Search results for: local potential

Authors: Soumeya Krimat, Tahar Dob, Mohamed Toumi, Aicha Kesouri, Hafidha Metidji, Chelghoum Chabane

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Lavandula antineae Maire is an endemic medicinal plant of Algeria which is traditionally used for the treatment of chills, bruises, oedema and rheumatism. The present study was designed to investigate the phytochemical screening, total phenolic and antioxidant activity of Lavandula antineae Maire for the first time. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of different kind of chemical groups (anthraquinones, terpenes, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, O-heterosides, C-heterosides, phenolic acids). The amounts of total phenolics in the extracts (hydromethanolic and ethyl acetate extract) were determined spectrometrically. From the analyses, ethyl acetate extract had the highest total phenolic content (262.35 mg GA/g extract) and antioxidant activity (IC50=7.10 µg/ml) using DPPH method. The ethyl acetate extract was also more potent on reducing power compared to hydromethanolic extract. The results suggested that L. antineae could be considered as a new potential source of natural antioxidant for pharmaceuticals and food preservation.

Keywords: Lavandula antineae, antioxidant activity, phytochemical screening, total phenolics

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Authors: David O. A. Ogunrinade

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The significance of education to the growth and development of man is imperative. The Nigerian education philosophy and national objectives are geared towards self-realization, social, cultural, and economic, just to mention a few. The acquisition of skills and abilities, both mental and physical, for individual to live and contribute to the development of society should be of major importance to a functional education curriculum. This study specifically set out to examine the momentous potentials of popular music as a veritable tool to be properly incorporated into the curriculum of music education in Nigeria. This will equip the learners to be self-reliant and contribute to the national economy. Interviews with exponents of Nigerian popular music and the stakeholders in the music industry, as well as audio-visual materials were employed to elicit information. Findings reveal that there are lots of potentials and dexterities in popular music that can enable Nigerian music graduates to contribute their own quota to the national development of the nation, as well as being useful to themselves. If the Nigerian society is not to be plagued by a breed of unemployable youths who could not raise the economic productivity of the country, it is deemed pertinent that the music curriculum as one of the vocational education needs to be reviewed to incorporate popular music, as well as to reflect more of the Nigerian cultural heritage.

Keywords: popular music, music curriculum, music in schools, popular music prospect

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Authors: Mohammed Albahttiti, Eliana Aguilar

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A push for sustainability in the concrete industry is increasing. Cow manure itself is becoming a problem and having the potential solution to use it in concrete as a cementitious replacement would be an ideal solution. For cow manure ash to become a well-rounded substitute, it would have to meet the right criteria to progress in becoming a more popular idea in the concrete industry. This investigation primarily focuses on how the replacement of cow manure ash affects the air content and air void distribution in concrete. In order to assess these parameters, the Super Air Meter (SAM) was used to test concrete in this research. In addition, multiple additional tests were performed, which included the slump test, temperature, and compression test. The strength results of the manure ash in concrete were promising. The manure showed compression strength results that are similar to that of the other supplementary cementitious materials tested. On the other hand, concrete samples made with cow manure ash showed 2% air content loss and an increasing SAM number proportional to cow manure content starting at 0.38 and increasing to 0.8. In conclusion, while the use of cow manure results in loss of air content, it results in compressive strengths similar to other supplementary cementitious materials.

Keywords: air content, biomass ash, cow manure ash, super air meter, supplementary cementitious materials

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Authors: E. K. A. Ogunshile

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This paper is aimed at creating an Automatic Java X-Machine testing tool for software development. The nature of software development is changing; thus, the type of software testing tools required is also changing. Software is growing increasingly complex and, in part due to commercial impetus for faster software releases with new features and value, increasingly in danger of containing faults. These faults can incur huge cost for software development organisations and users; Cambridge Judge Business School’s research estimated the cost of software bugs to the global economy is $312 billion. Beyond the cost, faster software development methodologies and increasing expectations on developers to become testers is driving demand for faster, automated, and effective tools to prevent potential faults as early as possible in the software development lifecycle. Using X-Machine theory, this paper will explore a new tool to address software complexity, changing expectations on developers, faster development pressures and methodologies, with a view to reducing the huge cost of fixing software bugs.

Keywords: conformance testing, finite state machine, software testing, x-machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Bello, A., Muhammed Ibrahim Abba., Abdullahi, M., Dauda, Sabo, & Shittu, A. T.

