Search results for: cross project

Authors: Pablo González Álvarez, Anna Vinaixa Vergés, Paula Sol Ventura, Paula Fernández, Mercè Redorta, Gemma Ginovart Galiana, Maria Méndez Hernández

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Context: The use of music therapy is gaining popularity worldwide, and it has shown positive effects in neonatology. Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol has recently established a music therapy unit and initiated a project in their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Research Aim: The aim of this study is to measure the effect of a music therapy intervention in the NICU of Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Spain. Methodology: The study will be an observational analytical case-control study. All newborns admitted to the neonatology unit, both term and preterm, and their parents will be offered a session of music therapy. Data will be collected from families who receive at least two music therapy sessions. Maternal and paternal anxiety levels will be measured through a pre- and post-intervention test. Findings: The study aims to demonstrate the benefits and acceptance of music therapy by patients, parents, and healthcare workers in the neonatal unit. The findings are expected to show a reduction in maternal and paternal anxiety levels following the music therapy sessions. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the effectiveness of music therapy in neonatal care. It will provide evidence of the acceptance and potential benefits of music therapy in reducing anxiety levels in both parents and babies in the NICU setting. Data Collection: Data will be collected from families who receive at least two music therapy sessions. This will include pre- and post-intervention test results to measure anxiety levels. Analysis Procedures: The collected data will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods to determine the impact of music therapy on reducing anxiety levels in parents. Questions Addressed: - What is the effect of music therapy on maternal anxiety levels? - What is the effect of music therapy on paternal anxiety levels? - What is the acceptability and perceived benefits of music therapy among patients and healthcare workers in the NICU? Conclusion: The study aims to provide evidence supporting the value of music therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit. It seeks to demonstrate the positive effect of music therapy on reducing anxiety levels among parents.

Keywords: neonatology, music therapy, neonatal intensive care unit, babies, parents

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Authors: Emre Kishalı, Neslihan TürkmenoğLu Bayraktar

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Historical buildings may face various impacts throughout their life cycle. There have been environmental, structural, public works actions on old monuments influencing sustainability and maintenance issues. As a result, ancient monuments can have been undergone various changes in the context of restoration and repair. Currently, these buildings face integrated conditions including city planning macro solutions, old intervention methods, modifications in building envelope and artefacts in terms of conservation. Moreover, documentation of phases is an essential for assessing the historical building, yet it can result in highly complicated and interwoven issues. Herein, two monuments constructed in the 16th century are selected as case studies in Kocaeli, Turkey which are located in different micro climatic conditions and/or exposed to different interventions and which are important for the city as cultural property. Pertev Paşa Mosque (also known as Yenicuma Mosque) -constructed by Architect Sinan-; Gebze Çoban Mustafa Paşa Mosque -constructed in 1523 and known as the work of Architect Sinan but various names asserted as the architect of building according to resources. Active water infiltration and damages, recent material interventions, hidden niches, and foundation techniques of the mosque are investigated via Infrared Thermography under the project of 114K284, “Non-Destructive Test Applications, in the Context of Planned Conservation, through Historical Mosques of Kocaeli: Coban Mustafa Pasa Mosque, Fevziye Mosque and Pertev Pasa Mosque” funded by TUBITAK. It is aimed to reveal active deteriorations on building elements generated by unwanted effects of structural and climatic conditions, historical interventions, and modifications by monitoring the variation of surface temperature and humidity by IRT visualization method which is an important non- destructive process for investigation of monuments in the conservation field in the context of planned conservation. It is also concluded that in-situ monitoring process via IRT through different climatic conditions give substantial information on the behaviour of the envelope to the physical environmental conditions by observation of thermal performance, degradations. However, it is obvious that monitoring of historical buildings cannot be pursued by implementing a single non-destructive technique to have complete data of the structure.

Keywords: IRT, non-destructive test, planned conservation, mosque

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Authors: Rajesh Ranjan, Marimuthu Palaniswami, A. A. Hashmi

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With the changing lifestyle and environment around us, the prevalence of the critical and incurable disease has proliferated. One such condition is the neurological disorder which is rampant among the old age population and is increasing at an unstoppable rate. Most of the neurological disorder patients suffer from some movement disorder affecting the movement of their body parts. Tremor is the most common movement disorder which is prevalent in such patients that infect the upper or lower limbs or both extremities. The tremor symptoms are commonly visible in Parkinson’s disease patient, and it can also be a pure tremor (essential tremor). The patients suffering from tremor face enormous trouble in performing the daily activity, and they always need a caretaker for assistance. In the clinics, the assessment of tremor is done through a manual clinical rating task such as Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale which is time taking and cumbersome. Neurologists have also affirmed a challenge in differentiating a Parkinsonian tremor with the pure tremor which is essential in providing an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, there is a need to develop a monitoring and assistive tool for the tremor patient that keep on checking their health condition by coordinating them with the clinicians and caretakers for early diagnosis and assistance in performing the daily activity. In our research, we focus on developing a system for automatic classification of tremor which can accurately differentiate the pure tremor from the Parkinsonian tremor using a wearable accelerometer-based device, so that adequate diagnosis can be provided to the correct patient. In this research, a study was conducted in the neuro-clinic to assess the upper wrist movement of the patient suffering from Pure (Essential) tremor and Parkinsonian tremor using a wearable accelerometer-based device. Four tasks were designed in accordance with Unified Parkinson’s disease motor rating scale which is used to assess the rest, postural, intentional and action tremor in such patient. Various features such as time-frequency domain, wavelet-based and fast-Fourier transform based cross-correlation were extracted from the tri-axial signal which was used as input feature vector space for the different supervised and unsupervised learning tools for quantification of severity of tremor. A minimum covariance maximum correlation energy comparison index was also developed which was used as the input feature for various classification tools for distinguishing the PT and ET tremor types. An automatic system for efficient classification of tremor was developed using feature extraction methods, and superior performance was achieved using K-nearest neighbors and Support Vector Machine classifiers respectively.

Keywords: machine learning approach for neurological disorder assessment, automatic classification of tremor types, feature extraction method for tremor classification, neurological movement disorder, parkinsonian tremor, essential tremor

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Authors: Jiancheng Zheng

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When metals are released into water from mining activities, they undergo changes chemically, physically and biologically and then may become more mobile and transportable along the waterway from their original sites. Natural colloids, including both organic and inorganic entities, are naturally occurring in any aquatic environment with sizes in the nanometer range. Natural colloids in a water system play an important role, quite often a key role, in binding and transporting compounds. When assessing and evaluating metals in natural waters, their sources, mobility, fate, and distribution patterns in the system are the major concerns from the point of view of assessing environmental contamination and pollution during resource development. There are a few ways to quantify colloids and accordingly study how metals distribute on different sizes of colloids. Current research results show that the presence of colloids can enhance the transport of some heavy metals in water, while heavy metals may also have an influence on the transport of colloids when cations in the water system change colloids and/or the ion strength of the water system changes. Therefore, studies into the relationship between different sizes of colloids and different metals in a water system are necessary and needed as natural colloids in water systems are complex mixtures of both organic and inorganic as well as biological materials. Their stability could be sensitive to changes in their shapes, phases, hardness and functionalities due to coagulation and deposition et al. and chemical, physical, and biological reactions. Because metal contaminants’ adsorption on surfaces of colloids is closely related to colloid properties, it is desired to fraction water samples as soon as possible after a sample is taken in the natural environment in order to avoid changes to water samples during transportation and storage. For this reason, this study carried out groundwater sample processing in the field, using Prep/Scale tangential flow filtration systems with 3-level cartridges (1 kDa, 10 kDa and 100 kDa). Groundwater samples from seven sites at Fort MacMurray, Alberta, Canada, were fractionated during the 2015 field sampling season. All samples were processed within 3 hours after samples were taken. Preliminary results show that although the distribution pattern of metals on colloids may vary with different samples taken from different sites, some elements often tend to larger colloids (such as Fe and Re), some to finer colloids (such as Sb and Zn), while some of them mainly in the dissolved form (such as Mo and Be). This information is useful to evaluate and project the fate and mobility of different metals in the groundwaters and possibly in environmental water systems.

