Search results for: bridge condition assessment

Authors: Neeta Khurana, Ritu Sharma

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This paper is an impact assessment study of the rehabilitation work done for Chhara women in the rural precincts of Ahmedabad. The Chharas constitute a denotified tribe and live in abject poverty. The women of this community are infamous absconders of law and active bootleggers of locally made liquor. As part of a psychological study with a local NGO, the authors headed a training program aimed at rehabilitating and providing these women alternate modes of employment, thereby driving them away from a life of crime. The paper centers on the idea of women entrepreneurship and women empowerment. It notes the importance of handholding in a conflict situation. Most of the research on Chharas is either focused on victimising them for state-sponsored violence or mostly makes a plea on reconditioning them in the mainstream. Going against this trend, this paper which documents the study argues that making these poor women self-dependent is a panacea for their sluggish development. The alienation caused due to the demonisation of the community has made them abandon traditional modes of employment. This has further led the community astray into making illegal country liquor causing further damage to their reputation. Women are at the centre of this vicious circle facing much repression and ostracisation. The study conducted by the PDPU team was an attempt to change this dogmatic alienation of these poor women. It was found that with consistent support and reformist approach towards law, it is possible to drive these women away from a life of penury repression and crime. The aforementioned study uses empirical tools to verify this claim. Placed at the confluence of the sociology of gender and psychology, this paper is a good way to argue that law enforcement cannot be effective without sensitisation to the ground realities of conflict. The study conducted from which the paper borrows was a scientific survey focused on markers of gender and caste realities of the Chharas. The paper mentions various dynamics involved in the training program that paved the way for the successful employment of the women. In an attempt to explain its uniqueness, the paper also has a section on comparing similar social experiments.

Keywords: employment, gender, handholding, rehabilitation

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Authors: Zarina Chokparova, Ighor Uzhinsky

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Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from burning of the fossil fuels on large scales, such as oil industry or power plants, leads to a plenty of severe implications including global temperature raise, air pollution and other adverse impacts on the environment. Besides some precarious and costly ways for the alleviation of CO₂ emissions detriment in industrial scales (such as liquefaction of CO₂ and its deep-water treatment, application of adsorbents and membranes, which require careful consideration of drawback effects and their mitigation), one physically and commercially available technology for its capture and disposal is supersonic system for inertial extraction of CO₂ in after-combustion streams. Due to the flue gas with a carbon dioxide concentration of 10-15 volume percent being emitted from the combustion system, the waste stream represents a rather diluted condition at low pressure. The supersonic system induces a flue gas mixture stream to expand using a converge-and-diverge operating nozzle; the flow velocity increases to the supersonic ranges resulting in rapid drop of temperature and pressure. Thus, conversion of potential energy into the kinetic power causes a desublimation of CO₂. Solidified carbon dioxide can be sent to the separate vessel for further disposal. The major advantages of the current solution are its economic efficiency, physical stability, and compactness of the system, as well as needlessness of addition any chemical media. However, there are several challenges yet to be regarded to optimize the system: the way for increasing the size of separated CO₂ particles (as they are represented on a micrometers scale of effective diameter), reduction of the concomitant gas separated together with carbon dioxide and provision of CO₂ downstream flow purity. Moreover, determination of thermodynamic conditions of the vapor-solid mixture including specification of the valid and accurate equation of state remains to be an essential goal. Due to high speeds and temperatures reached during the process, the influence of the emitted heat should be considered, and the applicable solution model for the compressible flow need to be determined. In this report, a brief overview of the current technology status will be presented and a program for further evaluation of this approach is going to be proposed.

Keywords: CO₂ sequestration, converging diverging nozzle, fossil fuel power plant emissions, inertial CO₂ extraction, supersonic post-combustion carbon dioxide capture

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Authors: Maffo Maffo Nicole Liliane, Mounmemi Kpoumie Hubert, Libalah Moses, Ouandji Angele, Zapfack Louis

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Forest degradation causes biodiversity and carbon loss and thus indirectly contributes to climate change. In order to assess the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation, the present study was conducted in the Ngambe-Ndom-Nyanon Communal Forest with the main objective of assessing the floristic diversity and estimating the carbon stock in the different reservoirs of the said forest. Nine plots of 2000 m² each were installed in 3 TOSs of the forest (young secondary forests, gallery forests and fallow lands) with a total area of 18,000 m² or 1,8 ha. All trees with a Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) ≥ 5 cm were inventoried at 1.30 m from the ground in each plot. Species richness, floristic diversity indices, and structural parameters were studied. 1542 trees divided into 162 species, 122 genera and 44 families were identified. The most important families were listed: Myristicaceae (30.22%), Apocynaceae (25.20%), Fabaceae (24.41%), Euphorbiaceae (22.91%) and Phyllanthaceae (20.23%). The richest genera are: Cola, Macaranga, Oncoba (4 species each); the genera Diospyros, Trichilia, Vitex and Zanthoxylum (3 species each). The ecologically important species within the forest studied are: Funtumia africana (26.14%), Coelocaryon preussii (18.46%), Pycnanthus angolensis (15.57%), Tabernaemontana crassa (14.85%) and Olax subscorpioidea (13.04%). Assessment of carbon stocks in the six forest reservoirs studied (living trees and roots, understorey, dead wood, litter and rootlets) shows that they vary according to the land-use types. It is 119.41 t.C.ha-¹ in gallery forest, 115.2 t.C.ha-¹ in young secondary forest and 90.56 t.C.ha-¹ in fallow. The Wilcoxon statistical test shows that the carbon in the young secondary forest is identical to that in the fallow, which is identical to the carbon in the gallery forest. At the individual species level, the largest diameter class [25-35[ sequesters the most carbon (232.94 tC/ha). This work shows that the quantity of carbon sequestered by a biotope is a function of the age of the stand.

Keywords: floristic diversity, carbon stocks, evergreen forests, communal forest, Ngambé-Ndom-Nyanon

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Authors: Ala’a F. Jaber, Bara’ah A. Bsharat, Noor T. Ismael

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Background: Sensory processing is a fundamental skill needed for the successful performance of daily living activities. These skills are impaired as parts of the neurodevelopmental process issues among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence on the differences in sensory processing and motor characteristic between children with ASD and children with TD. Method: This systematic review followed the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The search terms included sensory, motor, condition, and child-related terms or phrases. The electronic search utilized Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, MEDLINE, MEDLINE Complete, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SocINDEX with full-text databases. The hand search included looking for potential studies in the references of related studies. The inclusion criteria included studies published in English between years 2009-2020 that included children aged 3-18 years with a confirmed ASD diagnosis, according to the DSM-V criteria, included a control group of typical children, included outcome measures related to the sensory processing and/or motor functions, and studies available in full-text. The review of included studies followed the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines, and the Guidelines for Critical Review Form of Quantitative Studies, and the guidelines for conducting systematic reviews by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Results: Eighty-eight full-text studies related to the differences between children with ASD and children with TD in terms of sensory processing and motor characteristics were reviewed, of which eighteen articles were included in the quantitative synthesis. The results reveal that children with ASD had more extreme sensory processing patterns than children with TD, like hyper-responsiveness and hypo-responsiveness to sensory stimuli. Also, children with ASD had limited gross and fine motor abilities and lower strength, endurance, balance, eye-hand coordination, movement velocity, cadence, dexterity with a higher rate of gait abnormalities than children with TD. Conclusion: This systematic review provided preliminary evidence suggesting that motor functioning should be addressed in the evaluation and intervention for children with ASD, and sensory processing should be supported among children with TD. More future research should investigate whether how the performance and engagement in daily life activities are affected by sensory processing and motor skills.

