Search results for: efficiency factor

Authors: Mohammad Parvaresh, Mahdi Babaee, Bahareh Arghand, Davood Nourmohammadi

Abstract:

Environmental degradation is caused by social inequalities and the inappropriate use of nature and a factor in the violation of human rights. Indeed, the right to a safe, healthy and ecologically-balanced environment is an independent human right. Therefore, the relationship between human rights and environmental protection is crucial for the study of social justice and sustainable development, and environmental problems are a result of the failure to realize social and economic justice. In this regard, 'article 50 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a general principle have many of the concepts of sustainable development, including: the growth and improvement of human life, the rights of present and future generations, and the integrity of the inner and outer generation, the prohibition of any environmental degradation'. Also, Charter on Citizen’s Rights, which was conveyed by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Rouhani refers to the right to a healthy environment and sustainable development. In this regard in 2013, Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Co. defined a plan called 'Tehran’s Health Line' was includes Western and Eastern part by about 26 kilometers of water transferring pipelines varied 1000 to 2000 mm diameters. This project aims to: (1) Transfer water from the northwest water treatment plant to the southwest areas, which suffer from qualitative and quantitative water, in order to mix with the improper wells’ water; (2) Reducing the water consumption provided by harvesting from wells which results in improving the underground water resources, causing the large settlements and stopping the immigrating slums into the center or north side of the city. All of the financial resources accounted for 53,000,000 US$ which is mobilized by Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Co. to expedite the work. The present study examines the Tehran Health Line plan and the purpose of implementation of this plan to achieve environmental protection, environmental justice and citizenship rights for all people who live in Tehran.

Keywords: environmental justice, international environmental law, erga omnes, charter on citizen's rights, Tehran health line

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Gabriel Woldu, Maria Sassi

Abstract:

Coffee performs a pivotal role in Ethiopia's GDP, revenue, employment, domestic demand, and export earnings. Ethiopia's coffee production and exports show high variability in the amount of production and export earnings. Despite being the continent's fifth-largest coffee producer, Ethiopia has not developed its ability to shine as a major exporter in the globe's green coffee exports. Ethiopian coffee exports were not stable and had high volume and earnings fluctuations. The main aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of the export of coffee variation to different importing nations using a first-order Markov Chain model. 14 years of time-series data has been used to examine the direction and structural change in the export of coffee. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was used to determine the annual growth rate in the coffee export quantity, value, and per-unit price over the study period. The major export markets for Ethiopian coffee were Germany, Japan, and the USA, which were more stable, while countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia were less stable and had low retention rates for Ethiopian coffee. The study, therefore, recommends that Ethiopia should again revitalize its market to France, Italy, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia, as these countries are the major coffee-consuming countries in the world to boost its export stake to the global coffee markets in the future. In order to further enhance export stability, the Ethiopian Government and other stakeholders in the coffee sector should have to work on reducing the volatility of coffee output and exports in order to improve production and quality efficiency, so that stabilize markets as well as to make the product attractive and price competitive in the importing countries.

Keywords: coffee, CAGR, Markov chain, direction of trade, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Amin Nazifi, Amir Raki, Doga Istanbulluoglu

Abstract:

The incorporation of technological advancements into financial services, commonly referred to as Fintech, is primarily aimed at promoting services that are accessible, convenient, and inclusive, thereby benefiting both consumers and businesses. Fintech services employ a variety of technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, and big data, to enhance the efficiency and productivity of traditional services. Cryptocurrency, a component of Fintech, is projected to be a trillion-dollar industry, with over 320 million consumers globally investing in various forms of cryptocurrencies. However, these potentially transformative services can also lead to adverse outcomes. For instance, recent Fintech innovations have been increasingly linked to misconduct and disservice, resulting in serious implications for consumer well-being. This could be attributed to the ease of access to Fintech, which enables adults to trade cryptocurrencies, shares, and stocks via mobile applications. However, there is little known about the darker aspects of technological advancements, such as Fintech. Hence, this study aims to generate scholarly insights into the design of robust and resilient Fintech services that can add value to businesses and enhance consumer well-being. Using a mixed-method approach, the study will investigate the personal and contextual factors influencing consumers’ adoption and usage of technology innovations and their impacts on consumer well-being. First, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a sample of Fintech users until theoretical saturation is achieved. Subsequently, based on the findings of the first study, a quantitative study will be conducted to develop and empirically test the impacts of these factors on consumers’ well-being using an online survey with a sample of 300 participants experienced in using Fintech services. This study will contribute to the growing Transformative Service Research (TSR) literature by addressing the latest priorities in service research and shedding light on the impact of fintech services on consumer well-being.

Keywords: consumer well-being, financial literacy, Fintech, service innovation

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Bushra Zafar, Usman Qamar

Abstract:

Large data sample size and dimensions render the effectiveness of conventional data mining methodologies. A data mining technique are important tools for collection of knowledgeable information from variety of databases and provides supervised learning in the form of classification to design models to describe vital data classes while structure of the classifier is based on class attribute. Classification efficiency and accuracy are often influenced to great extent by noisy and undesirable features in real application data sets. The inherent natures of data set greatly masks its quality analysis and leave us with quite few practical approaches to use. To our knowledge first time, we present a new approach for investigation of structure and quality of datasets by providing a targeted analysis of localization of noisy and irrelevant features of data sets. Machine learning is based primarily on feature selection as pre-processing step which offers us to select few features from number of features as a subset by reducing the space according to certain evaluation criterion. The primary objective of this study is to trim down the scope of the given data sample by searching a small set of important features which may results into good classification performance. For this purpose, a heuristic for wrapper-based feature selection using genetic algorithm and for discriminative feature selection an external classifier are used. Selection of feature based on its number of occurrence in the chosen chromosomes. Sample dataset has been used to demonstrate proposed idea effectively. A proposed method has improved average accuracy of different datasets is about 95%. Experimental results illustrate that proposed algorithm increases the accuracy of prediction of different diseases.

