Search results for: food waste challenge

Authors: Chi-Chang Lin, Jian-Rong Wu, Jiun-Yan Chiu

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Myopia, ubiquitous symptom that is necessary to correct the eyesight by optical lens struggles many people for their daily life. Recent years, younger people raise interesting on using contact lens because of its convenience and aesthetics. In clinical, the risk of eye infections increases owing to the behavior of incorrectly using contact lens unsupervised cleaning which raising the infection risk of cornea, named ocular keratitis. In order to overcome the identification needs, new detection or analysis method with rapid and more accurate identification for clinical microorganism is importantly needed. In our study, we take advantage of Raman spectroscopy having unique fingerprint for different functional groups as the distinct and fast examination tool on microorganism. As we know, Raman scatting signals are normally too weak for the detection, especially in biological field. Here, we applied special SERS enhancement substrates to generate higher Raman signals. SERS filter we designed in this article that prepared by deposition of silver nanoparticles directly onto cellulose filter surface and suspension nanoparticles - gold nanostars (AuNSs) also be introduced together to achieve better enhancement for lower concentration analyte (i.e., various bacteria). Research targets also focusing on studying the shape effect of synthetic AuNSs, needle-like surface morphology may possible creates more hot-spot for getting higher SERS enhance ability. We utilized new designed SERS technology to distinguish the bacteria from ocular keratitis under strain level, and specific Raman and SERS fingerprint were grouped under pattern recognition process. We reported a new method combined different SERS substrates can be applied for clinical microorganism detection under strain level with simple, rapid preparation and low cost. Our presenting SERS technology not only shows the great potential for clinical bacteria detection but also can be used for environmental pollution and food safety analysis.

Keywords: bacteria, gold nanostars, Raman spectroscopy surface-enhanced Raman scattering filter

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Authors: Ben Otange, Wolfgang Parak, Florian Schulz, Michael Alexander Rubhausen

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The feasibility of extending the usage of molecular imprinting technique in complex biomolecules is demonstrated in this research. This technique is promising in diverse applications in areas such as drug delivery, diagnosis of diseases, catalysts, and impurities detection as well as treatment of various complications. While molecularly imprinted polymers MIP remain robust in the synthesis of molecules with remarkable binding sites that have high affinities to specific molecules of interest, extending the usage to complex biomolecules remains futile. This work reports on the successful synthesis of MIP from complex proteins: BSA, Transferrin, and MUC1. We show in this research that despite the heterogeneous binding sites and higher conformational flexibility of the chosen proteins, relying on their respective epitopes and motifs rather than the whole template produces highly sensitive and selective MIPs for specific molecular binding. Introduction: Proteins are vital in most biological processes, ranging from cell structure and structural integrity to complex functions such as transport and immunity in biological systems. Unlike other imprinting templates, proteins have heterogeneous binding sites in their complex long-chain structure, which makes their imprinting to be marred by challenges. In addressing this challenge, our attention is inclined toward the targeted delivery, which will use molecular imprinting on the particle surface so that these particles may recognize overexpressed proteins on the target cells. Our goal is thus to make surfaces of nanoparticles that specifically bind to the target cells. Results and Discussions: Using epitopes of BSA and MUC1 proteins and motifs with conserved receptors of transferrin as the respective templates for MIPs, significant improvement in the MIP sensitivity to the binding of complex protein templates was noted. Through the Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy FCS measurements on the size of protein corona after incubation of the synthesized nanoparticles with proteins, we noted a high affinity of MIPs to the binding of their respective complex proteins. In addition, quantitative analysis of hard corona using SDS-PAGE showed that only a specific protein was strongly bound on the respective MIPs when incubated with similar concentrations of the protein mixture. Conclusion: Our findings have shown that the merits of MIPs can be extended to complex molecules of higher biomolecular mass. As such, the unique merits of the technique, including high sensitivity and selectivity, relative ease of synthesis, production of materials with higher physical robustness, and higher stability, can be extended to more templates that were previously not suitable candidates despite their abundance and usage within the body.

Keywords: molecularly imprinted polymers, specific binding, drug delivery, high biomolecular mass-templates

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Authors: Bastien Sanglard, Simon Cayez, Guillaume Viau, Thomas Blon, Julian Carrey, Sébastien Lachaize

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The need to develop clean production processes is a key challenge of any industry. Steel and iron industries are particularly concerned since they emit 6.8% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. One key step of the process is the high-temperature reduction of iron ore using coke, leading to large amounts of CO2 emissions. One route to decrease impacts is to get rid of fossil fuels by changing both the heat source and the reducer. The present work aims at investigating experimentally the possibility to use concentrated solar energy and carbon-free reducing agents. Two sets of experimentations were realized. First, in situ X-ray diffraction on pure and industrial powder of hematite was realized to study the phase evolution as a function of temperature during reduction under hydrogen and ammonia. Secondly, experiments were performed on industrial iron ore pellets, which were reduced by NH3 or H2 into a “solar furnace” composed of a controllable 1600W Xenon lamp to simulate and control the solar concentrated irradiation of a glass reactor and of a diaphragm to control light flux. Temperature and pressure were recorded during each experiment via thermocouples and pressure sensors. The percentage of iron oxide converted to iron (called thereafter “reduction ratio”) was found through Rietveld refinement. The power of the light source and the reduction time were varied. Results obtained in the diffractometer reaction chamber show that iron begins to form at 300°C with pure Fe2O3 powder and 400°C with industrial iron ore when maintained at this temperature for 60 minutes and 80 minutes, respectively. Magnetite and wuestite are detected on both powders during the reduction under hydrogen; under ammonia, iron nitride is also detected for temperatures between400°C and 600°C. All the iron oxide was converted to iron for a reaction of 60 min at 500°C, whereas a conversion ratio of 96% was reached with industrial powder for a reaction of 240 min at 600°C under hydrogen. Under ammonia, full conversion was also reached after 240 min of reduction at 600 °C. For experimentations into the solar furnace with iron ore pellets, the lamp power and the shutter opening were varied. An 83.2% conversion ratio was obtained with a light power of 67 W/cm2 without turning over the pellets. Nevertheless, under the same conditions, turning over the pellets in the middle of the experiment permits to reach a conversion ratio of 86.4%. A reduction ratio of 95% was reached with an exposure of 16 min by turning over pellets at half time with a flux of 169W/cm2. Similar or slightly better results were obtained under an ammonia reducing atmosphere. Under the same flux, the highest reduction yield of 97.3% was obtained under ammonia after 28 minutes of exposure. The chemical reaction itself, including the solar heat source, does not produce any greenhouse gases, so solar metallurgy represents a serious way to reduce greenhouse gas emission of metallurgy industry. Nevertheless, the ecological impact of the reducers must be investigated, which will be done in future work.

Keywords: solar concentration, metallurgy, ammonia, hydrogen, sustainability

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Authors: Jeffrey A. Humenik

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Environmental, Limited Liability Corporation (EMR) provided civil construction services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, for the placement of a protective riprap blanket on the west bank of the Smoky Hill River, construction of 2 shore abutments and the construction of a 140 foot long sill wall spanning the Smoky Hill River in Salina, Kansas. The purpose of the project was to protect the riverbank from erosion and hold back water to a specified elevation, creating a pool to ensure adequate water intake for the municipal water supply. Geotextile matting and riprap were installed for streambank erosion protection. An inflatable bladder (AquaDam®) was designed to the specific river dimension and installed to divert the river and allow for dewatering during the construction of the sill walls and cofferdam. AquaDam® consists of water filled polyethylene tubes to create aqua barriers and divert water flow or prevent flooding. A challenge of the project was the fact that 100% of the sill wall was constructed within an active river channel. The threat of flooding of the work area, damage to the aqua dam by debris, and potential difficulty of water removal presented a unique set of challenges to the construction team. Upon completion of the West Sill Wall, floating debris punctured the AquaDam®. The manufacturing and delivery of a new AquaDam® would delay project completion by at least 6 weeks. To keep the project ahead of schedule, the decision was made to construct an earthen cofferdam reinforced with rip rap for the construction of the East Abutment and East Sill Wall section. During construction of the west sill wall section, a deep scour hole was encountered in the wall alignment that prevented EMR from using the natural rock formation as a concrete form for the lower section of the sill wall. A formwork system was constructed, that allowed the west sill wall section to be placed in two horizontal lifts of concrete poured on separate occasions. The first sectional lift was poured to fill in the scour hole and act as a footing for the second sectional lift. Concrete wall forms were set on the first lift and anchored to the surrounding riverbed in a manner that the second lift was poured in a similar fashion as a basement wall. EMR’s timely decision to keep the project moving toward completion in the face of changing conditions enabled project completion two (2) months ahead of schedule. The use of inflatable bladders is an effective and cost-efficient technology to divert river flow during construction. However, a secondary plan should be part of project design in the event debris transported by river punctures or damages the bladders.

