Search results for: automotive part manufacturing measurement

Authors: Girija Jha

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This paper investigates the need of cotton to integrate sustainability. The methodology used in the paper is to do secondary research to find out the various environmental implications of cotton as textile material across its life cycle and try to look at ways and possibilities of minimizing its ecological footprint. Cotton is called ‘The Fabric of Our Lives’. History is replete with examples where this fabric used to be more than a fabric of lives. It used to be a miracle fabric, a symbol India’s pride and social Movement of Swaraj, Gandhijee’s clarion call to self reliance. Cotton is grown in more than 90 countries across the globe on 2.5 percent of the world's arable land in countries like China, India, United States, etc. accounting for almost three fourth of global production. But cotton as a raw material has come under the scanner of sustainability experts because of myriad reasons a few have been discussed here. It may take more than 20,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton. Cotton harvest is primarily done from irrigated land which leads to Salinization and depletion of local water reservoirs, e.g., Drying up of Aral Sea. Cotton is cultivated on 2.4% of total world’s crop land but accounts for 24% usage of insecticide and shares the blame of 11% usage of pesticides leading to health hazards and having an alarmingly dangerous impact on the ecosystem. One of the possible solutions to these problems as proposed was GM, Genetically Modified cotton crop. However, use of GM cotton is still debatable and has many ethical issues. The practice of mass production and increasing consumerism and especially fast fashion has been major culprits to disrupt this delicate balance. Disposable fashion or fast fashion is on the rise and cotton being one of the major choices adds on to the problem. Denims – made of cotton and have a strong fashion statement and the washes being an integral part of their creation they share a lot of blame. These are just a few problems listed. Today Sustainability is the need of the hour and it is inevitable to incorporate have major changes in the way we cultivate and process cotton to make it a sustainable choice. The answer lies in adopting minimalism and boycotting fast fashion, in using Khadi, in saying no to washed denims and using selvedge denims or using better methods of finishing the washed out fabric so that the environment does not bleed blue. Truly, the answer lies in integrating state of art technology with age old sustainable practices so that the synergy of the two may help us come out of the vicious circle.

Keywords: cotton, sustainability, denim, Khadi

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Authors: Agnieszka Nowogrodzka

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Objectives: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which symptoms are most prominent throughout childhood. In the longer term, these symptoms, as well as the behaviour of the child, the experiences arising from the response of the community to the child's symptoms, as well as the functioning of the community itself, all contribute to the onset of secondary symptoms and subsequent outcomes of the disorder, such as crime or mental disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of ADHD among Polish convicts serving a prison sentence. To that end, the study will focus on the relationship between the severity of ADHD and early childhood trauma, family relations, maladaptive cognitive schemas, as well as mental disorders. It is an attempt to assess the interdependence between ADHD, childhood experiences, and secondary outcomes. Methods: The study enrolled two groups of first-time convicts and repeat offenders aged between 21 and 65 –each of the study groups comprised 120 participants; 240 participants in total took part in the study. Participants were recruited in semi-open penal institutions in Poland (Poznań Custody Suite, Wronki Penal Institution, Iława Penal Institution). The control group comprised 110 men without criminal records aged 21 to 65. The DIVA 5.0 questionnaire was employed to identify the severity of ADHD symptoms. Other questionnaires employed in the course of the study included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV), Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Results: The findings of the study in question are currently still being compiled and will be shared during the conference. The findings of a pilot study involving two cohorts of convicts (each numbering 20 men) and a control group (20 men with no criminal records) indicate a significant correlation between ADHD and the experience of early childhood trauma. The severity of ADHD also shows a correlation with the assessment of the functioning of the family, with the subjects assessing the relationships in their families more negatively than the control group. Furthermore, the severity of ADHD is also correlated with maladaptive emotional schemas manifesting in the participants. The findings also show a correlation between selected dimensions and the severity of offenses.

Keywords: ADHD, social impairments, mental disorders, early childhood traumas, criminality

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Authors: Mei Xuan Tan, Eng Ying Bong

