two strategies concerning sustainable energy-saving solutions using renewable energy technologies and the Internet of Things in ZEBs. Drawing on the theories and recently implemented projects of energy engineers in ZEBs, we have reported the required technologies within the framework of this paper’s objectives. Overall, solutions based on renewable and sustainable technologies such as photovoltaic (PV) modules, thermal collectors, Phase Change Material (PCM) techniques, etc., are used in active and passive systems designed for various applications in such buildings as cooling, heating, lighting, cooking, etc. The results obtained from examining these projects show that it is possible to minimize the amount of energy required to be produced for and consumed by these buildings.

Keywords: active and passive renewable energy systems, internet of things, storage, zero energy buildings

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Authors: Dammar Bahadur Adhikari

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Community forestry in Nepal has got disproportionately high level of support from government and other actors in forestry sector. Even though master plan for forestry sector (1989) has highlighted community and private forestry as one component, the government policies and other intervention deliberately left out private forestry in its structure and programs. The study aimed at providing the pathway for formulating appropriate policies to address need of different kind of forest management regimes in Rautahat district, Nepal. The key areas the research focused were assessment of current status of private forestry, community forest users' understanding on private forestry; criteria for choosing species of private forestry and factors affecting establishment of private forestry in the area. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected employing questionnaire survey, rapid forest assessment and key informant interview. The study found out that forest policies are imposed due to intense pressure of exogenous forces than due to endogenous demand. Most of the local people opine that their traditional knowledge and skills are not sufficient for private forestry and hence need training on the matter. Likewise, local use, market value and rotation dictate the choice of species for plantation in private forests. Currently district forest office is the only government institution working in the area of private forestry all other governmental and non-governmental organizations have condoned. private forestry. Similarly, only permanent settlers in the area are found to establish private forests other forest users such as migrants and forest encroachers follow opportunistic behavior to meet their forest product need from community and national forests. In this regard, the study recommends taking appropriate step to support other forest management system including private forestry provide community forestry the benefits of competition as suggested by Darwin in 18th century, one and half century back and to help alleviate poverty by channelizing benefits to household level.

Keywords: community forest, forest management, poverty, private forest, users’ group

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Authors: E. Machinyise

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of parents and teachers towards multilingual medium of instruction in lower primary schools of Zambia. In 2013, the Government of Zambia formulated a language policy which stipulates that regional familiar languages should be used as the medium of instruction (MOI) from grade one to four in all public primary schools, while English is introduced as a subject in the second grade. This study investigated the views of parents and teachers on the use of multilingual medium of instruction in lower primary schools in order to accommodate learners who are not native speakers of regional familiar languages as well as the second languages which are official languages used in class. The study revealed that most parents suggested that teachers who teach lower primary school classes should be conversant with at least the four major local languages of Zambia (Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga and Lozi). In the same vain other parents felt that teachers teaching lower grades should not only be familiar with the regional official language but should be able to speak other dialects found in the region. Teachers teaching in lower primary grade felt that although it is difficult to speak all languages of learners in class, it is important for a teacher of lower grade class to try to accommodate children who are not speakers of the familiar languages by addressing them in the language they understand. Both teachers and parents highlighted a number of advantages of teaching children in their mother tongues. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for the collection of data for this study. 30 teachers from selected public primary schools and 20 parents of Kapiri district and five lecturers of teacher training colleges in Central province were selected for this study. The researcher also observed class lessons in lower primary schools of Kapiri district. This study revealed that both parents and teachers are of the views that teachers teaching lower primary classes should use multilingual medium of instruction in lower primary classes so as to accommodated children of different linguistic backgrounds.

Keywords: familiar languages, medium of instruction, multilingual medium of instruction, native speakers

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Authors: Mahdi GoharRokhi, Mohammad H. Ruhipour, Mohammad R. ZamaniZadeh, Mohsen Maleki, Yusef Shamsayi, Mahdi FarhaniNejad, Farzad FarrokhZadeh

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Possessing massive resources of natural gas and petroleum, Iran has a special place among all other oil producing countries, according to international institutions of energy. In order to use these resources, development and functioning optimization of refineries and industrial units is mandatory. Heat exchanger is one of the most important and strategic equipment which its key role in the process of production is clear to everyone. For instance, if the temperature of a processing fluid is not set as needed by heat exchangers, the specifications of desired product can change profoundly. Crude oil enters a network of heat exchangers in atmospheric distillation section before getting into the distillation tower; in this case, well-functioning of heat exchangers can significantly affect the operation of distillation tower. In this paper, different scenarios for pre-heating of oil are studied using oil and gas simulation software, and the results are discussed. As we reviewed various scenarios, adding a heat exchanger to pre-heating network is proposed as the most efficient factor in improving all governing parameters of the tower i.e. temperature, pressure, and reflux rate. This exchanger is embedded in crude oil’s path. Crude oil enters the exchanger after E-101 and exchanges heat with discharging kerosene pump around from E-136. As depicted in the results, it will efficiently assist the improvement of process operation and side expenses.

