Search results for: central and East European countries (CEEC)

Authors: M. Belén Prendes-Gero, Celestino González-Nicieza, M. Inmaculada Alvarez-Fernández

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Roof collapse is one of the problems with a higher frequency in most of the mines of all countries, even now. There are many reasons that may cause the roof to collapse, namely the mine stress activities in the mining process, the lack of vigilance and carelessness or the complexity of the geological structure and irregular operations. This work is the result of the analysis of one accident produced in the “Mary” coal exploitation located in northern Spain. In this accident, the roof of a crossroad of excavated galleries to exploit the “Morena” Layer, 700 m deep, collapsed. In the paper, the work done by the forensic team to determine the causes of the incident, its conclusions and recommendations are collected. Initially, the available documentation (geology, geotechnics, mining, etc.) and accident area were reviewed. After that, laboratory and on-site tests were carried out to characterize the behaviour of the rock materials and the support used (metal frames and shotcrete). With this information, different hypotheses of failure were simulated to find the one that best fits reality. For this work, the software of finite differences in three dimensions, FLAC 3D, was employed. The results of the study confirmed that the detachment was originated as a consequence of one sliding in the layer wall, due to the large roof span present in the place of the accident, and probably triggered as a consequence of the existence of a protection pillar insufficient. The results allowed to establish some corrective measures avoiding future risks. For example, the dimensions of the protection zones that must be remained unexploited and their interaction with the crossing areas between galleries, or the use of more adequate supports for these conditions, in which the significant deformations may discourage the use of rigid supports such as shotcrete. At last, a grid of seismic control was proposed as a predictive system. Its efficiency was tested along the investigation period employing three control equipment that detected new incidents (although smaller) in other similar areas of the mine. These new incidents show that the use of explosives produces vibrations which are a new risk factor to analyse in a next future.

Keywords: forensic analysis, hypothesis modelling, roof failure, seismic monitoring

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Authors: Cynthia Adlerstein

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Physical learning environment (PLE) has been considered, after family and educators, as the third teacher. There have been conflicting and converging viewpoints on the role of the physical dimensions of places to learn, in facilitating educational innovation and quality. Despite the different approaches, PLE has been widely recognized as a key factor in the quality of the learning experience , and in the levels of learning achievement in ECE . The conceptual frameworks of the field assume that PLE consists of a complex web of factors that shape the overall conditions for learning, and that much more interdisciplinary and complementary methodologies of research and development are required. Although the relevance of PLE attracts a broad international consensus, in Chile it remains under-researched and weakly regulated by public policy. Gaining deeper contextual understanding and more thoughtfully-designed recommendations require the use of innovative assessment tools that cross cultural and disciplinary boundaries to produce new hybrid approaches and improvements. When considering a PLE-based change process for ECE improvement, a central question is what dimensions, variables and indicators could allow a comprehensive assessment of PLE in Chilean kindergartens? Based on a grounded theory social justice inquiry, we adopted a mixed method design, that enabled a multivocal and interdisciplinary construction of data. By using in-depth interviews, discussion groups, questionnaires, and documental analysis, we elicited the PLE discourses of politicians, early childhood practitioners, experts in architectural design and ergonomics, ECE stakeholders, and 3 to 5 year olds. A constant comparison method enabled the construction of the dimensions, variables and indicators through which PLE assessment is possible. Subsequently, the instrument was applied in a sample of 125 early childhood classrooms, to test reliability (internal consistency) and validity (content and construct). As a result, an interdisciplinary and multivocal tool for assessing physical learning environments was constructed and validated, for Chilean kindergartens. The tool is structured upon 7 dimensions (wellbeing, flexible, empowerment, inclusiveness, symbolically meaningful, pedagogically intentioned, institutional management) 19 variables and 105 indicators that are assessed through observation and registration on a mobile app. The overall reliability of the instrument is .938 while the consistency of each dimension varies between .773 (inclusive) and .946 (symbolically meaningful). The validation process through expert opinion and factorial analysis (chi-square test) has shown that the dimensions of the assessment tool reflect the factors of physical learning environments. The constructed assessment tool for kindergartens highlights the significance of the physical environment in early childhood educational settings. The relevance of the instrument relies in its interdisciplinary approach to PLE and in its capability to guide innovative learning environments, based on educational habitability. Though further analysis are required for concurrent validation and standardization, the tool has been considered by practitioners and ECE stakeholders as an intuitive, accessible and remarkable instrument to arise awareness on PLE and on equitable distribution of learning opportunities.

Keywords: Chilean kindergartens, early childhood education, physical learning environment, third teacher

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Authors: Muhammad Asif Syed, Mirza Amir Baig

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Background: Pakistan is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries, posing a significant public health challenge for global polio eradication due to failure to interrupt polio transmission. Country specific seroprevalence studies help in the evaluation of immunization program performance, the susceptibility of population against polio virus and identification of existing level of immunity with factors that affect seroconversion of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). The objective of the study was to find out factors associated with seroconversion of the OPV among children 6-59 months in Pakistan. Methods: A Hospital based cross-sectional serosurvey was undertaken in May-June 2015 at District Mirpurkhas, Sindh-Pakistan. Total 180 children aged 6–59 months were selected by using systematic random sampling from Muhammad Medical College Hospital, Mirpurkhas. Demographic, vaccination history and risk factors information were collected from the parents/guardian. Blood sample was collected and tested for the detection of poliovirus IgG antibodies by using ELISA Kit. The IgG titer <10 IU/ml, 50 to <150 IU/ml and >150 IU/ml was defined as negative, weak positive and positive immunity respectively. Pearson Chi-square test was used to determine the difference in seroprevalence in univariate analysis. Results: A total of 180 subjects were enrolled mean age was 23 months (7 -59 months). Off these 160 (89%) children were well and 18 (10%) partially protected against polio virus. Two (1.1%) children had no protection against polio virus as they had <10 IU/ml poliovirus IgG antibodies titer. Both negative cases belong from the female gender, age group 12-23 months, urban area and BMI <50 percentile. There was a difference between normal and the wasting children; it did attain statistical significance (χ2= 35.5, p=0.00). The difference in seroconversion was also observed in relation to the gender (χ2=6.23, p=0.04), duration of breast feeding (χ2=18.6, p=0.04), history of diarrheal disease before polio vaccine administration (χ2=7.7, p=0.02), and stunting (χ2= 114, p=0.00). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that near 90% children achieve seroconversion of OPV and well protected against polio virus. There is an urgent need to focus on factors like duration of breast feeding, diarrheal diseases and malnutrition (acute and chronic) among the children as an immunization strategy.

Keywords: seroconversion, oral polio vaccine, Polio, Pakistan

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Authors: Birgul Hizlar, Sibel Karakaya

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Nowadays, consumers are more and more aware of the benefits beyond basic nutrition provided by food and food compounds. Between these, carotenoids have been demonstrated to exhibit multiple health benefits (for example, some types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, eye disorders, among others). However, carotenoid bioaccessibility and bioavailability is generally rather low due to their specific localization in plant tissue and lipophilic nature. This situation is worldwide issue, since both developed and developing countries have their interest and benefits in increasing the uptake of carotenoids from the human diet. Recently, a new class of foods designed to improve the bioaccessibility/bioavailability of orally administered bioactive compounds is introduced: excipient foods. Excipient foods are specially designed foods which are prepared depending on the physicochemical properties of target bioactive compounds and increasing the bioavailability or bioaccessibility of bioactive compound. In this study, effects of food matrix (greating, boiling and mashing) and different excipient foods (olive oil, lemon juice, whey curd and dried artichoke leaf powder) on bioaccessibility of β-carotene in carrot were investigated by means of simulating in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) digestion. β-carotene contents of grated, boiled and mashed (after boiling process) carrots were 79.28, 147.63 and 151.19 μg/g respectively. No significant differences among boiled and mashed samples indicated that mashing process had no effect on the release of β-carotene from the food matrix (p > 0.05). On the contrary, mashing causes significant increase in the β-carotene bioaccessibility (p < 0.05). The highest β-carotene content was found in the mashed carrots incorporated with olive oil and lemon juice (C2). However, no significant differences between that sample and C1 (mashed carrot with lemon juice, olive oil, dried artichoke leaf powder), C3 (mashed carrot with addition of olive oil, lemon juice, whey curd) and). Similarly, the highest β-carotene bioaccessibility (50.26%) was found mashed C3 sample (p < 0.05). The increase in the bioaccessibility was approximately 5 fold and 50 fold when compared to grated and mashed samples containing olive oil, lemon juice and whey curd. The results demonstrate that both, food matrix and excipient foods, are able to increase the bioaccessibility of β-carotene.