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This study investigated the Predictors of Lecturers Knowledge Sharing Acceptance on Open Educational Resources (OER) in North-East Nigerian in Universities. The study population comprised of 632 lecturers of Federal Universities in North-east Nigeria. The study sample covered 338 lecturers who were selected purposively from Adamawa, Bauchi and Borno State Federal Universities in Nigeria. The study adopted a prediction correlational research design. The instruments used for data collection was the questionnaire. Experts in the field of educational technology validated the instrument and tested it for reliability checks using Cronbach’s alpha. The constructs on lecturers’ acceptance to share OER yielded a reliability coefficient of; α = .956 for Performance Expectancy, α = .925; for Effort Expectancy, α = .955; for Social Influence, α = .879; for Facilitating Conditions and α = .948 for acceptance to share OER. the researchers contacted the Deanery of faculties of education and enlisted local coordinators to facilitate the data collection process at each university. The data was analysed using multiple sequential regression statistic at a significance level of 0.05 using SPSS version 23.0. The findings of the study revealed that performance expectancy (β = 0.658; t = 16.001; p = 0.000), effort expectancy (β = 0.194; t = 3.802; p = 0.000), social influence (β = 0.306; t = 5.246; p = 0.000), collectively indicated that the variables have a predictive capacity to stimulate lecturer’s acceptance to share their resources on OER repository. However, the finding revealed that facilitating conditions (β = .053; t = .899; p = 0.369), does not have a predictive capacity to stimulate lecturer’s acceptance to share their resources on OER repository. Based on these findings, the study recommends among others that the university management should consider adjusting OER policy to be centered around actualizing lecturers career progression.

Keywords: acceptance, lecturers, open educational resources, knowledge sharing

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Authors: Bader A. J. Alrajhi

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The 'loss of control' defence to murder as enacted in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (CJA) represents a legislative effort to bring greater coherence to an aspect of UK homicide law that has vexed several generations of jurists, practitioners, and academic commentators. The analysis developed in this paper illustrates that the loss of control defence as defined in CJA sections 54 and 55 is a laudable initiative; its fuller assessment must await further appellate court determination before a definitive conclusion of its utility is possible. The CJA amendments tend to embrace a legitimate policy that those who found to be provoked by the activities of others to lose their self-control should be dealt with in a different way than those who commit intentional killings when motivated by their own desires or pursuit of gain. However, the 2012 Court of Appeal decisions rendered in the Parker troika of cases, provide useful direction as to how the law is likely to be applied. It shows an attitude in the Court of Appeal that the whole circumstances that challenged the defendant must be examined. The Court of Appeal has introduced an important ingredient into the potential use of sexual infidelity as a section 55 trigger - it is not a permissible stand-alone factor, but it may legitimately form part of an entire qualifying trigger circumstance.

Keywords: loss of self-control, Coroners and Justice Act 2009, provocation, diminished responsibility

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Authors: Dani Karmakar

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In India, the journey of street theatre was started with Indian peoples Theatre Association (IPTA) as a tool for anti-establishment that was categorized as by the people and for the people. It has expressed common people’s feelings, problems, day to day life. It has brought a social change that is downtrodden. By its nature, it is based on communist ideology. Street theatre is a theatre of protest. In India, many folk theatres translate directly ‘Street Theatre’, those are Veedhi Natakam in Andhra Pradesh and Therukoothu in Tamil Nadu. But they do not covey to common definition of street theatre. There are different folk theatres of different regions in India. All folk theatres have individual characteristic, criteria, taste and flavor that can render distinctive each others. In festivals or special occasions, whole communities come together to enjoy collectively and express their feelings. The Veedhi Natakam means 'street theatre'. Theru koothu is a traditional street theatre in the northern districts of Tamilnadu. Folk theatre has potential to deliver strong messages. It has a socially significant role. At Veedhi Natakam, Vidhushaka takes part for social criticism. Gambhira is also a socio-political folk drama presentation in West Bengal.

Keywords: folk theatre, Gambhira, politics, street theatre

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Authors: Zahra Khan

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Hydrogels are a macromolecular network of hydrophilic copolymers with physical or chemical cross-linking structures with significant water uptake capabilities. They are a promising substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as they are both flexible and biocompatible materials. Conventional SERS-active substrates suffer from limitations such as instability and inflexibility, which restricts their use in broader applications. Gelatin-based hydrogels have been synthesised in a facile and relatively quick method without the use of any toxic cross-linking agents. Composite gel material was formed by combining the gelatin with simple polymers to enhance the functional properties of the gel. Gold nanoparticles prepared by a reproducible seed-mediated growth method were combined into the bulk material during gel synthesis. After gel formation, the gel was submerged in the analyte solution overnight. SERS spectra were then collected from the gel using a standard Raman spectrometer. A wide range of analytes was successfully detected on these hydrogels showing potential for further optimization and use as SERS substrates for biomedical applications.