Keywords: abutment, AquaDam®, riverbed, scour

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Authors: Farnaz Jafari

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The surge in mass timber construction represents a pivotal moment in sustainable building practices, yet the lack of comprehensive education in construction management poses a challenge in harnessing this innovation effectively. This research endeavors to bridge this gap by developing a curriculum framework integrating mass timber construction into undergraduate and industry certificate programs. To optimize learning outcomes, the study explores the impact of two prototype formats -Virtual Reality (VR) simulations and physical mock-ups- on students' understanding and skill development. The curriculum framework aims to equip future construction managers with a holistic understanding of mass timber, covering its unique properties, construction methods, building codes, and sustainable advantages. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, commencing with a systematic literature review and leveraging surveys and interviews with educators and industry professionals to identify existing educational gaps. The iterative development process involves incorporating stakeholder feedback into the curriculum. The evaluation of prototype impact employs pre- and post-tests administered to participants engaged in pilot programs. Through qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistical methods, the study seeks to compare the effectiveness of VR simulations and physical mock-ups in conveying knowledge and skills related to mass timber construction. The anticipated findings will illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, providing insights for future curriculum development. The curriculum's expected contribution to sustainable construction education lies in its emphasis on practical application, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills. The research also seeks to establish a standard for mass timber construction education, contributing to the field through a unique comparative analysis of VR simulations and physical mock-ups. The study's significance extends to the development of best practices and evidence-based recommendations for integrating technology and hands-on experiences in construction education. By addressing current educational gaps and offering a comparative analysis, this research aims to enrich the construction management education experience and pave the way for broader adoption of sustainable practices in the industry. The envisioned curriculum framework is designed for versatile integration, catering to undergraduate programs and industry training modules, thereby enhancing the educational landscape for aspiring construction professionals. Ultimately, this study underscores the importance of proactive educational strategies in preparing industry professionals for the evolving demands of the construction landscape, facilitating a seamless transition towards sustainable building practices.

Keywords: curriculum framework, mass timber construction, physical vs. virtual prototypes, sustainable building practices

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Authors: Carla Teixeira, Diana Azevedo, Jonatas Bessa, Maria Guilam

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The flipped classroom is a blended learning modality that combines face-to-face and virtual activities of self-learning, mediated by digital information and communication technologies, which reverses traditional teaching approaches and presents, as a presupposition, the previous study of contents by students. In the following face-to-face activities, the contents are discussed, producing active learning. This work aims to describe the systematization process of the use of flipped classrooms as a method to develop complementary national activities in PROFSAÚDE, a professional master's program in the area of public health, offered as a distance learning course, in the network, in Brazil. The complementary national activities were organized with the objective of strengthening and qualifying students´ learning process. The network gathers twenty-two public institutions of higher education in the country. Its national coordination conducted a survey to detect complementary educational needs, supposed to improve the formative process and align important content sums for the program nationally. The activities were organized both asynchronously, making study materials available in Google classrooms, and synchronously in a tele presential way, organized on virtual platforms to reach the largest number of students in the country. The asynchronous activities allowed each student to study at their own pace and the synchronous activities were intended for deepening and reflecting on the themes. The national team identified some professors' areas of expertise, who were contacted for the production of audiovisual content such as video classes and podcasts, guidance for supporting bibliographic materials and also to conduct synchronous activities together with the technical team. The contents posted in the virtual classroom were organized by modules and made available before the synchronous meeting; these modules, in turn, contain “pills of experience” that correspond to reports of teachers' experiences in relation to the different themes. In addition, activity was proposed, with questions aimed to expose doubts about the contents and a learning challenge, as a practical exercise. Synchronous activities are built with different invited teachers, based on the participants 'discussions, and are the forum where teachers can answer students' questions, providing feedback on the learning process. At the end of each complementary activity, an evaluation questionnaire is available. The responses analyses show that this institutional network experience, as pedagogical innovation, provides important tools to support teaching and research due to its potential in the participatory construction of learning, optimization of resources, the democratization of knowledge and sharing and strengthening of practical experiences on the network. One of its relevant aspects was the thematic diversity addressed through this method.

Keywords: active learning, flipped classroom, network education experience, pedagogic innovation

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Authors: Sherif Fakher

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Hydrogen has been gaining a lot of global attention as an uprising contributor in the energy sector. Labeled as an energy carrier, hydrogen is used in many industries and can be used to generate electricity via fuel cells. Blue hydrogen involves the production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons using different processes that emit CO₂. However, the CO₂ is captured and stored. Hence, very little environmental damage occurs during the hydrogen production process. This research investigates the ability to use different catalysts for the production of hydrogen from different hydrocarbon sources, including coal, oil, and gas, using a two-step Aquathermolysis reaction. The research presents the results of experiments conducted to evaluate different catalysts and also highlights the main advantages of this process over other blue hydrogen production methods, including methane steam reforming, autothermal reforming, and oxidation. Two methods of hydrogen generation were investigated including partial oxidation and aquathermolysis. For those two reactions, the reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and medium were all investigated. Following this, experiments were conducted to test the hydrogen generation potential from both methods. The porous media tested were sandstone, ash, and prozzolanic material. The spent oils used were spent motor oil and spent vegetable oil from cooking. Experiments were conducted at temperatures up to 250 C and pressures up to 3000 psi. Based on the experimental results, mathematical models were developed to predict the hydrogen generation potential at higher thermodynamic conditions. Since both partial oxidation and aquathermolysis require relatively high temperatures to undergo, it was important to devise a method by which these high temperatures can be generated at a low cost. This was done by investigating two factors, including the porous media used and the reliance on the spent oil. Of all the porous media used, the ash had the highest thermal conductivity. The second step was the partial combustion of part of the spent oil to generate the heat needed to reach the high temperatures. This reduced the cost of the heat generation significantly. For the partial oxidation reaction, the spent oil was burned in the presence of a limited oxygen concentration to generate carbon monoxide. The main drawback of this process was the need for burning. This resulted in the generation of other harmful and environmentally damaging gases. Aquathermolysis does not rely on burning, which makes it the cleaner alternative. However, it needs much higher temperatures to run the reaction. When comparing the hydrogen generation potential for both using gas chromatography, aquathermolysis generated 23% more hydrogen using the same volume of spent oil compared to partial oxidation. This research introduces the concept of using spent oil for hydrogen production. This can be a very promising method to produce a clean source of energy using a waste product. This can also help reduce the reliance on freshwater for hydrogen generation which can divert the usage of freshwater to other more important applications.