Keywords: bioaccessibility, carotenoids, carrot, β-carotene

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Authors: Chitresh Prasad, Arvind Ramesh, Aditya Virkar, Karan Dholkaria, Vinayak Malhotra

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Solid Propellant Rocket is a rocket that utilises a combination of a solid Oxidizer and a solid Fuel. Success in Solid Rocket Motor design and development depends significantly on knowledge of burning rate behaviour of the selected solid propellant under all motor operating conditions and design limit conditions. Most Solid Motor Rockets consist of the Main Engine, along with multiple Boosters that provide an additional thrust to the space-bound vehicle. Though widely used, they have been eclipsed by Liquid Propellant Rockets, because of their better performance characteristics. The addition of a catalyst such as Iron Oxide, on the other hand, can drastically enhance the performance of a Solid Rocket. This scientific investigation tries to emulate the working of a Solid Rocket using Sparklers and Energized Candles, with a central Energized Candle acting as the Main Engine and surrounding Sparklers acting as the Booster. The Energized Candle is made of Paraffin Wax, with Magnesium filings embedded in it’s wick. The Sparkler is made up of 45% Barium Nitrate, 35% Iron, 9% Aluminium, 10% Dextrin and the remaining composition consists of Boric Acid. The Magnesium in the Energized Candle, and the combination of Iron and Aluminium in the Sparkler, act as catalysts and enhance the burn rates of both materials. This combustion of Metallized Propellants has an influence over the regression rate of the subject candle. The experimental parameters explored here are Separation Distance, Systematically varying Configuration and Layout Symmetry. The major performance parameter under observation is the Regression Rate of the Energized Candle. The rate of regression is significantly affected by the orientation and configuration of the sparklers, which usually act as heat sources for the energized candle. The Overall Efficiency of any engine is factorised by the thermal and propulsive efficiencies. Numerous efforts have been made to improve one or the other. This investigation focuses on the Orientation of Rocket Motor Design to maximize their Overall Efficiency. The primary objective is to analyse the Flame Spread Rate variations of the energized candle, which resembles the solid rocket propellant used in the first stage of rocket operation thereby affecting the Specific Impulse values in a Rocket, which in turn have a deciding impact on their Time of Flight. Another objective of this research venture is to determine the effectiveness of the key controlling parameters explored. This investigation also emulates the exhaust gas interactions of the Solid Rocket through concurrent ignition of the Energized Candle and Sparklers, and their behaviour is analysed. Modern space programmes intend to explore the universe outside our solar system. To accomplish these goals, it is necessary to design a launch vehicle which is capable of providing incessant propulsion along with better efficiency for vast durations. The main motivation of this study is to enhance Rocket performance and their Overall Efficiency through better designing and optimization techniques, which will play a crucial role in this human conquest for knowledge.

Keywords: design modifications, improving overall efficiency, metallized combustion, regression rate variations

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Authors: Halil Bas, Unal Demiray, Sukru Dursun

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Water and ground water pollution at the most of the countries is important problem. Investigation of water pollution source must be carried out to save fresh water. Because fresh water sources are very limited and recent sources are not enough for increasing population of world. In this study, investigation was carried out on pollution factors effecting the quality of the groundwater in Çorum Stream Basin in Turkey. Effect of geological structure of the region and the interaction between the stream and groundwater was researched. For the investigation, stream and groundwater sampling were performed at rainy and dry seasons to see if there is a change on quality parameters. The results were evaluated by the computer programs and then graphics, distribution maps were prepared. Thus, degree of the quality and pollution were tried to understand. According to analysis results, because the results of streams and the ground waters are not so close to each other we can say that there is no interaction between the stream and the groundwater. As the irrigation water, the stream waters are generally in the range between C3S1 region and the ground waters are generally in the range between C3S1 and C4S2 regions according to US Salinity Laboratory Diagram. According to Wilcox diagram stream waters are generally good-permissible and ground waters are generally good permissible, doubtful to unsuitable and unsuitable type. Especially ground waters are doubtful to unsuitable and unsuitable types in dry season. It may be assumed that as the result of relative increase in concentration of salt minerals. Especially samples from groundwater wells bored close to gypsium bearing units have high hardness, electrical conductivity and salinity values. Thus for drinking and irrigation these waters are determined as unsuitable. As a result of these studies, it is understood that the groundwater especially was effected by the lithological contamination rather than the anthropogenic or the other types of pollution. Because the alluvium is covered by the silt and clay lithology it is not affected by the anthropogenic and the other foreign factors. The results of solid waste disposal site leachate indicate that this site would have a risk potential for pollution in the future. Although the parameters did not exceed the maximum dangerous values it does not mean that they will not be dangerous in the future, and this case must be taken into account.

Keywords: Çorum, environment, groundwater, hydrogeology, geology, pollution, quality, stream

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Authors: Carolyn Cameron

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Stop Food Waste Australia is working with the industry to co-design sector action plans to prevent and reduce food waste across the supply chain. We are a public-private partnership, funded in 2021 by the Australian national government under the 2017 National Food Waste Strategy. Our partnership has representatives from all levels of government, industry associations from farm to fork, and food rescue groups. Like many countries, Australia has adopted the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030. A seminal 2021 study, the National Food Waste Feasibility Report, developed a robust national baseline, illustrating hotspots in commodities and across the supply chain. This research found that the consumption stages – households, food service, and institutions - account for over half of all food waste, and 22% of food produced never leaves the farm gate. Importantly the study found it is feasible for Australia to meet SDG 12.3, but it will require unprecedented action by governments, industry, and the community. Sector Action Plans (Plan) are one of the four main initiatives of Stop Food Waste Australia, including a voluntary commitment, a coordinated food waste communications hub, and robust monitoring and reporting framework. These plans provide a systems-based approach to reducing food loss and waste while realising multiple benefits for supply chain partners and other collaborators. Each plan is being co-designed with the key stakeholders most able to directly control or influence the root cause(s) of food waste hotspots and to take action to reduce or eliminate food waste in their value chain.  The initiatives in the Plans are fit-for-purpose, reflecting current knowledge and recognising priorities may refocus over time. To date, sector action plans have been developed with the Food Rescue, Cold Chain, Bread and Bakery, and Dairy Sectors. Work is currently underway on Meat and Horticulture, and we are also developing supply-chain stage plans for food services and institutions. The study will provide an overview of Australia’s food waste baseline and challenges, the important role of sector action plans in reducing food waste, and case studies of implementation outcomes.

