Search results for: disaster resilience and risk reduction

Authors: Yahaya Taiwo, Adedayo M. Segun

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This study investigated the effect of postweld soaking temperature on mechanical properties of AISI 1018 steel plate welded in aqueous environment. Pairs of 90 x 70 x 12 mm, AISI 1018 steel plates were welded with weld zone beyond distance 10 mm from weld centerline immersed in a water jacket at 25°C. The welded specimens were tempered at temperature of 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600°C for 1.5 hours. Tensile, hardness and toughness tests at distances 15, 30, 45 and 60 mm from the weld centreline with micro structural evaluation were carried out. The results show that the aqueous environment as-weld sample exhibited higher hardness and tensile strength values of 45.3 HV and 448.12 N/mm2 respectively while the hardness and tensile strength of aqueous environment postweld heat treated samples were 44.9 HV and 378.98 N/mm2. This revealed 0.82% and 15.4% reduction in hardness and strength respectively. The metallographic tests showed that the postweld heat treated AISI 1018 steel micro structure contained tempered martensite with ferritic structure and precipitation of carbides. Postweld heat treatment produced materials of lower hardness and improved toughness.

Keywords: air weld samples, aqueous environment weld samples, soaking temperature, water jacket

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Chung-Ming Lo, Kevin Li-Chun Hsieh

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The central nervous system in the World Health Organization defines grade 2, 3, 4 gliomas according to the aggressiveness. For brain tumors, using image examination would have a lower risk than biopsy. Besides, it is a challenge to extract relevant tissues from biopsy operation. Observing the whole tumor structure and composition can provide a more objective assessment. This study further proposed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on a convolutional neural network to quantitatively evaluate a tumor's malignancy from brain magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 30 grade 2, 43 grade 3, and 57 grade 4 gliomas were collected in the experiment. Transferred parameters from AlexNet were fine-tuned to classify the target brain tumors and achieved an accuracy of 98% and an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (Az) of 0.99. Without pre-trained features, only 61% of accuracy was obtained. The proposed convolutional neural network can accurately and efficiently classify grade 2, 3, and 4 gliomas. The promising accuracy can provide diagnostic suggestions to radiologists in the clinic.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, computer-aided diagnosis, glioblastoma, magnetic resonance imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Prof. Hao Mao, Phd Qia Wei, Dr.Siwei Cao

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The administrative system is the organisational carrier for managing the operation of the market and the basic guarantee for achieving innovation incentives. This paper takes the reform of provincial administrative institutions in the process of Chinese national intellectual property administrative system reform in 2018 as a quasi-natural experiment to assess the impact of IP administrative system reform on enterprise innovation. The study finds that reducing the independence of some provincial administrative institutions will lead to a reduction in the number of local enterprises' innovations and a decrease in the quality of innovations, which is mainly triggered by a decrease in R&D investment due to a decrease in the strength of subsidy policies. The new round of intellectual property administrative system reform in 2023 elevated the administrative status of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and re-strengthened the top-level design and centralization of IP administration. This paper clarifies the role of the 2018 IP administrative system reform on China's market innovation, provides empirical evidence for the properly handling government market relations and property rights incentives and other institutional designs, and also provides empirical references for further promoting the improvement of national and local IP institutional mechanisms and the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy in the new round of reform.

Keywords: intellectual property, administrative systems, reform, high-quality innovation

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Authors: Chi-Hao Yeh

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The aim of this paper is to show how to apply TRIZ to resolve conflicts in management area, which can be readily applied in new product development (NPD) process and Knowledge Management (KM) system in desinging and manfacturing stages. TRIZ has been well-known as a creative and innovative thinking theory in solving engineering and technology contradictions in the last two decades. However, few studies and practical usage were proposed in management area. Conflicts occurring including schedule, budget, and risk plannings at smart phone R&D process are discussed to demonstrate the ideas guided by 39 TRIZ management parameters, 40 TRIZ innovative principles, and contradiction matrix. The results show that TRIZ is able to provide direct, quick and effective alternatives to resolve the management conflicts. In this manner, huge effort and cost can be actually saved and practical experince can be stored in KM system. In this paper, an innovative 3C consuming product such as smart-phone is utilized as a case study to describe the proposed TRIZ-based conflicts-solving approaches in NPD process and Knowledge Management (KM) system.