Keywords: atmospheric distillation unit, heat exchanger, preheat, simulation

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Authors: Zahid Hussain

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Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab was established under NDM Act 2010 and now working under Senior Member Board of Revenue, deals with the whole spectrum of disasters including preparedness, mitigation, early warning, response, relief, rescue, recovery and rehabilitation. The District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) are acting as implementing arms of PDMA in the districts to respond any disaster. DDMAs' role is very important in disaster mitigation, response and recovery as they are the first responder and closest tier to the community. Keeping in view the significant role of DDMAs, technical and human resource capacity are need to be checked. For calculating the technical efficiencies of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in Punjab, three inputs like number of labour, the number of transportation and number of equipment, two outputs like relief assistance and the number of rescue and 25 districts as decision making unit have been selected. For this purpose, 8 years secondary data from 2005 to 2012 has been used. Data Envelopment Analysis technique has been applied. DEA estimates the relative efficiency of peer entities or entities performing the similar tasks. The findings show that all decision making unit (DMU) (districts) are inefficient on techonological and scale efficiency scale while technically efficient on pure and total factor productivity efficiency scale. All DMU are found technically inefficient only in the year 2006. Labour and equipment were not efficiently used in the year 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, only three years 2006, 2010 and 2011 show that districts could not efficiently use transportation in a disaster situation. This study suggests that all districts should curtail labour, transportation and equipment to be efficient. Similarly, overall all districts are not required to achieve number of rescue and relief assistant, these should be reduced.

Keywords: DEA, DMU, PDMA, DDMA

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Authors: Zeb Hussain, Muhammad Asif Qureshi, Shaheen Sharafat

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Background: Measles is a contagious viral infection common in childhood. Vaccination against measles is included in the expanded program of immunization (EPI). However, and alarmingly, a high mortality rate is observed due to measles infection in Pakistan. Moreover a recent outbreak of measles in various areas of Pakistan further highlights the problem. It is therefore important to investigate measles specific IgG (antibody) levels in our population. Objective: To quantify measles specific IgG antibodies amongst vaccinated children in district Qamber Shahdadkot, Sindh. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Microbiology section of the Dow-Diagnostic-Research-and-Reference-Laboratory (DDRRL), DUHS after Institutional Review Board approval (IRB-516/DUHS/-14) during August-December-2014. A total of 173 participants (residents of district Qamber Shahdadkot, Sindh) aged between 1-5 years were recruited in the study. Blood samples were collected as per standard phlebotomy guidelines. Blood was stored at 4 °C overnight. Samples were subsequently spun at a speed of 10000rpm to separate sera, which were divided into small aliquots to be frozen at -20 °C. Frozen sera were transported to the DDRRL on dry ice. Measles specific IgG (antibody) titers were quantified using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Results: Blood was collected from a total of 173 individuals ranging between 1-5 years of age. Of these, a total of 88 participants were males and 85 were females. Of the 173 investigated samples, only 53 (30.6%) showed protective IgG titers against measles while 120 (69%) were sero-negative. Measles specific IgG antibodies titers were higher in female participants compared to the males. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that a substantial percentage of vaccinated children in district Qamber-Shahdadkot did not have protective antibody titres against measles. It is therefore extremely important to investigate measles specific IgG levels in various parts of Pakistan in order to implement appropriate protective measures.

Keywords: sero-surveillance, measles, vaccinated children, Pakistan

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Authors: Wen-Hsiang Lai

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Except for the internal aspects of entrepreneurship (i.e. motivation, opportunity perspective and alertness), there are external aspects that affecting entrepreneurship (i.e. the industrial cluster). By comparing the machinery companies located inside and outside the industrial district, this study aims to explore the cluster effects on the entrepreneurship of companies in Taiwan machinery clusters (TMC). In this study, three factors affecting the entrepreneurship in TMC are conducted as “competition”, “embedded-ness” and “specialized knowledge”. The “competition” in the industrial cluster is defined as the competitive advantages that companies gain in form of demand effects and diversified strategies; the “embedded-ness” refers to the quality of company relations (relational embedded-ness) and ranges (structural embedded-ness) with the industry components (universities, customers and complementary) that affecting knowledge transfer and knowledge generations; the “specialized knowledge” shares the internal knowledge within industrial clusters. This study finds that when comparing to the companies which are outside the cluster, the industrial cluster has positive influence on the entrepreneurship. Additionally, the factor of “relational embedded-ness” has significant impact on the entrepreneurship and affects the adaptation ability of companies in TMC. Finally, the factor of “competition” reveals partial influence on the entrepreneurship.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, industrial cluster, industrial district, economies of agglomerations, Taiwan Machinery Cluster (TMC)

