Search results for: pixel-based change detection

Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma, Muhammet Demirkol, Murat Aydin, Tuba Gokkus, Burcin Nalbantoglu, Aysin Nalbantoglu, Birol Topcu

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Obesity in childhood establishes a ground for adulthood obesity. Especially morbid obesity is an important problem for the children because of the associated diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, body mass index (BMI), body fat ratios, anthropometric measurements and ratios were evaluated together with different laboratory indices upon evaluation of obesity in morbidly obese (MO) children. Children with nutritional problems participated in the study. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents. Study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee. Sixty-two MO girls aged 129.5±35.8 months and 75 MO boys aged 120.1±26.6 months were included into the scope of the study. WHO-BMI percentiles for age-and-sex were used to assess the children with those higher than 99^th as morbid obesity. Anthropometric measurements of the children were recorded after their physical examination. Bio-electrical impedance analysis was performed to measure fat distribution. Anthropometric ratios, body fat ratios, Index-I and Index-II as well as insulin sensitivity indices (ISIs) were calculated. Girls as well as boys were binary grouped according to homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index of <2.5 and >2.5, fasting glucose to insulin ratio (FGIR) of <6 and >6 and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) of <0.33 and >0.33 as the frequently used cut-off points. They were evaluated based upon their BMIs, arms, legs, trunk, whole body fat percentages, body fat ratios such as fat mass index (FMI), trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio (TAFR), whole body fat ratio (WBFR), anthropometric measures and ratios [waist-to-hip, head-to-neck, thigh-to-arm, thigh-to-ankle, height/2-to-waist, height/2-to-hip circumference (C)]. SPSS/PASW 18 program was used for statistical analyses. p≤0.05 was accepted as statistically significance level. All of the fat percentages showed differences between below and above the specified cut-off points in girls when evaluated with HOMA-IR and QUICKI. Differences were observed only in arms fat percent for HOMA-IR and legs fat percent for QUICKI in boys (p≤ 0.05). FGIR was unable to detect any differences for the fat percentages of boys. Head-to-neck C was the only anthropometric ratio recommended to be used for all ISIs (p≤0.001 for both girls and boys in HOMA-IR, p≤0.001 for girls and p≤0.05 for boys in FGIR and QUICKI). Indices which are recommended for use in both genders were Index-I, Index-II, HOMA/BMI and log HOMA (p≤0.001). FMI was also a valuable index when evaluated with HOMA-IR and QUICKI (p≤0.001). The important point was the detection of the severe significance for HOMA/BMI and log HOMA while they were evaluated also with the other indices, FGIR and QUICKI (p≤0.001). These parameters along with Index-I were unique at this level of significance for all children. In conclusion, well-accepted ratios or indices may not be valid for the evaluation of both genders. This study has emphasized the limiting properties for boys. This is particularly important for the selection process of some ratios and/or indices during the clinical studies. Gender difference should be taken into consideration for the evaluation of the ratios or indices, which will be recommended to be used particularly within the scope of obesity studies.

Keywords: anthropometry, childhood obesity, gender, insulin sensitivity index

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Authors: Gerd Wilsch, Tobias Guenther, Tobias Voelker

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In view of the ageing of vital infrastructure facilities, a reliable condition assessment of concrete structures is becoming of increasing interest for asset owners to plan timely and appropriate maintenance and repair interventions. For concrete structures, reinforcement corrosion induced by penetrating chlorides is the dominant deterioration mechanism affecting the serviceability and, eventually, structural performance. The determination of the quantitative chloride ingress is required not only to provide valuable information on the present condition of a structure, but the data obtained can also be used for the prediction of its future development and associated risks. At present, wet chemical analysis of ground concrete samples by a laboratory is the most common test procedure for the determination of the chloride content. As the chloride content is expressed by the mass of the binder, the analysis should involve determination of both the amount of binder and the amount of chloride contained in a concrete sample. This procedure is laborious, time-consuming, and costly. The chloride profile obtained is based on depth intervals of 10 mm. LIBS is an economically viable alternative providing chloride contents at depth intervals of 1 mm or less. It provides two-dimensional maps of quantitative element distributions and can locate spots of higher concentrations like in a crack. The results are correlated directly to the mass of the binder, and it can be applied on-site to deliver instantaneous results for the evaluation of the structure. Examples for the application of the method in the laboratory for the investigation of diffusion and migration of chlorides, sulfates, and alkalis are presented. An example for the visualization of the Li transport in concrete is also shown. These examples show the potential of the method for a fast, reliable, and automated two-dimensional investigation of transport processes. Due to the better spatial resolution, more accurate input parameters for model calculations are determined. By the simultaneous detection of elements such as carbon, chlorine, sodium, and potassium, the mutual influence of the different processes can be determined in only one measurement. Furthermore, the application of a mobile LIBS system in a parking garage is demonstrated. It uses a diode-pumped low energy laser (3 mJ, 1.5 ns, 100 Hz) and a compact NIR spectrometer. A portable scanner allows a two-dimensional quantitative element mapping. Results show the quantitative chloride analysis on wall and floor surfaces. To determine the 2-D distribution of harmful elements (Cl, C), concrete cores were drilled, split, and analyzed directly on-site. Results obtained were compared and verified with laboratory measurements. The results presented show that the LIBS method is a valuable addition to the standard procedures - the wet chemical analysis of ground concrete samples. Currently, work is underway to develop a technical code of practice for the application of the method for the determination of chloride concentration in concrete.

Keywords: chemical analysis, concrete, LIBS, spectroscopy

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Authors: Natasha Yasmin Felles, Gerard Riley

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Background and Aims: Relationship breakdown is typical when one partner lives with an acquired brain injury caused by issues like a stroke. Research has found that the perception of relationship satisfaction decreases following such an injury among non-injured partners. Non-injured partners also are found to experience caregiver stress/burden as they immediately have to take the role of a caregiver along with being a partner of the injured. Research has also found that the perception of a continuous relationship, i.e. the perception of the relationship to be essentially the same as it was before the injury, also changes among those caregiving partners. However, there is a lack of available intervention strategies that can help those partners with both individual and relationship difficulties. The aim of this case study was to conduct a pilot test of an intervention aimed to explore whether it is possible to support a partner to experience greater continuity within the relationship poststroke, and what benefits such a change might have. Method: A couple, where one partner experienced an acquired brain injury poststroke were provided with Integrated Behavioural Couples Therapy for 3-months. The intervention addressed goals identified as necessary by the couple and by the formulation of their individual and relationship difficulties, alongside the goal of promoting relationship continuity. Before and after measures were taken using a battery of six questionnaires to evaluate changes in perceptions of continuity, stress, and other aspects of the relationship. Results: Both quantitative and qualitative data showed that relationship continuity was improved after the therapy, as were the measures of stress and other aspects of the relationship. The stress felt by the person with the acquired brain injury also showed some evidence of improvement. Conclusion: The study found that perceptions of relationship continuity can be improved by therapy and that improving these might have a beneficial impact on the stress felt by the carer, their satisfaction with the relationship and overall levels of conflict and closeness within the relationship. The study suggested the value of further research on enhancing perceptions of continuity in the relationship after an acquired brain injury. Currently, the findings of the study have been used to develop a pilot feasibility study to collect substantive evidence on the impact of the intervention on the couples and assess its feasibility and acceptability, which will help in further developing a specific generalized relationship continuity intervention, that will be beneficial in preventing relationship breakdown in the future.

