Search results for: ecological system

Authors: Pebri Nurhayati, Rozanah Ahlam Fadiyah

Abstract:

In the development of the city often use rural areas that can not be separated from the change in land use that lead to the degradation of urban green space in the city fringe. In the long run, the degradation of green open space this can impact on the decline of ecological, psychological and public health. Therefore, this research aims to (1) determine the relationship between the parameters of the degradation rate of urban development with green space, (2) develop a spatial model of the impact of urban development on the degradation of green open space with remote sensing techniques and Geographical Information Systems in an integrated manner. This research is a descriptive research with data collection techniques of observation and secondary data . In the data analysis, to interpret the direction of urban development and degradation of green open space is required in 2005-2010 ASTER image with NDVI. Of interpretation will generate two maps, namely maps and map development built land degradation green open space. Secondary data related to the rate of population growth, the level of accessibility, and the main activities of each city map is processed into a population growth rate, the level of accessibility maps, and map the main activities of the town. Each map is used as a parameter to map the degradation of green space and analyzed by non-parametric statistical analysis using Crosstab thus obtained value of C (coefficient contingency). C values were then compared with the Cmaximum to determine the relationship. From this research will be obtained in the form of modeling spatial map of the City Development Impact Degradation Green Space in Urban Fringe eastern city of Yogyakarta 2005-2010. In addition, this research also generate statistical analysis of the test results of each parameter to the degradation of green open space in the Urban Fringe eastern city of Yogyakarta 2005-2010.

Keywords: spatial analysis, urban development, degradation of green space, urban fringe

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: Muntanavadee Maytapattana

Abstract:

This research aims to study the effects of the Parent Training Program for Obesity Reduction (PTPOR) on child waist circumference and health behaviors of pre-school children at the Samut-Songkhram kindergarten school, Samut-Songkhram province, Thailand. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the PTPOR on child waist circumference and health behaviors of the pre-school children. The conceptual framework of this study is developed on the basis of the Ecological Systems Theory (EST), not only do the individual factors such as child characteristics and child risk factors contribute to the child’s weight status, but also other factors such as parenting style and family characteristics, as well as community and demographic factors. This research is a quasi-experimental study. Participants were pre-school overweight and obese children and their parents. Forty-one parent-child dyads were recruited into the program. Parents participated in two sessions including an educational session and a group discussion session. Research methodology uses Paired-Samples t-test to determine the difference between groups in the mean scores of the outcome variables of the children and parents. The research results show that there was significant difference between child waist circumferences mean score at the baseline and finishing the program at the 0.01 level (p = 0.001), mean score of the child waist circumference was decrease after finishing the program. And there was no significant difference between child exercise health behaviors mean score at the baseline and finishing the program at the 0.05 level; however, mean score of the child exercise behavior was increase after finishing the program. Meanwhile, there was significant difference between child dietary health behavior mean score at the baseline and finishing the program at the 0.01 level (p = 0.001), mean score of the child dietary was increase after finishing the program.

Keywords: PTPOR, child waist circumference, child health behaviors, pre-school children

Procedia PDF Downloads 570

Authors: Mahdieh Khanmohammadi, Sune Darkner, Nicoletta Nava, Jens Randel Nyengaard, Jon Sporring

Abstract:

We study the effect of stress on nervous system and we use two experimental groups of rats: sham rats and rats subjected to acute foot-shock stress. We investigate the synaptic vesicles density as a function of distance to the active zone in serial section transmission electron microscope images in 2 and 3 dimensions. By estimating the density in 2D and 3D we compare two groups of rats.

Keywords: stress, 3-dimensional synaptic vesicle density, image registration, bioinformatics

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: T. K. Dutta, K. K. Das, N. Dutta

Abstract:

The salient feature of this paper is primarily concerned with Ricker’s population model: f(x)=x e^(r(1-x/k)), where r is the control parameter and k is the carrying capacity, and some fruitful results are obtained with the following objectives: 1) Determination of bifurcation values leading to a chaotic region, 2) Development of Statistical Methods and Analysis required for the measure of Fractal dimensions, 3) Calculation of various fractal dimensions. These results also help that the invariant probability distribution on the attractor, when it exists, provides detailed information about the long-term behavior of a dynamical system. At the end, some open problems are posed for further research.

Keywords: Feigenbaum universality, chaos, Lyapunov exponent, fractal dimensions

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Kyra Kannen, Sonja D. Roelen, Sebastian Schnieder, Jarek Krajewski, Steffen Holsteg, André Karger, Johanna Askeridis, Celina Slawik, Philip Mildner, Jens Piesk, Ruslan David, Holger Kürten, Benjamin Oster, Robert Malzan, Mike Ludemann

Abstract:

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly recognized for its potential in transforming mental disorder treatment, offering advantages such as cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, accessibility, reduced stigma, and scalability. While the application of VR in the context of anxiety disorders has been extensively evaluated and demonstrated to be effective, the utilization of VR as a therapeutic treatment for depression remains under-investigated. Our goal is to pioneer immersive VR therapy modules for treating major depression, alongside a web-based system for home use. We develop a modular digital therapy platform grounded in psychodynamic therapy interventions which addresses stress reduction, exploration of social situations and relationship support, social skill training, avoidance behavior analysis, and psychoeducation. In addition, an automated depression monitoring system, based on acoustic voice analysis, is implemented in the form of a speech-based diary to track the affective state of the user and depression severity. The use of immersive VR facilitates patient immersion into complex and realistic interpersonal interactions with high emotional engagement, which may contribute to positive treatment acceptance and satisfaction. In a proof-of-concept study, 45 depressed patients were assigned to VR or web-platform modules, evaluating user experience, usability and additional metrics including depression severity, mindfulness, interpersonal problems, and treatment satisfaction. The findings provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and user-friendliness of VR and web modules for depression therapy and contribute to the refinement of more tailored digital interventions to improve mental health.