Keywords: data mining, generic algorithm, KNN algorithms, wrapper based feature selection

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: Yunfeng Shan, Xiaoliang Wang, Youjun Zhou

Abstract:

Whole-genome data from two lungfish species, along with other species, present a valuable opportunity to reassess the longstanding debate regarding the evolutionary relationships among tetrapods, lungfishes, and coelacanths. However, the use of bootstrap support has become outdated for large-scale phylogenomic data. Without robust phylogenetic support, the phylogenetic trees become meaningless. Therefore, it is necessary to re-evaluate the phylogenies of tetrapods, lungfishes, and coelacanths using novel measures of phylogenetic support specifically designed for phylogenomic data, as the previous phylogenies were based on 100% bootstrap support. Our findings consistently provide strong evidence favoring lungfish as the closest living relative of tetrapods. This conclusion is based on high gene support confidence with confidence intervals exceeding 95%, high internode certainty, and high gene concordance factor. The evidence stems from two datasets containing recently deciphered whole genomes of two lungfish species, as well as five previous datasets derived from lungfish transcriptomes. These results yield fresh insights into the three hypotheses regarding the phylogenies of tetrapods, lungfishes, and coelacanths. Importantly, these hypotheses are not mere conjectures but are substantiated by a significant number of genes. Analyzing real biological data further demonstrates that the inclusion of additional taxa diminishes the number of orthologues and leads to more diverse tree topologies. Consequently, gene trees and species trees may not be identical even when whole-genome sequencing data is utilized. However, it is worth noting that many gene trees can accurately reflect the species tree if an appropriate number of taxa, typically ranging from six to ten, are sampled. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully select the number of taxa and an appropriate outgroup while excluding fast-evolving taxa as outgroups to mitigate the adverse effects of long-branch attraction (LBA) and achieve an accurate reconstruction of the species tree. This is particularly important as more whole-genome sequencing data becomes available.

Keywords: gene support confidence (GSC), origin of land vertebrates, coelacanth, two whole genomes of lungfishes, confidence intervals

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Sunday Olufemi Adesogan

Abstract:

The supply of potable water at least is a very important index in national development. Water tariffs depend on the treatment cost which carries the highest percentage of the total operation cost in any water supply scheme. In order to keep water tariffs as low as possible, treatment costs have to be minimized. The University of Ibadan, Nigeria, water supply scheme consists of a treatment plant with three distribution stations (Amina way, Kurumi and Lander) and two raw water supply sources (Awba dam and Eleyele dam). An operational study of the scheme was carried out to ascertain the efficiency of the supply of potable water on the campus to justify the need for water supply schemes in tertiary institutions. The study involved regular collection, processing and analysis of periodic operational data. Data collected include supply reading (water production on daily basis) and consumers metered reading for a period of 22 months (October 2013 - July 2015), and also collected, were the operating hours of both plants and human beings. Applying the required mathematical equations, total loss was determined for the distribution system, which was translated into monetary terms. Adequacies of the operational functions were also determined. The study revealed that water supply scheme is justified in tertiary institutions. It was also found that approximately 10.7 million Nigerian naira (N) is lost to leakages during the 22-month study period; the system’s storage capacity is no longer adequate, especially for peak water production. The capacity of the system as a whole is insufficient for the present university population and that the existing water supply system is not being operated in an optimal manner especially due to personnel, power and system ageing constraints.

Keywords: development, panacea, supply, water

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Lanchi Xie, Zhihui Li, Zhigang Li, Guiqiang Wang, Lei Xu, Yuwen Yan

Abstract:

Image-based facial features can be classified into category recognition features and individual recognition features. Current automated face recognition systems extract a specific feature vector of different dimensions from a facial image according to their pre-trained neural network. However, to improve the efficiency of parameter calculation, an algorithm generally reduces the image details by pooling. The operation will overlook the details concerned much by forensic experts. In our experiment, we adopted a variety of face recognition algorithms based on deep learning, compared a large number of naturally collected face images with the known data of the same person's frontal ID photos. Downscaling and manual handling were performed on the testing images. The results supported that the facial recognition algorithms based on deep learning detected structural and morphological information and rarely focused on specific markers such as stains and moles. Overall performance, distribution of genuine scores and impostor scores, and likelihood ratios were tested to evaluate the accuracy of biometric systems and forensic experts. Experiments showed that the biometric systems were skilled in distinguishing category features, and forensic experts were better at discovering the individual features of human faces. In the proposed approach, a fusion was performed at the score level. At the specified false accept rate, the framework achieved a lower false reject rate. This paper contributes to improving the interpretability of the objective method of facial comparison and provides a novel method for human-machine collaboration in this field.

Keywords: likelihood ratio, automated facial recognition, facial comparison, biometrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Dana Alina Magdas, Nicoleta Simona Vedeanu, Ioana Feher, Rares Stiufiuc

Abstract:

Food and beverages authentication using rapid and non-expensive analytical tools represents nowadays an important challenge. In this regard, the potential of vibrational techniques in food authentication has gained an increased attention during the last years. For wines discrimination, Raman spectroscopy appears more feasible to be used as compared with IR (infrared) spectroscopy, because of the relatively weak water bending mode in the vibrational spectroscopy fingerprint range. Despite this, the use of Raman technique in wine discrimination is in an early stage. Taking this into consideration, the wine discrimination potential of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique is reported in the present work. The novelty of this study, compared with the previously reported studies, concerning the application of vibrational techniques in wine discrimination consists in the fact that the present work presents the wines differentiation based on the individual signals obtained from deconvoluted spectra. In order to achieve wines classification with respect to variety, geographical origin and vintage, the peaks intensities obtained after spectra deconvolution were compared using supervised chemometric methods like Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). For this purpose, a set of 20 white Romanian wines from different viticultural Romanian regions four varieties, was considered. Chemometric methods applied directly to row SERS experimental spectra proved their efficiency, but discrimination markers identification found to be very difficult due to the overlapped signals as well as for the band shifts. By using this approach, a better general view related to the differences that appear among the wines in terms of compositional differentiation could be reached.