Keywords: gelatin, hydrogels, flexible materials, SERS

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Authors: Yan Li

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Purpose: There is a lack of suitable recommendation systems to assist engineering teaching. The existing traditional engineering pedagogies lack learning interests for postgraduate students. The knowledge graph-based recommender system aims to enhance postgraduate students’ programming skills, with a focus on programming courses. Design/methodology/approach: The case study will be used as a major research method, and the two case studies will be taken in both two teaching styles of the universities (Zhejiang University and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China), followed by the interviews. Quantitative and qualitative research methods will be combined in this study. Research limitations/implications: The case studies were only focused on two teaching styles universities, which is not comprehensive enough. The subject was limited to postgraduate students. Originality/value: The study collected and analyzed the data from two teaching styles of universities’ perspectives. It explored the challenges of Engineering education and tried to seek potential enhancement.

Keywords: knowledge graph and recommender system, engineering pedagogy, programming skills, postgraduate students

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Authors: Abe D. Desta

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This study suggests a deep learning-based method for identifying and following moving objects in surveillance video. The proposed method uses a fast regional convolution neural network (F-RCNN) trained on a substantial dataset of vehicle images to first detect vehicles. A Kalman filter and a data association technique based on a Hungarian algorithm are then used to monitor the observed vehicles throughout time. However, in general, F-RCNN algorithms have been shown to be effective in achieving high detection accuracy and robustness in this research study. For example, in one study The study has shown that the vehicle detection and tracking, the system was able to achieve an accuracy of 97.4%. In this study, the F-RCNN algorithm was compared to other popular object detection algorithms and was found to outperform them in terms of both detection accuracy and speed. The presented system, which has application potential in actual surveillance systems, shows the usefulness of deep learning approaches in vehicle detection and tracking.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, computer vision, deep learning, fast-regional convolutional neural networks, feature extraction, vehicle tracking

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Authors: Meline Mesropyan

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At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan served as a transit point for Armenian refugees fleeing the 1915 Genocide. However, research on Armenian refugees in Japan is sparse, and the Armenian Diaspora has never taken root in Japan. Consequently, Japan has not been considered a relevant research site for studying Armenian refugees. The primary objective of this study is to shed light on the number of Armenian refugees who passed through Japan between 1915 and 1930. Quantitative analyses will be conducted based on newly uncovered Japanese archival documents. Subsequently, the Japanese data will be compared to American immigration data to estimate the potential number of refugees in Japan during that period. This under-researched area is relevant to both the Armenian Diaspora and refugee studies in Japan. By clarifying the number of refugees, this study aims to enhance understanding of Japan's treatment of refugees and the extent of humanitarian efforts conducted by organizations and individuals in Japan, contributing to the broader field of historical refugee studies.

Keywords: Armenian genocide, Armenian refugees, Japanese statistics, number of refugees

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Authors: Ho-Won Jung, Donghun Lee, Hyung-Jin Kim

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Predictive analytics (data analysis) uses a subset of measurements (the features, predictor, or independent variable) to predict another measurement (the outcome, target, or dependent variable) on a single person or unit. It applies empirical methods in statistics, operations research, and machine learning to predict the future, or otherwise unknown events or outcome on a single or person or unit, based on patterns in data. Most analyses of metabolic syndrome are not predictive analytics but statistical explanatory studies that build a proposed model (theory building) and then validate metabolic syndrome predictors hypothesized (theory testing). A proposed theoretical model forms with causal hypotheses that specify how and why certain empirical phenomena occur. Predictive analytics and explanatory modeling have their own territories in analysis. However, predictive analytics can perform vital roles in explanatory studies, i.e., scientific activities such as theory building, theory testing, and relevance assessment. In the context, this study is to demonstrate how to use our predictive analytics to support theory building (i.e., hypothesis generation). For the purpose, this study utilized a big data predictive analytics platform TM based on a co-occurrence graph. The co-occurrence graph is depicted with nodes (e.g., items in a basket) and arcs (direct connections between two nodes), where items in a basket are fully connected. A cluster is a collection of fully connected items, where the specific group of items has co-occurred in several rows in a data set. Clusters can be ranked using importance metrics, such as node size (number of items), frequency, surprise (observed frequency vs. expected), among others. The size of a graph can be represented by the numbers of nodes and arcs. Since the size of a co-occurrence graph does not depend directly on the number of observations (transactions), huge amounts of transactions can be represented and processed efficiently. For a demonstration, a total of 13,254 metabolic syndrome training data is plugged into the analytics platform to generate rules (potential hypotheses). Each observation includes 31 predictors, for example, associated with sociodemographic, habits, and activities. Some are intentionally included to get predictive analytics insights on variable selection such as cancer examination, house type, and vaccination. The platform automatically generates plausible hypotheses (rules) without statistical modeling. Then the rules are validated with an external testing dataset including 4,090 observations. Results as a kind of inductive reasoning show potential hypotheses extracted as a set of association rules. Most statistical models generate just one estimated equation. On the other hand, a set of rules (many estimated equations from a statistical perspective) in this study may imply heterogeneity in a population (i.e., different subpopulations with unique features are aggregated). Next step of theory development, i.e., theory testing, statistically tests whether a proposed theoretical model is a plausible explanation of a phenomenon interested in. If hypotheses generated are tested statistically with several thousand observations, most of the variables will become significant as the p-values approach zero. Thus, theory validation needs statistical methods utilizing a part of observations such as bootstrap resampling with an appropriate sample size.

