Search results for: beneficial%20ownership

Authors: Denise Levy, Helen J. Khoury

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Nuclear technology is a controversial issue among a great share of the Brazilian population. Misinformation and common wrong beliefs confuse public’s perceptions and the scientific community is expected to offer a wider perspective on the benefits and risks resulting from ionizing radiation in everyday life. Attentive to the need of new approaches between science and society, the Nuclear Energy Museum, in northeast Brazil, is an initiative created to communicate the growing impact of the beneficial applications of nuclear technology in medicine, industry, agriculture and electric power generation. Providing accessible scientific information, the museum offers a rich learning environment, making use of different educational strategies, such as films, interactive panels and multimedia learning tools, which not only increase the enjoyment of visitors, but also maximize their learning potential. Developed according to modern active learning instructional strategies, multimedia materials are designed to present the increasingly role of nuclear science in modern life, transforming science education into a meaningful learning experience. In year 2016, nine different interactive computer-based activities were developed, presenting curiosities about ionizing radiation in different landmarks around the world, such as radiocarbon dating works in Egypt, nuclear power generation in France and X-radiography of famous paintings in Italy. Feedback surveys have reported a high level of visitors’ satisfaction, proving the high quality experience in learning nuclear science at the museum. The Nuclear Energy Museum is the first and, up to the present time, the only permanent museum in Brazil devoted entirely to nuclear science.

Keywords: nuclear technology, multimedia learning tools, science museum, society and education

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Authors: Venkat S. Somayajula

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Ground surface temperature history prediction model plays a vital role in determining standards for international nuclear waste management. International standards for borehole based nuclear waste disposal require paleoclimate cycle predictions on scale of a million forward years for the place of waste disposal. This research focuses on developing a paleoclimate cycle prediction model using Bayesian long-short term memory (LSTM) neural architecture operated on accumulated borehole temperature history data. Bayesian models have been previously used for paleoclimate cycle prediction based on Monte-Carlo weight method, but due to limitations pertaining model coupling with certain other prediction networks, Bayesian models in past couldn’t accommodate prediction cycle’s over 1000 years. LSTM has provided frontier to couple developed models with other prediction networks with ease. Paleoclimate cycle developed using this process will be trained on existing borehole data and then will be coupled to surface temperature history prediction networks which give endpoints for backpropagation of LSTM network and optimize the cycle of prediction for larger prediction time scales. Trained LSTM will be tested on past data for validation and then propagated for forward prediction of temperatures at borehole locations. This research will be beneficial for study pertaining to nuclear waste management, anthropological cycle predictions and geophysical features

Keywords: Bayesian long-short term memory neural network, borehole temperature, ground surface temperature history, paleoclimate cycle

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Authors: Londeka Ntuli, Frasia Oosthuizen

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Background: Tenefovir disiproxil fumarate (TDF) is a nephrotoxic drug and has been proven to contribute to renal insufficiency necessitating intensive monitoring and management of adverse effects arising from prolonged exposure to the drug. TDF is one of the preferred first-line drugs used in combination therapy in most regions. There are estimated 300 000 patients being initiated on the Efavirenz/TDF/Emtricitabine first-line regimen annually in South Africa. It is against this background that this study aims to investigate the effects of TDF on renal sufficiency of HIV positive patients. Methodology: A retrospective quantitative study was conducted, analysing clinical charts of HIV positive patient’s older than 18 years of age and on a TDF-containing regimen for more than 1 year. Data were obtained from the analysis of patient files and was transcribed into Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet. Extracted data were coded, categorised and analysed using STATA®. Results: A total of 275 patient files were included in this study. Renal function started decreasing after 3 months of treatment (with 93.5% patients having a normal EGFR), and kept on decreasing as time progressed with only 39.6% normal renal function at year 4. Additional risk factors for renal insufficiency included age below 25, female gender, and additional medication. Conclusion: It is clear from this study that the use of TDF necessitates intensive monitoring and management of adverse effects arising from prolonged exposure to the drug. The findings from this study generated pertinent information on the safety profile of the drug TDF in a resource-limited setting of a public health institution. The appropriate management is of tremendous importance in the South African context where the majority of HIV positive individuals are on the TDF containing regimen; thus it is beneficial to ascertain the possible level of toxicities these patients may be experiencing.

Keywords: renal insufficiency, tenefovir, HIV, risk factors

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Authors: Bo-Jian Wu, Si-Heng Wu

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Objectives: Frailty is a condition of a person who has chronic health problems complicated by a loss of physiological reserve and deteriorating functional abilities. The frailty syndrome was defined by Fried and colleagues, i.e., weight loss, fatigue, decreased grip strength, slow gait speed, and low physical activity. However, to our best knowledge, there have been rare studies exploring the prevalence of frailty and its association with falls in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 559 hospitalized patients were recruited from a public psychiatric hospital in 2013. The majority of the subjects were males (361, 64.6%). The average age was 53.5 years. All patients received the assessment of frailty status defined by Fried and colleagues. The status of a fall within one year after the assessment of frailty, clinical and demographic data was collected from medical records. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio of associated factors. Results : A total of 9.2% of the participants met the criteria of frailty. The percentage of patients having a fall was 7.2%. Age were significantly associated with frailty (odds ratio = 1.057, 95% confidence interval = 1.025-1.091); however, sex was not associated with frailty (p = 0.17). After adjustment for age and sex, frailty status was associated with a fall (odds ratio = 3.62, 95% confidence interval = 1.58-8.28). Concerning the components of frailty, decreased grip strength (odds ratio = 2.44, 95% confidence interval = 1.16-5.14), slow gait speed (odds ratio = 2.82, 95% confidence interval = 1.21-6.53), and low physical activity (odds ratio = 2.64, 95% confidence interval = 1.21-5.78) were found to be associated with a fall. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the prevalence of frailty was about 10% in hospitalized patients with chronic patients with schizophrenia, and frailty status was significant with a fall in this group. By using the status of frailty, it may be beneficial to potential target candidates having fallen in the future as early as possible. The effective intervention of prevention of further falls may be given in advance. Our results bridge this gap and open a potential avenue for the prevention of falls in patients with schizophrenia. Frailty is certainly an important factor for maintaining wellbeing among these patients.