Keywords: TRIZ, conflicts-solving in managment area, new product development (NPD), knowledge management (KM), smart-phone

Procedia PDF Downloads 501

Authors: Mohamad Reza Khodabakhsh

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The present study investigated the effectiveness of attachment-based family therapy on maladaptive schemas and depressive symptoms of adolescence. This study was a quasi-experimental study, and a pre-test and post-test design with a control group were used. In this study, the study population included all adolescence. The sample consisted of 30 adolescents who were selected by the available sampling method. Then they were randomly divided into experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. Data were collected in this study using the Beck Depression Inventory (1974) and the short form of Young's early maladaptive schema questionnaire (1988). After taking the pre-test, group implementation of family therapy based on attachment style was presented for 11 sessions of two and a half hours for two months in the experimental group. At the end of the sessions, both groups were retested, and the data were analyzed using analysis of covariance in SPSS-22 software. The results showed that attachment-based family therapy led to a significant reduction in maladaptive schemas, including emotional deprivation, rejection/abandonment, mistrust/abuse, social isolation, disability/shame, dependence/inadequacy, vulnerability/trauma, and depressive symptoms were compared to the control group. It can be concluded that this treatment has an effect on maladaptive schemas and symptoms of depression.

Keywords: attachment-based family therapy, maladaptive schemas, depressive symptoms, adolescence

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Ormal Lishi

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This research presents a computationally efficient probabilistic method to assess the performance of compartmentation walls with similar Fire Resistance Levels (FRL) but varying complexity. Specifically, a masonry brick wall and a light-steel framed (LSF) wall with comparable insulation performance are analyzed. A Monte Carlo technique, employing Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS), is utilized to quantify uncertainties and determine the probability of failure for both walls exposed to standard and parametric fires, following ISO 834 and Eurocodes guidelines. Results show that the probability of failure for the brick masonry wall under standard fire exposure is estimated at 4.8%, while the LSF wall is 7.6%. These probabilities decrease to 0.4% and 4.8%, respectively, when subjected to parametric fires. Notably, the complex LSF wall exhibits higher variability in predicting time to failure for specific criteria compared to the less complex brick wall, especially at higher temperatures. The proposed approach highlights the need for Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to accurately evaluate the reliability and safety levels of complex designs.

Keywords: design complexity, probability of failure, monte carlo analysis, compartmentation walls, insulation

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Authors: Rajesh Singh, Kailash Kale

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In this paper, the Binomial process type occurrence of software failures is considered and failure intensity has been characterized by one parameter Rayleigh class Software Reliability Growth Model (SRGM). The proposed SRGM is mathematical function of parameters namely; total number of failures i.e. η-0 and scale parameter i.e. η-1. It is assumed that very little or no information is available about both these parameters and then considering non-informative priors for both these parameters, the Bayes estimators for the parameters η-0 and η-1 have been obtained under square error loss function. The proposed Bayes estimators are compared with their corresponding maximum likelihood estimators on the basis of risk efficiencies obtained by Monte Carlo simulation technique. It is concluded that both the proposed Bayes estimators of total number of failures and scale parameter perform well for proper choice of execution time.

Keywords: binomial process, non-informative prior, maximum likelihood estimator (MLE), rayleigh class, software reliability growth model (SRGM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Albert T. Akume, Yahya M. Abdullahi

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The impact of poverty on individual and society is grave, hence the efforts by the government to eradicate or alleviate. In Nigeria the various efforts to reduce rural poverty by empowering them and making the process of their development self-sustaining have ended dismally. That notwithstanding, government determination to conquer poverty has not diminish as in the early 1990s the government with financial collaboration from the World Bank and African Development Bank introduced the fadama project. It is against this backdrop that this paper uses the documentary and analytical research methods to examine the implication the fadama development project has for community capacity development and human security in Nigeria. From the analysis it was discovered the fadama project improved household income of fadama farmers, community empowerment, participatory development planning and support for demand driven productive investment in farm and non-farm activities including community infrastructures. Despite this impressive result the fadama project is challenged by conflict especially in northern Nigeria and late delivery of necessary farm consumables that aid improved productivity. It was therefore recommended that the government should strengthen her various state security institutions to proactively mitigate conflicts and to ensure that farm consumables and other support services reach farmers timely.