Keywords: acquired brain injury, couples therapy, relationship continuity, stroke

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Authors: Mustapha Ouardouz, Mina Amharref, Abdessamed Bernoussi

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The future energy, for limited energy resources countries, goes through renewable energies (solar, wind etc.). The renewable energies constitute a major component of the energy strategy to cover a substantial part of the growing needs and contribute to environmental protection by replacing fossil fuels. Indeed, sustainable development involves the promotion of renewable energy and the preservation of the environment by the use of clean energy technologies to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and reducing the pressure exerted on the forest cover. So the impact studies, of the energy use on the environment and farm-related risks are necessary. For that, a global approach integrating all the various sectors involved in such project seems to be the best approach. In this paper we present an approach based on the multi criteria analysis and the realization of one pilot to achieve the development of an innovative geo-intelligent environmental platform. An implementation of this platform will collect, process, analyze and manage environmental data in connection with the nature of used energy in the studied region. As an application we consider a region in the north of Morocco characterized by intense agricultural and industrials activities and using diverse renewable energy. The strategic goals of this platform are; the decision support for better governance, improving the responsiveness of public and private companies connected by providing them in real time with reliable data, modeling and simulation possibilities of energy scenarios, the identification of socio-technical solutions to introduce renewable energies and estimate technical and implantable potential by socio-economic analyzes and the assessment of infrastructure for the region and the communities, the preservation and enhancement of natural resources for better citizenship governance through democratization of access to environmental information, the tool will also perform simulations integrating environmental impacts of natural disasters, particularly those linked to climate change. Indeed extreme cases such as floods, droughts and storms will be no longer rare and therefore should be integrated into such projects.

Keywords: renewable energies, decision aided tool, environment, simulation

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Authors: Pennapa Palapin

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This research sought to study the traditional local wisdom and study the promotion and dissemination of traditional local wisdom in order to find the forms of promotion and dissemination of traditional local wisdom to create occupations among the elderly at Nonmueng Community, Muang Sub-District, Baan Dung District, UdonThani Province. The criterion used to select the research sample group was, being a person having a role involved in the promotion and dissemination of traditional local wisdom to create occupations among the elderly at Nonmueng Community, Muang Sub-District, Baan Dung District, UdonThani Province; being an experienced person whom the residents of Nonmueng Community find trustworthy; and having lived in Nonmueng Community for a long time so as to be able to see the development and change that occurs. A total of 16 people were selected. Data was gathered as a qualitative study, through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The collected data was then summarised and discussed according to the research objectives. Finally, the data was presented in a narrative format. Results found that the identifying traditional local wisdom of the community (which grew from the residents’ experience and beneficial usage in daily life, passed down from generation to generation) was the weaving of cloth and basketry. As for the manner of promotion and dissemination of traditional local wisdom, the skills were passed down through teaching by example to family members, relatives and others in the community. This was done by the elders or elderly members of the community. For the promotion and dissemination of traditional local wisdom to create occupations among the elderly, the traditional local wisdom should be supported in every way through participation of the community members. For example, establish a museum of traditional local wisdom for the collection of traditional local wisdom in various fields, both in the past and at present. This would be a source of pride for the community, in order to make traditional local wisdom widely known and to create income for the community’s elderly. Additional ways include exhibitions of products made by traditional local wisdom, finding both domestic and international markets, as well as building both domestic and international networks aiming to find opportunities to market products made by traditional local wisdom.

Keywords: traditional local wisdom, occupation, elderly, community

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Authors: Manjusha Choudhary

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Objective: Cassia occidentalis Linn. belongs to Family Caesalpiniaceae is a common weed scattered from the foothills of Himalayas to West Bengal, South India, Burma, and Sri Lanka. It is used widely in folklore medicine in India as laxative, expectorant, analgesic, anti-malarial, hepatoprotective, relaxant, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic. The present study was carried out to investigate the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic activities of ethanolic extract of Cassia occidentalis stem bark. Methods: Stem bark extract of Cassia occidentalis (SBCO) was administered orally at 250 and 500 mg/kg doses to normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced type-2 diabetic mice. Various parameters like fasting blood glucose (FBG) level, serum cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), total protein, urea, creatinine, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) levels and physical parameters like change in body weight, food intake, water intake were performed for the evaluation of antidiabetic effects. Results: Both the doses of extract caused a marked decrease in FBG levels in STZ induced type 2 diabetic mice. Administration of SBCO led to the decrease in the blood glucose, food intake, water intake, organ weight, SGOT, SGPT levels with significant value and increased the levels of TG, HDL cholesterol, creatinine, cholesterol, total protein with a significant value (p < 0.05-0.01). The decrease in body weight induced by STZ was restored to normal with a significant value (p < 0.01) at both doses. Conclusion: Present study reveals that SBCO possess potent hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic activities and supports the folklore use of the stem bark of plant as antidiabetic agent.

Keywords: Cassia occidentalis, diabetes, folklore, herbs, hypoglycemia, streptozotocin

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Authors: Turki J. Alharbi, Jencia Wong, Dennis Yue, Tania P. Markovic, Julie Hetherington, Ted Wu, Belinda Brooks, Radhika Seimon, Alice Gibson, Stephanie L. Silviera, Amanda Sainsbury, Tanya J. Little

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Fasting has been practiced for centuries and is incorporated into the practices of different religions including Islam, whose followers intermittently fast throughout the month of Ramadan. Thus, Ramadan presents a unique model of prolonged intermittent fasting (IF). Despite a growing body of evidence for a cardio-metabolic and endocrine benefit of IF, detailed studies of the effects of IF on these indices in type 2 diabetes are scarce. We studied 5 subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and 7 healthy controls (C) at baseline (pre), and in the last week of Ramadan (post). Fasting circulating levels of glucose, HbA1c and lipids, as well as body composition (with DXA) and resting energy expenditure (REE) were measured. Plasma gut hormone levels and appetite responses to a mixed meal were also studied. Data are means±SEM. Ramadan decreased total fat mass (-907±92 g, p=0.001) and trunk fat (-778±190 g, p=0.014) in T2DM but not in controls, without any reductions in lean mass or REE. There was a trend towards a decline in plasma FFA in both groups. Ramadan had no effect on body weight, glycemia, blood pressure, or plasma lipids in either group. In T2DM only, the area under the curve for post-meal plasma ghrelin concentrations increased after Ramadan (pre:6632±1737 vs. post:9025±2518 pg/ml.min-1, p=0.045). Despite this increase in orexigenic ghrelin, subjective appetite scores were not altered by Ramadan. Meal-induced plasma concentrations of the satiety hormone pancreatic polypeptide did not change during Ramadan, but were higher in T2DM compared to controls (post: C: 23486±6677 vs. T2DM: 62193±6880 pg/ml.min-1, p=0.003. In conclusion, Ramadan, as a model for IF appears to have more favourable effects on body composition in T2DM, without adverse effects on metabolic control or subjective appetite. These data suggest that IF may be particularly beneficial in T2DM as a nutritional intervention. Larger studies are warranted.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, obesity, intermittent fasting, appetite regulating hormones

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Authors: Anjali Singh, Ashwani Raju, Vandana Devi, Mohmad Mohsin Atique, Satyendra Singh, Munendra Singh

