Search results for: small hydro power generator

Authors: Bryan Jefry Sabillon, Arlex Molina Cedillo

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Currently, the raise in the demand of electrical energy as a consequence of the development of technology and population growth, as well as some projections made by ‘La Agencia Internacional de la Energía’ (AIE) and research institutes, reveal alarming data about the expected raise of it in the next few decades. Because of this, something should be made to raise the awareness of the rational and efficient usage of this resource. Because of the global concern of providing electrical energy to isolated areas, projects consisting of energy generation using renewable resources are commonly carried out. On a socioeconomically and cultural point of view, it can be foreseen a positive impact that would result for the society to have this resource. This article is focused on the great potential that Honduras shows, as a country that is looking forward to produce renewable energy due to the crisis that it’s living nowadays. Because of this, we present a detailed research that exhibits the main necessities that the rural communities are facing today, to allay the negative aspects due to the scarcity of electrical energy. We also discuss which should be the type of electrical generation method to be used, according to the disposition, geography, climate, and of course the accessibility of each area. Honduras is actually in the process of developing new methods for the generation of energy; therefore, it is of our concern to talk about renewable energy, the exploitation of which is a global trend. Right now the countries’ main energetic generation methods are: hydrological, thermic, wind, biomass and photovoltaic (this is one of the main sources of clean electrical generation). The use of these resources was possible partially due to the studies made by the organizations that focus on electrical energy and its demand, such as ‘La Cooperación Alemana’ (GIZ), ‘La Secretaria de Energía y Recursos Naturales’ (SERNA), and ‘El Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica’ (BCIE), which eased the complete guide that is to be used in the protocol to be followed to carry out the three stages of this type of projects: 1) Licences and Permitions, 2) Fincancial Aspects and 3) The inscription for the Protocol in Kyoto. This article pretends to take the reader through the necessary information (according to the difficult accessibility that each zone might present), about the best option of electrical generation in zones that are totally isolated from the net, pretending to use renewable resources to generate electrical energy. We finally conclude that the usage of hybrid systems of generation of energy for small remote communities brings about a positive impact, not only because of the fact of providing electrical energy but also because of the improvements in education, health, sustainable agriculture and livestock, and of course the advances in the generation of energy which is the main concern of this whole article.

Keywords: energy, isolated, renewable, accessibility

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Authors: Samane Maroufi, Rasoul Khayyam Nekouei, Sajjad Mofarah

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Fabrication of the state-of-the-art portable pseudocapacitors with the desired transparency, mechanical flexibility, capacitance, and durability is challenging. In most cases, the fabrication of such devices requires critical elements which are either under the crisis of depletion or their extraction from virgin mineral ores have sever environmental impacts. This urges the use of secondary resources instead of virgin resources in fabrication of advanced devices. In this research, ultrathin films of defect-rich Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ with controllable thicknesses in the range between 5 nm to 627 nm and transmittance (≈29–100%) have been fabricated via an electrochemical chronoamperometric deposition technique using an aqueous precursor derived during the selective purification of rare earth oxide (REOs) isolated from end-of-life nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. Intercalation/de-intercalation of anionic O2− through the atomic tunnels of the stratified Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ crystallites was found to be responsible for outstanding areal capacitance of 3.4 mF cm−2 of films with 86% transmittance. The intervalence charge transfer among interstitial Ce/La cations and Mn oxidation states within the Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ structure resulted in excellent capacitance retention of ≈90% after 16 000 cycles. The synthesised transparent flexible Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ full-cell pseudocapacitor device possessed the energy and power densities of 0.088 μWh cm⁻² and 843 µW cm⁻², respectively. These values show insignificant changes under vigorous twisting and bending to 45–180° confirming these value-added materials are intriguing alternatives for size-sensitive energy storage devices. This research confirms the feasibility of utilisation of secondary waste resources for the fabrication of high-quality pseudocapacitors with engineered defects with the desired flexibility, transparency, and cycling stability suitable for size-sensitive portable electronic devices.

Keywords: pseudocapacitors, energy storage devices, flexible and transparent, sustainability

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Authors: Abhijit Dasgupta

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This paper explores the everyday lives of the Christians residing in a Bengali Christian neighborhood in Kolkata, termed here as the larger Christian para (para meaning neighborhood in Bengali). Through ethnography and reading of secondary sources, the paper discerns how various Christians across denominations – Protestants, Catholics and Pentecostals implicate the role of bishwas (faith and belief) in their interpersonal neighborhood relations. The paper attempts to capture the role of bishwas in producing, transforming and revising the meaning of 'neighbourhood' and 'neighbours' and puts forward the argument of the neighbourhood as a theological product. By interrogating and interpreting bishwas through everyday theological discussions and reflections, the paper examines and analyses the ways everyday theology becomes an essential source of power and knowledge for the Bengali Christians in reimagining their neighbourhood compared to the nearby Hindu neighbourhoods. Borrowing literature from everyday theology, faith and belief, the paper reads and analyses various interpretations of theological knowledge across denominations to probe the prominence of bishwas within the Christian community and its role in creating a difference in their place of dwelling. The paper argues that the meaning of neighbourhood is revisited through prayers, sermons and biblical verses. At the same time, the divisions and fissures are seen among Protestants and Catholics and also among native Bengali Protestants and non-native Protestant pastors, which informs us about the complexity of theology in constituting everyday life. Thus, the paper addresses theology's role in creating an ethical Christian neighbourhood amidst everyday tensions and hostilities of diverse religious persuasions. At the same time, it looks into the processes through which multiple theological knowledge leads to schism and interdenominational hostilities. By attempting to answer these questions, the paper brings out Christians' negotiation with the neighbourhood.

Keywords: anthropology, bishwas, christianity, neighbourhood, theology

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Authors: Matthew J. Emes, Azadeh Jafari, Maziar Arjomandi

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Velocity fluctuations of shear-generated turbulence are largest in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) of nominal 100 m depth, which can lead to dynamic effects such as galloping and flutter on small physical structures on the ground when the turbulence length scales and characteristic length of the physical structure are the same order of magnitude. Turbulence length scales are a measure of the average sizes of the energy-containing eddies that are widely estimated using two-point cross-correlation analysis to convert the temporal lag to a separation distance using Taylor’s hypothesis that the convection velocity is equal to the mean velocity at the corresponding height. Profiles of turbulence length scales in the neutrally-stratified ASL, as predicted by Monin-Obukhov similarity theory in Engineering Sciences Data Unit (ESDU) 85020 for single-point data and ESDU 86010 for two-point correlations, are largely dependent on the aerodynamic roughness length. Field measurements have shown that longitudinal turbulence length scales show significant regional variation, whereas length scales of the vertical component show consistent Obukhov scaling from site to site because of the absence of low-frequency components. Hence, the objective of this experimental study is to compare the similarity theory relationships between the turbulence length scales and aerodynamic roughness length with those calculated using the autocorrelations and cross-correlations of field measurement velocity data at two sites: the Surface Layer Turbulence and Environmental Science Test (SLTEST) facility in a desert ASL in Dugway, Utah, USA and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) wind tower in a rural ASL in Jemalong, NSW, Australia. The results indicate that the longitudinal turbulence length scales increase with increasing aerodynamic roughness length, as opposed to the relationships derived by similarity theory correlations in ESDU models. However, the ratio of the turbulence length scales in the lateral and vertical directions to the longitudinal length scales is relatively independent of surface roughness, showing consistent inner-scaling between the two sites and the ESDU correlations. Further, the diurnal variation of wind velocity due to changes in atmospheric stability conditions has a significant effect on the turbulence structure of the energy-containing eddies in the lower ASL.