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Authors: Roya Morad, W. Eirik Heintz

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The identity of a neighborhood is inevitably shaped by the architecture and the people of that place. Conventionally the streets within each neighborhood served as a semi-public-private extension of the private living spaces. The street as a design element formed a hybrid condition that was neither totally public nor private, and it encouraged social interactions. Thus through creating a sense of community, one of the most basic human needs of belonging was achieved. Similar to major global cities, Tehran has undergone serious urbanization. Developing into a capital city of high rises has resulted in an increase in urban density. Although allocating more residential units in each neighborhood was a critical response to the population boom and the limited land area of the city, it also created a crisis in terms of social communication and place attachment. District 10 in Tehran is a neighborhood that has undergone the most urban transformation among the other 22 districts in the capital and currently has the highest population density. This paper will explore how the active streets in district 10 have changed into their current condition of high rises with a lack of meaningful social interactions amongst its inhabitants. A residential building can be thought of as a large group of people. One would think that as the number of people increases, the opportunities for social communications would increase as well. However, according to the survey, there is an indirect relationship between the two. As the number of people of a residential building increases, the quality of each acquaintance reduces, and the depth of relationships between people tends to decrease. This comes from the anonymity of being part of a crowd and the lack of social spaces characterized by most high-rise apartment buildings. Without a sense of community, the attachment to a neighborhood is decreased. This paper further explores how the neighborhood participates to fulfill ones need for social interaction and focuses on the qualitative aspects of alternative spaces that can redevelop the sense of place attachment within the community.

Keywords: high density, place attachment, social communication, street life, urban transformation

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Authors: Sun Ailu, Zhao Wanmin

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Since the reform and opening, the urbanization process of China has entered a rapid development period. In recent years, the authors participated in some projects of urban master planning in China and found a phenomenon that the rapid urbanization area of China is experiencing frequent adjustment process of urban master planning. This phenomenon is not the natural process of urbanization development. It may be caused by different government roles from different levels. Through the methods of investigation, data comparison and case study, this paper aims to explore the reason why the rapid urbanization area is experiencing frequent adjustment of master planning and give some solution strategies. Firstly, taking Changshou district of Chongqing city as an example, this paper wants to introduce the phenomenon about frequent adjustment process in China. And then, discuss distinct roles in the process between national government, provincial government and local government of China. At last, put forward preliminary solutions strategies for this area in China from the aspects of land use, intergovernmental cooperation and so on.

Keywords: urban master planning, frequent adjustment, urbanization development, problems and strategies, China

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Authors: Eirini Oikonomopoulou

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Paper is dealing with gentrification of a poor central historic district of Fener and Balat in Istanbul, Turkey and propose ålans and principles of a neighborhood. Istanbul is located in a special geographic place, just in the meeting of Europe and Asia and it has a long and great history, facts that had affected the urban form of the city. Trough the time different civilizations inhabited in the city and they changed it by giving different character to its parts. The modernization of Istanbul brought western ideas into the historic organic urban fabric and put in the first priority the need for a clear and strong car-road/highway network in order to improve the car accessibility along the city. Following that model, transformation of public spaces was based on the driving experience. New public spaces was formulated to be the new symbol of Turkish Republic, to give a beautiful and clean image of the modern Turkish city, as well as work as landmarks across the highway network. Even if city is upgraded, bad quality neighborhoods still exist, far and near to the historic city center. One of them is Fener/Balat, which is located in Fatih district on the European side of Istanbul. This project aims to analyze the urban qualities of that neighborhood (mahalle) and propose a better, qualitative urban space towards a denser, greener and more inclusive neighborhood which could be an example for the whole city.

Keywords: urban design, upgrade neighborhood, Istanbul, sustanability

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Authors: Niringiye Fred

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Banyabunagana has always had access to land resources for grazing animals, sand mining, and farmland across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the pre-colonial and colonial times, usually on an informal arrangement facilitated by kinship ties and rent transactions for these resources. However, in recent periods, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been pursuing a policy of constructing barriers such as walls and fences so that Banyabunagana communities do not access the land on the DRC side of the border. This is happening in the background of increased and intensified demand for land use on the side of the Ugandan community. This paper will attempt to discuss the reasons behind the construction of walls, fences, and other barriers which deny access to land for Banyabunagana communities in Bunagana Parish, Muramba Sub-county- Kisoro district, Uganda. The research will attempt to answer the following main questions, among others, whether there are the factors that explain the construction of walls and fences which could limit or deny access to the informal use of land and other resources and whether policy options to ensure continued access to land and other resources for local communities.