Keywords: capacity development, empowerment, fadama, human security, poverty reduction, theory of change, sustainable development

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Authors: R. R. Ramsheeja, R. Sreeraj

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For view the internal structures of the human body such as liver, brain, kidney etc have a wide range of different modalities for medical images are provided nowadays. Computer Tomography is one of the most significant medical image modalities. In this paper use CT liver images for study the use of automatic computer aided techniques to calculate the volume of the liver tumor. Segmentation method is used for the detection of tumor from the CT scan is proposed. Gaussian filter is used for denoising the liver image and Adaptive Thresholding algorithm is used for segmentation. Multiple Region Of Interest(ROI) based method that may help to characteristic the feature different. It provides a significant impact on classification performance. Due to the characteristic of liver tumor lesion, inherent difficulties appear selective. For a better performance, a novel proposed system is introduced. Multiple ROI based feature selection and classification are performed. In order to obtain of relevant features for Support Vector Machine(SVM) classifier is important for better generalization performance. The proposed system helps to improve the better classification performance, reason in which we can see a significant reduction of features is used. The diagnosis of liver cancer from the computer tomography images is very difficult in nature. Early detection of liver tumor is very helpful to save the human life.

Keywords: computed tomography (CT), multiple region of interest(ROI), feature values, segmentation, SVM classification

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Authors: Mahshid Hatamzad, Geanette Polanco

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Improving the performance of Winter Road Maintenance (WRM) can increase the traffic safety and reduce the cost as well as environmental impacts. This study evaluates the efficiency of WRM technique, named salting, in the Arctic area by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric linear method to measure the efficiencies of decision-making units (DMUs) based on handling multiple inputs and multiple outputs at the same time that their associated weights are not known. Here, roads are considered as DMUs for which the efficiency must be determined. The three input variables considered are traffic flow, road area and WRM cost. In addition, the two output variables included are level of safety in the roads and environment impacts resulted from WRM, which is also considered as an uncontrollable factor in the second scenario. The results show the performance of DMUs from the most efficient WRM to the inefficient/least efficient one and this information provides decision makers with technical support and the required suggested improvements for inefficient WRM, in order to achieve a cost-effective WRM and a safe road transportation during wintertime in the Arctic areas.

Keywords: environmental impacts, DEA, risk and safety, WRM

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Authors: Agnieszka Misztal

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The popularity of the quality management system models continues to grow despite the transitional crisis in 2008. Their development is associated with the demands of the new requirements for entrepreneurs, such as risk analysis projects and more emphasis on supervision of outsourced processes. In parallel appropriate to focus attention on the selection of companies aspiring to quality management system. This is particularly important in the automotive supplier industry, where requirements transferred to the levels in the supply chain should be clear, transparent and fairly satisfied. The author has carried out series of researches aimed at finding the factors that allow for the effective implementation of the quality management system in automotive companies. The research was focused on four groups of companies: 1) manufacturing (parts and assemblies for the purpose of sale or for vehicle manufacturers), 2) service (repair and maintenance of the car), 3) services for the transport of goods or people, 4) commercial (auto parts and vehicles). Identified determinants were divided in two types of criteria into: internal and external, as well as: hard and soft. The article presents hard - technical factors that automotive company must meet in order to achieve the goal of the quality management system implementation.

Keywords: automotive industry, quality management system, automotive technology, automotive company

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Amanda de Oliveira Ferreira Leite, Ana Luiza del Pino Ferreira, Bruna Garcez Correa, Janaíne de Souza Mello, Marla Manquevich, Mirna Wetters Portuguez

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Objective: We sought to investigate a neuropsychological intervention focused on improving cognition, psychological aspects, and quality of life of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment. Method: A controlled and randomized study, blind to the evaluator, was executed. We evaluated 78 elderly people, divided into the neuropsychological and control groups, through a semi-structured interview, Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination, Katz Index, Lawton and Brody Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Personal Development Scale, WHOQOL-bref and WHOQOL--old. Results: After the intervention, the neuropsychological group showed improvement in the cognitive subtests and in the total score, reduction in the frequency of symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, better psychological well-being, and quality of life. The research highlights useful intervention strategies for improving the general condition of these patients and rehabilitating damaged areas. Conclusion: We concluded that there is a relationship between neuropsychological intervention and improvement in cognitive and psychological performance, as well as in the quality of life in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment.

Keywords: aging, mild cognitive impairment, neuropsychology, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Weerinda Appamana, Jirapong Keawkoon, Yamonporn Pacthong, Jirathiti Chitsanguansuk, Yanyong Sookklay

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In the present work, spinning disc reactor has been used for the intensification of synthesis of biodiesel from refined palm oil (RPO) based on the transesterification reaction. Experiments have been performed using different spinning disc surface and under varying operating parameters viz. molar ratio of oil to methanol (over the range of 1:4.5–1:9), rotational speed (over the range of 500–2,000 rpm), total flow rate (over the range of 260-520 ml/min), and KOH catalyst loading of 1.50% by weight of oil. Maximum FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) yield (97.5 %) of biodiesel from RPO was obtained at oil to methanol ratio of 1:6, temperature of 60 °C, and rotational speed of 1500 rpm and flow rate of 520 mL/min using groove disc at KOH catalyst loading of 1.5 wt%. Also, higher yield efficiency (biodiesel produced per unit energy consumed) was obtained for using the spinning disc reactor based approach as compared to the ultrasound hydrodynamic cavitation and conventional mechanical stirrer reactors. It obviously offers a significant reduction in the reaction time for the transesterification, especially when compared with the reaction time of 90 minutes required for the conventional mechanical stirrer. It can be concluded that the spinning disk reactor is a promising alternative method for continuous biodiesel production.