Keywords: sensory processing, occupational therapy, children, motor skills

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Authors: Swati Swati, Yuhang Chen, Robert Reuben

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Coronary stents are devices resembling the shape of a tube which are placed in coronary arteries, to keep the arteries open in the treatment of coronary arterial diseases. Coronary stents are routinely deployed to clear atheromatous plaque. The stent essentially applies an internal pressure to the artery because its structure is cylindrically symmetrical and this may introduce some abnormalities in final arterial shape. The goal of the project is to develop segmented circumferential arterial compliance measuring devices which can be deployed (eventually) in vivo. The segmentation of the device will allow the mechanical asymmetry of any stenosis to be assessed. The purpose will be to assess the quality of arterial tissue for applications in tailored stents and in the assessment of aortic aneurism. Arterial distensibility measurement is of utmost importance to diagnose cardiovascular diseases and for prediction of future cardiac events or coronary artery diseases. In order to arrive at some generic outcomes, a preliminary experimental set-up has been devised to establish the measurement principles for the device at macro-scale. The measurement methodology consists of a strain gauge system monitored by LABVIEW software in a real-time fashion. This virtual instrument employs a balloon within a gelatine model contained in a split cylinder with strain gauges fixed on it. The instrument allows automated measurement of the effect of air-pressure on gelatine and measurement of strain with respect to time and pressure during inflation. Compliance simple creep model has been applied to the results for the purpose of extracting some measures of arterial compliance. The results obtained from the experiments have been used to study the effect of air pressure on strain at varying time intervals. The results clearly demonstrate that with decrease in arterial volume and increase in arterial pressure, arterial strain increases thereby decreasing the arterial compliance. The measurement system could lead to development of portable, inexpensive and small equipment and could prove to be an efficient automated compliance measurement device.

Keywords: arterial compliance, atheromatous plaque, mechanical symmetry, strain measurement

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Nurten Akgun, Dilum Dissanayake, Neil Thorpe, Margaret C. Bell

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Cycling has gained a great attention with comparable speeds, low cost, health benefits and reducing the impact on the environment. The main challenge associated with cycling is the provision of safety for the people choosing to cycle as their main means of transport. From the road safety point of view, cyclists are considered as vulnerable road users because they are at higher risk of serious casualty in the urban network but more specifically at roundabouts. This research addresses the development of an enhanced mathematical model by including a broad spectrum of casualty related variables. These variables were geometric design measures (approach number of lanes and entry path radius), speed limit, meteorological condition variables (light, weather, road surface) and socio-demographic characteristics (age and gender), as well as contributory factors. Contributory factors included driver’s behavior related variables such as failed to look properly, sudden braking, a vehicle passing too close to a cyclist, junction overshot, failed to judge other person’s path, restart moving off at the junction, poor turn or manoeuvre and disobeyed give-way. Tyne and Wear in the UK were selected as a case study area. The cyclist casualty data was obtained from UK STATS19 National dataset. The reference categories for the regression model were set to slight and serious cyclist casualties. Therefore, binary logistic regression was applied. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that approach number of lanes was statistically significant at the 95% level of confidence. A higher number of approach lanes increased the probability of severity of cyclist casualty occurrence. In addition, sudden braking statistically significantly increased the cyclist casualty severity at the 95% level of confidence. The result concluded that cyclist casualty severity was highly related to approach a number of lanes and sudden braking. Further research should be carried out an in-depth analysis to explore connectivity of sudden braking and approach number of lanes in order to investigate the driver’s behavior at approach locations. The output of this research will inform investment in measure to improve the safety of cyclists at roundabouts.

Keywords: binary logistic regression, casualty severity, cyclist safety, roundabout

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Liang Zhang, Gang Xu, Yue Wang, Chen Li, Shao Chong Zhou

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Presently, more and more nuclear power plants are facing the issue of life extension. When a nuclear power plant applies for an extension of life, its condition needs to meet the current design standards, which is not fine for all old reactors, typically for seismic design. Seismic-grade equipment in nuclear power plants are now generally placed separately from the non-seismic-grade equipment, but it was not strictly required before. Therefore, it is very important to study whether non-seismic-grade equipment will affect the seismic-grade equipment when dropped down in an earthquake situation, which is related to the safety of nuclear power plants and future life extension applications. This research was based on the cooling water system with the seismic and non-seismic grade equipment installed together, as an example to study whether the non-seismic-grade equipment such as DN50 fire pipes and ventilation pipes arranged above will damage the DN300 pipes and valves arranged below when earthquakes occur. In the study, the simulation was carried out by ANSYS / LY-DYNA, and Johnson-Cook was used as the material model and failure model. For the experiments, the relative positions of objects in the room were restored by 1: 1. In the experiment, the pipes and valves were filled with water with a pressure of 0.785 MPa. The pressure-holding performance of the pipe was used as a criterion for damage. In addition to the pressure-holding performance, the opening torque was considered as well for the valves. The research results show that when the 10-meter-long DN50 pipe was dropped from the position of 8 meters height and the 8-meter-long air pipe dropped from a position of 3.6 meters height, they do not affect the integrity of DN300 pipe below. There is no failure phenomenon in the simulation as well. After the experiment, the pressure drop in two hours for the pipe is less than 0.1%. The main body of the valve does not fail either. The opening torque change after the experiment is less than 0.5%, but the handwheel of the valve may break, which affects the opening actions. In summary, impacts of the upper pipes and ventilation pipes dropdown on the integrity of the DN300 pipes and valves below in a cooling water system of a typical second-generation nuclear power plant under an earthquake was studied. As a result, the functionality of the DN300 pipeline and the valves themselves are not significantly affected, but the handwheel of the valve or similar articles can probably be broken and need to take care.

Keywords: cooling water system, earthquake, integrity, pipe and valve

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Saradiya Mukherjee

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Background: Indian Muslims, compared to their counterparts in other religions, generally do not fare well on many yardsticks related to socio-economic progress and the same is true with maternal health care utilization. Due to low age at marriage a major percentage of child birth is ascribed to young (15-24 years) Muslim mothers in, which pose serious concerns on the maternal health care of Young Married Muslim women (YMMW). A thorough search of past literature on Muslim women’s health and health care reveals that studies in India have mainly focused on religious differences in fertility levels and contraceptive use while the research on the determinants of maternal health care utilization among Muslim women are lacking in India. Data and Methods: Retrieving data from the National Family Health Survey -3 (2005-06) this study attempts to assess the level of utilization and factors effecting three key maternal health indicators (full ANC, safe delivery and PNC) among YMMW (15-24 years) in India. The key socio-economic and demographic variables taken as independent or predictor variables in the study was guided by existing literature particularly for India. Bi-variate analysis and chi square test was applied and variables which were found to be significant were further included in binary logistic regression. Results: The findings of the study reveal abysmally low levels of utilization for all three indicators i.e. full ANC, safe delivery and PNC of maternal health care included in the study. Mother’s education, mass media exposure, women’s autonomy, birth order, economic status wanted status of child and region of residence were found to be significant variables effecting maternal health care utilization among YMMW. Multivariate analysis reveals that no mass media exposure, lower autonomy, education, poor economic background, higher birth order and unintended pregnancy are some of the reasons behind low maternal health care utilization. Conclusion: Considering the low level of safe maternal health care utilization and its proximate determinants among YMMW the study suggests educating Muslim girls, promoting family planning use, involving media and collaboration between religious leader and health care system could be some important policy level interventions to address the unmet need of maternity services among YMMW.