Keywords: fall, frailty, schizophrenia, Taiwan

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Authors: Yu-Chieh Chen, Li-Yun Wang, Chi-Chih Chen, Huy Hùng Đào, Ya-Mei Chen, Ming-Chu Cheng, Wen-Bin Chung, Hso-Chi Chaung, Guan-Ming Ke

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Many recent researches have demonstrated that CD154, a protein primarily expressed on activated T cell molecules, has potentially acted as a molecular adjuvant to improve the immunogenicity of subunit vaccines against viral infections. Classical swine fever (CSF) affects the swine industry worldwide that is one of the most devastating and highly contagious pig diseases. It is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as an infectious animal disease that must be reported. Although pigs vaccinated with subunit vaccines can be differentially diagnosed from those infected animals, subunit vaccines usually need adjuvants to enhance and elicit immune responses. In this study, CD154 was linked with CSFV E2 sequences and then expressed in CHO cells to produce the fusion protein as E2-CD154. The porcine specific CpG adjuvant was also used in one of the formulations. The specific pathogen-free pigs (SPF) at the age of 4-week-old were randomly separated into four groups, vaccinated with E2-CpG, E2-CD154, E2-CD154-CpG or the commercial Bayovac® CSF-E2 vaccine and boosted two weeks after primary vaccination. The results showed that the percentages of CD4+ and CD4+IL2+ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in E2-CD154 vaccinated piglets seven days after primary vaccination were gained by 1-5% relative to the control group. In addition, the percentages of CD4+IFNγ+ T cells had slightly edged up 0.1-0.3% compared with the control group. Also, increased E2-specific IFNγ levels had edged up CD4+CD8+ T cells found in E2-CD154 and E2-CD154-CpG groups, particularly in the E2-CD154-CpG group. These results implicate that CD154 may enhance cellular immunity and synergistically act with species-specific CpG adjuvant as a dual-phase adjuvant. Therefore, the CD154 may be beneficial as a promising adjuvant in subunit vaccines.

Keywords: CD154, CpG adjuvant, cellular immunity, subunit vaccine, pig

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Authors: Farshid Marbouti, Jale Ulas, Julia Thompson

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The main sources of stress among college students are: changes in sleeping and eating habits, undertaking new responsibilities, and financial difficulties as the most common sources of stress, exams, meeting new people, career decisions, fear of failure, and pressure from parents, transition to university especially if it requires leaving home, working with people that they do not know, trouble with parents, and relationship with the opposite sex. The students use a variety of stress coping strategies, including talking to family and friends, leisure activities and exercising. The Yerkes–Dodson law indicates while a moderate amount of stress may be beneficial for performance, too high stress will result in weak performance. In other words, if students are too stressed, they are likely to have low academic performance. In a preliminary study conducted in 2017 with engineering students enrolled in three high failure rate classes, the majority of the students stated that they have high levels of stress mainly for academic, financial, or family-related reasons. As the second stage of the study, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the students’ level of stress, sources of stress, their relationship with student demographic background, students’ coping strategies, and academic performance. A device is being developed to gather data from students breathing patterns and measure their stress levels. In addition, all participants are asked to fill out a survey. The survey under development has the following categories: exam stressor, study-related stressors, financial pressures, transition to university, family-related stress, student response to stress, and stress management. After the data collection, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis will be conducted in order to identify the relationship among students’ level of stress, coping strategies, and academic performance.

Keywords: college student stress, coping strategies, academic performance, measuring stress

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Authors: Bingying Liu, Dandong Ge, Xinlan Zhang, Haoyang Liang

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Over the past two years, a new generation of No-Pile Bike sharing, represented by the Ofo, Mobike and HelloBike, has sprung up in various cities in China, and spread rapidly in countries such as Britain, Japan, the United States and Singapore. As a new green public transportation mode, bike sharing can bring a series of benefits to urban space. At first, this paper analyzes the specific impact of bike sharing on urban space in China. Based on the market research and data analyzing, it is found that bike sharing can improve the quality of urban space in three aspects: expanding the radius of public transportation service, filling service blind spots, alleviating urban traffic congestion, and enhancing the vitality of urban space. On the other hand, due to the immature market and the imperfect system, bike sharing has gradually revealed some difficulties, such as parking chaos, malicious damage, safety problems, imbalance between supply and demand, and so on. Then the paper investigates the characteristics of shared bikes, business model, operating mechanism on Chinese market currently. Finally, in order to make bike sharing serve urban construction better, this paper puts forward some specific countermeasures from four aspects. In terms of market operations, it is necessary to establish a public-private partnership model and set up a unified bike-sharing integrated management platform. From technical methods level, the paper proposes to develop an intelligent parking system for regulating parking. From policy formulation level, establishing a bike-sharing assessment mechanism would strengthen supervision. As to urban planning, sharing data and redesigning slow roadway is beneficial for transportation and spatial planning.

Keywords: bike sharing, impact analysis, improvement strategy, urban space

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Authors: Anindita Banik, Anjali Kant, Aninda Duti Banik, Arun Banik

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Speech is a complex, dynamic unique motor activity through which we express thoughts and emotions and respond to and control our environment. The aim was based to compare select Motor Speech parameters and their sub parameters across typical Marathi speaking adults and children. The subjects included a total of 300 divided into Group I, II, III including males and females. Subjects included were reported of no significant medical history and had a rating of 0-1 on GRBAS scale. The recordings were obtained utilizing three stimuli for the acoustic analysis of Diadochokinetic rate (DDK), Second Formant Transition, Voice and Tremor and its sub parameters. And these aforementioned parameters were acoustically analyzed in Motor Speech Profile software in VisiPitch IV. The statistical analyses were done by applying descriptive statistics and Two- Way ANOVA.The results obtained showed statistically significant difference across age groups and gender for the aforementioned parameters and its sub parameters.In DDK, for avp (ms) there was a significant difference only across age groups. However, for avr (/s) there was a significant difference across age groups and gender. It was observed that there was an increase in rate with an increase in age groups. The second formant transition sub parameter F2 magn (Hz) also showed a statistically significant difference across both age groups and gender. There was an increase in mean value with an increase in age. Females had a higher mean when compared to males. For F2 rate (/s) a statistically significant difference was observed across age groups. There was an increase in mean value with increase in age. It was observed for Voice and Tremor MFTR (%) that a statistically significant difference was present across age groups and gender. Also for RATR (Hz) there was statistically significant difference across both age groups and gender. In other words, the values of MFTR and RATR increased with an increase in age. Thus, this study highlights the variation of the motor speech parameters amongst the typical population which would be beneficial for comparison with the individuals with motor speech disorders for assessment and management.