Keywords: explanatory modeling, metabolic syndrome, predictive analytics, theory building

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Authors: Fernando G. Torres, Omar P. Troncoso

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Starch is a highly biocompatible, non-toxic, and biodegradable polymer. It is widely used in biomedical applications, including drug delivery systems and tissue engineering scaffolds. Curcumin, a phenolic compound found in the dried root of Curcuma longa, has been used as a nutritional supplement due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. However, the major problem with ingesting curcumin by itself is its poor bioavailability due to its poor absorption and rapid metabolism. In this study, we report a novel methodology to prepare starch nanoparticles loaded with curcumin. The nanoparticles were synthesized via nanoprecipitation of starch granules extracted from native Andean potatoes (Solanum tuberosum ssp. and Andigena var Huamantanga varieties). The nanoparticles were crosslinked and stabilized by using sodium tripolyphosphate and Tween®80, respectively. The characterization of the nanoparticles loaded with curcumin was assessed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Zeta potential, and Differential scanning calorimetry. UV-vis spectrophotometry was used to evaluate the loading efficiency and capacity of the samples. The results showed that native starch nanoparticles could be used to prepare promising nanocarriers for the controlled release of curcumin.

Keywords: starch nanoparticle, nanoprecipitation, curcumin, biomedical applications

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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

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Authors: Ali̇ Bayram, Semih Dalkilic, Remzi Yigiter

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N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is a subtype of glutamate receptor and plays a pivotal role in learning, memory, neuronal plasticity, neurotoxicity and synaptic mechanisms. Animal experiments were suggested that glutamate-induced excitotoxic injuriy and NMDA receptor blockage lead to amnesia and other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Aim of this study is to investigate association between NMDA receptor coding gene GRIN2B expression level and Alzheimer disease. The study was approved by the local ethics committees, and it was conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and guidelines for the Good Clinical Practice. Peripheral blood was collected 50 patients who diagnosed AD and 49 healthy control individuals. Total RNA was isolated with RNeasy midi kit (Qiagen) according to manufacturer’s instructions. After checked RNA quality and quantity with spectrophotometer, GRIN2B expression levels were detected by quantitative real time PCR (QRT-PCR). Statistical analyses were performed, variance between two groups were compared with Mann Whitney U test in GraphpadInstat algorithm with 95 % confidence interval and p < 0.05. After statistical analyses, we have determined that GRIN2B expression levels were down regulated in AD patients group with respect to control group. But expression level of this gene in each group was showed high variability. İn this study, we have determined that NMDA receptor coding gene GRIN2B expression level was down regulated in AD patients when compared with healthy control individuals. According to our results, we have speculated that GRIN2B expression level was associated with AD. But it is necessary to validate these results with bigger sample size.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor, NR2B, GRIN2B, mRNA expression, RT-PCR

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Authors: Furqan Farooq, Arslan Akbar, Sana Gul

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Inadequate design of seismic structures and use of Low Strength Concrete (LSC) remains the major aspect of structure failure. Parametric investigation (LSC) beams based on experimental work using externally applied Carbon Fiber Reinforce Polymer (CFRP) warp in flexural behavior is studied. The ambition is to know the behavior of beams under loading condition, and its strengthening enhancement after inducing crack is studied, Moreover comparison of results using abacus software is studied. Results show significant enhancement in load carrying capacity, experimental work is compared with abacus software. The research is based on the conclusion that various existing structure but inadequacy in seismic design could increase the load carrying capacity by applying CFRP techniques, which not only strengthened but also provide them to resist even larger potential earthquake by improving its strength as well as ductility.