Keywords: young Muslim women, religion, socio-economic condition, antenatal care, delivery, post natal care

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Tan, Rajinder Singh-Rai

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We present the first reported case of a concomitant Leydig cell tumor (LCT) and paratesticular leiomyoma in an adult male with a known history of bilateral cryptorchidism. An 80-year-old male presented with a 2-month history of a left testicular lump associated with mild discomfort and a gradual increase in size on a background of bilateral cryptorchidism requiring multiple orchidopexy procedures as a child. Ultrasound confirmed a lesion suspicious for malignancy and he proceeded to a left radical orchidectomy. Histopathological assessment of the left testis revealed a concomitant testicular LCT with malignant features and paratesticular leiomyoma. Leydig cell tumors (LCTs) are the most common pure testicular sex cord-stromal tumors, accounting for up to 3% of all testicular tumors. They can occur at almost any age, but are noted to have a bi-modal distribution, with a peak incidence at 6 to 10 and at 20 to 50 years of age. LCT’s are often hormonally active and can lead to feminizing or virilizing syndromes. LCT’s are usually regarded as benign but can rarely exhibit malignant traits. Paratesticular tumours are uncommon and their reported prevalence varies between 3% and 16%. They occur in a complex anatomical area which includes the contents of the spermatic cord, testicular tunics, epididymis and vestigial remnants. Up to 90% of paratesticular tumours are believed to originate from the spermatic cord, though it is often difficult to definitively ascertain the exact site of origin. Although any type of soft-tissue neoplasm can be found in the paratesticular region, the most common benign tumors reported are lipomas of the spermatic cord, adenomatoid tumours of the epididymis and leiomyomas of the testis. Genetic studies have identified potential mutations that could potentially cause LCTs, but there are no known associations between concomitant LCTs and paratesticular tumors. The presence of cryptorchidism in adults with both LCTs and paratesticular neoplasms individually has been previously reported and it appears intuitive that cryptorchidism is likely to be associated with the concomitant presentation in this case report. This report represents the first documented case in the literature of a unilateral concomitant LCT and paratesticular leiomyoma on a background of bilateral cryptorchidism.

Keywords: testicular cancer, leydig cell tumour, leiomyoma, paratesticular neoplasms

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: Lindsay Crystabelle A. Gillamac, Lemuel Roy Amarillo, Al Leonard Joseph B. Aca-Ac, Felipe V. Lula Jr.

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Hangover is the unpleasant psychological and physiologic effects after heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. In awareness of the need to have a remedy for hangover occurrence in Iligan City, the authors aimed to determine the most preferred and effective local remedy to the hangover and inform people, bars and food establishments that there are available remedies to the hangover in the locality. The study utilizes qualitative data gathered through an interview on four different age groups with 50 random individuals each group as to what symptom determines they are experiencing the hangover. Then, quantitative data gathered through an online and written survey was done as to what local hangover remedy do they intake after drinking to ameliorate the most experienced symptom provided from the first assessment. After data tabulation of hangover symptoms on different age groups, we have found out that the most common determinant that you have a hangover has a headache. Thus, we queried the respondents again to what was effective the most in relieving them of a headache and their other felt symptoms depending on their varying age groups. The results of the evaluations showed that most respondents from different age groups preferred Halang-halang Soup, a spicy beef soup in the locality. As part of the hospitality industry concerned with welfare of customers, Bars in Iligan City should include on their menu these hang-over remedies in anticipation of guest needs given the fact that there are no more stores open at late hours in Iligan City. Placards should also be posted within the bar area to orient the guests about hang-over cures available inside the bar. Bartenders and other staff being directly in-contact with guests should take part in orienting guests about these aforementioned remedies. Added to that, we would like to promote Halang-halang Soup as a Health beneficial cuisine in the Philippines and help in the growth of the Tourism Industry of Iligan City by making the Halang-halang place a tourist destination.

Keywords: alcohol, alcohol consumption, alcohol hangover, anticipation of needs, bar, cure, hangover, headache, hospitality industry, local remedy, menu, menu development, menu improvement, remedy, Philippines

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Authors: Ahmadi, Iriansyah, Raihana Yahman

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The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man, 1879) is a valuable species for fisheries and aquaculture, especially in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia due to their high market demand and potential for export. The growing demand for prawns is straining the sustainability of the Banjar Regency fishery. To ensure the long-term sustainability and economic viability of the prawn fishing in this region, it is imperative to implement evidence-based management practices. This requires comprehensive data on the Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE), Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and the current rate of prawn resource exploitation. it analyzed five years of prawn catch data (2019-2023) obtained from South Kalimantan Marine and Fisheries Services. Fishing gears (e.g. hook & line and cast net) were first standardized with Fishing Power Index, and then calculated effort and MSY. The intercept (a) and the slope (b) values of regression curve were used to estimate the catch-maximum sustainable yield (CMSY) and optimal fishing effort (Fopt) levels within the framework of the Surplus Production Model. The estimated rates of resource utilization were then compared to the criteria of The National Commission of Marine Fish Stock Assessment. The findings showed that the CPUE value peaked in 2019 at 33.48 kg/trip, while the lowest value observed in 2022 at 5.12 kg/trip. The CMSY value was estimated to be 17,396 kg/year, corresponding to the Fopt level of 1,636 trips/year. The highest utilization rate was 56.90% recorded in 2020, while the lowest rate was observed in 2021 at 46.16%. The annual utilization rates were classified as “medium”, suggesting that increasing fishing effort by 45% could potentially maximize prawn catches at an optimum level. These findings provide a baseline for sustainable fisheries management in the region.