Keywords: virtual reality therapy, digital health, depression, psychotherapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Laleh Golamrej Eliasi

Abstract:

Finland is the second most violent country for women in the European Union (EU). 47% of women in Finland claimed to have experienced domestic violence against women (DVAW), compared to an average of 33% in the EU. Although the statistics in Finland are transparent, to the author’s best knowledge, there are no statisticsonDV by nationality in Finland. On the other hand, being a Muslim woman in a non-Muslim-majority country represents a position of double vulnerability to violence. There are 10404 Afghan refugees in Finland who are Muslim. Barriers such as unfamiliarity with support services, fear of the police, racism, language, economic and practical dependence, social isolation, and family commitments all lead to a lack of reporting of DVAW among migrants. Although witnessing and experiencing DV have devastating effects on women’s and children’s health and well-being, there is a lack of studies about DVAW among Afghan families in Finland. To fill this knowledge gap, Afghan women living in Finland are selected as the target group to assess their views on DVAW and child protection. This study is implemented in the socio-ecological approach framework to assess the impacts of individual characteristics, interpersonal relationships, community, and society components on DVAW in Afghan families. Interviews with Afghan women and content analysis are used to find out participants' views on DVAW, its risk factors, and approaches and methods to improve protection for women and children. Main purpose is to obtain information about participants' views on the subject. The findings can be used to improve culturally safe social work knowledge and practices with a bottom-up approach to reduce DV and increase child protection. Therefore, this research can have important effects on the sustainable development of services and supports the welfare and inclusion of immigrant families. The expected results will contribute to sustainable gender equality, which is in line with the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: domestic violence, immigrant women, immigrant child protection, social work

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Simone Cinquemani, Lorenzo Mantovani, Aleksander Dabek

Abstract:

New technologies in agriculture are opening new challenges and new opportunities. Among these, certainly, robotics, vision, and artificial intelligence are the ones that will make a significant leap, compared to traditional agricultural techniques, possible. In particular, the indoor farming sector will be the one that will benefit the most from these solutions. Vertical farming is a new field of research where mechanical engineering can bring knowledge and know-how to transform a highly labor-based business into a fully autonomous system. The aim of the research is to develop a multi-purpose, modular, and perfectly integrated platform for crop production in indoor vertical farming. Activities will be based both on hardware development such as automatic tools to perform different activities on soil and plants, as well as research to introduce an extensive use of monitoring techniques based on machine learning algorithms. This paper presents the preliminary results of a research project of a vertical farm living lab designed to (i) develop and test vertical farming cultivation practices, (ii) introduce a very high degree of mechanization and automation that makes all processes replicable, fully measurable, standardized and automated, (iii) develop a coordinated control and management environment for autonomous multiplatform or tele-operated robots in environments with the aim of carrying out complex tasks in the presence of environmental and cultivation constraints, (iv) integrate AI-based algorithms as decision support system to improve quality production. The coordinated management of multiplatform systems still presents innumerable challenges that require a strongly multidisciplinary approach right from the design, development, and implementation phases. The methodology is based on (i) the development of models capable of describing the dynamics of the various platforms and their interactions, (ii) the integrated design of mechatronic systems able to respond to the needs of the context and to exploit the strength characteristics highlighted by the models, (iii) implementation and experimental tests performed to test the real effectiveness of the systems created, evaluate any weaknesses so as to proceed with a targeted development. To these aims, a fully automated laboratory for growing plants in vertical farming has been developed and tested. The living lab makes extensive use of sensors to determine the overall state of the structure, crops, and systems used. The possibility of having specific measurements for each element involved in the cultivation process makes it possible to evaluate the effects of each variable of interest and allows for the creation of a robust model of the system as a whole. The automation of the laboratory is completed with the use of robots to carry out all the necessary operations, from sowing to handling to harvesting. These systems work synergistically thanks to the knowledge of detailed models developed based on the information collected, which allows for deepening the knowledge of these types of crops and guarantees the possibility of tracing every action performed on each single plant. To this end, artificial intelligence algorithms have been developed to allow synergistic operation of all systems.

Keywords: automation, vertical farming, robot, artificial intelligence, vision, control

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Su-Hyun Jung, Young-Su Ryu, Yong-Jun Kim, Hyoung-Kyu Song

Abstract:

In this paper, a highly efficient coordinated multiple-point (CoMP) scheme for vehicular communication is proposed. The proposed scheme controls the transmit power and applies proper transmission scheme for the various situations. The proposed CoMP scheme provides comparable performance to the conventional dynamic cell selection (DCS) scheme. Moreover, this scheme provides improved power efficiency compared with the conventional joint transmission (JT) scheme. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve more enhanced performance with the high power efficiency and improve the cell capacity.