Keywords: spinning disc reactor, biodiesel, process intensification, yield efficiency

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Authors: Darko Babic, Maja Modric, Dario Babic, Mario Fiolic

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For road markings as a part of traffic control plan, it is considered to have a positive impact on road safety. Their importance is particularly evident in low visibility conditions when the field of vision and the driver's visual acuity are significantly reduced. The aim of this article is to analyze how road marking retroreflectivity affects the frequency of traffic accidents in low visibility conditions. For this purpose, 10,417.4 km single carriageway roads were analysed across Croatia in the period from 2012 to 2016. The research included accidents that may be significantly affected by marking retroreflectivity: head-on collisions, running off the road, hitting a stationary object on the road and hitting a stationary roadside object. The results have shown that the retroreflectivity level is negatively correlated to the total number of accidents and the number of casualties and injuries, which ultimately means that the risk of traffic accidents and deaths and/or injuries of participants will be lower with the increase of road markings retroreflectivity. These results may assist in defining minimum values of retroreflectivity that the markings must meet at any time as well as the suitable technologies and materials for their implementation.

Keywords: retroreflectivity, road markings, traffic accidents, traffic safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Hadj Brahim Mounia, Belhamel Farid, Souici Messoud

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In big cities, construction on sloping land (landslide) is becoming increasingly prevalent due to the unavailability of flat lands. This has created a major challenge for structural engineers with regard to structure design, due to the difficulties encountered during the implementation of projects, both for the structure and the soil. This paper analyses the effect of the number of floors of a building, founded on isolated footing on the stability of the slope using the computer code finite element PLAXIS 2D v. 8.2. The isolated footings of a building in this case were anchored in soil so that the levels of successive isolated footing realize a maximum slope of base of three for two heights, which connects the edges of the nearest footings, according to the Algerian building code DTR-BC 2.331: Shallow foundations. The results show that the embedment of the foundation into the soil reduces the value of the safety factor due to the change of the stress state of the soil by these foundations. The number of floors a building has also influences the safety factor. It has been noticed from this case of study that there is no risk of collapse of slopes for an inclination between 5° and 8°. In the case of slope inclination greater than 10° it has been noticed that the urbanization is prohibited.

Keywords: isolated footings, multi-storeys building, PLAXIS 2D, slope

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Fatima El Zahra Amin, Emine Efe

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This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the education program for parents of children with Sickle Cell Anemia, on the knowledge level of parents and the reduction of pain relief by non-pharmacological methods used by parents at home. In Turkey, 54 parents and 109 from Chad agreed to participate in the survey. The data were collected by the researcher using a face-to-face interview method. Non-pharmacological treatment information form for parents, face expressions rating scale, and parent education program for non-pharmacological methods used in children with sickle cell anemia were used. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the educational status, occupation, disease status, place of residence, family structure and age of parents of Chad and Turkey. According to the ratings of facial expressions scale, it was concluded that there was no significant difference between the children’s average degree of pain before and after administration of non-pharmacological methods by the groups of Chad and Turkey. It was determined that the educational programs prepared for parents of children with sickle cell anemia in both Turkey and Chad were effective in increasing the knowledge level of parents and also in reducing pain crisis with non-pharmacological methods parents used at home.

Keywords: Chad, child, non-pharmacological treatment methods, nurse, sickle cell anemia, Turkey

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Ratchaneewan Maneemaroj, Paveena Noisuwan, Chonlada Lakhonphon

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The smoking is one of the major risk factors in Non-Communicable Disease. Free radicals from cigarette smoke can cause oxidative stress. The oxidative insults can lead to red blood cell (RBC) senescence and are involved in the clearance of red blood cells. The objective of the present study is to assess the association between smoke, oxidative stress evaluated with serum Malondialdehyde (MDA) level and phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization (biomarker of RBC senescence) evaluated with annexin V binding. A total of sixty-four male volunteers aged 25-60 years old were recruited in this study. MDA was measured by colorimetric method. Annexin V binding was detected by flow cytometry. Our results show that there was a significant increase in MDA levels in cigarette smokers as compared to non-smokers (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant different between annexin V binding (% gate) in cigarette smokers and non-smokers (p = 0.978). These results provide evidence of free radical from smoking is associated with oxidative damage to erythrocytes. However, our results suggest that PS externalization is unlikely to have a role in RBC senescence pathway of stressed erythrocytes from cigarette smoke. The other biomarker of RBC senescence should be determined on cigarette smoker erythrocytes.