Keywords: chemometry, SERS, variety, wines discrimination

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Ali Elshabrawy

Abstract:

Cloud computing is expected to be important for e Government in near future. Governments need it for solving some of its e Government, financial, infrastructure, legacy systems and integration problems. It reduces information technology (IT) infrastructure needs and support costs, and offers on-demand infrastructure and computational power, improved collaboration capabilities, which are important for e Government projects start up and sustainability. Budget pressures will continue to drive more and more government IT to hybrid and even public clouds, and more cooperation between cloud service providers and governmental agencies are expected, Or developing governmental private, community clouds. Motivation to convince governments to use cloud computing services, will create a pressure on cloud service providers to cope with government's requirements for interoperability, security standards, open data and integration between their cloud systems There will be significant legal action arising out of governmental uses of cloud computing, and legislation addressing both IT and business needs and consumer fears and protections. Cloud computing is a considered a revolution for IT and E business in general and e commerce, e Government in particular. As governments faces increasing challenges regarding IT infrastructure required for e Government projects implementation. As a result of Lack of required financial resources allocated for e Government projects in developed and developing countries. Cloud computing can play a major role to solve some of e Government projects challenges such as, lack of financial resources, IT infrastructure, Human resources trained to manage e Government applications, interoperability, cost efficiency challenges. If we could solve some security issues related to cloud computing usage which considered critical for e Government projects. Pretty sure it’s Just a matter of time before cloud service providers will find out solutions to attract governments as major customers for their business.

Keywords: cloud computing, e-government, adoption, supply side barriers, e-government requirements, challenges

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Anna Yagodnitsyna, Alexander Kovalev, Artur Bilsky

Abstract:

The efficiency of certain technological processes in two-phase microfluidics such as emulsion production, nanomaterial synthesis, nitration, extraction processes etc. depends on two-phase flow regimes in microchannels. For practical application in chemistry and biochemistry it is very important to predict the expected flow pattern for a large variety of fluids and channel geometries. In the case of immiscible liquids, the plug flow is a typical and optimal regime for chemical reactions and needs to be predicted by empirical data or correlations. In this work flow patterns of immiscible liquid-liquid flow in a rectangular microchannel with T-junction are investigated. Three liquid-liquid flow systems are considered, viz. kerosene – water, paraffin oil – water and castor oil – paraffin oil. Different flow patterns such as parallel flow, slug flow, plug flow, dispersed (droplet) flow, and rivulet flow are observed for different velocity ratios. New flow pattern of the parallel flow with steady wavy interface (serpentine flow) has been found. It is shown that flow pattern maps based on Weber numbers for different liquid-liquid systems do not match well. Weber number multiplied by Ohnesorge number is proposed as a parameter to generalize flow maps. Flow maps based on this parameter are superposed well for all liquid-liquid systems of this work and other experiments. Plug length and velocity are measured for the plug flow regime. When dispersed liquid wets channel walls plug length cannot be predicted by known empirical correlations. By means of particle tracking velocimetry technique instantaneous velocity fields in a plug flow regime were measured. Flow circulation inside plug was calculated using velocity data that can be useful for mass flux prediction in chemical reactions.

Keywords: flow patterns, hydrodynamics, liquid-liquid flow, microchannel

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Waqas Hassan Tanveer, Yoon Ho Lee, Taehyun Park, Wonjong Yu, Yaegeun Lee, Yusung Kim, Suk Won Cha

Abstract:

Nickel-Gadolinium Doped Ceria (Ni-GDC) cermet anodic thin films were prepared on Scandia Stabilized Zirconia (ScSZ) electrolyte supports by radio frequency (RF) sputtering, with a range of different sputtering powers (50 – 200W) and background Ar gas pressures (30 – 90mTorr). The effects of varying sputtering power and pressure on the properties of Ni-GDC films were studied using Focused Ion Beam (FIB), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) techniques. The Ni content was found to be always higher than the Ce content, at all sputtering conditions. This increased Ni content was attributed to significantly higher energy transfer efficiency of Ni ions as compared to Ce ions with Ar background sputtering gas. The solid oxide fuel cell configuration was completed by using lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM/YSZ) cathodes on the other side of ScSZ supports. Performance comparison of cells was done by Voltage-Current-Power (VIP) curves, while the resistances of various cell components were observed by nyquist plots. Initial results showed that anode films made by higher powered RF sputtering performed better than lower powered ones for a specific Ar pressure. Interestingly, however, anodes made at highest power and pressure, were not the ones that showed the maximum power output at an intermediate solid oxide fuel cell temperature of 800°C. Finally, an optimal sputtering condition was reported for high performance Ni-GDC anodes.

Keywords: intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells, nickel-cermet anodic thin films, nyquist plots, radio frequency sputtering

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Karima Abdel Aty Hassan Mohamed, Manal Mohamed Ismail, Mona Hassan Gamal Eldein, Ahmed Hassan Hussein, Abdel Aziz Mohamed Elsingerg

Abstract:

Background: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common musculoskeletal pain condition, especially in females. Decreased hip muscle strength has been implicated as a contributing factor, yet the relationships between pain, hip muscle strength and function are not known. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of strengthening hip abductors and lateral rotators on pain intensity, function and hip abductor and hip lateral rotator eccentric and concentric torques in patients with PFPS. Methods: Thirty patients had participated in this study; they were assigned into two experimental groups. With age ranged for eighty to thirty five years. Group A consisted of 15 patients (11females and 4 males) with mean age 20.8 (±2.73) years, received closed kinetic chain exercises program, stretching exercises for tight lower extremity soft tissues, and hip strengthening exercises .Group B consisted of 15 patients (12 females and 3 males) with mean age 21.2(±3.27) years, received closed kinetic chain exercises program and stretching exercises for tight lower extremity soft tissues. Treatment was given 2-3times/week, for 6 weeks. Patients were evaluated pre and post treatment for their pain severity, function of knee joint, hip abductors and external rotators concentric/eccentric peak torque. Result: the results revealed that there were significant differences in pain and function between both groups, while there was improvement for all values for both group. Conclusion: Six weeks rehabilitation program focusing on knee strengthening exercises either supplemented by hip strengthening exercises or not effective in improving function, reducing pain and improving hip muscles torque in patients with PFPS. However, adding hip abduction and lateral rotation strengthening exercises seem to reduce pain and improve function more efficiently.