Keywords: giant prawns, CPUE, fishing power index, sustainable potential, utilization rate

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Authors: A. G. Gashua, T. T. Bello, I. Alhassan, K. K. Gwiokura

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Weeds are known to interfere seriously with crop growth, thereby affecting the productivity and quality of crops. Crops are also known to compete for natural growth resources if they are not adequately spaced, also affecting the performance of the growing crop. Farmers grow cowpea in mixtures with cereals and this is known to affect its yield. For this reason, a field experiment was conducted at Yobe State College of Agriculture Gujba, Damaturu station in the 2014 and 2015 rainy seasons to determine the appropriate intra row spacing and weeding regime for optimum growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) in pure stand in Sudan Savanna ecology. The treatments consist of three levels of spacing within rows (20 cm, 30 cm and 40 cm) and four weeding regimes (none, once at 3 weeks after sowing (WAS), twice at 3 and 6WAS, thrice at 3WAS, 6WAS and 9WAS); arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The variety used was the local cowpea variety (white, early and spreading) commonly grown by farmers. The growth and yield data were collected and subjected to analysis of variance using SAS software, and the significant means were ranked by Students Newman Keul’s test (SNK). The findings of this study revealed better crop performance in 2015 than in 2014 despite poor soil condition. Intra row spacing significantly influenced vegetative growth especially the number of main branches, leaves and canopy spread at 6WAS and 9WAS with the highest values obtained at wider spacing (40 cm). The values obtained in 2015 doubled those obtained in 2014 in most cases. Spacing also significantly affected the number of pods in 2015, seed weight in both years and grain yield in 2014 with the highest values obtained when the crop was spaced at 30-40 cm. Similarly, weeding regime significantly influenced almost all the growth attributes of cowpea with higher values obtained from where cowpea was weeded three times at 3-week intervals, though statistically similar results were obtained even from where cowpea was weeded twice. Weeding also affected the entire yield and yield components in 2015 with the highest values obtained with increase weeding. Based on these findings, it is recommended that spreading cowpea varieties should be grown at 40 cm (or wider spacing) within rows and be weeded twice at three-week intervals for better crop performance in related ecologies.

Keywords: intra-row spacing, local cowpea, Nigeria, weeding

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Authors: A. V. Sokolov, S. V. Vorobyev, A. Yu. Efimtcev, V. Yu. Lobzin, I. A. Lupanov, O. A. Cherdakov, V. A. Fokin

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Different brain regions are involved to the pathological process of AD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate brain activation by visual memory task in patients with Alzheimer's disease and determine correlation between memory impairment and atrophy of memory specific brain regions of frontal and medial temporal lobes. To investigate the organization of memory and localize cortical areas activated by visual memory task we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and to evaluate brain atrophy of patients with Alzheimer's disease we used voxel-based morphometry. FMRI was performed on 1.5 T MR-scanner Siemens Magnetom Symphony with BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) technique, based on distinctions of magnetic properties of hemoglobin. For test stimuli we used series of 12 not related images for "Baseline" and 12 images with 6 presented before for "Active". Stimuli were presented 3 times with reduction of repeated images to 4 and 2. Patients with Alzheimer's disease showed less activation in hippocampal formation (HF) region and parahippocampal gyrus then healthy persons of control group (p<0.05). The study also showed reduced activation in posterior cingulate cortex (p<0.001). Voxel-based morphometry showed significant atrophy of grey matter in Alzheimer’s disease patients, especially of both temporal lobes (fusiform and parahippocampal gyri); frontal lobes (posterior cingulate and superior frontal gyri). The study showed correlation between memory impairment and atrophy of memory specific brain regions of frontal and medial temporal lobes. Thus, reduced activation in hippocampal formation and parahippocampal gyri, in posterior cingulate gyrus in patients with Alzheimer's disease correlates to significant atrophy of these regions, detected by voxel-based morphometry, and to deterioration of specific cognitive functions.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, functional MRI, voxel-based morphometry

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Authors: Naser Kazemi Eilaki, Carolyn Ahmer, Ilona Heldal, Bjarne Christian Hagen

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Older people and people with disabilities are recognized as at-risk groups when it comes to egress and travel from hazard zone to safe places. One's disability can negatively influence her or his escape time, and this becomes even more important when people from this target group live alone. This research deals with the fire safety of mentioned people's buildings by means of probabilistic methods. For this purpose, fire safety is addressed by modeling the egress of our target group from a hazardous zone to a safe zone. A common type of detached house with a prevalent plan has been chosen for safety analysis, and a limit state function has been developed according to the time-line evacuation model, which is based on a two-zone and smoke development model. An analytical computer model (B-Risk) is used to consider smoke development. Since most of the involved parameters in the fire development model pose uncertainty, an appropriate probability distribution function has been considered for each one of the variables with indeterministic nature. To achieve safety and reliability for the at-risk groups, the fire safety index method has been chosen to define the probability of failure (causalities) and safety index (beta index). An improved harmony search meta-heuristic optimization algorithm has been used to define the beta index. Sensitivity analysis has been done to define the most important and effective parameters for the fire safety of the at-risk group. Results showed an area of openings and intervals to egress exits are more important in buildings, and the safety of people would improve with increasing dimensions of occupant space (building). Fire growth is more critical compared to other parameters in the home without a detector and fire distinguishing system, but in a home equipped with these facilities, it is less important. Type of disabilities has a great effect on the safety level of people who live in the same home layout, and people with visual impairment encounter more risk of capturing compared to visual and movement disabilities.

Keywords: fire safety, at-risk groups, zone model, egress time, uncertainty

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Authors: Mohamed Khiatine, Amal Medjnoun, Ramdane Bahar

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The North Algeria is a highly seismic zone, as evidenced by the historical seismicity. During the past two decades, it has experienced several moderate to strong earthquakes. Therefore, the geotechnical engineering problems that involve dynamic loading of soils and soil-structure interaction system requires, in the presence of saturated loose sand formations, liquefaction studies. Bejaia city, located in North-East of Algiers, Algeria, is a part of the alluvial plain which covers an area of approximately 750 hectares. According to the Algerian seismic code, it is classified as moderate seismicity zone. This area had not experienced in the past urban development because of the different hazards identified by hydraulic and geotechnical studies conducted in the region. The low bearing capacity of the soil, its high compressibility and the risk of liquefaction and flooding are among these risks and are a constraint on urbanization. In this area, several cases of structures founded on shallow foundations have suffered damages. Hence, the soils need treatment to reduce the risk. Many field and laboratory investigations, core drilling, pressuremeter test, standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetrometer test (CPT) and geophysical down hole test, were performed in different locations of the area. The major part of the area consists of silty fine sand , sometimes heterogeneous, has not yet reached a sufficient degree of consolidation. The ground water depth changes between 1.5 and 4 m. These investigations show that the liquefaction phenomenon is one of the critical problems for geotechnical engineers and one of the obstacles found in design phase of projects. This paper presents an analysis to evaluate the liquefaction potential, using the empirical methods based on Standard Penetration Test (SPT), Cone Penetration Test (CPT) and shear wave velocity and numerical analysis. These liquefaction assessment procedures indicate that liquefaction can occur to considerable depths in silty sand of harbor zone of Bejaia.