Keywords: co-design, horticulture, sector action plans, voluntary

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Authors: Dila Ram Bhandari

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Throughout the 20th century, new governments were created where identities such as ethnic, religious, linguistic, caste, communal, tribal, and others played a part in the development of constitutions and the legal system of victim and criminal justice. Acute issues with extremism, poverty, environmental degradation, cybercrimes, human rights violations, crime against, and victimization of both individuals and groups have recently plagued South Asian nations. Everyday massive number of crimes are steadfast, these frequent crimes have made the lives of common citizens restless. Crimes are one of the major threats to society and also for civilization. Crime is a bone of contention that can create a societal disturbance. The old-style crime solving practices are unable to live up to the requirement of existing crime situations. Crime analysis is one of the most important activities of the majority of intelligent and law enforcement organizations all over the world. The South Asia region lacks such a regional coordination mechanism, unlike central Asia of Asia Pacific regions, to facilitate criminal intelligence sharing and operational coordination related to organized crime, including illicit drug trafficking and money laundering. There have been numerous conversations in recent years about using data mining technology to combat crime and terrorism. The Data Detective program from Sentient as a software company, uses data mining techniques to support the police (Sentient, 2017). The goals of this internship are to test out several predictive model solutions and choose the most effective and promising one. First, extensive literature reviews on data mining, crime analysis, and crime data mining were conducted. Sentient offered a 7-year archive of crime statistics that were daily aggregated to produce a univariate dataset. Moreover, a daily incidence type aggregation was performed to produce a multivariate dataset. Each solution's forecast period lasted seven days. Statistical models and neural network models were the two main groups into which the experiments were split. For the crime data, neural networks fared better than statistical models. This study gives a general review of the applied statistics and neural network models. A detailed image of each model's performance on the available data and generalizability is provided by a comparative analysis of all the models on a comparable dataset. Obviously, the studies demonstrated that, in comparison to other models, Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) produced greater prediction. The crime records of 2005-2019 which was collected from Nepal Police headquarter and analysed by R programming. In conclusion, gated recurrent unit implementation could give benefit to police in predicting crime. Hence, time series analysis using GRU could be a prospective additional feature in Data Detective.

Keywords: time series analysis, forecasting, ARIMA, machine learning

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Authors: Wang Hong, Liu Chang Kui, Zhao Bing Jing, Hu Min

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Objection We observed the repairment effection of canine mandibular defect with meshy Ti6Al4V scaffold fabricated by electron beam melting (EBM) combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) encapsulated in chitosan hydrogel. Method Meshy titanium scaffolds were prepared by EBM of commercial Ti6Al4V power. The length of scaffolds was 24 mm, the width was 5 mm and height was 8mm. The pore size and porosity were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Chitosan /Bio-Oss hydrogel was prepared by chitosan, β- sodium glycerophosphate and Bio-Oss power. BMMSCs were harvested from canine iliac crests. BMMSCs were seeded in titanium scaffolds and encapsulated in Chitosan /Bio-Oss hydrogel. The validity of BMMSCs was evaluated by cell count kit-8 (CCK-8). The osteogenic differentiation ability was evaluated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and gene expression of OC, OPN and CoⅠ. Combination were performed by injecting BMMSCs/ Chitosan /Bio-Oss hydrogel into the meshy Ti6Al4V scaffolds and solidified. 24 mm long box-shaped bone defects were made at the mid-portion of mandible of adult beagles. The defects were randomly filled with BMMSCs/ Chitosan/Bio-Oss + titanium, Chitosan /Bio-Oss+titanium, titanium alone. Autogenous iliac crests graft as control group in 3 beagles. Radionuclide bone imaging was used to monitor the new bone tissue at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after surgery. CT examination was made on the surgery day and 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after surgery. The animals were sacrificed in 4, 12 and 24 weeks after surgery. The bone formation were evaluated by histology and micro-CT. Results: The pores of the scaffolds was interconnected, the pore size was about 1 mm, the average porosity was about 76%. The pore size of the hydrogel was 50-200μm and the average porosity was approximately 90%. The hydrogel were solidified under the condition of 37℃in 10 minutes. The validity and the osteogenic differentiation ability of BMSCs were not affected by titanium scaffolds and hydrogel. Radionuclide bone imaging shown an increasing tendency of the revascularization and bone regeneration was observed in all the groups at 2, 4, 8 weeks after operation, and there were no changes at 12weeks.The tendency was more obvious in the BMMSCs/ Chitosan/Bio-Oss +titanium group and autogenous group. CT, Micro-CT and histology shown that new bone formed increasingly with the time extend. There were more new bone regenerated in BMMSCs/ Chitosan /Bio-Oss + titanium group and autogenous group than the other two groups. At 24 weeks, the autogenous group was achieved bone union. The BMSCs/ Chitosan /Bio-Oss group was seen extensive new bone formed around the scaffolds and more new bone inside of the central pores of scaffolds than Chitosan /Bio-Oss + titanium group and titanium group. The difference was significantly. Conclusion: The titanium scaffolds fabricated by EBM had controlled porous structure, good bone conduction and biocompatibility. Chitosan /Bio-Oss hydrogel had injectable plasticity, thermosensitive property and good biocompatibility. The meshy Ti6Al4V scaffold produced by EBM combined BMSCs encapsulated in chitosan hydrogel had good capacity on mandibular bone defect repair.

Keywords: mandibular reconstruction, tissue engineering, electron beam melting, titanium alloy

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Authors: Mikiale Gebreslase Gebremariam, Chai Huaqi, Tesfay Gebretsdkan Gebremichael, Dawit Nega Bekele

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In recent years, brownfield redevelopment projects (BRPs) have contributed to the overarching paradigm of the United Nations 2030 agendas. In the present circumstance, most developed nations adopted BRPs, an efficacious urban policy tool. However, in developing and some advanced countries, BRPs are lacking due to limitations of awareness, policy tools, and financial capability for cleaning up brownfield sites. For example, the growth and development of Ethiopian cities were achieved at the cost of poor urban planning, including no community consultations and excessive urbanization for future growth. The demand for land resources is more and more urgent as the result of an intermigration to major cities and towns for socio-economic reasons and population growth. In the past, the development mode of spreading major cities has made horizontal urbanizations stretching outwards. Expansion in search of more land resources, while the outer cities are growing, the inner cities are polluted by environmental pollution. It is noteworthy that the rapid development of cities has not brought about an increase in people's happiness index. Thus, the proposed management framework for managing brownfields in Ethiopia as a lesson to the developing nation facing similar challenges and growth will add immense value in solving the problems and give insights into brownfield land utilization. Under the umbrella of the grey incidence decision-making model and with the consideration of multiple stakeholders and tight environmental and economic constraints, the proposed management framework integrates different criteria from economic, social, environmental, technical, and risk aspects into the grey incidence decision-making model and gives useful guidance to manage brownfields in Ethiopia. Furthermore, it will contribute to the future development of the social economy and the missions of the 2030 UN sustainable development goals.

Keywords: Brownfields, environmental sustainability, Ethiopia, grey-incidence decision-making, sustainable urban development

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Authors: Medina Adulyarat

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Like many other countries, Thailand is experiencing an increase in its proportion of older adults. However, the political, social, and religious climates of the various regions of Thailand are very diverse and the life experiences of older Thai citizens can vary greatly by region. For more than a decade, the southernmost provinces, namely Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, have experienced social and political unrest, often characterized by violence in the form of bombings and shootings, which has impacted the older adults residing in these regions. While, Muslims are considered a minority in Thailand, the majority of individuals in southernmost regions are Muslims, causing these regions to be different in terms of culture and beliefs. Using a phenomenological approach, this study examines older adults’ perceptions of successful aging within the context of violent social and political unrest. This research aims to 1) understand how older adults living in these areas perceive successful aging in relation to Rowe and Kahn’s successful ageing model, and 2) describe the experiences of older adults living in areas of violent social and political unrest. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with eight older adults living in the unrest area, composing of four males and four females aged between 55-75. Content analysis was used to investigate older adults’ perception of successful aging. Older adults living their life amidst the violence did not view the situation as a threat to their life for they viewed that they are not the targets of the unrest situation. Additionally, participants identified their religious beliefs and a strong sense of community belonging as coping strategies employed to deal with social and political unrest. Thus, according to them, the violence did not affect their perception of successful aging. While the participants’ perceptions of successful aging were generally consistent with aspects identified in the successful aging model proposed by Rowe and Kahn, a theme of “financial stability” emerged. The results can be divided into four interrelated themes, which are; 1) engaging with others; 2) religiosity; 3) financial stability; and 4) health. Understanding the older persons’ view of successful aging in vulnerable situations should add more depth and enhance the conceptualization of the successful aging concept.