Keywords: patellofemoral pain syndrome, hip muscles, rehabilitation, isokinetic

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Ashish Bhattarai, Bishnu Bhatta, Hem Raj Joshi, Nabin Neupane, Pankaj Yadav

Abstract:

This report concerns the design, development, and analysis of the combined Darrieus and Savonius wind turbine. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT's) are of two type's viz. Darrieus (lift type) and Savonius (drag type). The problem associated with Darrieus is the lack of self-starting while Savonius has low efficiency. There are 3 straight Darrieus blades having the cross-section of NACA(National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics) 0018 placed circumferentially and a helically twisted Savonius blade to get even torque distribution. This unique design allows the use of Savonius as a method of self-starting the wind turbine, which the Darrieus cannot achieve on its own. All the parts of the wind turbine are designed in CAD software, and simulation data were obtained via CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics) approach. Also, the design was imported to FlashForge Finder to 3D print the wind turbine profile and finally, testing was carried out. The plastic material used for Savonius was ABS(Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and that for Darrieus was PLA(Polylactic Acid). From the data obtained experimentally, the hybrid VAWT so fabricated has been found to operate at the low cut-in speed of 3 m/s and maximum power output has been found to be 7.5537 watts at the wind speed of 6 m/s. The maximum rpm of the rotor blade is recorded to be 431 rpm(rotation per minute) at the wind velocity of 6 m/s, signifying its potentiality of wind power production. Besides, the data so obtained from both the process when analyzed through graph plots has shown the similar nature slope wise. Also, the difference between the experimental and theoretical data obtained has shown mechanical losses. The objective is to eliminate the need for external motors for self-starting purposes and study the performance of the model. The testing of the model was carried out for different wind velocities.

Keywords: VAWT, Darrieus, Savonius, helical blades, CFD, flash forge finder, ABS, PLA

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Dimakatso B. Gumede, Nicolette N. Houreld

Abstract:

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disease caused by insulin resistance or insufficiency, resulting in hyperglycaemia and low-grade chronic inflammation. Current therapies for treating DFUs include wound debridement, glycaemic control, and wound dressing. However, these therapies are moderately effective as there is a recurrence of these ulcers and an increased risk of lower limb amputations. Photobiomodulation (PBM), which is the application of non-invasive low-level light for wound healing at the spectrum of 660-1000 nm, has shown great promise in accelerating the healing of chronic wounds. However, its underlying mechanisms are not clearly defined. Studies have indicated that PBM induces wound healing via the activation of signaling pathways that are involved in tissue repair, such as the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). However, other signaling pathways, such as the WNT/β-catenin pathway, which is also critical for wound repair, have not been investigated. This study aimed to elucidate if PBM at 660 nm and a fluence of 5 J/cm² activates the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway for wound healing in a diabetic cellular model. Human dermal fibroblasts (WS1) were continuously cultured high-glucose (26.5 mM D-glucose) environment to create a diabetic cellular model. A central scratch was created in the diabetic model to ‘wound’ the cells. The diabetic wounded (DW) cells were thereafter irradiated at 660 nm and a fluence of 5 J/cm². Cell migration, gene expression and protein assays were conducted at 24- and 48-h post-PBM. The results showed that PBM at 660 nm and a fluence of 5 J/cm² significantly increased cell migration in diabetic wounded cells at 24-h post-PBM. The expression of CTNNB1, ACTA2, COL1A1 and COL3A1 genes was also increased in DW cells post-PBM. Furthermore, there was increased cytoplasmic accumulation and nuclear localization of β-catenin at 24 h post-PBM. The findings in this study demonstrate that PBM activates the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway by inducing the accumulation of β-catenin in diabetic wounded cells, leading to increased cell migration and expression of wound repair markers. These results thus indicate that PBM has the potential to improve wound healing in diabetic ulcers via activation of the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Keywords: wound healing, diabetic ulcers, photobiomodulation, WNT/β-catenin, signalling pathway

Procedia PDF Downloads 45

Authors: Eyob Messele Sefene, Atinkut Atinafu Yilma

Abstract:

The highest strength-to-weight ratio criterion has fascinated increasing curiosity in virtually all areas where weight reduction is indispensable. One of the recent advances in manufacturing to achieve this intention endears friction stir welding (FSW). The process is widely used for joining similar and dissimilar non-ferrous materials. In FSW, the mechanical properties of the weld joints are impelled by property-selected process parameters. This paper presents verdicts of optimum process parameters in attempting to attain enhanced mechanical properties of the weld joint. The experiment was conducted on a 5 mm 6061 aluminum alloy sheet. A butt joint configuration was employed. Process parameters, rotational speed, traverse speed or feed rate, axial force, dwell time, tool material and tool profiles were utilized. Process parameters were also optimized, making use of a mixed L18 orthogonal array and the Grey relation analysis method with larger is better quality characteristics. The mechanical properties of the weld joint are examined through the tensile test, hardness test and liquid penetrant test at ambient temperature. ANOVA was conducted in order to investigate the significant process parameters. This research shows that dwell time, rotational speed, tool shape, and traverse speed have become significant, with a joint efficiency of about 82.58%. Nine confirmatory tests are conducted, and the results indicate that the average values of the grey relational grade fall within the 99% confidence interval. Hence the experiment is proven reliable.

Keywords: friction stir welding, optimization, 6061 AA, Taguchi

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Anupam Chanda

Abstract:

Presently Packaging plays a significant role for drug discoveries. The process of selecting materials and the type of packaging also offers an opportunity for the Packaging scientist to look for biological delivery choices. Most injectable protein products were supplied in some sort of glass vial, prefilled syringe, cartridge. Those product having high Ph content there is a chance of “delamination “from inner surface of glass vial. With protein-based drugs, the biggest issue is the effect of packaging derivatives on the protein’s threedimensional and surface structure. These are any effects that relate to denaturation or aggregation of the protein due to oxidation or interactions from contaminants or impurities in the preparation. The potential for these effects needs to be carefully considered in choosing the container and the container closure system to avoid putting patients in jeopardy. Cause of Delamination : -Formulations with a high pH include phosphate and citrate buffers increase the risk of glass delamination. -High alkali content in glass could accelerate erosion. -High temperature during the vial-forming process increase the risk of glass delamination. -Terminal sterilization (irradiated at 20-40 kGy for 150 min) also is a risk factor for specific products(veterinary parenteral administration),could cause delamination. -High product-storage temperatures and long exposure times can increase the rate and severity of glass delamination. How to prevent Delamination -Treating the surface of the glass vials with materials, such as ammonium sulfate or siliconization can reduce the rate of glass erosion. -Consider alternative sterilization methods only in rare cases. -The correct specification for the glass to ensure its suitability for the pH of the product. -Use Cyclic olefin copolymer(COC)/Cyclic olefin Polymer(COP) Adsorption of protein and Solutions: Option#1 Coat with linear methoxylated polyglycerol and hyperbranchedmethoxylated polyglycerol. Option#2 Thehyperbranched non-methoxylated coating performed best. Option#3 Coat with hyperbranched polyglycerol Option#4 Right selection of Sterilization of glass vial/syringe.

Keywords: delamination of glass, ptrotien adoptions inside the glass surface, extractable & leachable solutions, injectable designs for new drugs

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Suharni Mohamad Suharni Mohamad, Nurul Izzati Hamzan Nurul Izzati Hamzan, Norhayu Abdul Rahman Norhayu Abdul Rahman, Siti Suraiya Md Noor Siti Suraiya Md Noor

Abstract:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important risk factor for development of oral cancer. HPV16 is the most common type found in HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma. In the present study, we established a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (real-time LAMP) for detection of HPV16. A set of six primers was specially designed to recognize eight distinct sequences of HPV16-E6. Detection and quantification was achieved by real-time monitoring using a real-time turbidimeter based on threshold time required for turbidity in the LAMP reaction. LAMP reagents (MgSO4, dNTPs, Bst polymerase concentrations) and various incubation times and temperatures were optimized. The sensitivity was determined using 10-fold serial dilutions of HPV16 standard strain. The specificity of was evaluated using other HPV genotypes. The optimized method was established with specifically designed primers by real-time detection in approximately 30 min at 65°C. The limit of detection of HPV16 using the LAMP assay was 10 pg/ml that could be detected in 30 min. The LAMP assay was 10 times more sensitive than the conventional PCR in detecting HPV16. No cross-reactivity with other HPV genotypes was observed. This quantitative real-time LAMP assay may improve diagnostic potential for the detection and quantification of HPV16 in clinical samples and epidemiological studies due to its rapidity, simplicity, high sensitivity and specificity. This assay will be further evaluated with HPV DNAs of saliva from patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Acknowledgement: This study was financially supported by the ScienceFund Grant, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (305/PPSG/6113219).

Keywords: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), Human Papillomavirus 16 (HPV16), Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP), rapid detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 411

Authors: Nadia Naseem, Farwa Batool, Nasir Mehmood, AbdulHannan Nagi

Abstract:

Background: The incidence and mortality of breast cancer vary significantly in geographically distinct populations. In Pakistan, breast cancer has shown an increase in incidence in young females and is characterized by more aggressive behavior. The tumor suppressor TP53 gene is a crucial genetic factor that plays a significant role in breast carcinogenesis. This study investigated the TP53 mutations in molecular subtypes of both nodes negative and positive breast cancer in young Pakistani patients. Material and Methods: p53, Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), Her-2 neu and Ki 67 expressions were analyzed immunohistochemically in a series of 75 node negative (A) and 75 node positive (B) young (aged: 19-40 years) breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2014 to 2017 at two leading hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan. Tumor tissue specimens and peripheral blood samples were examined for TP53 mutations by direct sequencing of the gene (exons 4-9). The relation of TP53 mutations to these markers and clinicopathological data was investigated. Results: Mean age of the patients was 32.4 + 9.1 SD. Invasive breast carcinoma was the most frequent histological variant (A=92%, B=94.6%). Grade 3 carcinoma was the commonest grade (A=72%, B=81.3%). Triple negative cases (ER-, PR-, Her-2) formed most of the molecular subtypes (A=44%, B=50.6%). A total of 17.2% (A: 6.6%, B: 10.6%) patients showed TP53 mutations. Mutations were significantly more frequent in triple negative cases (A: 74.8%, B: 62.2%) compared to HER2-positive patients (P < 0.0001). In the multivariate analysis of the whole patient group, the independent prognosticator were triple negative cases (P=0.021), TP53 overexpression by IHC (P=0.001) and advanced-stage disease (P=0.007). No statistically significant correlation between TP53 mutations and clinicopathological parameters was found (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that TP53 mutations are infrequently present in breast carcinoma of young Pakistani population and there was no significant correlation between p53 mutation and early onset disease. Immunohistochemically detected TP53 expression in our resource-constrained to set up can be beneficial in predicting mutations at the younger age in our population.

Keywords: immunohistochemistry (IHC), invasive breast carcinoma (IBC), Pakistan, TP53

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Javad Taherahmadi, Mohammad Jafarian, Mohammad Naser Asefi

Abstract:

The global capacity of wind power has dramatically increased in recent years. Therefore, improving the technology of wind turbines to take different advantages of this enormous potential in the power grid, could be interesting subject for scientists. The doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine is a popular system due to its many advantages such as the improved power quality, high energy efficiency and controllability, etc. With an increase in wind power penetration in the network and with regard to the flexible control of wind turbines, the use of wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems has been of significance importance for researchers. Subsynchronous oscillations are one of the important issues in the stability of power systems. Damping subsynchronous oscillations by using wind turbines has been studied in various research efforts, mainly by adding an auxiliary control loop to the control structure of the wind turbine. In most of the studies, this control loop is composed of linear blocks. In this paper, simple adaptive control is used for this purpose. In order to use an adaptive controller, the convergence of the controller should be verified. Since adaptive control parameters tend to optimum values in order to obtain optimum control performance, using this controller will help the wind turbines to have positive contribution in damping the network subsynchronous oscillations at different wind speeds and system operating points. In this paper, the application of simple adaptive control in DFIG wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems is studied and the essential condition for using this controller is considered. It is also shown that this controller has an insignificant effect on the dynamic stability of the wind turbine, itself.