Keywords: CoMP, LTE-A, V2I, V2V, V2X.

Procedia PDF Downloads 583

Authors: Anita Puspawati

Abstract:

A failure in obtaining informed consent from patient occurs because there is not effective communication skill in doctors. Therefore, the language is very important in communication between doctor and patient. This study uses descriptive analysis method, that is a method used mainly in researching the status of a group of people, an object, a condition, a system of thought or a class of events in the present. The result of this study indicates that the communicative language between doctors and patients will increase the trust of patients to their doctors and accordingşy, patients will provide the informed consent voluntarily.

Keywords: communicative, language, doctor, patient

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: Iris Alkaher, Nurit Carmi

Abstract:

It is widely agreed among scientists that population growth (PG) is a major factor that drives the global environmental crisis. Many researchers recognize that explicitly addressing the impact of PG on the environment and human quality of life through education systems worldwide could play a significant role in improving understanding regarding the links between rapid PG and environmental degradation and changing perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the necessity to reduce the fertility rate. However, the issue of PG is still rarely included in schools' curricula, mainly because of its complexity and controversiality. This study aims to explore the perspectives of teachers with an academic background in environmental and sustainability education (ESEteachers) and teachers with no such background (non-ESE teachers) regarding PG as an environmental risk. The study also explores the teachers’ willingness to include PG in their teaching and identifies what predicts their inclusion of it. In this mixed-methods research study, data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. The findings portray a complex picture concerning the debate aboutPG as a major factor that drives the global environmental crisis in the Israeli context. Consistent with other countries, we found that the deep-rooted pronatalist culture in the Israeli society, as well as a robust national pronatalist agenda and policies, have a tremendous impact on the education system. Therefore, we found that an academic background in ESE had a limited impact on teachers' perceptions concerning PG as a problem and on their willingness to include it in their teaching and discuss its controversiality. Teachers' attitudes related to PG demonstrated social, cultural, and politically oriented disavowal justification regarding the negative impacts of rapid PG, identified in the literature as population-skepticism and population-fatalism. Specifically, factors such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Jewish anxiety of destruction, and the religious command to“be fruitful and multiply”influenced the perceptions of both ESE and non-ESE teachers. While these arguments are unique to the Israeli context, pronatalist policies are international. In accordance with the pronatalist policy, we also found that the absence of PG from both school curricula and the Israeli public discourse was reported by ESE and non-ESE teachers as major reasons for their disregarding PG in their teaching. Under these circumstances, the role of the education system to bring the population question to the front stage in Israel and elsewhere is more challenging. To encourage science and social studies teachers to incorporate the controversial issue of PG in their teaching and successfully confront dominant pronatalist cultures, they need strong and ongoing scaffolding and support. In accordance with scientists' agreement regarding the role of PG as a major factor that drives the global environmental crisis, we call on stakeholders and policymakers in the education system to bring the population debate into schools' curricula, the sooner, the better. And not only as part of human efforts to mitigate environmental degradation but also to use this controversial topic as a platform for shaping critical learners and responsible and active citizens who are tolerant of different people’s opinions.

Keywords: population growth, environmental and sustainability education, controversial environmental sustainability issues, pronatalism

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Md. Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan, Quazi Mahabubul Hasan, Md. Rifat Ullah

Abstract:

In this research, we did explore the effectiveness of the gaming environment in education and compared it with the traditional education system. We take several workshops in both learning environments. We measured student’s performance by providing a grading score (by professional academics) on their attitude in different criteria. We also collect data from survey questionnaires to understand student’s experiences towards education and study. Finally, we examine the impact of the different learning environments by applying statistical hypothesis tests, the T-test, and the ANOVA test.

Keywords: gamification, game-based learning, education, statistical analysis, human-computer interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Mohammad A. U. Khan, Tariq M. Khan, Yinan Kong

Abstract:

Fingerprint image enhancement is one of the most important step in an automatic fingerprint identification recognition (AFIS) system which directly affects the overall efficiency of AFIS. The conventional fingerprint enhancement like Gabor and Anisotropic filters do fill the gaps in ridge lines but they fail to tackle scar lines. To deal with this problem we are proposing a method for enhancing the ridges and valleys with scar so that true minutia points can be extracted with accuracy. Our results have shown an improved performance in terms of enhancement.

Keywords: fingerprint image enhancement, removing noise, coherence, enhanced diffusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 517

Authors: Suganiya Rama Rao, Yoon-Yen Yow, Thor-Seng Liew, Shyamala Ratnayeke

Abstract:

Invasive snails in the genus Pomacea have spread across Southeast Asia including Peninsular Malaysia. Apart from significant economic costs to wetland crops, very little is known about the snails’ effects on native species, and wetland function through their alteration of macrophyte communities. This study was conducted to establish diagnostic characteristics of Pomacea species in the Malaysian environment using genetic and morphological criteria. Snails were collected from eight localities in northern and central regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The mitochondrial COI gene of 52 adult snails was amplified and sequenced. Maximum likelihood analysis was used to analyse species identity and assess phylogenetic relationships among snails from different geographic locations. Shells of the two species were compared using geometric morphometric analysis and covariance analyses. Shell height accounted for most of the observed variation between P. canaliculata and P. maculata, with the latter possessing a smaller mean ratio of shell height: aperture height (p < 0.0001) and shell height to shell width (give p < 0.0001). Genomic and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of two monophyletic taxa, P. canaliculata and P. maculata, in Peninsular Malaysia samples. P. maculata co-occurred with P. canaliculata in 5 localities, but samples from 3 localities contained only P. canaliculata. This study is the first to confirm the presence of two of the most invasive species of Pomacea in Peninsular Malaysia using a genomic approach. P. canaliculata appears to be the more widespread species. Despite statistical differences, both quantitative and qualitative morphological characteristics demonstrate much interspecific overlap and intraspecific variability; thus morphology alone cannot reliably verify species identity. Molecular techniques for distinguishing between these two highly invasive Pomacea species are needed to understand their specific ecological niches and develop effective protocols for their management.