Keywords: earthquake, modeling, liquefaction potential, laboratory investigations

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Authors: Saimir Heta, Kers Kapaj, Rialda Xhizdari, Ilma Robo

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Despite the existence of different dental specialties, the dentist-patient relationship is unique, in the very fact that the treatment is performed by one doctor and the patient identifies the malpractice presented as part of that doctor's practice; this is in complete contrast to cases of medical treatments where the patient can be presented to a team of doctors, to treat a specific pathology. The rules of dental ethics are almost the same as the rules of medical ethics. The appearance of dental malpractice affects exactly this two-party relationship, created on the basis of professionalism, without deviations in this direction, between the dentist and the patient, but with very narrow individual boundaries, compared to cases of medical malpractice. Main text: Malpractice can have different reasons for its appearance, starting from professional negligence, but also from the lack of professional knowledge of the dentist who undertakes the dental treatment. It should always be seen in perspective that we are not talking about the individual - the dentist who goes to work with the intention of harming their patients. Malpractice can also be a consequence of the impossibility, for anatomical or physiological reasons of the tooth under dental treatment, to realize the predetermined dental treatment plan. On the other hand, the dentist himself is an individual who can be affected by health conditions, or have vices that affect the systemic health of the dentist as an individual, which in these conditions can cause malpractice. So, depending on the reason that led to the appearance of malpractice, the method of treatment from a legal point of view also varies, for the dentist who committed the malpractice, evaluating the latter if the malpractice came under the conditions of applying the rules of dental ethics. Conclusions: The deviation from the predetermined dental plan is the minimum sign of malpractice and the latter should not be definitively related only to cases of difficult dental treatments. The identification of the reason for the appearance of malpractice is the initial element, which makes the difference in the way of its treatment, from a legal point of view, and the involvement of the dentist in the assessment of the malpractice committed, must be based on the legislation in force, which must be said to have their specific changes in different states. Malpractice should be referred to, or included in the lectures or in the continuing education of professionals, because it serves as a method of obtaining professional experience in order not to repeat the same thing several times, by different professionals.

Keywords: dental ethics, malpractice, negligence, legal basis, continuing education, dental treatments

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Authors: Markus Nordlund, Arkadiusz K. Kuczaj

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Philip Morris International (PMI) is developing a range of novel tobacco products with the potential to reduce individual risk and population harm in comparison to smoking cigarettes. One of these products is the Tobacco Heating System 2.2 (THS 2.2), (named as the Electrically Heated Tobacco System (EHTS) in this paper), already commercialized in a number of countries (e.g., Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Portugal and Romania). During use, the patented EHTS heats a specifically designed tobacco product (Electrically Heated Tobacco Product (EHTP)) when inserted into a Holder (heating device). The EHTP contains tobacco material in the form of a porous plug that undergoes a controlled heating process to release chemical compounds into vapors, from which an aerosol is formed during cooling. The aim of this work was to investigate the aerosol formation characteristics for realistic operating conditions of the EHTS as well as for relevant gas mixture compositions measured in the EHTP aerosol consisting mostly of water, glycerol and nicotine, but also other compounds at much lower concentrations. The nucleation process taking place in the EHTP during use when operated in the Holder has therefore been modeled numerically using an extended Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT) for multicomponent gas mixtures. Results from the performed simulations demonstrate that aerosol droplets are formed only in the presence of an aerosol former being mainly glycerol. Minor compounds in the gas mixture were not able to reach a supersaturated state alone and therefore could not generate aerosol droplets from the multicomponent gas mixture at the operating conditions simulated. For the analytically characterized aerosol composition and estimated operating conditions of the EHTS and EHTP, glycerol was shown to be the main aerosol former triggering the nucleation process in the EHTP. This implies that according to the CNT, an aerosol former, such as glycerol needs to be present in the gas mixture for an aerosol to form under the tested operating conditions. To assess if these conclusions are sensitive to the initial amount of the minor compounds and to include and represent the total mass of the aerosol collected during the analytical aerosol characterization, simulations were carried out with initial masses of the minor compounds increased by as much as a factor of 500. Despite this extreme condition, no aerosol droplets were generated when glycerol, nicotine and water were treated as inert species and therefore not actively contributing to the nucleation process. This implies that according to the CNT, an aerosol cannot be generated without the help of an aerosol former, from the multicomponent gas mixtures at the compositions and operating conditions estimated for the EHTP, even if all minor compounds are released or generated in a single puff.

Keywords: aerosol, classical nucleation theory (CNT), electrically heated tobacco product (EHTP), electrically heated tobacco system (EHTS), modeling, multicomponent, nucleation

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Authors: Aya M. H. Eissa, Ayman H. A. Mahmoud

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When it comes to energy efficient thermal regulation system, natural systems do not only offer an inspirational source of innovative strategies but also sustainable and even regenerative ones. Using biomimetic design an energy efficient thermal regulation system can be developed. Although, conventional design process methods achieved fairly efficient systems, they still had limitations which can be overcome by using parametric design software. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to apply and assess the efficiency of heat regulation strategies inspired from termite mounds in residential buildings’ thermal regulation system. Parametric design software is used to pave the way for further and more complex biomimetic design studies and implementations. A hot arid region is selected due to the deficiency of research in this climatic region. First, the analysis phase in which the stimuli, affecting, and the parameters, to be optimized, are set mimicking the natural system. Then, based on climatic data and using parametric design software Grasshopper, building form and openings height and areas are altered till settling on an optimized solution. Finally, an assessment of the efficiency of the optimized system, in comparison with a conventional system, is determined by firstly, indoors airflow and indoors temperature, by Ansys Fluent (CFD) simulation. Secondly by and total solar radiation falling on the building envelope, which was calculated using Ladybug, Grasshopper plugin. The results show an increase in the average indoor airflow speed from 0.5m/s to 1.5 m/s. Also, a slight decrease in temperature was noticed. And finally, the total radiation was decreased by 4%. In conclusion, despite the fact that applying a single bio-inspired heat regulation strategy might not be enough to achieve an optimum system, the concluded system is more energy efficient than the conventional ones as it aids achieving indoors comfort through passive techniques. Thus demonstrating the potential of parametric design software in biomimetic design.

Keywords: biomimicry, heat regulation systems, hot arid regions, parametric design, thermal comfort

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Authors: Tamara Bastianello, Rachele Ferrari, Marinella Majorano

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The adoption of the syllabic approach in preschool programmes could support and reinforce meta-phonological awareness and literacy skills in children. The introduction of a meta-phonological intervention in preschool could facilitate the transition to primary school, especially for children with learning fragilities. In the present contribution, we want to investigate the efficacy of "Simo-syl" intervention in enhancing emergent literacy skills in children (especially for reading). Simo-syl is a 12 weeks multimedia programme developed for children to improve their language and communication skills and later literacy development in preschool. During the intervention, Simo-syl, an invented character, leads children in a series of meta-phonological games. Forty-six Italian preschool children (i.e., the Simo-syl group) participated in the programme; seventeen preschool children (i.e., the control group) did not participate in the intervention. Children in the two groups were between 4;10 and 5;9 years. They were assessed on their vocabulary, morpho-syntactical, meta-phonological, phonological, and phono-articulatory skills twice: 1) at the beginning of the last year of the preschool through standardised paper-based assessment tools and 2) one week after the intervention. All children in the Simo-syl group took part in the meta-phonological programme based on the syllabic approach. The intervention lasted 12 weeks (three activities per week; week 1: activities focused on syllable blending and spelling and a first approach to the written code; weeks 2-11: activities focused on syllables recognition; week 12: activities focused on vowels recognition). Very few children (Simo-syl group = 21, control group = 9) were tested again (post-test) one week after the intervention. Before starting the intervention programme, the Simo-syl and the control groups had similar meta-phonological, phonological, lexical skills (all ps > .05). One week after the intervention, a significant difference emerged between the two groups in their meta-phonological skills (syllable blending, p = .029; syllable spelling, p = .032), in their vowel recognition ability (p = .032) and their word reading skills (p = .05). An ANOVA confirmed the effect of the group membership on the developmental growth for the word reading task (F (1,28) = 6.83, p = .014, ηp2 = .196). Taking part in the Simo-syl intervention has a positive effect on the ability to read in preschool children.