Keywords: blue hydrogen production, catalytic aquathermolysis, direct carbon dioxide capture, CCUS

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Authors: Malik Sajjad Mehmood, Aisha Ali, Hamna Khan, Tariq Yasin, Masroor Ikram

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Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is one of the polymers belongs to polyethylene (PE) family having monomer –CH2– and average molecular weight is approximately 3-6 million g/mol. Due its chemical, mechanical, physical and biocompatible properties, it has been extensively used in the field of electrical insulation, medicine, orthopedic, microelectronics, engineering, chemistry and the food industry etc. In order to alter/modify the properties of UHMWPE for particular application of interest, certain various procedures are in practice e.g. treating the material with high energy irradiations like gamma ray, e-beam, and ion bombardment. Radiation treatment of UHMWPE induces free radicals within its matrix, and these free radicals are the precursors of chain scission, chain accumulation, formation of double bonds, molecular emission, crosslinking etc. All the aforementioned physical and chemical processes are mainly responsible for the modification of polymers properties to use them in any particular application of our interest e.g. to fabricate LEDs, optical sensors, antireflective coatings, polymeric optical fibers, and most importantly for radiation dosimetry applications. It is therefore, to check the feasibility of using UHMWPE for radiation dosimetery applications, the compressed sheets of UHMWPE were irradiated at room temperature (~25°C) for total dose values of 30 kGy and 100 kGy, respectively while one were kept un-irradiated as reference. Transmittance data (from 400 nm to 800 nm) of e-beam irradiated UHMWPE and its hybrids were measured by using Muller matrix spectro-polarimeter. As a result significant changes occur in the absorption behavior of irradiated samples. To analyze these (radiation induced) changes in polymer matrix Urbach edge method and modified Tauc’s equation has been used. The results reveal that optical activation energy decreases with irradiation. The values of activation energies are 2.85 meV, 2.48 meV, and 2.40 meV for control, 30 kGy, and 100 kGy samples, respectively. Direct and indirect energy band gaps were also found to decrease with irradiation due to variation of C=C unsaturation in clusters. We believe that the reported results would open new horizons for radiation dosimetery applications.

Keywords: electron beam, radiation dosimetry, Tauc’s equation, UHMWPE, Urbach method

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Fakunle Egbo, Kammalchukwu A., Akinremi T.

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Physical activity and nutritional status influence the health status and cognition of young adults. Lack of physical activity increases the likelihood of developing obesity which leads to the risk of heart diseases and other risk factors like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes etc. The study employed a cross-sectional study design. The study used a multi stage sampling technique multi- stage sampling technique; Purposive, for the selection of colleges that would be used, stratified random sampling for stratifying the colleges into departments and the simple random sampling for the selection of each respondent from the departments. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain data from the respondents and pre-tested anthropometric instruments were used to get the weight and height of the respondents and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 and the TDA (Total dietary allowance) software which was used to analyze the nutrient intake of the respondents. This study showed that they comprised of 50.1% males and 40.9% females. Slightly above average 51.8% were between ages of 15-19 with mean age being 19.57 years; ages 20-24 were slightly below average at 45.7%. The male students 58.7% had vigorous physical activity, whereas majority of females 76.5% had light physical activity level. 39.1% of the male students carried out physical activity 2-3 times per week while One third of the female students (38.3%) carried out physical activity 6-7 times per week. Majority of the respondents had Inadequate Protein- 63.8%, Carbohydrate- 60.2%, and Dietary fiber- 88.8. 36% eat rice 4-6 times per week. Majority of the respondents had inadequate fruit and vegetables (Efo, Banana,) at 47.7%, 40.6% respectively. Using Body mass index, (63.2%) have normal weight. 22.9% are overweight, 6.8% are underweight, 5.4% have grade 1 obesity and 1.6% have grade II obesity. There was a statistically significant association between the physical activity of the respondents with their nutritional status (p=0.037), physical activity and sex (p=0.000), nutritional status and amount spent on food daily (p=0.007). The study concluded that the physical activity level of the respondents, most especially the females were low; One third of the students were malnourished therefore, there should be an urgent need for improving the overall health status of students by providing the students with well-equipped gyms and other sporting equipment’s that would make them participate actively and keep fit.

Keywords: physical activity, nutritional status, undergraduates, dietary pattern

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Getaneh Berie Tarekegn, Li-Chia Tai

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With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, low-power built-in sensors on Internet of Things devices, and communication technologies, location-aware services have become increasingly popular and have permeated every aspect of people’s lives. Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) are the default method of providing continuous positioning services for ground and aerial vehicles, as well as consumer devices (smartphones, watches, notepads, etc.). However, the environment affects satellite positioning systems, particularly indoors, in dense urban and suburban cities enclosed by skyscrapers, or when deep shadows obscure satellite signals. This is because (1) indoor environments are more complicated due to the presence of many objects surrounding them; (2) reflection within the building is highly dependent on the surrounding environment, including the positions of objects and human activity; and (3) satellite signals cannot be reached in an indoor environment, and GNSS doesn't have enough power to penetrate building walls. GPS is also highly power-hungry, which poses a severe challenge for battery-powered IoT devices. Due to these challenges, IoT applications are limited. Consequently, precise, seamless, and ubiquitous Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems are crucial for many artificial intelligence Internet of Things (AI-IoT) applications in the era of smart cities. Their applications include traffic monitoring, emergency alarming, environmental monitoring, location-based advertising, intelligent transportation, and smart health care. This paper proposes a generative AI-based positioning scheme for large-scale wireless settings using fingerprinting techniques. In this article, we presented a novel semi-supervised deep convolutional generative adversarial network (S-DCGAN)-based radio map construction method for real-time device localization. We also employed a reliable signal fingerprint feature extraction method with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), which extracts dominant features while eliminating noise from hybrid WLAN and long-term evolution (LTE) fingerprints. The proposed scheme reduced the workload of site surveying required to build the fingerprint database by up to 78.5% and significantly improved positioning accuracy. The results show that the average positioning error of GAILoc is less than 0.39 m, and more than 90% of the errors are less than 0.82 m. According to numerical results, SRCLoc improves positioning performance and reduces radio map construction costs significantly compared to traditional methods.

Keywords: location-aware services, feature extraction technique, generative adversarial network, long short-term memory, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: Sajad A. Rather, F. A. Masoodi, Rehana Akhter, S. M. Wani, Adil Gani

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Modern trend towards convenience foods has resulted in increased production and consumption of restructured meat products and are of great importance to the meat industry. In meat products fat plays an important role in cooking properties, texture & sensory scores, however, high fat contents in particular animal fats provide high amounts of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol and are associated with several types of non communicable diseases such as obesity, hypertension and coronary heart diseases. Thus, fat reduction has generally been seen as an important strategy to produce healthier meat products. This study examined the effects of reducing fat level from 20% to 10% and substituting mutton back fat with guar gum (0.5%, 1% & 1.5%) on cooking properties, proximate composition, lipid and protein oxidation, texture, microstructure and sensory characteristics of goshtaba- a traditional meat product of J & K, India were investigated and compared with high fat counterparts. Reduced- fat goshtaba samples containing guar gum had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher yield, less shrinkage, more moisture retention and more protein content than the control sample. TBARs and protein oxidation (carbonyl content) values of the control was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than reduced fat goshtaba samples and showed a positive correlation between lipid and protein oxidation. Hardness, gumminess & chewiness of the control (20%) were significantly higher than reduced fat goshtaba samples. Microstructural differences were significant (p ≤ 0.05) between control and treated samples due to an increased moisture content in the reduced fat samples. Sensory evaluation showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction in texture, flavour and overall acceptability scores of treatment products; however the scores for 0.5% and 1% treated samples were in the range of acceptability. Guar gum may also be used as a source of soluble dietary fibre in food products and a number of clinical studies have shown a reduction in postprandial glycemia and insulinemia on consumption of guar gum, with the mechanism being attributed to an increased transit time in the stomach and small intestine, which may have been due to the viscosity of the meal hindering the access of glucose to the epithelium.