Keywords: malondialdehyde, phosphatidylserine, RBC senescence, annexin V

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Authors: Linyue Jia, Wenbo Du, Zhaohui Wang, Ke Liu, Shubo Li

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Due to the great potential for weight reduction in aerospace and automotive industries, magnesium-rare earth (Mg-RE) based alloys with outstanding mechanical performance have been widely investigated for decades. However, magnesium alloys are still restricted in engineering applications because of their lower strength and ductility. Hence, there are large spaces and challenges in achieving high-performance Mg alloys. This work reports an Mg-Gd-Er-Zn-Zr alloy with ultrahigh strength and good ductility developed via hot extrusion, pre-deformation, and two-stage aging. The extruded alloy comprises fine dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) grains and coarse worked grains with a large aspect ratio. Pre-deformation has little effect on the microstructure and macro-texture and serves primarily to introduce a large number of dislocations, resulting in strain hardening and higher precipitation strengthening during subsequent aging due to more nucleation sites. As a result, the alloy exhibits a yield strength (YS) of 506 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 549 MPa, and elongation (EL) of 8.2% at room temperature, showing superior strength-ductility balance than the other wrought Mg-RE alloys previously reported. The current study proposes a combination of pre-deformation and two-stage aging to further improve the mechanical properties of wrought Mg alloys for engineering applications.

Keywords: magnesium alloys, mechanical properties, microstructure, pre-deformation, two-stage aging

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Authors: Femy M. Makkar, S. Chandrakaran, N. Sankar

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The concept of reinforced earth has been used in the field of geotechnical engineering since 1960s, for many applications such as, construction of road and rail embankments, pavements, retaining walls, shallow foundations, soft ground improvement and so on. Conventionally, planar geosynthetic materials such as geotextiles and geogrids were used as the reinforcing elements. Recently, the use of three dimensional reinforcements becomes one of the emerging trends in this field. So, in the present investigation, three dimensional geogrid is proposed as a reinforcing material. Laboratory scaled plate load tests are conducted on a model square footing resting on 3D geogrid reinforced sand bed. The performance of 3D geogrids in triangular and square pattern was compared with conventional geogrids and the improvement in bearing capacity and reduction in settlement and heave are evaluated. When single layer of reinforcement was placed at an optimum depth of 0.25B from the bottom of the footing, the bearing capacity of conventional geogrid reinforced soil improved by 1.85 times compared to unreinforced soil, where as 3D geogrid reinforced soil with triangular pattern and square pattern shows 2.69 and 3.05 times improvement respectively compared to unreinforced soil. Also, 3D geogrids performs better than conventional geogrids in reducing the settlement and heave of sand bed around the model footing.

Keywords: 3D reinforcing elements, bearing capacity, heavy, settlement

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Kadhim Alabady

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Background: Mental illnesses after childbirth are common. After childbirth, women may experience a variety of postpartum complications such as developing depression during pregnancy and after childbirth. Postpartum depression might increases the risk of developing major depression in the future. The most common is postnatal depression also known as postpartum depression that is believed to affect between 10% – 15% of mothers and the most serious, puerperal psychosis (affecting less than 1%). Purpose: This research simply applies the predictions to the population of Dubai, without any adjustment for local conditions. It is intended to help stakeholders to discuss the scale of the issue locally. Method: Applying the above rates of postnatal depression prevalence (10%–15%) to the number of total live births in Dubai 2014. Setting: Birth registry for Dubai 2011/14. Key findings: it is estimated there would be approximately 2,928–4,392 mothers suffering from postnatal depression in 2014 of which 858–1,287 were nationals and 2,070–3,105 were non–nationals. These figures are likely to fluctuate depending on the number of mothers who have twin births, and these estimates of the level of postnatal depression do not take into account related factors such as the age of the mother and education. Recommendations: To establish mother-infant psychiatric care to target women suffering from depression during pregnancy and puerperium.