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Academic discussion during and after instructional teaching is an integral part of learning. Such discussion between the instructor and student or peer-to-peer discussion can be in several different forms. It could be face-to-face discussion, via email and use of online discussion forum. In this study, the effectiveness of using WhatsApp for academic discussion for a first year half-credit Chemistry course was examined. This study was run over two years with two different batches of students. Participation in the study was voluntary and student volunteers were recruited within the first week of the term. The activity in the WhatsApp group was monitored by two instructors teaching the course. At the end of the course, the students participated in an online survey to evaluate their experience of using WhatsApp for academic discussion. There were a total of 26 questions. The survey had a total of 4 sections with regards to the use of WhatsApp for academic discussion: 1) Familiarity with WhatsApp, 2) Effectiveness of using WhatsApp for discussion, 3) Challenges and 4) Overall experience. The main purpose of using an IM platform for academic discussion was to encourage after-class discussion amongst the students. 32% of the participants had used other online platform, such as Piazza and forums in Learning Management System (LMS), for after-class academic discussion with their instructors and peers. This was a low percentage considering that some courses use such online platform as their main forum amongst instructors and students. At the end of our study, over 83% of the participants felt that WhatsApp was a more effective platform compared to other online forum. One interesting finding was the effect of WhatsApp discussion on face-to-face interaction with instructors. 28% of the students agreed that the use of WhatsApp as a discussion forum had encouraged them to approach their instructors during or after class. 51% of students answered neutral. This could be interpreted that the use of WhatsApp had not affected the frequent (or lack of) face-to-face interaction with their instructors. A second survey question, similar but phrased differently from the first, was also asked to evaluate the aspect of face-to-face interaction with instructors. 34% disagreed that the use of WhatsApp had reduced the frequency of face-to-face interaction. This could imply that the frequency remained the same or might have increased. The 38% who agreed to a decrease in face-to-face interaction have either asked the questions in WhatsApp or had their questions answered by a query from another student in the group chat. These outcomes suggested that the use of technology aided and complemented face-to-face interaction between instructors and students. The study also looked at the challenges of using WhatsApp for academic discussion. Some challenges included difficulty in referring back to previous discussion and students finding some discussions irrelevant to them. In conclusion, the use of IM platform for academic discussion was desirable for the students, but it should not be the only channel as face-to-face consultation and online forum for lengthy discussion are still important for after-class learning of students.

Keywords: chemistry, pedogogy, technological tools, undergraduate

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Authors: M. Mutoti, J. Gumbo, A. Jideani

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Cyanobacteria or blue green algae have been part of the human diet for thousands of years. Cyanobacteria can multiply quickly in surface waters and form blooms when favorable conditions prevail, such as high temperature, intense light, high pH, and increased availability of nutrients, especially phosphorous and nitrogen, artificially released by anthropogenic activities. Consumption of edible cyanotoxins such as Spirulina may reduce risks of cataracts and age related macular degeneration. Sulfate polysaccharides exhibit antitumor, anticoagulant, anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and even antiviral activity against HIV, herpes, and hepatitis. In humans, exposure to cyanotoxins can occur in various ways; however, the oral route is the most important. This is mainly through drinking water, or by eating contaminated foods; it may even involve ingesting water during recreational activities. This paper seeks to present a review on cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin contamination of water and food and implications for human health. In particular, examining the water quality used during maize seed that passes through mill grinding processes. In order to fulfil the objective, this paper starts with the theoretical framework on cyanobacteria contamination of food that will guide review of the present paper. A number of methods for decontaminating cyanotoxins in food is currently available. Therefore, physical, chemical, and biological methods for treating cyanotoxins are reviewed and compared. Furthermore, methods that are utilized for detecting and identifying cyanobacteria present in water and food were also informed in this review. This review has indicated various routes through which humans can be exposed to cyanotoxins. Accumulation of cyanotoxins, mainly microcystins, in food has raised an awareness of the importance of food as microcystins exposure route to human body. Therefore, this review demonstrates the importance of expanding research on cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin contamination of water and food for water treatment and water supply management, with focus on examining water for domestic use. This will help providing information regarding the prevention or minimization of contamination of water and food, and also reduction or removal of contamination through treatment processes and prevention of recontamination in the distribution system.

Keywords: biofilm, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin, food contamination

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Authors: Amir Hossein Ghaffari Nejad, Forouhar Ferdowsi, Reza Mashhadi

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In the interest-free banking system of Iran, the savings of society are in the form of bank deposits, and banks using the Islamic contracts, allocate the resources to applicants for obtaining facilities and credit. In the meantime, the central bank, with the aim of introducing monetary policy, determines the maximum interest rate on bank deposits in terms of macroeconomic requirements. But in recent years, the country's economic constraints with the stagflation and the consequence of the institutional weaknesses of the financial market of Iran have resulted in massive disturbances in the balance sheet of the banking system, resulting in a period of mismatch maturity in the banks' assets and liabilities and the implementation of a Ponzi game. This issue caused determination of the interest rate in long-term bank deposit contracts to be associated with non-observance of the maximum rate set by the central bank. The result of this condition was in the allocation of new sources of equipment to meet past commitments towards the old depositors and, as a result, a significant part of the supply of equipment was leaked out of the facilitating cycle and credit crunch emerged. The purpose of this study is to identify the most important factors affecting the occurrence of non-confirmatory financial banking behavior using data from 19 public and private banks of Iran. For this purpose, the causes of this non-confirmatory behavior of banks have been investigated using the panel vector autoregression method (PVAR) for the period of 2007-2015. Granger's causality test results suggest that the return of parallel markets for bank deposits, non-performing loans and the high share of the ratio of facilities to banks' deposits are all a cause of the formation of non-confirmatory behavior. Also, according to the results of impulse response functions and variance decomposition, NPL and the ratio of facilities to deposits have the highest long-term effect and also have a high contribution to explaining the changes in banks' non-confirmatory behavior in determining the interest rate on deposits.

