Search results for: the population distribution

Authors: Meitham Amereh, Mohsen Akbari, Ben Nadler

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Cancer has been recognized as one of the most challenging problems in biology and medicine. Aggressive tumors are a lethal type of cancers characterized by high genomic instability, rapid progression, invasiveness, and therapeutic resistance. Their behavior involves complicated molecular biology and consequential dynamics. Although tremendous effort has been devoted to developing therapeutic approaches, there is still a huge need for new insights into the dark aspects of tumors. As one of the key requirements in better understanding the complex behavior of tumors, mathematical modeling and continuum physics, in particular, play a pivotal role. Mathematical modeling can provide a quantitative prediction on biological processes and help interpret complicated physiological interactions in tumors microenvironment. The pathophysiology of aggressive tumors is strongly affected by the extracellular cues such as stresses produced by mechanical forces between the tumor and the host tissue. During the tumor progression, the growing mass displaces the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM), and due to the level of tissue stiffness, stress accumulates inside the tumor. The produced stress can influence the tumor by breaking adherent junctions. During this process, the tumor stops the rapid proliferation and begins to remodel its shape to preserve the homeostatic equilibrium state. To reach this, the tumor, in turn, upregulates epithelial to mesenchymal transit-inducing transcription factors (EMT-TFs). These EMT-TFs are involved in various signaling cascades, which are often associated with tumor invasiveness and malignancy. In this work, we modeled the tumor as a growing hyperplastic mass and investigated the effects of mechanical stress from surrounding ECM on tumor invasion. The invasion is modeled as volume-preserving inelastic evolution. In this framework, principal balance laws are considered for tumor mass, linear momentum, and diffusion of nutrients. Also, mechanical interactions between the tumor and ECM is modeled using Ciarlet constitutive strain energy function, and dissipation inequality is utilized to model the volumetric growth rate. System parameters, such as rate of nutrient uptake and cell proliferation, are obtained experimentally. To validate the model, human Glioblastoma multiforme (hGBM) tumor spheroids were incorporated inside Matrigel/Alginate composite hydrogel and was injected into a microfluidic chip to mimic the tumor’s natural microenvironment. The invasion structure was analyzed by imaging the spheroid over time. Also, the expression of transcriptional factors involved in invasion was measured by immune-staining the tumor. The volumetric growth, stress distribution, and inelastic evolution of tumors were predicted by the model. Results showed that the level of invasion is in direct correlation with the level of predicted stress within the tumor. Moreover, the invasion length measured by fluorescent imaging was shown to be related to the inelastic evolution of tumors obtained by the model.

Keywords: cancer, invasion, mathematical modeling, microfluidic chip, tumor spheroids

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Authors: Shelley Jones

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Assumptions abound that education for girls will, as a matter of course, lead to their economic empowerment as women; yet. little is known about the ways in which schooling for girls, who traditionally/historically would not have had opportunities for post-primary, or perhaps even primary education – such as the participants in this study based in rural Uganda - in reality, impacts their economic situations. There is a need forlongitudinal studies in which women share experiences, understandings, and reflections of their lives that can inform our knowledge of this. In response, this paper reports on stage four of a longitudinal case study (2004-2018) focused on education and empowerment for girls and women in rural Uganda, in which 13 of the 15 participants from the original study participated. This paper understands empowerment as not simply increased opportunities (e.g., employment) but also real gains in power, freedoms that enable agentive action, and authentic and viable choices/alternatives that offer ‘exit options’ from unsatisfactory situations. As with the other stages, this study used a critical, postmodernist, global feminist ethnographic methodology, multimodal and qualitative data collection. Participants participated in interviews, focus group discussions, and a two-day workshop, which explored their understandings of how/if they understood post-primary education to have contributed to their economic empowerment. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used for data analysis to capture major themes. Findings indicate that although all participants believe that post-primary education provided them with economic opportunities they would not have had otherwise, the parameters of their economic empowerment were severely constrained by historic and extant sociocultural, economic, political, and institutional structures that continue to disempower girls and women, as well as additional financial responsibilities that they assumed to support others. Even though the participants had post-primary education, and they were able to obtain employment or operate their own businesses that they would not likely have been able to do without post-primary education, the majority of the participants’ incomes were not sufficient to elevate them financially above the extreme poverty level, especially as many were single mothers and the sole income earners in their households. Furthermore, most deemed their working conditions unsatisfactory and their positions precarious; they also experienced sexual harassment and abuse in the labour force. Additionally, employment for the participants resulted in a double work burden: long days at work, surrounded by many hours of domestic work at home (which, even if they had spousal partners, still fell almost exclusively to women). In conclusion, although the participants seem to have experienced some increase in economic empowerment, largely due to skills, knowledge, and qualifications gained at the post-primary level, numerous barriers prevented them from maximizing their capabilities and making significant gains in empowerment. There is need, in addition to providing education (primary, secondary, and tertiary) to girls, to address systemic gender inequalities that mitigate against women’s empowerment, as well as opportunities and freedom for women to come together and demand fair pay, reasonable working conditions, and benefits, freedom from gender-based harassment and assault in the workplace, as well as advocate for equal distribution of domestic work as a cultural change.

Keywords: girls' post-primary education, women's empowerment, uganda, employment

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Authors: G. Yanay-Ventura, H. Desivilya Syna, K. Michael

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Social businesses are based on the idea that an enterprise can be established for the sake of profit and, at the same time, with the aim of fulfilling social goals. Yet, the question of how these goals can be integrated in practice to derive parallel benefit in both realms still needs to be examined. Particularly notable in this context is the ‘governance challenge’ of social businesses, meaning the danger of the mission drifts from the social goal in the pursuit of good business. This study is based on an evaluation study of a social business that operates as a restaurant providing professional training to at-risk youth. The evaluation was based on the collection of a variety of data through interviews with stakeholders in the enterprise (directors and managers, business partners, social partners, and position holders in the restaurant and the social enterprise), a focus group consisting of the youth receiving the professional training, observations of the restaurant’s operation, and analysis of the social enterprise’s primary documents. The evaluation highlighted significant strengths of the social enterprise, including reaching relatively fast business sustainability, effective management of the restaurant, stable employment of the restaurant staff, and effective management of the social project. The social enterprise and business management have both enjoyed positive evaluations from a variety of stakeholders. Clearly, the restaurant was deemed by all a promising young business. However, the social project suffered from a 90% dropout rate among the youth entering its ranks, extreme monthly fluctuation in the number of youths participating, and a distinct minority of the youth who have succeeded in completing their training period. Possible explanations of the high dropout rate included the small number of cooks, which impeded the effectiveness of the training process and the provision of advanced cooking skills; lack of clarity regarding the essence and the elements of training; and lack of a meaningful peer group for the youth engaged in the program. Paradoxically, despite the stakeholders’ great appreciation for the social enterprise, the challenge of governability was also formidable, revealing a tangible risk of mission drift in the reduction of the social enterprise’s target population and a breach of the commitment made to the youth with regard to practical training. The risk of mission drifts emerged as a hidden and evasive issue for the stakeholders, who revealed a deep appreciation for the management and the outcomes of the social enterprise. The challenge of integration, therefore, requires an in-depth examination of how to maintain a successful business without hindering the achievement of the social goal. The study concludes that clear conceptualization of the training process and its aims, increased cooks’ participation in the social project, and novel conceptions with regard to the evaluation of success could serve to benefit the youth and impede mission drift.

Keywords: evaluation study, management, mission drift, social business

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Authors: Mohammad Alipour, Ekin Esen, Riza Kizilel

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Lithium-ion batteries are a commonly used type of rechargeable batteries because of their high specific energy and specific power. With the growing popularity of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, increasing attentions have been paid to rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. However, safety problems, high cost and poor performance in low ambient temperatures and high current rates, are big obstacles for commercial utilization of these batteries. By proper thermal management, most of the mentioned limitations could be eliminated. Temperature profile of the Li-ion cells has a significant role in the performance, safety, and cycle life of the battery. That is why little temperature gradient can lead to great loss in the performances of the battery packs. In recent years, numerous researchers are working on new techniques to imply a better thermal management on Li-ion batteries. Keeping the battery cells within an optimum range is the main objective of battery thermal management. Commercial Li-ion cells are composed of several electrochemical layers each consisting negative-current collector, negative electrode, separator, positive electrode, and positive current collector. However, many researchers have adopted a single-layer cell to save in computing time. Their hypothesis is that thermal conductivity of the layer elements is so high and heat transfer rate is so fast. Therefore, instead of several thin layers, they model the cell as one thick layer unit. In previous work, we showed that single-layer model is insufficient to simulate the thermal behavior and temperature nonuniformity of the high-capacity Li-ion cells. We also studied the effects of the number of layers on thermal behavior of the Li-ion batteries. In this work, first thermal and electrochemical behavior of the LiFePO₄ battery is modeled with 3D multilayer cell. The model is validated with the experimental measurements at different current rates and ambient temperatures. Real time heat generation rate is also studied at different discharge rates. Results showed non-uniform temperature distribution along the cell which requires thermal management system. Therefore, aluminum plates with mini-channel system were designed to control the temperature uniformity. Design parameters such as channel number and widths, inlet flow rate, and cooling fluids are optimized. As cooling fluids, water and air are compared. Pressure drop and velocity profiles inside the channels are illustrated. Both surface and internal temperature profiles of single cell and battery packs are investigated with and without cooling systems. Our results show that using optimized Mini-channel cooling plates effectively controls the temperature rise and uniformity of the single cells and battery packs. With increasing the inlet flow rate, cooling efficiency could be reached up to 60%.