Keywords: goshtaba, guar gum, traditional, fat reduction, acceptability

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Authors: Sintayehu W. Dejene

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An ecological and biodiversity conservation study on species composition, population status and habitat association of large mammals and the impact of human interference on their distribution was carried out in Awash National Park, Ethiopia during October, 2012 to July, 2013. A total of 25 species of large mammals were recorded from the study area. Representative sample sites were taken from each habitat type and surveyed using random line transect method. For medium and large mammal survey, indirect methods (foot print and dung) and direct observations were used. Twenty three species of medium to large-sized mammals were identified and recorded from ANP. A total of 25 species of median and large size mammals were recorded from the study area. Out of this, 20 species were rodents of three families and five species were insectivores of two families. Beisa Oryx (Oryx beisa beisa),Soemmerings gazelle (Gazella soemmeringi),Defassa waterbuck (Kobus defassa), Lesser Kudu (Strepsiceros imberbis), Greater Kudu (Strepsiceros strepsiceros), Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), Baboon (Papio anubis baboon) and Salt's dikdik (Madoqua saltiana) were the most common seen median and large mammals in the study area. Beisa Oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) and Sommering Gazelles (Gazella soemmeringi) are commonly found in the open areas, where as Greater Kudus (Strepsiceros strepsiceros) and Lesser Kudus (Strepsiceros imberbis) was seen in the bushed areas. Defarsa waterbuck (Kobus defassa) was observed in the bushy river area in Northern part of the Park. Anubis baboon (Papio anubis baboon) was seen near to the river side. Hamadryas baboon founded in semi-desert areas of Awash National Park, particularly in Filwoha area. The area is one of a key biodiversity conservation and provide pure water, air, food, grazing land and storage of carbon.

Keywords: awash national park, biodiversity, ecosystem value, habitat association, large mammals, population status, species composition

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Authors: Daniel Gredig, Annabelle Bartelsen-Raemy

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Social work services offered to people living with diabetes tend to be moulded by the prevailing understanding that social work is to support people living with diabetes in their adherence to medical prescription and/or life style changes. As diabetes has been conceived as a condition facing no stigma, discrimination of people living with diabetes has not been considered. However, there is growing evidence of stigma. To our knowledge, nevertheless, there have been no comprehensive, in-depth studies of stigma and its impact. Against this background and challenging the present layout of services for people living with diabetes, the present study aimed to establish whether: -people living with diabetes in Switzerland experience stigma, and if so, in what context and to what extent; -experiencing stigma impacts the quality of life of those affected. It was hypothesized that stigma would impact on their quality of life. It was further hypothesized that low self-esteem, psychological distress, depression, and a lack of social support would be mediating factors. For data collection an anonymous paper-and-pencil self-administered questionnaire was used which drew on a qualitative elicitation study. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling. To generate a large and diverse convenience sample the questionnaire was distributed to the readers of journal destined to diabetics living in Switzerland issued in German and French. The sample included 3347 people with type 1 and 2 diabetes, aged 16–96, living in diverse living conditions in the German- and French-speaking areas of Switzerland. Respondents reported experiences of discrimination in various contexts and stereotyping based on the belief that diabetics have a low work performance; are inefficient in the workplace; inferior; weak-willed in their ability to manage health-related issues; take advantage of their condition and are viewed as pitiful or sick people. Respondents who reported higher levels of perceived stigma reported higher levels of psychological distress (β = .37), more pronounced depressive symptoms (β=.33), and less social support (β = -.22). Higher psychological distress (β = -.29) and more pronounced depressive symptoms (β = -.28), in turn, predicted lower quality of life. These research findings challenge the prevailing understanding of social work services for people living with diabetes in Switzerland and beyond. They call for a less individualistic approach, the consideration of the social context service users are placed in their everyday life, and addressing stigma. So, social work could partner with people living with diabetes in order to fight against discrimination and stereotypes. This could include identifying and designing educational and public awareness strategies. In direct social work with people living with diabetes, this could include broaching experiences of stigma and modes of coping with. This study was carried out in collaboration with the Swiss Diabetes Association. The association accepted the challenging conclusions from this study. It connected to the results and is currently discussing the priorities and courses of action to be taken.

Keywords: diabetes, discrimination, quality of life, services, stigma

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Authors: Dorith Tavor, Adi Wolfson

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In the past two decades a variety of green solvents have been proposed, including water, ionic liquids, fluorous solvents, and supercritical fluids. However, their implementation in industrial processes is still limited due to their tedious and non-sustainable synthesis, lack of experimental data and familiarity, as well as operational restrictions and high cost. Several years ago we presented, for the first time, the use of glycerol-based solvents as alternative sustainable reaction mediums in both catalytic and non-catalytic organic synthesis. Glycerol is the main by-product from the conversion of oils and fats in oleochemical production. Moreover, in the past decade, its price has substantially decreased due to an increase in supply from the production and use of fatty acid derivatives in the food, cosmetics, and drugs industries and in biofuel synthesis, i.e., biodiesel. The renewable origin, beneficial physicochemical properties and reusability of glycerol-based solvents, enabled improved product yield and selectivity as well as easy product separation and catalyst recycling. Furthermore, their high boiling point and polarity make them perfect candidates for non-conventional heating and mixing techniques such as ultrasound- and microwave-assisted reactions. Finally, in some reactions, such as catalytic transfer-hydrogenation or transesterification, they can also be used simultaneously as both solvent and reactant. In our ongoing efforts to design a viable protocol that will facilitate the acceptance of glycerol and its derivatives as sustainable solvents, pure glycerol and glycerol triacetate (triacetin) as well as various glycerol-triacetin mixtures were tested as sustainable solvents in several representative organic reactions, such as nucleophilic substitution of benzyl chloride to benzyl acetate, Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of iodobenzene and phenylboronic acid, baker’s yeast reduction of ketones, and transfer hydrogenation of olefins. It was found that reaction performance was affected by the glycerol to triacetin ratio, as the solubility of the substrates in the solvent determined product yield. Thereby, employing optimal glycerol to triacetin ratio resulted in maximum product yield. In addition, using glycerol-based solvents enabled easy and successful separation of the products and recycling of the catalysts.

Keywords: glycerol, green chemistry, sustainability, catalysis

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Authors: Juariah Salam Suryadi

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North coast (Pantura) line is known as a high-risk area related to reproductive health. This is because along the line, there are many food stalls and entertainment industries that at night the function changed to be sexual transaction areas. This business line also facilitate circulation and transaction of drug and substance abuse. The environment conditions can influence adolescents who live in this area. It is because of adolescence characteristics that has high curiosity and looking for their identities. Therefore, purposes of this study were to explore reproductive health behaviour of early adolescents who lived in Pantura line and to suggest intervention based on the adolescents reproductive health conditions. This study was conducted in November 2016 among the seventh-grade students of Pusakajaya Junior High School 1 and 2, Subang District. Number of respondents were 269 students (Male=135, Female=134). The students were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Some teachers also interviewed to complement the data. The quantitative data was analyzed with univariate analysis, while content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Findings of this study showed that 85,2% of male students were smoker. Most of them started smoking at elementary school. Male students who often drunk alcohol were about 25,2% and all of them initiated to drink at elementary school. There were about 21,5% of male students ever used drug and substance abuse. There were 54,6% of the students that confessed having a lover. Most of them were female students. Sexual behaviour that ever done with their lovers were: holding hands (37,4%), kissing (4%) and embracing (6,8%). Although all of the students claimed to have never had sexual intercourse, but 5,9% of them said that they had friends who have had sexual intercourse. Most of the students also had friends with negative characteristics. Their friends were smoker (82,2%), drinker (53,2%) and drug abuse (42%). Most of the students recognized that they took the risks behaviour to get pleasure with their peers. Information from the teachers indicated that most problem of male students were smoking and drug and substance abuse; while sexuality including unwanted pregnancies were reproductive problems of many female students. Therefore, It is recommended to enhance understanding of the adolescents about risks of unhealthy behaviour through continuing reproductive health education, both in school and out of school. Policy support to create positive social environment and adolescents friendly is also suggested.