Keywords: non-conformity behavior, Ponzi Game, panel vector autoregression, nonperforming loans

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Authors: Tomas Macsotay

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If monument removal and monument effacement may call to mind a Nietzschean proposal for vitalist disregard of conventional morality, it remains the case that it is often only by a willingness to go “beyond good and evil” in inherited monument politics that truthful, be it unexpected aspects of our co-existence with monuments can finally start to rise into fuller consciousness. A series of urgent questions press themselves in the panorama created by the affirmative idea that we can, as a community, make crucial decisions with regard to monumental preservation or discontinuation. Memorials are not the core concern for decolonial and racial dignity movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM), which have repeatedly shown they regard these actions as a welcome, albeit complementary, part of a reckoning with a past of racial violence and injustice, slavery, and colonial subaltern existence. As such, the iconoclastic issue of “rights and prohibitions of images” only tangentially touches on a cultural movement that seems rather question dominant ideas of history, pertinence, and the long life of the class, gender, and racial conflict through ossified memorial cultures. In the recent monument insurrection, we face a rare case of a new negotiation of rights of existence for this particular tract of material culture. This engenders a debate on how and why we accord rights to objects in public dominion ― indeed, how such rights impinge upon the rights of subjects who inhabit the public sphere. Incidentally, the possibility of taking away from monuments such imagined or adjoined rights has made it possible to tease open a sphere of emotionality that could not be expressed in patrimonial thinking: the reality of atmospheres as settings, often dependent on pseudo-objects and half-conscious situations, that situate individuals involuntarily in a pathic aesthetics. In this way, the unique moment we now witness ― full of the possibility of going “beyond good and evil” of monument preservation ― starts to look more like a moment of involuntary awaking: an awakening to the encrypted gaze of the monument and the enigma that the same monument or memorial site can carry day-to-day habits of life for some bystanders, while racialized and disenfranchised communities experience discomfort and erosion of subjective life in the same sites.

Keywords: monument, memorial, atmosphere, racial justice, decolonialism

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Authors: Ayanda Magida, Brian Armstrong

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The study aimed to assess the third level of the digital divide among the millennials and post-millennials in South Africa. The millennials are people born from 1981-to 1996, that is, people between the ages of 25-40 years old and post-millennials are people born from 1997 to date. For the study, only post-millennials born between 1997-2003 were included as they were old enough to consent to participation in the study. Data was collected as part of the Ph.D. project that focuses on the relationship between income inequality, the digital divide, and social cohesion in South Africa. The digital divide has three main levels, namely the first, second and third. The first and second focus on access and usage, respectively. The third-level digital divide can be defined as the differences in the benefits associated with being online. The current paper focuses on the third level: the benefits derived by being online using four domains: economic, educational, social, and personal benefits. The economic benefits include income, employment and finance-related activities; the social benefits include socializing belonging, identity, and informal networks. The personal benefits include personal wellbeing and self-actualization. A total of 763 participants completed the survey, and 61.3% were post-millennials between the ages of 18-24 and s 38.6 % were millennials between 25 and 40. The majority of the respondents were female (62%), male (34%) and nonbinary (1%), respectively. Most of the respondents were black, followed by whites, Indians and colored, respectively. Thus, they represented the status of the demographics of the country. Most of the respondents had access to the internet and smartphone. Most expressed that they use laptops (68%) or mobile (71%) to access the internet and 54 % access the internet using wireless/Wi-Fi. There were no differences between the millennial and post-millennial economic and educational benefits of being online. However, the post-millennials were more inclined to use the internet for social and personal benefits than the millennials. This could be attributed to many factors, such as age. The post-millennials are still discovering themselves and therefore would derive social and personal benefits associated with being online. The findings confirm studies that argue that younger generations derive more benefits from being online than the older generation. Based on the findings, it is evident that the post-millennials are not using the internet or online activities for social networks and socializing but can derive economic benefits such as job looking and education benefits from being online. It can be inferred that there are no significant differences between the two groups, and it seems like the third-level digital divide is not evident among the two groups as they both have been able to derive meaningful benefits from being online. Further studies should focus on the third-level divide between the baby boomers and Generation X.