Keywords: border, walls, fences, land resource access

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Authors: Isa Raquel Alves Soeiro, Cristina Isabel Branco de Sá

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In Portugal, since 2008, there has been a requirement to export the Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes (SAF-T) standard file (in XML format). This file thus gathers tax-relevant information from a company relating to a specific period of taxation. There are two types of SAF-T files that serve different purposes: the SAF-T of revenues and the SAF-T of accounting, which requires taxpayers and accounting firms to invest in order to adapt the accounting programs to the legal requirements. The implementation of the SAF-T accounting file aims to facilitate the collection of relevant tax data by tax inspectors as support of taxpayers' tax returns for the analysis of accounting records or other information with tax relevance (Portaria No. 321-A/2007 of March 26 and Portaria No. 302/2016 of December 2). The main objective of this research project is to verify, through quantitative analysis, what is the cost of compliance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the district of Leiria in the introduction and implementation of the tax obligation of SAF-T - Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes of accounting. The information was collected through a questionnaire sent to a population of companies selected through the SABI Bureau Van Dijk database in 2020. Based on the responses obtained to the questionnaire, the companies were divided into two groups: Group 1 -companies who are self-employed and whose main activity is accounting services; and Group 2 -companies that do not belong to the accounting sector. In general terms, the conclusion is that there are no statistically significant differences in the costs of complying with the accounting SAF-T between the companies in Group 1 and Group 2 and that, on average, the internal costs of both groups represent the largest component of the total cost of compliance with the accounting SAF-T. The results obtained show that, in both groups, the total costs of complying with the SAF-T of accounting are regressive, which appears to be similar to international studies, although these are related to different tax obligations. Additionally, we verified that the variables volume of business, software used, number of employees, and legal form explain the differences in the costs of complying with accounting SAF-T in the Leiria district SME.

Keywords: compliance costs, SAF-T accounting, SME, Portugal

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Authors: Nanteza Rachel

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Background: Worldwide, there were 36.7 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in 2015, up from 35 million at the end of 2013. Wakiso district is one of the hotspots for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) infection in Uganda, with the prevalence of 8.1 %. Herbal medicine has gained popularity among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients as adjuvant therapy to reduce the adverse effects of ART. Regardless of the subsidized and physical availability of the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), majority of Africans living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) resort to adding to their ART traditional medicine. Result found out from a pilot observation made by the PI that indicate 13 out of 30 People Living with AIDS(PLWA) who are attending Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) clinics in Wakiso district reported to be using herbal preparations despite the fact that they were taking Anti Retro Viral (ARVs) this prompted this study to be done. Purpose of the study: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and anti-retroviral therapy among HIV/AIDS patients attending selected HIV clinics in Wakiso district. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study with both quantitative data collection (use of a questionnaire) and qualitative data collection (key informants’ interviews). A mixed method of sampling was used, that is, purposive and random sampling. Purposive sampling was based on the location in the district and used to select 7 health facilities basing on the 7 health sub districts from Wakiso. Simple random sampling was used to select one HIV clinic from each of the 7 health sub districts. Furthermore, the study units were enrolled in to the study as they entered into the HIV clinics, and 105 respondents were interviewed. Both manual and computer packages (SPSS) were used to analyze the data Results: The prevalence of concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART was 38 (36.2%). Commonly HIV symptom treated with herbs was fever 27(71.1%), diarrhea 3(7.9%) and cough 2(5.3%). Commonly used herbs for fever (Omululuza (Vernonica amydalina), Ekigagi (Aloe sp), Nalongo (Justicia betonica Linn) while for diarrhea was Ntwatwa. The side effects also included; too much pain, itchy pain of HIV, aneamia,felt sick, loss/gain appetite, joint pain and bad dreams. Herbs used to sooth the side effects were; for aneamia was avocado leaves Parea Americana mill The significant factors associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine were being familiar with herbs and conventional medicine for management HIV symptoms being expensive. The other significant factor was exhibiting hostility to patients by health personnel providing HIV care. Conclusion: Herbal medicine is widely used by clients in HIV/AIDS care. Patients being familiar with herbs and conventional medicine being expensive were associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART. The exhibition of hostility to the HIV/AIDS patients by the health care providers was also associated with concurrent use of herbal medicine and ART among HIV/AIDS patients.