Keywords: post natal depression, women, mental health, birth

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: A. Abiodun, G. George, B. Longo-Mbenza, E. Blanco-Blanco

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Objective: To determine the prevalence and determinants of iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnant Xhosa women practising geophagia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant Xhosa women from rural areas of Mthatha, South Africa, according to socio-demographic, geophagia, haematologic and iron metabolism profiles using univariate and multivariate analyses. Anaemia was defined by haemoglobin <11 g/dL and iron deficiency was defined by serum ferritin < 12 ug/L. Results: Out of 210 pregnant women (mean age =23±5.3 for geophagic and 25.6±5.3 for non-geophagic), 51.4% (n = 108) had iron deficiency anaemia (50.9% geophagic and 49.1% non-geophagic). After adjusting for confounders, only geophagia (OR=2.1 95% CI 1.1-4.2; P=0.029) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration categories (< 30.5 g/dL with OR=16.6 95% CI 6.8-40.2; P < 0.0001; 30.5-31.5 g/dL with OR=2.9 95% CI 1.4-6.1; P=0.006; and ≥ 31.5 g/dL with OR=1) were identified as the most important significant and independent determinants of iron deficiency anaemia. Conclusion: The study results point to the potential harm geophagia can cause in pregnant women. The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia is unacceptably high. Geophagic behaviour, low MCHC presented as particular risk factors of iron deficiency anaemia in this study. Education and counselling about appropriate diet during pregnancy and prevention of geophagic behaviour (and health consequences) are needed among pregnant Xhosa women.

Keywords: geophagia, pregnancy, iron deficiency anaemia, Xhosa

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Authors: Jessie Fazel, Kristen Smith

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Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry that affects 24.9 million people around the world. There are several different types of trafficking, the most common being sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and domestic servitude. Survival sex is common in the pediatric population, as they engage in sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic needs. Statistics show that health care workers are at a unique advantage to help identify victims and get them the help they need, as 88% of trafficked victims encounter a health care worker while being trafficked. Unfortunately, victims don’t usually self-identify that they are being trafficked and the situations they face can vary dramatically. It is imperative to remember that traditional red flags are not always present in the pediatric population. Risk factors and red flags with their history and physical exam are one of the best indicators that health care providers need to be vigilant in looking at. There are numerous barriers for disclosure in the healthcare setting. Periods of time before and after disclosure are often emotionally difficult and could be dangerous for the victim. It is extremely important to have a plan in place for intervention if the victim does disclose trafficking. A trauma informed approach to medical and mental health interventions, that focus on safety, are vital in this population. This is happening where you live and you can make a difference in their lives.

Keywords: human trafficking, public health, emergency medicine, sexual health

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Authors: S. Vavias, T. R. Brewer, T. S. Farewell

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Coastal floods have been identified as an important natural hazard that can cause significant damage to the populated built-up areas, related infrastructure and also ecosystems and habitats. This study attempts to fill the gap associated with the development of preliminary assessments of coastal flood vulnerability for compliance with the EU Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks (2007/60/EC). In this context, a methodology has been created by taking into account three major parameters; the maximum wave run-up modelled from historical weather observations, the highest tide according to historic time series, and the sea level rise projections due to climate change. A high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) derived from LIDAR data has been used to integrate the estimated flood events in a GIS environment. The flood vulnerability map created shows potential risk areas and can play a crucial role in the coastal zone planning process. The proposed method has the potential to be a powerful tool for policy and decision makers for spatial planning and strategic management.

Keywords: coastal floods, vulnerability mapping, climate change, extreme weather events

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Authors: Utsamani Cintyamena, Sandra Frans Olivia, Shita Lisyadewi, Ariane Utomo

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Family planning is one of fundamental aspects in preventing maternal morbidity and mortality. However, the prevalence rate of Indonesia’s married women in choosing contraception is low. This study purpose to assess opportunities and challenges in family planning. Methodology: We conducted a qualitative study in Banyumas District which has huge reduction of maternal mortality rate from 2013 to 2015. Four focus group discussions and four small group discussions were conducted to assess knowledge and attitude of women in using contraceptive and their method of choice, as well as in-depth interview to four health workers and two family planning field officers as triangulation. Thematic content analysis was done manually. Results: Key themes emerge across interviews including (1) first choice of contraception is the one that they previously had, provided that they did not encountered problems with it, (2) rumor and fear of side effect affected their method of choice, (3) selection of contraceptive method was influenced by approval of husband, believes, and role model in community. Conclusion: Collaboration of health worker, family planning field officers, community, as well as support from stakeholder, must be increased to socializing family planning.