Keywords: third-level digital divide, millennials, post-millennials, online activities

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Authors: Sayani Chatterjee, Kusum Lata Pangtey, Sarita Singh, Harvir Singh

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Biodegradation leads to a systematic alteration of the chemical and physical properties of crude oil showing sequential depletion of n-alkane, cycloalkanes, aromatic which increases its specific gravity, viscosity and the abundance of heteroatom-containing compounds. The biodegradation leads to a change in the molecular fingerprints and geochemical parameters of degraded oils, thus make source and maturity identification inconclusive or ambiguous. Asphaltene is equivalent to the most labile part of the respective kerogen and generally has high molecular weight. Its complex chemical structure with substantial microporous units makes it suitable to occlude the hydrocarbon expelled from the source. The occluded molecules are well preserved by the macromolecular structure and thus prevented from secondary alterations. They retain primary organic geochemical information over the geological time. The present study involves the extraction of this occluded hydrocarbon from the asphaltene cage through mild oxidative degradation using mild oxidative reagents like Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) and Acetic Acid (CH₃COOH) on purified asphaltene of the biodegraded oils of Mansa, Lanwa and Santhal fields in Cambay Basin. The study of these extracted occluded hydrocarbons was carried out for establishing oil to oil and oil to source correlation in the Mehsana block of Cambay Basin. The n-alkane and biomarker analysis through GC and GC-MS of these occluded hydrocarbons show similar biomarker imprint as the normal oil in the area and hence correlatable with them. The abundance of C29 steranes, presence of Oleanane, Gammacerane and 4-Methyl sterane depicts that the oils are derived from terrestrial organic matter deposited in the stratified saline water column in the marine environment with moderate maturity (VRc 0.6-0.8). The oil source correlation study suggests that the oils are derived from Jotana-Warosan Low area. The developed geochemical technique to extract the occluded hydrocarbon has effectively resolved the ambiguity that resulted from the inconclusive fingerprint of the biodegraded oil and the method can be also applied in other biodegraded oils as well.

Keywords: asphaltene, biomarkers, correlation, mild oxidation, occluded hydrocarbon

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Authors: I. Dangeard, S. Meineri, M. Dupré

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large body of research on energy consumption reveals that regular information on energy consumption produces a positive effect on behavior. The present research aims to test this feedback paradigm on waste management. A small-scale experiment on residual household waste was performed in a large french urban area, in partnership with local authorities, as part of the development of larger-scale project. A two-step door-to-door recruitment scheme led to 85 households answering a questionnaire. Among them, 54 accepted to participate in a study on waste (second step). Participants were then randomly assigned to one of the 3 experimental conditions : self-reported feedback on curbside waste, external feedback on waste weight based on information technologies, and no feedback for the control group. An additional control group was added, including households who were not requested to answer the questionnaire. Household residual waste was collected every week, and tags on curbside bins fed a database with waste weight of households. The feedback period lasted 14 weeks (february-may 2014). Quantitative data on waste weight were analysed, including these 14 weeks and the 7 previous weeks. Households were then contacted by phone in order to confirm the quantitative results. Regarding the recruitment questionnaire, results revealed high pro-environmental attitude on the NEP scale, high recycling behavior level and moderate level of source reduction behavior on the adapted 3R scale, but no statistical difference between the 3 experimental groups. Regarding the feedback manipulation paradigm, waste weight reveals important differences between households, but doesn't prove any statistical difference between the experimental conditions. Qualitative phone interviews confirm that recycling is a current practice among participants, whereas source reduction of waste is not, and mainly appears as a producer problem of packaging limitation. We conclude that triggering waste prevention behaviors among recycling households involves long-term feedback and should promote benchmarking, in order to clearly set waste reduction as an objective to be managed through feedback figures.

Keywords: eco-feedback, household waste, waste reduction, experimental research

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Authors: Meital Amzalag, Sharon Hardof-Jaffe

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In the last few decades, children and youth have been immersed in digital technologies. Indeed, recent studies explored the implication of technology use in their leisure and learning activities. Educators face an essential need to utilize technology and implement them into the curriculum. To do that, educators need to understand how young people use digital technology. This study aims to explore K12 students' digital lives from their point of view, to reveal their digital activities, age and gender differences with respect to digital activities, and to present the students' attitudes towards technologies in learning. The study approach is quantitative and includes354 students ages 6-16 from three schools in Israel. The online questionnaire was based on self-reports and consists of four parts: Digital activities: leisure time activities (such as social networks, gaming types), search activities (information types and platforms), and digital application use (e.g., calendar, notes); Digital skills (requisite digital platform skills such as evaluation and creativity); Social and emotional aspects of digital use (conducting digital activities alone and with friends, feelings, and emotions during digital use such as happiness, bullying); Digital attitudes towards digital integration in learning. An academic ethics board approved the study. The main findings reveal the most popular K12digital activities: Navigating social network sites, watching TV, playing mobile games, seeking information on the internet, and playing computer games. In addition, the findings reveal age differences in digital activities, such as significant differences in the use of social network sites. Moreover, the finding raises gender differences as girls use more social network sites and boys use more digital games, which are characterized by high complexity and challenges. Additionally, we found positive attitudes towards technology integration in school. Students perceive technology as enhancing creativity, promoting active learning, encouraging self-learning, and helping students with learning difficulties. The presentation will provide an up-to-date, accurate picture of the use of various digital technologies by k12 students. In addition, it will discuss the learning potentials of such use and how to implement digital technologies in the curriculum. Acknowledgments: This study is a part of a broader study about K-12 digital life in Israel and is supported by Mofet-the Israel Institute for Teachers'Development.