Keywords: lithium ion battery, 3D multilayer model, mini-channel cooling plates, thermal management

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Authors: Mohamed Bualhamam

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Due to the complex nature of tourism resources of the Northern part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the potential of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in resolving these issues was used. The study was an attempt to use existing GIS data layers to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth and give some specific recommendations to protect the area. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources, public agencies and citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas. The paper concludes that applications of GIS and RS in study of urban growth impact in tourism resources are a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision-making. The study area is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The increase in population along the region, as well as rapid growth of towns, has increased the threat to natural resources and archeological sites. Satellite remote sensing data have been proven useful in assessing the natural resources and in monitoring the changes. The study used GIS and RS to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth. The result of GIS analyses shows that the Northern part of the UAE has variety for tourism resources, which can use for future tourism development. Rapid urban development in the form of small towns and different economic activities are showing in different places in the study area. The urban development extended out of old towns and have negative affected of sensitive tourism resources in some areas. Tourism resources for the Northern part of the UAE is a highly complex resources, and thus requires tools that aid in effective decision making to come to terms with the competing economic, social, and environmental demands of sustainable development. The UAE government should prepare a tourism databases and a GIS system, so that planners can be accessed for archaeological heritage information as part of development planning processes. Applications of GIS in urban planning, tourism and recreation planning illustrate that GIS is a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision- making. The power of GIS lies not only in the ability to visualize spatial relationships, but also beyond the space to a holistic view of the world with its many interconnected components and complex relationships. The worst of the damage could have been avoided by recognizing suitable limits and adhering to some simple environmental guidelines and standards will successfully develop tourism in sustainable manner. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources of the Northern part of the UAE, public agencies and private citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas.

Keywords: GIS, natural environment, UAE, urban growth

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Authors: Cynthia Adlerstein

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

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

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Authors: Henry Gonzalo Acurio Flores, Alvaro Nicolas Corral Naveda, Juan Francisco Fonseca Palacios

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In Ecuador, subventions on fossil fuels for the road transportation sector have always been part of its economy throughout time, mainly because of demagogy and populism from political leaders. It is clearly seen that the government cannot maintain the subsidies anymore due to its commercial balance and its general state budget; subsidies are a key barrier to implementing the use of cleaner technologies. However, during the last few months, the elimination of subsidies has been done gradually with the purpose of reaching international prices. It is expected that with this measure, the population will opt for other means of transportation, and in a certain way, it will promote the use of private electric vehicles and public, e.g., taxis and buses (urban transport). Considering the three main elements of sustainable development, an analysis of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of eliminating subsidies will be generated at the country level. To achieve this, four scenarios will be developed in order to determine how the subsidies will contribute to the promotion of electro-mobility. 1) A Business as Usual BAU scenario; 2) the introduction of 10 000 electric vehicles by 2025; 3) the introduction of 100 000 electric vehicles by 2030; 4) the introduction of 750 000 electric vehicles by 2040 (for all the scenarios buses, taxis, lightweight duty vehicles, and private vehicles will be introduced, as it is established in the National Electro Mobility Strategy for Ecuador). The Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) will be used, and it will be suitable to determine the cost for the government in terms of importing derivatives for fossil fuels and the cost of electricity to power the electric fleet that can be changed. The elimination of subventions generates fiscal resources for the state that can be used to develop other kinds of projects that will benefit Ecuadorian society. It will definitely change the energy matrix, and it will provide energy security for the country; it will be an opportunity for the government to incentivize a greater introduction of renewable energies, e.g., solar, wind, and geothermal. At the same time, it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the transportation sector, considering its mitigation potential, which as a result, will ameliorate the inhabitant quality of life by improving the quality of air, therefore reducing respiratory diseases associated with exhaust emissions, consequently, achieving sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and complying with the agreements established in the Paris Agreement COP 21 in 2015. Electro mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean can only be achieved by the implementation of the right policies at the central government, which need to be accompanied by a National Urban Mobility Policy (NUMP) and can encompass a greater vision to develop holistic, sustainable transport systems at local governments.

Keywords: electro mobility, energy, policy, sustainable transportation

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Authors: Anselm Ego Onyimonyi, Maduako Johnpaul O.

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The study was designed to investigate into the socio-ecological impact of migration of Fulani herders in Anambra state of Nigeria, through a climate justice lens. Nigeria is one of the world’s most densely populated countries with a population of over 284 million people, half of which are considered to be in abject poverty. There is no doubt that livestock production provides sustainable contributions to food security and poverty reduction to Nigeria economy, but not without some environmental implications like any other economic activities. Nigeria is recognized as being vulnerable to climate change. Climate change and global warming if left unchecked will cause adverse effects on livelihoods in Nigeria, such as livestock production, crop production, fisheries, forestry and post-harvest activities, because the rainfall regimes and patterns will be altered, floods which devastate farmlands would occur, increase in temperature and humidity which increases pest and disease would occur and other natural disasters like desertification, drought, floods, ocean and storm surges, which not only damage Nigerians’ livelihood but also cause harm to life and property, would occur. This and other climatic issue as it affects Fulani herdsmen was what this study investigated. In carrying out this research, a survey research design was adopted. A simple sampling technique was used. One local government area (LGA) was selected purposively from each of the four agricultural zone in the state based on its predominance of Fulani herders. For appropriate sampling, 25 respondents from each of the four Agricultural zones in the state were randomly selected making up the 100 respondent being sampled. Primary data were generated by using a set of structured 5-likert scale questionnaire. Data generated were analyzed using SPSS and the result presented using descriptive statistics. From the data analyzed, the study indentified; Unpredicted rainfall (mean = 3.56), Forest fire (mean = 4.63), Drying Water Source (mean = 3.99), Dwindling Grazing (mean 4.43), Desertification (mean = 4.44), Fertile land scarcity (mean = 3.42) as major factor predisposing Fulani herders to migrate southward while rejecting Natural inclination to migrate (mean = 2.38) and migration to cause trouble as a factor. On the reason why Fulani herders are trying to establish a permanent camp in Anambra state; Moderate temperature (mean= 3.60), Avoiding overgrazing (4.42), Search for fodder and water (mean = 4.81) and (mean = 4.70) respectively, Need for market (4.28), Favorable environment (mean = 3.99) and Access to fertile land (3.96) were identified. It was concluded that changing climatic variables necessitated the migration of herders from Northern Nigeria to areas in the South were the variables are most favorable to the herders and their animals.

Keywords: socio-ecological, migration, fulani, climate, justice, lens

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Authors: Shaurya Chauhan, Sagar Gupta

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Prominent urbanizing centres across the globe like Delhi, Dhaka, or Manila have exhibited that development often faces a challenge in bridging the gap among the top-down collective requirements of the city and the bottom-up individual aspirations of the ever-diversifying population. When this exclusion is intertwined with rapid urbanization and diversifying urban demography: unplanned sprawl, poor planning, and low-density development emerge as automated responses. In parallel, new ideas and methods of densification and public participation are being widely adopted as sustainable alternatives for the future of urban development. This research advocates a collaborative design method for future development: one that allows rapid application with its prototypical nature and an inclusive approach with mediation between the 'user' and the 'urban', purely with the use of empirical tools. Building upon the concepts and principles of 'open-sourcing' in design, the research establishes a design framework that serves the current user requirements while allowing for future citizen-driven modifications. This is synthesized as a 3-tiered model: user needs – design ideology – adaptive details. The research culminates into a context-responsive 'open source project development framework' (hereinafter, referred to as OSPDF) that can be used for on-ground field applications. To bring forward specifics, the research looks at a 300-acre redevelopment in the core of a rapidly urbanizing city as a case encompassing extreme physical, demographic, and economic diversity. The suggestive measures also integrate the region’s cultural identity and social character with the diverse citizen aspirations, using architecture and urban design tools, and references from recognized literature. This framework, based on a vision – feedback – execution loop, is used for hypothetical development at the five prevalent scales in design: master planning, urban design, architecture, tectonics, and modularity, in a chronological manner. At each of these scales, the possible approaches and avenues for open- sourcing are identified and validated, through hit-and-trial, and subsequently recorded. The research attempts to re-calibrate the architectural design process and make it more responsive and people-centric. Analytical tools such as Space, Event, and Movement by Bernard Tschumi and Five-Point Mental Map by Kevin Lynch, among others, are deep rooted in the research process. Over the five-part OSPDF, a two-part subsidiary process is also suggested after each cycle of application, for a continued appraisal and refinement of the framework and urban fabric with time. The research is an exploration – of the possibilities for an architect – to adopt the new role of a 'mediator' in development of the contemporary urbanity.