Keywords: cultural gerontology, minority population, successful aging, unrest situation

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Authors: Hasan Taştan, Ayşen Ciravoğlu

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The rapid growth of the human population and the environmental degradation associated with increased consumption of resources raises concerns on sustainability. Social sustainability constitutes one of the three dimensions of sustainability together with environmental and economic dimensions. Even though there is not an agreement on what social sustainability consists of, it is a well known fact that it necessitates user participation. The fore, this study aims to observe and analyze the role of user participation on social sustainability. In this paper, the links between user participation and indicators of social sustainability have been searched. In order to achieve this, first of all a literature review on social sustainability has been done; accordingly, the information obtained from researches has been used in the evaluation of the projects conducted in the developing countries considering user participation. These examples are taken as role models with pros and cons for the development of the checklist for the evaluation of the case studies. Furthermore, a case study over the post earthquake residential settlements in Turkey have been conducted. The case study projects are selected considering different building scales (differing number of residential units), scale of the problem (post-earthquake settlements, rehabilitation of shanty dwellings) and the variety of users (differing socio-economic dimensions). Decisionmaking, design, building and usage processes of the selected projects and actors of these processes have been investigated in the context of social sustainability. The cases include: New Gourna Village by Hassan Fathy, Quinta Monroy dwelling units conducted in Chile by Alejandro Aravena and Beyköy and Beriköy projects in Turkey aiming to solve the problem of housing which have appeared after the earthquake happened in 1999 have been investigated. Results of the study possible links between social sustainability indicators and user participation and links between user participation and the peculiarities of place. Results are compared and discussed in order to find possible solutions to form social sustainability through user participation. Results show that social sustainability issues depend on communities' characteristics, socio-economic conditions and user profile but user participation has positive effects on some social sustainability indicators like user satisfaction, a sense of belonging and social stability.

Keywords: housing projects, residential areas, social sustainability, user participation

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Authors: Shuk Ting Kinnia Yau

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As China has become more and more influential in the global and geo-political arena, mutual understanding between Japan and China has also become a topic of paramount importance. There have always been tensions between the two countries, but unfortunately, each country tends to blame the other for fanning emotions. This research will investigate portrayals of China and the Chinese people in Japanese media such as newspapers, TV news, TV drama, and cinema over this period, focusing on media sources that have particularly wide viewership or readership. By doing so, it attempts to detect any general trends in the positive or negative character of such portrayals and to see if they correlate with the results of surveys of attitudes among the general population. To the degree that correlations may be found, the question arises as to whether the media portrayals are a reflection of societal attitudes towards the Chinese, on one hand, or may be playing a role in promoting such attitudes, on the other. The relationship here is, without doubt, more complex than a simple one-way relationship of cause and effect, but indications of some direction of causality may be suggested by trends in one occurring before or after the other. Evidence will also be sought of possible longer-term trends in media portrayals of China and the Chinese people in Japan during the post-2012 period, i.e., Abe Shinzo’s second term as prime minister, in comparison to earlier periods. Perceptions of Japan’s view of China and the Chinese, both inside and outside the scholarly world, tend to be oversimplified and are often incomprehensive. This research calls attention to the role played by the media in promoting or de-promoting Sino-Japanese relations. By analyzing the nature and background of images of China and the Chinese people presented in the Japanese media, especially under the new Abe Regime, this research seeks to promote a more balanced and comprehensive understanding of attitudes in Japanese society towards its gigantic neighbor. Scholars have seen the increasingly fragile Sino-Japanese relationship as inseparable from the real-world political conflicts that have become more frequent in recent years and have sought to draw a correlation between the two. The influence of the media, however, remains a mostly under-explored domain in the academic world. Against this background, this research aims to provide an enriched scholarly understanding of Japan’s perception of China by investigating to what extent such perception can be seen to be affected by subjective or selective forms of presentation of China found in the Japanese media, or vice versa.

Keywords: Abe Shinzo, China, Japan, media

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Authors: M. Testa, L. Peotta, S. Giusiano, B. Lazzolino, U. Manera, A. Canosa, M. Grassano, F. Palumbo, A. Bombaci, S. Cabras, F. Di Pede, L. Solero, E. Matteoni, C. Moglia, A. Calvo, A. Chio

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of adulthood, which primarily affects the central nervous system and is characterized by progressive bilateral degeneration of motor neurons. The degeneration processes in ALS extend far beyond the neurons of the motor system, and affects cognition, behaviour and language. To outline the prevalence of language deficits in an ALS cohort and explore their profile along with demographic and neuropsychological data. A full neuropsychological battery and language assessment was administered to 56 ALS patients. Neuropsychological assessment included tests of executive functioning, verbal fluency, social cognition and memory. Language was assessed using tests for verbal comprehension, production and pragmatics. Patients were cognitively classified following the Revised Consensus Criteria and divided in three groups showing different levels of language deficits: group 1 - no language deficit; group 2 - one language deficit; group 3 - two or more language deficits. Chi-square for independence and non-parametric measures to compare groups were applied. Nearly half of ALS-CN patients (48%) reported one language test under the clinical cut-off, and only 13% of patents classified as ALS-CI showed no language deficits, while the rest 87% of ALS-CI reported two or more language deficits. ALS-BI and ALS-CBI cases all reported two or more language deficits. Deficits in production and in comprehension appeared more frequent in ALS-CI patients (p=0.011, p=0.003 respectively), with a higher percentage of comprehension deficits (83%). Nearly all ALS-CI reported at least one deficit in pragmatic abilities (96%) and all ALS-BI and ALS-CBI patients showed pragmatic deficits. Males showed higher percentage of pragmatic deficits (97%, p=0.007). No significant differences in language deficits have been found between bulbar and spinal onset. Months from onset and level of impairment at testing (ALS-FRS total score) were not significantly different between levels and type of language impairment. Age and education were significantly higher for cases showing no deficits in comprehension and pragmatics and in the group showing no language deficits. Comparing performances at neuropsychological tests among the three levels of language deficits, no significant differences in neuropsychological performances were found between group 1 and 2; compared to group 1, group 3 appeared to decay specifically on executive testing, verbal/visuospatial learning, and social cognition. Compared to group 2, group 3 showed worse performances specifically in tests of working memory and attention. Language deficits have found to be spread in our sample, encompassing verbal comprehension, production and pragmatics. Our study reveals that also cognitive intact patients (ALS-CN) showed at least one language deficit in 48% of cases. Pragmatic domain is the most compromised (84% of the total sample), present in nearly all ALS-CI (96%), likely due to the influence of executive impairment. Lower age and higher education seem to preserve comprehension, pragmatics and presence of language deficits. Finally, executive functions, verbal/visuospatial learning and social cognition differentiate the group with no language deficits from the group with a clinical language impairment (group 3), while attention and working memory differentiate the group with one language deficit from the clinical impaired group.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, language assessment, neuropsychological assessment, language deficit