Keywords: seismic design, carbon fiber, strengthening, ductility

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Camilo Cerda Sarabia, Fernanda Bravo Cornejo, Diego Santibanez Oyarce, Hugo Osses Prado, Esteban Gómez Terán, Belén Diaz Diaz, Raúl Caulier-Cisterna, Jorge Vergara-Quezada, Ana Moya-Beltrán

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a significant and rapidly escalating global health threat. Projections estimate that by 2050, AMR infections could claim up to 10 million lives annually. Respiratory infections, in particular, pose a severe risk not only to individual patients but also to the broader public health system. Despite the alarming rise in resistant respiratory infections, AMR within the lung microbiome (microbial community) remains underexplored and poorly characterized. The lungs, as a complex and dynamic microbial environment, host diverse communities of microorganisms whose interactions and resistance mechanisms are not fully understood. Unlike studies that focus on individual genomes, analyzing the entire microbiome provides a comprehensive perspective on microbial interactions, resistance gene transfer, and community dynamics, which are crucial for understanding AMR. However, this holistic approach introduces significant computational challenges and exposes the limitations of traditional analytical methods such as the difficulty of identifying the AMR. Machine learning has emerged as a powerful tool to overcome these challenges, offering the ability to analyze complex genomic data and uncover novel insights into AMR that might be overlooked by conventional approaches. This study investigates microbial resistance within the lung microbiome using unsupervised machine learning approaches to uncover resistance patterns and potential clinical associations. it downloaded and selected lung microbiome data from HumanMetagenomeDB based on metadata characteristics such as relevant clinical information, patient demographics, environmental factors, and sample collection methods. The metadata was further complemented by details on antibiotic usage, disease status, and other relevant descriptions. The sequencing data underwent stringent quality control, followed by a functional profiling focus on identifying resistance genes through specialized databases like Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) which contains sequences of AMR gene sequence and resistance profiles. Subsequent analyses employed unsupervised machine learning techniques to unravel the structure and diversity of resistomes in the microbial community. Some of the methods employed were clustering methods such as K-Means and Hierarchical Clustering enabled the identification of sample groups based on their resistance gene profiles. The work was implemented in python, leveraging a range of libraries such as biopython for biological sequence manipulation, NumPy for numerical operations, Scikit-learn for machine learning, Matplotlib for data visualization and Pandas for data manipulation. The findings from this study provide insights into the distribution and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance within the lung microbiome. By leveraging unsupervised machine learning, we identified novel resistance patterns and potential drivers within the microbial community.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, microbial community, unsupervised machine learning., sequences of AMR gene

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Authors: M. A. Salman, G. Al-Nuwaibit, M. Safar, M. Rughaibi, A. Al-Mesri

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Barium sulfate (BaSO₄) is a hard scaling usually precipitates on the surface of equipment in many industrial systems, as oil and gas production, desalination and cooling and boiler operation. It is a scale that extremely resistance to both chemical and mechanical cleaning. So, BaSO₄ is a problematic and expensive scaling. Although barium ions are present in most natural waters at a very low concentration as low as 0.008 mg/l, it could result of scaling problems in the presence of high concentration of sulfate ion or when mixing with incompatible waters as in oil produced water. The scaling potential of BaSO₄ using seawater at the intake of seven desalination plants in Kuwait, brine water and Kuwait oil produced water was calculated and compared then the best location in regards of barium sulfate scaling was reported. Finally, a physical treatment method (magnetic treatment method) and chemical treatment method were used to control BaSO₄ scaling using saturated solutions at different operating temperatures, flow velocities, feed pHs and different magnetic strengths. The results of the two methods were discussed, and the more economical one with the reasonable performance was recommended, which is the physical treatment method.

Keywords: magnetic field strength, flow velocity, retention time, barium sulfate

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Authors: Cajethan U. Ugwuoke

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Agriculture is taught in secondary schools to develop skills in students which will empower them to contribute to national economic development. Unfortunately, our educational system emphasizes the application of conventional teaching methods in delivering instructions, which fails to produce students competent enough to carry out agricultural production. This study was therefore aimed at examining the application of digital technologies as tools for transformative instructional delivery. Four specific purposes, research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design where 80 subjects representing 64 teachers of agriculture and 16 principals in the Udenu local government area of Enugu State, Nigeria, participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The assumption of normality was ascertained by subjecting the data collected to a normality test. Data collected were later subjected to mean, Pearson product-moment correlation, ANOVA and t-test to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses at a 5% significant level. The result shows that the application of digital technologies helps to reduce learners’ boredom (3.52.75), improves learners’ performance (3.63.51), and is used as a visual aid for learners (3.56.61), among others. There was a positive, strong and significant relationship between the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (+.895, p=.001<.05, F=17.73), competency of teachers to the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (+998, p=.001<0.5, F=16263.45), and frequency of the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (+.999, p=.001<.05, F=31436.14). There was no evidence of autocorrelation and multicollinearity in the regression models between the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (2.03, Tolerance=1.00, VIF=1.00), competency of teachers in the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (2.38, Tolerance=1.00, VIF=1.00) and frequency of the application of digital technologies and effective instructional delivery (2.00, Tolerance=1.00, VIF=1.00). Digital technologies should be therefore applied in teaching to facilitate effective instructional delivery in agriculture.