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India is the biggest consumer of mercury and, consequently, a major emitter too. The increasing mercury contamination in India’s water resources has gained widespread attention and, therefore, atmospheric deposition is of critical concern. However, little emphasis was placed on the role of precipitation in the aquatic mercury cycle of the Ganga Alluvial Plain which provides drinking water to nearly 7% of the world’s human population. A majority of the precipitation here occurs primarily in 10% duration of the year in the monsoon season. To evaluate the sources and transportation of mercury, water sample analysis has been conducted from two selected sites near Lucknow, which have a strong hydraulic gradient towards the river. 31 groundwater samples from Jehta village (26°55’15’’N; 80°50’21’’E; 119 m above mean sea level) and 31 river water samples from the Behta Nadi (a tributary of the Gomati River draining into the Ganga River) were collected during the monsoon season on every alternate day between 01 July to 30 August 2019. The total mercury analysis was performed by using Flow Injection Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)-Mercury Hybride System, and daily rainfall data was collected from the India Meteorological Department, Amausi, Lucknow. The ambient groundwater and river-water concentrations were both 2-4 ng/L as there is no known geogenic source of mercury found in the area. Before the onset of the monsoon season, the groundwater and the river-water recorded mercury concentrations two orders of magnitude higher than the ambient concentrations, indicating the regional transportation of the mercury from the non-point source into the aquatic environment. Maximum mercury concentrations in groundwater and river-water were three orders of magnitude higher than the ambient concentrations after the onset of the monsoon season characterizing the considerable mobilization and redistribution of mercury by monsoonal precipitation. About 50% of both of the water samples were reported mercury below the detection limit, which can be mostly linked to the low intensity of precipitation in August and also with the dilution factor by precipitation. The highest concentration ( > 1200 ng/L) of mercury in groundwater was reported after 6-days lag from the first precipitation peak. Two high concentration peaks (>1000 ng/L) in river-water were separately correlated with the surface flow and groundwater outflow of mercury. We attribute the elevated mercury concentration in both of the water samples before the precipitation event to mercury originating from the extensive use of agrochemicals in mango farming in the plain. However, the elevated mercury concentration during the onset of monsoon appears to increase in area wetted with atmospherically deposited mercury, which migrated down from surface water to groundwater as downslope migration is a fundamental mechanism seen in rivers of the alluvial plain. The present study underscores the significance of monsoonal precipitation in the transportation of mercury to drinking water resources of the Ganga Alluvial Plain. This study also suggests that future research must be pursued for a better understand of the human health impact of mercury contamination and for quantification of the role of Ganga Alluvial Plain in the Global Mercury Cycle.

Keywords: drinking water resources, Ganga alluvial plain, india, mercury

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Authors: Fumiya Sugino, Naohiro Nakamura, Yuji Miyazu

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In earthquake resistant design of buildings, evaluation of vibration characteristics is important. In recent years, due to the increment of super high-rise buildings, the evaluation of response is important for not only the first mode but also higher modes. The knowledge of vibration characteristics in buildings is mostly limited to the first mode and the knowledge of higher modes is still insufficient. In this paper, using earthquake observation records of a SRC building by applying frequency filter to ARX model, characteristics of first and second modes were studied. First, we studied the change of the eigen frequency and the damping ratio during the 3.11 earthquake. The eigen frequency gradually decreases from the time of earthquake occurrence, and it is almost stable after about 150 seconds have passed. At this time, the decreasing rates of the 1st and 2nd eigen frequencies are both about 0.7. Although the damping ratio has more large error than the eigen frequency, both the 1st and 2nd damping ratio are 3 to 5%. Also, there is a strong correlation between the 1st and 2nd eigen frequency, and the regression line is y=3.17x. In the damping ratio, the regression line is y=0.90x. Therefore 1st and 2nd damping ratios are approximately the same degree. Next, we study the eigen frequency and damping ratio from 1998 after 3.11 earthquakes, the final year is 2014. In all the considered earthquakes, they are connected in order of occurrence respectively. The eigen frequency slowly declined from immediately after completion, and tend to stabilize after several years. Although it has declined greatly after the 3.11 earthquake. Both the decresing rate of the 1st and 2nd eigen frequencies until about 7 years later are about 0.8. For the damping ratio, both the 1st and 2nd are about 1 to 6%. After the 3.11 earthquake, the 1st increases by about 1% and the 2nd increases by less than 1%. For the eigen frequency, there is a strong correlation between the 1st and 2nd, and the regression line is y=3.17x. For the damping ratio, the regression line is y=1.01x. Therefore, it can be said that the 1st and 2nd damping ratio is approximately the same degree. Based on the above results, changes in eigen frequency and damping ratio are summarized as follows. In the long-term study of the eigen frequency, both the 1st and 2nd gradually declined from immediately after completion, and tended to stabilize after a few years. Further it declined after the 3.11 earthquake. In addition, there is a strong correlation between the 1st and 2nd, and the declining time and the decreasing rate are the same degree. In the long-term study of the damping ratio, both the 1st and 2nd are about 1 to 6%. After the 3.11 earthquake, the 1st increases by about 1%, the 2nd increases by less than 1%. Also, the 1st and 2nd are approximately the same degree.

Keywords: eigenfrequency, damping ratio, ARX model, earthquake observation records

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Authors: Shazia Shamim, Pallavi Gautam

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The present study describes the presence of rare or endangered plants from Poonch Dist., which spread over 1674 Km sq. located between latitude 330 25' N to 340 01' N and longitude 730 58' E to 740 35' E forming a part of the Northwest Himalaya in Jammu and Kashmir state of India, with the aim of suggesting the strategy for the conservation and promotion of cultivation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, as well as developing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. The main threats to biodiversity and ecosystem are overexploitation, global climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution, and invasion of alien species and disturbance of community structure. Surveys were carried out during 2015-2016 throughout the Poonch valley. During the field survey, various criteria of International Union for the conservation of nature for categorizing threatened plants, extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, probability of extinction, etc. were measured. The rarity of species was determined by field study, visual estimations, and literature. During the collection, it was observed that few rare and endangered species which were present in the study area, are also mentioned in the prescribed red data book of Indian plants, International Union for conservation of nature, list of threatened species and list of Botanical Survey of India presented by its Northern Regional Centre. The study was based on extensive surveys of the study area and then concluded by preparing a list of plant species occurring in different seasons, the photographs of all these plant species were collected. Actual threats to the population of a selected plant species in a given area were recorded by direct observation. The present paper provides information about 22 rare and endangered medicinal plant species belonging to 18 families that are used by the native of these areas. Information provided includes botanical name, family name, local name, habitat, part used, ethno medicinal uses and brief preparation of the reported plant species is presented in the present work.

Keywords: biodiversity, traditional knowledge, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Botanical Survery of India

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Authors: Fadhl Qutaish

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This paper examines the pharyngealization spread in one of the Yemeni Arabic dialects, namely, Ibbi Arabic (IA). It investigates how pharyngealized sounds spread their acoustic features onto the neighboring vowels and change their default features. This feature has been investigated quietly well in MSA but still has to be deeply studied in the different dialect of Arabic which will bring about a clearer picture of the similarities and the differences among these dialects and help in mapping them based on the way this feature is utilized. Though the studies are numerous, no one of them has illustrated how far in the multi-syllabic word the spread can be and whether it takes a steady or gradient manner. This study tries to fill this gap and give a satisfactory explanation of the pharyngealization spread in Ibbi Dialect. This study is the first step towards a larger investigation of the different dialects of Yemeni Arabic in the future. The data recorded are represented in minimal pairs in which the trigger (pharyngealized or the non-pharyngealized sound) is in the initial or final position of monosyllabic and multisyllabic words. A group of 24 words were divided into four groups and repeated three times by three subjects which will yield 216 tokens that are tested and analyzed. The subjects are three male speakers aged between 28 and 31 with no history of neurological, speaking or hearing problems. All of them are bilingual speakers of Arabic and English and native speakers of Ibbi-Dialect. Recordings were done in a sound-proof room and praat software was used for the analysis and coding of the trajectories of F1 and F2 for the low vowel /a/ to see the effect of pharyngealization on the formant trajectory within the same syllable and in other syllables of the same word by comparing the F1 and F2 formants to the non-pharyngealized environment. The results show that pharyngealization spread is gradient (progressively and regressively). The spread is reflected in the gradual raising of F1 as we move closer towards the trigger and the gradual lowering of F2 as well. The results of the F1 mean values in tri-syllabic words when the trigger is word initially show that there is a raise of 37.9 HZ in the first syllable, 26.8HZ in the second syllable and 14.2HZ in the third syllable. F2 mean values undergo a lowering of 239 HZ in the first syllable, 211.7 HZ in the second syllable and 176.5 in the third syllable. This gradual decrease in the difference of F2 values in the non-pharyngealized and pharyngealized context illustrates that the spread is gradient. A similar result was found when the trigger is word-final which proves that the spread is gradient (progressively and regressively.