Keywords: intervention programme, literacy skills, meta-phonological skills, syllabic approach

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Authors: Rui Wang, Luodi Yu, Dan Huang, Hsuan-Chih Chen, Yang Zhang, Suiping Wang

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Enhanced discrimination of pure tones but diminished discrimination of speech pitch (i.e., lexical tone) were found in children with autism who speak a tonal language (Mandarin), suggesting a speech-specific impairment of pitch perception in these children. However, in tonal languages, both lexical tone and vowel are phonemic cues and integrally dependent on each other. Therefore, it is unclear whether the presence of phonemic vowel dimension contributes to the observed lexical tone deficits in Mandarin-speaking children with autism. The current study employed a multi-feature oddball paradigm to examine how vowel and tone dimensions contribute to the neural responses for syllable change detection and involuntary attentional orienting in school-age Mandarin-speaking children with autism. In the oddball sequence, syllable /da1/ served as the standard stimulus. There were three deviant stimulus conditions, representing tone-only change (TO, /da4/), vowel-only change (VO, /du1/), and change of tone and vowel simultaneously (TV, /du4/). EEG data were collected from 25 children with autism and 20 age-matched normal controls during passive listening to the stimulation. For each deviant condition, difference waveform measuring mismatch negativity (MMN) was derived from subtracting the ERP waveform to the standard sound from that to the deviant sound for each participant. Additionally, the linear summation of TO and VO difference waveforms was compared to the TV difference waveform, to examine whether neural sensitivity for TV change detection reflects simple summation or nonlinear integration of the two individual dimensions. The MMN results showed that the autism group had smaller amplitude compared with the control group in the TO and VO conditions, suggesting impaired discriminative sensitivity for both dimensions. In the control group, amplitude of the TV difference waveform approximated the linear summation of the TO and VO waveforms only in the early time window but not in the late window, suggesting a time course from dimensional summation to nonlinear integration. In the autism group, however, the nonlinear TV integration was already present in the early window. These findings suggest that speech perception atypicality in children with autism rests not only in the processing of single phonemic dimensions, but also in the dimensional integration process.

Keywords: autism, event-related potentials , mismatch negativity, speech perception

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Authors: Iris W. A. Boot, Anke Wesselius, Maurice P. Zeegers

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Diet may play an essential role in the aetiology of bladder cancer (BC). Vitamin D is involved in various biological functions which have the potential to prevent BC development. Besides, vitamin D also influences the uptake of calcium and phosphorus , thereby possibly indirectly influencing the risk of BC. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between vitamin D intake and BC risk. Individual dietary data were pooled from three cohort studies. Food item intake was converted to daily intakes of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus. Pooled multivariate hazard ratios (HRs), with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using Cox-regression models. Analyses were adjusted for gender, age and smoking status (Model 1), and additionally for the food groups fruit, vegetables and meat (Model 2). Dose–response relationships (Model 1) were examined using a nonparametric test for trend. In total, 2,871 cases and 522,364 non-cases were included in the analyses. The present study showed an overall increased BC risk for high dietary vitamin D intake (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.03-1.26). A similar increase BC risk with high vitamin D intake was observed among women and for the non-muscle invasive BC subtype, (HR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.15-1.72, HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01-1.27, respectively). High calcium intake decreased the BC risk among women (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.97). A combined inverse effect on BC risk was observed for low vitamin D intake and high calcium intake (HR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48-0.93), while a positive effect was observed for high vitamin D intake in combination with low, moderate and high phosphorus (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.09-1.59, HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01-1.36, HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.31, respectively). Combining all nutrients showed a decreased BC risk for low vitamin D intake, high calcium and moderate phosphor intake (HR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18-0.75), and an increased BC risk for moderate intake of all the nutrients (HR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.38), for high vitamin D and low calcium and phosphor intake (HR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.01-1.62), and for moderate vitamin D and calcium and high phosphorus intake (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.01-1.59). No significant dose-response analyses were observed. The findings of this study show an increased BC risk for high dietary vitamin D intake and a decreased risk for high calcium intake. Besides, the study highlights the importance of examining the effect of a nutrient in combination with complementary nutrients for risk assessment. Future research should focus on nutrients in a wider context and in nutritional patterns.

Keywords: bladder cancer, nutritional oncology, pooled cohort analysis, vitamin D

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Authors: Luz Stella Cadavid-Rodriguez, Viviana E. Castro-Lopez

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Fish waste (FW) has a high content of potentially biodegradable components, so it is amenable to be digested anaerobically. In this line, anaerobic digestion (AD) of FW has been studied for biogas production. Nevertheless, intermediate products such as volatile fatty acids (VFA), generated during the acidogenic stage, have been scarce investigated, even though they have a high potential as a renewable source of carbon. In the literature, there are few studies about the Inoculum-Substrate (I/S) ratio on acidogenesis. On the other hand, it is well known that pH is a critical factor in the production of VFA. The optimum pH for the production of VFA seems to change depending on the substrate and can vary in a range between 5.25 and 11. Nonetheless, the literature about VFA production from protein-rich waste, such as FW, is scarce. In this context, it is necessary to deepen on the determination of the optimal operating conditions of acidogenic fermentation for VFA production from protein-rich waste. Therefore, the aim of this research was to optimize the volatile fatty acid production from artisanal fishing waste, studying the effect of pH and the I/S ratio on the acidogenic process. For this research, the inoculum used was a methanogenic sludge (MS) obtained from a UASB reactor treating wastewater of a slaughterhouse plant, and the FW was collected in the port of Tumaco (Colombia) from the local artisanal fishers. The acidogenic fermentation experiments were conducted in batch mode, in 500 mL glass bottles as anaerobic reactors, equipped with rubber stoppers provided with a valve to release biogas. The effective volume used was 300 mL. The experiments were carried out for 15 days at a mesophilic temperature of 37± 2 °C and constant agitation of 200 rpm. The effect of 3 pH levels: 5, 7, 9, coupled with five I/S ratios, corresponding to 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, 0.05, 0.00 was evaluated taking as a response variable the production of VFA. A complete randomized block design was selected for the experiments in a 5x3 factorial arrangement, with two repetitions per treatment. At the beginning and during the process, pH in the experimental reactors was adjusted to the corresponding values of 5, 7, and 9 using 1M NaOH or 1M H2SO4, as was appropriated. In addition, once the optimum I/S ratio was determined, the process was evaluated at this condition without pH control. The results indicated that pH is the main factor in the production of VFA, obtaining the highest concentration with neutral pH. By reducing the I/S ratio, as low as 0.05, it was possible to maximize VFA production. Thus, the optimum conditions found were natural pH (6.6-7.7) and I/S ratio of 0.05, with which it was possible to reach a maximum total VFA concentration of 70.3 g Ac/L, whose major components were acetic acid (35%) and butyric acid (32%). The findings showed that the acidogenic fermentation of FW is an efficient way of producing VFA and that the operating conditions can be simple and economical.