Keywords: Pomacea canaliculata, Pomacea maculata, invasive species, phylog enetic analysis, geometric morphometric analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Imad Khan, Imran Shafi, Sarmad Farooq

Abstract:

Large diameter pipes, barrels, tubes, and ducts are used in a variety of applications covering civil and defense-related technologies. This may include heating/cooling networks, sign poles, bracing, casing, and artillery and tank gun barrels. These large diameter assemblies require regular inspection and cleaning to increase their life and reduce replacement costs. This paper describes the design, development, and testing results of an efficient yet simplified, low maintenance mechanical design controlled with minimal essential electronics using an electric motor for a non-technical staff. The proposed solution provides a simplified user interface and an automated cleaning mechanism that requires a single user to optimally clean pipes and barrels in the range of 105 mm to 203 mm caliber. The proposed system employs linear motion of specially designed brush along the barrel using a chain of specific strength and a pulley anchor attached to both ends of the barrel. A specially designed and manufactured gearbox is coupled with an AC motor to allow movement of contact brush with high torque to allow efficient cleaning. A suitably powered AC motor is fixed to the front adapter mounted on the muzzle side whereas the rear adapter has a pulley-based anchor mounted towards the breach block in case of a gun barrel. A mix of soft nylon and hard copper bristles-based large surface brush is connected through a strong steel chain to motor and anchor pulley. The system is equipped with limit switches to auto switch the direction when one end is reached on its operation. The testing results based on carefully established performance indicators indicate the superiority of the proposed user-friendly cleaning mechanism vis-à-vis its life cycle cost.

Keywords: pipe cleaning mechanism, limiting switch, pipe cleaning robot, large pipes

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Sosina Adedayo O., Babyemi Olaniyi J.

Abstract:

The location, population, and distribution pattern of sheep are severe challenges to agribusiness investment and policy formulation in the livestock industry. There is a significant disconnect between farmers' needs and the policy framework towards ameliorating the sheep production constraints. Information on the population, production, and distribution pattern of sheep remains very scanty. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to elicit information from 180 purposively selected respondents from the study area comprised of Oluyole, Ona-ara, Akinyele, Egbeda, Ido and Ibarapa East LGA. The Global Positioning Systems (GPS) of the farmers' location (distribution), and average sheep herd size (Total Livestock Unit, TLU) (population) were recorded, taking the longitude and latitude of the locations in question. The recorded GPS data of the study area were transferred into the ARC-GIS. The ARC-GIS software processed the data using the ARC-GIS model 10.0. Sheep production and distribution (TLU) ranged from 4.1 (Oluyole) to 25.0 (Ibarapa East), with Oluyole, Akinyele, Ona-ara and Egbeda having TLU of 5, 7, 8 and 20, respectively. The herd sizes were classified as less than 8 (smallholders), 9-25 (medium), 26-50 (large), and above 50 (commercial). The majority (45%) of farmers were smallholders. The FR CP (%) ranged from 5.81±0.26 (cassava leaf) to 24.91±0.91 (Amaranthus spinosus), NDF (%) ranged from 22.38±4.43 (Amaranthus spinosus) to 67.96 ± 2.58 (Althemanthe dedentata) while ME ranged from 7.88±0.24 (Althemanthe dedentata) to 10.68±0.18 (cassava leaf). The smallholders’ sheep farmers were the majority, evenly distributed across rural areas due to the availability of abundant feed resources (crop residues, tree crops, shrubs, natural pastures, and feed ingredients) coupled with a large expanse of land in the study area. Most feed resources available were below sheep protein requirement level, hence supplementation is necessary for productivity. Bio-informatics can provide relevant information for sheep production for policy framework and intervention strategies.

Keywords: sheep enterprise, agribusiness investment, policy, bio-informatics, ecological zone

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Zehra Aybike Kılıç, Alpin Köknel Yener

Abstract:

Daylight is a powerful driver in terms of improving human health, enhancing productivity and creating sustainable solutions by minimizing energy demand. A proper daylighting system allows not only a pleasant and attractive visual and thermal environment, but also reduces lighting energy consumption and heating/cooling energy load with the optimization of aperture size, glazing type and solar control strategy, which are the major design parameters of daylighting system design. Particularly, in high-rise buildings where large openings that allow maximum daylight and view out are preferred, evaluation of daylight performance by considering the major parameters of the building envelope design becomes crucial in terms of ensuring occupants’ comfort and improving energy efficiency. Moreover, it is increasingly necessary to examine the daylighting design of high-rise residential buildings, considering the share of residential buildings in the construction sector, the duration of occupation and the changing space requirements. This study aims to identify a proper daylighting design solution considering window area, glazing type and solar control strategy for a high-residential building in terms of visual comfort and lighting energy efficiency. The dynamic simulations are carried out/conducted by DIVA for Rhino version 4.1.0.12. The results are evaluated with Daylight Autonomy (DA) to demonstrate daylight availability in the space and Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) to describe the visual comfort conditions related to glare. Furthermore, it is also analyzed that the lighting energy consumption occurred in each scenario to determine the optimum solution reducing lighting energy consumption by optimizing daylight performance. The results revealed that it is only possible that reduction in lighting energy consumption as well as providing visual comfort conditions in buildings with the proper daylighting design decision regarding glazing type, transparency ratio and solar control device.