Keywords: aerodynamic roughness length, atmospheric surface layer, similarity theory, turbulence length scales

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Authors: Selma Aitsaid

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Disney canon texts, mainly animations, are believed to have authority over children’s identities. However, most research on Disney tends to focus either on textual analysis, or Western and non-western adult audiences. In fact, there is a lack of scholarship on Disney child audiences from non-western countries though children are believed to be Disney‘s main target audience, and Disney is a global corporation that appeals to audiences from all over the world as well. Therefore, qualitative research was conducted by interviewing around twenty five Algerian disabled tweens between the age 11 to 14 on their familiarity and identification with Disney animations. The reason behind choosing disabled children is because minority groups have not been interviewed on their possible interpretations of Disney animations despite the fact that these texts have been interpreted by some scholars as being inclusive of minority groups such as queer and disabled people. To that end, this project aims to decolonize disability and Global Southern Academia by three ways. The first way is to uncover inequalities of the metropolitan thought enshrined in the global power of the metropole vis a vis the subaltern. This approach was called postcolonialism. The second way is to value non-western academic and non-academic resources. This is the project of ‘indigenous knowledge. The third way is to analyse the forms of knowledge that were produced by intellectuals in colonized countries as a response to Western Academic hegemony. Consequently, this research endeavored to unravel the inequality, the dynamics of neocolonialism and subordination to colonial discourses within the Algerian discourse on disability and other knowledge such as tweenhood, childhood and non-western viewership, which are mainly defined through Western lenses. Algerian resources were included with the aim of enhancing an academic collaboration between the North and South as well. The findings showed that the postcolonial context had an impact on how children perceive Disney animations. They also demonstrated that children are able to negotiate the meaning of Disney texts within their own context.

Keywords: child audiences, Algeria, childhood, disability, Disney animations, global South, postcolonialism, tweens, Western hegemony

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Authors: Srisuporn Piyaratanawong, Suchai Assawapantanakul

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This study aims to reflect changes in beliefs and rituals among the Urak Lawoi sea gypsies on the Bulon archipelago of Satun Province that are related to changes of society according to each dimension of time. The historical study was conducted using an oral history approach. The study found that the traditional way of life as itinerants who moved seasonally resulted in their dependence on nature and beliefs in supernatural power, and mysterious powers and superstitions in the belief of ghosts, ancestors, guardian spirits, large banyan trees, life and living, treatment of diseases, king of nagas, and other beliefs. They displayed their respect to supernatural powers through rituals by worshiping, making offerings to spirits and performing Rongeng dance for spirits in return for fulfilling their vows. After World War II (1945), the Urak Lawoi sea gypsies on Bulon archipelago changed their itinerant way of life to permanent settlements. However, their beliefs in supernatural powers and ritual performances remained in existence. Until 1987, when tourism began to spread to the archipelago, some of them gradually turned to make a living with tourism. Moreover, during the last 20 years (from around 1994), Islam has spread among the people. With this social context, the traditional beliefs in supernatural powers have changed to beliefs according to the religion and the way of life that has changed. Thus, when the traditional beliefs and rituals can no longer fulfil the new way of life, they slowly disappear, such as the floating the boat ceremony that has been replaced with new beliefs and rituals according to Islam. Nevertheless, some beliefs and rituals still exist, such as beliefs about treatment of diseases and Rongeng dance for spirits in return for vow fulfilling. In conclusion, the traditional beliefs and rituals of the Urak Lawoi sea gypsies on the Bulon archipelago cannot fulfil the new way of life, and have, thus, brought about changes in beliefs and rituals that are congruent with the current society.

Keywords: belief, ritual, Urak Lawoi, sea gypsy, Bulon Archipelago

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Authors: Yubo Bi, Xiao Chen, Shouxiang Lu

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A kind of gas-fueled burner, named Burning Rate Emulator, was proposed for the purpose of the emulation of condensed fuel recently. The gaseous fuel can be pure combustible fuel gas or blends of gaseous fuel or inert gas. However, this concept was recently proposed without detailed study on the combustion characteristic of fuel blends. In this study, two kinds of common gaseous fuels were selected, propane and acetylene, to provide the combustion heat as well as a large amount of smoke, which widely exists in liquid and solid fuel burning process. A set of experiments were carried out using a gas-fueled burner with a diameter of 8 cm. The total volume flow rate of propane and acetylene was kept at 3 liters per minute. The volume fraction of propane varied from 0% to 100% at interval of 10%. It is found that the flame height increases with propane volume fraction, which may be caused by the increase of heat release rate, as the energy density of propane is larger than that of acetylene. The dimensionless flame height is correlated against dimensionless heat release rate, which shows a power function relationship. The radiation fraction of the flame does not show a monotonic relationship with propane volume fraction. With the increase of propane volume fraction from 0% to 100%, the value of radiation fraction increases first and reach a maximum value around 0.46 at a propane volume fraction of 10%, and then decreases continuously to a value of 0.25 at the propane volume fraction of 100%. The flame radiation is related to the soot in the flame. The trend of the radiation fraction reflects that there may be a synergistic effect of soot formation between propane and acetylene which can be guessed from the significantly high radiation fraction at a propane volume fraction of 10%. This work provides data for combustion of gaseous fuel blends pool fire and also give reference on the design of Burning Rate Emulator.