Keywords: adult, children, diadochokinetic rate, second formant transition, tremor, voice

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Authors: Alma Gómez-Loredo, José González-Valdez, Jorge Benavides, Marco Rito-Palomares

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Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid that exerts multiple beneficial effects on human health, including antioxidant, anti-cancer, antidiabetic and anti-obesity activity; making the development of a whole process for its production and recovery an important contribution. In this work, the lab-scale production and purification of fucoxanthin in Isocrhysis galbana have been studied. In batch cultures, low light intensities (13.5 μmol/m2s) and bubble agitation were the best conditions for production of the carotenoid with product yields of up to 0.143 mg/g. After fucoxanthin ethanolic extraction from biomass and hexane partition, further recovery and purification of the carotenoid has been accomplished by means of alcohol – salt Aqueous Two-Phase System (ATPS) extraction followed by an ultrafiltration (UF) step. An ATPS comprised of ethanol and potassium phosphate (Volume Ratio (VR) =3; Tie-line Length (TLL) 60% w/w) presented a fucoxanthin recovery yield of 76.24 ± 1.60% among the studied systems and was able to remove 64.89 ± 2.64% of the carotenoid and chlorophyll pollutants. For UF, the addition of ethanol to the original recovered ethanolic ATPS stream to a final relation of 74.15% (w/w) resulted in a reduction of approximately 16% of the protein contents, increasing product purity with a recovery yield of about 63% of the compound in the permeate stream. Considering the production, extraction and primary recovery (ATPS and UF) steps, around a 45% global fucoxanthin recovery should be expected. Although other purification technologies, such as Centrifugal Partition Chromatography are able to obtain fucoxanthin recoveries of up to 83%, the process developed in the present work does not require large volumes of solvents or expensive equipment. Moreover, it has a potential for scale up to commercial scale and represents a cost-effective strategy when compared to traditional separation techniques like chromatography.

Keywords: aqueous two-phase systems, fucoxanthin, Isochrysis galbana, microalgae, ultrafiltration

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Authors: Joanna Bajerska, Agata Chmurzyńska, Agata Muzsik, Patrycja Krzyżanowska, Klaudia Łochocka, Jarosław Walkowiak

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The Mediterranean diet (MED) is regarded as beneficial in the therapy of central obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities. However, in the traditional diet of the Central European countries, food items with positive nutritional profiles (rye bread, oats, buckwheat, herrings, linseed and rapeseed oil, berries, apples, plums, root vegetables etc.) are also used. We hypothesized that the Central European Diet (CED) may be comparatively effective in reducing symptoms of central obesity as MED. We tested the health effects of the CED, which is an environmentally friendly regional diet and the traditional MED diet in a group of postmenopausal centrally obese women. A total 58 with a mean age of 60 y (50-70y), body mass index (in kg/m(2)) of 33.4 (22.6-47.3), and waist circumference of 105 cm (87.5-137 cm) were randomly assigned to receive either the diet based on food items commonly used in Central Europe (the CED group; n = 29) or the Mediterranean diet (the MED group; n = 29) for 15 weeks. Body mass and body composition were measured with a Bod Pod (Cosmed, Italy). A non-elastic flexible measuring tape was used to measure waist circumference. Additionally, blood pressure, plasma lipid and glucose levels were assessed with the use of a biochemical analyzer. A total of 50 subjects [86% (CED 83%; MED 90%)] completed the intervention. A high dietary compliance for both described diets was achieved. The mean (±SEM) weight and waist circumference changes were -7.4 ± 0.7 kg; -8.3 ± 0.7 cm and -8.1 ± 0.5 kg; -7.1 ± 0.6 cm for the CED and MED groups, respectively. Moreover, there were no differences between the effectiveness of the diets used in terms of the influence on fat mass, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters. The preliminary data suggest that both described diets may be successfully used for improving central obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities. The project was financed by the National Science Centre awarded based on the number of decision DEC-013/09/B/NZ9/02365

Keywords: central european diet, central obesity, Mediterranean diet, metabolic abnormalities

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Authors: Dung Jidong, Rachel Tribe, Poul Rohlerder, Aneta Tunariu

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Cultural understandings of mental health problems are frequently overshadowed by the western conceptualizations. Research on culture and mental health in the Nigerian context seems to be lacking. This study examined the linguistic understandings and cultural beliefs that have implications for mental health among the Berom, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo people of Nigeria. A purposive sample of 53 participants underwent semi-structured interviews that lasted approximately 55 minutes each. Of the N=53 participants, n=26 were psychology-aligned practitioners and n=27 ‘laypersons’. Participants were recruited from four states in Nigeria, Plateau, Kaduna, Ekiti, and Enugu. All participants were self-identified as members of their ethnic groups who speak and understand their native-languages, cultural beliefs, and also are domiciled within their ethnic communities. Thematic analysis using socio-constructionism from a critical-realist position was employed to explore the participants’ beliefs about mental health, and the clash between western trained practitioners’ views and the cultural beliefs of the ‘laypersons’. Data analysis found three main themes that re-emerged across the four ethnic samples: (i) beliefs about mental health problems as a spiritual curse (ii) traditional and religious healing are used more often than western mental health care (iii) low levels of mental health awareness. In addition, the Nigerian traditional and religious healing are also revealed to be helpful as the practice gives prominence to the native-languages, religious and cultural values. However, participants described the role of ‘false’ traditional or religious healers in communities as being potentially harmful. Finally, due to the current lack of knowledge about mental health problems, awareness creation and re-orientation may be beneficial for both rural and urban Nigerian communities.