Keywords: pharyngealization, Yemeni Arabic, Ibbi dialect, pharyngealization spread

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Authors: Andrés Quiroz, Emilio Hormazábal, Ana Mutis, Fernando Ortega, Loreto Méndez, Leonardo Parra

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Red clover root borer, Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the main insect pest associated to red clover, Trifolium pratense L. An average of 1.5 H. obscurus per plant can cause 5.5% reduction in forage yield in pastures of two to three years old. Moreover, insect attack can reach 70% to 100% of the plants. To our knowledge, there is no a chemical strategy for controlling this pest. Therefore alternative strategies for controlling H. obscurus are a high priority for red clover producers. One of this alternative is related to the study of secondary metabolites involved in intrinsic chemical defenses developed by plants, such as isoflavonoids. The isoflavonoids formononetin and daidzein have elicited an antifeedant and phagostimult effect on H. obscurus respectively. However, we do not know how is the dynamic variation of these isoflavonoids under field conditions. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the variation of the antifeedant isoflavonoids formononetin, the phagostimulant isoflavonoids daidzein, and their respective glycosides over time in different ecotypes of red clover. Fourteen red clover ecotypes (8 cultivars and 6 experimental lines), were collected at INIA-Carillanca (La Araucanía, Chile). These plants were established in October 2015 under irrigated conditions. The cultivars were distributed in a randomized complete block with three replicates. The whole plants were sampled in four times: 15th October 2016, 12th December 2016, 27th January 2017 and 16th March 2017 with sufficient amount of soil to avoid root damage. A polar fraction of isoflavonoid was obtained from 20 mg of lyophilized root tissue extracted with 2 mL of 80% MeOH for 16 h using an orbital shaker in the dark at room temperature. After, an aliquot of 1.4 mL of the supernatant was evaporated, and the residue was resuspended in 300 µL of 45% MeOH. The identification and quantification of isoflavonoid root extracts were performed by the injection of 20 µL into a Shimadzu HPLC equipped with a C-18 column. The sample was eluted with a mobile phase composed of AcOH: H₂O (1:9 v/v) as solvent A and CH₃CN as solvent B. The detection was performed at 260 nm. The results showed that the amount of aglycones was higher than the respective glycosides. This result is according to the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids, where the formation of glycoside is further to the glycosides biosynthesis. The amount of formononetin was higher than daidzein. In roots, where H. obscurus spent the most part of its live cycle, the highest content of formononetin was found in G 27, Pawera, Sabtoron High, Redqueli-INIA and Superqueli-INIA cvs. (2.1, 1.8, 1.8, 1.6 and 1.0 mg g⁻¹ respectively); and the lowest amount of daidzein were found Superqueli-INIA (0.32 mg g⁻¹) and in the experimental line Sel Syn Int4 (0.24 mg g⁻¹). This ecotype showed a high content of formononetin (0.9 mg g⁻¹). This information, associated with cultural practices, could help farmers and breeders to reduce H. obscurus in grassland, selecting ecotypes with high content of formononetin and low amount of daidzein in the roots of red clover plants. Acknowledgements: FONDECYT 1141245 and 11130715.

Keywords: daidzein, formononetin, isoflavonoid glycosides, trifolium pratense

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Authors: Zita Fomukong Andam

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Civil disobedience according to John Rawls (1971) is a public nonviolent and conscientious breach of laws undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in government laws and policies. Thus individuals who engage themselves in such an act are aware and ready to accept the consequences of their actions. Cameroon more precisely the Northwest and the Southwest region which are the English part are considered as one of the societies facing this act of civil disobedience. It has been a tormenting issue in the country affecting its economy and the tourism sector. This is because these regions known as one of the best touristic sites of the country is not more considered as a destination to be visited by tourist because of its insecurities. Many commercial buildings have been burning down, leaving many young Cameroonians jobless. Education has been hindered, and youths are forced to relocate to nearby cities in order to continue their education. This crisis has created a lot of insecurity throughout the regions thus youths now have one common interest to travel abroad either to seek refuge or to continue their education and even search for jobs. The purpose of this research is to assess the issue of civil disobedience, trying to understand why it is affected only by a specific region in a country while the others are doing fine. A deep research discourse was conducted with randomly selected individuals aging between 15 to 40 years living both in the destination and abroad. Survey questionnaires and interviews were carried out as a method to collect data. The results show that this crisis has impacted the local residents psychologically and has injected a lot of fears into tourists and they are no more willing to visit the destination. In addition, it has brought a negative impact on the county’s economy since tourism is considered as the key sector in a country’s economy. On the other hand, the results showed that many local residents have remained jobless, others have lost family members, and the daily routine life has been affected. Understanding these results, the national government and international bodies might be able to propose possible and efficient solutions in order to attain stability and security in this region.

Keywords: civil disobedience, economic impact, local residents, tourist

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Authors: Hend Albassam, Nouf Alrumaih

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Nowadays we are in the age of technologies and communication and there is no doubt that technologies such as the Internet can offer many advantages for many business fields, and the health field is no execution. In fact, using the Internet provide us with a new path to improve the quality of health care throughout the world. The e-healthcare offers many advantages such as: efficiency by reducing the cost and avoiding duplicate diagnostics, empowerment of patients by enabling them to access their medical records, enhancing the quality of healthcare and enabling information exchange and communication between healthcare organizations. There are many problems that result from using papers as a way of communication, for example, paper-based prescriptions. Usually, the doctor writes a prescription and gives it to the patient who in turn carries it to the pharmacy. After that, the pharmacist takes the prescription to fill it and give it to the patient. Sometimes the pharmacist might find difficulty in reading the doctor’s handwriting; the patient could change and counterfeit the prescription. These existing problems and many others heighten the need to improve the quality of the healthcare. This project is set out to develop a distributed e-healthcare system that offers some features of e-health and addresses some of the above-mentioned problems. The developed system provides an electronic health record (EHR) and enables communication between separate health care organizations such as the clinic, pharmacy and laboratory. To develop this system, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is adopted as a design approach, which helps to design several independent modules that communicate by using web services. The layering design pattern is used in designing each module as it provides reusability that allows the business logic layer to be reused by different higher layers such as the web service or the website in our system. The experimental analysis has shown that the project has successfully achieved its aims toward solving the problems related to the paper-based healthcare systems and it enables different health organization to communicate effectively. It implements four independent modules including healthcare provider, pharmacy, laboratory and medication information provider. Each module provides different functionalities and is used by a different type of user. These modules interoperate with each other using a set of web services.