Keywords: open source, public participation, urbanization, urban development

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Authors: Kim Toyer, Belinda Thompson, Louise Koelmeyer

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Lymphoedema is a chronic condition caused by dysfunction of the lymphatic system, which limits the drainage of fluid and tissue waste from the interstitial space of the affected body part. The normal physiological changes in pregnancy cause an increased load on a normal lymphatic system which can result in a transient lymphatic overload (oedema). The interaction between lymphoedema and pregnancy oedema is unclear. Women with pre-existing lymphoedema require accurate information and additional strategies to manage their lymphoedema during pregnancy. Currently, no resources are available to guide women or their healthcare providers with accurate advice and additional management strategies for coping with lymphoedema during pregnancy until they have recovered postnatally. This study explored the experiences of Australian women with pre-existing lymphoedema during recent pregnancy and the early postnatal period to determine how their usual lymphoedema management strategies were adapted and what were their additional or unmet needs. Interactions with their obstetric care providers, the hospital maternity services, and usual lymphoedema therapy services were detailed. Participants were sourced from several Australian lymphoedema community groups, including therapist networks. Opportunistic sampling is appropriate to explore this topic in a small target population as lymphoedema in women of childbearing age is uncommon, with prevalence data unavailable. Inclusion criteria were aged over 18 years, diagnosed with primary or secondary lymphoedema of the arm or leg, pregnant within the preceding ten years (since 2012), and had their pregnancy and postnatal care in Australia. Exclusion criteria were a diagnosis of lipedema and if unable to read or understand a reasonable level of English. A mixed-method qualitative design was used in two phases. This involved an online survey (REDCap platform) of the participants followed by online semi-structured interviews or focus groups to provide the transcript data for inductive thematic analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of issues raised. Women with well-managed pre-existing lymphoedema coped well with the additional oedema load of pregnancy; however, those with limited access to quality conservative care prior to pregnancy were found to be significantly impacted by pregnancy, including many reporting deterioration of their chronic lymphoedema. Misinformation and a lack of support increased fear and apprehension in planning and enjoying their pregnancy experience. Collaboration between maternity and lymphoedema therapy services did not happen despite study participants suggesting it. Helpful resources and unmet needs were identified in the recent Australian context to inform further research and the development of resources to assist women with lymphoedema who are considering or are pregnant and their supporters, including health care providers.

Keywords: lymphoedema, management strategies, pregnancy, qualitative

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Authors: Shaidatul Azdawiyah Abdul Talib, Wan Mohd Razi Idris, Liew Ju Neng, Tukimat Lihan, Muhammad Zamir Abdul Rasid

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Climate change has received great attention worldwide due to the impact of weather causing extreme events. Rainfall and temperature are crucial weather components associated with climate change. In Malaysia, increasing temperatures and changes in rainfall distribution patterns lead to drought and flood events involving agricultural areas, especially rice fields. Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) is the largest rice growing area among the 10 granary areas in Malaysia and has faced floods and droughts in the past due to changing climate. Changes in rainfall and temperature patter affect rice yield. Therefore, trend analysis is important to identify changes in temperature and rainfall patterns as it gives an initial overview for further analysis. Six locations across the MADA area were selected based on the availability of meteorological station (MetMalaysia) data. Historical data (1991 to 2020) collected from MetMalaysia and future climate projection by multi-model ensemble of climate model from CMIP5 (CNRM-CM5, GFDL-CM3, MRI-CGCM3, NorESM1-M and IPSL-CM5A-LR) have been analyzed using Mann-Kendall test to detect the time series trend, together with standardized precipitation anomaly, rainfall anomaly index, precipitation concentration index and temperature anomaly. Future projection data were analyzed based on 3 different periods; early century (2020 – 2046), middle century (2047 – 2073) and late-century (2074 – 2099). Results indicate that the MADA area does encounter extremely wet and dry conditions, leading to drought and flood events in the past. The Mann-Kendall (MK) trend analysis test discovered a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05) in annual rainfall (z = 0.40; s = 15.12) and temperature (z = 0.61; s = 0.04) during the historical period. Similarly, for both RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05) was found for rainfall (RCP 4.5: z = 0.15; s = 2.55; RCP 8.5: z = 0.41; s = 8.05;) and temperature (RCP 4.5: z = 0.84; s = 0.02; RCP 8.5: z = 0.94; s = 0.05). Under the RCP 4.5 scenario, the average temperature is projected to increase up to 1.6 °C in early century, 2.0 °C in the middle century and 2.4 °C in the late century. In contrast, under RCP 8.5 scenario, the average temperature is projected to increase up to 1.8 °C in the early century, 3.1 °C in the middle century and 4.3 °C in late century. Drought is projected to occur in 2038 and 2043 (early century); 2052 and 2069 (middle century); and 2095, 2097 to 2099 (late century) under RCP 4.5 scenario. As for RCP 8.5 scenario, drought is projected to occur in 2021, 2031 and 2034 (early century); and 2069 (middle century). No drought is projected to occur in the late century under the RCP 8.5 scenario. Thus, this information can be used for the analysis of the impact of climate change scenarios on rice growth and yield besides other crops found in MADA area. Additionally, this study, it would be helpful for researchers and decision-makers in developing applicable adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change.

Keywords: climate projection, drought, flood, rainfall, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5, temperature

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Authors: Sandra Christina Gressler

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Resting is essentially the physical and mental relaxation. So, can behaviors that go beyond the merely physical relaxation to some extent be understood as a behavior of restoration? Studies on restorative environments emphasize the physical, mental and social benefits that some environments can provide and suggest that activities in natural environments reduce the stress of daily lives, promoting recovery against the daily wear. These studies, though specific in their results, do not unify the different possibilities of restoration. Considering the importance of restorative environments by promoting well-being, this research aims to verify the applicability of the theory on restorative environments in a Brazilian context, inquiring about the environment/behavior of rest. The research sought to achieve its goals by; a) identifying daily ways of how participants interact/connect with nature; b) identifying the resting environments/behavior; c) verifying if rest strategies match the restorative environments suggested by restorative studies; and d) verifying different rest strategies related to time. Workers from different companies in which certain functions require focused attention, and high school students from different schools, participated in this study. An interview was used to collect data and information. The data obtained were compared with studies of attention restoration theory and stress recovery. The collected data were analyzed through the basic descriptive inductive statistics and the use of the software ALCESTE® (Analyse Lexicale par Contexte d'un Ensemble de Segments de Texte). The open questions investigate perception of nature on a daily basis – analysis using ALCESTE; rest periods – daily, weekends and holidays – analysis using ALCESTE with tri-croisé; and resting environments and activities – analysis using a simple descriptive statistics. According to the results, environments with natural characteristics that are compatible with personal desires (physical aspects and distance) and residential environments when they fulfill the characteristics of refuge, safety, and self-expression, characteristics of primary territory, meet the requirements of restoration. Analyzes suggest that the perception of nature has a wide range that goes beyond the objects nearby and possible to be touched, as well as observation and contemplation of details. The restoration processes described in the studies of attention restoration theory occur gradually (hierarchically), starting with being away, following compatibility, fascination, and extent. They are also associated with the time that is available for rest. The relation between rest behaviors and the bio-demographic characteristics of the participants are noted. It reinforces, in studies of restoration, the need to insert not only investigations regarding the physical characteristics of the environment but also behavior, social relationship, subjective reactions, distance and time available. The complexity of the theme indicates the necessity for multimethod studies. Practical contributions provide subsidies for developing strategies to promote the welfare of the population.