Keywords: daylighting , glazing type, lighting energy efficiency, residential building, solar control strategy, visual comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Mitali Kedia, Parul Kapoor

Abstract:

Public Art is a tool with the power to enrich and enlighten any place; it has been accepted and welcomed effortlessly by many cultures around the World. In this paper, we discuss the implications Public Art has had on the society and how it has evolved over the years, and how in India, art in this aspect is still overlooked and treated as an accessory. Urban aesthetics are still substantially limited to the installation of deities, political figures, and so on. The paper also discusses various possibilities and opportunities on how Public Art can boost a society; it also suggests a framework that can be incorporated in the legal system of the country to make it a part of the city development process.

Keywords: public art, urban fabric, placemaking, community welfare, public art program, imageability

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Floriane Shala, Evangeline Wagner, Yichun Zhao

Abstract:

Background: Proper educational training and support are proven to be major components of EHR (Electronic Health Record) implementation and use. However, the majority of health providers are not sufficiently trained in EHR use, leading to adverse events, errors, and decreased quality of care. In response to this, students studying Health Information Science, Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine should all gain a thorough understanding of EHR use at different levels for different purposes. The design of a usable and safe EHR system that accommodates the needs and workflows of different users, user groups, and disciplines is required for EHR learning to be efficient and effective. Objectives: This project builds several artifacts which seek to address both the educational and usability aspects of an educational EHR. The artifacts proposed are models for and examples of such an EHR with a configurable UI to be learned by students who need a background in EHR use during their degrees. Methods: Review literature and gather professional opinions from domain experts on usability, the use of workflow patterns, UI configurability and design, and the educational aspect of EHR use. Conduct interviews in a semi-casual virtual setting with open discussion in order to gain a deeper understanding of the principal aspects of EHR use in educational settings. Select a specific task and user group to illustrate how the proposed solution will function based on the current research. Develop three artifacts based on the available research, professional opinions, and prior knowledge of the topic. The artifacts capture the user task and user’s interactions with the EHR for learning. The first generic model provides a general understanding of the EHR system process. The second model is a specific example of performing the task of MRI ordering with a configurable UI. The third artifact includes UI mock-ups showcasing the models in a practical and visual way. Significance: Due to the lack of educational EHRs, medical professionals do not receive sufficient EHR training. Implementing an educational EHR with a usable and configurable interface to suit the needs of different user groups and disciplines will help facilitate EHR learning and training and ultimately improve the quality of patient care.

Keywords: education, EHR, usability, configurable

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Ramatu I. Sha’aba, Mathias A. Chia, Abdullahi B. Alhassan, Yisa A. Gana, Ibrahim M. Gadzama

Abstract:

Globally, Diclofenac (DLC) and Ibuprofen (IBU) are the most prescribed drugs due to their antipyretic and analgesic properties. They are, however, highly toxic at elevated doses, with the involvement of an already described oxidative stress pathway. As a result, there is rising concern about the ecological fate of analgesics on non-target organisms such as Daphnia magna and Phytoplankton species. Phytoplankton is a crucial component of the aquatic ecosystem that serves as the primary producer at the base of the food chain. However, the increasing presence and levels of micropollutants such as these analgesics can disrupt their community structure, dynamics, and ecosystem functions. This study presents a comprehensive series of the physiology, antioxidant response, immobilization, and risk assessment of Diclofenac and Ibuprofen’s effects on Daphnia magna and the Phytoplankton community using a laboratory approach. The effect of DLC and IBU at 27.16 µg/L and 20.89 µg/L, respectively, for a single exposure and 22.39 µg/L for combined exposure of DLC and IBU for the experimental setup. The antioxidant response increased with increasing levels of stress. The highest stressor to the organism was 1000 µg/L of DLC and 10,000 µg/L of IBU. Peroxidase and glutathione -S-transferase activity was higher for Diclofenac + Ibuprofen. The study showed 60% and 70% immobilization of the organism at 1000 g L-1 of DLC and IBU. The two drugs and their combinations adversely impacted Phytoplankton biomass with increased exposure time. However, combining the drugs resulted in more significant adverse effects on physiological and pigment content parameters. The risk assessment calculation for the risk quotient and toxic unit of the analgesic reveals from this study was RQ Diclofenac = 8.41, TU Diclofenac = 3.68, and RQ Ibuprofen = 718.05 and TU Ibuprofen = 487.70. Hence, these findings demonstrate that the current exposure concentrations of Diclofenac and Ibuprofen can immobilize D. magna. This study shows the dangers of multiple drugs in the aquatic environment because their combinations could have additive effects on the structure and functions of Phytoplankton and are capable of immobilizing D. magna.