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Authors: Janani Selvaraj, M. Prashanthi Devi, P. B. Harathi

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Epidemiologic studies conducted over several decades have provided evidence to suggest that long-term exposure to elevated ambient levels of particulate air pollution is associated with increased mortality. Air quality risk management is significant in developing countries and it highlights the need to understand the role of ecologic covariates in the association between air pollution and mortality. Several new methods show promise in exploring the geographical distribution of disease and the identification of high risk areas using epidemiological maps. However, the addition of the temporal attribute would further give us an in depth idea of the disease burden with respect to forecasting measures. In recent years, new methods developed in the reanalysis were useful for exploring the spatial structure of the data and the impact of spatial autocorrelation on estimates of risk associated with exposure to air pollution. Based on this, our present study aims to explore the spatial and temporal distribution of the lung cancer cases in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in relation to air pollution risk areas. A spatio temporal moving average method was computed using the CrimeStat software and visualized in ArcGIS 10.1 to document the spatio temporal movement of the disease in the study region. The random walk analysis performed showed the progress of the peak cancer incidences in the intersection regions of the Coimbatore North and South taluks that include major commercial and residential regions like Gandhipuram, Peelamedu, Ganapathy, etc. Our study shows evidence that daily exposure to high air pollutant concentration zones may lead to the risk of lung cancer. The observations from the present study will be useful in delineating high risk zones of environmental exposure that contribute to the increase of cancer among daily commuters. Through our study we suggest that spatially resolved exposure models in relevant time frames will produce higher risks zones rather than solely on statistical theory about the impact of measurement error and the empirical findings.

Keywords: air pollution, cancer, spatio-temporal analysis, India

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Authors: Eteri Kharaishvili

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Introduction. The paper analyzes the main indicators of export and import of Georgian agri-food products; identifies positive and negative trends under the pandemic; based on the revealed problemssubstantiates the need formodernization ofin agri-food sector. It is argued that low production and productivity rates of food products negatively impact achieving the optimal export-to-import ratio; therefore, it leads toincreaseddependence on other countries andreduces the level of food security. Research objectives. The objective of the research is to identify the key challenges based on the analysis of export-import indicators of Georgian food products during the pandemic period and develop recommendations on the possibilities of post-pandemic perspectives. Research methods. Various theoretical and methodological research tools are used in the paper; in particular, a desk research is carried out on the research topic; endogenous and exogenous variables affecting export and import are determined through factor analysis; SWOT and PESTEL analysis are used to identify development opportunities; selection and groupingof data, identification of similarities and differences is carried outby using analysis, synthesis, sampling, induction and other methods; a qualitative study is conducted based on a survey of agri-food experts and exporters for clarifying the factors that impede export-import flows. Contributions. The factors that impede the export of Georgian agri-food products in the short run under COVID-19 pandemic are identified. These are: reduced income of farmers, delays in the supply of raw materials and supplies to the agri-food sectorfrom the neighboring industries, as well as in harvesting, processing, marketing, transportation, and other sectors; increased indirect costs, etc. The factors that impede the export in the long run areas follows loss of public confidence in the industry, risk of losing positions in traditional markets, etc. Conclusions are made on the problems in the field of export and import of Georgian agri-food products in terms of the pandemic; development opportunities are evaluated based on the analysis of the agri-food sector potential. Recommendations on the development opportunities for export and import of Georgian agri-food products in the post-pandemic period are proposed.

Keywords: agri-food products, export, and import, pandemic period, hindering factor, development potential

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Authors: N. Kashif, M. K. Naseer

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This is an undeniable fact that parents are the very first role model for their children and children are the silent observers and followers of their parents. The environment they would be provided will leave either positive or negative lasting impact on their physical and mental behavior and abilities to grow, progress and conquer. This paper focuses on the observation particularly in South Asian countries where females have been facing problems in accessing education and getting financially independent or stable. This paper emphasizes on a survey conducted in rural areas of Punjab State in Pakistan. It explains how the parents’ educational background, financial status, conservative and interdependent accommodation style influence a prominent inequality of giving their female child right to study and get empowered. The forces behind this gender discrimination are not limited to parents’ life style impact but also include some major social problems like distant schools, gender-based harassment, and threat, insecurities, employment opportunities, so on. As a grass root level solution, it is proposed to develop an institution which collects data regarding child birth in their region and can contact the parent when their child is ready to start school. Building up trust based relationship with parents is the most crucial and significant factor. Secondly, celebrities and public figures can play an extraordinary role in running a campaign to advocate and encourage people living in rural areas, villages and small towns. All possible solutions can never be implemented without the support of the state government. Therefore, this paper invites more thoughtful actions, properly planned strategies, initiators to take the lead and make a platform for those who are underprivileged and deprived of their basic rights. Any country, where female constitute 49% of its entire population can never progress without promoting female empowerment and their right to compulsory education, and it is never late or impossible to admit the facts and practically start a flexible solution- oriented approach.

Keywords: employment opportunities, female empowerment, gender based harassment, gender discrimination, inequality, parents' life style impact

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Authors: Ruth Goldschmidt, Vyacheslav Kalchenko, Lilah Agemy, Rachel Elmoalem, Avigdor Scherz

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Vascular Targeted Photodynamic therapy (VTP) is a new modality for selective cancer treatment that leads to the complete tumor ablation. A photosensitizer, a bacteriochlorophyll derivative in our case, is first administered to the patient and followed by the illumination of the tumor area, by a near-IR laser for its photoactivation. The photoactivated drug releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the circulation, which reacts with blood cells and the endothelium leading to the occlusion of the blood vasculature. If the blood vessels are only partially closed, the tumor may recover, and cancer cells could survive. On the other hand, excessive treatment may lead to toxicity of healthy tissues nearby. Simultaneous VTP monitoring and image processing independent of the photoexcitation laser has not yet been reported, to our knowledge. Here we present a method for blood flow monitoring, using a real-time laser speckle imaging (RTLSI) in the tumor during VTP. We have synthesized over the years a library of bacteriochlorophyll derivatives, among them WST11 and STL-6014. Both are water soluble derivatives that are retained in the blood vasculature through their partial binding to HSA. WST11 has been approved in Mexico for VTP treatment of prostate cancer at a certain drug dose, and time/intensity of illumination. Application to other bacteriochlorophyll derivatives or other cancers may require different treatment parameters (such as light/drug administration). VTP parameters for STL-6014 are still under study. This new derivative mainly differs from WST11 by its lack of the central Palladium, and its conjugation to an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence. RGD is a tumor-specific ligand that is used for targeting the necrotic tumor domains through its affinity to αVβ3 integrin receptors. This enables the study of cell-targeted VTP. We developed a special RTLSI module, based on Labview software environment for data processing. The new module enables to acquire raw laser speckle images and calculate the values of the laser temporal statistics of time-integrated speckles in real time, without additional off-line processing. Using RTLSI, we could monitor the tumor’s blood flow following VTP in a CT26 colon carcinoma ear model. VTP with WST11 induced an immediate slow down of the blood flow within the tumor and a complete final flow arrest, after some sporadic reperfusions. If the irradiation continued further, the blood flow stopped also in the blood vessels of the surrounding healthy tissue. This emphasizes the significance of light dose control. Using our RTLSI system, we could prevent any additional healthy tissue damage by controlling the illumination time and restrict blood flow arrest within the tumor only. In addition, we found that VTP with STL-6014 was the most effective when the photoactivation was conducted 4h post-injection, in terms of tumor ablation success in-vivo and blood vessel flow arrest. In conclusion, RTSLI application should allow to optimize VTP efficacy vs. toxicity in both the preclinical and clinical arenas.