Keywords: metal, colloid, groundwater, mobility, fractionation, sorption

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Authors: D. Zhao, Y. Wang, G. Chen

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Gas sensors that utilize carbonaceous materials as sensing media offer numerous advantages, making them the preferred choice for constructing chemical sensors over those using other sensing materials. Carbonaceous materials, particularly nano-sized ones like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), provide these sensors with high sensitivity. Additionally, carbon-based sensors possess other advantageous properties that enhance their performance, including high stability, low power consumption for operation, and cost-effectiveness in their construction. These properties make carbon-based sensors ideal for a wide range of applications, especially in miniaturized devices created through MEMS or NEMS technologies. To capitalize on these properties, a group of chemoresistance-type carbon-based gas sensors was developed and tested against various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and volatile inorganic compounds (VICs). The results demonstrated exceptional sensitivity to both VOCs and VICs, along with the sensor’s long-term stability. However, this broad sensitivity also led to poor selectivity towards specific gases. This project aims at addressing the selectivity issue by modifying the carbon-based sensing materials and enhancing the sensor's specificity to individual gas. Multiple groups of sensors were manufactured and modified using proprietary techniques. To assess their performance, we conducted experiments on representative sensors from each group to detect a range of VOCs and VICs. The VOCs tested included acetone, dimethyl ether, ethanol, formaldehyde, methane, and propane. The VICs comprised carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen (H2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The concentrations of the sample gases were all set at 50 parts per million (ppm). Nitrogen (N2) was used as the carrier gas throughout the experiments. The results of the gas sensing experiments are as follows. In Group 1, the sensors exhibited selectivity toward CO2, acetone, NO, and NO2, with NO2 showing the highest response. Group 2 primarily responded to NO2. Group 3 displayed responses to nitrogen oxides, i.e., both NO and NO2, with NO2 slightly surpassing NO in sensitivity. Group 4 demonstrated the highest sensitivity among all the groups toward NO and NO2, with NO2 being more sensitive than NO. In conclusion, by incorporating several modifications using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), sensors can be designed to respond well to NOx gases with great selectivity and without interference from other gases. Because the response levels to NO and NO2 from each group are different, the individual concentration of NO and NO2 can be deduced.

Keywords: gas sensors, carbon, CNT, MEMS/NEMS, VOC, VIC, high selectivity, modification of sensing materials

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Authors: Daniel Thompson, Muhammad Peerbux, Sophie Cerutti, Hansraj Bookun

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Introduction: Dialysis access is a key component of the care of patients with end stage renal failure. In our institution, a combined service of vascular surgeons and nephrologists are responsible for the creation and maintenance of arteriovenous fisultas (AVF), tenckhoff cathethers and Hickman/permcath lines. This poster investigates the last 10 years of dialysis access surgery conducted at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. Method: A cross-sectional retrospective analysis was conducted of patients of St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) utilising data collection from the Australasian Vascular Audit (Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery). Descriptive demographic analysis was carried out as well as operation type, length of hospital stays, postoperative deaths and need for reoperation. Results: 2085 patients with renal failure were operated on between the years of 2011 and 2020. 1315 were male (63.1%) and 770 were female (36.9%). The mean age was 58 (SD 13.8). 92% of patients scored three or greater on the American Society of Anesthiologiests classification system. Almost half had a history of ischaemic heart disease (48.4%), more than half had a history of diabetes (64%), and a majority had hypertension (88.4%). 1784 patients had a creatinine over 150mmol/L (85.6%), the rest were on dialysis (14.4%). The most common access procedure was AVF creation, with 474 autologous AVFs and 64 prosthetic AVFs. There were 263 Tenckhoff insertions. We performed 160 cadeveric renal transplants. The most common location for AVF formation was brachiocephalic (43.88%) followed by radiocephalic (36.7%) and brachiobasilic (16.67%). Fistulas that required re-intervention were most commonly angioplastied (n=163), followed by thrombectomy (n=136). There were 107 local fistula repairs. Average length of stay was 7.6 days, (SD 12). There were 106 unplanned returns to theatre, most commonly for fistula creation, insertion of tenckhoff or permacath removal (71.7%). There were 8 deaths in the immediately postoperative period. Discussion: Access to dialysis is vital for patients with end stage kidney disease, and requires a multidisciplinary approach from both nephrologists, vascular surgeons, and allied health practitioners. Our service provides a variety of dialysis access methods, predominately fistula creation and tenckhoff insertion. Patients with renal failure are heavily comorbid, and prolonged hospital admission following surgery is a source of significant healthcare expenditure. AVFs require careful monitoring and maintenance for ongoing utility, and our data reflects a multitude of operations required to maintain usable access. The requirement for dialysis is growing worldwide and our data demonstrates a local experience in access, with preferred methods, common complications and the associated surgical interventions.

Keywords: dialysis, fistula, nephrology, vascular surgery

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Authors: Alina Murtishcheva

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The development of an effective system of administrative supervision is a prerequisite for the functioning of local self-government on the basis of the rule of law. Administrative supervision of local self-government is of particular importance in the EU countries due to the influence of integration processes. The central authorities act on the international level; however, subnational authorities also have to implement European legislation in order to strengthen integration. Therefore, the central authority, being the connecting link between supranational and subnational authorities, should bear responsibility, including financial responsibility, for possible mistakes of subnational authorities. Consequently, the state should have sufficient mechanisms of control over local and regional authorities in order to correct their mistakes. At the same time, the control mechanisms do not deny the autonomy of local self-government. The paper analyses models of administrative supervision of local self-government in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, and France. The research methods used in this paper are theoretical methods of analysis of scientific literature, constitutions, legal acts, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe reports, and constitutional court decisions, as well as comparative and logical analysis. The legislative basis of administrative supervision was scrutinized, and the models of administrative supervision were classified, including a priori control and ex-post control or their combination. The advantages and disadvantages of these models of administrative supervision are analysed. Compliance with Article 8 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is of great importance for countries achieving common goals and sharing common values. However, countries under study have problems and, in some cases, demonstrate non-compliance with provisions of Article 8. Such non-conformity as the endorsement of a mayor by the Flemish Government in Belgium, supervision with a view to expediency in Great Britain, and the tendency to overuse supervisory power in Poland are analysed. On the basis of research, the tendencies of administrative supervision of local authorities’ activities in selected European countries are described. Several recommendations for Ukraine as a country that had been granted the EU candidate status are formulated. Having emphasised its willingness to become a member of the European community, Ukraine should not only follow the best European practices but also avoid the mistakes of countries that have long-term experience in developing the local self-government institution. This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement № P-PD-22-194

Keywords: administrative supervision, decentralisation, legality, local authorities, local self-government

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Authors: Ässia Boukhatmi, Roger Nyffenegger

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The expansion of solar energy as a means to address the climate crisis is undisputed, but the increasing number of new photovoltaic (PV) modules being put on the market is simultaneously leading to increased challenges in terms of managing the growing waste stream. Many of the discarded modules are still fully functional but are often damaged by improper handling after disassembly or not properly tested to be considered for a second life. In addition, the collection rate for dismantled PV modules in several European countries is only a fraction of previous projections, partly due to the increased number of illegal exports. The underlying problem for those market imperfections is an insufficient data exchange between the different actors along the PV value chain, as well as the limited traceability of PV panels during their lifetime. As part of the Horizon 2020 project CIRCUSOL, an asset database prototype was developed to tackle the described problems. In an iterative process applying the design science research methodology, different business models, as well as the technical implementation of the database, were established and evaluated. To explore the requirements of different stakeholders for the development of the database, surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with various representatives of the solar industry. The proposed database prototype maps the entire value chain of PV modules, beginning with the digital product passport, which provides information about materials and components contained in every module. Product-related information can then be expanded with performance data of existing installations. This information forms the basis for the application of data analysis methods to forecast the appropriate end-of-life strategy, as well as the circular economy potential of PV modules, already before they arrive at the recycling facility. The database prototype could already be enriched with data from different data sources along the value chain. From a business model perspective, the database offers opportunities both in the area of reuse as well as with regard to the certification of sustainable modules. Here, participating actors have the opportunity to differentiate their business and exploit new revenue streams. Future research can apply this approach to further industry and product sectors, validate the database prototype in a practical context, and can serve as a basis for standardization efforts to strengthen the circular economy.