Keywords: technology and learning, K-12, digital life, gender differences

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Authors: Inna Vinokurova, N. Savvina

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The goal of research: to study the organization of multi-field hospital’s work environment in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Autonomous public health care institution of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - Republican Hospital No. 1 - National Center of Medicine. Results: Autonomous public health care institution of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - Republican Hospital No. 1 - National Center of Medicine is a multidisciplinary, specialized hospital complex that provides specialized and high-tech medical care to children and adults in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation. There are 5 diagnostic and treatment centers (advisory and diagnostic, clinical, pediatric, perinatal, Republican cardiologic dispensary) with 45 clinical specialized departments with 727 cots, 5 resuscitation departments, 20 operating rooms and out-patient department with 905 visits in alternation in the National Center of Medicine. Annually more than 20,000 patients receive treatment in the hospital of the Republican Hospital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), more than 70,000 patients visit out-patient sections, more than 2 million researches are done, more than 12,000 surgeries are performed, more than 2 thousand babies are delivered. National Center of Medicine has a great influence with such population’s health indicators as total mortality, birth rate, maternal, infant and perinatal mortality, circulatory system incidence. The work environment of the Republican Hospital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is represented by the following structural departments: pharmacy, blood transfusion department, sterilization department, laundry, dietetic department, infant-feeding centre, material and technical supply. More than 200 employees work in this service. The main function of these services is to provide on-time and fail-safe supply with all necessary: wear parts, medical supplies, donated blood and its components, foodstuffs, hospital linen , sterile instruments, etc. Thus, the activity of medical organization depends on the work environment, including quality health care, so it is a main part of multi-field hospital activity.

Keywords: organization of multi-field hospital’s, work environment, quality health care, pharmacy, blood transfusion department, sterilization department

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Authors: Beatriz Martinez-Pastor, Maria Nogal, Alan O'Connor

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During the last years, the number of extreme weather events has increased. A variety of extreme weather events, including river floods, rain-induced landslides, droughts, winter storms, wildfire, and hurricanes, have threatened and damaged many different regions worldwide. These events have a devastating impact on critical infrastructure systems resulting in high social, economical and environmental costs. These events have a huge impact in transport systems. Since, transport networks are completely exposed to every kind of climatological perturbations, and its performance is closely related with these events. When a traffic network is affected by a climatological hazard, the quality of its service is threatened, and the level of the traffic conditions usually decreases. With the aim of understanding this process, the concept of resilience has become most popular in the area of transport. Transport resilience analyses the behavior of a traffic network when a perturbation takes place. This holistic concept studies the complete process, from the beginning of the perturbation until the total recovery of the system, when the perturbation has finished. Many concepts are included in the definition of resilience, such as vulnerability, redundancy, adaptability, and safety. Once the resilience of a transport network can be evaluated, in this case, the methodology used is a dynamic equilibrium-restricted assignment model that allows the quantification of the concept, the next step is its improvement. Through the improvement of this concept, it will be possible to create transport networks that are able to withstand and have a better performance under the presence of climatological hazards. Analyzing the impact of a perturbation in a traffic network, it is observed that the response of the different links, which are part of the network, can be completely different from one to another. Consequently and due to this effect, many questions arise, as what makes a link more critical before an extreme weather event? or how is it possible to identify these critical links? With this aim, and knowing that most of the times the owners or managers of the transport systems have limited resources, the identification of the critical links of a transport network before extreme weather events, becomes a crucial objective. For that reason, using the available resources in the areas that will generate a higher improvement of the resilience, will contribute to the global development of the network. Therefore, this paper wants to analyze what kind of characteristic makes a link a critical one when an extreme weather event damages a transport network and finally identify them.