Keywords: beliefs cultures, health mental, languages religions, values

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Authors: Cheryl Teelucksingh

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Toronto is in the midst of an urban development and infrastructure boom. Population growth and concerns about urban sprawl and carbon emissions have led to pressure on the municipal and the provincial governments to re-think urban development. Toronto’s approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation has positioning of the emerging green economy as part of the solution. However, the emerging green economy many not benefit all Torontonians in terms of jobs, improved infrastructure, and enhanced quality of life. Community benefits agreements (CBAs) are comprehensive, negotiated commitments, in which founders and builders of major infrastructure projects formally agree to work with community interest groups based in the community where the development is taking place, toward mutually beneficial environmental and labor market outcomes. When community groups are equitably represented in the process, they stand not only to benefit from the jobs created from the project itself, but also from the longer-term community benefits related to the quality of the completed work, including advocating for communities’ environmental needs. It is believed that green employment initiatives in Toronto should give greater consideration to best practices learned from community benefits agreements. Drawing on the findings of a funded qualitative study in Toronto (Canada), “The Green Gap: Toward Inclusivity in Toronto’s Green Economy” (2013-2016), this paper examines the emergent CBA in Toronto in relation to the development of a light rail transit project. Theoretical and empirical consideration will be given to the research gaps around CBAs, the role of various stakeholders, and discuss the potential for CBAs to gain traction in the Toronto’s urban development context. The narratives of various stakeholders across Toronto’s green economy will be interwoven with a discussion of the CBA model in Toronto and other jurisdictions.

Keywords: green economy in Toronto, equity, community benefits agreements, environmental justice, community sustainability

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Authors: Abdulkarim Yusuf

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Motivation: The Nigerian economy has seen significant macroeconomic instability, fuelled mostly by an overreliance on fluctuating oil revenues. The rising disparity between tax receipts and government spending in Nigeria necessitates government borrowing to fund the anticipated pace of economic growth. Rising public debt and fiscal sustainability are limiting the government's ability to invest in key infrastructure that promotes private investment and growth in Nigeria. Objective: This paper fills an empirical research vacuum by examining the impact of public debt on fiscal sustainability in Nigeria, given the significance of fiscal stability in decreasing poverty and the constraints that an unsustainable debt burden imposes on it. Data and method: Annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2022 exposed to conventional and structural breaks stationarity tests and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag estimation approach were adopted for this study. Results: The results reveal that domestic debt stock, debt service payment, foreign reserve stock, exchange rate, and private investment all had a major adverse effect on fiscal stability in the long and short run, corroborating the debt overhang and crowding-out hypothesis. External debt stock, prime lending rate, and degree of trade openness, which boosted fiscal stability in the long run, had a major detrimental effect on fiscal stability in the short run, whereas foreign direct investment inflows had an important beneficial impact on fiscal stability in both the long and short run. Implications: The results indicate that fiscal measures that inspire domestic resource mobilization, sustainable debt management techniques, and dependence on external debt to boost deficit financing will improve fiscal stability and drive growth.

Keywords: ARDL co-integration, debt overhang, debt servicing, fiscal stability, public debt

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Authors: Safieh Javadinejad

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In order to make well-informed decisions respecting long-term system planning, resource managers and policy creators necessitate to comprehend the interconnections among energy and water utilization and manufacture—and also the energy-water nexus. Planning and assessment issues contain the enhancement of strategies for declining the water and energy system’s vulnerabilities to climate alteration with also emissions of decreasing greenhouse gas. In order to deliver beneficial decision support for climate adjustment policy and planning, understanding the regionally-specific features of the energy-water nexus, and the history-future of the water and energy source systems serving is essential. It will be helpful for decision makers understand the nature of current water-energy system conditions and capacity for adaptation plans for future. This research shows an integrated hydrology/energy modeling platform which is able to extend water-energy examines based on a detailed illustration of local circumstances. The modeling links the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) and the Long Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system to create full picture of water-energy processes. This will allow water managers and policy-decision makers to simply understand links between energy system improvements and hydrological processing and realize how future climate change will effect on water-energy systems. The Zayandeh Rud river basin in Iran is selected as a case study to show the results and application of the analysis. This region is known as an area with large integration of both the electric power and water sectors. The linkages between water, energy and climate change and possible adaptation strategies are described along with early insights from applications of the integration modeling system.

Keywords: climate impacts, hydrology, water systems, adaptation planning, electricity, integrated modeling

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Authors: Tarek Litim, Ouahiba Taamallah

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Burnishing is a mechanical surface treatment that combines several beneficial effects on the two steel grades studied. The application of burnishing to the ball or to the tip favors a better roughness compared to turning. In addition, it allows the consolidation of the surface layers through work hardening phenomena. The optimal effects are closely related to the treatment parameters and the active part of the device. With an improvement of 78% on the roughness, burnishing can be defined as a finishing operation in the machining range. With a 44% gain in consolidation rate, this treatment is an effective process for material consolidation. These effects are affected by several factors. The factors V, f, P, r, and i have the most significant effects on both roughness and hardness. Ball or tip burnishing leads to the consolidation of the surface layers of both grades 100C6 and 16NC6 steels by work hardening. For each steel grade and its mechanical treatment, the rational tensile curve has been drawn. Lüdwick's law is used to better plot the work hardening curve. For both grades, a material hardening law is established. For 100C6 steel, these results show a work hardening coefficient and a consolidation rate of 0.513 and 44, respectively, compared to the surface layers processed by turning. When 16NC6 steel is processed, the work hardening coefficient is about 0.29. Hardness tests characterize well the burnished depth. The layer affected by work hardening can reach up to 0.4 mm. Simulation of the tests is of great importance to provide the details at the local scale of the material. Conventional tensile curves provide a satisfactory indication of the toughness of 100C6 and 16NC6 materials. A simulation of the tensile curves revealed good agreement between the experimental and simulation results for both steels.