Keywords: HIV patients, herbal medicine, antiretroviral therapy, factors associated

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Authors: Tebogo Mabotsa, Tamba Jamiru, David Ibrahim

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Dual phase(DP) steel consists essentially of fine grained equiaxial ferrite and a dispersion of martensite. Martensite is the primary precipitate in DP steels, it is the main resistance to dislocation motion within the material. The objective of this paper is to present a relation between the intercritical annealing holding time and the hardness of a dual phase steel. The initial heat treatment involved heating the specimens to 1000oC and holding the sample at that temperature for 30 minutes. After the initial heat treatment, the samples were heated to 770oC and held for a varying amount of time at constant temperature. The samples were held at 30, 60, and 90 minutes respectively. After heating and holding the samples at the austenite-ferrite phase field, the samples were quenched in water, brine, and oil for each holding time. The experimental results proved that an equation for predicting the hardness of a dual phase steel as a function of the intercritical holding time is possible. The relation between intercritical annealing holding time and hardness of a dual phase steel heat treated at high temperatures is parabolic in nature. Theoretically, the model isdependent on the cooling rate because the model differs for each quenching medium; therefore, a universal hardness equation can be derived where the cooling rate is a variable factor.

Keywords: quenching medium, annealing temperature, dual phase steel, martensite

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Authors: Gudakesh Yadav

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Utter Pradesh, which is one of the largest states of India with unequal distribution of resources and different socioeconomic and cultural characteristics, level of different new born health care indicators varies a lot from one district to another district. State shared more than 21 percent of total live births of India; whereas, it accounts for 28 percent of total infant deaths of the country, with the 53 per thousand infant mortality rate. The present paper attempts to examine tempo-spatial changes in new born care practices during NFHS-1 to NFHS-3 and DLHS-2 to DLHS-3 in Uttar Pradesh and different regions. Descriptive statistics, rate-ratios, concentration index, multivariate and decomposition analysis has been used for the study. Findings of the study reveal that new born care practices have improved over the time in the state and across all the regions because of giving more emphasis on venerable groups like poor, rural, less educated mothers and scheduled caste & tribes but still it did not achieve the desired successes. Regional analysis of third rounds of DLHS shows that, coverage of intuitional delivery was the lowest in the central region. Performance of the southern region was the lowest in terms of initiation of breastfeeding, keeping baby warm and dry after the birth. The study calls for proper follow up of new born children to accelerate new born and child health care service and prioritises increasing antenatal check-ups and institutional delivery, which helps to improve level of other new born care services. At the policy level there is need to reach venerable groups like scheduled caste and tribes, poor and uneducated, and new mother especially in rural areas. High focused district should be allocated for better implementation of new born care promotion programme in low performing districts. Partnership with the private sector health professional is necessary to reach the every part of population.

Keywords: decomposition, inequality, initiation of breastfeeding, institutional delivery

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Authors: Kamélia Bouderbala, Hichem Nouira, Etienne Videcoq, Manuel Girault, Daniel Petit

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Thermal drifts caused by the power dissipated by the mechanical guiding systems constitute the main limit to enhance the accuracy of an ultra-high precision cylindricity measuring machine. For this reason, a high precision compact prototype has been designed to simulate the behaviour of the instrument. It ensures in situ calibration of four capacitive displacement probes by comparison with four laser interferometers. The set-up includes three heating wires for simulating the powers dissipated by the mechanical guiding systems, four additional heating wires located between each laser interferometer head and its respective holder, 19 Platinum resistance thermometers (Pt100) to observe the temperature evolution inside the set-up and four Pt100 sensors to monitor the ambient temperature. Both a Reduced Model (RM), based on the Modal Identification Method (MIM) was developed and optimized by comparison with the experimental results. Thereafter, time dependent tests were performed under several conditions to measure the temperature variation at 19 fixed positions in the system and compared to the calculated RM results. The RM results show good agreement with experiment and reproduce as well the temperature variations, revealing the importance of the RM proposed for the evaluation of the thermal behaviour of the system.

Keywords: modal identification method (MIM), thermal behavior and drift, dimensional metrology, measurement

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Authors: Ntandazo Dlatu, Benjamin Longo-Mbenza, Andre Renzaho, Ruffin Appalata, Yolande Yvonne Valeria Matoumona Mavoungou, Mbenza Ben Longo, Kenneth Ekoru, Blaise Makoso, Gedeon Longo Longo