Keywords: attention restoration theory, environmental psychology, rest behavior, restorative environments

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Authors: Guoheng Liu, Zhilong Huang

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For more than the past ten years, oil and gas production from marine shale such as the Barnett shale. In addition, in recent years, major breakthroughs have also been made in lacustrine shale gas exploration, such as the Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin in China. Lucaogou Formation shale, which is also lacustrine shale, has also yielded a high production in recent years, for wells such as M1, M6, and ML2, yielding a daily oil production of 5.6 tons, 37.4 tons and 13.56 tons, respectively. Lithologic identification and classification of reservoirs are the base and keys to oil and gas exploration. Lithology and lithofacies obviously control the distribution of oil and gas in lithological reservoirs, so it is of great significance to describe characteristics of lithology and lithofacies of reservoirs finely. Lithofacies is an intrinsic property of rock formed under certain conditions of sedimentation. Fine-grained sedimentary rocks such as shale formed under different sedimentary conditions display great particularity and distinctiveness. Hence, to our best knowledge, no constant and unified criteria and methods exist for fine-grained sedimentary rocks regarding lithofacies definition and classification. Consequently, multi-parameters and multi-disciplines are necessary. A series of qualitative descriptions and quantitative analysis were used to figure out the lithofacies characteristics and its effect on oil accumulation of Lucaogou formation fine-grained sedimentary rocks in Santanghu basin. The qualitative description includes core description, petrographic thin section observation, fluorescent thin-section observation, cathode luminescence observation and scanning electron microscope observation. The quantitative analyses include X-ray diffraction, total organic content analysis, ROCK-EVAL.II Methodology, soxhlet extraction, porosity and permeability analysis and oil saturation analysis. Three types of lithofacies were mainly well-developed in this study area, which is organic-rich massive shale lithofacies, organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies and organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies. Organic-rich massive shale lithofacies mainly include massive shale and tuffaceous shale, of which quartz and clay minerals are the major components. Organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies contain lamina and cloddy structure. Rocks from this lithofacies chiefly consist of dolomite and quartz. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies mainly contains massive bedding fine-grained carbonate rocks, of which fine-grained dolomite accounts for the main part. Organic-rich massive shale lithofacies contain the highest content of free hydrocarbon and solid organic matter. Moreover, more pores were developed in organic-rich massive shale lithofacies. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies contain the lowest content solid organic matter and develop the least amount of pores. Organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies develop the largest number of cracks and fractures. To sum up, organic-rich massive shale lithofacies is the most favorable type of lithofacies. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies is impossible for large scale oil accumulation.

Keywords: lithofacies classification, tuffaceous shale, oil enrichment, Lucaogou formation

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Authors: Masoud Fathi Kazerouni, Jens Schlemper, Klaus-Dieter Kuhnert

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Green planet is one of the Earth’s names which is known as a terrestrial planet and also can be named the fifth largest planet of the solar system as another scientific interpretation. Plants do not have a constant and steady distribution all around the world, and even plant species’ variations are not the same in one specific region. Presence of plants is not only limited to one field like botany; they exist in different fields such as literature and mythology and they hold useful and inestimable historical records. No one can imagine the world without oxygen which is produced mostly by plants. Their influences become more manifest since no other live species can exist on earth without plants as they form the basic food staples too. Regulation of water cycle and oxygen production are the other roles of plants. The roles affect environment and climate. Plants are the main components of agricultural activities. Many countries benefit from these activities. Therefore, plants have impacts on political and economic situations and future of countries. Due to importance of plants and their roles, study of plants is essential in various fields. Consideration of their different applications leads to focus on details of them too. Automatic recognition of plants is a novel field to contribute other researches and future of studies. Moreover, plants can survive their life in different places and regions by means of adaptations. Therefore, adaptations are their special factors to help them in hard life situations. Weather condition is one of the parameters which affect plants life and their existence in one area. Recognition of plants in different weather conditions is a new window of research in the field. Only natural images are usable to consider weather conditions as new factors. Thus, it will be a generalized and useful system. In order to have a general system, distance from the camera to plants is considered as another factor. The other considered factor is change of light intensity in environment as it changes during the day. Adding these factors leads to a huge challenge to invent an accurate and secure system. Development of an efficient plant recognition system is essential and effective. One important component of plant is leaf which can be used to implement automatic systems for plant recognition without any human interface and interaction. Due to the nature of used images, characteristic investigation of plants is done. Leaves of plants are the first characteristics to select as trusty parts. Four different plant species are specified for the goal to classify them with an accurate system. The current paper is devoted to principal directions of the proposed methods and implemented system, image dataset, and results. The procedure of algorithm and classification is explained in details. First steps, feature detection and description of visual information, are outperformed by using Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), HARRIS-SIFT, and FAST-SIFT methods. The accuracy of the implemented methods is computed. In addition to comparison, robustness and efficiency of results in different conditions are investigated and explained.

Keywords: SIFT combination, feature extraction, feature detection, natural images, natural plant recognition, HARRIS-SIFT, FAST-SIFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Jaeyoung Lee, Minji Je

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Objectives: In adolescence, adolescents are curious about sex, but sexual experience before becoming an adult can cause the risk of high probability of sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, it is very important to prevent sexually transmitted infections so that adolescents can grow in healthy and upright way. Adolescent females, especially, have sexual behavior distinguished from that of male adolescents. Protecting female adolescents’ reproductive health is even more important since it is directly related to the childbirth of the next generation. This study, thus, investigated the predictors of sexually transmitted infection in adolescent females with sexual experiences based on the National Health Statistics in Korea. Methods: This study was conducted based on the National Health Statistics in Korea. The 11th Korea Youth Behavior Web-based Survey in 2016 was conducted in the type of anonymous self-reported survey in order to find out the health behavior of adolescents. The target recruitment group was middle and high school students nationwide as of April 2016, and 65,528 students from a total of 800 middle and high schools participated. The study was conducted in 537 female high school students (Grades 10–12) among them. The collected data were analyzed as complex sampling design using SPSS statistics 22. The strata, cluster, weight, and finite population correction provided by Korea Center for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) were reflected to constitute complex sample design files, which were used in the statistical analysis. The analysis methods included Rao-Scott chi-square test, complex samples general linear model, and complex samples multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Out of 537 female adolescents, 11.9% (53 adolescents) had experiences of venereal infection. The predictors for venereal infection of the subjects were ‘age at first intercourse’ and ‘sexual intercourse after drinking’. The sexually transmitted infection of the subjects was decreased by 0.31 times (p=.006, 95%CI=0.13-0.71) for middle school students and 0.13 times (p<.001, 95%CI=0.05-0.32) for high school students whereas the age of the first sexual experience was under elementary school age. In addition, the sexually transmitted infection of the subjects was 3.54 times (p < .001, 95%CI=1.76-7.14) increased when they have experience of sexual relation after drinking alcohol, compared to those without the experience of sexual relation after drinking alcohol. Conclusions: The female adolescents had high probability of sexually transmitted infection if their age for the first sexual experience was low. Therefore, the female adolescents who start sexual experience earlier shall have practical sex education appropriate for their developmental stage. In addition, since the sexually transmitted infection increases, if they have sexual relations after drinking alcohol, the consideration for prevention of alcohol use or intervention of sex education shall be required. When health education intervention is conducted for health promotion for female adolescents in the future, it is necessary to reflect the result of this study.

Keywords: adolescent, coitus, female, sexually transmitted diseases

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Kathrin F. Schneider, Luis Xavier Unda Galarza

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In our modern world, few are the areas that are not permeated by digitalization: we use digital tools for work, study, entertainment, and daily life. Since technology changes rapidly, skills must adapt to the new reality, which gives a dynamic dimension to the set of skills necessary for people's academic, professional, and personal success. The concept of 21st-century digital skills, which includes skills such as collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem-solving, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, creativity, and productivity, have been widely discussed in the literature. Digital transformation has opened many economic opportunities for entrepreneurs for the development of their products, financing possibilities, and product distribution. One of the biggest advantages is the reduction in cost for the entrepreneur, which has opened doors not only for the entrepreneur or the entrepreneurial team but also for corporations through intrapreneurship. The development of students' general literacy level and their digital competencies is crucial for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning process, as well as for students' adaptation to the constantly changing labor market. The digital economy allows a free substantial increase in the supply share of conditional and also innovative products; this is mainly achieved through 5 ways to reduce costs according to the conventional digital economy: search costs, replication, transport, tracking, and verification. Digital entrepreneurship worldwide benefits from such achievements. There is an expansion and democratization of entrepreneurship thanks to the use of digital technologies. The digital transformation that has been taking place in recent years is more challenging for developing countries, as they have fewer resources available to carry out this transformation while offering all the necessary support in terms of cybersecurity and educating their people. The degree of digitization (use of digital technology) in a country and the levels of digital literacy of its people often depend on the economic level and situation of the country. Telefónica's Digital Life Index (TIDL) scores are strongly correlated with country wealth, reflecting the greater resources that richer countries can contribute to promoting "Digital Life". According to the Digitization Index, Ecuador is in the group of "emerging countries", while Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are in the group of "countries in transition". According to Herrera Espinoza et al. (2022), there are startups or digital ventures in Ecuador, especially in certain niches, but many of the ventures do not exceed six months of creation because they arise out of necessity and not out of the opportunity. However, there is a lack of relevant research, especially empirical research, to have a clearer vision. Through a self-report questionnaire, the digital skills of students will be measured in an Ecuadorian private university, according to the skills identified as the six 21st-century skills. The results will be put to the test against the variable of the intention to start a digital venture measured using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The main hypothesis is that high digital competence is positively correlated with the intention to start digital entrepreneurship.