Keywords: critical links, extreme weather events, hazard, resilience, transport network

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Authors: Esther Gumboh

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While the definition of rape has evolved over the years and now differs from one jurisdiction to another, at the heart of the offence remains the absence of consent on the part of the victim. In simple terms, rape consists in non-consensual sexual intercourse. Therefore, the core issue is whether the accused acted with the consent of the victim. Once it is established that the act was consensual, a conviction of rape cannot be secured. Traditionally, rape within marriage was impossible because it was understood that a woman gave irrevocable consent to sex with her husband throughout the duration of the marriage. This position has since changed in most jurisdictions. Indeed, Malawian law now recognises the offence of marital rape. This is a victory for women’s rights and gender equality. Curiously, however, the definition of marital rape endorsed differs from the standard understanding of rape as non-consensual sex. Instead, the law has introduced the concept of unreasonableness of the refusal to engage in sex as a defence to an accused. This is an alarming position that undermines the protection sought to be derived from the criminalisation of rape within marriage. Moreover, in the Malawian context where rape remains an offence only men can commit against women, the current legal framework for marital rape perpetuates the societal misnomer that a married woman gives a once-off consent to sexual intercourse by virtue of marriage. This takes us back to the old common law position which many countries have moved away from. The present definition of marital rape under Malawian law also sits at odd with the nature of rape that is applicable to all other instances of non-consensual sexual intercourse. Consequently, the law fails to protect married women from unwanted sexual relations at the hands of their husbands. This paper critically examines the criminalisation of marital rape in Malawi. It commences with a historical account of the conceptualisation of rape and then looks at judgments that rejected the validity of marital rape. The discussion then moves to the debates that preceded the criminalisation of marital rape in Malawi and how the Law Commission reasoned to finally make a recommendation in its favour. Against this background, the paper analyses the legal framework for marital rape and what this means for the elements of the offence and defences that may be raised by an accused. In the final analysis, this contribution recommends that there is need to amend the definition of marital rape. Better still, the law should simply state that the fact of marriage is not a defence to a charge of rape, or, in other words, that there is no marital rape exemption. This would automatically mean that husbands are subjected to the same criminal law principles as their unmarried counterparts when it comes to non-consensual sexual intercourse with their wives.

Keywords: criminal law, gender, Malawi, marital rape, rape, sexual intercourse

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Authors: Salima Agoun-Bahar, Ouzna Abrous-Belbachir, Souad Amelal

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Industrial areas generally contain heavy metals; thus, negative consequences can appear in the medium and long term on the fauna and flora, but also on the food chain, which man constitutes the final link. The SONATRACH Company has become aware of the importance of environmental protection by setting up a rehabilitation program for polluted sites in order to avoid major ecological disasters and find both curative and preventive solutions. The aim of this work consists to study industrial pollution located around a crude oil storage tank in the Algiers refinery of Sidi R'cine and to select the plants which accumulate the most heavy metals for possible use in phytotechnology. Sampling of whole plants with their soil clod was realized around the pollution source at a depth of twenty centimeters, then transported to the laboratory to identify them. The quantification of heavy metals, lead, zinc, copper, and nickel was carried out by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with flame in the soil and at the level of the aerial and underground parts of the plants. Ten plant species were recorded in the polluted site, three of them belonging to the grass family with a dominance percentage higher than 50%, followed by three other species belonging to the Composite family represented by 12% and one species for each of the families Linaceae, Plantaginaceae, Papilionaceae, and Boraginaceae. Koeleria phleoïdes L. and Avena sterilis L. of the grass family seem to be the dominant plants, although they are quite far from the pollution source. Lead pollution of soils is the most pronounced for all stations, with values varying from 237.5 to 2682.5 µg.g⁻¹. Other peaks are observed for zinc (1177 µg.g⁻¹) and copper (635 µg.g⁻¹) at station 8 and nickel (1800 µg.g⁻¹) at station 10. Among the inventoried plants, some species accumulate a significant amount of metals: Trifolium sp and K.phleoides for lead and zinc, P.lanceolata and G.tomentosa for nickel, and A.clavatus for zinc. K.phloides is a very interesting species because it accumulates an important quantity of heavy metals, especially in its aerial part. This can be explained by its use of the phytoextraction technique, which will facilitate the recovery of the pollutants by the simple removal of shoots.