Keywords: blood vessel occlusion, cancer treatment, photodynamic therapy, real time imaging

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Authors: Daniel Muwooya

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This paper analyses economic factors that have affected the competitiveness of petroleum refinery and petrochemical projects in sub-Saharan Africa in the past and continue to plague greenfield projects today. Traditional factors like plant sizing and complexity, low-capacity utilization, changing regulatory environment, and tighter product specifications have been important in the past. Additional factors include the development of excess refinery capacity in Asia and the growth of renewable sources of energy – especially for transportation. These factors create both challenges and opportunities for the development of greenfield refineries and petrochemical projects in areas of increased demand growth and new low-cost crude oil production – like sub-Saharan Africa. This paper evaluates the strategies available to project developers and host countries to address contemporary issues of energy transition and the apparent reduction of funds available for greenfield oil and gas projects. The paper also evaluates the structuring of greenfield refinery and petrochemical projects for limited recourse project finance bankability. The methodology of this paper includes analysis of current industry data, conference proceedings, academic papers, and academic books on the subjects of petroleum refinery economics, refinery financing, refinery operations, and project finance generally and specifically in the oil and gas industry; evaluation of expert opinions from journal articles; working papers from international bodies like the World Bank and the International Energy Agency; and experience from playing an active role in the development and financing of US$ 10 Billion greenfield oil development project in Uganda. The paper also applies the discounted cash flow modelling to illustrate the circumstances of an inland greenfield refinery project in Uganda. Greenfield refinery and petrochemical projects are still necessary in sub-Saharan Africa to, among other aspirations, support the transition from traditional sources of energy like biomass to such modern forms as liquefied petroleum gas. Project developers and host governments will be required to structure projects that support global climate change goals without occasioning undue delays to project execution.

Keywords: financing, refinery and petrochemical economics, Africa, project finance

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Usman Dahiru, Faisal Saleem, Kui Zhang, Adam Harvey

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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are atmospheric contaminants predominantly derived from petroleum spills, solvent usage, agricultural processes, automobile, and chemical processing industries, which can be detrimental to the environment and human health. Environmental problems such as the formation of photochemical smog, organic aerosols, and global warming are associated with VOC emissions. Research showed a clear relationship between VOC emissions and cancer. In recent years, stricter emission regulations, especially in industrialized countries, have been put in place around the world to restrict VOC emissions. Non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) are a promising technology for reducing VOC emissions by converting them into less toxic/environmentally friendly species. The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is of interest due to its flexibility, moderate capital cost, and ease of operation under ambient conditions. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor has been developed for the decomposition of cyclohexane (as a VOC model compound) using nitrogen, dry, and humidified air carrier gases. The effect of specific input energy (1.2-3.0 kJ/L), residence time (1.2-2.3 s) and concentration (220-520 ppm) were investigated. It was demonstrated that the removal efficiency of cyclohexane increased with increasing plasma power and residence time. The removal of cyclohexane decreased with increasing cyclohexane inlet concentration at fixed plasma power and residence time. The decomposition products included H₂, CO₂, H₂O, lower hydrocarbons (C₁-C₅) and solid residue. The highest removal efficiency (98.2%) was observed at specific input energy of 3.0 kJ/L and a residence time of 2.3 s in humidified air plasma. The effect of humidity was investigated to determine whether it could reduce the formation of solid residue in the DBD reactor. It was observed that the solid residue completely disappeared in humidified air plasma. Furthermore, the presence of OH radicals due to humidification not only increased the removal efficiency of cyclohexane but also improves product selectivity. This work demonstrates that cyclohexane can be converted to smaller molecules by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) non-thermal plasma reactor by varying plasma power (SIE), residence time, reactor configuration, and carrier gas.

Keywords: cyclohexane, dielectric barrier discharge reactor, non-thermal plasma, removal efficiency

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Authors: A. Dashti, M. Eskandari, L. Farahmand, P. Parvin, A. Jafargholi

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Breast Cancer is one of the most considerable diseases in the United States and other countries and is the second leading cause of death in women. Common breast cancer treatments would lead to adverse side effects such as loss of hair, nausea, and weakness. These complications arise because these cancer treatments damage some healthy cells while eliminating the cancer cells. In an effort to address these complications, laser radiation was utilized and tested as a targeted cancer treatment for breast cancer. In this regard, tissue engineering approaches are being employed by using an electrospun scaffold in order to facilitate the growth of breast cancer cells. Polycaprolacton (PCL) was used as a material for scaffold fabricating because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and supporting cell growth. The specific breast cancer cells have the ability to create a three-dimensional cell cluster due to the spontaneous accumulation of cells in the porosity of the scaffold under some specific conditions. Therefore, we are looking for a higher density of porosity and larger pore size. Fibers showed uniform diameter distribution and final scaffold had optimum characteristics with approximately 40% porosity. The images were taken by SEM and the density and the size of the porosity were determined with the Image. After scaffold preparation, it has cross-linked by glutaraldehyde. Then, it has been washed with glycine and phosphate buffer saline (PBS), in order to neutralize the residual glutaraldehyde. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromidefor (MTT) results have represented approximately 91.13% viability of the scaffolds for cancer cells. In order to create a cluster, Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7, breast cancer cell line) and Michigan Cancer Foundation-10A (MCF-10A, human mammary epithelial cell line) cells were cultured on the scaffold in 24 well plate for five days. Then, we have exposed the cluster to the laser diode 808 nm radiation to investigate the effect of laser on the tumor with different power and time. Under the same conditions, cancer cells lost their viability more than the healthy ones. In conclusion, laser therapy is a viable method to destroy the target cells and has a minimum effect on the healthy tissues and cells and it can improve the other method of cancer treatments limitations.

Keywords: breast cancer, electrospun scaffold, polycaprolacton, laser diode, cancer treatment

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Authors: K. V. Venugopalan

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Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been accepted as the engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development. The major advantage of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. The labour intensity of the MSME sector is much higher than that of the large enterprises. The MSMEs constitute over 90% of total enterprises in most of the economies and are credited with generating the highest rates of employment growth and account for a major share of industrial production and exports. Kerala is a small state in India with the limited land area with high potential in educated human resources need micro, small and medium enterprises for development. Kerala has the highest Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) in India and the highest Human Development Index (HDI) at par with the developed countries SME play an important role in alleviating poverty and contribute significantly towards the growth of developing economies. Financial institutions can play a vital role for the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises in Kerala. The study entitled “Financial Institutions and its role in the promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kerala “examine the progress of MSME in Kerala and India and also the role of financial institutions and the problems faced by entrepreneurs for getting advances with reference to ‘Kerala Financial Corporation’-an agency set up by the government for promoting small and medium enterprises in the state. This study is based on both secondary and primary data. Primary data for the study was collected from those entrepreneurs who availed advances from financial institutions. The secondary data include the investment made, goods and services provided, the employment generated and the number of units registered in MSME sector for the last 10 years in Kerala. The study concluded that financial institutions providing finance with simple procedures and charging smaller interest rates will increase the number of MSME's and also contribute gross state domestic product and reduce the unemployment problem and poverty in the economy.