Keywords: almost strictly positive real (ASPR), doubly-fed induction generator (DIFG), simple adaptive control (SAC), subsynchronous oscillations, wind turbine

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Nguyen Chi Quang, Nguyen Duong Tri Nguyen

Abstract:

This article is the first step to research and outline the structure of the geotechnical database in the geological survey of a power project; in the context of this report creating the database that has been carried out for the Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project. For the purpose of providing a method of organizing and storing geological and topographic survey data and experimental results in a spatial database, the RockWorks software is used to bring optimal efficiency in the process of exploiting, using, and analyzing data in service of the design work in the power engineering consulting. Three-dimensional (3D) geotechnical models are created from the survey data: such as stratigraphy, lithology, porosity, etc. The results of the 3D geotechnical model in the case of Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project include six closely stacked stratigraphic formations by Horizons method, whereas modeling of engineering geological parameters is performed by geostatistical methods. The accuracy and reliability assessments are tested through error statistics, empirical evaluation, and expert methods. The three-dimensional model analysis allows better visualization of volumetric calculations, excavation and backfilling of the lake area, tunneling of power pipelines, and calculation of on-site construction material reserves. In general, the application of engineering geological modeling makes the design work more intuitive and comprehensive, helping construction designers better identify and offer the most optimal design solutions for the project. The database always ensures the update and synchronization, as well as enables 3D modeling of geological and topographic data to integrate with the designed data according to the building information modeling. This is also the base platform for BIM & GIS integration.

Keywords: database, engineering geology, 3D Model, RockWorks, Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Vishnu V. Pillai, Sunil P. Lonkar, Akhil M. Abraham, Saeed M. Alhassan

Abstract:

An effectual technology for wastewater treatment is a great demand now in order to encounter the water pollution caused by organic pollutants. Photocatalytic oxidation technology is widely used in removal of such unsafe contaminants. Among the semi-conducting metal oxides, robust and thermally stable TiO2 has emerged as a fascinating material for photocatalysis. Enhanced catalytic activity was observed for nanostructured TiO2 due to its higher surface, chemical stability and higher oxidation ability. However, higher charge carrier recombination and wide band gap of TiO2 limits its use as a photocatalyst in the UV region. It is desirable to develop a photocatalyst that can efficiently absorb the visible light, which occupies the main part of the solar spectrum. Hence, in order to extend its photocatalytic efficiency under visible light, TiO2 nanoparticles are often doped with metallic or non-metallic elements. Non-metallic doping of TiO2 has attracted much attention due to the low thermal stability and enhanced recombination of charge carriers endowed by metallic doping of TiO2. Amongst, sulfur doped TiO2 is most widely used photocatalyst in environmental purification. However, the most of S-TiO2 synthesis technique uses toxic chemicals and complex procedures. Hence, a facile, scalable and environmentally benign preparation process for S-TiO2 is highly desirable. In present work, we have demonstrated new and facile solid-state reaction method for S-TiO2 synthesis that uses abundant elemental sulfur as S source and moderate temperatures. The resulting nano-sized S-TiO2 has been successfully employed as visible light photocatalyst in methylene blue dye removal from aqueous media.

Keywords: ecofriendly, nanomaterials, methylene blue, photocatalysts

Procedia PDF Downloads 353

Authors: Arsalan Ghaderi

Abstract:

Introduction: Inactivity is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. According to the study prevalence of inactivity in Iran, about 67.5% and in the staff, and especially nurses, are similar. The inflammatory index (HS-CRP) is highly predictive of the progression of these diseases. Physical activity education is very important in preventing these diseases. One of the modern educational methods is web-based theory-based education. Methods: This is a semi-experimental interventional study which was conducted in Isfahan and Kurdistan universities of medical sciences in two stages. A cross-sectional study was done to determine the status of physical activity and its predictive factors. Then, intervention was performed, and six months later the data were retrieved. The data was collected using a demographic questionnaire, an integrative model of behavior prediction constructs, a standard physical activity questionnaire and (HS-CRP) test. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Physical activity was low in 66.6% of nurses, 25.4% were moderate and 8% severe. According to Pearson correlation matrix, the highest correlation was found between behavioral intention and skill structures (0.553**), subjective norms (0.222**) and self-efficacy (0.198**). The relationship between age and physical activity in the first study was reverse and significant. After intervention, there was a significant change in attitudes, self-efficacy, skill and behavioral intention in the intervention group. This change was significant in attitudes, self-efficacy and environmental conditions of the control group. HS-CRP index decreased significantly after intervention in both groups, but there was not a significant relationship between inflammatory index and physical activity score. The change in physical activity level was significant only in the control group. Conclusion: Despite the effect of educational intervention on attitude, self-efficacy, skill, and behavioral intention, the results showed that if factors such as environmental factors are not corrected, training and changing structures cannot lead to physical activity behavior. On the other hand, no correlation between physical activity and HS-CRP showed that this index can be influenced by other factors, and this should be considered in any intervention to reduce the HS-CRP index.

Keywords: HS-CRP, integrative model of behavior prediction, physical activity, nurses, web-based education

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Ruphi Naz, Altaf Ahmad, Mohammad Anis

Abstract:

Sialic acid (5-Acetylneuraminic acid, Neu5Ac) is a common sugar found as a terminal residue on glycoconjugates in many animals. Humans brain and the central nervous system contain the highest concentration of sialic acid (as N-acetylneuraminic acid) where these acids play an important role in neural transmission and ganglioside structure in synaptogenesis. Due to its important biological function, sialic acid is attracting increasing attention. To understand metabolic networks, fluxes and regulation, it is essential to be able to determine the cellular and subcellular levels of metabolites. Genetically-encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensors represent a promising technology for measuring metabolite levels and corresponding rate changes in live cells. Taking this, we developed a genetically encoded FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) based nanosensor to analyse the sialic acid level in living cells. Sialic acid periplasmic binding protein (sia P) from Haemophilus influenzae was taken and ligated between the FRET pair, the cyan fluorescent protein (eCFP) and Venus. The chimeric sensor protein was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and purified by affinity chromatography. Conformational changes in the binding protein clearly confirmed the changes in FRET efficiency. So any change in the concentration of sialic acid is associated with the change in FRET ratio. This sensor is very specific to sialic acid and found stable with the different range of pH. This nanosensor successfully reported the intracellular level of sialic acid in bacterial cell. The data suggest that the nanosensors may be a versatile tool for studying the in vivo dynamics of sialic acid level non-invasively in living cells