Keywords: e-health, services oriented architecture (SOA), web services, interoperability

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Authors: Melissa R. Quispe-Zuniga, Daniel Callo-Concha, Christian Borgemeister, Klaus Greve

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The Peruvian Andes have a high potential for mining, but many of the mining areas overlay with campesino community lands, being these key actors for agriculture and livestock production. Lead by economic incentives, some communities are renting their lands to mining companies for exploration or exploitation. However, a growing number of campesino communities, usually social and economically marginalized, have developed resistance, alluding consequences, such as water pollution, land-use change, insufficient economic compensation, etc. what eventually end up in Socio-Environmental Conflicts (SEC). It is hypothesized that disclosing the information on environmental pollution and enhance the involvement of communities in the decision-making process may contribute to prevent SEC. To assess whether such complains are grounded on the environmental impact of mining activities, we measured the heavy metals concentration in 24 indicative samples from rivers that run across mining exploitations and farming community lands. Samples were taken during the 2016 dry season and analyzed by inductively-coupled-plasma-atomic-emission-spectroscopy. The results were contrasted against the standards of monitoring government institutions (i.e., OEFA). Furthermore, we investigated the water/environmental complains related to mining in the neighboring 14 communities. We explored the relationship between communities and mining companies, via open-ended interviews with community authorities and non-participatory observations of community assemblies. We found that the concentrations of cadmium (0.023 mg/L), arsenic (0.562 mg/L) and copper (0.07 mg/L), surpass the national water quality standards for Andean rivers (0.00025 mg/L of cadmium, 0.15 mg/L of arsenic and 0.01 mg/L of copper). 57% of communities have posed environmental complains, but 21% of the total number of communities were receiving an annual economic benefit from mining projects. However, 87.5% of the communities who had posed complains have high concentration of heavy metals in their water streams. The evidence shows that mining activities tend to relate to the affectation and vulnerability of campesino community water streams, what justify the environmental complains and eventually the occurrence of a SEC.

Keywords: mining companies, campesino community, water, socio-environmental conflict

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Authors: Vichai Tienthavorn

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Background: Recently, the patients of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing in Thailand; especially hypertension and diabetes. Hypertension and Diabetes patients were found to be of 3.7 million in 2008. The varieties of human behaviors have been extensively changed in health. Hence, Thai Government has a policy to reduce NCDs. Generally, primary care plays an important role in treatment using medical process. However, NCDs patients have not been decreased. Objectives: This study not only reduce the patient and mortality rate but also increase the quality of life, could apply in different areas and propose to be the national policy, effectively for a long term operation. Methods: Here we report that primary health care (PHC), which is a primary process to screening, rapidly seek the person's risk. The screening tool of the study was Vichai's 7 color balls model, the medical education tool to transfer knowledge from student health team to community through health volunteers, creating community engagement in terms of social participation. It was found that people in community were realized in their health and they can evaluate the level of risk using this model. Results: Projects implementation (2015) in Nong Lom Health Center in Phayao (target group 15-65 years, 2529); screening hypertension coveraged 99.01%, risk group (light green) was decreased to normal group (white) from 1806 to 1893, significant severe patient (red) was decreased to moderate (orange) from 10 to 5. Health Program in behaving change with best practice of 3Es (Eating, Exercise, Emotion) and 3Rs (Reducing tobacco, alcohol, obesity) were applied in risk group; and encourage strictly medication, investigation in severe patient (red). Conclusion: This is the first demonstration of knowledge transfer to community engagement by student, which is the sustainable education in PHC.

Keywords: non-communicable disease, surveillance control and prevention systems, community engagement, primary health care

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Authors: Bhawesh Kumar, A. P. Krishna

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There are continuous changes upon earth’s surface by a variety of natural and anthropogenic agents cut, carry away and depositing of minerals from land. Running water has higher capacity of erosion than other geomorphologic agents. This research work has been carried out on Ganga River, whose channel is continuously changing under the influence of geomorphic agents and human activities in the surrounding regions. The main focus is to study morphological characteristics and sand dynamics of Ganga River with particular emphasis on bank lines and width changes using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The advance remote sensing data and topographical data were interpreted for obtaining 52 years of changes. For this, remote sensing data of different years (LANDSAT TM 1975, 1988, 1993, ETM 2005 and ETM 2012) and toposheet of SOI for the year 1960 were used as base maps for this study. Sinuosity ratio, braiding index and migratory activity index were also established. It was found to be 1.16 in 1975 and in 1988, 1993, 2005 and 2005 it was 1.09, 1.11, 1.1, 1.09 respectively. The analysis also shows that the minimum value found in 1960 was in reach 1 and maximum value is 4.8806 in 2012 found in reach 4 which suggests creation of number of islands in reach 4 for the year 2012. Migratory activity index (MAI), which is a standardized function of both length and time, was computed for the 8 representative reaches. MAI shows that maximum migration was in 1975-1988 in reach 6 and 7 and minimum migration was in 1993-2005. From the channel change analysis, it was found that the shifting of bank line was cyclic and the river Ganges showed a trend of southward maximum values. The advanced remote sensing data and topographical data helped in obtaining 52 years changes in the river due to various natural and manmade activities like flood, water velocity and excavation, removal of vegetation cover and fertile soil excavation for the various purposes of surrounding regions.

Keywords: braided index, migratory activity index (MAI), Ganga river, river morphology

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Authors: Mohammad Mosaddik Rahman

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This study embarks on an exploratory journey to assess the pervasive issue of heavy metal contamination in the water bodies along Chittagong Coast, Bangladesh. Situated along the mesmerizing Bay of Bengal, known for its potential as an emerging tourist haven, economic zone, ship breaking yard, confronts significant environmental hurdles. The core of these challenges lies in the contamination from heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury, which detrimentally impact both the ecological integrity and public health of the region. This contamination primarily stems from industrial activities, particularly those involving metallurgical and chemical processes, which release these metals into the environment, leading to their accumulation in soil and water bodies. The study's primary aim is to conduct a thorough assessment of heavy metal pollution levels, alongside an analysis of nutrient variations, focusing on nitrates and nitrites. Methodologically, the study leverages systematic sampling and advanced analytical tools like the Hach 3900 spectrophotometer to ensure precise and reliable data collection. The implications of heavy metal presence are multifaceted, affecting microbial and aquatic life, and posing severe health risks to the local population, including respiratory problems, neurological disorders, and an increased risk of cancer. The results of this study highlight the urgent need for effective mitigation strategies and regulatory measures to address this critical issue. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and public health implications of heavy metal contamination in Chittagong Coast, this research endeavours to serve as a catalyst for change, emphasising the need for pollution control and advancements in water management policies. It is envisioned that the outcomes of this study will guide stakeholders in collaborating to develop and implement sustainable solutions, ultimately safeguarding the region’s environment and public health.

Keywords: heavy metal, environmental health, pollution control policies, shipbreaking yard

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Authors: R. R. Galiev, I. I. Lykov, A. E. Shitikov, I. A. Bilenko