Keywords: reproductive health, behaviour, early adolescents, pantura line

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Rajender Lal, Seema Kaushik

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The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. Its 20th edition took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, which was won by Germany. The World Cup is the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games; the cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet. General-interest newspapers typically publish news articles and feature articles on national and international news as well as local news. The news includes political events and personalities, business and finance, crime, severe weather, and natural disasters; health and medicine, science, and technology; sports; and entertainment, society, food and cooking, clothing and home fashion, and the arts. It became curiosity to investigate that how much coverage is given to this most widely viewed international event as compared to other sports in India. Hence, the present study was conducted with the aim of examining the comparative coverage of FIFA World Cup 2014 and other sports in the four leading Newspapers of India including Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Times of India, and The Tribune. Specific objectives were to measure the source of news, type of news items and the placement of news related to FIFA World Cup and other sports. Representative sample of ten editions each of the four English dailies was chosen for the purpose of the study. The analysis was based on the actual scanning of data from the representative sample of the dailies for the period of the competition. It can be concluded from the analysis that this event was given maximum coverage by the Hindustan Times while other sports were equally covered by The Hindu.

Keywords: coverage analysis, FIFA World Cup 2014, Hindustan Times, the Hindu, The Times of India, The Tribune

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Damien Rinsant, Eugen Andreiadis, Michael Carboni, Daniel Meyer

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Different types of materials have been developed for the solid/liquid uranium extraction processes, such as functionalized organic polymers, hybrid silica or inorganic adsorbents. In general, these materials exhibit a moderate affinity for uranyl ions and poor selectivity against impurities like iron, vanadium or molybdenum. Moreover, the structural organization deficiency of these materials generates ion diffusion issues inside the material. Therefore, the aim of our study is to developed efficient and organized materials, stable in the acid media encountered in uranium extraction processes. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are hybrid crystalline materials consisting of an inorganic part (cluster or metal ions) and tailored organic linkers connected via coordination bonds. These hierarchical materials have exceptional surface area, thermal stability and a large variety of tunable structures. However, due to the reversibility of constitutive coordination bonds, MOFs have moderate stability in strongly complexing or acidic media. Only few of them are known to be stable in aqueous media and only one example is described in strong acidic media. However, these conditions are very often encountered in the environmental pollution remediation of mine wastewaters. To tackle the challenge of developing MOFs adapted for uranium extraction from acid mine waters, we have investigated the stability of several materials. To ensure a good stability we have synthetized and characterized different materials based on highly coordinated metal clusters, such as LnOFs and Zirconium based materials. Among the latter, the UiO family shows a great stability in sulfuric acid media even in the presence of 1.4 M sodium sulfate at pH 2. However, the stability in phosphoric media is reduced due to the high affinity between zirconium and phosphate ligand. Based on these results, we have developed a tertiary amine functionalized MOF denoted UiO-68-NMe2 particularly adapted for the extraction of anionic uranyl (VI) sulfate complexes mainly present in the acid mine solutions. The adsorption capacity of the material has been determined upon varying total sulfate concentration, contact time and uranium concentration. The extraction tests put in evidence different phenomena due to the complexity of the extraction media and the interaction between the MOF and sulfate anion. Finally, the extraction mechanisms and the interaction between uranyl and the MOF structure have been investigated. The functionalized material UiO-68-NMe2 has been characterized in the presence and absence of uranium by FT-IR, UV and Raman techniques. Moreover, the stability of the protonated amino functionalized MOF has been evaluated. The synthesis, characterization and evaluation of this type of hybrid material, particularly adapted for uranium extraction in sulfuric acid media by an anionic exchange mechanism, paved the way for the development of metal organic frameworks functionalized by different other chelating motifs, such as bifunctional ligands showing an enhanced affinity and selectivity for uranium in acid and complexing media. Work in this direction is currently in progress.

Keywords: extraction, MOF, ligand, uranium

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Authors: Mona Kamel Hassan

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Teaching a class of diverse learners poses a great challenge not only for foreign and second language teachers, but also for teachers in different disciplines as well as for curriculum designers. Thus, to contribute to previous research tackling language diversity, the current paper shares the experience of teaching a reading, writing and vocabulary building course to diverse Arabic as a Foreign Language learners in their advanced language proficiency level. Diversity is represented in students’ motivation, their prior knowledge, their various needs and interests, their level of anxiety, and their different learning styles and skills. While teaching this course the researcher adopted the universal design for learning (UDL) framework, which is a means to meet the various needs of diverse learners. UDL stresses the importance of enabling the entire diverse students to gain skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm to learn through the employment of teaching methods that respond to students' individual differences. Accordingly, the educational curriculum developed for this course and the teaching methods employed is modified. First, the researcher made the language curriculum vivid and attractive to inspire students' learning and to keep them engaged in their learning process. The researcher encouraged the entire students, from the first day, to suggest topics of their interest; political, social, cultural, etc. The authentic Arabic texts chosen are those that best meet students’ needs, interests, lives, and sociolinguistic issues, together with the linguistic and cultural components. In class and under the researcher’s guidance, students dig into these topics to find solutions for the tackled issues while working with their peers. Second, to gain equal opportunities to demonstrate learning, role-playing was encouraged to give students the opportunity to perform different linguistic tasks, to reflect and share their diverse interests and cultural backgrounds with their peers. Third, to bring the UDL into the classroom, students were encouraged to work on interactive, collaborative activities through technology to improve their reading and writing skills and reinforce their mastery of the accumulated vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and collocations. These interactive, collaborative activities help to facilitate student-student communication and student-teacher communication and to increase comfort in this class of diverse learners. Detailed samples of the educational curriculum and interactive, collaborative activities developed, accompanied by methods of teaching employed to teach these diverse learners, are presented for illustration. Results revealed that students are responsive to the educational materials which are developed for this course. Therefore, they engaged in the learning process and classroom activities and discussions effectively. They also appreciated their instructor’s willingness to differentiate the teaching methods to suit students of diverse background knowledge, learning styles, level of anxiety, etc. Finally, the researcher believes that sharing this experience in teaching diverse learners will help both language teachers and teachers in other disciplines to develop a better understanding to meet their students' diverse needs. Results will also pave the way for curriculum designers to develop educational material that meets the needs of diverse learners.

Keywords: teaching, language, diverse, learners

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Seynabou Toure, Oumar Diop, Kidiyo Kpalma, Amadou S. Maiga

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Color and texture are the two most determinant elements for perception and recognition of the objects in an image. For this reason, color and texture analysis find a large field of application, for example in image classification and segmentation. But, the pioneering work in texture analysis was conducted on grayscale images, thus discarding color information. Many grey-level texture descriptors have been proposed and successfully used in numerous domains for image classification: face recognition, industrial inspections, food science medical imaging among others. Taking into account color in the definition of these descriptors makes it possible to better characterize images. Color texture is thus the subject of recent work, and the analysis of color texture images is increasingly attracting interest in the scientific community. In optical remote sensing systems, sensors measure separately different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum; the visible ones and even those that are invisible to the human eye. The amounts of light reflected by the earth in spectral bands are then transformed into grayscale images. The primary natural colors Red (R) Green (G) and Blue (B) are then used in mixtures of different spectral bands in order to produce RGB images. Thus, good color texture discrimination can be achieved using RGB under controlled illumination conditions. Some previous works investigate the effect of using different color space for color texture classification. However, the selection of the best performing color space in land-sea segmentation is an open question. Its resolution may bring considerable improvements in certain applications like coastline detection, where the detection result is strongly dependent on the performance of the land-sea segmentation. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a study conducted on different color spaces in order to show the best-performing color space for land-sea segmentation. In this sense, an experimental analysis is carried out using five different color spaces (RGB, XYZ, Lab, HSV, YCbCr). For each color space, the Haar wavelet decomposition is used to extract different color texture features. These color texture features are then used for Fusion of Over Segmentation (FOOS) based classification; this allows segmentation of the land part from the sea one. By analyzing the different results of this study, the HSV color space is found as the best classification performance while using color and texture features; which is perfectly coherent with the results presented in the literature.