Keywords: Burning Rate Emulator, fuel blends pool fire, flame height, radiation fraction

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Authors: Bereket Amare Mulu

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Ethiopia is one of the countries that consists of a huge variety of botanical resources as compared to the world. The agroclimatic is suitable for a variety of plants to grow effectively throughout the year. Sources of food plants are basic items for people in the world. Production of food items is a prior activity and needs more resources and attention to produce a huge amount of production. The local food is rich in nutrition and healthful foods. The local food is fresh and not exposed to infections easily. The community can easily get the food items in their surroundings. The local food sources are not expensive when it is compared to the other proceed food items, and it is affordable to the community purchasing power. The food is very tasty and palatable capacity by the whole community categories. The basic problems in Ethiopia are the community experiences some of the common food source items. On the contrary, inefficient food production, low economic growth, and climate variability affected food production. This leads to serious food shortages and acute health problems. The objective of the study is to identify local food sources and analyze the advantage and benefits of local food sources. Casava is one of the root crop plants in Ethiopia and easily adapts to any type of agroecology in every place in the country. 50 community members have been identified to prepare casava in different forms of food items. They have prepared in the forms of Bread, Injera, Porridge, Boiled casava, fried chips Casava, and Cocktails. The prepared food items have been exposed to the community as a food festival to eat and taste how much interesting Even though there is a cultural barrier to eating the food items, the community had the food and tasted it the food. The result showed that community awareness is still not addressed the benefits of local food sources yet. The local food has high nutritional value and healthful foods. The local food sources are fresh and easily produced in every place of the country.

Keywords: bread, cassava, injera, nutrition

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Authors: Dean J. Hill

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This paper undertakes the task of conducting an in-depth textual analysis of the cli-fi genre. It examines how writing in the genre contributes to expressing and facilitating the articulation of environmental consciousness through the form of narrative. The paper begins by situating cli-fi within the literary continuum of ecological narratives and identifying the unique textual characteristics and thematic preoccupations of this area. The paper unfolds how cli-fi transforms the esoteric nature of climate science into credible narrative forms by drawing on language use, metaphorical constructs, and narrative framing. It also involves how descriptive and figurative language in the description of nature and disaster makes climate change so vivid and emotionally resonant. The work also points out the dialogic nature of cli-fi, whereby the characters and the narrators experience inner disputes in the novel regarding the ethical dilemma of environmental destruction, thus demanding the readers challenge and re-evaluate their standpoints on sustainability and ecological responsibilities. The paper proceeds with analysing the feature of narrative voice and its role in eliciting empathy, as well as reader involvement with the ecological material. In looking at how different narratorial perspectives contribute to the emotional and cognitive reaction of the reader to text, this study demonstrates the profound power of perspective in developing intimacy with the dominating concerns. Finally, the emotional arc of cli-fi narratives, running its course over themes of loss, hope, and resilience, is analysed in relation to how these elements function to marshal public feeling and discourse into action around climate change. Therefore, we can say that the complexity of the text in the cli-fi not only shows the hard edge of the reality of climate change but also influences public perception and behaviour toward a more sustainable future.

Keywords: cli-fi genre, ecological narratives, emotional arc, narrative voice, public perception

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Authors: Sreejani Barua, P. P. Srivastav

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Formulation of new functional food products for diabetes patients and obsessed people is a challenge for food industries till date. Starch is a certainly happening, ecological, reasonable and profusely obtainable polysaccharide in plant material. In the present scenario, there is a great interest in modifying starch functional properties without destroying its granular structure using different modification techniques. Resistant starch (RS) contains almost zero calories and can control blood glucose level to prevent diabetes. The current study focused on modification of mung bean starch which is a good source of legumes carbohydrate for the production of functional food. Heat moisture treatment (HMT) of mung starch was conducted at moisture content of 10-30%, temperature of 80-120 °C and time of 8-24 h.The content of resistant starch after modification was significantly increased from native starches containing RS 7.6%. The design combinations of HMT had been completed through Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD). The effects of HMT process variables on the yield of resistant starch was studied through Rapid Surface Methodology (RSM). The highest increase of resistant starch was found up to 34.39% when treated the native starch with 30% m.c at 120 °C temperature for 24 h.The functional properties of both native and modified mung bean starches showed that there was a reduction in the swelling power and swelling volume of HMT starches. However, the solubility of the HMT starches was higher than that of untreated native starch and also observed change in structural (scanning electron microscopy), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, blue value and thermal (differential scanning calorimetry) properties. Therefore, replacing native mung bean starch with heat-moisture treated mung bean starch leads to the development of new products with higher resistant starch levels and functional properties.

Keywords: Mung bean starch, heat moisture treatment, functional properties, resistant starch

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Authors: S. P. Bansal, Mukesh Kumar Sharma, Ankit Prabhakar

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Luhri Hydroelectric Project Stage-I (210 MW) is a run of the river type development with a dam toe surface powerhouse (122m long, 50.50m wide, and 65.50m high) on the right bank of river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh, India. The project is located in the inner lesser Himalaya between Dhauladhar Range in the south and higher Himalaya in the north in the seismically active region. At the project, the location river is confined within narrow V-shaped valleys with little or no flat areas close to the river bed. Nearly 120m high cut slopes behind the powerhouse are proposed from the powerhouse foundation level of 795m to ± 915m to accommodate the surface powerhouse. The stability of 120m high cut slopes is a prime concern for the reason of risk involved. The slopes behind the powerhouse will be excavated in mainly in augen gneiss, fresh to weathered in nature, and biotite rich at places. The foliation joints are favorable and dipping inside the hill. Two valleys dipping steeper joints will be encountered on the slopes, which can cause instability during excavation. Geological exploration plays a vital role in designing and optimization of cut slopes. SWEDGE software has been used to analyze the geometry and stability of surface wedges in cut slopes. The slopes behind powerhouse have been analyzed in three zones for stability analysis by providing a break in the continuity of cut slopes, which shall provide quite substantial relief for slope stabilization measure. Pseudo static analysis has been carried out for the stabilization of wedges. The results indicate that many large wedges are forming, which have a factor of safety less than 1. The stability measures (support system, bench width, slopes) have been planned so that no wedge failure may occur in the future.

Keywords: cut slopes, geotechnical investigations, Himalayan geology, surface powerhouse, wedge failure

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Authors: Ouchemoukh Salim, Amessis-Ouchemoukh Nadia, Guenaoui Nawel, Moumeni Lynda, Zaidi Hicham, Otmani Amar, Sadou Dyhia

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Honey is a hive food rich in carbohydrates and water and it also has a lot of nutrients (enzymes, minerals, organic acids, phytochemicals...). It is used in different nutritional and therapeutic fields. Algerian honey was studied for its physicochemical parameters, nutritional values (moisture, brix, pH, electrical conductivity, and amounts of HMF, proteins, proline, total phenolic compounds and flavonoids) and some biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and enzymatic anti-browning). The antioxidant activities of the samples were estimated using different methods (ABTS, DPPH free radicals scavenging, reducing power, and chelating ferrous activity). All honeys were acidic (3.45≤pH≤4.65). The color varied from mimosa yellow to dark brown. The specific rotation was levorotatory in most honey samples, and the electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural, and proline values agreed with the international honey requirements. For anti-inflammatory activity, the results showed that the inhibiting capacity of the denaturation of the BSA of the honey analyzed varied from 15 to 75 % with a maximum of activity at the concentration of 0,5 mg/ml. All honey exhibited enzymatic anti-browning on different slices of fruits. In fact, the results showed that the controls have the greatest browning unit compared to the honeys studied and PPO and POD enzymes had the lowest enzyme activity. High significant correlations were found between the color of honey, its antioxidant content and its biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and enzymatic anti-browning). The dark color of honey is a good indicator of the best biological properties, therefore, the best nutritional and therapeutic values.