Keywords: business model, circular economy, database, design science research, solar industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Pinzón Uribe Luis Felipe, Chávez Porras Álvaro, Ruge Castellanos Liliana Constanza

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According to global data, solid waste management of has low economic investment for its management in underdeveloped countries; being the main factor the advanced technologies acknowledge for proper operation and at the same time the technical development. Has been evidenced that communities have a distorted perception of the role and legalized final destinations for waste or "Landfill" places specific management; influenced primarily by their physical characteristics and the information that the media provide of these, as well as their wrong association with "open dumps". One of the major inconveniences in these landfills is the leachate sludge management from treatment plants; as this exhibit a composition highly contaminating (physical, chemical and biological) for the natural environment due to improper handling and disposal. This is the case Landfill Doña Juana (RSDJ), Bogotá, Colombia, considered among the largest in South America; where management problems have persisted for decades, since its creation being definitive on the concept that society has acquired about this form of waste disposal and improper leachate handling. Within this research process for treating phytoremediation alternatives were determined by using plants that are able to degrade heavy metals contained in these; allowing the resulting sludge to be used as a seal in the final landfill cover; within a restoration process, providing option to solve the landscape contamination problem, as well as in the communities perception and conflicts that generates landfill. For the project chemical assays were performed in sludge leachate that allowed the characterization of metals such as chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg), in order to meet the amount in the biosolids regard to the provisions of the USEPA 40 CFR 503. The evaluations showed concentrations of 102.2 mg / kg of Cr, 0.49 mg / kg Pb, 0.390 mg / kg of As and 0.104 mg / kg of Hg; being lower than of the standards. A literature review on native plant species suitable for an alternative process of phytoremediation, these metals degradation capable was developed. Concluding that among them, Vetiveria zizanioides, Eichhornia crassipes and Limnobium laevigatum, for their hiperacumulativas in their leaves, stems and roots characteristics may allow these toxic elements reduction of in the environment, improving the outlook for disposal.

Keywords: health, filling slurry of leachate, heavy metals, phytoremediation

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Authors: Agnieszka Feliczak-Guzik, Paulina Szczyglewska, Izabela Nowak

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A catalyst-assisted oxidation reaction is one of the key reactions exploited by various industries. Their conductivity yields essential compounds and intermediates, such as alcohols, epoxides, aldehydes, ketones, and organic acids. Researchers are devoting more and more attention to developing active and selective materials that find application in many catalytic reactions, such as cyclohexene epoxidation. This reaction yields 1,2-epoxycyclohexane and 1,2-diols as the main products. These compounds are widely used as intermediates in the perfume industry and synthesizing drugs and lubricants. Hence, our research aimed to use hierarchical zeolites modified with transition metal ions, e.g., Nb, V, and Ta, in the epoxidation reaction of cyclohexene using microwaveheating. Hierarchical zeolites are materials with secondary porosity, mainly in the mesoporous range, compared to microporous zeolites. In the course of the research, materials based on two commercial zeolites, with Faujasite (FAU) and Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) structures, were synthesized and characterized by various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms. The materials obtained were then used in a cyclohexene epoxidation reaction, which was carried out as follows: catalyst (0.02 g), cyclohexene (0.1 cm3), acetonitrile (5 cm3) and dihydrogen peroxide (0.085 cm3) were placed in a suitable glass reaction vessel with a magnetic stirrer inside in a microwave reactor. Reactions were carried out at 45° C for 6 h (samples were taken every 1 h). The reaction mixtures were filtered to separate the liquid products from the solid catalyst and then transferred to 1.5 cm3 vials for chromatographic analysis. The test techniques confirmed the acquisition of additional secondary porosity while preserving the structure of the commercial zeolite (XRD and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms). The results of the activity of the hierarchical catalyst modified with niobium in the cyclohexene epoxidation reaction indicate that the conversion of cyclohexene, after 6 h of running the process, is about 70%. As the main product of the reaction, 2-cyclohexanediol was obtained (selectivity > 80%). In addition to the mentioned product, adipic acid, cyclohexanol, cyclohex-2-en-1-one, and 1,2-epoxycyclohexane were also obtained. Furthermore, in a blank test, no cyclohexene conversion was obtained after 6 h of reaction. Acknowledgments The work was carried out within the project “Advanced biocomposites for tomorrow’s economy BIOG-NET,” funded by the Foundation for Polish Science from the European Regional Development Fund (POIR.04.04.00-00-1792/18-00.

Keywords: epoxidation, oxidation reactions, hierarchical zeolites, synthesis

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Authors: Niharika Kaushal, Minni Singh

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Fruit crops are widely cultivated throughout the World, with citrus being one of the most common. Mandarins, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are among the most frequently grown varieties. Citrus cultivars are industrially processed into juice, resulting in approx. 25-40% by wt. of biomass in the form of peels and seeds, generally considered as waste. In consequence, a significant amount of this nutraceutical-enriched biomass goes to waste, which, if utilized wisely, could revolutionize the functional food industry, as this biomass possesses a wide range of bioactive compounds, mainly within the class of polyphenols and terpenoids, making them an abundant source of functional bioactive. Mandarin is a potential source of bioflavonoids with putative antioxidative properties, and its potential application for developing value-added products is obvious. In this study, ‘kinnow’ mandarin (Citrus nobilis X Citrus deliciosa) biomass was studied for its flavonoid profile. For this, dried and pulverized peels were subjected to green and sustainable extraction techniques, namely, supercritical fluid extraction carried out under conditions pressure: 330 bar, temperature: 40 ̊ C and co-solvent: 10% ethanol. The obtained extract was observed to contain 47.3±1.06 mg/ml rutin equivalents as total flavonoids. Mass spectral analysis revealed the prevalence of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), chiefly tangeretin and nobiletin. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential was analyzed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, which was estimated to be at an IC₅₀ of 0.55μg/ml. The pre-systemic metabolism of flavonoids limits their functionality, as was observed in this study through in vitro gastrointestinal studies where nearly 50.0% of the flavonoids were degraded within 2 hours of gastric exposure. We proposed nanoencapsulation as a means to overcome this problem, and flavonoids-laden polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nano encapsulates were bioengineered using solvent evaporation method, and these were furnished to a particle size between 200-250nm, which exhibited protection of flavonoids in the gastric environment, allowing only 20% to be released in 2h. A further step involved impregnating the nano encapsulates within alginate hydrogels which were fabricated by ionic cross-linking, which would act as delivery vehicles within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. As a result, 100% protection was achieved from the pre-systemic release of bioflavonoids. These alginate hydrogels had key significant features, i.e., less porosity of nearly 20.0%, and Cryo-SEM (Cryo-scanning electron microscopy) images of the composite corroborate the packing ability of the alginate hydrogel. As a result of this work, it is concluded that the waste can be used to develop functional biomaterials while retaining the functionality of the bioactive itself.