Keywords: heavy metals, industrial pollution, phytotechnology, rehabilitation

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Authors: Semira Zeru Haileslassie

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Lack of awareness and practices of PEP treatment were observed among respondents, but they had a better attitude towards PEP. To this end, a formal training for all respondents regarding PEP for HIV prior to their clinical attachments is of utmost importance. The training ought to incorporate a brief clarification with respect to the unpleasant impact of non-adherence that essentially incorporate destitute treatment result and most prominent hazard of resistance and few given as a major cause for non-compliance to PEP, common transient side-effects of PEP and its administrations ought to be cloister educated healthcare specialists to diminish its effect on adherence. Besides, the propensity of detailing needle adhere harm was destitute that needs endeavors to progress. Progressing the culture of detailing and making the detailing handle simple is very necessary. In reality, announcing such wounds as early as conceivable will educate others not to commit same issue once more and, for the most part, will empower stakeholders to intercede the issue sometime prior to it re-occur. At long last, as distant as get up and go utilize has cleared out with so numerous bothers, risk decrease is the foremost choice. With this, taking the increased significance of protective barriers so as to decrease the hazard of exposure to HIV, distinctive stakeholders (the healing center hardware supply chain director, the HIV/ Helps clinic, the clinic chief, hardware and supply quality confirmation group, and other authoritative bodies) ought to work together in co-ordination to secure the supply and guarantee the quality of those crucial protective barriers and to advance demand health laborers to continuously wear protective barriers when exposed to HIV hazard components as well as to dispose appropriately once done. At long last, we prescribe future examiners to conduct planned multicenter studies with extra goals (counting indicator investigation) for way better generalization and result. In spite of satisfactory information and favorable state of mind towards PEP for HIV in most of the respondents, this study uncovered that there were delays in starting, low utilization, and fragmented use of the prescribed PEP. So, health care staff need to progress their practice on PEP of HIV through diverse training program related to PEP of HIV.

Keywords: HIV infection, prophylaxis, knowledge, attitude

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Authors: Victor Counted

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Staying true to self is complicated. In most cases, we might not fully come to terms with this realities. Just like any journey, a self-discovery experience with the ‘self’, is like a rollercoaster ride. The researcher attempts to engage the reader in an empirical study on authenticity tendencies of African Christian Millennials. Hence, attempting the all-important question: What does it actually mean to be true to self for the African youth? A comprehensive, yet an unfinished business that applies the authenticity theory in its exploratory navigations to uncover the “lived world” of the participants who were part of this study. Using a mixed methods approach, the researcher will exhaustively give account to the authenticity tendencies and experiences of the respondents in the study by providing the reader with a unique narrative for understanding what it means to be true to oneself in Africa. At the quantitative study, the participants recorded higher scores on the Authenticity Scale (AS) authentic living, while showing a significant correlation within the subscales. Hypotheses were tested at the quantitative phase, which statistically supported gender and church affiliation as possible predictors for the authenticity orientations of the participants, while being a Christian native and race/ethnicity were not impact factors statistically. The results helped the researcher to develop the objectives behind the qualitative study, where only fifteen AS-authentic living participants were interviewed to understand why they scored high on authentic living, in order to understand what it means to be authentic. The hallmark of the qualitative case study exploration was the common coping mechanism of splitting adopted by the respondents to deal with their self-crisis as they tried to remain authentic to self, whilst self-regulating and self-investing the self to discover ‘self’. Specifically, the researcher observed the concurrent utilization of some kind of the religious-self by the respondents to regulate their self crisis, as they relate with self fragmenting through different splitting stages in hope for some kind of redemption. It was an explanation that led to the conclusion that being authentic is the new pieces. Authenticity is in fragments. This proposition led the researcher to introduce a hermeneutical support-system that will enable future researchers engage more critically and responsibly with their “living human documents” in order to inspire timely solutions that resolve the concerns of authenticity and wellbeing among Millennials in Africa.

Keywords: authenticity, self, identity, self-fragmentation, weak self integration, postmodern self, splitting

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Authors: Cherres Sara, Cajas Diego

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This paper explores how EFL teachers understand the process of Lesson Study in Ecuadorian schools and the challenges and opportunities that it brings to the improvement of their teaching practice. Using a narrative research methodology, this study presents the results of the application of the four steps of Lesson Study carried out by seven teachers in four different schools located in the Southern part of Ecuador during four months. Before starting the implementation of the lesson study, 30 teachers were trained on this model. This training was opened to EFL teachers working in public and private schools without any charge. The criteria to select these teachers were first, to be minimum a one-year in-service teacher, second, to have a b2 level of English, and third, to be able to commit to follow the course guidelines. After the course, seven teachers decided to continue with the implementation of the Lesson Study in their respective institutions. During the implementation of the Lesson Study, data was collected through observations, in-depth interviews and teachers’ planning meetings; and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results of this study are presented using the lenses of seven EFL teachers that explained the challenges and opportunities that the implementation of Lesson Study conveyed. The challenges identified were the limited capacity of reflection and recognition of the activities that required improvement after the class, limited capacity to provide truthful peer feedback, teachers wrong notions about their performance in their classes, difficulties to follow a collaborative lesson plan; and, the disconnection between class activities and the class content. The opportunities identified were teachers’ predisposition to collaborate, teachers’ disposition to attend professional development courses, their commitment to work extra hours in planning meetings, their openness and their desired to be observed in their classes; and, their willingness to share class materials and knowledge. On the other hand, the results show that there is a disconnection between teachers’ knowledge of ELT and its proper application in class (from theory to practice). There are also, rigid institutional conceptions of teaching that do not allow teaching innovations. The authors concluded that there is a disconnection between teachers’ knowledge of ELT and its proper application in class (from theory to practice). There are also, rigid institutional conceptions of teaching that do not allow teaching innovations for example: excessive institutional paperwork and activities that are not connected to the development of students’ competences.