Keywords: honey, physico-chemical parameters, bioactive compounds, biological properties

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Authors: Jayakant Singh, Enu Anand

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Background: Child marriage is widely prevalent in India. It is a form of gross human right violation that succumbs a child bride to be subservient to her husband within a marital relation. We investigated the relationship between age at marriage of women and her level of empowerment with physical violence experienced 12 months preceding the survey among young women aged 20-24 in two culturally distinct states- Bihar and Tamil Nadu of India. Methods: We used the information collected from 10514 young married women (20-24 years) at all India level, 373 in Bihar and 523 in Tamil Nadu from the third round of National Family Health Survey. Empowerment index was calculated using different parameters such as mobility, economic independence and decision making power of women using Principal Component Analysis method. Bivariate analysis was performed primarily using chi square for the test of significance. Logistic regression was carried out to assess the effect of age at marriage and empowerment on physical violence. Results: Lower level of women empowerment was significantly associated with physical violence in Tamil Nadu (OR=2.38, p<0.01) whereas child marriage (marriage before age 15) was associated with physical violence in Bihar (OR=3.27, p<0.001). The mean difference in age at marriage between those who experienced physical violence and those who did not experience varied by 7 months in Bihar and 10 months in Tamil Nadu. Conclusion: Culture specific intervention may be a key to reduction of violence against women as the results showed association of different factors contributing to physical violence in Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Marrying at an appropriate age perhaps is protective of abuse because it equips a woman to assert her rights effectively. It calls for an urgent consideration to curb both violence and child marriage with stricter involvement of family, civil society and the government. In the meanwhile physical violence may be recognized as a public health problem and integrate appropriate treatment to the victims within the health care institution.

Keywords: child marriage, empowerment, India, physical violence

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Authors: Hirokatsu Kawashima

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One important element of teaching/learning listening is intensive listening such as listening for precise sounds, words, grammatical, and semantic units. Several classroom-based investigations have been conducted to explore the usefulness of auditory recognition of phonological, grammatical and semantic errors in such a context. The current study reports the results of one such investigation, which targeted auditory recognition of phonological, grammatical, and semantic errors at the sentence level. 56 Japanese EFL learners participated in this investigation, in which their recognition performance of phonological, grammatical and semantic errors was measured on a 9-point scale by learners’ self-evaluation from the perspective of 1) two types of similar English sound (vowel and consonant minimal pair words), 2) two types of sentence word order (verb phrase-based and noun phrase-based word orders), and 3) two types of semantic consistency (verb-purpose and verb-place agreements), respectively, and their general listening proficiency was examined using standardized tests. A number of findings have been made about the interactive relationships between the three types of auditory error recognition and general listening proficiency. Analyses based on the OPLS (Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structure) regression model have disclosed, for example, that the three types of auditory error recognition are linked in a non-linear way: the highest explanatory power for general listening proficiency may be attained when quadratic interactions between auditory recognition of errors related to vowel minimal pair words and that of errors related to noun phrase-based word order are embraced (R2=.33, p=.01).

Keywords: auditory error recognition, intensive listening, interaction, investigation

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Authors: Samuel Pimpong

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In most liberal and constitutional democracies, the media serves as a dominant power in the construction of the fundamental building blocks for the consolidation of democratic governance. However, the extent to which the media can enhance democratic consolidation in a country depends to a large extent on the independence of the media, the robustness of legislative frameworks and the safety of journalists in discharging their duties without fear or favor. This study sought to examine pertinent issues, practices and challenges facing the media in Ghana’s Fourth Republic and attempts to make recommendations regarding the way forward. The work adopted a qualitative study approach. A total of sixteen (16) participants were purposively selected for face-to-face interviews. The study hinges on the democratic participant media theory and the development media theory. Primary data was analyzed via thematic analysis procedure. The study revealed that although Ghana has repealed its criminal libel laws, nonetheless other statutory Acts, such as the Electronic Communications Act 2008 (ACT 775) and the Criminal and other offences Act 1960 (Act 29), among others continue to stifle freedom of expression. On the other hand, press freedom is being abused by the use of fake content publication. Further, the study revealed that the absence of a comprehensive regulatory structure impedes the activities carried out by the media. Consequently, the study recommends a regulatory structure to oversee media activities and content, as the National Media Commission (NMC) lacks the authority to do so. In this direction, the study recommends a limitation on the role of the National Communications Authority (NCA) to administer broadcasting signals and transfer its licensing and sanctioning powers to the NMC in order to create one sole and completely independent media regulatory authority that deals with all media related issues.

Keywords: media, constitutional democracy, democratic consolidation, fourth republic

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Authors: Maryam Pirdehghan

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During the Ba'ath Party's rule in Iraq, propaganda was utilized to justify and to promote Saddam Hussein's image in the collective memory as the greatest Arab leader. Consequently, urban walls were routinely covered with images of Saddam. Relying on these images, the regime aimed to provide a basis for evoking meanings in the public opinion, which would supposedly strengthen Saddam’s power and reconstruct facts to legitimize his political ideology. Nonetheless, Saddam was not always portrayed with common and explicit elements but in certain periods of his rule, the paintings depicted him in an unusual context, where various historical and contemporary elements were combined in a narrative background. Therefore, an understanding of the implied socio-political references of these elements is required to fully elucidate the impact of these images on forming the memory and collective unconscious of the Iraqi people. To obtain such understanding, one needs to address the following questions: a) How Saddam Hussein is portrayed in mural during his rule? b) What of elements and mythical-historical narratives are found in the paintings? c) Which Saddam's political views were subject to the collective memory through mural? Employing visual semiotics, this study reveals that during Saddam Hussein's regime, the paintings were initially simple portraits but gradually transformed into narrative images, characterized by a complex network of historical, mythical and religious elements. These elements demonstrate the transformation of a secular-nationalist politician into a Muslim ruler who tried to instill three major policies in domestic and international relations i.e. the arabization of Iraq, as well as the propagation of pan-arabism ideology (first period), the implementation of anti-Israel policy (second period) and the implementation of anti-American-British policy (last period).