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Dual-comb interferometry is based on the mixing of two optical frequency combs with slightly different lines spacing which results in the mapping of the optical spectrum into the radio-frequency domain for future digitizing and numerical processing. The dual-comb approach enables diverse applications, including metrology, fast high-precision spectroscopy, and distance range. Ordinary frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) laser-based Light Identification Detection and Ranging systems (LIDARs) suffer from two main disadvantages: slow and unreliable mechanical, spatial scan and a rather wide linewidth of conventional lasers, which limits speed measurement resolution. Dual-comb distance measurements with Allan deviations down to 12 nanometers at averaging times of 13 microseconds, along with ultrafast ranging at acquisition rates of 100 megahertz, allowing for an in-flight sampling of gun projectiles moving at 150 meters per second, was previously demonstrated. Nevertheless, pump lasers with EDFA amplifiers made the device bulky and expensive. An alternative approach is a direct coupling of the laser to a reference microring cavity. Backscattering can tune the laser to the eigenfrequency of the cavity via the so-called self-injection locked (SIL) effect. Moreover, the nonlinearity of the cavity allows a solitonic frequency comb generation in the very same cavity. In this work, we developed a fully integrated, power-efficient, electrically driven dual-micro comb source based on the semiconductor lasers SIL to high-quality integrated Si3N4 microresonators. We managed to obtain robust 1400-1700 nm combs generation with a 150 GHz or 1 THz lines spacing and measure less than a 1 kHz Lorentzian withs of stable, MHz spaced beat notes in a GHz band using two separated chips, each pumped by its own, self-injection locked laser. A deep investigation of the SIL dynamic allows us to find out the turn-key operation regime even for affordable Fabry-Perot multifrequency lasers used as a pump. It is important that such lasers are usually more powerful than DFB ones, which were also tested in our experiments. In order to test the advantages of the proposed techniques, we experimentally measured a minimum detectable speed of a reflective object. It has been shown that the narrow line of the laser locked to the microresonator provides markedly better velocity accuracy, showing velocity resolution down to 16 nm/s, while the no-SIL diode laser only allowed 160 nm/s with good accuracy. The results obtained are in agreement with the estimations and open up ways to develop LIDARs based on compact and cheap lasers. Our implementation uses affordable components, including semiconductor laser diodes and commercially available silicon nitride photonic circuits with microresonators.

Keywords: dual-comb spectroscopy, LIDAR, optical microresonator, self-injection locking

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Authors: Vandana Mohan, Ashwani Koul

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Aim: To evaluate the potential of Aqueous Tinospora cordifolia stem extract (Aq.Tc) and Arabinogalactan (AG) on pulmonary carcinogenesis and associated tumor markers. Background: Lung cancer is one of the most frequent malignancy with high mortality rate due to limitation of early detection resulting in low cure rates. Current research effort focuses on identifying some blood-based biomarkers like CEA, ctDNA and LDH which may have potential to detect cancer at an early stage, evaluation of therapeutic response and its recurrence. Medicinal plants and their active components have been widely investigated for their anticancer potentials. Aqueous preparation of T. Cordifolia extract is enriched in the polysaccharide fraction i.e., AG when compared with other types of extract. Moreover, reports are available of polysaccharide fraction of T. Cordifolia in in vitro lung cancer models which showed profound anti-metastatic activity against these cell lines. However, not much has been explored about its effect in in vivo lung cancer models and the underlying mechanism involved. Experimental Design: Mice were randomly segregated into six groups. Group I animals served as control. Group II animals were administered with Aq. Tc extract (200 mg/kg b.w.) p.o.on the alternate days. Group III animals were fed with AG (7.5 mg/kg b.w.) p.o. on the alternate days (thrice a week). Group IV animals were installed with Benzo(a)pyrene (50 mg/kg b.w.), i.p. twice within an interval of two weeks. Group V animals received Aq. Tc extract as in group II along with it B(a)P was installed after two weeks of Aq. Tc administration following the same protocol as for group IV. Group VI animals received AG as in group III along with it B(a)P was installed after two weeks of AG administration. Results: Administration of B(a)P to mice resulted in increased tumor incidence, multiplicity and pulmonary somatic index with concomitant increase in serum/plasma markers like CEA, ctDNA, LDH and TNF-α.Aq.Tc and AG supplementation significantly attenuated these alterations at different stages of tumorigenesis thereby showing potent anti-cancer effect in lung cancer. A pronounced decrease in serum/plasma markers were observed in animals treated with Aq.Tc as compared to those fed with AG. Also, extensive hyperproliferation of alveolar epithelium was prominent in B(a)P induced lung tumors. However, treatment of Aq.Tc and AG to lung tumor bearing mice exhibited reduced alveolar damage evident from decreased number of hyperchromatic irregular nuclei. A direct correlation between the concentration of tumor markers and the intensity of lung cancer was observed in animals bearing cancer co-treated with Aq.Tc and AG. Conclusion: These findings substantiate the chemopreventive potential of Aq.Tc and AG against lung tumorigenesis. Interestingly, Aq.Tc was found to be more effective in modulating the cancer as reflected by various observations which may be attributed to the synergism offered by various components of Aq.Tc. Further studies are in progress to understand the underlined mechanism in inhibiting lung tumorigenesis by Aq.Tc and AG.

Keywords: Arabinogalactan, Benzo(a)pyrene B(a)P, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Tinospora cordifolia

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Authors: Hanaa M. M. El-Khayat, Hanan S. Gaber, Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Kadria M. A. Mahmoud, Hoda M. A. Abu Taleb

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This work aimed to examine Oreochromis niloticus fish from Lake Manzala in Port Said, Dakahlya and Damietta governorates, Egypt, as a bio-indicator for the lake water pollution through recording alterations in their hematological, physiological, and histopathological parameters. All fish samples showed a significant increase in levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine and glutathione-S-transferase (GST); only Dakahlya samples showed a significant increase (p<0.01) in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level and most Dakahlya and Damietta samples showed reversed albumin and globulin ratio and a significant increase in γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level. Port-Said and Damietta samples showed a significant decrease of hemoglobin (Hb) while Dakahlya samples showed a significant decrease in white blood cell (WBC) count. Histopathological investigation for different fish organs showed that Port-Said and Dakahlya samples were more altered than Damietta. The muscle and gill followed by intestine were the most affected organs. The muscle sections showed severe edema, neoplasia, necrotic change, fat vacuoles and splitting of muscle fiber. The gill sections showed dilated blood vessels of the filaments, curling of gill lamellae, severe hyperplasia, edema and blood vessels congestion of filaments. The intestine sections revealed degeneration, atrophy, dilation in blood vessels and necrotic changes in sub-mucosa and mucosa with edema in between. The recorded significant alterations, in most of the physiological and histological parameters in O. niloticus samples from Lake Manzala, were alarming for water pollution impacts on lake fish community, which constitutes the main diet and the main source of income for the people inhabiting these areas, and were threatening their public health and economy. Also, results evaluate the use of O. niloticus fish as important bio-indicator for their habitat stressors.

Keywords: Lake Manzala, Oreochromis niloticus fish, water pollution, physiological, hematological and histopathological parameters

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Authors: Anurak Khrueakham, Tassanee Chanphuthin

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Indigo is a well-known natural blue dye that is used hither to even though synthetic ones are commercially available. The removal of indigo from effluents is difficult due to its resistance towards biodegradation which causes an aquatic environment effect. Fenton process is a reaction between hydrogen peroxide H2O2 and Fe2+ to generate •OH (highly reactive oxidant (E◦= 2.8 V)). Additionally, •OH is non-selective oxidant which is capable of destroying wide range of organic pollutants in water and wastewater. The aims of this research were to investigate the effect of H2O2, Fe2+ and pH on indigo wastewater oxidation by Fenton process. A liter reactor was operated in all experiments. The batch reactor was prepared by filling 1 liter of indigo wastewater. The pH was adjusted to the desired value; then, FeSO4 at predetermined amount was added. Finally, H2O2 was immediately added to start the Fenton’s reaction. The Fenton oxidation of indigo wastewater was operated for 60 minutes. Residual H2O2 was analyzed using titanium oxalate method. The Fe2+ concentration was determined by phenanthroline method. COD was determined using closed-reflux titrimetric method to indicate the removal efficiency. The results showed that at pH 2 increasing the initial ferrous concentration from 0.1 mM to 1 mM enhanced the indigo removal from 36% to 59%. Fenton reaction was rapidly due to the high generation rate of •OH. The degradation of indigo increased with increasing pH up to pH 3. This can be explained that the scavenging effect of the •OH by H+ in the condition of low pH is severe to form an oxonium ion, resulting in decrease the production of •OH and lower the decolorization efficiency of indigo. Increasing the initial H2O2 concentration from 5 mM to 20 mM could enhance the decolorization. The COD removal was increased from 35% to 65% with increasing H2O2 concentration from 5 mM to 20 mM. The generations of •OH were promoted by the increase of initial H2O2 concentration. However, the higher concentration of H2O2 resulted in the reduction of COD removal efficiency. The initial ferrous concentrations were studied in the range of 0.05-15.0 mM. The results found that the COD removals increased with increasing ferrous concentrations. The COD removals were increased from 32% to 65% when increase the ferrous concentration from 0.5 mM to 10.0 mM. However, the COD removal did not significantly change at higher 10.0 mM. This is because •OH yielding was lower level of oxidation, therefore, the COD removals were not improved. According to the studies, the Fenton’s reagents were important factors for COD removal by Fenton process. The optimum condition for COD removal of indigo dye wastewater was 10.0 mM of ferrous, 20 mM of H2O2 and at pH 3.