Keywords: algae, analgesic drug, daphnia magna, toxicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Ismail S. Bostanci, Ebru Akkaya

Abstract:

Microalgae-derived biodiesel, fertilizer or industrial chemicals' production with wastewater has great potential. Especially water from a municipal wastewater treatment plant is a very important nutrient source for biofuel production. Microalgae biomass production in open ponds system is lower cost culture systems. There are many hurdles for commercial algal biomass production in large scale. One of the important technical bottlenecks for microalgae production in open system is culture contamination. The algae culture contaminants can generally be described as invading organisms which could cause pond crash. These invading organisms can be competitors, parasites, and predators. Contamination is unavoidable in open systems. Potential contaminant organisms are already inoculated if wastewater is utilized for algal biomass cultivation. Especially, it is important to control contaminants to retain in acceptable level in order to reach true potential of algal biofuel production. There are several contamination management methods in algae industry, ranging from mechanical, chemical, biological and growth condition change applications. However, none of them are accepted as a suitable contamination control method. This experiment describes an innovative contamination control method, 'Recirculated Sedimentation Method', to manage contamination to avoid pond cash. The method can be used for the production of algal biofuel, fertilizer etc. and algal wastewater treatment. To evaluate the performance of the method on algal culture, an experiment was conducted for 90 days at a lab-scale raceway (60 L) reactor with the use of non-sterilized and non-filtered wastewater (secondary effluent and centrate of anaerobic digestion). The application of the method provided the following; removing contaminants (predators and diatoms) and other debris from reactor without discharging the culture (with microscopic evidence), increasing raceway tank’s suspended solids holding capacity (770 mg L-1), increasing ammonium removal rate (29.83 mg L-1 d-1), decreasing algal and microbial biofilm formation on inner walls of reactor, washing out generated nitrifier from reactor to prevent ammonium consumption.

Keywords: contamination control, microalgae culture contamination, pond crash, predator control

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Sirajdin Olagoke Adeshina, Haidi Ibrahim, Akeem Salawu

Abstract:

large lecture theatres cannot be covered by a single camera but rather by a multicamera setup because of their size, shape, and seating arrangements. Although, classroom capture is achievable through a single camera. Therefore, a design and implementation of a multicamera setup for a large lecture hall were considered. Researchers have shown emphasis on the impact of class attendance taken on the academic performance of students. However, the traditional method of carrying out this exercise is below standard, especially for large lecture theatres, because of the student population, the time required, sophistication, exhaustiveness, and manipulative influence. An automated large classroom attendance system is, therefore, imperative. The common approach in this system is face detection and recognition, where known student faces are captured and stored for recognition purposes. This approach will require constant face database updates due to constant changes in the facial features. Alternatively, face counting can be performed by cropping the localized faces on the video or image into a folder and then count them. This research aims to develop a face localization-based approach to detect student faces in classroom images captured using a multicamera setup. A selected Haar-like feature cascade face detector trained with an asymmetric goal to minimize the False Rejection Rate (FRR) relative to the False Acceptance Rate (FAR) was applied on Raspberry Pi 4B. A relationship between the two factors (FRR and FAR) was established using a constant (λ) as a trade-off between the two factors for automatic adjustment during training. An evaluation of the proposed approach and the conventional AdaBoost on classroom datasets shows an improvement of 8% TPR (output result of low FRR) and 7% minimization of the FRR. The average learning speed of the proposed approach was improved with 1.19s execution time per image compared to 2.38s of the improved AdaBoost. Consequently, the proposed approach achieved 97% TPR with an overhead constraint time of 22.9s compared to 46.7s of the improved Adaboost when evaluated on images obtained from a large lecture hall (DK5) USM.

Keywords: automatic attendance, face detection, haar-like cascade, manual attendance

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: O. A. Apampa, Y. A. Jimoh

Abstract:

The paper reports the investigation of Corn Cob Ash as a chemical stabilizing agent for laterite soils. Corn cob feedstock was obtained from Maya, a rural community in the derived savannah agro-ecological zone of South-Western Nigeria and burnt to ashes of pozzolanic quality. Reddish brown silty clayey sand material characterized as AASHTO A-2-6(3) lateritic material was obtained from a borrow pit in Abeokuta and subjected to strength characterization tests according to BS 1377: 2000. The soil was subsequently mixed with CCA in varying percentages of 0-7.5% at 1.5% intervals. The influence of CCA stabilized soil was determined for the Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, CBR and the unconfined compression strength. The tests were repeated on laterite cement-soil mixture in order to establish a basis for comparison. The result shows a similarity in the compaction characteristics of soil-cement and soil-CCA. With increasing addition of binder from 1.5% to 7.5%, Maximum Dry Density progressively declined while the OMC steadily increased. For the CBR, the maximum positive impact was observed at 1.5% CCA addition at a value of 85% compared to the control value of 65% for the cement stabilization, but declined steadily thereafter with increasing addition of CCA, while that of soil-cement continued to increase with increasing addition of cement beyond 1.5% though at a relatively slow rate. Similar behavior was observed in the UCS values for the soil-CCA mix, increasing from a control value of 0.4 MN/m2 to 1.0 MN/m2 at 1.5% CCA and declining thereafter, while that for soil-cement continued to increase with increasing cement addition, but at a slower rate. This paper demonstrates that CCA is effective for chemical stabilization of a typical Nigerian AASHTO A-2-6 lateritic soil at maximum stabilizer content limit of 1.5% and therefore recommends its use as a way of finding further application for agricultural waste products and achievement of environmental sustainability in line with the ideals of the millennium development goals because of the economic and technical feasibility of the processing of the cobs from corn.