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Background: The gap between complexities related to the integration of Tuberculosis /HIV control and evidence-based knowledge motivated the initiation of the study. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore correlations between national TB management guidelines, multiple deprivation indexes, quantiles, components and levels of Tuberculosis control programme using mathematical modeling in rural O.R. Tambo District Health Facilities, South Africa. Methods: The study design used mixed secondary data analysis and cross-sectional analysis between 2009 and 2013 across O.R Tambo District, Eastern Cape, South Africa using univariate/ bivariate analysis, linear multiple regression models, and multivariate discriminant analysis. Health inequalities indicators and component of an impediment to the tuberculosis control programme were evaluated. Results: In total, 62 400 records for TB notification were analyzed for the period 2009-2013. There was a significant but negative between Financial Year Expenditure (r= -0.894; P= 0.041) Seropositive HIV status(r= -0.979; P= 0.004), Population Density (r = -0.881; P= 0.048) and the number of TB defaulter in all TB cases. It was shown unsuccessful control of TB management program through correlations between numbers of new PTB smear positive, TB defaulter new smear-positive, TB failure all TB, Pulmonary Tuberculosis case finding index and deprivation-concentration-dispersion index. It was shown successful TB program control through significant and negative associations between declining numbers of death in co-infection of HIV and TB, TB deaths all TB and SMIAD gradient/ deprivation-concentration-dispersion index. The multivariate linear model was summarized by unadjusted r of 96%, adjusted R2 of 95 %, Standard Error of estimate of 0.110, R2 changed of 0.959 and significance for variance change for P=0.004 to explain the prediction of TB defaulter in all TB with equation y= 8.558-0.979 x number of HIV seropositive. After adjusting for confounding factors (PTB case finding the index, TB defaulter new smear-positive, TB death in all TB, TB defaulter all TB, and TB failure in all TB). The HIV and TB death, as well as new PTB smear positive, were identified as the most important, significant, and independent indicator to discriminate most deprived deprivation index far from other deprivation quintiles 2-5 using discriminant analysis. Conclusion: Elimination of poverty such as overcrowding, lack of sanitation and environment of highest burden of HIV might end the TB threat in O.R Tambo District, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Furthermore, ongoing adequate budget comprehensive, holistic and collaborative initiative towards Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) is necessary for complete elimination of TB in poor O.R Tambo District.

Keywords: tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, success, failure, control program, health inequalities, South Africa

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Authors: Tamunotonye Mayowa Braide, Isaac Oluwatayo

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This study investigates multidimensional poverty, and its correlates among rural households in Sekhukhune and Capricorn District municipalities (SDM & CDM) in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Primary data were collected from 407 rural households selected through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Analytical techniques employed include descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and the Alkire Foster (A-F) methodology. The results of the descriptive statistics showed there are more females (66%) than males (34%) in rural areas of Limpopo Province, with about 45% of them having secondary school education as the highest educational level attained and only about 3% do not have formal education. In the analysis of deprivation, eight dimensions of deprivation, constructed from 21 variables, were identified using the PCA. These dimensions include type and condition of dwelling water and sanitation, educational attainment and income, type of fuel for cooking and heating, access to clothing and cell phone, assets and fuel for light, health condition, crowding, and child health. In identifying the poor with poverty cut-off (0.13) of all indicators, about 75.9% of the rural households are deprived in 25% of the total dimensions, with the adjusted headcount ratio (M0) being 0.19. Multidimensional poverty estimates showed higher estimates of poor rural households with 71%, compared to 29%, which fall below the income poverty line. The study conducted poverty decomposition, using sub-groups within the area by examining regions and household characteristics. In SDM, there are more multidimensionally poor households than in CDM. The water and sanitation dimension is the largest contributor to the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) in rural areas of Limpopo Province. The findings can, therefore, assist in better design of welfare policy and target poverty alleviation programs and as well help in efficient resource allocation at the provincial and local municipality levels.

Keywords: Alkire-Foster methodology, Limpopo province, multidimensional poverty, principal component analysis, South Africa

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Authors: Harith Mohammed Benbouali

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The concept of sustainable development is becoming increasingly important in our society. The efforts of specialized agencies, cleverly portrayed in the media, allow a widespread environmental awareness. Far from the old environmental movement in the backward-looking nostalgia, the environment is combined with today's progress. Many areas now include these concerns in their efforts, this in order to try to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment. The quantitative dimension of development has given way to the quality aspect. However, this feature is not common, and the initial target was abandoned in favor of economic considerations. Specialists in the field of building and construction have constantly sought to further integrate the environmental dimension, creating a seal of high environmental quality buildings. The pursuit of well-being of neighborhood residents and the quality of buildings are also a hot topic in planning. Quality of life is considered so on, since financial concerns dominate to the detriment of the environment and the welfare of the occupants. This work concerns the development of an analytical method based on multiple indicators of objectives across the district. The quantification of indicators related to objectives allows the construction professional, the developer or the community, to quantify and compare different alternatives for development of a neighborhood. This quantification is based on the use of simulation tools and a multi-criteria aggregation.