Keywords: indigo dye, fenton oxidation, wastewater treatment, advanced oxidation processes

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Authors: Omar Amoudi, Latifa Al Brashdi

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Construction projects are always subject to risks and uncertainties due to its unique and dynamic nature, outdoor work environment, the wide range of skills employed, various parties involved in addition to situation of construction business environment at large. Altogether, these risks and uncertainties affect projects objectives and lead to cost overruns, delay, and poor quality. Construction projects in Oman often experience cost overruns and delay. Managing these risks and reducing their impacts on construction cost requires firstly identifying these risks, and then analyzing their severity on project cost to obtain deep understanding about these risks. This in turn will assist construction managers in managing and tacking these risks. This paper aims to investigate the main risk factors that affect construction projects cost in the Sultanate of Oman. In order to achieve the main aim, literature review was carried out to identify the main risk factors affecting construction cost. Thirty-three risk factors were identified from the literature. Then, a questionnaire survey was designed and distributed among construction professionals (i.e., client, contractor and consultant) to obtain their opinion toward the probability of occurrence for each risk factor and its possible impact on construction project cost. The collected data was analyzed based on qualitative aspects and in several ways. The severity of each risk factor was obtained by multiplying the probability occurrence of a risk factor with its impact. The findings of this study reveal that the most significant risk factors that have high severity impact on construction project cost are: Change of Oil Price, Delay of Materials and Equipment Delivery, Changes in Laws and Regulations, Improper Budgeting, and Contingencies, Lack of Skilled Workforce and Personnel, Delays Caused by Contractor, Delays of Owner Payments, Delays Caused by Client, and Funding Risk. The results can be used as a basis for construction managers to make informed decisions and produce risk response procedures and strategies to tackle these risks and reduce their negative impacts on construction project cost.

Keywords: construction cost, construction projects, Oman, risk factors, risk management

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Authors: Xuhui Lin, Qiuchen Lu, Yi An, Tao Yang

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As global climate change intensifies, extreme weather events such as floods increasingly threaten urban infrastructure, making the vulnerability of urban road networks a pressing issue. Existing static repair strategies fail to adapt to the rapid changes in road network conditions during flood events, leading to inefficient resource allocation and suboptimal recovery. The main research gap lies in the lack of repair strategies that consider both the dynamic characteristics of networks and the progression of flood propagation. This paper proposes a topology-based dynamic repair strategy that adjusts repair priorities based on real-time changes in flood propagation and traffic demand. Specifically, a novel method is developed to assess and enhance the resilience of urban road networks during flood events. The method combines road network topological analysis, flood propagation modelling, and traffic flow simulation, introducing a local importance metric to dynamically evaluate the significance of road segments across different spatial and temporal scales. Using London's road network and rainfall data as a case study, the effectiveness of this dynamic strategy is compared to traditional and Transport for London (TFL) strategies. The most significant highlight of the research is that the dynamic strategy substantially reduced the number of stranded vehicles across different traffic demand periods, improving efficiency by up to 35.2%. The advantage of this method lies in its ability to adapt in real-time to changes in network conditions, enabling more precise resource allocation and more efficient repair processes. This dynamic strategy offers significant value to urban planners, traffic management departments, and emergency response teams, helping them better respond to extreme weather events like floods, enhance overall urban resilience, and reduce economic losses and social impacts.

Keywords: Urban resilience, road networks, flood response, dynamic repair strategy, topological analysis

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Authors: Ana Lambelho

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Nowadays is very common that an activity may be performed independently or dependently. In Portugal, the Labour Law exclusively protects the dependent labour relations. The independent work is regulated by civil law, where the autonomy of the will is the main principle. For companies is more advantageous to hire people under a service agreement since, in that case, the relation is not submitted to the limits established in Labour law and collective bargaining. This practice has nothing wrong, if the performance of work is, in fact, made autonomously. The problem is the increased frequency of the celebration of service agreements to hide a legal relation of subordination. Aware of this and regarding the huge difficulty to demonstrate the existence of subordinated work (that often runs against the employee), the Portuguese legislator devoted some legislative rules in order to facilitate the evidence of legal subordination and, on the other hand, to avoid the misuse of the provision of service agreements. This study focuses precisely on the analysis of this solution, namely the so-called presumption of ‘laboralidade’ and on the lawsuit to recognize the existence of a labour contract. The presumption of the existence of a labour contract is present in the Portuguese legal system since 2003, and received, with the 2009 Labour Code, a new redaction that, according to the doctrine and the jurisprudence, finally approached it to a legal presumption, with the consequent reversal of the burden of proof and, in consequence, made easier to proof the legal subordination, because the employee will just have to plead and prove the existence of two of the elements described in the law to use this presumption. Another change in the Portuguese legal framework is related with the competencies of the Authority for Working Conditions (AWC): now, if during an inspection, the Authority finds a situation that seems to be an undeclared employment situation, it may access the company and, if it does not regularize voluntarily the situation, AWC has a duty to communicate to the public prosecutor, who will begin the lawsuit for the recognition of the existence of an employment contract. To defend the public interest, the action to recognize the existence of an employment contract will follow its terms, even against the employee will. Although the existence of these mechanisms does not solve by itself the problem of evasion of labour law and false ‘green receipts’, it is undeniable that it is an important step in combating fraud in this field.

Keywords: independent work, labour contract, Portugal, service agreement

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Authors: Hsin-Hsin Chang, Jann-Tay Wang, Wang-Huei Sheng

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Background: Hospital-associated infections (HAIs) have significant medical and social resource consumption. In view of medical technology change rapidly and the prolonged average life expectancy, the patients' chances of receiving invasive medical devices have also increased. As well as the potential disease of the patients, the aging, and immune dysfunction makes the disease more serious, raising the risk of HAIs. In our adult intensive care units, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) have an average of 4.6% in 2014, which is much higher than that of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Therefore, we started the intervention of CAUTI bundle care. Methods: This 3-year intervention was conducted in adults’ intensive care units (ICUs) during January 2015 to December 2017. The implementation of CAUTI bundle care in order to reduce invasive catheter-associated infections were built on evidence-based infection control measures. Prospective surveillance was performed on all patients admitted to hospital. The four major directions are 'Leader Engagement', 'Educate Personnel', 'Executive Multidisciplinary Teamwork', 'Innovation and Improvement of Tools'. Results: During the intervention period, there were 167,024 patient-days with a total of 508 episodes of CAUTIs in the entire adult ICUs identified. The incidence of CAUTIs in adult ICU was significantly decreased in the intervention period (from 2015 to 2017), from 4.6 to 3.6 per 1000 catheter days (p=0.05). Conclusion: The necessity for the implementation of CAUTI bundle care in the health care system plays an important role in the quality and policy of infection control. Multidisciplinary teamwork, education, a comprehensive checklist and from time to time audit feedback to improve healthcare workers’ compliance are the keys to success.