Keywords: corn cob ash, pozzolan, cement, laterite, stabilizing agent, cation exchange capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Mohita Gangwar Sharma

Abstract:

Different factors are compelling manufacturers to move towards the phenomenon of servitization i.e. when firms go beyond giving support to the customers in operating the equipment. The challenges that are being faced in this transition by the manufacturing firms from being a product provider to a product- service provider are multipronged. Product-Service Systems (PSS) lies in between the pure-product and pure-service continuum. Through this study, we wish to understand the dimensions of ‘PSS-quality’. We draw upon the quality literature for both the product and services and through an expert survey for a specific transportation sector using analytical hierarchical process (AHP) derive a conceptual model that can be used as a comprehensive measurement tool for PSS offerings.

Keywords: servitisation, quality, product-service system, AHP

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Alan T. Sassler

Abstract:

Biofouling is a significant issue for ships, especially those based in warm water ports. Biofouling damages hull coatings, degrades platform hydrodynamics, blocks cooling water intakes, and returns, reduces platform range and speed, and increases fuel consumption. Although platforms are protected to some degree by antifouling paints, these paints are much less effective on stationary platforms, and problematic biofouling can occur on antifouling paint-protected stationary platforms in some environments in as little as a matter of weeks. Remediation hull cleaning operations are possible, but they are very expensive, sometimes result in damage to the vessel’s paint or hull and are generally not completely effective. Ultrasound with sufficient intensity focused on specific frequency ranges can be used to prevent the growth of biofouling organisms. The use of ultrasound to prevent biofouling isn't new, but systems to date have focused on protecting platforms by shaking the hull using internally mounted transducers similar to those used in ultrasonic cleaning machines. While potentially effective, this methodology doesn't scale well to large platforms, and there are significant costs associated with installing and maintaining these systems, which dwarf the initial purchase price. An alternative approach has been developed, which uses highly directional pier-mounted transducers to project high-intensity spread-spectrum ultrasonic energy into the water column focused near the surface. This focused energy has been shown to prevent biofouling at ranges of up to 50 meters from the source. Spreading the energy out over a multi-kilohertz band makes the system both more effective and more environmentally friendly. This system has been shown to be both effective and inexpensive in small-scale testing and is now being characterized on a larger scale in selected marinas. To date, test results have been collected in Florida marinas suggesting that this approach can be used to keep ensonified areas of thousands of square meters free from biofouling, although care must be taken to minimize shaded areas.

Keywords: biofouling, ultrasonic, environmentally friendly antifoulant, marine protection, antifouling

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Yutae Lee

Abstract:

This paper considers a discrete-time bulk-arrival bulkservice queueing system, where service capacity varies depending on the previous service time. By using the generating function technique and the supplementary variable method, we compute the distributions of the queue length at an arbitrary slot boundary and a departure time.

Keywords: discrete-time queue, bulk queue, variable service capacity, queue length distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 476

Authors: Theingi Shwe, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki, Juko Ito

Abstract:

The growing cities of the developing country are characterized by rapid growth and poor infrastructure management inviting and accelerating relative environmental problems. Even though the movements of the sustainability had already been developed around the world, it is still increasing in the developing countries to plant sustainable practices. Aligned with the sustainable development actions, many sustainable assessment tools are also developed to rate and evaluate the sustainability performances through the building to community level. Among them, CASBEE is developed by Japanese organizations and is recognized as one of the international well-known assessment tools. The main purpose of the study is to find out the potential of CASBEE tool reflecting sustainability city level performances in developing countries. The research framework was designed with three major phases: Quantitative Approach, Qualitative Approach and Evaluation Reflection. The first two approaches were based on the investigation of tool’s contents and indicators by means of three sustainable dimensions and sustainability categories. To know the reality and reflection on developing country, Pathein City from Myanmar was selected and evaluated by 2012 version of CASBEE for Cities. The evaluation practices went through assigned indicators and the evaluation outcome presents the performances of Pathein city’s environmental efficiency as a very good in current conditions. The results of this study indicate that the indicators of this tool have balance coverage among three dimensions of sustainability but it has not yet counted enough for some indicators like location, infrastructure and institution which are relative to society dimension. In the developing countries’ cities, the most critical issues on development such as affordable housing and heritage preservation which are already planted in Pathein City but the tool does not account for those issues. Moreover, in some of the indicators, the benchmark and the weighting coefficient are strongly linked to the system birth region. By means of this study, it can be stated that CASBEE for Cities would be potential for delivering sustainable city level development in developing country especially in Myanmar along with further inclusion of the indicators.