Keywords: attitude, challenge, chance, family planning, knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Kathryn H. Yull, Lina T. Al Kury, Frank Christopher Howarth

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Cardiovascular diseases are frequently reported in patients with Type-1 Diabetes mellitus (DM). In addition to changes in cardiac muscle inotropy, electrical abnormalities are also commonly observed in these patients. In the present study, using streptozotocin (STZ) rat model of Type-1 DM, we have characterized the changes in L-type calcium channel activity in single atrioventricular nodal (AVN) myocytes. Ionic currents were recorded from AVN myocytes isolated from the hearts of control rats and from those with STZ-induced diabetes. Patch-clamp recordings were used to assess changes in cellular electrical activity in individual myocytes. Type-1 DM significantly altered the cellular characteristics of L-type calcium current (ICaL). A reduction in peak ICaL density was observed, with no corresponding changes in the activation parameters of the current. ICaL also exhibited faster time-dependent inactivation in AVN myocytes from diabetic rats. A negative shift in the voltage dependence of inactivation was also evident. These findings demonstrate that experimentally–induced type-1 DM significantly alters AVN L-type calcium channel cellular electrophysiology. The changes in ion channel activity may underlie the abnormalities in the cardiac electrical function that contribute to the high mortality levels in patients with DM.

Keywords: cardiac, ion-channel, diabetes, atrioventricular node, calcium channel

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Authors: Abdullah AlGhazali, Richard Fairchild, Yilmaz Guney

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We examine the effect of managerial overconfidence on UK firms’ payout policy for the period 2000 to 2012. The analysis incorporates, in addition to common firm-specific factors, a wide range of corporate governance factors and managerial characteristics that have been documented to affect the relationship between overconfidence and payout policy. Our results are robust to several estimation considerations. The findings show that the influence of overconfident CEOs on the amount of, and the propensity to pay, dividends is significant within the UK context. Specifically, we detect that there is a reduction in dividend payments in firms managed by overconfident managers compared to their non-overconfident counterparts. Moreover, we affirm that cash flows, firm size and profitability are positively correlated, while leverage, firm growth and investment are negatively correlated with the amount of and propensity to pay dividends. Interestingly, we demonstrate that firms with the potential for undervaluation reduce dividend payments. Some of the corporate governance factors are shown to motivate firms to pay more dividends while these factors seem to have no influence on the propensity to pay dividends. The results also show that in general higher overconfidence leads to more share repurchases but the lower total payout. Overall, managerial overconfidence should be considered as an important factor influencing payout policy in addition to other known factors.

Keywords: dividends, repurchases, UK firms, overconfidence, corporate governance, undervaluation

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Authors: Anurakti Shukla, Sudhakar Srivastava

Abstract:

Cyanobacteria are known for rapid growth rates, high biomass, and the ability to accumulate potentially toxic elements and contaminants. The present work was planned to develop a low-cost, feasible prototype, CyanoClean, for the growth of a cyanobacterial consortium for the removal of arsenic (As) from water. The cyanobacterial consortium consisting of Oscillatoria, Phormidiumand Gloeotrichiawas used, and the conditions for optimal growth of the consortium were standardized. A pH of 7.6, initial cyanobacterial biomass of 10 g/L, and arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] concentration of 400 μΜand 600 μM, respectively, were found to be suitable. The CyanoClean prototype was designed with acrylic sheet and had arrangements for optimal cyanobacterial growth in natural sunlight and also in artificial light. The As removal experiments in concentration- and duration-dependent manner demonstrated removal of up to 39-69% and 9-33% As respectively from As(III) and As(V)-contaminated water. In field testing of CyanoClean, natural As-contaminated groundwater was used, and As reduction was monitored when a flow rate of 3 L/h was maintained. In a field experiment, As concentration in groundwater was found to reduce from 102.43 μg L⁻¹ to <10 μg L⁻¹ after 6 h in natural sunlight. However, in shaded conditions under artificial light, the same result was achieved after 9 h. The CyanoClean prototype is of simple design and can be easily up-scaled for application at a small- to medium-size land and shall be affordable even for a low- to middle-income group farmer.