Keywords: bioflavonoids, gastrointestinal, hydrogels, mandarins

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Authors: Abdirahman Barre, Abdihamid Salad Hassan, Iftin Abdi Mohamud, Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud, Ahmed Adan Mohamed, Mukhtaar Mohamed Idow

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Pasteurellosis (Hemorrhagic septicemia) is a common respiratory disease of camel that is an acutely fatal disease caused by Pasteurella multocida type A or several serotypes of Mannheimia hemolytic, which also affect other animals. The disease had shown to spread between animals, across herds and to humans. Meaning that the disease is Zoonosis. The study aimed at establishment of sero-prevalence of Pasteurellosis in some selected Districts of camel rearing in the Benadir Region. It was a cross-sectional study, where the study population was purposively chosen to consist of animals taken within three sub-Districts of Benadir Region, namely Sub-District (Daynile Township), Sub-District (Yaaqshid) Sub-District (kaxda). This was because they normally handle many camels in a day, thus making it easy for the investigator to access the required number conveniently; it was also assumed that data collected from these for-slaughter camels was representative of the situation in the sub-District/county. A total of one hundred and sixty camels were tested using four serological tests: Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT),) and Complex Fixation Test (CFT). The serological tests were purposively chosen to increase the chances of picking positive cases and also to compare their sensitivities with respect to camel serum since they were originally meant for use on bovine serum. Blood samples (15 ml) were collected for serum harvesting from the jugular veins of the animals as they were waiting to be examined. Rose Bengal plate test and CFT were run at a laboratory within the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Horsed, 21 October campus; serum samples having been transported in a cool box. On average, out of an overall total of 300 serum samples tested, 180 samples were selected as sample procedures and were given eleven (11) positive results, amounting to a prevalence of 6.67%. For the three Districts, respective prevalence (averaged from the two (2) serological tests run) were: 7% (3/50) for Yaqshiid; 8% (3/60) for Deyniile and 10% (3/70) for Kaxda. When sensitivities of the two (2) serological tests were compared, there was no significant difference between them with respect to the picking of positive cases (p=0.05). The study has demonstrated presence of Pasterolosis in camels in Benadir Region and the authors are recommending the usage of RBPT and CFT as screening tests, since they are cheap, quick, and easy to carry out. Any of the other three involving tests can then be used if one wants to establish respective titers. Therefore, further detailed investigation needs to be conducted so as to understand specific etiological agents causing pasteurollosis in camel and can be instituted to optimize the benefit obtained from the camel sector.

Keywords: hemorrhagic septicemia, camel, prevalence, Benadir region, Somalia

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Authors: Rui Fonseca-Pinto, Emanuel Silva, Rui Rijo, Ricardo Martinho, Bruno Carreira

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The sedentary lifestyle is associated to the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases (obesity, hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus Type 2) and the World Health Organization, given the evidence that physical activity is determinant for individual and collective health, defined the Physical Activity Level (PAL) as a vital signal. Strategies for increasing the practice of physical activity in all age groups have emerged from the various social organizations (municipalities, universities, health organizations, companies, social groups) by increasingly developing innovative strategies to promote motivation strategies and conditions to the practice of physical activity. The adaptation of cities to the new paradigms of sustainable mobility has provided the adaptation of urban training circles and mobilized citizens to combat sedentarism. This adaptation has accompanied the technological evolution and makes possible the use of mobile technology to monitor outdoor training programs and also, through the network connection (IoT), use the training data to make personalized recommendations. This work presents a physical activity counseling platform to be used in the physical maintenance circuits of urban centers, the MOVIDA.polis. The platform consists of a back office for the management of circuits and training stations, and for a mobile application for monitoring the user performance during workouts. Using a QRcode, each training station is recognized by the App and based on the individual performance records (effort perception, heart rate variation) artificial intelligence algorithms are used to make a new personalized recommendation. The results presented in this work were obtained during the proof of concept phase, which was carried out in the PolisLeiria training circuit in the city of Leiria (Portugal). It was possible to verify the increase in adherence to the practice of physical activity, as well as to decrease the interval between training days. Moreover, the AI-based recommendation acts as a partner in the training and an additional challenging factor. The platform is ready to be used by other municipalities in order to reduce the levels of sedentarism and approach the weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia FCT- Portugal and CENTRO2020 under the scope of MOVIDA project: 02/SAICT/2016 – 23878.

Keywords: physical activity, mHealth, urban training circuits, health promotion

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Authors: Pisut Boonkaew, Jatuporn Thongsri

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In hard disk drive manufacturing industry, the process of reducing an unnecessary part and qualifying the quality of part before assembling is important. Thus, clamp was designed and fabricated as a fixture for holding in testing process. Basically, testing by trial and error consumes a long time to improve. Consequently, the simulation was brought to improve the part and reduce the time taken. The problem is the present clamp has a low life expectancy because of the critical stress that occurred. Hence, the simulation was brought to study the behavior of stress and compressive force to improve the clamp expectancy with all probability of designs which are present up to 27 designs, which excluding the repeated designs. The probability was calculated followed by the full fractional rules of six sigma methodology which was provided correctly. The six sigma methodology is a well-structured method for improving quality level by detecting and reducing the variability of the process. Therefore, the defective will be decreased while the process capability increasing. This research focuses on the methodology of stress and fatigue reduction while compressive force still remains in the acceptable range that has been set by the company. In the simulation, ANSYS simulates the 3D CAD with the same condition during the experiment. Then the force at each distance started from 0.01 to 0.1 mm will be recorded. The setting in ANSYS was verified by mesh convergence methodology and compared the percentage error with the experimental result; the error must not exceed the acceptable range. Therefore, the improved process focuses on degree, radius, and length that will reduce stress and still remain in the acceptable force number. Therefore, the fatigue analysis will be brought as the next process in order to guarantee that the lifetime will be extended by simulating through ANSYS simulation program. Not only to simulate it, but also to confirm the setting by comparing with the actual clamp in order to observe the different of fatigue between both designs. This brings the life time improvement up to 57% compared with the actual clamp in the manufacturing. This study provides a precise and trustable setting enough to be set as a reference methodology for the future design. Because of the combination and adaptation from the six sigma method, finite element, fatigue and linear regressive analysis that lead to accurate calculation, this project will able to save up to 60 million dollars annually.

Keywords: clamp, finite element analysis, structural, six sigma, linear regressive analysis, fatigue analysis, probability

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Authors: Diego Caballero Vélez

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In 1997 the Schengen Convention was incorporated in the mainstream of EU law by the Amsterdam Treaty. It came into effect in 1999 with the abolition of internal border controls in the EU, a milestone in the European integration project. In the meantime, due to the Yugoslav wars, nearly 700,000 asylum applications were filed in the European countries provoking a major refugee crisis. During this period, the opening of Eastern Europe fostered more cooperation and policy-making at the EU level in migration issues. Currently, a similar migratory crisis is taking place in Europe. The Syrian war has caused the most massive influx of immigrants in Europe since World War II. Nevertheless, the EU is adopting different migration policies from those implemented during the Yugoslav migration crisis. The current crisis has not led to a common European position but national responses have been offered on migration policies and responsibility for border security and asylum-seekers. A lot of factors can explain this change from a cooperation scenario to a no cooperation one, such as the economic crisis, but this research is focused on the premise that 'threat perception' lies at the core of some states grand strategies towards migration and it also influences in multilateral or unilateral responses. Migration rests at the nexus of three dimensions of security, including geopolitical interests, material production, and internal security. According to some scholars, migration policy is an 'integral instrument' of state grand strategy in that context. Political integration at the EU might be altered with the emergence of existential threats. In other words, some areas of the European cooperation can be transformed when a 'critical juncture' occurs, for instance a migration crisis. In that instance, Member states could see migration as a matter of threat that modifies their national interests and willingness to embrace international cooperation. This research will focus on EU Member states´ perceptions of the 90´s migration crisis and the current one. The goal is to evaluate to what extent the perceptions of threat are one of the main factors for explaining the transition from a cooperation scenario to a no-cooperation one in European asylum and security policies. To analyze threat perception in both migration crisis, some relevant Member states are treated as cases of study and a comparative analysis is carried out based on public opinion polls, public and policy discourse in migration, voting practices and deconstruction of the migration policies themselves both at EU level and a national one.