Keywords: bundle care, hospital-associated infections, leader engagement, multidisciplinary team work

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Authors: Charles Amoatey, Ebenezer Kumah

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of implementation of Distributor Management Solution (DMS) on supply chain performance in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in Ghana. Methodology: A purposive sampling approach was used in selecting the respondents for the study. Data was collected from senior management and field supervisors from sales, distribution and customer service units of the case study firm and its channel members. This study made use of systematic literature review and results of survey data analysis to assess how information system has been used to improve supply chain performance. Findings: Results from the study showed that the critical effect factors from implementation of a DMS include (1) Obtain prompt and reliable feedback from the market; (2) Building the capacity and skills levels of employees as well as 3rd Party Agents; (3) Motivated top management to invest in MIS; and (4) Performance improvement in sales route management. The most critical challenges to an effective and sustainable MIS implementation are lack of enough trained IT employees and high barriers to cultural change especially with distributors. The paper recommends consistent investment in IS infrastructure and development of IT skills. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the literature by exploring the effects of distribution management solution implementation and supply chain performance in a developing country context. Considering the fact that this study is based on data from only one case study firm and its channel members, generalization of the results should be treated with caution. Practical implications: The findings have confirmed the benefits of implementing a Management Information System. The result should encourage channel members to allocate adequate resources for building MIS capacity to enhance their supply chain performance. Originality/Value: In this paper, the relationship between DMS/MIS implementation and improvement in supply chain performance, in the Ghanaian context, has been established.

Keywords: distributor management solution, fast-moving consumer goods, supply chain management, information systems, Ghana

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Authors: Siddharth Ahuja, T. M. Muruganandam

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An analytical investigation is performed to study the unsteady response of a one-dimensional, non-linear dynamic shock system to external downstream pressure perturbations in a supersonic flow in a varying area duct. For a given pressure ratio across a wind tunnel, the normal shock's location can be computed as per one-dimensional steady gas dynamics. Similarly, for some other pressure ratio, the location of the normal shock will change accordingly, again computed using one-dimensional gas dynamics. This investigation focuses on the small-time interval between the first steady shock location and the new steady shock location (corresponding to different pressure ratios). In essence, this study aims to shed light on the motion of the shock from one steady location to another steady location. Further, this study aims to create the foundation of the Unsteady Gas Dynamics field enabling further insight in future research work. According to the new pressure ratio, a pressure pulse, generated at the exit of the tunnel which travels and perturbs the shock from its original position, setting it into motion. During such activity, other numerous physical phenomena also happen at the same time. However, three broad phenomena have been focused on, in this study - Traversal of a Wave, Fluid Element Interactions and Wave Interactions. The above mentioned three phenomena create, alter and kill numerous waves for different conditions. The waves which are created by the above-mentioned phenomena eventually interact with the shock and set it into motion. Numerous such interactions with the shock will slowly make it settle into its final position owing to the new pressure ratio across the duct, as estimated by one-dimensional gas dynamics. This analysis will be extremely helpful in the prediction of inlet 'unstart' of the flow in a supersonic engine intake and its prominence with the incoming flow Mach number, incoming flow pressure and the external perturbation pressure is also studied to help design more efficient supersonic intakes for engines like ramjets and scramjets.

Keywords: analytical investigation, compression and expansion waves, fluid element interactions, shock trajectory, supersonic flow, unsteady gas dynamics, varying area duct, wave interactions

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Authors: Matthew Cameron, Stephen Yang, Latifa Al Kharusi, Adam Gosselin, Anissa Chirico, Pouya Gholipour Baradari

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Background: Iron supplementation has been evaluated in several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the potential to increase baseline hemoglobin and decrease the incidence of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion during cardiac surgery. This study's main objective was to evaluate the evidence for iron administration in cardiac surgery patients for its effect on the incidence of perioperative RBC transfusion. Methods: This systematic review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020161927) on Dec. 19th, 2019, and was prepared as per the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Web of Science databases, and Google Scholar were searched for RCTs evaluating perioperative iron administration in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Each abstract was independently reviewed by two reviewers using predefined eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was perioperative RBC transfusion, with secondary outcomes of the number of RBC units transfused, change in ferritin level, reticulocyte count, hemoglobin, and adverse events, after iron administration. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool, and the primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed with a random-effects model. Results: Out of 1556 citations reviewed, five studies (n = 554 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The use of iron demonstrated no difference in transfusion incidence (RR 0.86; 95% CI 0.65 to 1.13). There was a low heterogeneity between studies (I²=0%). The trial sequential analysis suggested an optimal information size of 1132 participants, which the accrued information size did not reach. Conclusion: The current literature does not support the routine use of iron supplementation before cardiac surgery; however, insufficient data is available to draw a definite conclusion. A critical knowledge gap has been identified, and more robust RCTs are required on this topic.

Keywords: cardiac surgery, iron, iron supplementation, perioperative medicine, meta-analysis, systematic review, randomized controlled trial

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Authors: Zeiler M., Stadler D., Schmaderer C.

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Over the years of dialysis treatment, most patients experience significant weight loss. The primary emphasis in earlier research was the underlying mechanism of protein energy wasting and the subsequent malnutrition inflammation syndrome. In the interest to provide an effective and rapid solution for the patients, the aim of this study is identifying individual influences of their assumed reduced dietary intake, such as nausea, appetite loss and taste changes, and to determine whether the patients adhere to their nutrition guidelines. A prospective, controlled study with 38 end-stage renal disease patients was performed using a questionnaire to reflect their diet within the last 12 months. Thereby, the daily intake for the most important macro-and micronutrients was calculated to be compared with the individual KDQOI-guideline value, as well as controls matched in age and gender. The majority of the study population did not report symptoms commonly associated with dialysis, such as nausea or inappetence, and denied any change in dietary behavior since receiving renal replacement therapy. The patients’ daily intake of energy (3080kcal ± 1266) and protein (89,9g [53,4-142,0]) did not differ significantly from the controls (energy intake: 3233kcal ± 1046, p=0,597; protein intake: 103,7g [90,1-125,5], p=0,120). The average difference to the individual calculated KDQOI-guideline was +176,0kcal ± 1156 (p=0,357) for energy intake and -1,75g ± 45,9 (p=0,491) for protein intake. However, there was an observed imbalance in the distribution of macronutrients, with a preference for fats over proteins. The patients’ daily intake of sodium (5,4g [ 2,95-10,1]) was higher than in the controls (4,1g [2,04-5,99], p= 0,058) whereas both values for potassium (3,7g ± 1,84) and phosphorous (1,79g ± 0,91) went significantly below the controls’ values (potassium intake: 4,89g ± 1,74, p=0,014; phosphorous intake: 2,04g ± 0,64, p=0,038). Thus, the values exceeded the calculated KDQOI-recommendation by + 3,3g [0,63-7,90] (p<0,001) for sodium, +1,49g ± 1,84 (p<0,001) for potassium and +0,89g ± 0,91 (p<0,001) for phosphorous. Contrary to the assumption, the patients did not under-eat. Nevertheless, their diets did not align with the recommended values. These findings highlight the need for intervention and education among patients and that regular dietary monitoring could prevent unhealthy nutrition habits. The elaboration of individual references instead of standardized guidelines could increase the compliance to the advised diet so that interdisciplinary comorbidities do not develop or worsen.

Keywords: compliance, dialysis, end-stage renal disease, KDQOI, malnutrition, nutrition guidelines, questionnaire, salt intake

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