Keywords: sustainable development, environment, district, indicators, multi-criteria analysis, evaluation

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Authors: Joe Dorbor Wuokolo

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Thousands of smallholder farmers in Todee District, Montserrado county, are currently vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change. The district, which is the agricultural hot spot for the county, is faced with unfavorable changes in the daily temperature due to climate change. Farmers in the district have observed a dramatic change in the ratio of rainfall to sunshine, which has caused a chilling effect on their crop yields. However, there is a lack of documentation regarding how farmers perceive and respond to these changes and challenges. A study was conducted in the region to examine the perceptions of smallholder farmers regarding the negative impact of climate change, the adaptation strategies practice, and the barriers that hinder the process of advancing adaptation strategy. On purpose, a sample of 41 respondents from five towns was selected, including five town chiefs, five youth leaders, five women leaders, and sixteen community members. Women and youth leaders were specifically chosen to provide gender balance and enhance the quality of the investigation. Additionally, to validate the barriers farmers face during adaptation to climate change, this study interviewed eight experts from local and international organizations and government ministries and agencies involved in climate change and agricultural programs on what they perceived as the major barrier in both local and national level that impede farmers adaptation to climate change impact. SPSS was used to code the data, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The weighted average index (WAI) was used to rank adaptation strategies and the perceived importance of adaptation practices among farmers. On a scale from 0 to 3, 0 indicates the least important technique, and 3 indicates the most effective technique. In addition, the Problem Confrontation Index (PCI) was used to rank the barriers that prevented farmers from implementing adaptation measures. According to the findings, approximately 60% of all respondents considered the use of irrigation systems to be the most effective adaptation strategy, with drought-resistant varieties making up 30% of the total. Additionally, 80% of respondents placed a high value on drought-resistant varieties, while 63% percent placed it on irrigation practices. In addition, 78% of farmers ranked and indicated that unpredictability of the weather is the most significant barrier to their adaptation strategies, followed by the high cost of farm inputs and lack of access to financing facilities. 80% of respondents believe that the long-term changes in precipitation (rainfall) and temperature (hotness) are accelerating. This suggests that decision-makers should adopt policies and increase the capacity of smallholder farmers to adapt to the negative impact of climate change in order to ensure sustainable food production.

Keywords: adaptation strategies, climate change, farmers’ perception, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Jun Byung Joon, Seo Seok Hyun, Lee Seo Young

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As carbon dioxide emissions increase due to rapid industrialization and reckless development, abnormal climates such as floods and droughts are occurring. In order to respond to such climate change, the use of existing fossil fuels is reduced, and the proportion of eco-friendly renewable energy is gradually increasing. Korea is an energy resource-poor country that depends on imports for 93% of its total energy. As the global energy supply chain instability experienced due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis increases, countries around the world are resetting energy policies to minimize energy dependence and strengthen security. Seawater thermal energy is a renewable energy that replaces the existing air heat energy. It uses the characteristic of having a higher specific heat than air to cool and heat main spaces of buildings to increase heat transfer efficiency and minimize power consumption to generate electricity using fossil fuels, and Carbon dioxide emissions can be minimized. In addition, the effect on the marine environment is very small by using only the temperature characteristics of seawater in a limited way. K-water carried out a demonstration project of supplying cooling and heating energy to spaces such as the central control room and presentation room in the management building by acquiring the heat source of seawater circulated through the power plant's waterway by using the characteristics of the tidal power plant. Compared to the East Sea and the South Sea, the main system was designed in consideration of the large tidal difference, small temperature difference, and low-temperature characteristics, and its performance was verified through operation during the demonstration period. In addition, facility improvements were made for major deficiencies to strengthen monitoring functions, provide user convenience, and improve facility soundness. To spread these achievements, the basic concept was to expand the seawater heating and cooling system with a scale of 200 USRT at the Tidal Culture Center. With the operational experience of the demonstration system, it will be possible to establish an optimal seawater heat cooling and heating system suitable for the characteristics of the west coast ocean. Through this, it is possible to reduce operating costs by KRW 33,31 million per year compared to air heat, and through industry-university-research joint research, it is possible to localize major equipment and materials and develop key element technologies to revitalize the seawater heat business and to advance into overseas markets. The government's efforts are needed to expand the seawater heating and cooling system. Seawater thermal energy utilizes only the thermal energy of infinite seawater. Seawater thermal energy has less impact on the environment than river water thermal energy, except for environmental pollution factors such as bottom dredging, excavation, and sand or stone extraction. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the sense of speed in project promotion by innovatively simplifying unnecessary licensing/permission procedures. In addition, support should be provided to secure business feasibility by dramatically exempting the usage fee of public waters to actively encourage development in the private sector.