Keywords: new literacies, digital transformation, 21st century skills, theory of planned behavior, digital entrepreneurship

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Authors: Shamim Mushtaq, Moazzam Shahid

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Breast cancer (BC) claims the lives of half a million women every year and is the most common cause of death in the developing world. In 2019, it was estimated that BC alone accounts for 15% of all cancer deaths in younger women (aged < 45 years old) with advanced-stage lung metastasis. According to the World Health Organization & International Union against Cancer, in Asia, a high number of cancer-related deaths will be observed in 2020, whereas the burden will be reduced in Western countries due to awareness about the disease, better health facilities and advanced treatments. In the last 15 years, it has been reported that the incidence of BC has increased by 1.1% among Asian compared to the US population from 2003 to 2012. To date, several BC biological subtypes have been reported so far, which are associated with different treatment responses. The heterogeneity and diversity of BC reflected these different subtypes, including Luminal A (23.7% prevalence) and B (38.8% prevalence) that have pathological estrogen receptor (ER+)-positive tumors, the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) (11.2% prevalence) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (25% prevalence). According to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre – Pakistan, ten years of data showed that among 636 BC patients, 30.5% had TNBC who were <40 years of age, which is an extremely alarming situation. Therefore, there is a dire need to explore and develop therapeutic targets for the treatment of early TNBC. Since the last decade, unfortunately, there has been little success in understanding the complexity of TNBC and in discovering new biological therapeutic targets. However, conventional chemotherapy is the only choice of treatment for TNBC patients. Many investigators revealed advances in multi-omics (multiple "omes", e.g., genome, proteome, transcriptome, epigenome, and microbiome) which were later identified as actionable targets and increased prevalence in TNBC patients. However, various drugs have been identified so far which are related to a particular diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. For example, Epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR or ErbB-1), HER-2/neu (ErbB-2), HER-3 (ErbB-3), and HER-4 (ErbB-4). Protein Transglin-2 (TAGLN 2 ) and Profilins-1 (Pfn-1 ) are the ubiquitously expressed large family of proteins present in all eukaryotes, enabling actin cytoskeletal reorganization. It is known that the oncogenic transformation of cells is accompanied by alteration in the actin cytoskeleton. There are causal connections between altered expression of actin cytoskeletal regulators and cancer progression. Our case-control study identified TAGLN-2 and Pfn-1 proteins in TNBC blood by mass spectrometry. Both TAGLN-2 and Pfn-1 proteins are differentially expressed in early and advanced stages of TNBS patients, which could be potential predictors or therapeutic targets for TNBC.

Keywords: TNBC, blood biomarkers, mass spectrometry, qPCR, ELISA

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Maria Angela Bedini, Fabio Bronzini

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The Italian experiences, positive and negative, of the post-earthquake are conditioned by long times and structural bureaucratic constraints, also motivated by the attempt to contain mafia infiltration and corruption. The transition from the operational phase of the emergency to the planning phase of the reconstruction project is thus hampered by a series of inefficiencies and delays, incompatible with the need for rapid recovery of the territories in crisis. In fact, intervening in areas affected by seismic events means at the same time associating the reconstruction plan with an urban and territorial rehabilitation project based on strategies and tools in which prevention and safety play a leading role in the regeneration of territories in crisis and the return of the population. On the contrary, the earthquakes that took place in Italy have instead further deprived the territories affected of the minimum requirements for habitability, in terms of accessibility and services, accentuating the depopulation process, already underway before the earthquake. The objective of this work is to address with implementing and programmatic tools the procedures and strategies to be put in place, today and in the future, in Italy and abroad, to face the challenge of the reconstruction of activities, sociality, services, risk mitigation: a protocol of operational intentions and firm points, open to a continuous updating and implementation. The methodology followed is that of the comparison in a synthetic form between the different Italian experiences of the post-earthquake, based on facts and not on intentions, to highlight elements of excellence or, on the contrary, damage. The main results obtained can be summarized in technical comparison cards on good and bad practices. With this comparison, we intend to make a concrete contribution to the reconstruction process, certainly not only related to the reconstruction of buildings but privileging the primary social and economic needs. In this context, the recent instrument applied in Italy of the strategic urban and territorial SUM (Minimal Urban Structure) and the strategic monitoring process become dynamic tools for supporting reconstruction. The conclusions establish, by points, a protocol of interventions, the priorities for integrated socio-economic strategies, multisectoral and multicultural, and highlight the innovative aspects of 'inversion' of priorities in the reconstruction process, favoring the take-off of 'accelerator' interventions social and economic and a more updated system of coexistence with risks. In this perspective, reconstruction as a necessary response to the calamitous event can and must become a unique opportunity to raise the level of protection from risks and rehabilitation and development of the most fragile places in Italy and abroad.

Keywords: an operational protocol for reconstruction, operational priorities for coexistence with seismic risk, social and economic interventions accelerators of building reconstruction, the difficult post-earthquake reconstruction in Italy

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Aleksandra Boldyreva, Alexander Golubnichiy, Artem Abakumov

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Various perovskite materials have surprisingly high resistance towards high-energy electrons, protons, and hard ionization, such as X-rays and gamma-rays. Superior radiation hardness makes a family of perovskite semiconductors an attractive candidate for single- and multijunction solar cells for the space environment and as X-ray and gamma-ray detectors. One of the methods to study the radiation hardness of different materials is by exposing them to gamma photons with high energies (above 500 keV) Herein, we have explored the recombination dynamics and defect concentration of a mixed cation mixed halide perovskite Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 with 1.74 eV bandgap after exposure to a gamma-ray source (2.5 Gy/min). We performed an advanced STEM EDX analysis to reveal different types of defects formed during gamma exposure. It was found that 10 kGy dose results in significant improvement of perovskite crystallinity and homogeneous distribution of I ions. While the absorber layer withstood gamma exposure, the hole transport layer (PTAA) as well as indium tin oxide (ITO) were significantly damaged, which increased the interface recombination rate and reduction of fill factor in solar cells. Thus, STEM analysis is a powerful technique that can reveal defects formed by gamma exposure in perovskite solar cells. Methods: Data will be collected from perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and thin films exposed to gamma ionisator. For thin films 50 μL of the Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 solution in DMF was deposited (dynamically) at 3000 rpm followed by quenching with 100 μL of ethyl acetate (dropped 10 sec after perovskite precursor) applied at the same spin-coating frequency. The deposited Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 films were annealed for 10 min at 100 °C, which led to the development of a dark brown color. For the solar cells, 10% suspension of SnO2 nanoparticles (Alfa Aesar) was deposited at 4000 rpm, followed by annealing on air at 170 ˚C for 20 min. Next, samples were introduced into a nitrogen glovebox for the deposition of all remaining layers. Perovskite film was applied in the same way as in thin films described earlier. Solution of poly-triaryl amine PTAA (Sigma Aldrich) (4 mg in chlorobenzene) was applied at 1000 rpm atop of perovskite layer. Next, 30 nm of VOx was deposited atop the PTAA layer on the whole sample surface using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. Silver electrodes (100 nm) were evaporated in a high vacuum (10-6 mbar) through a shadow mask, defining the active area of each device as ~0.16 cm2. The prepared samples (thin films and solar cells) were packed in Al lamination foil inside the argon glove box. The set of samples consisted of 6 thin films and 6 solar cells, which were exposed to 6, 10, and 21 kGy (2 samples per dose) with 137Cs gamma-ray source (E = 662 keV) with a dose rate of 2.5 Gy/min. The exposed samples will be studied on a focused ion beam (FIB) on a dual-beam scanning electron microscope from ThermoFisher, the Helios G4 Plasma FIB Uxe, operating with a xenon plasma.