Keywords: agricultural science, digital technologies, instructional delivery, learning

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Authors: Radha H. R., Krupakara P. V.

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Metal matrix composites are attracting today's manufacturers of many automobile parts so that they lost longer and their properties can be tailored according to the requirement. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the corrosion characteristics of Aluminium 6061 / quartz metal matrix composites in alkali medium like sodium hydroxide solutions. Metal matrix composites are heterogeneous mixtures of a matrix and reinforcement. In this work the matrix selected is Aluminium 6061 alloy which is commercially available and the reinforcement selected is quartz particulates of 50-80 micron size which is available in plenty in and around Bangalore district, India. Composites containing Aluminium 6061 with 2, 4 and 6 weight percent of quartz are manufactured by liquid melt metallurgy technique using vortex method. Corrosion tests like static weight loss and open circuit potential tests are conducted in different concentrated solutions of sodium hydroxide. To compare the results the matrix Aluminium 6061 is also casted in the same way. Specimens for the test are prepared according to ASTM standards. In all the tests the metal matrix composites showed better corrosion resistance than matrix alloy.

Keywords: aluminium 6061, corrosion, quartz, vortex

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Authors: E. Bittar, A. Quiñonez, F. Mencia, E. Aguero, M. Delgado, V. Arriola, R. López

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In the western region of Paraguay, the poor condition of the roads has negatively affected the development of this zone, where the absence of petrous material has led engineers to opt for the stabilization of soils with lime or cement as the main structure for bases and subbases of these roads. In several areas of this region, high sulfate contents have been found both in groundwater and in soils, which, when reacted with lime or cement, generate a new problem instead of solving it. On the other hand, the use of industrial waste as granulated slag and fly ash proved to be a sustainable practice widely used in the manufacture of cement, and now also, in the stabilization of soils worldwide. Works related to soils containing sulfates stabilized either with granulated slag or fly ash and lime shown a good performance in their mechanical behaviour. This research seeks to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of soils with high contents of sulfates stabilized with lime by curing them both, at the normalized temperature (23 ± 2 °C) and at 40 ± 2 °C. Moreover, it attempts to asses if the addition of rice husk ash has a positive influence on the new geomaterial. The 40 ± 2 °C curing temperature was selected trying to simulate the average local temperature in summer and part of spring session whereas rice husk ash is an affordable waste produced in the region. An extensive experimental work, which includes unconfined compression, durability and free swell tests were carried out considering different dry unit weights, lime content and the addition of 20% of rice husk ash. The results showed that the addition of rice husk ash increases the resistance and durability of the material and decreases the expansion of this, moreover, the specimens cured at a temperature of 40 ± 2 °C showed higher resistance, better durability and lower expansion compared to those cured at the normalized temperature of 23 ± 2 °C.

Keywords: durability, expansion, lime stabilization, rice husk ash, sulfate

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Authors: Chanda Burrage

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The past half-century has revealed massive structural, geographic, and technological changes in livestock production. The move, for instance, toward expanding export markets, massive feedlots for the fattening of cattle and improved veterinary standards is a global trend in food animal agribusiness and is apparent in both developed and developing regions. In the Horn of Africa, various breeds of cattle that previously were not considered in economic terms are now treated as commodities and branded for numerous export markets. Formerly a culturally significant exchange good within the subsistence pastoral livelihoods, cattle are now identified as a key economic resource and fully connected to global markets. This study incorporates an ethnographic-commodity chain approach to examine critical issues surrounding regional trade, harmonization of standards, import & export legislation, the role of the private sector, and infrastructure development relative to the Boran cattle breed and Borana pastoralists. The specific sites assessed include the cattle production region of Moyale in southern Ethiopia, feedlots and export abattoirs in Adama, Ethiopia, and quarantines and ports in Djibouti and Somaliland. The goal is to evaluate innovation and modernization outcomes and narratives around Boran cattle production and development and the associate livelihood changes for cattle producers in southern Ethiopia and how the smallholder pastoralists are coping with the multitude of global changes. Inevitably, the inherent pressures related to such changes alter, and may even promote the reconfiguration of identity, while inadvertently contribute to the capacity of smallholder cattle producers to act independently and make their own free choices in sustainability. It is through these processes that local Borana groups may appropriate, bypass, or put to new use available and innovative material resources.