Keywords: nanosensor, FRET, Haemophilus influenzae, metabolic networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Paula C. Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Nádia Pereira, Aristides Ferreira, Alexandra Marques Pinto, Alexandra Barros, Vitor Martinho

Abstract:

Cyberbullying is a phenomenon of worldwide concern regarding children and adolescents’ mental health and risk behavior. Bystanders of this phenomenon can help diminish the incidence of this phenomenon if they engage in pro-social behavior. However, different social-cognitive and affective bystander reactions may surface because of the lack of contextual information and emotional cues in cyberbullying situations. Hence, this study investigated how cyberbullying bystanders’ unpleasant emotions could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions to cyberbully or defend the victim. It also proposed to investigate how their normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions. Three groups of adolescents participated in this study, namely a first of group 402 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.12; SD = 2.19; 55.7% girls) to compute explorative factorial analyses of the instruments used; a second group of 676 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 14.10; SD = 2.74; 55.5% were boys) to run confirmatory factor analyses; and a third group (N = 397; 5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.88 years; SD = 1.45; 55.5% girls) to perform the main analyses to test the research hypotheses. Self-report measures were used, such as the Personal moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Unpleasant emotions about cyberbullying incidents questionnaires, and the Bystanders’ behavioral intentions in cyberbullying situations questionnaires. Path analysis results revealed that unpleasant emotions were mediators of the relationship between adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ personal moral beliefs and their intentions to help the victims in cyberbullying situations. Moreover, adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ normative beliefs of gravity were mediators of the relationship between their personal moral beliefs and their intentions to cyberbully others. These findings provide insights for the development of prevention and intervention programs that promote social and emotional learning strategies as a means to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying.

Keywords: cyberbullying, normative beliefs of perceived severity, personal moral beliefs, unpleasant emotions

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Omojokun G. Aju, Adedayo O. Sule

Abstract:

ZigBee wireless sensor and control network is one of the most popularly deployed wireless technologies in recent years. This is because ZigBee is an open standard lightweight, low-cost, low-speed, low-power protocol that allows true operability between systems. It is built on existing IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and therefore combines the IEEE 802.15.4 features and newly added features to meet required functionalities thereby finding applications in wide variety of wireless networked systems. ZigBee‘s current focus is on embedded applications of general-purpose, inexpensive, self-organising networks which requires low to medium data rates, high number of nodes and very low power consumption such as home/industrial automation, embedded sensing, medical data collection, smart lighting, safety and security sensor networks, and monitoring systems. Although the ZigBee design specification includes security features to protect data communication confidentiality and integrity, however, when simplicity and low-cost are the goals, security is normally traded-off. A lot of researches have been carried out on ZigBee technology in which emphasis has mainly been placed on ZigBee network performance characteristics such as energy efficiency, throughput, robustness, packet delay and delivery ratio in different scenarios and applications. This paper investigate and analyse the data accuracy, network implementation difficulties and security challenges of ZigBee network applications in star-based and mesh-based topologies with emphases on its home monitoring application using the ZigBee ProBee ZE-10 development boards for the network setup. The paper also expose some factors that need to be considered when designing ZigBee network applications and suggest ways in which ZigBee network can be designed to provide more resilient to network attacks.

Keywords: home monitoring, IEEE 802.14.5, topology, wireless security, wireless sensor network (WSN), ZigBee

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Leizhang Wang, Baocang Wang

Abstract:

General Sieve Kernel (G6K) is considered as currently the fastest algorithm for the shortest vector problem (SVP) and record holder of open SVP challenge. We study the lattice basis quality improvement effects of the Workout proposed in G6K, which is composed of a series of pumps to solve SVP. Firstly, we use a low-dimensional pump output basis to propose a predictor to predict the quality of high-dimensional Pumps output basis. Both theoretical analysis and experimental tests are performed to illustrate that it is more computationally expensive to solve the LWE problems by using a G6K default SVP solving strategy (Workout) than these lattice reduction algorithms (e.g. BKZ 2.0, Progressive BKZ, Pump, and Jump BKZ) with sieving as their SVP oracle. Secondly, the default Workout in G6K is optimized to achieve a stronger reduction and lower computational cost. Thirdly, we combine the optimized Workout and the Pump output basis quality predictor to further reduce the computational cost by optimizing LWE instances selection strategy. In fact, we can solve the TU LWE challenge (n = 65, q = 4225, = 0:005) 13.6 times faster than the G6K default Workout. Fourthly, we consider a combined two-stage (Preprocessing by BKZ- and a big Pump) LWE solving strategy. Both stages use dimension for free technology to give new theoretical security estimations of several LWE-based cryptographic schemes. The security estimations show that the securities of these schemes with the conservative Newhope’s core-SVP model are somewhat overestimated. In addition, in the case of LAC scheme, LWE instances selection strategy can be optimized to further improve the LWE-solving efficiency even by 15% and 57%. Finally, some experiments are implemented to examine the effects of our strategies on the Normal Form LWE problems, and the results demonstrate that the combined strategy is four times faster than that of Newhope.