Keywords: 100C6 steel, 16NC6 steel, burnishing, work hardening, roughness, hardness

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Authors: Ramish, Farhan Khalique Awan

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Kinematic redundancy within the manipulators presents extended dexterity and manipulability to the manipulators. Redundant serial robotic manipulators are very popular in industries due to its competencies to keep away from singularities during normal operation and fault tolerance because of failure of one or more joints. Such fault tolerant manipulators are extraordinarily beneficial in applications where human interference for repair and overhaul is both impossible or tough; like in case of robotic arms for space programs, nuclear applications and so on. The design of this sort of fault tolerant serial 3 DoF manipulator is presented in this paper. This work was the extension of the author’s previous work of designing the simple 3R serial manipulator. This work is the realization of the previous design with optimizing the link lengths for incorporating the feature of fault tolerance. Various measures have been followed by the researchers to quantify the fault tolerance of such redundant manipulators. The fault tolerance in this work has been described in terms of the worst-case measure of relative manipulability that is, in fact, a local measure of optimization that works properly for certain configuration of the manipulators. An optimum fault tolerant Jacobian matrix has been determined first based on prescribed null space properties after which the link parameters have been described to meet the given Jacobian matrix. A solid model of the manipulator was then developed to realize the mathematically rigorous design. Further work was executed on determining the dynamic properties of the fault tolerant design and simulations of the movement for various trajectories have been carried out to evaluate the joint torques. The mathematical model of the system was derived via the Euler-Lagrange approach after which the same has been tested using the RoboAnalyzer© software. The results have been quite in agreement. From the CAD model and dynamic simulation data, the manipulator was fabricated in the workshop and Advanced Machining lab of NED University of Engineering and Technology.

Keywords: fault tolerant, Graham matrix, Jacobian, kinematics, Lagrange-Euler

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Authors: A. L. I. Prasanna, E. Liyanage, S. A. Rajaratne, K. P. A. P. Kariyawasam, A. A. J. Rajaratne

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Maintaining or improving the muscle strength of the injured body part is essential to optimize performance among disabled athletes. General conditioning and strengthening exercises might be ineffective if not sufficiently intense enough or targeted for each participant’s specific impairment. Specific strengthening programme, targeted to the affected body part, are essential to improve the strength of impaired muscles and increase in strength will help reducing the impact of disability. Methods: The muscle strength of hip, knee and ankle joints was assessed in a group of randomly selected disabled athletes, using the Medical Research Council (MRC) grading. Those having muscle strength of grade 4 or less were selected for this study (24 in number) and were given and a custom made exercise program designed to strengthen their hip, knee or ankle joint musculature, according to the muscle or group of muscles affected. Effectiveness of the strengthening program was assessed after a period of 3 months. Results: Statistical analysis was done using the Minitab 16 statistical software. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the strength of muscle group before and after exercise programme. A significant difference was observed after the three month strengthening program for knee flexors (Left and Right) (P =0.0889, 0.0312) hip flexors (left and right) (P=0.0312, 0.0466), hip extensors (Left and Right) (P=0.0478, 0.0513), ankle plantar flexors (Left and Right) (P=0.0466, 0.0423) and right ankle dorsiflexors (P= 0.0337). No significant difference of strength was observed after the strengthening program in the knee extensors (left and right), hip abductors (left and right) and left ankle dorsiflexors. Conclusion: Impairment specific exercise programme appear to be beneficial for disabled athletes to significantly improve the muscle strength of the affected joints.

Keywords: muscle strengthening programme, disabled athletes, physiotherapy, rehabilitation sciences

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Authors: Ligia Nascimento, Manuela Faia Correia

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Nowadays, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are embedded in most professions. Technostress - or stress induced by the use of ICTs, has been studied in various sectors of activity and in different geographical areas, mainly from the perspective of its harmful impacts. In the context of work, the technological contexts capable of causing stress have been examined in-depth, as well as the type of individuals most likely to experience its negative effects. However, new lines of the research argue that the stress generated by the use of ICTs may not necessarily be detrimental (technodistress), admitting that, in contrast, and in addition, it may actually be beneficial to organizations and their employees (technoeustress). Any measures that succeed in reducing technodistress do not necessarily lead to the creation of technoeustress, justifying the study of this phenomenon in a focused and independent manner. Adopting the transactional model of stress as the basic theoretical framework, an ongoing research project aims to study technoeustress independently. Given the role played in the qualification and progress of society and the economy, it becomes particularly critical to care for the well-being of the higher education teacher. Particularly in recent times, when teleworking is prevalent, these professionals have made a huge, compulsive effort to adapt to a new teaching reality. Rather than limiting itself to mitigating adverse effects of ICT use, which featured earlier approaches, the present study seeks to understand how to activate the positive side of technostress in higher education teachers in order to obtain favorable personal and organizational outcomes from ICT use at work. The research model seeks to understand, upstream, the ICT characteristics that increase the perception of technoeustress among higher education teachers, studying the direct and moderating effects of individual and organizational variables and, downstream, the impacts that technoeustress has on job satisfaction and performance. This research contributes both to expanding the knowledge of the technostress phenomenon and to identify possible recommendations for management.

Keywords: higher education teachers, ICT, stress, technoeustress

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Authors: Aristi Alopoudi, Sofia Beloka, Vassiliki Pliogou

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Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder with a variety of difficulties in many aspects such as social interaction, communication skills and verbal communication (speech). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of therapeutic horseback riding in improving the verbal and communication skills of children diagnosed with autism during 16 sessions. The researcher examined whether the expression of speech, the use of vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, echolalia and communication skills were influenced by the therapeutic horseback riding when we increase the frequency of the sessions. The researcher observed two subjects of primary-school aged, in a two case observation design, with autism during 16 therapeutic horseback riding sessions (one riding session per week). Compared to baseline, at the end of the 16th therapeutic session, therapeutic horseback riding increased both verbal skills such as vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, formation of sentences and communication skills such as eye contact, greeting, participation in dialogue and spontaneous speech. It was noticeable that echolalia remained stable. Increased frequency of therapeutic horseback riding was beneficial for significant improvement in verbal and communication skills. More specifically, from the first to the last riding session there was a great increase of vocabulary, semantics, and formation of sentences. Pragmatics reached a lower level than semantics but the same as the right usage of the first person (for example, I make a hug) and echolalia used for that. A great increase of spontaneous speech was noticed. The eye contact was presented in a lower level, and there was a slow but important raise at the greeting as well as the participation in dialogue. Last but not least; this is a first study conducted in therapeutic horseback riding studying the verbal communication and communication skills in autistic children. According to the references, therapeutic horseback riding is a therapy with a variety of benefits, thus; this research made clear that in the benefits of this therapy there should be included the improvement of verbal speech and communication.