Keywords: cooperation, migration crisis, national responses, threat perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: Nawaf Al Khashram, Graham Arnold, Weijie Wang

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Background—Gait classifying allows clinicians to differentiate gait patterns into clinically important categories that help in clinical decision making. Reliable comparison of gait data between normal and patients requires knowledge of the gait parameters of normal children's specific age group. However, there is still a lack of the gait database for normal children of different ages. Objectives—The aim of this study is to investigate the kinematics of the lower limb joints during gait for normal children in different age groups. Methods—Fifty-three normal children (34 boys, 19 girls) were recruited in this study. All the children were aged between 5 to 16 years old. Age groups were defined as three types: young child aged (5-7), child (8-11), and adolescent (12-16). When a participant agreed to take part in the project, their parents signed a consent form. Vicon® motion capture system was used to collect gait data. Participants were asked to walk at their comfortable speed along a 10-meter walkway. Each participant walked up to 20 trials. Three good trials were analyzed using the Vicon Plug-in-Gait model to obtain parameters of the gait, e.g., walking speed, cadence, stride length, and joint parameters, e.g. joint angle, force, moments, etc. Moreover, each gait cycle was divided into 8 phases. The range of motion (ROM) angle of pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle joints in three planes of both limbs were calculated using an in-house program. Results—The temporal-spatial variables of three age groups of normal children were compared between each other; it was found that there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the groups. The step length and walking speed were gradually increasing from young child to adolescent, while cadence was gradually decreasing from young child to adolescent group. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the step length of young child, child and adolescent groups were 0.502 ± 0.067 m, 0.566 ± 0.061 m and 0.672 ± 0.053 m, respectively. The mean and SD of the cadence of the young child, child and adolescent groups were 140.11±15.79 step/min, 129±11.84 step/min, and a 115.96±6.47 step/min, respectively. Moreover, it was observed that there were significant differences in kinematic parameters, either whole gait cycle or each phase. For example, RoM of knee angle in the sagittal plane in whole cycle of young child group is (65.03±0.52 deg) larger than child group (63.47±0.47 deg). Conclusion—Our result showed that there are significant differences between each age group in the gait phases and thus children walking performance changes with ages. Therefore, it is important for the clinician to consider age group when analyzing the patients with lower limb disorders before any clinical treatment.

Keywords: age group, gait analysis, kinematics, normal children

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Onur Ozveri, Korkut Karabag, Cagri Keles

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It is an important issue that the occurring of production downtime and repair costs when machines fail in the machine intensive production industries. In the case of failure of more than one machine at the same time, which machines will have the priority to repair, how to determine the optimal repair time should be allotted for this machines and how to plan the resources needed to repair are the key issues. In recent years, Business Process Management (BPM) technique, bring effective solutions to different problems in business. The main feature of this technique is that it can improve the way the job done by examining in detail the works of interest. In the industries, maintenance and repair works are operating as a process and when a breakdown occurs, it is known that the repair work is carried out in a series of process. Maintenance main-process and repair sub-process are evaluated with process management technique, so it is thought that structure could bring a solution. For this reason, in an international manufacturing company, this issue discussed and has tried to develop a proposal for a solution. The purpose of this study is the implementation of maintenance and repair works which is integrated with process management technique and at the end of implementation, analyzing the maintenance related parameters like quality, cost, time, safety and spare part. The international firm that carried out the application operates in a free region in Turkey and its core business area is producing original equipment technologies, vehicle electrical construction, electronics, safety and thermal systems for the world's leading light and heavy vehicle manufacturers. In the firm primarily, a project team has been established. The team dealt with the current maintenance process again, and it has been revised again by the process management techniques. Repair process which is sub-process of maintenance process has been discussed again. In the improved processes, the ABC equipment classification technique was used to decide which machine or machines will be given priority in case of failure. This technique is a prioritization method of malfunctioned machine based on the effect of the production, product quality, maintenance costs and job security. Improved maintenance and repair processes have been implemented in the company for three months, and the obtained data were compared with the previous year data. In conclusion, breakdown maintenance was found to occur in a shorter time, with lower cost and lower spare parts inventory.

Keywords: ABC equipment classification, business process management (BPM), maintenance, repair performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Bita Rabbani, Hossein Chiti, Faranak Sharifi, Saeedeh Mazloomzadeh

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Background: Lifestyle modifications, especially improving nutritional patterns and increasing physical activity, are the most important factors in preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. For this purpose, the following interventional study was designed to investigate the effects of educational programs for students, as well as changes in diet and physical activity, on obesity and components of the metabolic syndrome. Methods: This study is part of an interventional research project (elementary school) conducted on all students of Sama schools in Zanjan and Abhar in three levels of elementary, middle, and high school, including 1000 individuals in Zanjan (intervention group) and 1000 individuals (control group) in Abhar in 2011. Interventions were based on educating students, teachers, and parents, changes in food services, and physical activity. We primarily measured anthropometric indices, fasting blood sugar, lipid profiles, and blood pressure and completed standard nutrition and physical activity questionnaires. Also, blood insulin levels were randomly measured in a number of students. Data analysis was done by SPSS software version 16.0. Results: Overall, 589 individuals (252 male, 337 female) entered the case group, and 803 individuals (344 male, 459 female) entered the control group. After two years of intervention, mean waist circumference (63.8 ± 10.9) and diastolic BP (63.8 ± 10.4) were significantly lower; however, mean systolic BP (10.1.0 ± 12.5), food score (25.0 ± 5.0) and drinking score (12.1 ± 2.3) were higher in the intervention group (p<0.001). Comparing components of metabolic syndrome between the second year and at time of recruitment within the intervention group showed that although number of overweight/obese individuals, individuals with hypertriglyceridemia and high LDL increased, abdominal obesity, high BP, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance decreased (p<0.001). On the other hand, in the control group, number of individuals with high BP increased significantly. Conclusion: The prevalence of abdominal obesity and hypertension, which are two major components of metabolic syndrome, are much higher in our study than in other regions of country. However, interventions for modification of diet and increase in physical activity are effective in lowering their prevalence.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, obesity, life style, nutrition, hypertension

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Hamideh Sadat Zekri, Seyed Mojtaba Hosseinalipour, Mohammadreza Hafezi

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Nowadays, an organization cannot usually overcome all tasks singly due to the increasing complexity and vast expanse of projects, increment in uncertainty of activities, fast advances in technology, advent and influence of various factors in decision-making and implication of projects, and competitive atmosphere of different affairs. Thus, firms proceed to outsource the tasks to subcontractors. Nevertheless, large Iranian contracting companies suffer from extra consumed costs and time owing to conflicts between the activities of suppliers and subcontractors. The paucity of coordination in planning and execution, scarcity of coordination among suppliers, subcontractors, and the main contractor during the implementation of construction activities and also the lack of proper management of the aforesaid situation result in the growth of contradictions, number of claims, and legal issues in a project and consequently impose enormous expenses on those companies. Regarding the prosperity of supply chain management in other industries, its importance is increasingly getting appreciated in the field of construction. The ultimate aim of supply chain management is an effective delivery of the best value for customers, which is achievable by encouraging the members to interact and collaborate. In the present research, there was an effort to obtain a set of relevant challenges in the managing of subcontractors by identifying the main contractors and subcontractors and their role in the execution of projects and the supply chain management in the construction industry. Then, some of those challenges were selected in accordance with the views of industry professionals and academic experts. In the next step, a questionnaire was prepared and completed based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the challenges were prioritized. When it comes to subcontractors, the findings of the research demonstrate that difficulties in timely payments, alterations in approved drawings and the lack of rectification of job after completion by the subcontractor, paucity of a predetermined and legal process for qualifications of subcontractors, neglecting the supply chain processes in material procurement from producers, and delays in delivery of works by a subcontractor are the most significant problems. Finally, some solutions for encountering, eradicating, or reducing of mentioned problems are presented in accordance with previous studies and a survey from specialists.