Keywords: seawater thermal energy, marine energy, tidal power plant, energy consumption

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Authors: Suriya

Abstract:

Rapid socio-economic development and urbanization have led to an increasingly serious air pollution problem in Ulaanbaatar (UB), the capital of Mongolia. PM₂.₅ pollution has become the most pressing aspect of UB air pollution. Therefore, monitoring and predicting PM₂.₅ concentration in UB is of great significance for the health of the local people and environmental management. As of yet, very few studies have used models to predict PM₂.₅ concentrations in UB. Using data from 0:00 on June 1, 2018, to 23:00 on April 30, 2020, we proposed two deep learning models based on Bayesian-optimized LSTM (Bayes-LSTM) and CNN-LSTM. We utilized hourly observed data, including Himawari8 (H8) aerosol optical depth (AOD), meteorology, and PM₂.₅ concentration, as input for the prediction of PM₂.₅ concentrations. The correlation strengths between meteorology, AOD, and PM₂.₅ were analyzed using the gray correlation analysis method; the comparison of the performance improvement of the model by using the AOD input value was tested, and the performance of these models was evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE). The prediction accuracies of Bayes-LSTM and CNN-LSTM deep learning models were both improved when AOD was included as an input parameter. Improvement of the prediction accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model was particularly enhanced in the non-heating season; in the heating season, the prediction accuracy of the Bayes-LSTM model slightly improved, while the prediction accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model slightly decreased. We propose two novel deep learning models for PM₂.₅ concentration prediction in UB, Bayes-LSTM, and CNN-LSTM deep learning models. Pioneering the use of AOD data from H8 and demonstrating the inclusion of AOD input data improves the performance of our two proposed deep learning models.

Keywords: deep learning, AOD, PM2.5, prediction, Ulaanbaatar

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Authors: Aschenaki Zerihun Kea, Bernt Lindtjorn, Achamyelesh Gebretsadik, Sven Gudmund Hinderaker

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Introduction: Maternal mortality studies conducted at the national level do not provide the information needed for planning and monitoring health programs at lower administrative levels. The aim of this study was to measure maternal mortality, identify risk factors and district-level variations in Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional population-based survey was carried out in households where women reported pregnancy and birth outcomes in the past five years. The study was conducted in the Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia, from July 2019 to May 2020. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed. The outcome variable of the study was maternal mortality. Complex sample logistic regression analysis was applied to assess variables independently associated with maternal mortality. Results: We registered 10602 live births (LB) and 48 maternal deaths, yielding an overall maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 419; 95% CI: 260-577 per 100,000 LB. Aroresa district had the highest MMR with 1142 (95% CI: 693-1591) per 100,000 LB. Leading causes of death were haemorrhage 21 (41%) and eclampsia 10 (27%). Thirty (59%) mothers died during labour, or within 24 hours after delivery, 25 (47%) died at home and 17 (38%) at a health facility. Mothers who did not have formal education had a higher risk of maternal death (AOR: 4.4; 95% CI: 1.7 – 11.0). The risk of maternal death was higher in districts with a low midwife-to-population ratio (AOR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.0-8.9). Conclusion: The high maternal mortality with district-level variations in Sidama Region highlights the importance of improving obstetric care and employing targeted interventions in areas with high mortality rates. Due attention should be given to improving access to female education. Additional midwives have to be trained and deployed to improve maternal health services and consequently save the lives of mothers.

Keywords: maternal mortality variation, maternal death, Sidama, Ethiopia

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Authors: Mkhokheli Sithole, Brenda N. Muchapondwa

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Food security is becoming a critical issue for people residing mainly in the rural areas where frequent droughts interrupt food production, reduce income, compromise the ability to save and erode livelihoods. This tends to increase the vulnerability of poor households to food and income insecurity, hence, malnutrition. There is an emerging need for DRR strategies to complement the existing rain fed crop production based livelihoods. One of such strategies employed by the community of Nerumedzo in Bikita district is the harvesting of Encosternum delegorguei insect. This article analyses the livelihood impacts of Encosternum delegorguei insect as a DRR strategy. The research used a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The insect samples were tested in the laboratory for their nutritional composition while surveys were done on a sample of 40 community members. Participatory observations and 5 focus group discussions were also done. The results revealed that harvesting the Encosternum delegorguei insects provides a livelihood for the locals by complementing crop production thereby mitigating potential negative effects of frequent droughts. The insects are now a significant source of income to poor households in the community.

Keywords: disaster risk reduction, livelihoods, human, social sciences

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