Keywords: Ba'ath Party, Saddam Hussein, mural, Iraq, propaganda, collective memory

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Authors: Jenyu Peng

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Incestuous abuse can be considered a form of domestic violence that exemplifies gender inequality. It challenges the common image of home as “haven of safety”. In Taiwan, even after years of feminist NGOs’ effort to encourage victims to speak up, the shared cultural representations of family, still praising piety towards the parents, seem to keep the incest trauma in secret. As clinical practitioners have observed, most devastating psychological sequels of incest trauma are often related to silencing. Thus one can expect that in families centered cultures, the difficulties for victims to disclose are greater, and the traumatic consequences more severe. This poses crucial therapeutic issues for clinicians working in those cultures. Since 2009, the author, a trained psychoanalyst and researcher, has been conducting “clinical fieldwork” on incest trauma in Taiwan. Employing ethnographical method, our theoretical references are both psychoanalytical and anthropological. The necessity of interdisciplinary efforts in incest trauma research will be addressed and discussed. The analyses of the present paper will focus on five incestuous families: four Han families, and one aboriginal. Although Taiwanese aboriginal peoples have been pretty much sinicized since decades, it is worth observing the convergent and divergent aspects in these two cultures. Moreover, findings of a previous research conducted in France during 2002-2004 will serve as background for the purpose of comparison. The results will be presented along with three questions: 1) How the perception of family influences the process of disclosure? 2) How the incestuous experience comes into play with victims’ gender identity and sexuality, pivotal for the subjectification? 3) How victims more successful in gendered subjectification modify their dynamics with their traumatizing family? This research finds that most victims tend to defend their own incestuous families, and that victims’ subjectivity and agency are actually entangled in the power structure of incestuous family.

Keywords: incestuous family, subjectification, gender identity, agency

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Authors: Katarzyna Pawęska, Aleksandra Bawiec, Ewa Burszta-Adamiak, Wiesław Fiałkiewicz

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The water shortage becomes a serious problem not only in African and Middle Eastern countries, but also recently in the European Union. Scarcity of water means that not all agricultural, industrial and municipal needs will be met. When the annual availability of renewable freshwater per capita is less than 1,700 cubic meters, countries begin to experience periodic or regular water shortages. The phenomenon of water stress is the result of an imbalance between the constantly growing demand for water and its availability. The constant development of industry, population growth, and climate changes make the situation even worse. The search for alternative water sources and independent supplies is becoming a priority for many countries. Data enabling the assessment of country’s condition regarding water resources, water consumption, water price, wastewater volume, forecasted climate changes e.g. temperature, precipitation, are scattered and their interpretation by common entrepreneurs may be difficult. For this purpose, a digital tool has been developed to support decisions related to the implementation of water and wastewater re-use systems, as a result of an international research project “Framework for organizational decision-making process in water reuse for smart cities” (SMART-WaterDomain) funded under the EIG-CONCERT Japan call on Smart Water Management for Sustainable Society. The developed geo-visualization tool graphically presents, among others, data about the capacity of wastewater treatment plants and the volume of water demand in the private and public sectors for Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. It is expected that such a platform, extended with economical water management data and climate forecasts (temperature, precipitation), will allow in the future independent investigation and assessment of water use rate and wastewater production on the local and regional scale. The tool is a great opportunity for small business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers, local authorities, and common users to analyze the impact of climate change on the availability of water in the regions of their business activities. Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge the support of the Project Organisational Decision Making in Water Reuse for Smart Cities (SMART- WaterDomain), funded by The National Centre for Research and Development and supported by the EIG-Concert Japan.

Keywords: circular economy, digital tool, geo-visualization, wastewater re-use

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Authors: Lenka Krsnakova, Petr Jirsak

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Prior research on facility location in supply chain is mostly focused on improvement of mathematical models. It is due to the fact that supply chain design has been for the long time the area of operational research that underscores mainly quantitative criteria. Qualitative criteria are still highly neglected within the supply chain design research. Facility location in the supply chain has become multi-criteria decision-making problem rather than single criteria decision due to changes of market conditions. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative criteria have to be included in the decision making process. The aim of this study is to emphasize the importance of qualitative criteria as key parameters of relevant mathematical models. We examine which criteria are taken into consideration when Czech companies decide about their facility location. A literature review on criteria being used in facility location decision making process creates a theoretical background for the study. The data collection was conducted through questionnaire survey. Questionnaire was sent to manufacturing and business companies of all sizes (small, medium and large enterprises) with the representation in the Czech Republic within following sectors: automotive, toys, clothing industry, electronics and pharmaceutical industry. Comparison of which criteria prevail in the current research and which are considered important by companies in the Czech Republic is made. Despite the number of articles focused on supply chain design, only minority of them consider qualitative criteria and rarely process supply chain design as a multi-criteria decision making problem. Preliminary results of the questionnaire survey outlines that companies in the Czech Republic see the qualitative criteria and their impact on facility location decision as crucial. Qualitative criteria as company strategy, quality of working environment or future development expectations are confirmed to be considered by Czech companies. This study confirms that the qualitative criteria can significantly influence whether a particular location could or could not be right place for a logistic facility. The research has two major limitations: researchers who focus on improving of mathematical models mostly do not mention criteria that enter the model. Czech supply chain managers selected important criteria from the group of 18 available criteria and assign them importance weights. It does not necessarily mean that these criteria were taken into consideration when the last facility location was chosen, but how they perceive that today. Since the study confirmed the necessity of future research on how qualitative criteria influence decision making process about facility location, the authors have already started in-depth interviews with participating companies to reveal how the inclusion of qualitative criteria into decision making process about facility location influence the company´s performance.

Keywords: criteria influencing facility location, Czech Republic, facility location decision-making, qualitative criteria

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Authors: Muktadir Ahmed, Sayed Akhlakur Rahaman, Mridha Shihab Mahmud

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The parents of Bangladesh have scarcity of knowledge about children play. Most of them do not know which toys are perfect for their children. Appropriate toys for playing is one of the most significant parts of children development from early age, besides for proper amelioration of children’s mental growth and brain capacities, toys play an emergent role. So selection of proper toy for children is very important. A toy forms the sagacity of a child and instructs child’s attitude. In this era of globalization to keep pace with everything children toys are also going forward but in a deleterious way. Maximum toys are now battery-driven and for this psychological developments of children are not increasing in effective way; therefore, pedagogical toys are proper selection. This type of toy inspires the wisdom and helps a child to reveal himself/herself. Pedagogical toys are attractive to children and help to stimulate their imagination. Pedagogical toys help them to build senso-motoric skills and hand-eye coordination. In this study, some children divided into two groups, one group played with pedagogical toys and another group played with conventional toys. This study is going to exhibit the difference between pedagogical and conventional toys for kids. The main aim of this study is to reveal the potency of pedagogical toy for children. To implement this study two Daycare Centers (DCC) Projapoti 1 & 3 of Mymensingh city had chosen. Every DCC having 1.5-6 years old children but for this study 2-5 years old children had been selected. The children of Projapoti-1 played with pedagogical toys and the children of Projapoti-2 played with conventional toys. After 6 weeks of study, the children of Projapoti-1 proved that they have improved their skills more than those children of Projapoti-3 who were playing with conventional toys. The children of Projapoti-1 have developed their touch sensation, muscular movement, imitation power, hand-eye coordination whereas the children of Projapoti-3 have only developed their muscular movement fairly (while running after battery driven toys) which is not better than those children of Projapoti-1. They cannot imitate like the children of Projapoti-1. They just had fun from playing virtual games, battery driven toys, watching cartoons etc. Actually, it is not possible to develop a child’s brain without pedagogical toy.