Keywords: main contractors, subcontractors, supply chain management, construction supply chain, analytic hierarchy process, solution

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Sharon Jackson White

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Purpose: Nurse practitioners (NPs) practicing within hospital medicine play a significant role in caring for patients who might benefit from palliative care (PC) services. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among facilitators to referral, barriers to referral, self-efficacy with end-of-life discussions, history of referral, and referring to PC among NPs in hospital medicine. Hypotheses: 1) Perceived facilitators to referral will be associated with a higher history of referral and a higher number of referrals to PC. 2) Perceived barriers to referral will be associated with a lower history of referral and a lower number of referrals to PC. 3) Increased self-efficacy with end-of-life discussions will be associated with a higher history of referral and a higher number of referrals to PC. 4) Perceived facilitators to referral, perceived barriers to referral, and self–efficacy with end-of-life discussions will contribute to a significant variance in the history of referral to PC. 5) Perceived facilitators to referral, perceived barriers to referral, and self–efficacy with end-of-life discussions will contribute to a significant variance in the number of referrals to PC. Significance: Previous studies of referring patients to PC within the hospital setting care have focused on physician practices. Identifying factors that influence NPs referring hospitalized patients to PC is essential to ensure that patients have access to these important services. This study incorporates the SNRS mission of advancing nursing research through the dissemination of research findings and the promotion of nursing science. Methods: A cross-sectional, predictive correlational study was conducted. History of referral to PC, facilitators to referring to PC, barriers to referring to PC, self-efficacy in end-of-life discussions, and referral to PC were measured using the PC referral case study survey, facilitators and barriers to PC referral survey, and self-assessment with end-of-life discussions survey. Data were analyzed descriptively and with Pearson’s Correlation, Spearman’s Rho, point-biserial correlation, multiple regression, logistic regression, Chi-Square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Only one facilitator (PC team being helpful with establishing goals of care) was significantly associated with referral to PC. Three variables were statistically significant in relation to the history of referring to PC: “Inclined to refer: PC can help decrease the length of stay in hospital”, “Most inclined to refer: Patients with serious illnesses and/or poor prognoses”, and “Giving bad news to a patient or family member”. No predictor variables contributed a significant variance in the number of referrals to PC for all three case studies. There were no statistically significant results showing a relationship between the history of referral and referral to PC. All five hypotheses were partially supported. Discussion: Findings from this study emphasize the need for further research on NPs who work in hospital settings and what factors influence their behaviors of referring to PC. Since there is an increase in NPs practicing within hospital settings, future studies should use a larger sample size and incorporate hospital medicine NPs and other types of NPs that work in hospitals.

Keywords: palliative care, nurse practitioners, hospital medicine, referral

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Setyarini Sri, Nursalim Agus

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Integrating critical thinking and digital based learning is one of demands in teaching English in 21st century. Child-friendly digital storytelling (CFDS) is an innovative learning model to promote young learners’ critical thinking. Therefore, this study aims to (1) investigate how child-friendly digital storytelling is implemented to promote young learners’ critical thinking in speaking English; (2) find out the benefits gained by the students in their learning based on CFDS. Classroom Action Research (CAR) took place in two cycles in which each of the cycle covered four phases namely: Planning, Acting, Observing, and Evaluating. Three classes of seventh graders were selected as the subjects of this study. Data were collected through observation, interview with some selected students as respondents, and document analysis in the form individual recorded storytelling. Sentences, phrases, words found in the transcribed data were identified and categorized based on Bloom taxonomy. The findings from the first cycle showed that the students seemed to speak critically that can be seen from the way they understood the story and related the story to their real life. Meanwhile, the result investigated from the second cycle likely indicated their higher level of critical thinking since the students spoke in English critically through comparing, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating the story by giving arguments, opinions, and comments. Such higher levels of critical thinking were also found in the students’ final project of individual recorded digital story. It is elaborated from the students’ statements in the interview who claimed CFDS offered opportunity to the students to promote their critical thinking because they comprehended the story deeply as they experienced in their real life. This learning model created good learning atmosphere and engaged the students directly so that they looked confident to retell the story in various perspectives. In term of the benefits of child-friendly digital storytelling, the students found it beneficial for some enjoyable classroom activities through watching beautiful and colorful pictures, listening to clear and good sounds, appealing moving motion and emotionally they were involved in that story. In the interview, the students also stated that child-friendly digital storytelling eased them to understand the meaning of the story as they were motivated and enthusiastic to speak in English critically.

Keywords: critical thinking, child-friendly digital storytelling, English speaking, promoting, young learners

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Geday Elias, Montaigne Etienne, Padilla Martine, Tollossa Degefa

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Smallholder farmers’ participation in agricultural value chain identified as a pathway to get out of poverty trap in Ethiopia. The smallholder dairy activities have a huge potential in poverty reduction through enhancing income, achieving food and nutritional security in the country. However, much less is known about the effects of smallholder’s participation in milk value chain on household food security and nutrition. This paper therefore, aims at evaluating the effects of smallholders’ participation in milk value chain on household food security taking in to account the four pillars of food security measurements (availability, access, utilization and stability). Using a semi-structured interview, a cross sectional farm household data collected from a randomly selected sample of 333 households (170 in Amhara and 163 in Oromia regions).Binary logit and propensity score matching( PSM) models are employed to examine the mechanisms through which smallholder’s participation in the milk value chain affects household food security where crop production, per capita calorie intakes, diet diversity score, and food insecurity access scale are used to measure food availability, access, utilization and stability respectively. Our findings reveal from 333 households, only 34.5% of smallholder farmers are participated in the milk value chain. Limited access to inputs and services, limited access to inputs markets and high transaction costs are key constraints for smallholders’ limited access to the milk value chain. To estimate the true average participation effects of milk value chain for participated households, the outcome variables (food security) of farm households who participated in milk value chain are compared with the outcome variables if the farm households had not participated. The PSM analysis reveals smallholder’s participation in milk value chain has a significant positive effect on household income, food security and nutrition. Smallholder farmers who are participated in milk chain are better by 15 quintals crops production and 73 percent of per capita calorie intakes in food availability and access respectively than smallholder farmers who are not participated in the market. Similarly, the participated households are better in dietary quality by 112 percents than non-participated households. Finally, smallholders’ who are participated in milk value chain are better in reducing household vulnerability to food insecurity by an average of 130 percent than non participated households. The results also shows income earned from milk value chain participation contributed to reduce capital’s constraints of the participated households’ by higher farm income and total household income by 5164 ETB and 14265 ETB respectively. This study therefore, confirms the potential role of smallholders’ participation in food value chain to get out of poverty trap through improving rural household income, food security and nutrition. Therefore, identified the determinants of smallholder participation in milk value chain and the participation effects on food security in the study areas are worth considering as a positive knock for policymakers and development agents to tackle the poverty trap in the study area in particular and in the country in general.

Keywords: effects, food security and nutrition, milk, participation, smallholders, value chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Elisabeth Unterfrauner, Christian Voigt

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Since the foundation of the first Fab Lab by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about 17 years ago, the Maker movement has spread globally with the foundation of maker spaces and Fab Labs worldwide. In these workshops, citizens have access to digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers and laser cutters to develop and test their own ideas and prototypes, which makes it an attractive place for start-up companies. Know-How is shared not only in the physical space but also online in diverse communities. According to the Horizon report, the Maker movement, however, will also have an impact on educational settings in the following years. The European project ‘DOIT - Entrepreneurial skills for young social innovators in an open digital world’ has incorporated key elements of making to develop an early entrepreneurial education program for children between the age of six and 16. The Maker pedagogy builds on constructive learning approaches, learning by doing principles, learning in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams and learning through trial and error where mistakes are acknowledged as learning opportunities. The DOIT program consists of seven consecutive elements. It starts with a motivation phase where students get motivated by envisioning the scope of their possibilities. The second step is about Co-design: Students are asked to collect and select potential ideas for innovations. In the Co-creation phase students gather in teams and develop first prototypes of their ideas. In the iteration phase, the prototype is continuously improved and in the next step, in the reflection phase, feedback on the prototypes is exchanged between the teams. In the last two steps, scaling and reaching out, the robustness of the prototype is tested with a bigger group of users outside of the educational setting and finally students will share their projects with a wider public. The DOIT program involves 1,000 children in two pilot phases at 11 pilot sites in ten different European countries. The comprehensive evaluation design is based on a mixed method approach with a theoretical backbone on Lackeus’ model of entrepreneurship education, which distinguishes between entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial knowledge. A pre-post-test with quantitative measures as well as qualitative data from interviews with facilitators, students and workshop protocols will reveal the effectiveness of the program. The evaluation results will be presented at the conference.