Keywords: acidogenesis, artisanal fishing waste, inoculum to substrate ratio, volatile fatty acids

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Authors: Shin Yoneda, Mikiya Kato, Kosuke Murate, Kodo Kawase

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In recent years, there have been numerous attempts to smuggle narcotic drugs and chemicals by concealing them in international mail. Combatting this requires a non-destructive technique that can identify such illicit substances in mail. Terahertz (THz) waves can pass through a wide variety of materials, and many chemicals show specific frequency-dependent absorption, known as a spectral fingerprint, in the THz range. Therefore, it is reasonable to investigate non-destructive mail inspection techniques that use THz waves. For this reason, in this work, we tried to identify reagents under high attenuation shielding materials using injection-seeded THz-wave parametric generator (is-TPG). Our THz spectroscopic imaging system using is-TPG consisted of two non-linear crystals for emission and detection of THz waves. A micro-chip Nd:YAG laser and a continuous wave tunable external cavity diode laser were used as the pump and seed source, respectively. The pump beam and seed beam were injected to the LiNbO₃ crystal satisfying the noncollinear phase matching condition in order to generate high power THz-wave. The emitted THz wave was irradiated to the sample which was raster scanned by the x-z stage while changing the frequencies, and we obtained multispectral images. Then the transmitted THz wave was focused onto another crystal for detection and up-converted to the near infrared detection beam based on nonlinear optical parametric effects, wherein the detection beam intensity was measured using an infrared pyroelectric detector. It was difficult to identify reagents in a cardboard box because of high noise levels. In this work, we introduce improvements for noise reduction and image clarification, and the intensity of the near infrared detection beam was converted correctly to the intensity of the THz wave. A Gaussian spatial filter is also introduced for a clearer THz image. Through these improvements, we succeeded in identification of reagents hidden in a 42-mm thick cardboard box filled with several obstacles, which attenuate 56 dB at 1.3 THz, by improving analysis methods. Using this system, THz spectroscopic imaging was possible for saccharides and may also be applied to cases where illicit drugs are hidden in the box, and multiple reagents are mixed together. Moreover, THz spectroscopic imaging can be achieved through even thicker obstacles by introducing an NIR detector with higher sensitivity.

Keywords: nondestructive inspection, principal component analysis, terahertz parametric source, THz spectroscopic imaging

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Authors: Sharifullah Ahmed, Sarwar Jahan Md. Yasin

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Shallow foundations on unimproved soft natural soils can undergo a high consolidation and secondary settlement. For low and medium rise building projects on such soil condition, pile foundation may not be cost effective. In such cases an alternative to pile foundations may be shallow strip footings placed on a double layered improved soil system soil. The upper layer of this system is untreated or cement treated compacted sand and underlying layer is natural soft clay. This system will reduce the settlement to an allowable limit. The current research has been conducted with the settlement of a rigid plane-strain strip footing of 2.5 m width placed on the surface of a soil consisting of an untreated or cement treated sand layer overlying a bed of homogeneous soft clay. The settlement of the mentioned shallow foundation has been studied considering both cases with the thicknesses of the sand layer are 0.3 to 0.9 times the width of footing. The response of the clay layer is assumed as undrained for plastic loading stages and drained during consolidation stages. The response of the sand layer is drained during all loading stages. FEM analysis was done using PLAXIS 2D Version 8.0. A natural clay deposit of 15 m thickness and 18 m width has been modeled using Hardening Soil Model, Soft Soil Model, Soft Soil Creep Model, and upper improvement layer has been modeled using only Hardening Soil Model. The groundwater level is at the top level of the clay deposit that made the system fully saturated. Parametric study has been conducted to determine the effect of thickness, density, cementation of the sand mat and density, shear strength of the soft clay layer on the settlement of strip foundation under the uniformly distributed vertical load of varying value. A set of the chart has been established for designing shallow strip footing on the sand mat over thick, soft clay deposit through obtaining the particular thickness of sand mat for particular subsoil parameter to ensure no punching shear failure and no settlement beyond allowable level. Design guideline in the form of non-dimensional charts has been developed for footing pressure equivalent to medium-rise residential or commercial building foundation with strip footing on soft inorganic Normally Consolidated (NC) soil of Bangladesh having void ratio from 1.0 to 1.45.

Keywords: design charts, ground improvement, PLAXIS 2D, primary and secondary settlement, sand mat, soft clay

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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: A. H. Nanher, N. P. Singh, Shashidhar Yadav, Sachin Tyagi

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Agricultural production system is an outcome of a complex interaction of seed, soil, water and agro-chemicals (including fertilizers). Therefore, judicious management of all the inputs is essential for the sustainability of such a complex system. Precision agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively including fertilizers, pesticides, tillage and irrigation water. More effective use of inputs means greater crop yield and/or quality, without polluting the environment the focus on enhancing the productivity during the Green Revolution coupled with total disregard of proper management of inputs and without considering the ecological impacts, has resulted into environmental degradation. To evaluate a new approach for site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). Large variation in initial soil fertility characteristics and indigenous supply of N, P, and K was observed among Field- and season-specific NPK applications were calculated by accounting for the indigenous nutrient supply, yield targets, and nutrient demand as a function of the interactions between N, P, and K. Nitrogen applications were fine-tuned based on season-specific rules and field-specific monitoring of crop N status. The performance of SSNM did not differ significantly between high-yielding and low-yielding climatic seasons, but improved over time with larger benefits observed in the second year Future, strategies for nutrient management in intensive rice systems must become more site-specific and dynamic to manage spatially and temporally variable resources based on a quantitative understanding of the congruence between nutrient supply and crop demand. The SSNM concept has demonstrated promising agronomic and economic potential. It can be used for managing plant nutrients at any scale, i.e., ranging from a general recommendation for homogenous management of a larger domain to true management of between-field variability. Assessment of pest profiles in FFP and SSNM plots suggests that SSNM may also reduce pest incidence, particularly diseases that are often associated with excessive N use or unbalanced plant nutrition.