Keywords: assessment tool, CASBEE, developing country, Myanmar, Pathein city, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Raed KOUTA, José-Alcebiades-Ernesto HLUNGUANE, Eric Châtele

Abstract:

The search for and exploitation of new fossil energy resources is taking place in the context of the gradual depletion of existing deposits. Despite the adoption of international targets to combat global warming, the demand for fuels continues to grow, contradicting the movement towards an energy-efficient society. The increase in the share of offshore in global hydrocarbon production tends to compensate for the depletion of terrestrial reserves, thus constituting a major challenge for the players in the sector. Through the economic potential it represents, and the energy independence it provides, offshore exploitation is also a challenge for States such as Mozambique, which have large maritime areas and whose environmental wealth must be considered. The exploitation of new reserves on economically viable terms depends on available technologies. The development of deep and ultra-deep offshore requires significant research and development efforts. Progress has also been made in managing the multiple risks inherent in this activity. Our study proposes a reliability approach to develop products and processes designed to live at sea. Indeed, the context of an offshore platform requires highly reliable solutions to overcome the difficulties of access to the system for regular maintenance and quick repairs and which must resist deterioration and degradation processes. One of the characteristics of failures that we consider is the actual conditions of use that are considered 'extreme.' These conditions depend on time and the interactions between the different causes. These are the two factors that give the degradation process its dynamic character, hence the need to develop dynamic reliability models. Our work highlights mathematical models that can explicitly manage interactions between components and process variables. These models are accompanied by numerical resolution methods that help to structure a dynamic reliability approach in a physical and probabilistic context. The application developed makes it possible to evaluate the reliability, availability, and maintainability of a floating storage and unloading platform for liquefied natural gas production.

Keywords: dynamic reliability, offshore plateform, stochastic process, uncertainties

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: K. Echchakhaoui, E. Abdelmounim, J. Zbitou, H. Bennis, N. Ababssi, M. Latrach

Abstract:

In this paper a new design of a broadband microwave power limiter is presented and validated into simulation by using ADS software (Advanced Design System) from Agilent technologies. The final circuit is built on microstrip lines by using identical Zero Bias Schottky diodes. The power limiter is designed by Associating 3 stages Schottky diodes. The obtained simulation results permit to validate this circuit with a threshold input power level of 0 dBm until a maximum input power of 30 dBm.

Keywords: Limiter, microstrip, zero-biais, ADS

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Raheleh Farzanmanesh, Christopher J. Weston

Abstract:

Mangroves are forest ecosystems located in the inter-tidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines that provide many valuable economic and ecological benefits for millions of people, such as preventing coastal erosion, providing breeding, and feeding grounds, improving water quality, and supporting the well-being of local communities. In addition, mangroves capture and store high amounts of carbon in biomass and soils that play an important role in combating climate change. The decline in mangrove area has prompted government and private sector interest in mangrove conservation and restoration projects to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals, from reducing poverty to improving life on land. Mangrove aboveground biomass plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle, climate change mitigation and adaptation by reducing CO2 emissions. However, little information is available about the effectiveness of mangrove sustainable management on mangrove change area and aboveground biomass (AGB). Here, we proposed a method for mapping, modeling, and assessing mangrove area and AGB in two Global Environment Facility (GEF) blue forests projects based on Sentinel-2 Level 1C imagery during their conservation lifetime. The SVR regression model was used to estimate AGB in Tahiry Honko project in Madagascar and the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project (Abu Dhabi Emirates. The results showed that mangrove forests and AGB declined in the Tahiry Honko project, while in the Abu Dhabi project increased after the conservation initiative was established. The results provide important information on the impact of mangrove conservation activities and contribute to the development of remote sensing applications for mapping and assessing mangrove forests in blue carbon initiatives.

Keywords: blue carbon, mangrove forest, REDD+, aboveground biomass, Sentinel-2

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: David Holton, Michelle Dickinson, Giovanni Carta

Abstract:

The principle of geological disposal is to isolate higher-activity radioactive wastes deep inside a suitable rock formation to ensure that no harmful quantities of radioactivity reach the surface environment. To achieve this, wastes will be placed in an engineered underground containment facility – the geological disposal facility (GDF) – which will be designed so that natural and man-made barriers work together to minimise the escape of radioactivity. Internationally, various multi-barrier concepts have been developed for the disposal of higher-activity radioactive wastes. High-heat-generating wastes (HLW, spent fuel and Pu) provide a number of different technical challenges to those associated with the disposal of low-heat-generating waste. Thermal management of the disposal system must be taken into consideration in GDF design; temperature constraints might apply to the wasteform, container, buffer and host rock. Of these, the temperature limit placed on the buffer component of the engineered barrier system (EBS) can be the most constraining factor. The heat must therefore be managed such that the properties of the buffer are not compromised to the extent that it cannot deliver the required level of safety. The maximum temperature of a buffer surrounding a container at the centre of a fixed array of heat-generating sources, arises due to heat diffusing from neighbouring heat-generating wastes, incrementally contributing to the temperature of the EBS. A range of strategies can be employed for managing heat in a GDF, including the spatial arrangements or patterns of those containers; different geometrical configurations can influence the overall thermal density in a disposal facility (or area within a facility) and therefore the maximum buffer temperature. A semi-analytical thermal dimensioning tool and methodology have been applied at a generic stage to explore a range of strategies to manage the disposal of high-heat-generating waste. A number of examples, including different geometrical layouts and chequer-boarding, have been illustrated to demonstrate how these tools can be used to consider safety margins and inform strategic disposal options when faced with uncertainty, at a generic stage of the development of a GDF.

Keywords: buffer, geological disposal facility, high-heat-generating waste, spent fuel

Procedia PDF Downloads 285