Keywords: Autism, communication skills, speech, therapeutic horseback riding

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: O.F. Akinmoladun, F.N. Fon, C.T. Mpendulo, O. Okoh

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The sustainability of livestock production is under threat as a result of water scarcity, fluctuating precipitation, and high environmental temperature. These combined stressors have impacted negatively on general animal production and welfare, necessitating a very reliable and cost-effective management practices, especially in arid and water-limited regions of the world. Instead of the above, this study was designed to investigate the growth performance and physiological response of water-restricted Xhosa ear-lobe goats fed diets supplemented with single or multiple vitamin C (VC) during summer. The total forty-eight goats used for the experiment were balanced for body weight and randomly assigned to the seven treatment groups (seven goats/treatment): GI (W100%); GII (W70%); GIII (W50%); GIV (W70%+3g/day VC); GV ((W50% +3g/day VC); GVI (W70%+3g/d VC+extra 5g on every eight-day); GVII (W50%+3g/d VC+extra 5g on every eight-day). The design was a complete randomized design and VC was administered per os. At the end of the 75-day feeding trial, GIII (W50%) animals were the most affected (P<0.05) and the effect was more pronounced in their body condition scores (BCs). Weight loss and depression in feed intake due to water restriction (P<0.05) were attenuated by VC treated groups (GIV-GVII). Changes in body thermal gradient (BTG) and rectal temperature (RcT) were similar (P>0.05) across the various experimental groups. The attenuation effect of VC was significant in responses to respiratory rate (RR) and cortisol. Supplementation of VC (either single or multiple) did not significantly (P>0.05) improve water restriction effect on body condition scores (BCs) and FAMACHA©. The current study found out that Xhosa ear lobe goats can adapt to the prevailing bioclimatic changes and limited water intake. However, supplementation of vitamin C can be beneficial at modulating these stressful stimuli. Continuous consistencies in the outcome of vitamin C on water-stressed animals can help validate recommendations especially to farmers in the arid and water-limited regions across the globe.

Keywords: vitamin C, Xhosa ear-lobe, thermotolerance, water stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Surajit Das Barman, Rakibuzzaman Shah, Apurv Kumar

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Bushfire is known as one of the ascendant factors to create pyrocumulus thundercloud that causes the ignition of new fires by pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) lightning strikes and creates major losses of lives and property worldwide. A conceptual model-based risk planning would be beneficial to predict the lightning striking zones on the surface of the earth underneath the pyroCb thundercloud. PyroCb thundercloud can generate both positive cloud-to-ground (+CG) and negative cloud-to-ground (-CG) lightning in which +CG tends to ignite more bushfires and cause massive damage to nature and infrastructure. In this paper, a simple line charge structured thundercloud model is constructed in 2-D coordinates using the method of image charge to predict the probable +CG lightning striking zones on the earth’s surface for two conceptual thundercloud charge configurations: titled dipole and conventional tripole structure with excessive lower positive charge regions that lead to producing +CG lightning. The electric potential and surface charge density along the earth’s surface for both structures via continuously adjusting the position and the charge density of their charge regions is investigated. Simulation results for tilted dipole structure confirm the down-shear extension of the upper positive charge region in the direction of the cloud’s forward flank by 4 to 8 km, resulting in negative surface density, and would expect +CG lightning to strike within 7.8 km to 20 km around the earth periphery in the direction of the cloud’s forward flank. On the other hand, the conceptual tripole charge structure with enhanced lower positive charge region develops negative surface charge density on the earth’s surface in the range |x| < 6.5 km beneath the thundercloud and highly favors producing +CG lightning strikes.

Keywords: pyrocumulonimbus, cloud-to-ground lightning, charge structure, surface charge density, forward flank

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Saylav Ejder Bora, Arife Erdogan, Mumin Alper Erdogan, Oytun Erbas, Ismet Parlak

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate histological, electrical and biochemical effects of metoprolol, lipid emulsion and magnesium sulphate as an alternative method to be used in preventing long QT emergence, that is among the lethal consequences of amitryptiline toxicity. Methods: Thirty Sprague- Dawley male rats were included. Rats were randomly separated into 5 groups. First group was administered saline only while the rest had received amitryptiline 100 mg/kg + saline, 5 mg/kg metoprolol, 20 ml/kg lipid emulsion and 75 mg/kg magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) intraperitoneally. ECG at DI lead, biochemical tests following euthanasia were performed in all groups after 1 hour of administration. Cardiac tissues were removed, sections were prepared and examined. Results: QTc values were significantly shorter in the rest when compared to amitryptiline+ saline group. While lipid emulsion did not affect proBNP and troponin values biochemically as compared to that of the control group, histologically, it was with reduced caspase 3 expression. Though statistically insignificant in the context of biochemical changes, pro-BNP and urea levels were lower in the metoprolol group when compared to controls. Similarly, metoprolol had no statistically significant effect on histological caspase 3 expression in the group that was treated with amitryptiline+metoprolol. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant decrease in Troponin, pro-BNP and urea levels as well as significant decline in histological caspase 3 expression within the MgSO4 group when compared to controls. Conclusion: As still a frequent cause of mortality in emergency units, administration of MgSO4, lipid emulsion and metoprolol might be beneficial in alternative treatment of cardiovascular toxicity caused by tricyclic antidepressant overdose, whether intake would be intentional or accidental.