Keywords: classification, coastline, color, sea-land segmentation

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Authors: Hannah Dean

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The growth ideology, and its association with progress, is an important construct in the narrative of modernity. This ideology is embedded in neoclassical economic growth theory which conceptualises growth as linear and predictable, and the entrepreneur as a rational economic manager. This conceptualisation has been critiqued for reinforcing the managerial discourse in entrepreneurship studies. Despite these critiques, both the neoclassical growth theory and its adjacent managerial discourse dominate entrepreneurship studies notably the literature on female entrepreneurs. The latter is the focus of this paper. Given this emphasis on growth, female entrepreneurs are portrayed as problematic because their growth lags behind their male counterparts. This image which ignores the complexity and diversity of female entrepreneurs’ experience persists in the literature due to the lack of studies that analyse the process and contextual factors surrounding female entrepreneurs’ experience. This study aims to address the subordination of female entrepreneurs by questioning the hegemonic logic of economic growth and the managerial discourse as a true representation for the entrepreneurial experience. This objective is achieved by drawing on Schumpeter’s theorising and narrative inquiry. This exploratory study undertakes in depth interviews to gain insights into female entrepreneurs’ experience and the impact of the economic growth model and the managerial discourse on their performance. The narratives challenge a number of assumptions about female entrepreneurs. The participants occupied senior positions in the corporate world before setting up their businesses. This is at odds with much writing which assumes that women underperform because they leave their career without gaining managerial experience to achieve work-life balance. In line with Schumpeter, who distinguishes the entrepreneur from the manager, the participants’ main function was innovation. They did not believe that the managerial paradigm governing their corporate careers was applicable to their entrepreneurial experience. Formal planning and managerial rationality can hinder their decision making process. The narratives point to the gap between the two worlds which makes stepping into entrepreneurship a scary move. Schumpeter argues that the entrepreneurial process is evolutionary and that failure is an integral part of it. The participants’ entrepreneurial process was in fact irregular. The performance of new combinations was not always predictable. They therefore relied on their initiative. The inhibition to deploy these traits had an adverse effect on business growth. The narratives also indicate that over-reliance on growth threaten the business survival as it faces competing pressures. The study offers theoretical and empirical contributions to (female) entrepreneurship studies by presenting Schumpeter’s theorising as an alternative theoretical framework to the neoclassical economic growth theory. The study also reduces entrepreneurs’ vulnerability by making them aware of the negative influence that the linear growth model and the managerial discourse hold upon their performance. The study has implications for policy makers as it generates new knowledge that incorporates the current social and economic changes in the context of entrepreneurs that can no longer be sustained by the linear growth models especially in the current economic climate.

Keywords: economic growth, female entrepreneurs, managerial discourse, Schumpeter

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Patrícia T. Souza, Marina Ansolin, Eduardo A. C. Batista, Antonio J. A. Meirelles, Matthieu Tubino

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Lipid oxidation is a major cause of the deterioration of the quality of the biodiesel, because the waste generated damages the engines. Among the main undesirable effects are the increase of viscosity and acidity, leading to the formation of insoluble gums and sediments which cause the blockage of fuel filters. The auto-oxidation is defined as the spontaneous reaction of atmospheric oxygen with lipids. Unsaturated fatty acids are usually the components affected by such reactions. They are present as free fatty acids, fatty esters and glycerides. To determine the oxidative stability of biodiesels, through the induction period, IP, the Rancimat method is used, which allows continuous monitoring of the induced oxidation process of the samples. During the oxidation of the lipids, volatile organic acids are produced as byproducts, in addition, other byproducts, including alcohols and carbonyl compounds, may be further oxidized to carboxylic acids. By the methodology developed in this work using ion chromatography, IC, analyzing the water contained in the conductimetric vessel, were quantified organic anions of carboxylic acids in samples subjected to oxidation induced by Rancimat. The optimized chromatographic conditions were: eluent water:acetone (80:20 v/v) with 0.5 mM sulfuric acid; flow rate 0.4 mL min-1; injection volume 20 µL; eluent suppressor 20 mM LiCl; analytical curve from 1 to 400 ppm. The samples studied were methyl biodiesel from soybean oil and unsaturated fatty acids standards: oleic, linoleic and linolenic. The induced oxidation kinetics curves were constructed by analyzing the water contained in the conductimetric vessels which were removed, each one, from the Rancimat apparatus at prefixed intervals of time. About 3 g of sample were used under the conditions of 110 °C and air flow rate of 10 L h-1. The water of each conductimetric Rancimat measuring vessel, where the volatile compounds were collected, was filtered through a 0.45 µm filter and analyzed by IC. Through the kinetic data of the formation of the organic anions of carboxylic acids, the formation rates of the same were calculated. The observed order of the rates of formation of the anions was: formate >>> acetate > hexanoate > valerate for the oleic acid; formate > hexanoate > acetate > valerate for the linoleic acid; formate >>> valerate > acetate > propionate > butyrate for the linolenic acid. It is possible to suppose that propionate and butyrate are obtained mainly from linolenic acid and that hexanoate is originated from oleic and linoleic acid. For the methyl biodiesel the order of formation of anions was: formate >>> acetate > valerate > hexanoate > propionate. According to the total rate of formation these anions produced during the induced degradation of the fatty acids can be assigned the order of reactivity: linolenic acid > linoleic acid >>> oleic acid.

Keywords: anions of carboxylic acids, biodiesel, ion chromatography, oxidation

Procedia PDF Downloads 457

Authors: Youcef Amir

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The consumption of beverages continues to grow worldwide due to increasing demography, but pure fruit juices and high-quality nectars can induce protective effects on human health because of their natural bioactive components. In contrast, sodas and gaseous drinks containing synthetic food additives are considered as responsible for consumers of several pathologies such as obesity, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The nutritional and therapeutic virtues of fruit juices are generally a remarkable antioxidant power, anti-cancer activity linked to their richness of indigestible and indigestible sugars, vitamins, mineral salts, carotenoids and phenolic compounds. The main reasons, which led us to produce these fruit derivatives, are the non-availability of the fresh fruits mentioned above all along the year and also the existence of variations in the chemical composition of these different fruits as well as for the major or minor components. We tested, therefore, the physicochemical characteristics of each fruit juice and pulp apart and afterward those of the cocktails formulated. The fresh juices used during our experiments were obtained from the following fruits from north-central Algeria: prickly pear, pomegranate, melon, red oranges. The formulations of these fruit juices were tested after several trials comprising sensorial analysis, physicochemical factors (pH, titratable acidity, Brix degree, formal index, water content, total ash, total and reducing sugars, vitamin C, carotenoids, phenolic compounds) and microbial analysis after a storage period. To the pure juices proportions, citric acid E330, sucrose, and water were added followed by pasteurisation. These products were analysed from the physicochemical, microbial and sensorial viewpoints after a storage period of one month according to national legislation to evaluate their stability. The results of the physicochemical parameters of the prepared beverages had shown good physicochemical results, acceptable sensorial characteristics and microbial stability and safety before and after a storage period. We measured appreciable amounts of minor compounds with health properties.