Keywords: early entrepreneurial education, Fab Lab, maker education, Maker movement

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Noga Bregman

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Accurate and efficient earthquake detection and phase picking are crucial for seismic hazard assessment and emergency response. This study introduces EQMamba, a deep-learning method that combines the strengths of the Earthquake Transformer and the Mamba model for simultaneous earthquake detection and phase picking. EQMamba leverages the computational efficiency of Mamba layers to process longer seismic sequences while maintaining a manageable model size. The proposed architecture integrates convolutional neural networks (CNNs), bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) networks, and Mamba blocks. The model employs an encoder composed of convolutional layers and max pooling operations, followed by residual CNN blocks for feature extraction. Mamba blocks are applied to the outputs of BiLSTM blocks, efficiently capturing long-range dependencies in seismic data. Separate decoders are used for earthquake detection, P-wave picking, and S-wave picking. We trained and evaluated EQMamba using a subset of the STEAD dataset, a comprehensive collection of labeled seismic waveforms. The model was trained using a weighted combination of binary cross-entropy loss functions for each task, with the Adam optimizer and a scheduled learning rate. Data augmentation techniques were employed to enhance the model's robustness. Performance comparisons were conducted between EQMamba and the EQTransformer over 20 epochs on this modest-sized STEAD subset. Results demonstrate that EQMamba achieves superior performance, with higher F1 scores and faster convergence compared to EQTransformer. EQMamba reached F1 scores of 0.8 by epoch 5 and maintained higher scores throughout training. The model also exhibited more stable validation performance, indicating good generalization capabilities. While both models showed lower accuracy in phase-picking tasks compared to detection, EQMamba's overall performance suggests significant potential for improving seismic data analysis. The rapid convergence and superior F1 scores of EQMamba, even on a modest-sized dataset, indicate promising scalability for larger datasets. This study contributes to the field of earthquake engineering by presenting a computationally efficient and accurate method for simultaneous earthquake detection and phase picking. Future work will focus on incorporating Mamba layers into the P and S pickers and further optimizing the architecture for seismic data specifics. The EQMamba method holds the potential for enhancing real-time earthquake monitoring systems and improving our understanding of seismic events.

Keywords: earthquake, detection, phase picking, s waves, p waves, transformer, deep learning, seismic waves

Procedia PDF Downloads 28

Authors: Oğuz Taşbozan, Celal Erbaş, Şefik Surhan Tabakoğlu, Mahmut Ali Gökçe

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Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and particularly the levels and ratios of ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids are important for biological functions in humans and recognized as essential components of human diet. According to the terms of many different points of view, the nutritional composition of fish in culture conditions and caught from wild are wondered by the consumers. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition of cage-cultured and wild sharpsnout seabream which has been preferred by the consumers as an economical important fish species in Turkey. The fish were caught from wild and obtained from cage-cultured commercial companies. Eight fish were obtained for each group, and their average weights of the samples were 245.8±13.5 g for cultured, 149.4±13.3 g for wild samples. All samples were stored in freezer (-18 °C) and analyses were carried out in triplicates, using homogenized boneless fish fillets. Proximate compositions (protein, ash, moisture and lipid) were determined. The fatty acid composition was analyzed by a GC Clarous 500 with auto sampler (Perkin–Elmer, USA). Proximate compositions of cage-cultured and wild samples of sharpsnout seabream were found statistical differences in terms of proximate composition between the groups. The saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and PUFA amounts of cultured and wild sharpsnout seabream were significantly different. ω3/ω6 ratio was higher in the cultured group. Especially in protein level and lipid level of cultured samples was significantly higher than wild counterparts. One of the reasons for this, cultured species exposed to continuous feeding. This situation had a direct effect on their body lipid content. The fatty acid composition of fish differs depending on a variety of factors including species, diet, environmental factors and whether they are farmed or wild. The higher levels of MUFA in the cultured fish may be explained with the high content of monoenoic fatty acids in the feed of cultured fish as in some other species. The ω3/ω6 ratio is a good index for comparing the relative nutritional value of fish oils. In our study, the cultured sharpsnout seabream appears to be better nutritious in terms of ω3/ω6. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Scientific Research Project Unit of the University of Cukurova, Turkey under grant no FBA-2016-5780.

Keywords: Diplodus puntazo, cage cultured, PUFA, fatty acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: J. F. Reinoso-Gordo, F. J. Ariza-López, A. Mozas-Calvache, J. L. García-Balboa, S. Eddargani

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The DEMs quality may depend on several factors such as data source, capture method, processing type used to derive them, or the cell size of the DEM. The two most important capture methods to produce regional-sized DEMs are photogrammetry and LiDAR; DEMs covering entire countries have been obtained with these methods. The quality of these DEMs has traditionally been evaluated by the national cartographic agencies through punctual sampling that focused on its vertical component. For this type of evaluation there are standards such as NMAS and ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data. However, it seems more appropriate to carry out this evaluation by means of a method that takes into account the superficial nature of the DEM and, therefore, its sampling is superficial and not punctual. This work is part of the Research Project "Functional Quality of Digital Elevation Models in Engineering" where it is necessary to control the quality of a DEM whose data source is an experimental LiDAR flight with a density of 14 points per square meter to which we call Point Cloud Product (PCpro). In the present work it is described the capture data on the ground and the postprocessing tasks until getting the point cloud that will be used as reference (PCref) to evaluate the PCpro quality. Each PCref consists of a patch 50x50 m size coming from a registration of 4 different scan stations. The area studied was the Spanish region of Navarra that covers an area of 10,391 km2; 30 patches homogeneously distributed were necessary to sample the entire surface. The patches have been captured using a Leica BLK360 terrestrial laser scanner mounted on a pole that reached heights of up to 7 meters; the position of the scanner was inverted so that the characteristic shadow circle does not exist when the scanner is in direct position. To ensure that the accuracy of the PCref is greater than that of the PCpro, the georeferencing of the PCref has been carried out with real-time GNSS, and its accuracy positioning was better than 4 cm; this accuracy is much better than the altimetric mean square error estimated for the PCpro (<15 cm); The kind of DEM of interest is the corresponding to the bare earth, so that it was necessary to apply a filter to eliminate vegetation and auxiliary elements such as poles, tripods, etc. After the postprocessing tasks the PCref is ready to be compared with the PCpro using different techniques: cloud to cloud or after a resampling process DEM to DEM.