Keywords: amitryptiline, cardiovascular toxicity, long QT, Rat Model

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Lavinia Flueckiger, Roselind Lieb, Andrea H. Meyer, Cornelia Witthauer, Jutta Mata

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Objective: Health behaviors tend to show a high variability over time within the same person. However, most existing research can only assess a snapshot of a person’s behavior and not capture this natural daily variability. Two intensive longitudinal studies examine the variability in health behavior over one academic year and their implications for other aspects of daily life such as affect and academic performance. Can already a single day of increased physical activity, snacking, or improved sleep have beneficial effects? Methods: In two intensive longitudinal studies with up to 65 assessment days over an entire academic year, university students (Study 1: N = 292; Study 2: N = 304) reported sleep quality, physical activity, snacking, positive and negative affect, and learning goal achievement. Results: Multilevel structural equation models showed that on days on which participants reported better sleep quality or more physical activity than usual, they also reported increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and better learning goal achievement. Higher day-to-day snacking was only associated with increased positive affect. Both, increased day-to-day sleep quality and physical activity were indirectly associated with better learning goal achievement through changes in positive and negative affect; results for snacking were mixed. Importantly, day-to-day sleep quality was a stronger predictor for affect and learning goal achievement than physical activity or snacking. Conclusion: One day of better sleep or more physical activity than usual is associated with improved affect and academic performance. These findings have important implications for low-threshold interventions targeting the improvement of daily functioning.

Keywords: sleep quality, physical activity, snacking, affect, academic performance, multilevel structural equation model

Procedia PDF Downloads 566

Authors: Valbona Sota, Efigjeni Kongjika

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Wild almond is a woody species, which is difficult to propagate either generatively by seed or by vegetative methods (grafting or cuttings) and also considered as Endangered (EN) in Albania based on IUCN criteria. As a wild relative of cultivated fruit trees, this species represents a source of genetic variability and can be very important in breeding programs and cultivation. For this reason, it would be of interest to use an effective method of in vitro mid-term conservation, which involves strategies to slow plant growth through physicochemical alterations of in vitro growth conditions. Multiplication of wild almond was carried out using zygotic embryos, as primary explants, with the purpose to develop a successful propagation protocol. Results showed that zygotic embryos can proliferate through direct or indirect organogenesis. During subculture, stage was obtained a great number of new plantlets identical to mother plants derived from the zygotic embryos. All in vitro plantlets obtained from subcultures underwent in vitro conservation by minimal growth in low temperature (4ºC) and darkness. The efficiency of this technique was evaluated for 3, 6, and 10 months of conservation period. Maintenance in these conditions reduced micro cuttings growth. Survival and regeneration rates for each period were evaluated and resulted that the maximal time of conservation without subculture on 4ºC was 10 months, but survival and regeneration rates were significantly reduced, specifically 15.6% and 7.6%. An optimal period of conservation in these conditions can be considered the 5-6 months storage, which can lead to 60-50% of survival and regeneration rates. This protocol may be beneficial for mass propagation, mid-term conservation, and for genetic manipulation of wild almond.

Keywords: micropropagation, minimal growth, storage, wild almond

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Martin C. Eze, Gao Min

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Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Li-TFSI) dopant is beneficial in improving the properties of 2,2′,7,7′-Tetrakis (N, N-di-p-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9′-spiro-bifluorene (Spiro-OMETAD) transport layer used in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Properties such as electrical conductivity, band energy mismatch, and refractive index of Spiro-OMETAD layers are believed to play key roles in PSCs performance but only the dependence of electrical conductivity on Li-TFSI doping has been extensively studied. In this work, the effect of Li-TFSI doping level on highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy, electrical conductivity, and refractive index of Spiro-OMETAD film and PSC performance was demonstrated. The Spiro-OMETAD films were spin-coated at 4000 rpm for 30 seconds from solutions containing 73.4 mM of Spiro-OMeTAD, 23.6 mM of 4-tert-butylpyridine, 7.6 mM of tris(2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-4-tert-butylpyridine) cobalt(III) tri[bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide] (FK209) dopant and Li-TFSI dopant varying from 37 to 62 mM in 1 ml of chlorobenzene. From ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), ellipsometry, and 4-probe studies, the results show that films deposition from Spiro-OMETAD solution doped with 40 mM of Li-TFSI shows the highest electrical conductivity of 6.35×10-6 S/cm, the refractive index of 1.87 at 632.32 nm, HOMO energy of -5.22 eV and the lowest HOMO energy mismatch of 0.21 eV compared to HOMO energy of perovskite layer. The PSCs fabricated show the best power conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor of 17.10 %, 1.1 V, and 70.12%, respectively, for devices based on Spiro-OMETAD solution doped with 40 mM of Li-TFSI. This study demonstrates that the optimum Spiro-OMETAD/ Li-TFSI doping ratio of 1.84 is the optimum doping level for Spiro-OMETAD layer preparation.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, homo energy mismatch, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, power conversion efficiency, refractive index

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: T. Radu, R. Sreenivas, H. Albuflasa, A. Mustafa Khan, W. Aloqab

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The Kingdom of Bahrain, a small island country in the Gulf region, is experiencing fast economic growth resulting in a sharp increase in population and greater than ever amounts of waste being produced. However, waste management in the country is still very basic, with landfilling being the most popular option. Recycling is still a scarce practice, with small recycling businesses and initiatives emerging in recent years. This scenario is typical for other countries in the region, with similar amounts of per capita waste being produced. In this paper, we are reviewing current waste management practices in Bahrain by collecting data published by the Government and various authors, and by visiting the country’s only landfill site, Askar. In addition, we have performed a survey of the residents to learn more about the awareness and attitudes towards sustainable waste management strategies. A review of the available data on waste management indicates that the Askar landfill site is nearing its capacity. The site uses open tipping as the method of disposal. The highest percentage of disposed waste comes from the building sector (38.4%), followed by domestic (27.5%) and commercial waste (17.9%). Disposal monitoring and recording are often based on estimates of weight and without proper characterization/classification of received waste. Besides, there is a need for assessment of the environmental impact of the site with systematic monitoring of pollutants in the area and their potential spreading to the surrounding land, groundwater, and air. The results of the survey indicate low awareness of what happens with the collected waste in the country. However, the respondents have shown support for future waste reduction and recycling initiatives. This implies that the education of local communities would be very beneficial for such governmental initiatives, securing greater participation. Raising awareness of issues surrounding recycling and waste management and systematic effort to divert waste from landfills are the first steps towards securing sustainable waste management in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Keywords: landfill, municipal solid waste, survey, waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Mahmoud Abualsoud