Keywords: cyanoclean, gloeotrichia, oscillatoria, phormidium, phycoremediation

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Authors: Endalamaw Ewnu Kassa, Ade Kurniawan, Ya-Fen Wu, Sajal Biring

Abstract:

Perovskite-based gas sensors represent a highly promising materials within the realm of gas sensing technology, with a particular focus on detecting ammonia (NH3) due to its potential hazards. Our work conducted thorough comparison of various solvents, including dimethylformamide (DMF), DMF-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMAC), and DMAC-DMSO, for the preparation of our perovskite solution (MAPbI3). Significantly, we achieved an exceptional response at 10 ppm of ammonia gas by employing a binary solvent mixture of DMAC-DMSO. In contrast to prior reports that relied on single solvents for MAPbI3 precursor preparation, our approach using mixed solvents demonstrated a marked improvement in gas sensing performance. We attained enhanced surface coverage, a reduction in pinhole occurrences, and precise control over grain size in our perovskite films through the careful selection and mixtures of appropriate solvents. This study shows a promising potential of employing binary and multi-solvent mixture strategies as a means to propel advancements in gas sensor technology, opening up new opportunities for practical applications in environmental monitoring and industrial safety.

Keywords: sensors, binary solvents, ammonia, sensitivity, grain size, pinholes, surface coverage

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Authors: Aswin V. J., Sreeja S., R. Harikumar

Abstract:

Ship collision is one of the major concerns while navigating in the ocean. In congested sea routes where there are hectic offshore operations, ships are often forced to take close encounter maneuvers. Maritime rules for preventing collision at sea are defined in the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea. Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) are traffic management route systems ruled by International Maritime Organization (IMO), where the traffic lanes indicate the general direction of traffic flow. The Rule 10 of International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea prescribes the conduct of vessels while navigating through TSS. But no quantitative criteria regarding the procedures to detect and evaluate collision risk is specified in International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea. Most of the accidents that occur are due to operational errors affected by human factors such as lack of experience and loss of situational awareness. In open waters, the traffic density is less when compared to that in TSS, and hence the vessels can be operated in autopilot mode. A collision avoidance method that uses the possible obstacle trajectories in advance to predict “collision occurrence” and can generate suitable maneuvers for collision avoidance is presented in this paper. The suitable course and propulsion changes that can be used in a TSS considering International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea are found out for various obstacle scenarios.

Keywords: collision avoidance, maneuvers, obstacle trajectories, traffic separation scheme

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Authors: Kinga Wieczorek, Elzbieta Kukier, Remigiusz Pomykala, Beata Lachtara, Renata Szewczyk, Krzysztof Kwiatek, Jacek Osek

Abstract:

The MICRORISK project (Research cooperation in assessment of microbiological hazard and risk in the food chain) was funded by the European Commission under the FP7 PEOPLE 2012 IRSES call within the International Research Staff Exchange Scheme of Marie Curie Action and realized during years from 2014 to 2015. The main aim of the project was to establish a cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the third State in the area important from the public health point of view. The following organizations have been engaged in the activity: National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) in Pulawy, Poland (coordinator), French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) in Maisons Alfort, France, National Scientific Center Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine (NSC IECVM), Kharkov and State Scientific and Research Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise (SSRILDVSE) Kijev Ukraine. The results of the project showed that Ukraine used microbiological criteria in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. Compliance concerns both the criteria applicable at the stage of food safety (retail trade), as well as evaluation criteria and process hygiene in food production. In this case, the Ukrainian legislation also provides application of the criteria that do not have counterparts in the food law of the European Union, and are based on the provisions of Ukrainian law. Partial coherence of the Ukrainian and EU legal requirements in terms of microbiological criteria for food and feed concerns microbiological parameters such as total plate count, coliforms, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp., including S. aureus. Analysis of laboratory methods used for microbiological hazards control in food production chain has shown that most methods used in the EU are well-known by Ukrainian partners, and many of them are routinely applied as the only standards in the laboratory practice or simultaneously used with Ukrainian methods. The area without any legislation, where the EU regulation and analytical methods should be implemented is the area of Shiga toxin producing E. coli, including E. coli O157 and staphylococcal enterotoxin detection. During the project, the analysis of the existing Ukrainian and EU data concerning the prevalence of the most important food-borne pathogens on different stages of food production chain was performed. Particularly, prevalence of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., L. monocytogenes as well as clostridia was examined. The analysis showed that poultry meat still appears to be the most important food-borne source of Campylobacter and Salmonella in the UE. On the other hand, L. monocytogenes were seldom detected above the legal safety limit (100 cfu/g) among the EU countries. Moreover, the analysis revealed the lack of comprehensive data regarding the prevalence of the most important food-borne pathogens in Ukraine. The results of the MICRORISK project are networking activities among researches originations participating in the tasks will help with a better recognition of each other regarding very important, from the public health point of view areas such as microbiological hazards in the food production chain and finally will help to improve food quality and safety for consumers.

Keywords: cooperation, European Union, food chain safety, food law, microbiological risk, Microrisk, Poland, Ukraine

Procedia PDF Downloads 361