Keywords: data quality, DEM, LiDAR, terrestrial laser scanner, accuracy

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Lalita Subedi, Jae Kyoung Chae, Yong Un Park, Cho Kyo Hee, Lee Jae Hyuk, Kang Min Cheol, Sun Yeou Kim

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Neuroinflammation may mediate the relationship between low levels of estrogens and neurodegenerative disease. Estrogens are neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory in neurodegenerative disease models. Due to the long term side effects of estrogens, researches have been focused on finding an effective phytoestrogens for biological activities. Daidzein present in soybeans and its active metabolite equol (7-hydroxy-3-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman) bears strong antioxidant and anticancer showed more potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective role in neuroinflammatory model confirmed its in vitro activity with molecular mechanism through NF-κB pathway. Three major CNS cells Microglia (BV-2), Astrocyte (C6), Neuron (N2a) were used to find the effect of equol in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), MAPKs signaling proteins, apoptosis related proteins by western blot analysis. Nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was measured by the Gries method and ELISA, respectively. Cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 were also measured in the conditioned medium of LPS activated cells with or without equol. Equol inhibited the NO production, PGE-2 production and expression of COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-stimulated microglial cells at a dose dependent without any cellular toxicity. At the same time Equol also showed promising effect in modulation of MAPK’s and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression with significant inhibition of the production of proinflammatory cytokine like interleukin -6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α). Additionally, it inhibited the LPS activated microglia-induced neuronal cell death by downregulating the apoptotic phenomenon in neuronal cells. Furthermore, equol increases the production of neurotrophins like NGF and increase the neurite outgrowth as well. In conclusion the natural daidzein metabolite equol are more active than daidzein, which showed a promising effectiveness as an anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective agent via downregulating the LPS stimulated microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis. This work was supported by Brain Korea 21 Plus project and High Value-added Food Technology Development Program 114006-4, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Keywords: apoptosis, equol, neuroinflammation, phytoestrogen

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Felicia N. Obialo, Aliza Wingo, Thomas Wingo

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Psychosocial factors such as personality traits and social networks influence cognitive aging and dementia outcomes both positively and negatively. The inherent complexity of these factors makes defining the underlying mechanisms of their influence difficult; however, exploring their interactions affords promise in the field of cognitive aging. The objective of this study was to elucidate some of these interactions by determining the relationship between social network size and dementia outcomes and by determining whether personality traits mediate this relationship. The longitudinal Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) database provided by Rush University’s Religious Orders Study/Memory and Aging Project was utilized to perform retrospective regression and mediation analyses on 3,591 participants. Participants who were cognitively impaired at baseline were excluded, and analyses were adjusted for age, sex, common chronic diseases, and vascular risk factors. Dementia outcome measures included cognitive trajectory, clinical dementia diagnosis, and postmortem beta-amyloid plaque (AB), and neurofibrillary tangle (NT) accumulation. Personality traits included agreeableness (A), conscientiousness (C), extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and openness (O). The results show a positive correlation between social network size and cognitive trajectory (p-value = 0.004) and a negative relationship between social network size and odds of dementia diagnosis (p = 0.024/ Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.974). Only neuroticism mediates the positive relationship between social network size and cognitive trajectory (p < 2e-16). Agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism all mediate the negative relationship between social network size and dementia diagnosis (p=0.098, p=0.054, and p < 2e-16, respectively). All personality traits are independently associated with dementia diagnosis (A: p = 0.016/ OR = 0.959; C: p = 0.000007/ OR = 0.945; E: p = 0.028/ OR = 0.961; N: p = 0.000019/ OR = 1.036; O: p = 0.027/ OR = 0.972). Only conscientiousness and neuroticism are associated with postmortem AD pathologies; specifically, conscientiousness is negatively associated (AB: p = 0.001, NT: p = 0.025) and neuroticism is positively associated with pathologies (AB: p = 0.002, NT: p = 0.002). These results support the study’s objectives, demonstrating that social network size and personality traits are strongly associated with dementia outcomes, particularly the odds of receiving a clinical diagnosis of dementia. Personality traits interact significantly and beneficially with social network size to influence the cognitive trajectory and future dementia diagnosis. These results reinforce previous literature linking social network size to dementia risk and provide novel insight into the differential roles of individual personality traits in cognitive protection.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive trajectory, personality traits, social network size

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Mandayachepa C. Nyando, Lauren Suchman, Innocencia Mtalimanja, Address Malata, Tamanda Jumbe, Martha Kamanga, Peter Waiswa

Abstract:

Background: Subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) is a new innovation in contraceptive methods that allow users to inject themselves with a hormonal contraceptive in their own homes. Self-injection (SI) of DMPA-SC has the potential to improve the accessibility of family planning to women who want it and who are capable of injecting themselves. Malawi started implementing this new innovation in 2018. SI was incorporated into the DMPA-SC delivery strategy from its outset. Methodology: This study involved two districts in Malawi where DMPA-SC SI was rolled out: Mulanje and Ntchisi. We used a qualitative cross-sectional study design where 60 in-depth interviews were conducted with women of reproductive age group stratified as 15-45 age band. These included women who were SI users, non-users, and any woman who was on any contraceptive methods. The women participants were tape-recorded, and data were transcribed and then analysed using Dedoose software, where themes were categorised into mother and child themes. Results: Women perceived DMPA SC SI as uniquely private, convenient, and less painful when self-injected. In terms of privacy, women in Mulanje and Ntchisi especially appreciated that self-injecting allowed them to use covertly from partners. Some men do not allow their spouses to use modern contraceptive methods; hence women prefer to use them covertly. “… but I first reach out to men because the strongest power is answered by men (MJ015).” In addition, women reported that SI offers privacy from family/community and less contact with healthcare providers. These aspects of privacy were especially valued in areas where there is a high degree of mistrust around family planning and among those who feel judged or antagonized purchasing contraception, such as young unmarried women. Women also valued the convenience SI provided in terms of their ability to save time by injecting themselves at home rather than visiting a healthcare provider and having more reliable access to contraception, particularly in the face of stockouts. SI allows for stocking up on doses to accommodate shifting work schedules in case of future stockouts or hard times, such as the period of COVID-19, where there was a limitation in the movement of the people. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that SI may meet the needs of many women in Malawi as long as the barriers are eliminated. The barriers women mentioned include fear of self-inject and proper storage of the DMPA SC SI, and these barriers can be eliminated by proper training. The findings also set the scene for policy revision and direction at a national level and integrate the approach with national family planning strategies in Malawi. Findings provide insights that may guide future implementation strategies, strengthen non-clinic family planning access programs and stimulate continued research.

Keywords: family planning, Malawi, Sayana press, self-injection

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Ronaldo de Lima Cardoso, Thiago V. C. Marcos, Felipe J. da Costa, Antonio C. da Oliveira, Paulo G. P. Toro

Abstract:

The 14-X is a strategic project of the Brazil Air Force Command to develop a technological demonstrator of a hypersonic air-breathing propulsion system based on supersonic combustion programmed to flight in the Earth's atmosphere at 30 km of altitude and Mach number 10. The 14-X is under development at the Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonic Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu of the Institute of Advanced Studies. The program began in 2007 and was planned to have three stages: development of the wave rider configuration, development of the scramjet configuration and finally the ground tests in the hypersonic shock tunnel T3. The install configuration of the model based in the scramjet of the 14-X in the test section of the hypersonic shock tunnel was made to proportionate and test the flight conditions in the inlet of the combustion chamber. Experimental studies with hypersonic shock tunnel require special techniques to data acquisition. To measure the pressure along the experimental model geometry tested we used 30 pressure transducers model 122A22 of PCB®. The piezoeletronic crystals of a piezoelectric transducer pressure when to suffer pressure variation produces electric current (PCB® PIEZOTRONIC, 2016). The reading of the signal of the pressure transducers was made by oscilloscope. After the studies had begun we observed that the pressure inside in the combustion chamber was lower than expected. One solution to improve the pressure inside the combustion chamber was install an obstacle to providing high temperature and pressure. To confirm if the combustion occurs was selected the spectroscopy emission technique. The region analyzed for the spectroscopy emission system is the edge of the obstacle installed inside the combustion chamber. The emission spectroscopy technique was used to observe the emission of the OH*, confirming or not the combustion of the mixture between atmospheric air in supersonic speed and the hydrogen fuel inside of the combustion chamber of the model. This paper shows the results of experimental studies of the supersonic combustion induced by shock wave performed at the Hypersonic Shock Tunnel T3 using the scramjet 14-X model. Also, this paper provides important data about the combustion studies using the model based on the engine of 14-X (second stage of the 14-X Program). Informing the possibility of necessaries corrections to be made in the next stages of the program or in other models to experimental study.

Keywords: 14-X, experimental study, ground tests, scramjet, supersonic combustion

Procedia PDF Downloads 384