Keywords: globalization, global change, commodification, pastoralism, vulnerability, adaptive capacity

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Authors: Maria C. Proença, Maria T. Rebelo, Maria J. Alves, Sofia Cunha

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Vector-borne diseases are transmitted to humans by mosquitos, sandflies, bugs, ticks, and other vectors. Some are re-transmitted between vectors, if the infected human has a new contact when his levels of infection are high. The vector is infected for lifetime and can transmit infectious diseases not only between humans but also from animals to humans. Some vector borne diseases are very disabling and globally account for more than one million deaths worldwide. The mosquitoes from the complex Culex pipiens sl. are the most abundant in Portugal, and we dispose in this moment of a data set from the surveillance program that has been carried on since 2006 across the country. All mosquitos’ species are included, but the large coverage of Culex pipiens sl. and its importance for public health make this vector an interesting candidate to assess risk of disease amplification. This work focus on ports and airports identified as key areas of high density of vectors. Mosquitoes being ectothermic organisms, the main factor for vector survival and pathogen development is temperature. Minima and maxima local air temperatures for each area of interest are averaged by month from data gathered on a daily basis at the national network of meteorological stations, and interpolated in a geographic information system (GIS). The range of temperatures ideal for several pathogens are known and this work shows how to use it with the meteorological data in each port and airport facility, to focus an efficient implementation of countermeasures and reduce simultaneously risk transmission and mitigation costs. The results show an increased alert with decreasing latitude, which corresponds to higher minimum and maximum temperatures and a lower amplitude range of the daily temperature.

Keywords: human health, risk assessment, risk management, vector-borne diseases

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Authors: Mohammed Alquraish

Abstract:

Saudi Arabia and other emerging nations have faced significant challenges in the sustainable construction industry. This paper presents a quantitative approach to assessing sustainability risk in the Saudi Arabian construction industry and offers insights into holistic sustainability design in industry operations. The implementation of sustainable construction industry practices in the manufacturing sector has been susceptible to several risk factors that need to be identified. In order to successfully execute sustainable building projects, decision makers in the fields of construction and industry can benefit greatly from the advice this study offers by promoting the elements that motivate sustainability implementation. Sustainability risk can be measured from combining failure probability with cumulative effects from sustainability factors: social, environmental, and economic; that affect the integrity of the construction industry. The cumulative effects of sustainability risk are measured by classifying the outcomes resulting from these consequences. Operators of industrial construction can strategically manage and minimize potential disruptions affecting long-term sustainability incentives by measuring sustainability risk. Thus, the suggested strategy greatly reinforces the crucial role of the construction industry.

Keywords: sustainability, risk, construction industry, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Débora Ramos Santiago

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Endogenous development usually apresent a deep approach to locational aspects, considering the potential, knowledge and the workforce, as encouragement to articulate the entire productive activity of a community. In the case of communities located around the area of management of the company Precious Wood Amazon (PWA), their endogenous development is subject to the dynamic of this company, which operates a certified way, seeking alternatives to mitigate and compensate the damages caused by its activities. This article soughts to present the socio-economic and environmental challenges to promote of the endogenous development of these communities, identifying the relationship of the PWA in this process. The communities analyzed emerge with poor socioeconomic conditions, futhermore, their ecosystem characteristics differ spatially from each other, which modifies the entire production dynamics. The family agriculture was an important source of income, but needs investment and technical assistance. The participation of PWA in the promotion of the endogenous development of the communities was proved significant, because of the intense sustainable actions practice by PWA. Many are the challenges that exist in these communities, so its fundamental to elaborate public policies to these specific areas.

Keywords: endogenous development, traditional communities, Amazon, PWA

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Authors: G. Blázquez, A. Gálvez-Pérez, M. Calero, I. Iáñez-Rodríguez, M. A. Martín-Lara, A. Pérez

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The production of olive oil is considered as one of the most important agri-food industries. However, some of the by-products generated in the process are potential pollutants and cause environmental problems. Consequently, the management of these by-products is currently considered as a challenge for the olive oil industry. In this context, several technologies have been developed and tested. In this sense, the autohydrolysis of these by-products could be considered as a promising technique. Therefore, this study focused on autohydrolysis treatments of a solid residue from the olive oil industry denominated olive cake. This one comes from the olive pomace extraction with hexane. Firstly, a water washing was carried out to eliminate the water soluble compounds. Then, an experimental design was developed for the autohydrolysis experiments carried out in the hydrothermal pressure reactor. The studied variables were temperature (30, 60 and 90 ºC) and time (30, 60, 90 min). On the other hand, aliquots of liquid obtained fractions were analysed by HPLC to determine the fructose and sucrose contents present in the liquid fraction. Finally, the obtained results of sugars contents and the yields of the different experiments were fitted to a neuro-fuzzy and to a polynomial model.