Keywords: brain development, mental growth, pedagogical toys, play for children

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas

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Objective: The confusion of terms is a common practice in many situations of the everyday life. But, in some circumstances, such as in medicine, the precise meaning of a word curries a critical role for the health of the patient. Fahr disease and Fahr syndrome are often falsely used interchangeably, but they are two different conditions with different physical histories of different etiology and different medical management. A case of the seldom Fahr disease is presented, and a comparison with the more common Fahr syndrome follows. Materials and method: A 72 years old patient came to the emergency department, complaining of some kind of non specific medal disturbances, like anxiety, difficulty of concentrating, and tremor. The problems had a long course, but he had the impression of getting worse lately, so he decided to check them. Past history and laboratory tests were unremarkable. Then, a computed tomography examination was ordered. Results: The CT exam showed bilateral, hyperattenuating areas of heavy, dense calcium type deposits in basal ganglia, striatum, pallidum, thalami, the dentate nucleus, and the cerebral white matter of frontal, parietal and iniac lobes, as well as small areas of the pons. Taking into account the absence of any known preexisting illness and the fact that the emergency laboratory tests were without findings, a hypothesis of the rare Fahr disease was supposed. The suspicion was confirmed with further, more specific tests, which showed the lack of any other conditions which could probably share the same radiological image. Differentiating between Fahr disease and Fahr syndrome. Fahr disease: Primarily autosomal dominant Symmetrical and bilateral intracranial calcifications The patient is healthy until the middle age Absence of biochemical abnormalities. Family history consistent with autosomal dominant Fahr syndrome :Earlier between 30 to 40 years old. Symmetrical and bilateral intracranial calcifications Endocrinopathies: Idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, secondary hypoparathyroidism, hyperparathyroidism, pseudohypoparathyroidism ,pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, e.t.c The disease appears at any age There are abnormal laboratory or imaging findings. Conclusion: Fahr disease and Fahr syndrome are not the same illness, although this is not well known to the inexperienced doctors. As clinical radiologists, we have to inform our colleagues that a radiological image, along with the patient's history, probably implies a rare condition and not something more usual and prompt the investigation to the right route. In our case, a genetic test could be done earlier and reveal the problem, and thus avoiding unnecessary and specific tests which cost in time and are uncomfortable to the patient.

Keywords: fahr disease, fahr syndrome, CT, brain calcifications

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Authors: Jacqueline M. Dias, Amina A Khowaja

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Clinical education is one of the most important components of a nursing curriculum as it develops the students’ cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills. Clinical teaching ensures the integration of knowledge into practice. As the numbers of students increase in the field of nursing coupled with the faculty shortage, clinical preceptors are the best choice to ensure student learning in the clinical settings. The clinical preceptor role has been introduced in the undergraduate nursing programme. In Pakistan, this role emerged due to a faculty shortage. Initially, two clinical preceptors were hired. This study will explore clinical preceptors views and experiences of precepting Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) students in an undergraduate program. A case study design was used. As case studies explore a single unit of study such as a person or very small number of subjects; the two clinical preceptors were fundamental to the study and served as a single case. Qualitative data were obtained through an iterative process using in depth interviews and written accounts from reflective journals that were kept by the clinical preceptors. The findings revealed that the clinical preceptors were dedicated to their roles and responsibilities. Another, key finding was that clinical preceptors’ prior knowledge and clinical experience were valuable assets to perform their role effectively. The clinical preceptors found their new role innovative and challenging; it was stressful at the same time. Findings also revealed that in the clinical agencies there were unclear expectations and role ambiguity. Furthermore, clinical preceptors had difficulty integrating theory into practice in the clinical area and they had difficulty in giving feedback to the students. Although this study is localized to one university, generalizations can be drawn from the results. The key findings indicate that the role of a clinical preceptor is demanding and stressful. Clinical preceptors need preparation prior to precepting students on clinicals. Also, institutional support is fundamental for their acceptance. This paper focuses on the views and experiences of clinical preceptors undertaking a newly established role and resonates with the literature. The following recommendations are drawn to strengthen the role of the clinical preceptors: A structured program for clinical preceptors is needed along with mentorship. Clinical preceptors should be provided with formal training in teaching and learning with emphasis on clinical teaching and giving feedback to students. Additionally, for improving integration of theory into practice, clinical modules should be provided ahead of the clinical. In spite of all the challenges, ten more clinical preceptors have been hired as the faculty shortage continues to persist.

Keywords: baccalaureate nursing education, clinical education, clinical preceptors, nursing curriculum

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Authors: Yi-Tung Lin

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Researchers commonly assess implicit self-esteem with the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT’s measure, often referred to as the IAT effect, indicates the strengths of automatic preferences for the self relative to others, which is often considered an index of implicit self-esteem. However, based on the Dual-process theory, the IAT does not rely entirely on the automatic process; it is also influenced by a controlled process. The present study, therefore, analyzed the IAT data with the Quad model, separating four processes on the IAT performance: the likelihood that automatic association is activated by the stimulus in the trial (AC); that a correct response is discriminated in the trial (D); that the automatic bias is overcome in favor of a deliberate response (OB); and that when the association is not activated, and the individual fails to discriminate a correct answer, there is a guessing or response bias drives the response (G). The AC and G processes are automatic, while the D and OB processes are controlled. The AC parameter is considered as the strength of the association activated by the stimulus, which reflects what implicit measures of social cognition aim to assess. The stronger the automatic association between self and positive valence, the more likely it will be activated by a relevant stimulus. Therefore, the AC parameter was used as the index of implicit self-esteem in the present study. Meanwhile, the relationship between implicit self-esteem and depression is not fully investigated. In the cognitive theory of depression, it is assumed that the negative self-schema is crucial in depression. Based on this point of view, implicit self-esteem would be negatively associated with depression. However, the results among empirical studies are inconsistent. The aims of the present study were to examine the psychometric properties of the AC (i.e., test-retest reliability and its correlations with explicit self-esteem and depression) and compare it with that of the IAT effect. The present study had 105 patients with depressive disorders completing the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II and the IAT on the pretest. After at least 3 weeks, the participants completed the second IAT. The data were analyzed by the latent-trait multinomial processing tree model (latent-trait MPT) with the TreeBUGS package in R. The result showed that the latent-trait MPT had a satisfactory model fit. The effect size of test-retest reliability of the AC and the IAT effect were medium (r = .43, p < .0001) and small (r = .29, p < .01) respectively. Only the AC showed a significant correlation with explicit self-esteem (r = .19, p < .05). Neither of the two indexes was correlated with depression. Collectively, the AC parameter was a satisfactory index of implicit self-esteem compared with the IAT effect. Also, the present study supported the results that implicit self-esteem was not correlated with depression.