Keywords: fruit juices, microbial analyses, nectars, physico chemical characteristics, sensorial analysis, storage period

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: M. Manzoor, J. N. Ahmad, R. M. Giblin Davis, N. Javed, M. S. Haider

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The invasive Red Palm Weevil (RPW) (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus [Olivier] (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is one of the most destructive palm pests in the world. Synthetic pesticides are environmentally hazardous pest control strategies being used in the past with emerging need of eco-friendly biological approaches including microbial entomopathogens for RPW management. The sublethal effects of a single entomopathogenic fungus (EPF) Beauveria bassiana (WG-11) (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) and two entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Poinar) and Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) (Nematoda: Rhabditida) were evaluated in various combinations against laboratory-reared 3rd, 5th and 8th instar larvae of RPW in laboratory assays. Individual and combined effects of both entomopathogens (EP) were observed after the pre-application of B. bassiana fungus at 1-2-week intervals. A number of parameters were measured after the application of sub-lethal doses of EPF such as diet consumption, development, frass production, mortality, and weight gain. Combined treatments were tested for additive and synergistic effects. Synergism was more frequently observed in B. bassiana and S. carpocapsae combined treatments than in B. bassiana and H. bacteriophora combinations. Early instar larvae of RPW were more susceptible than older instars. Synergistic effects were observed in the 3rd and 5th instars exposed to B. bassiana and S. carpocapsae at 0, 7 and 14-day intervals. Whereas, in 8th instar larvae, the synergistic effect was observed only in B. bassiana and S. carpocapsae treatments after 0 and 7 days intervals. EPN treatments decreased pupation, egg hatching and emergence of adults. Lethal effects of nematodes were also observed in all growth stages of R. ferrugineus. Reduced larval weight, increased larval, pre-pupal and pupal duration, reduced adult weight and life span were observed. Sub-lethal concentrations of both entomopathogens induced variations in the different developmental stages and reduced food consumption, frass production, growth, and weight gain. So, on the basis of results, it is concluded that synthetic pesticides should be replaced with environmentally friendly sustainable biopesticides.

Keywords: H. bacteriophora, S. carpocapsae, B. bassiana, mortality

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Nashaat Mazrui, Oarabile Mogobe, Barbara Ngwenya, Ketlhatlogile Mosepele, Mangaliso Gondwe

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Over the last several decades, the world has seen a rapid increase in activities such as deforestation, agriculture, and energy use. Subsequently, trace elements are being deposited into our water bodies, where they can accumulate to toxic levels in aquatic organisms and can be transferred to humans through fish consumption. Thus, though fish is a good source of essential minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, it can also be a source of toxic elements. Monitoring trace elements in fish is important for the proper management of aquatic systems and the protection of human health. The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of trace elements in sediment and muscle tissues of Clarias gariepinus at Lake Ngami, in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, during low floods. The fish were bought from local fishermen, and samples of muscle tissue were acid-digested and analyzed for iron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, chromium, cadmium, lead, and arsenic using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Sediment samples were also collected and analyzed for the elements and for organic matter content. Results show that in all samples, iron was found in the greatest amount while cadmium was below the detection limit. Generally, the concentrations of elements in sediment were higher than in fish except for zinc and arsenic. While the concentration of zinc was similar in the two media, arsenic was almost 3 times higher in fish than sediment. To evaluate the risk to human health from fish consumption, the target hazard quotient (THQ) and cancer risk for an average adult in Botswana, sub-Saharan Africa, and riparian communities in the Okavango Delta was calculated for each element. All elements were found to be well below regulatory limits and do not pose a threat to human health except arsenic. The results suggest that other benthic feeding fish species could potentially have high arsenic levels too. This has serious implications for human health, especially riparian households to whom fish is a key component of food and nutrition security.

Keywords: Arsenic, African sharp tooth cat fish, Okavango delta, trace elements

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Beyza Sukran Isik, Gokce Altin, Ipek Yalcinkaya, Evren Demircan, Asli Can Karaca, Beraat Ozcelik

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), is used as a food additive (spice), preservative and coloring agent in Asian countries, including China and South East Asia. It is also considered as a medicinal plant. Traditional Indian medicine evaluates turmeric powder for the treatment of biliary disorders, rheumatism, and sinusitis. It has rich polyphenol content. Turmeric has yellow color mainly because of the presence of three major pigments; curcumin 1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1, 6-heptadiene-3,5-dione), demethoxy-curcumin and bis demothoxy-curcumin. These curcuminoids are recognized to have high antioxidant activities. Curcumin is the major constituent of Curcuma species. Method: To prepare turmeric tea, 0.5 gram of turmeric powder was brewed with 250 ml of water at 90°C, 10 minutes. 500 grams of fresh turmeric washed and shelled prior to squeezing. Both turmeric tea and turmeric juice pass through 45 lm filters and stored at -20°C in the dark for further analyses. Curcumin was extracted from 20 grams of turmeric powder by 70 ml ethanol solution (95:5 ethanol/water v/v) in a water bath at 80°C, 6 hours. Extraction was contributed for 2 hours at the end of 6 hours by addition of 30 ml ethanol. Ethanol was removed by rotary evaporator. Remained extract stored at -20°C in the dark. Total phenolic content and phenolic profile were determined by spectrophotometric analysis and ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UFLC), respectively. Results: The total phenolic content of ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea were determined 50.72, 31.76 and 29.68 ppt, respectively. The ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea have been injected into UFLC and analyzed for curcumin contents. The curcumin content in ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea were 4067.4, 156.7 ppm and 1.1 ppm, respectively. Significance: Turmeric is known as a good source of curcumin. According to the results, it can be stated that its tea is not sufficient way for curcumin consumption. Turmeric juice can be preferred to turmeric tea for higher curcumin content. Ethanolic extract of turmeric showed the highest content of turmeric in both spectrophotometric and chromatographic analyses. Nonpolar solvents and carriers which have polar binding sites have to be considered for curcumin consumption due to its nonpolar nature.

Keywords: phenolic compounds, spectrophotometry, turmeric, UFLC

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Authors: Mihretu Erjabo

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Halaba special district is characterized by drought, soil erosion, high population pressure, poor livestock production, lack of feed for livestock, very deep water table, very low productivity of crops and food insufficiency. In order to address these problems, the woreda agricultural development office along with other management practices such as soil physical conservation measures agroforestry was introduced decades ago as a means to alleviate the problem. However, the level of agroforestry adoption remains low. Objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence adoption of agroforestry technologies by farmers in the district. Random sampling was employed to select two kebele administrations and respondents. Data collection was conducted by rural household questionnaire survey, participatory rural appraisal, questionnaires for local and woreda extension staff, secondary data resources and field observation. A sample of 12 key informants, 6 extension staffs, and 182 households, were used in the data collection. Chi square test used to determine significant relationships between adoption of agroforestry and 15 selected variables. Out of which eleven were found to be significant to affect farmers’ adoptiveness. These were frequency of visits of farmers (13.39%), participation in training (11.49%), farmers’ attitude towards agroforestry practices (10.61%), frequency of visits of extensionists (10.38%), participation in extension meeting (10.34%), participation in field day (10.28%), land holding size (9.29%), level of literacy (8.78%), awareness about the importance of agroforestry technology packages (7.06%), time taken from their residence to nearest extension (5.04%) and gender of respondents (3.34%). This study also identified various factors that result in low adoption rates of agroforestry including fear of competition, seedling, rainfall and labour shortage, free grazing, financial problem, expecting trees as soil degrader and long span of trees and lack of need ranking. To improve farmers’ adoption, the factors identified should be well addressed by launching a series and recurrent outreach extension program appropriate and suitable to farmers need.