Keywords: LWE, G6K, pump estimator, LWE instances selection strategy, dimension for free

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Sahar Tabarroki, Ahad Nazari

Abstract:

The design process is one of the most key project processes in the construction industry. Although architects have the responsibility to produce complete, accurate, and coordinated documents, architectural design is accompanied by many errors. A design error occurs when the constraints and requirements of the design are not satisfied. Errors are potentially costly and time-consuming to correct if not caught early during the design phase, and they become expensive in either construction documents or in the construction phase. The aim of this research is to identify the risk factors of architectural design errors, so identification of risks is necessary. First, a literature review in the design process was conducted and then a questionnaire was designed to identify the risks and risk factors. The questions in the form of the questionnaire were based on the “similar service description of study and supervision of architectural works” published by “Vice Presidency of Strategic Planning & Supervision of I.R. Iran” as the base of architects’ tasks. Second, the top 10 risks of architectural activities were identified. To determine the positions of possible causes of risks with respect to architectural activities, these activities were located in a design process modeled by the IDEF0 technique. The research was carried out by choosing a case study, checking the design drawings, interviewing its architect and client, and providing a checklist in order to identify the concrete examples of architectural design errors. The results revealed that activities such as “defining the current and future requirements of the project”, “studies and space planning,” and “time and cost estimation of suggested solution” has a higher error risk than others. Moreover, the most important causes include “unclear goals of a client”, “time force by a client”, and “lack of knowledge of architects about the requirements of end-users”. For error detecting in the case study, lack of criteria, standards and design criteria, and lack of coordination among them, was a barrier, anyway, “lack of coordination between architectural design and electrical and mechanical facility”, “violation of the standard dimensions and sizes in space designing”, “design omissions” were identified as the most important design errors.

Keywords: architectural design, design error, risk management, risk factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Rabin Paudel, Dambar Bahadur Mahato, Prabin Poudel, Bijaya Neupane, Sakar Jha

Abstract:

Understanding Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is very important in countries like Nepal, where solutions to escalating conflicts are urgently required. However, most of the HEC mitigation measures implemented so far have been done on an ad hoc basis without the detailed understanding of nature and extent of the damage. This study aims to assess the current scenario of HEC in regards to crop and property damages by Wild Asian Elephant and people’s perception towards existing mitigating measures and elephant conservation in Buffer zone area of Bardia National Park. The methods used were a questionnaire survey (N= 178), key-informant interview (N= 18) and focal group discussions (N= 6). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the nature and extent of damage and to understand people’s perception towards HEC, its mitigation measures and elephant conservation. Chi-square test was applied to determine the significance of crop and property damages with respect to distance from the park boundary. Out of all types of damage, crop damage was found to be the highest (51%), followed by house damage (31%) and damage to stored grains (18%) with winter being the season with the greatest elephant damage. Among 178 respondents, the majority of them (82%) were positive towards elephant conservation despite the increment in HEC incidents as perceived by 88% of total respondents. Among the mitigation measures present, the most applied was electric fence (91%) followed by barbed wire fence (5%), reinforced concrete cement wall (3%) and gabion wall (1%). Most effective mitigation measures were reinforced concrete cement wall and gabion wall. To combat increasing crop damage, the insurance policy should be initiated. The efficiency of the mitigation measures should be timely monitored, and corrective measures should be applied as per the need.

Keywords: crop and property damage, elephant conflict, Asiatic wild elephant, mitigation measures

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Chijindu D. Mgbemere

Abstract:

Mass killing also known as genocide is the systematic killing of people from national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do so. The act has been there before 1948, when it was officially recognized for what it is. From then, the world has continued to witness genocide in diverse forms- negating different measures by the United Nations and its agencies to curb it. So far, all the studies and documentations on this subject are biased in favor of radio and the print. This paper therefore extended the interrogation of genocide, drumming its devastating effects, using the film medium; and in doing so devised innovative and pragmatic approach to genocide scholarship. It further centered attention on the factors and impacts of genocide, with a view to determine how effective film can be in such a study. The study is anchored on Bateson’s Framing Theory. Four films- Hotel Rwanda, Half of a Yellow Sun, Attack on Darfur, and sarafina, were analyzed, based on background, factors/causes, impacts, and development of genocide, via Content Analysis. The study discovered that: as other continents strive towards peace, acts of genocide are on the increase in African. Bloodletting stereotypes give Africa negative image in the global society. Difficult political frameworks, the trauma of postcolonial state, aggravated by ethnic and religious intolerance, and limited access to resources are responsible for high cases of genocide in Africa. The media, international communities, and peace agencies often abet other than prevent genocide or mass killings in Africa. High human casualty and displacement, children soldering, looting, hunger, rape, sex-slavery and abuse, mental and psychosomatic stress disorders are some of the impacts of genocide. Genocidaires are either condemned or killed. Grievances can be vented using civil resistance, negotiation, adjudication, arbitration, and mediation. The cinema is an effective means of studying and documenting genocide. Africans must factor the image laundering of their continent into consideration. Punishment of genocidaires without an attempt to de-radicalize them is counterproductive.

Keywords: African film, genocide, framing theory, mass murder

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Cristina Gutiérrez Carranza

Abstract:

Digital nomadism is a trend and lifestyle which combines work and traveling. This tourism tendency is motivated by the desire to have a fixed source of financial income while becoming independent from a specific work location. This study contextualizes Costa Rica and its potential prospects to take advantage of this tourism market niche. It explores the dynamics of digital nomadism in the context of Costa Rica, analyzing the current scenario, challenges, and opportunities related to this global phenomenon. The research covers several areas, including the conceptualization of digital nomadism, its historical background, and contemporary manifestations. The investigation delves into the present state of digital nomadism, evaluating the extent of digitalization in Costa Rica, mobile phone coverage, and fixed internet access. As part of the strategies implemented, as the study develops, mapping the most common destinations of digital nomads is a key factor, bringing a sight on the aspects that make Costa Rica an attractive location for this emerging tourist group. Additionally, the paper draws insights from hosting entrepreneurs and digital nomads with work visas in Costa Rica, offering a comprehensive understanding of the experiences and perspectives from both sides. Hence, the study includes data from a sample of 20 digital nomads holding visas for Costa Rica, offering a detailed analysis of their professional activities, experiences and needs as remote workers in the country. As well it adds in perceptions from 10 entrepreneurs engaged in providing accommodation services to digital nomads contribute to a degree of understanding of the way they have faced this growing movement. This research provides significant insights on the dynamics of digital nomadism in Costa Rica by integrating data from specific sources. Policymakers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders are anticipated to gain valuable data from the findings regarding the opportunities and challenges of hosting and accommodating digital nomads, which will ultimately aid in the creation of plans to capitalize on this worldwide trend for the nation's socioeconomic development.

Keywords: digital nomads, tourism, sustainability, digital nomads visa, remote jobs

Procedia PDF Downloads 73