Keywords: gross state domestic product, human development index, micro, small and medium enterprises

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Authors: Rinku Dhanker, Suman Chaudhary, Tanvi Bhatia, Sneh Goyal

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Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), being a rich source of organic materials, can be used for agricultural applications as an important source of nutrients for soil and plants. This is also an alternative beneficial management practice for MSW generated in developing countries. In the present study, MSW treated soil samples from last four to six years at farmer’s field in Rohtak and Gurgaon states (Haryana, India) were collected. The samples were analyzed for all-important agricultural parameters and compared with the control untreated soil samples. The treated soil at farmer’s field showed increase in total N by 48 to 68%, P by 45.7 to 51.3%, and K by 60 to 67% compared to untreated soil samples. Application of sewage sludge at different sites led to increase in microbial biomass C by 60 to 68% compared to untreated soil. There was significant increase in total Cu, Cr, Ni, Fe, Pb, and Zn in all sewage sludge amended soil samples; however, concentration of all the metals were still below the current permitted (EU) limits. To study the adverse effect of heavy metals accumulation on various soil microbial activities, the sewage sludge samples (from wastewater treatment plant at Gurgaon) were artificially contaminated with heavy metal concentration above the EU limits. They were then applied to soil samples with different rates (0.5 to 4.0%) and incubated for 90 days under laboratory conditions. The samples were drawn at different intervals and analyzed for various parameters like pH, EC, total N, P, K, microbial biomass C, carbon mineralization, and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) exactable heavy metals. The results were compared to the uncontaminated sewage sludge. The increasing level of sewage sludge from 0.5 to 4% led to build of organic C and total N, P and K content at the early stages of incubation. But, organic C was decreased after 90 days because of decomposition of organic matter. Biomass production was significantly increased in both contaminated and uncontaminated sewage soil samples, but also led to slight increases in metal accumulation and their bioavailability in soil. The maximum metal concentrations were found in treatment with 4% of contaminated sewage sludge amendment.

Keywords: heavy metal, municipal sewage sludge, sustainable agriculture, soil fertility and quality

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Authors: F. Moghtaderi, M. Burke, J. Troelsen

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There has been a significant decline in active travel as well as the massive increase use of car-dependent travel mode in many countries during past two decades. Evidential risks for people’s physical and mental health problems are followed by this increased use of motorized travel mode. These problems range from overweight and obesity to increasing air pollution. In response to these rising concerns, local councils and other interested organizations around the world have introduced a variety of initiatives regarding reduce the dominance of cars for the daily journeys. However, the nature of these kinds of interventions, which related to the human behavior, make lots of complexities. People’s travel behavior and changing this behavior, has two different aspects. People’s attitudes and perceptions toward the sustainable and healthy modes of travel, and motorized travel modes (especially private car use) is one these two aspects. The other one related to people’s behavior change processes. There are no comprehensive model in order to guide policy interventions to increase the level of succeed of such interventions. A comprehensive theoretical framework is required in accordance to facilitate and guide the processes of data collection and analysis to achieve the best possible guidelines for policy makers. Regarding this gaps in the travel behavior change research, this paper attempted to identify and suggest a multidimensional framework in order to facilitate planning interventions. A structured mixed-method is suggested regarding the expand the scope and improve the analytic power of the result according to the complexity of human behavior. In order to recognize people’s attitudes, a theory with the focus on people’s attitudes towards a particular travel behavior was needed. The literature around the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was the most useful, and had been proven to be a good predictor of behavior change. Another aspect of the research, related to the people’s decision-making process regarding explore guidelines for the further interventions. Therefore, a theory was needed to facilitate and direct the interventions’ design. The concept of the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) was used regarding reach a set of useful guidelines for the further interventions with the aim to increase active travel and sustainable modes of travel. Consequently, a combination of these two theories (TTM and TPB) had presented as an appropriate concept to identify and design implemented travel behavior change interventions.

Keywords: behavior change theories, theoretical framework, travel behavior change interventions, urban research

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Authors: Rhea Khosla, Victoria Tzortziou-Brown

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Introduction: Adolescent SRH has been neglected since the start of the millennium. Adolescents comprise 16% of the global population, with the largest proportion living in Asia (650 million). By late adolescence, individuals in these regions are likely to become sexually active, and thus they must understand their SRH rights. Many lack knowledge of SRH, using unreliable sources for such information. Sex education is necessary to standardize and inform sexual knowledge, which empowers adolescents to make informed SRH decisions. School is an appropriate environment for this, however, SRH education requires effective policy to enforce. Nonetheless, this issue remains of low political priority in Asia and Africa. Current literature on sex education policy in schools in these regions is scarce and tends to have broad aims. Thus, a scoping review was necessary. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in February 2023 using six databases, including grey literature databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Global Index Medicus), returning a total of 1537 unique articles. After screening titles, abstracts and full text, 17 articles remained. References of included articles were additionally searched, producing a further 7 articles, which then underwent thematic analysis Results: Most countries in Africa and Asia did not have studies on this topic. Studies derived data from interviews with key stakeholders and quantitative methods quantified questionnaire responses. Barriers were: policy/curriculum issues, societal opinions, teaching discomfort, and lack of educator training. Limitations were insufficient timing, inconsistent implementation, insufficient hours dedicated to teaching, education received late into schooling, and discrepancies between teachers, schools, and students about whether policies were being implemented. Discussion: Based on the existing limited evidence, a cultural shift to reduce stigma seems necessary, alongside teacher and student involvement in policy formulation with effective implementation monitoring and educator training.

Keywords: adolescent, Africa, Asia, education, sexual and reproductive health, policy

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Authors: Yu-Mei Hsueh, Cheng-Shiuan Tsai, Chao-Yuan Huang

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Prostate Cancer (PC) is a malignant tumor originated in prostate and is a second common male’s cancer in the world. Incidence of PC in Asia countries, have still been rising over the past few decades. As an antioxidant, selenium can slow down prostate cancer tumor progression, but the association between plasma selenium levels and risk of aggressive prostate cancer may be modified by different genotype of selenoprotein. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between plasma selenium, polymorphism of selenoprotein, urinaty total arsenic, and prostate cancer. Two hundred ninety five pathologically-confirmed cases of PC and 295 cancer-free controls were individually matched to case subjects by age (± 5 years) were recruited from Department of Urology of National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital and Taipei Medical University Hospital. Personal interview and biospeciment of urine and blood collection from participants were conducted by well-trained interviewers after participants’ informed consent was obtained. Plasma selenium was measured by an inductively coupled plasma mass. Urinary arsenic concentration was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography-linked hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry. The polymorphism of SEPP1rs3797310 and SEP15 rs5859 were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The higher plasma selenium was the lower OR of PC with a dose-response relationship. Prostate cancer patients with high plasma selenium had low tumor stage and grade. Participants carried SEPP1rs3797310 CT+TT genotype compared to those with CC genotype had a lower OR of PC in crude model; then this relationship was disappeared after confounder was adjusted. Prostate cancer patients with high urinary total arsenic concentration had high tumor stage and grade. Urinary total arsenic concentration was significantly positively related with plasma selenium and prostate specific antigen concentration. Participants with lower plasma selenium concentration and higher urinary total arsenic concentration compared to those with higher plasma selenium concentration and lower urinary total arsenic concentration had a higher OR of PC with a dose-response relationship.