Keywords: farmers attitude, farmers participation, soil degradation, technology packages

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Sri Satya Antarlina, Elok Zubaidah, Teti Istiana, Harijono

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Sorghum bicolor (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has the potential as a flour for gluten-free food products. Sorghum flour production needs grain soaking treatment. Soaking can reduce the tannin content which is an anti-nutrient, so it can increase the protein digestibility. Fine particle size decreases the yield of flour, so it is necessary to study various particle sizes to increase the yield. This study aims to determine the characteristics of sorghum flour in the treatment of soaking peeled grain and particle size. The material of white sorghum varieties KD-4 from farmers in East Java, Indonesia. Factorial randomized factorial design (two factors), repeated three times, factor I were the time of grain soaking (five levels) that were 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours, factor II was the size of the starch particles sifted with a fineness level of 40, 60, 80, and 100 mesh. The method of making sorghum flour is grain peeling, soaking peeled grain, drying using the oven at 60ᵒC, milling, and sieving. Physico-chemical analysis of sorghum flour. The results show that there is an interaction between soaking time of grain with the size of sorghum flour particles. Interaction in yield of flour, L* color (brightness level), whiteness index, paste properties, amylose content, protein content, bulk density, and protein digestibility. The method of making sorghum flour through the soaking of peeled grain and the difference in particle size has an important role in producing the physicochemical properties of the specific flour. Based on the characteristics of sorghum flour produced, it is determined the method of making sorghum flour through sorghum grain soaking for 24 hours, the particle size of flour 80 mesh. The sorghum flour with characteristic were 24.88% yield of flour, 88.60 color L* (brightness level), 69.95 whiteness index, 3615 Cp viscosity, 584.10 g/l of bulk density, 24.27% db protein digestibility, 90.02% db starch content, 23.4% db amylose content, 67.45% db amylopectin content, 0.22% db crude fiber content, 0.037% db tannin content, 5.30% db protein content, ash content 0.18% db, carbohydrate content 92.88 % db, and 1.94% db fat content. The sorghum flour is recommended for cookies products.

Keywords: characteristic, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) flour, grain soaking, particle size, physicochemical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Tarek Saadawi, Rosario Gennaro, Jonathan Akeley

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There is rapidly growing demand for professionals to fill positions in Cybersecurity. This is recognized as a national priority both by government agencies and the private sector. Cybersecurity is a very wide technical area which encompasses all measures that can be taken in an electronic system to prevent criminal or unauthorized use of data and resources. This requires defending computers, servers, networks, and their users from any kind of malicious attacks. The need to address this challenge has been recognized globally but is particularly acute in the New York metropolitan area, home to some of the largest financial institutions in the world, which are prime targets of cyberattacks. In New York State alone, there are currently around 57,000 jobs in the Cybersecurity industry, with more than 23,000 unfilled positions. The Cybersecurity Program at City College is a collaboration between the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. In Fall 2020, The City College of New York matriculated its first students in theCybersecurity Master of Science program. The program was designed to fill gaps in the previous offerings and evolved out ofan established partnership with Facebook on Cybersecurity Education. City College has designed a program where courses, curricula, syllabi, materials, labs, etc., are developed in cooperation and coordination with industry whenever possible, ensuring that students graduating from the program will have the necessary background to seamlessly segue into industry jobs. The Cybersecurity Program has created multiple pathways for prospective students to obtain the necessary prerequisites to apply in order to build a more diverse student population. The program can also be pursued on a part-time basis which makes it available to working professionals. Since City College’s Cybersecurity M.S. program was established to equip students with the advanced technical skills needed to thrive in a high-demand, rapidly-evolving field, it incorporates a range of pedagogical formats. From its outset, the Cybersecurity program has sought to provide both the theoretical foundations necessary for meaningful work in the field along with labs and applied learning projects aligned with skillsets required by industry. The efforts have involved collaboration with outside organizations and with visiting professors designing new courses on topics such as Adversarial AI, Data Privacy, Secure Cloud Computing, and blockchain. Although the program was initially designed with a single asynchronous course in the curriculum with the rest of the classes designed to be offered in-person, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a move to fullyonline learning. The shift to online learning has provided lessons for future development by providing examples of some inherent advantages to the medium in addition to its drawbacks. This talk will address the structure of the newly-implemented Cybersecurity Master’s Program and discuss the innovations, challenges, and possible future directions.

Keywords: cybersecurity, new york, city college, graduate degree, master of science

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Luciana S. Almeida

Abstract:

Nanotechnology has revolutionized the world of science and technology bringing great expectations due to its great potential of application in the most varied industrial sectors. The same characteristics that make nanoparticles interesting from the point of view of the technological application, these may be undesirable when released into the environment. The small size of nanoparticles facilitates their diffusion and transport in the atmosphere, water, and soil and facilitates the entry and accumulation of nanoparticles in living cells. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental regulatory process of nanomaterials in the Brazilian scenario. Three specific objectives were outlined. The first is to carry out a global scientometric study, in a research platform, with the purpose of identifying the main lines of study of nanomaterials in the environmental area. The second is to verify how environmental agencies in other countries have been working on this issue by means of a bibliographic review. And the third is to carry out an assessment of the Brazilian Nanotechnology Draft Law 6741/2013 with the state environmental agencies. This last one has the aim of identifying the knowledge of the subject by the environmental agencies and necessary resources available in the country for the implementation of the Policy. A questionnaire will be used as a tool for this evaluation to identify the operational elements and build indicators through the Environment of Evaluation Application, a computational application developed for the development of questionnaires. At the end will be verified the need to propose changes in the Draft Law of the National Nanotechnology Policy. Initial studies, in relation to the first specific objective, have already identified that Brazil stands out in the production of scientific publications in the area of nanotechnology, although the minority is in studies focused on environmental impact studies. Regarding the general panorama of other countries, some findings have also been raised. The United States has included the nanoform of the substances in an existing program in the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act). The European Union issued a draft of a document amending Regulation 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and Council to cover the nanoform of substances. Both programs are based on the study and identification of environmental risks associated with nanomaterials taking into consideration the product life cycle. In relation to Brazil, regarding the third specific objective, it is notable that the country does not have any regulations applicable to nanostructures, although there is a Draft Law in progress. In this document, it is possible to identify some requirements related to the environment, such as environmental inspection and licensing; industrial waste management; notification of accidents and application of sanctions. However, it is not known if these requirements are sufficient for the prevention of environmental impacts and if national environmental agencies will know how to apply them correctly. This study intends to serve as a basis for future actions regarding environmental management applied to the use of nanotechnology in Brazil.

Keywords: environment; management; nanotecnology; politics

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: S. Padma, D. H. Tejavathi

Abstract:

Somatic embryogenesis is a remarkable illustration of the dictum of plant totipotency where developmental reconstruction of somatic cells takes place towards the embryogenic pathway. It recapitulates the morphological and developmental process that occurs in zygotic embryogenesis. S. androgynous commonly called as multivitamin plant. The leaves are consumed as green leafy vegetable by the Southeast Asian communities due to their rich nutritional profile. Despite being a good nutritional vegetable with proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, it is warned for excessive intake due to the presence of alkoloid called papaverine. Papaverine at higher concentrations is toxic and leads to a syndrome called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. In the present study, morphogenetic potential of shoot tip, leaf and nodal explants of Sauropus androgynous was investigated to develop and enhance the reliable plant regeneration protocol via somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryos were derived directly from the embryogenic callus derived from shoot tip, node and leaf cultures on Phillips and Collins (L2) medium supplemented with NAA at various concentrations ranging from 5.3 µM/l to 26.85 µM/l within two months of inoculation. Thus obtained embryos were sub cultured to modified L2 media supplemented with increased vitamin level for the further growth. Somatic embryos with well-developed cotyledons were transferred to normal and modified L2 basal medium for conversion. The plantlets thus obtained were subjected to brief acclimatization before transferring them to land. About 95% of survival rate was recorded. The augmentation process of culturing various explants through somatic embryogenesis using synthetic medium with various plant growth regulators under controlled conditions have aggrandized the commercial production of Sauropus making it easily available over the conventional propagation methods. In addition, regeneration process through somatic embryogenesis has ameliorated the development of desired character in Sauropus with low papaverine content thereby providing a valuable resource to the food and pharmaceutical industry. Based on this research, plant tissue culture techniques have shown promise for economical and convenient application in Sauropus androgynous breeding.

Keywords: L2 medium, multivitamin plant, NAA, papaverine

Procedia PDF Downloads 196