Keywords: cognitive modeling, implicit association test, implicit self-esteem, quad model

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Authors: Ali Benali Djouher Leila

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Labiovelarization of velar consonants and labials is a very widespread phenomenon. It is attested in all the major northern Berber dialects. Only the Tuareg is totally unaware of it. But, even within the large Berber-speaking regions of the north, it is very unstable: it may be completely absent in certain dialects (such as the Bougie region in Kabylie), and its extension and frequency can vary appreciably between the dialects which know it. Some dialects of Great Kabylia or the Chleuh domain, for example, "labiovélarize" more than others from the same region. Thus, in Great Kabylia, the adjective "large" will be pronounced: amqqwran with the At Yiraten and amqqran with the At Yanni, a few kilometers away. One of the problems with them is deciding whether it is one or two phonemes. All the criteria used by linguists in this kind of case lead to the conclusion that they are unique phonemes (a phoneme and not a succession of two phonemes, / k + w /, for example). The phonetic and phonological criteria are moreover clearly confirmed by the morphological data since, in the system of verbal alternations, these complex segments are treated as single phonemes: agree, "to draw, to fetch water," akwer, "to fly," have exactly the same morphology as as "jealous," arem" taste," Ames, "dirty" or afeg, "steal" ... verbs with two radical consonants (type aCC). At the level of notation, both scientific and usual, it is, therefore, necessary to represent the labiovélarized by a single letter, possibly accompanied by a diacritic. In fact, actual practices are diverse. - The scientific representation of type does not seem adequate for current use because its realization is easy only on a microcomputer. The Berber Documentation File used a small ° (of n °) above the writing line: k °, g ° ... which has the advantage of being easy to achieve since it is part of general typographical conventions in Latin script and that it is present on a typewriter keyboard. Mouloud Mammeri, then the Berber Study Group of Vincennes (Tisuraf review), and a majority of Kabyle practitioners over the last twenty years have used the succession "consonant +" semi-vowel / w / "(CW) on the same line of writing; for all the reasons explained previously, this practice is not a good solution and should be abandoned, especially as it particularizes Kabyle in the Berber ensemble. In this study, we were interested in two velar consonants, / g / and / k /, labiovellarized: / gw / and the / kw / (we adopted the addition of the "w") for the representation for ease of writing in graphical mode. It is a question of trying to characterize these four consonants in order to see if they have different places of articulation and if they are distinct (if these velars are distinct from their labiovellarized counterpart). This characterization is done using locus equations.

Keywords: berber consonants;, labiovelarization, locus equations, acoustical caracterization, kabylian dialect, algerian language

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Authors: Narges Razmjoo, Hamid Sefidari, Michael Strand

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Biomass combustion is a growing technique for heat and power production due to the increasing stringent regulations with CO2 emissions. Grate-fired systems have been regarded as a common and popular combustion technology for burning woody biomass. However, some grate furnaces are not well optimized and may emit significant amount of unwanted compounds such as dust, NOx, CO, and unburned gaseous components. The combustion characteristics inside the fuel bed are of practical interest, as they are directly related to the release of volatiles and affect the stability and the efficiency of the fuel bed combustion. Although numerous studies have been presented on the grate firing of biomass, to the author’s knowledge, none of them have conducted a detailed experimental study within the fuel bed. It is difficult to conduct measurements of temperature and gas species inside the burning bed of the fuel in full-scale boilers. Results from such inside bed measurements can also be applied by the numerical experts for modeling the fuel bed combustion. The current work presents an experimental investigation into the combustion behavior of wet woody biomass (53 %) in a 4 MW reciprocating grate boiler, by focusing on the gas species distribution along the height of the fuel bed. The local concentrations of gases (CO, CO2, CH4, NO, and O2) inside the fuel bed were measured through a glass port situated on the side wall of the furnace. The measurements were carried out at five different heights of the fuel bed, by means of a bent stainless steel probe containing a type-k thermocouple. The sample gas extracted from the fuel bed, through the probe, was filtered and dried and then was analyzed using two infrared spectrometers. Temperatures of about 200-1100 °C were measured close to the grate, indicating that char combustion is occurring at the bottom of the fuel bed and propagates upward. The CO and CO2 concentration varied in the range of 15-35 vol % and 3-16 vol %, respectively, and NO concentration varied between 10-140 ppm. The profile of the gas concentrations distribution along the bed height provided a good overview of the combustion sub-processes in the fuel bed.

Keywords: experimental, fuel bed, grate firing, wood combustion

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Authors: Behailu Shigute Habtemariam

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The aim of the study was to examine the effects of training load on some selected fitness performance variables of volleyball players in the case of U-17 female volleyball project players in the central Ethiopia region. Methods: In this study, quasi-experimental design was used. For the purpose of this study, twenty-three volleyball players were used as a subject from the two projects. The data collected through fitness performance assessment were analyzed and interpreted into a meaningful idea using manually as well as with computer in order to compare physical fitness variables and changes observed among participants. Those are taking part in the effects of training load on some selected physical fitness variables. The collected data were analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Science version (SPSS V 20). The independent t-test was used to show the mean differences between the groups, and the paired T-test was used to compare the mean differences of the pre and post-training within each group. The level of significance will be set at Alfa 0.05. Results: The results are displayed using tables and figures. A significant difference was found in the mean differences of pre-test values (19.7 cm) and post-test values (37.5 cm) of the Durame city project on the flexibility test (MD =17.8 cm, P = 0.00). On the other hand, there was a significant difference in the mean difference of pre-test values of (18 cm) and post-test values (26.3 cm) of the Hosana city project on the flexibility test ( MD = 8.3 cm, P = 0.00). Conclusion: According to the results of the present studies, there were significant improvements from pre to post-test at Durame City and Hosana City projects on agility, flexibility, power, and speed fitness tests. On the other hand, a significant difference was not found before beginning the exercise between the two projects; however, a significant difference was found after 12 weeks of training.