Keywords: nutrient, pesticide, crop, yield

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Authors: Hyeon-Seung Kim, Sang-Mi Park, Sun-Ju Han, Leen-Seok Kang

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As BIM (Building Information Modeling) application continually expands, the visual simulation techniques used for facility design and construction process information are becoming increasingly advanced and diverse. For building structures, BIM application is design - oriented to utilize 3D objects for conflict management, whereas for civil engineering structures, the usability of nD object - oriented construction stage simulation is important in construction management. Simulations of 5D and 6D objects, for which cost and resources are linked along with process simulation in 4D objects, are commonly used, but they do not provide a decision - making function for process management problems that occur on site because they mostly focus on the visual representation of current status for process information. In this study, an nD CAD system is constructed that facilitates an optimized schedule simulation that minimizes process conflict, a construction duration reduction simulation according to execution progress status, optimized process plan simulation according to project cost change by year, and optimized resource simulation for field resource mobilization capability. Through this system, the usability of conventional simple simulation objects is expanded to the usability of active simulation objects with which decision - making is possible. Furthermore, to close the gap between field process situations and planned 4D process objects, a technique is developed to facilitate a comparative simulation through the coordinated synchronization of an actual video object acquired by an on - site web camera and VR concept 4D object. This synchronization and simulation technique can also be applied to smartphone video objects captured in the field in order to increase the usability of the 4D object. Because yearly project costs change frequently for civil engineering construction, an annual process plan should be recomposed appropriately according to project cost decreases/increases compared with the plan. In the 5D CAD system provided in this study, an active 5D object utilization concept is introduced to perform a simulation in an optimized process planning state by finding a process optimized for the changed project cost without changing the construction duration through a technique such as genetic algorithm. Furthermore, in resource management, an active 6D object utilization function is introduced that can analyze and simulate an optimized process plan within a possible scope of moving resources by considering those resources that can be moved under a given field condition, instead of using a simple resource change simulation by schedule. The introduction of an active BIM function is expected to increase the field utilization of conventional nD objects.

Keywords: 4D, 5D, 6D, active BIM

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Authors: Chandra Shekhar Majumder, Orin Sultana Jamie

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Background: Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) has been a widely accepted surgical intervention for nasolacrimal duct obstructions. Some previous studies demonstrated the potential benefits of the peroperative application of agents like Mitomycin-C (MMC) with DCR to improve surgical outcomes. Relevant studies are rare in Bangladesh, and there are controversies about the dose, duration of MMC, and outcome. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the comparative efficacy of DCR with and without MMC in a tertiary hospital in Bangladesh. Objective: The study aims to determine the outcome of a dacryocystorhinostomy with preoperative local use of mitomycin–C. Methods: An analytical study was conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology, Sir Salimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, from January 2023 to September 2023. Seventy patients who were admitted for DCR operation were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent DCR with peroperative administration of 0.2 mg/ml Mitomycin-C for 5 minutes (Group I) and those who underwent DCR alone (Group II). All patients were subjected to detailed history taking, clinical examination, and relevant investigations. All patients underwent DCR according to standard guidelines and ensured the highest peroperative and postoperative care. Then, patients were followed up at 7th POD, 1-month POD, 3 months POD, and 6 months POD to observe the success rate between the two groups by assessing tearing condition, irrigation, height of tear meniscus, and FDDT- test. Data was recorded using a pre-structured questionnaire, and collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23. Results: The mean age of the study patients was 42.17±6.7 (SD) years and 42.29±7.1 (SD) years in Groups I and II, respectively, with no significant difference (p=0.945). At the 6th month’s follow-up, group I patients were observed with 94.3% frequency of symptom-free, 85.6% patency of lacrimal drainage system, 68.6% had tear meniscus <0.1mm and 88.6% had positive Fluorescence Dye Disappearance Test (FDDT test). In group II, 91.4% were symptom-free, 68.6% showed patency, 57.1% had a height of tear meniscus < 0.1 mm, and 85.6% had FDDT test positive. But no statistically significant difference was observed (p<.05). Conclusion: The use of Mitomycin-C preoperatively during DCR offers better postoperative outcomes, particularly in maintaining patency and achieving symptom resolution with more FDDT test positive and improvement of tear meniscus in the MMC group than the control group. However, this study didn’t demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods would be beneficial to corroborate these findings.

Keywords: dacryocystorhinostomy, mitomycin-c, dacryocystitis, nasolacrimal duct obstruction

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Authors: Israel Ropo Orimoloye, Johanes A. Belle, Olusola Adeyemi, Olusola O. Ololade

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With more than 100,000 orbits during the past 20 years, Terra has significantly improved our knowledge of the Earth's climate and its implications on societies and ecosystems of human activity and natural disasters, including drought events. With Terra instrument's performance and the free distribution of its products, this study utilised Terra MOD13Q1 satellite data to assess drought disaster events and its spatiotemporal patterns over the Free State Province of South Africa between 2001 and 2019 for summer, autumn, winter, and spring seasons. The study also used high-resolution downscaled climate change projections under three representative concentration pathways (RCP). Three future periods comprising the short (the 2030s), medium (2040s), and long term (2050s) compared to the current period are analysed to understand the potential magnitude of projected climate change-related drought. The study revealed that the year 2001 and 2016 witnessed extreme drought conditions where the drought index is between 0 and 20% across the entire province during summer, while the year 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2015 observed severe drought conditions across the region with variation from one part to the another. The result shows that from -24.5 to -25.5 latitude, the area witnessed a decrease in precipitation (80 to 120mm) across the time slice and an increase in the latitude -26° to -28° S for summer seasons, which is more prominent in the year 2041 to 2050. This study emphasizes the strong spatio-environmental impacts within the province and highlights the associated factors that characterise high drought stress risk, especially on the environment and ecosystems. This study contributes to a disaster risk framework to identify areas for specific research and adaptation activities on drought disaster risk and for environmental planning in the study area, which is characterised by both rural and urban contexts, to address climate change-related drought impacts.

Keywords: remote sensing, drought disaster, climate scenario, assessment

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Authors: Gizaw Mamo Gebeyehu, Marianna Pap, Geza Makkai, Tibor Z. Janosi, Shima Rashidian, Tibor A. Rauch

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Sepsis poses a significant global health threat, necessitating extensive exploration of indicators tied to its pathological mechanisms and multi-organ dysfunction. While murine studies have shed light on sepsis, the intricate cellular and molecular landscape in human sepsis remains enigmatic. Exploring the influence of activated monocyte-derived exosomes in sepsis sheds light on a promising pathway for understanding the intricate cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in this condition in humans. In sepsis, exosome-borne mRNA and miRNA orchestrate immune response gene expression in recipient cells. Yet, the specifics of exosome-mediated cell-to-cell communication, especially how mRNA cargoes modulate gene expression in recipient cells, remain poorly understood. This study aims to elucidate the precise molecular pathways through which exosomal mRNA cargo, particularly MAFB, contributes to the developing sepsis-induced molecular aberrations in liver tissues, employing rigorously defined cell culture conditions. THP-1 cells were treated with LPS to induce changes in exosomal RNA profiles. Exosomes were isolated and characterized using microscopy and mass spectrometry. RNA was extracted from exosomes and sequenced. The most abundant exosomal mRNAs were subjected to GO analysis for functional annotation analysis and KEGG database analysis to identify the involved enriched pathways. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), RNA sequencing, and Western blotting were involved to analyze changes in gene expression, protein levels, and signaling pathways within the liver cells( HepG2) after exposure to exosomal MAFB. This study pinpoints exosomal MAFB as a potential key regulator linked to liver cell damage during sepsis, along with associated genes (miR155HG, H3F3A, and possibly JARD2) forming a crucial molecular pathway contributing to liver cell injury, Together, these elements indicate a vital molecular pathway that plays a significant role in the emergence of liver cell injury during sepsis.. These findings suggest the importance of further research on these components for potential therapeutic interventions in managing acute liver damage in sepsis.

Keywords: sepsis, exososome, exosomal MAFB, LPS-induced THP-1 cells, RNA profiles, sepsis-triggered liver injury

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