Keywords: perovskite solar cells, transmission electron microscopy, radiation hardness, gamma irradiation

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Authors: V. Moser-Siegmeth, M. C. Gambal, M. Jelovcak, B. Prytek, I. Swietalsky, D. Würzl, C. Fida, V. Mühlegger

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Adaptability is the capacity to adjust without great difficulty to changing circumstances. Within our project, we aimed to detect whether older people living within a long-term care hospital lose the ability to adapt. Theoretical concepts are contradictory in their statements. There is also lack of evidence in the literature how the adaptability of older people changes over the time. Following research questions were generated: Are older residents of a long-term care facility able to adapt to changes within their daily routine? How long does it take for older people to adapt? The study was designed as a convergent parallel mixed method intervention study, carried out within a four-month period and took place within seven wards of a long-term care hospital. As a planned intervention, a change of meal-times was established. The inhabitants were surveyed with qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires and diaries before, during and after the intervention. In addition, a survey of the nursing staff was carried out in order to detect changes of the people they care for and how long it took them to adapt. Quantitative data was analysed with SPSS, qualitative data with a summarizing content analysis. The average age of the involved residents was 82 years, the average length of stay 45 months. The adaptation to new situations does not cause problems for older residents. 47% of the residents state that their everyday life has not changed by changing the meal times. 24% indicate ‘neither nor’ and only 18% respond that their daily life has changed considerably due to the changeover. The diaries of the residents, which were conducted over the entire period of investigation showed no changes with regard to increased or reduced activity. With regard to sleep quality, assessed with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, there is little change in sleep behaviour compared to the two survey periods (pre-phase to follow-up phase) in the cross-table. The subjective sleep quality of the residents is not affected. The nursing staff points out that, with good information in advance, changes are not a problem. The ability to adapt to changes does not deteriorate with age or by moving into a long-term care facility. It only takes a few days to get used to new situations. This can be confirmed by the nursing staff. Although there are different determinants like the health status that might make an adjustment to new situations more difficult. In connection with the limitations, the small sample size of the quantitative data collection must be emphasized. Furthermore, the extent to which the quantitative and qualitative sample represents the total population, since only residents without cognitive impairments of selected units participated. The majority of the residents has cognitive impairments. It is important to discuss whether and how well the diary method is suitable for older people to examine their daily structure.

Keywords: adaptability, intervention study, mixed methods, nursing home residents

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Stella Chioma Nwizu

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The National Commission for Adult and Non Formal Education (NMEC) in Nigeria is charged with the reduction of illiteracy rate through the development, monitoring, and supervision of literacy programmes in Nigeria. In spite of various efforts by NMEC to reduce illiteracy, literature still shows that the illiteracy rate is still high. According to NMEC/UNICEF, about 60 million Nigerians are non-literate, and nearly two thirds of them are women. This situation forced the government to search for innovative and better approaches to literacy promotion and delivery. The literacy by radio project was adopted as an innovative intervention to literacy delivery in Nigeria because the radio is the cheapest and most easily affordable medium for non-literates. The project aimed at widening access to literacy programmes for the non-literate marginalized and disadvantaged groups in Nigeria by taking literacy programmes to their door steps. The literacy by radio has worked perfectly well in non-literacy reduction in Cuba. This innovative intervention of literacy by radio is anchored on the diffusion of innovation theory by Rogers. The literacy by radio has been going on for fifteen years and the efficacy and contributions of this innovation need to be investigated. Thus, the purpose of this research is to review the contributions of the literacy by radio in Nigeria. The researcher adopted the survey research design for the study. The population for the study consisted of 2,706 participants and 47 facilitators of the literacy by radio programme in the 10 pilot states in Nigeria. A sample of four states made up of 302 participants and eight facilitators were used for the study. Information was collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD), interviews and content analysis of official documents. The data were analysed qualitatively to review the contributions of literacy by radio project and determine the efficacy of this innovative approach in facilitating literacy in Nigeria. Results from the field experience showed, among others, that more non-literates have better access to literacy programmes through this innovative approach. The pilot project was 88% successful; not less than 2,110 adults were made literate through the literacy by radio project in 2017. However, lack of enthusiasm and commitment on the part of the technical committee and facilitators due to non-payment of honorarium, poor signals from radio stations, interruption of lectures with adverts, low community involvement in decision making in the project are challenges to the success rate of the project. The researcher acknowledges the need to customize all materials and broadcasts in all the dialects of the participants and the inclusion of more civil rights, environmental protection and agricultural skills into the project. The study recommends among others, improved and timely funding of the project by the Federal Government to enable NMEC to fulfill her obligations towards the greater success of the programme, setting up of independent radio stations for airing the programmes and proper monitoring and evaluation of the project by NMEC and State Agencies for greater effectiveness. In an era of the knowledge-driven economy, no one should be allowed to get saddled with the weight of illiteracy.

Keywords: innovative approach, literacy, project, radio, survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Jaci Mastrandrea

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Background: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends that healthcare institutions have established processes for integrating palliative care (PC) into cancer treatment and that all cancer patients be screened for PC needs upon initial diagnosis as well as throughout the entire continuum of care (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2021). Early PC screening is directly correlated with improved patient outcomes. The Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center (SLCTC) is an institution that has access to PC services yet does not have protocols in place for identifying patients with palliative needs or a standardized referral process. The aim of this quality improvement project is to improve early access to PC services by establishing a standardized screening and referral process for outpatient oncology patients. Method: The sample population included all adult patients with an oncology diagnosis who presented to the SLCTC for treatment during the project timeline from March 15th, 2022, to April 29th, 2022. The “Palliative and Supportive Needs Assessment'' (PSNA) screening tool was developed from validated and evidence-based PC referral criteria. The tool was initially implemented using paper forms and later was integrated into the Epic-Beacon EHR system. Patients were screened by registered nurses on the SLCTC treatment team. Nurses responsible for screening patients received an educational inservice prior to implementation. Patients with a PSNA score of three or higher were considered to be a positive screen. Scores of five or higher triggered a PC referral order in the patient’s EHR for the oncologist to review and approve. All patients with a positive screen received an educational handout on the topic of PC, and the EHR was flagged for follow-up. Results: Prior to implementation of the PSCNA screening tool, the SLCTC had zero referrals to PC in the past year, excluding referrals to hospice. Data was collected from the first 100 patient screenings completed within the eight-week data collection period. Seventy-three percent of patients met criteria for PC referral with a score greater than or equal to three. Of those patients who met referral criteria, 53.4% (39 patients) were referred for a palliative and supportive care consultation. Patients that were not referred to PC upon meeting the criteria were flagged in the EHR for re-screening within one to three months. Patients with lung cancer, chronic hematologic malignancies, breast cancer, and gastrointestinal malignancy most frequently met criteria for PC referral and scored highest overall on the scale of 0-12. Conclusion: The implementation of a standardized PC screening tool at the SLCTC significantly increased awareness of PC needs among cancer patients in the outpatient setting. Additionally, data derived from this quality improvement project supports the national recommendation for PC to be an integral component of cancer treatment across the entire continuum of care.

Keywords: oncology, palliative care, symptom management, symptom screening, ambulatory oncology, cancer, supportive care

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: I. C. Orabueze, A. A. Amudalat, S. A. Adesegun, A. A. Usman

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Dental and associated oral diseases are increasingly affecting a considerable portion of the population and are considered some of the major causes of tooth loss, discomfort, mouth odor and loss of confidence. This study focused on the ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in oral therapy and evaluation of the antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts of two selected plants from the survey for their efficacy against dental microorganisms. The ethnobotanical survey was carried out in six herbal markets in Lagos State, Nigeria by oral interviewing and information obtained from an old family manually complied herbal medication book. Methanolic extracts of Olax subscorpioidea (stem bark) and Bridelia ferruginea (stem bark) were assayed for their antimicrobial activities against clinical oral isolates (Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). In vitro microbial technique (agar well diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay) were employed for the assay. Chlorhexidine gluconate was used as the reference drug for comparison with the extract results. And the preliminary phytochemical screening of the constituents of the plants were done. The ethnobotanical survey produced plants (28) of diverse family. Different parts of plants (seed, fruit, leaf, root, bark) were mentioned but 60% mentioned were either the stem or the bark. O. subscorpioidea showed considerable antifungal activity with zone of inhibition ranging from 2.650 – 2.000 cm against Aspergillus fumigatus but no such encouraging inhibitory activity was observed in the other assayed organisms. B. ferruginea showed antibacterial sensitivity against Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with zone of inhibitions ranging from 3.400 - 2.500, 2.250 - 1.600, 2.700 - 1.950, 2.225 – 1.525 cm respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration of O. subscorpioidea against Aspergillus fumigatus was 51.2 mg ml-1 while that of B. ferruginea against Streptococcus spp was 0.1mg ml-1 and for Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 25.6 mg ml-1. A phytochemical analysis reveals the presence of alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycoside, tannins, phenols and terpenoids in both plants, with steroids only in B. ferruginea. No toxicity was observed among mice given the two methanolic extracts (1000 mg Kg-1) after 21 days. The barks of both plants exhibited antimicrobial properties against periodontal diseases causing organisms assayed, thus up-holding their folkloric use in oral disorder management. Further research could be done viewing these extracts as combination therapy, checking for possible synergistic value in toothpaste and oral rinse formulations for reducing oral bacterial flora and fungi load.