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The era of Thutmosis III represents a transitional period between the art of the Thutmoside art and the Amarna period, so we intend to declare that it serves as the cradle of Amarna art. The study will examine the Statues of king Thutmose III that was discovered in Luxor by an Egyptian mission. These Statues have been transferred to the Conservation Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) to be conserved and made ready to be displayed at the new museum (the project of the century). We focus on three Statues chosen because they relate to different years of the king's reign. These Statues were all made of granite. The first one is a Kneeling statue representing the god Amun showing king Thutmose III offering to the goddess Hathor. The second is decorated with king Thutmose III with the red crown, between the goddess Hathor and the royal wife, Nefertari. The third shows the king offering NW vessels and bread to the god Seker. Each statue is divided into registers containing a description and decorated with scenes of the king presenting offerings to gods. The proposed study will focus on the development which happened sequentially according to differences that occur in each statue. We will use comparative research to determine the workshops of these statues, whether one or several, and what are the distinguishing features of each one. We will examine what innovations the artisans added to royal art. The description and the texts will be translated with linguistic comments. This research focuses on text analyses and technology. Paleographic information found on these objects includes the names and titles of the king. This research focuses on text analyses and technology. The study aims to create a manual that may help in dating the artwork of Thutmosis III. This research will be beneficial and useful for heritage and ancient civilizations, particularly when we talk about opening museums like the Grand Egyptian Museum, which will exhibit a collection of statues. Indeed, this kind of study will open a new destination in order to know how to identify these collections and how to exhibit them commensurate with the nature of ancient Egyptian history and heritage.

Keywords: archaeological study, Giza, new kingdom, statues, royal art

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Asieh Abbassi Daloii, Ahmad Abdi

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Introduction: Sports information suggests that physical inactivity increases the risk of many diseases, including atherosclerosis. Coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis and clinical protests. However, exercise can have beneficial effects on risk factors for atherosclerosis by reducing hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, plaque density, increased insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance is improved. Despite these findings, there is little information about the molecular mechanisms of interaction between the body and its relation to sport and there arteriosclerosis. The present study aims to investigate the effect of six weeks of progressive aerobic training and aqueous extract of crataegus monogyna on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) variations and angiopoetin-1/2 (ANG- 1/2) in plasma and heart tissue in male Wistar rats. Methods: 30 male Wistar rats, 4-6 months old, were randomly divided into four groups: control crataegus monogyna (N=8), training crataegus monogyna (N=8), control saline (N=6), and training saline (N=8). The aerobic training program included running on treadmill at the speed of 34 meters per minute for 60 minutes per day. The training was conducted for six weeks, five days a week. Following each training session, both experimental and control subjects of crataegus monogyna groups were orally fed with 0.5 mg crataegus monogyna extract per gram of the body weight. The normal saline group was given the same amount of the normal saline solution (NS). Eventually, 72 hours after the last training session, blood samples were taken from inferior Verna cava. Conclusion: It is likely that crataegus monogyna extract compared with aerobic training and even combination of both training and crataegus monogyna extract is more effective on angiogenesis.

Keywords: angiopoietin 1, 2, vascular endothelial growth factor, aerobic exercise

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Y. Abdul Aziz, E. L. K. Osafo, S. O. Apori, A. Osman

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A sixteen week trial was conducted at the Research Farm (Technology Village) of the Department of Animal Science, School of Agriculture, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. This study sought to investigate the effects of Probiotic (RE3) on growth performance, diarrhea incidence and blood parameters of N’dama calves. Sixteen N’dama calves aged 3 months of an average initial weight of 44.2 kg were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments according to their body weight, age, and sex. Treatment 1 (T1) serve as a control animal (No RE3 supplementation). Treatment 2 (T2) receives 0.03 ml RE3 per kg body weight. Treatment 3 (T3) receives 0.06 ml RE3 per kg body weight, and Treatment 4 (T4) also receives 0.09 ml RE3 per kg body weight in a Completely Randomize Design (CRD). There were 4 replicates per treatment. The calves were allowed access to feed and water ad libitum. The body weight of the calves was recorded at the start of the experiment and thereafter regularly at two weeks interval. Weighing was done early morning before the calves are allowed to access feed and water and were also observed in their pens for occurrence of diarrhea and faecal scores recorded. Blood samples were obtained from each calf at the end of the study through jugular vein puncture. Supplementation of RE3 to calves had showed a beneficial effect by reducing the incidence of diarrhea. The highest faecal score was recorded in T1 and the least faecal score was recorded in T3. There was significant difference (P < 0.05) in the faecal score between the treatment group and the control after two weeks of the experiment. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the average daily gain of the animals. Hematological and biochemical indices of calves were all within the normal range except in treatments (1, 3 and 4) which recorded high White Blood Cell (WBC) count with no significant difference (P > 0.05).

Keywords: probiotics (RE3), diarrhea incidence, blood parameters, N’dama calves

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Babawale Akin Adeyemi, Esan Temitayo, Adeyemi Olabisi Omowumi

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The paper analyzed waste disposal system in Akure, Ondo State using GIS techniques. Specifically, the study identified the spatial distribution of collection points and existing dumpsite; evaluated the accessibility of waste collection points and their proximity to each other with the view of enhancing better performance of the waste disposal system. Data for the study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained through the administration of questionnaire. From field survey, 35 collection points were identified in the study area. 10 questionnaires were administered around each collection point making a total of 350 questionnaires for the study. Also, co-ordinates of each collection point were captured using a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver which was used to analyze the spatial distribution of collection points. Secondary data used include administrative map collected from Akure South Local Government Secretariat. Data collected was analyzed using the GIS analytical tools which is neighborhood function. The result revealed that collection points were found in all parts of Akure with the highest concentration around the central business district. The study also showed that 80% of the collection points enjoyed efficient waste service while the remaining 20% does not. The study further revealed that most collection points in the core of the city were in close proximity to each other. In conclusion, the paper revealed the capability of Geographic Information System (GIS) as a technique in management of waste collection and disposal technique. The application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in the evaluation of the solid waste management in Akure is highly invaluable for the state waste management board which could also be beneficial to other states in developing a modern day solid waste management system. Further study on solid waste management is also recommended especially for updating of information on both spatial and non-spatial data.

Keywords: assessment, geospatial, system, waste disposal

Procedia PDF Downloads 228