Keywords: prostate cancer, plasma selenium concentration, urinary arsenic concentration, prostate specific antigen

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Authors: Adriana De Serio, Donato Forenza

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Aims. In this experimental research the Authors present the methodological plan “Musictherapy and Gardentherapy” that they created interconnected with the garden landscape ecosystems and aimed at PsychoPhysical Disability (MusGarPPhyD). In the context of the environmental education aimed at spreading the landscape culture and its values, it’s necessary to develop a solid perception of the environment sustainability to implement a multidimensional approach that pays attention to the conservation and enhancement of gardens and natural environments. The result is an improvement in the life quality also in compliance with the objectives of the European Agenda 2030. The MusGarPPhyD can help professionals such as musictherapists and environmental and landscape researchers strengthen subjects' motivation to learn to deal with the psychophysical discomfort associated with disability and to cope with the distress and the psychological fragility and the loneliness and the social seclusion and to promote productive social relationships. Materials and Methods. The MusGarPPhyD was implemented in multiple spaces. The musictherapy treatments took place first inside residential therapeutic centres and then in the garden landscape ecosystem. Patients: twenty, set in two groups. Weekly-sessions (50’) for three months. Methodological phases: - Phase P1. MusicTherapy treatments for each group in the indoor spaces. - Phase P2. MusicTherapy sessions inside the gardens. After each Phase, P1 and P2: - a Questionnaire for each patient (ten items / liking-indices) was administrated at t0 time, during the treatment and at tn time at the end of the treatment. - Monitoring of patients' behavioral responses through assessment scales, matrix, table and graph system. MusicTherapy methodology: pazient Sonorous-Musical Anamnesis, Musictherapy Assessment Document, Observation Protocols, Bodily-Environmental-Rhythmical-Sonorous-Vocal-Energy production first indoors and then outside, sonorous-musical instruments and edible instruments made by the Author/musictherapist with some foods; Administration of Patient-Environment-Music Index at time to and tn, to estimate the patient’s behavior evolution, Musictherapeutic Advancement Index. Results. The MusGarPPhyD can strengthen the individual sense of identity and improve the psychophysical skills and the resilience to face and to overcome the difficulties caused by the congenital /acquired disability. The multi-sensory perceptions deriving from contact with the plants in the gardens improve the psychological well-being and regulate the physiological parameters such as blood pressure, cardiac and respiratory rhythm, reducing the cholesterol levels. The secretions of the peptide hormones endorphins and the endogenous opioids enkephalins increase and bring a state of patient’s tranquillity and a better mood. The subjects showed a preference for musictherapy treatments within a setting made up of gardens and peculiar landscape systems. This resulted in greater health benefits. Conclusions. The MusGarPPhyD contributes to reduce psychophysical tensions, anxiety, depression and stress, facilitating the connections between the cerebral hemispheres, thus also improving intellectual performances, self-confidence, motor skills and social interactions. Therefore it is necessary to design hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, surrounded by gardens. Ecosystems of natural and urban parks and gardens create fascinating skyline and mosaics of landscapes rich in beauty and biodiversity. The MusGarPPhyD is useful for the health management promoting patient’s psychophysical activation, better mood/affective-tone and relastionships and contributing significantly to improving the life quality.

Keywords: musictherapy, gardentherapy, disability, life quality

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Authors: Judith Awacorach, Quentin Gausset

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Wood charcoal and firewood are the primary sources of energy for cooking fuel in most Sub-Saharan African countries, including Uganda. This leads to unsustainable forest use and to rapid deforestation. Green charcoal (made out of agricultural residues that are carbonized, reduced in char powder, and glued in briquettes, using a binder such as sugar molasse, cassava flour or clay) is a promising and sustainable alternative to wood charcoal and firewood. It is considered as renewable energy because the carbon emissions released by the combustion of green charcoal are immediately captured again in the next agricultural cycle. If practiced on a large scale, this has the potential to replace wood charcoal and stop deforestation. However, the uptake of green charcoal for cooking remains low in Uganda despite the introduction of the technology 15 years ago. The present paper reviews the barriers to the production and commercialization of green charcoal. The paper is based on the study of 13 production sites, recording the raw materials used, the production techniques, the quantity produced, the frequency of production, and the business model. Observations were made on each site, and interviews were conducted with the managers of the facilities and with one or two employees in the larger facilities. We also interviewed project administrators from four funding agencies interested in financing green charcoal production. The results of our research identify the main barriers as follows: 1) The price of green charcoal is not competitive (it is more labor and capital-intensive than wood charcoal). 2) There is a problem with quality control and labeling (one finds a wide variety of green charcoal with very different performances). 3) The carbonization of agricultural crop residues is a major bottleneck in green char production. Most briquettes are produced with wood charcoal dust or powder, which is a by-product of wood charcoal. As such, they increase the efficiency of wood charcoal but do not yet replace it. 4) There is almost no marketing chain for the product (most green charcoal is sold directly from producer to consumer without any middleman). 5) The financing institutions are reluctant to lend money for this kind of activity. 6) Storage can be challenging since briquettes can dissolve due to moisture. In conclusion, a number of important barriers need to be overcome before green charcoal can become a serious alternative to wood charcoal.

Keywords: briquettes, competitiveness, deforestation, green charcoal, renewable energy

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Authors: Diogo Prosdocimi, Don Ross, Matthew Townshend

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Road authorities are mandated within limited budgets to both deliver improved access to basic services and facilitate economic growth. This responsibility is further complicated if maintenance backlogs and funding shortfalls exist, as evident in many countries including South Africa. These conditions require authorities to make difficult prioritisation decisions, with the effect that Road Asset Management Systems with a one-dimensional focus on traffic volumes may overlook the maintenance of low-volume roads that provide isolated communities with vital access to basic services. Given these challenges, this paper overlays the full South African road network with geo-referenced information for population, primary and secondary schools, and healthcare facilities to identify the network of connective roads between communities and basic service centres. This connective network is then rationalised according to the Gross Value Added and number of jobs per mesozone, administrative and functional road classifications, speed limit, and road length, location, and name to estimate the Basic Access Road Network. A two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, capturing a weighted assessment of drive-time to service centres and the ratio of people within a catchment area to teachers and healthcare workers, is subsequently applied to generate a Multivariate Road Index. This Index is used to assign higher maintenance priority to roads within the Basic Access Road Network that provide more people with better access to services. The relatively limited incidence of Basic Access Roads indicates that authorities could maintain the entire estimated network without exhausting the available road budget before practical economic considerations get any purchase. Despite this fact, a final case study modelling exercise is performed for the Namakwa District Municipality to demonstrate the extent to which optimal relocation of schools and healthcare facilities could minimise the Basic Access Road Network and thereby release budget for investment in roads that best promote GDP growth.

Keywords: basic access roads, multivariate road index, road prioritisation, two-step floating catchment area method

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Authors: F. Argurio, F. G. Vaccaro

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In a global environment defined by ever-increasing health issues, in spite of the progress made by modern medicine, this paper seeks to readdress the question of global health in an international relations perspective. The research hypothesis is: the lower the security environment, the higher the spread of communicable diseases. This question will be channeled by re-scaling the connotation of 'global' and 'international' dimension through the theoretical lens of glocalization, a theory by Bauman that starts its analysis from simple systems to get to the most complex ones. Glocalization theory will be operationalized by analyzing health in an armed-conflict context. In this respect, the independent variable 'low security environment' translates into the cases of Syria and Yemen, which provide a clear example of the all-encompassing nature of conflict on national health and the effects on regional development. In fact, Syria and Yemen have been affected by poliomyelitis and cholera outbreaks respectively. The dependent variable will be constructed on said communicable diseases which belong to the families of sanitation-related and vaccine-preventable diseases. The research will be both qualitative and quantitative, based on primary (interviews) and secondary (WHO and other NGO’s reports) sources. The methodology is based on the assessment of the vaccine coverage and case-analysis in time and space using epidemiological data. Moreover, local health facilities’ functioning and efficiency will be studied. The article posits that the intervention and cooperation of international organizations with the local authorities becomes crucial to provide the local populations with their primary health needs. In Yemen, the majority of fatal cholera cases were in the regions controlled by the Houthi rebels, not officially accredited by the International Community. Similarly, the polio outbreak in Syria primarily affected the areas not controlled by the Syrian Arab Republic forces, recognized as the leading interlocutor by the WHO. The jeopardized possibilities to access these countries have been pivotal to the determining the problem in controlling sanitation-related and vaccine preventable diseases. This represents a potential threat to global health.

Keywords: health in conflict-affected areas, cholera, polio, Yemen, Syria, glocalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 119