Keywords: antimicrobial activities, Bridelia ferruginea, dental disinfection, methanolic extract, Olax subscorpioidea, ethnobotanical survey

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Authors: Jonardan Koner, Avinash Purandare

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In today’s globalized world international business is a very key area for the country's growth. Some of the strategic areas for holding up a country’s international business to grow are in the areas of connecting Ports, Road Network, and Rail Network. India’s International Business is booming both in Exports as well as Imports. Ports play a very central part in the growth of international trade and ensuring competitive ports is of critical importance. India has a long coastline which is a big asset for the country as it has given the opportunity for development of a large number of major and minor ports which will contribute to the maritime trades’ development. The National Economic Development of India requires a well-functioning seaport system. To know the comparative strength of Indian ports over South-east Asian similar ports, the study is considering the objectives of (I) to identify the key parameters of an international mega container port, (II) to compare the five selected container ports (JNPT, Chennai, Singapore, Dubai, and Colombo Ports) according to user of the ports and iii) to measure the growth of selected five container ports’ throughput over time and their comparison. The study is based on both primary and secondary databases. The linear time trend analysis is done to show the trend in quantum of exports, imports and total goods/services handled by individual ports over the years. The comparative trend analysis is done for the selected five ports of cargo traffic handled in terms of Tonnage (weight) and number of containers (TEU’s). The comparative trend analysis is done between containerized and non-containerized cargo traffic in the five selected five ports. The primary data analysis is done comprising of comparative analysis of factor ratings through bar diagrams, statistical inference of factor ratings for the selected five ports, consolidated comparative line charts of factor rating for the selected five ports, consolidated comparative bar charts of factor ratings of the selected five ports and the distribution of ratings (frequency terms). The linear regression model is used to forecast the container capacities required for JNPT Port and Chennai Port by the year 2030. Multiple regression analysis is carried out to measure the impact of selected 34 explanatory variables on the ‘Overall Performance of the Port’ for each of the selected five ports. The research outcome is of high significance to the stakeholders of Indian container handling ports. Indian container port of JNPT and Chennai are benchmarked against international ports such as Singapore, Dubai, and Colombo Ports which are the competing ports in the neighbouring region. The study has analysed the feedback ratings for the selected 35 factors regarding physical infrastructure and services rendered to the port users. This feedback would provide valuable data for carrying out improvements in the facilities provided to the port users. These installations would help the ports’ users to carry out their work in more efficient manner.

Keywords: throughput, twenty equivalent units, TEUs, cargo traffic, shipping lines, freight forwarders

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Authors: Antonio Ruiz Gonzalez, Kwang-Leong Choy

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The measurement of electrolytes has a high value in the clinical routine. Ions are present in all body fluids with variable concentrations and are involved in multiple pathologies such as heart failures and chronic kidney disease. In the case of dissolved potassium, although a high concentration in the blood (hyperkalemia) is relatively uncommon in the general population, it is one of the most frequent acute electrolyte abnormalities. In recent years, the integration of thin films technologies in this field has allowed the development of highly sensitive biosensors with ultra-low limits of detection for the assessment of metals in liquid samples. However, despite the current efforts in the miniaturization of sensitive devices and their integration into portable systems, only a limited number of successful examples used commercially can be found. This fact can be attributed to a high cost involved in their production and the sustained degradation of the electrodes over time, which causes a signal drift in the measurements. Thus, there is an unmet necessity for the development of low-cost and robust sensors for the real-time monitoring of analyte concentrations in patients to allow the early detection and diagnosis of diseases. This paper reports a thin film ion-selective sensor for the evaluation of potassium ions in aqueous samples. As an alternative for this fabrication method, aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD), was applied due to cost-effectivity and fine control over the film deposition. Such a technique does not require vacuum and is suitable for the coating of large surface areas and structures with complex geometries. This approach allowed the fabrication of highly homogeneous surfaces with well-defined microstructures onto 50 nm thin gold layers. The degradative processes of the ubiquitously employed poly (vinyl chloride) membranes in contact with an electrolyte solution were studied, including the polymer leaching process, mechanical desorption of nanoparticles and chemical degradation over time. Rational design of a protective coating based on an organosilicon material in combination with cellulose to improve the long-term stability of the sensors was then carried out, showing an improvement in the performance after 5 weeks. The antifouling properties of such coating were assessed using a cutting-edge quartz microbalance sensor, allowing the quantification of the adsorbed proteins in the nanogram range. A correlation between the microstructural properties of the films with the surface energy and biomolecules adhesion was then found and used to optimize the protective film.

Keywords: hyperkalemia, drift, AACVD, organosilicon

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Authors: Cheryl Forchuk, Sandra Fisman, Steve Cordes, Dan Catunto, Katherine Krakowski, Melissa Jeffrey, John D’Oria

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The discharge of youth aged 16-25 from hospital into homelessness is a prevalent issue despite research indicating social, safety, health and economic detriments on both the individual and community. Lack of stable housing for youth discharged into homelessness results in long-term consequences, including exacerbation of health problems and costly health care service use and hospital readmission. People experiencing homelessness are four times more likely to be readmitted within one month of discharge and hospitals must spend $2,559 more per client. Finding safe housing for these individuals is imperative to their recovery and transition back to the community. People discharged from hospital to homelessness experience challenges, including poor health outcomes and increased hospital readmissions. Youth are the fastest-growing subgroup of people experiencing homelessness in Canada. The needs of youth are unique and include supports related to education, employment opportunities, and age-related service barriers. This study aims to identify the needs of youth at risk of homelessness by evaluating the efficacy of the “Preventing Discharge to No Fixed Address – Youth” (NFA-Y) program, which aims to prevent youth from being discharged from hospital into homelessness. The program connects youth aged 16-25 who are inpatients at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London to housing and financial support. Supports are offered through collaboration with community partners: Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Canadian Mental Health Association Elgin Middlesex, City of London Coordinated Access, Ontario Works, and Salvation Army’s Housing Stability Bank. This study was reviewed and approved by Western University’s Research Ethics Board. A series of interviews are being conducted with approximately ninety-three youth participants at three time points: baseline (pre-discharge), six, and twelve months post-discharge. Focus groups with participants, health care providers, and community partners are being conducted at three-time points. In addition, administrative data from service providers will be collected and analyzed. Since homelessness has a detrimental effect on recovery, client and community safety, and healthcare expenditure, locating safe housing for psychiatric patients has had a positive impact on treatment, rehabilitation, and the system as a whole. If successful, the findings of this project will offer safe policy alternatives for the prevention of homelessness for at-risk youth, help set them up for success in their future years, and mitigate the rise of the homeless youth population in Canada.

Keywords: youth homelessness, no-fixed address, mental health, homelessness prevention, hospital discharge

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Authors: Marco Ranzato, Maguelone Vignes

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The co-design process recently run by the trans-disciplinary urban laboratory Metrolab Brussels for outlining the architecture of a future integrated health centre in Brussels (Belgium) has highlighted that a buffer place open to the local community is the appropriate cornerstone around which organizing a space where diverse professionals and patients are together. In the context of the migrants 'crisis' in Europe, the growing number of vulnerable people in Brussels and the increasing complexity of the health and welfare systems, the NGO Doctors of the World (DoW) has launched a project funded by The European Regional Development Fund, and aiming to create a new community centre combining social and health services in a poor but changing neighborhood of Brussels. Willing not to make a 'ghetto' of this new integrated service, the NGO looks at hosting different publics in order to make the poorest, marginal and most vulnerable people access to a regular kind of service. As a trans-disciplinary urban research group, Metrolab has been involved in the process of co-designing the architecture of the future centre with a set of various health professionals, social workers, and patients’ representatives. Metrolab drawn on the participants’ practice experiences and knowledge of hosting different kinds of publics and professions in a same structure in order to imagine what rooms should fit into the centre, what atmosphere they should convey, how should they be interrelated and organized, and, concurrently, how the building should fit into the urban frame of its neighborhood. The result is that, in order for an integrated health centre framed in the landscape of a disadvantaged neighborhood to function, it has to work as social community centre offering accessibility and conviviality to diverse social groups. This paper outlines the methodology that Metrolab used to design and conduct, in close collaboration with DoW, a series of 3 workshops. Through sketching and paper modeling, the methodology made participants talk about their experience by projecting them into a situation. It included a combination of individual and collective work in order to sharp participants’ eyes on architectural forms, explicit their thoughts and experience through inter-subjectivity and imagine solutions to the challenges they raised. Such a collaborative method encompasses several challenges about patients’ participation and representation, replicability of the conditions of success and the plurality of the research findings communication formats. This paper underlines how this participatory process has contributed to build knowledge on the few-documented topic of the architecture of community health centres. More importantly, the contribution builds on this participatory process to discuss the importance of adapting the architecture of the new integrated health centre to the changing population of Brussels and to the issues of its specific neighborhood.