Keywords: ANFIS, olive cake, polyols, saccharides

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Authors: Roman Major, Klaudia Trembecka- Wojciga, Juergen Markus Lackner, Boguslaw Major

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The future and the development of science is therefore seen in interdisciplinary areas such as bio medical engineering. Self-assembled structures, similar to stem cell niches would inhibit fast division process and subsequently capture the stem cells from the blood flow. By means of surface topography and the stiffness as well as micro structure progenitor cells should be differentiated towards the formation of endothelial cells monolayer which effectively will inhibit activation of the coagulation cascade. The idea of the material surface development met the interest of the clinical institutions, which support the development of science in this area and are waiting for scientific solutions that could contribute to the development of heart assist systems. This would improve the efficiency of the treatment of patients with myocardial failure, supported with artificial heart assist systems. Innovative materials would enable the redesign, in the post project activity, construction of ventricular heart assist.

Keywords: bio-inspired materials, electron microscopy, haemocompatibility, niche-like structures, thin coatings

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Authors: Dipali Nagaonkar, Mahendra Rai

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Chitosan, a carbohydrate polymer at nanoscale level has gained considerable momentum in drug delivery applications due to its inherent biocompatibility and non-toxicity. However, conventional synthetic strategies for chitosan nanoparticles mainly rely upon physicochemical techniques, which often yield chitosan microparticles. Hence, there is an emergent need for development of controlled synthetic protocols for chitosan nanoparticles within the nanometer range. In this context, we report the green synthesis of size controlled chitosan nanoparticles by using Pongamia pinnata (L.) leaf extract. Nanoparticle tracking analysis confirmed formation of nanoparticles with mean particle size of 85 nm. The stability of chitosan nanoparticles was investigated by zetasizer analysis, which revealed positive surface charged nanoparticles with zeta potential 20.1 mV. The green synthesized chitosan nanoparticles were further explored for encapsulation and controlled release of antioxidant biomolecule, quercetin. The resulting drug loaded chitosan nanoparticles showed drug entrapment efficiency of 93.50% with drug-loading capacity of 42.44%. The cumulative in vitro drug release up to 15 hrs was achieved suggesting towards efficacy of green synthesized chitosan nanoparticles for drug delivery applications.

Keywords: Chitosan nanoparticles, green synthesis, Pongamia pinnata, quercetin

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Authors: Juliana V. Pereira, Adriana S. M. Batista, Jefferson P. Nascimento, Clascídia A. Furtado, Luiz O. Faria

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The combination of the properties of graphene oxide (OG) and PVDF homopolymer makes their combined composite materials as multifunctional systems with great potential. Knowledge of the molecular structure is essential for better use. In this work, the degradation of PVDF polymer exposed to gamma irradiation in oxygen atmosphere in high dose rate has been studied and compared to degradation of PVDF/OG composites. The samples were irradiated with a Co-60 source at constant dose rate, with doses ranging from 100 kGy to 1,000 kGy. In FTIR data shown that the formation of oxidation products was at the both samples with formation of carbonyl and hydroxyl groups amongst the most prevalent products in the pure PVDF samples. In the other hand, the composites samples exhibit less presence of degradation products with predominant formation of carbonyl groups, these results also seen in the UV-Vis analysis. The results show that the samples of composites may have greater resistance to the irradiation process, since they have less degradation products than pure PVDF samples seen by spectroscopic techniques.

Keywords: gamma irradiation, PVDF, PVDF/OG composites, spectroscopic techniques

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Authors: Manthekeleng Linake, Fesi Liziwe

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The ongoing argument over the use of English as a learning and teaching language in schools was examined in this study. The nature of the language proficiency gap is particularly relevant in light of the present emphasis on learning and educational quality in contemporary debates, as well as the education sustainable development goal. As a result, an interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative technique, and a case study-based research design were used in the work. Two school principals, two teachers, two members of the School Governing Body (SGB), and four learners were chosen using purposive sampling from two schools in the Amathole West Education District. The researchers were able to acquire in-depth information on the disputes surrounding the use of English as a language of learning and teaching by using semi-structured interview questions and focus groups. Despite knowing that they do not have the potential to do well in English, teachers found that despite appreciating the value of mother tongue and cultural identity, they prefer to use English as the language of teaching in schools. The findings, on the other hand, revealed that proponents of mother-language-based education argue that learning one's mother tongue is a human right.

Keywords: English first additional language learners, social justice, human capabilities, language proficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 135