Keywords: overload, performance, training, volleyball

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Authors: Amira E. Derbalah, Doaa M. Zaghloul

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10 clinically healthy hemal nodes were collected from male bulls aged 2-3 years. Light microscopy revealed a capsule of connective tissue consisted mainly of collagen fiber surrounding hemal node, numerous erythrocytes were found in wide subcapsular sinus under the capsule. The parenchyma of the hemal node was divided into cortex and medulla. Diffused lymphocytes, and lymphoid follicles, having germinal centers were the main components of the cortex, while in the medulla there was wide medullary sinus, diffused lymphocytes and few lymphoid nodules. The area occupied with lymph nodules was larger than that occupied with non-nodular structure of lymphoid cords and blood sinusoids. Electron microscopy revealed the cellular components of hemal node including elements of circulating erythrocytes intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells, mast cells, reticular cells, macrophages, megakaryocytes and endothelial cells lining the blood sinuses. The lymphocytes were somewhat triangular in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent erythrocytes. Nuclei were triangular to oval in shape, lightly stained with clear nuclear membrane indentation and clear nucleoli. The reticular cells were elongated in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent lymphocytes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and few lysosomes were seen in their cytoplasm. Nucleus was elongated in shape with less condensed chromatin. Plasma cells were oval to irregular in shape with numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum containing electron lucent material occupying the whole cytoplasm and few mitochondria were found. Nuclei were centrally located and oval in shape with heterochromatin emarginated and often clumped near the nuclear membrane. Occasionally megakaryocytes and mast cells were seen among lymphocytes. Megakaryocytes had multilobulated nucleus and free ribosomes often appearing as small aggregates in their cytoplasm, while mast cell had their characteristic electron dense granule in the cytoplasm, few electron lucent granules were found also, we conclude that, the main function of the hemal node of cattle is proliferation of lymphocytes. No role for plasma cell in erythrophagocytosis could be suggested.

Keywords: cattle, electron microscopy, hemal node, histology, immune system

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Authors: Boudjenah-Haroun Saliha, Isselnane Souad, Nouani Abdelwahab, Baaissa Babelhadj, Mati Abderrahmane

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Algeria is experiencing significant development of the dairy sector, where consumption of milk and milk products increased by 2.7 million tons in 2008 to 4,400,000 tons in 2013, and cheese production has reached 1640 tons in the year 2014 with average consumption of 0.7 kg/person/year. Although rennet is still the most used coagulating enzyme in cheese, its production has been growing worldwide shortage. This shortage is primarily due to a growing increase in the production and consumption of cheese, and the inability to increase in parallel the production of rennet. This shortage has caused very large fluctuations in its price). To overcome these obstacles, much research has been undertaken to find effective and competitive substitutes used industrially. For this, the selection of a local production of rennet substitute is desirable. It would allow a permanent supply with limited dependence on imports and price fluctuations. Investigations conducted by our research team showed that extracts coagulants from the stomachs of older camels are characterized by a coagulating power than those from younger camels. The objective of this work is to study the possibility of substituting commercial rennet coagulant by gastric enzymes from adult camels for coagulation bovine milk. Excerpts from the raw camel coagulants obtained are characterized through their teneures proteins and clotting and proteolytic activities. Milk clotting conditions by the action of these extracts were optimized. Milk clotting time all treated with enzyme preparations and under different conditions was calculated. Bovine rennet has been used for comparison. The results show that crude extracts from gastric adult camel can be good substituting bovine rennet.

Keywords: Algeria, camel, cheese, coagulation, gastric extracts, milk

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Authors: N. Balaban, A. Buernstein, F. Gelman, Z. Ronen

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Brominated flame retardants are widespread pollutants, and are known to be toxic, carcinogenic, endocrinic disrupting as well as recalcitrant. The industrial complex Neot Hovav, in the Northern Negev, Israel, is situated above a fractured chalk aquitard, which is polluted by a wide variety of halogenated organic compounds. Two of the abundant pollutants found in the site are Dibromoneopentyl-glycol (DBNPG) and tribromoneopentyl-alcohol (TBNPA). Due to the elusive nature of the groundwater flow, it is difficult to connect between the spatial changes in contaminant concentrations to degradation. In this study, we attempt to determine whether these compounds are biodegraded in the groundwater, and to gain a better understanding concerning the bacterial community in the groundwater. This was achieved through the application of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of carbon (13^C/12^C) and bromine (81^Br/79^Br), and new-generation MiSeq pyrosequencing. The sampled boreholes were distributed among three main areas of the industrial complex: around the production plant of TBNPA and DBNPG; along the Hovav Wadi (small ephemeral stream) which crosses and drains the industrial complex; and downstream to the industrial area. TBNPA and DBNPG are found in all three areas, with no clear connection to the proximity of the borehole to the production plant. Initial isotopic data of TBNPA from boreholes in the area surrounding the production plant, reveal no changes in the carbon and bromine isotopic values. When observing the microbial groundwater community, the dominant phylum is Proteobacteria. Known anaerobic dehalogenating bacteria such as Dehalococcoides from the Chloroflexi phylum have also been detected. A statistical comparison of the groundwater microbial diversity using a multi-variant ordination of non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) reveals three main clusters in accordance to spatial location in the industrial complex: all the boreholes sampled adjacent to the production plant cluster together and separately from the Wadi Hovav boreholes cluster and the downstream to the industrial area borehole cluster. This work provides the basis for the development and implication of an isotopic fractionation based tool for assessing the biodegradation of brominated organic compounds in contaminated environments, and a novel attempt to characterize the spatial microbial diversity in the contaminated site.

Keywords: biodegradation, brominated flame retardants, groundwater, isotopic fractionation, microbial diversity

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Authors: Ibrahim Umar, S Chindo, A Rajab

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Background: TB remains a disease of public health concern in Nigeria with an estimated incidence rate of 219/100,000. Kano has the second highest TB burden in Nigeria and is the leading state with the highest consistent yearly TB notification. House-to-house (H2H) active case search in the community was found to have major contribution to the total TB notification in the state. Aims and Objective: To showcase the impact of H2H community active TB case search (ACF) to yearly TB notification in Kano State, Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2022. Methodology: This is a retrospective descriptive study based on the analysis of data collected during the routine quarterly and yearly TB data collected in the state. Data was analyzed using the Power BI with statistical alpha level of significance <0.05. Results: Between 2012 and 2013 there was no House-to-house active TB case search in Nigeria and Kano had zero contribution to TB notification from the community in those years. However, in 2014 with the introduction of H2H Active TB Case Search Kano notified 6,014 TB cases out of which 113 came from the community ACF that translated to 2% contribution to total TB notification. From 2014 to 2022 there was progressive increase in community contribution to TB case notification from 113 out of 6,014 total TB patients notified (2012) to 11,799 out of 26,371 TB patients notified (2022) in Kano State. This translated to 45% increase in community contribution to total TB case notification. Discussion: Remarkable increase in community contribution to total TB case notification in Kano State was achieved in 2022 with 11,799 TB cases notified from the community Active TB case search to the total of 26,731 TB cases notified in Kano State, Nigeria. Conclusion: in research has shown that Community-based H2H Active TB Case Search through Community TB Workers (CTWs) is an excellent strategy in finding the missing TB cases towards Ending TB in the world.

Keywords: tuberculosis(TB), active case search (ACF), house-to-house (H2H), community TB workers (CTWs)

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