Keywords: co-design, health, social innovation, urban lab

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Authors: Jing Zhang, Yvonne Reinwald, Nick Poulson, Alicia El Haj, Chung See, Mike Somekh, Melissa Mather

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Biomedical imaging of native tissue using light offers the potential to obtain excellent structural and functional information in a non-invasive manner with good temporal resolution. Image contrast can be derived from intrinsic absorption, fluorescence, or scatter, or through the use of extrinsic contrast. A major challenge in applying optical microscopy to in vivo tissue imaging is the effects of light attenuation which limits light penetration depth and achievable imaging resolution. Recently Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) has been used to map the 3D distribution of fluorophores dispersed in biological structures. In this approach, a focused sheet of light is used to illuminate the sample from the side to excite fluorophores within the sample of interest. Images are formed based on detection of fluorescence emission orthogonal to the illumination axis. By scanning the sample along the detection axis and acquiring a stack of images, 3D volumes can be obtained. The combination of rapid image acquisition speeds with the low photon dose to samples optical sectioning provides SPIM is an attractive approach for imaging biological samples in 3D. To date all implementations of SPIM rely on the use of fluorescence reporters be that endogenous or exogenous. This approach has the disadvantage that in the case of exogenous probes the specimens are altered from their native stage rendering them unsuitable for in vivo studies and in general fluorescence emission is weak and transient. Here we present for the first time to our knowledge a label-free implementation of SPIM that has downstream applications in the clinical setting. The experimental set up used in this work incorporates both label-free and fluorescent illumination arms in addition to a high specification camera that can be partitioned for simultaneous imaging of both fluorescent emission and scattered light from intrinsic sources of optical contrast in the sample being studied. This work first involved calibration of the imaging system and validation of the label-free method with well characterised fluorescent microbeads embedded in agarose gel. 3D constructs of mammalian cells cultured in agarose gel with varying cell concentrations were then imaged. A time course study to track cell proliferation in the 3D construct was also carried out and finally a native tissue sample was imaged. For each sample multiple images were obtained by scanning the sample along the axis of detection and 3D maps reconstructed. The results obtained validated label-free SPIM as a viable approach for imaging cells in a 3D gel construct and native tissue. This technique has the potential use in a near-patient environment that can provide results quickly and be implemented in an easy to use manner to provide more information with improved spatial resolution and depth penetration than current approaches.

Keywords: bioimaging, optics, selective plane illumination microscopy, tissue imaging

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Authors: Isabela S. Gonçalves, Vitor G. P. Lima, Tiago M. B. Campos, Marcos Jacobovitz, Luana M. R. Vasconcellos, Ivone R. Oliveira

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Periodontitis is an infectious disease of multifactorial origin, which originates from a periodontogenic bacterial biofilm that colonizes the surfaces of the teeth, resulting in an inflammatory reaction to microbial aggression. In the absence of adequate treatment, it can lead to the gradual destruction of the periodontal ligaments, cementum and alveolar bone. In guided tissue/bone regeneration therapy (GTR/GBR), a barrier membrane is placed between the fibrous tissues and the bone defect to prevent unwanted incursions of fibrous tissues into the bone defect, thus allowing the regeneration of quality bone. Currently, there are a significant number of biodegradable barrier membranes available on the market. However, a very common problem is that the membranes are not bioactive/osteogenic, that is, they are incapable of inducing a favorable osteogenic response and integration with the host tissue, resulting in many cases in displacement/expulsion of the membrane, requiring a new surgical procedure and replacement of the implant. Aiming to improve the bioactive and osteogenic properties of the membrane, this work evaluated the production of membranes that integrate the biocompatibility of the hydrophilic synthetic polymer (polyvinyl alcohol - PVA) with the osteogenic effects of chlorinated bioactive glasses (BG58S-Cl), using the electrospinning equipment (AeroSpinner L1.0 from Areka) which allows the execution of spinning by high voltage and/or blowing in solution and with a high production rate, enabling development on an industrial scale. In the formulation of bioactive glasses, the replacement of nitrates by chlorinated molecules has shown to be a promising alternative, since the chloride ion is naturally present in the body and, with its presence in the bioactive glass, the biocompatibility of the material increases. Thus, in this work, chlorinated bioactive glasses were synthesized by the sol-gel route using the compounds tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), calcium chloride dihydrate and monobasic ammonium phosphate with pH adjustments with 37% HCl (1.5 or 2.5) and different calcination temperatures (500, 600 and 700 °C) were evaluated. The BG-58S-Cl powders obtained were characterized by pH, conductivity and zeta potential x time curves and by SEM/FEG, FTIR-ATR and Raman tests. The material produced under the selected conditions was evaluated in relation to the milling procedure, obtaining particles suitable for incorporation into PVA polymer solutions to be electrospun (D50 = 22 µm). Membranes were produced and evaluated regarding the influence of the crosslinking agent content as well as the crosslinking treatment temperature (3, 5 and 10 wt% citric acid) and (130 or 175 oC) and were characterized by SEM/FEG, FTIR, TG and DSC. From the optimization of the crosslinking conditions, membranes were prepared by adding BG58S-Cl powder (5 and 10 wt%) to the PVA solutions and were characterized by SEM-FEG, DSC, bioactivity in SBF and behavior in cell culture (cell viability, total protein content, alkaline phosphatase, mineralization nodules). The micrographs showed homogeneity of the distribution of BG58S-Cl particles throughout the sample, favoring cell differentiation.

Keywords: barrier membranes, chlorinated bioactive glasses, polyvinyl alcohol, tissue regeneration.

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Authors: Alberto Veses, Olga Sanhauja, María Soledad Callén, Tomás García

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The appropriate use of renewable sources emerges as a decisive point to minimize the environmental impact caused by fossil fuels use. Particularly, the use of lignocellulosic biomass becomes one of the best promising alternatives since it is the only carbon-containing renewable source that can produce bioproducts similar to fossil fuels and it does not compete with food market. Among all the processes that can valorize lignocellulosic biomass, pyrolysis is an attractive alternative because it is the only thermochemical process that can produce a liquid biofuel (bio-oil) in a simple way and solid and gas fractions that can be used as energy sources to support the process. However, in order to incorporate bio-oils in current infrastructures and further process in future biorefineries, their quality needs to be improved. Introducing different low-cost catalysts and/or incorporating different polymer residues to the process are some of the new, simple and low-cost strategies that allow the user to directly obtain advanced bio-oils to be used in future biorefineries in an economic way. In this manner, from previous thermogravimetric analyses, local agricultural wastes such as grape seeds (GS) were selected as lignocellulosic biomass while, waste tires (WT) were selected as polymer residue. On the other hand, CaO was selected as low-cost catalyst based on previous experiences by the group. To reach this aim, a specially-designed fixed bed reactor using N₂ as a carrier gas was used. This reactor has the peculiarity to incorporate a vertical mobile liner that allows the user to introduce the feedstock in the oven once the selected temperature (550 ºC) is reached, ensuring higher heating rates needed for the process. Obtaining a well-defined phase distribution in the resulting bio-oil is crucial to ensure the viability to the process. Thus, once experiments were carried out, not only a well-defined two layers was observed introducing several mixtures (reaching values up to 40 wt.% of WT) but also, an upgraded organic phase, which is the one considered to be processed in further biorefineries. Radical interactions between GS and WT released during the pyrolysis process and dehydration reactions enhanced by CaO can promote the formation of better-quality bio-oils. The latter was reflected in a reduction of water and oxygen content of bio-oil and hence, a substantial increase of its heating value and its stability. Moreover, not only sulphur content was reduced from solely WT pyrolysis but also potential and negative issues related to a strong acidic environment of conventional bio-oils were minimized due to its basic pH and lower total acid numbers. Therefore, acidic compounds obtained in the pyrolysis such as CO₂-like substances can react with the CaO and minimize acidic problems related to lignocellulosic bio-oils. Moreover, this CO₂ capture promotes H₂ production from water gas shift reaction favoring hydrogen-transfer reactions, improving the final quality of the bio-oil. These results show the great potential of grapes seeds to carry out the catalytic co-pyrolysis process with different plastic residues in order to produce a liquid bio-oil that can be considered as a high-quality renewable vector.

Keywords: advanced bio-oils, biorefinery, catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste tires, lignocellulosic biomass

Procedia PDF Downloads 235