Keywords: ELT, lesson study, teachers’ professional development, teachers’ collaboration

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Authors: Laura Mclean

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A recurring point of interest in computational phylogenetic analysis of Indo-European family trees is the inference of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade in some versions of the trees produced. The presence of this clade in the models is intriguing as there is little evidence for innovations shared among Germanic, Italic, and Celtic, the evidence generally used in the traditional method to construct a subgroup. One source of this unexpected outcome could be the input to the models. The datasets in the various models used so far, for the most part, take as their basis the Swadesh list, a list compiled by Morris Swadesh and then revised several times, containing up to 207 words that he believed were resistant to change among languages. The judgments made by Swadesh for this list, however, were subjective and based on his intuition rather than rigorous analysis. Some scholars used the Swadesh 200 list as the basis for their Indo-European dataset and made cognacy judgements for each of the words on the list. Another dataset is largely based on the Swadesh 207 list as well although the authors include additional lexical and non-lexical data, and they implement ‘split coding’ to deal with cases of polymorphic characters. A different team of scholars uses a different dataset, IECoR, which combines several different lists, one of which is the Swadesh 200 list. In fact, the Swadesh list is used in some form in every study surveyed and each dataset has three words that, when they are coded as cognates, seemingly contribute to the inference of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade which could happen due to these clades sharing three words among only themselves. These three words are ‘fish’, ‘flower’, and ‘man’ (in the case of ‘man’, one dataset includes Lithuanian in the cognacy coding and removes the word ‘man’ from the screened data). This collection of cognates shared among Germanic, Italic, and Celtic that were deemed important enough to be included on the Swadesh list, without the ability to account for possible reasons for shared cognates that are not shared innovations, gives an impression of affinity between the Germanic, Celtic, and Italic branches without adequate methodological support. However, by changing how cognacy is defined (ie. root cognates, borrowings vs inherited cognates etc.), we will be able to identify whether these three cognates are significant enough to infer a clade for Germanic, Celtic, and Italic. This paper examines the question of what definition of cognacy should be used for phylogenetic datasets by examining the Germano-Italo-Celtic clade as a case study and offers insights into the reconstruction of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade.

Keywords: historical, computational, Italo-Celtic, Germanic

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Authors: Jean Gray C. Achapero, Mary Margareth P. Ancheta, Patricia Anjelika A. Angeles, Shannon Denzel S. Ao Tai, Carl Brandon C. Barlis, Chrislen Mae B. Benavidez

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Health literacy and awareness of Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a global issue that is under-addressed in the Philippines. Conducting a thorough review of the country's ability to recognize and comprehend the severity of the syndrome should be undertaken, as early treatment is essential to avoid further disorder complications. This research aims to assess the health literacy and awareness of the female residents of Barangay Dagatan, Sabang, and Marauoy Lipa, Batangas on PCOS. It followed a cross-sectional study, and data gathering was done through a pre-assessment using the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) and an online population-based survey questionnaire about PCOS awareness. The participants, as based on the objectives and purposive sampling method, were females aged 18-45 years old. Data were analyzed statistically using STATA 13.1 software. The study showed that 339 (76%) out of 444 respondents passed the SILS meaning the residents have proficient health literacy. Among the 339 respondents, 87% (287) had previous knowledge about PCOS. The respondents showed minimal awareness of PCOS symptoms which could be attributed to its broad spectrum of information. Respondents were shown to be most knowledgeable about PCOS physiology, treatment, beliefs, and its remedies. The respondents’ age had no significant association with their health literacy (p=0.31) and PCOS awareness (p=0.60). A significant association was noted, however, in their educational attainment linked with their health literacy (p=<0.0001) and PCOS awareness (p=0.001). It is suggested that reproductive health education even in the lower year levels must be optimized and Local Government Unit (LGU)/Non-Government Organization (NGO)-held seminars should be conducted for knowledge reinforcement. Reliable health information should be more accessible to the public and clinicians must emphasize the importance of the majority of early screening as part of routine physical examination for women of reproductive age to increase health literacy and awareness about PCOS and actively engage in the management of the disease.

Keywords: age, awareness, educational attainment, health literacy, polycystic ovarian syndrome

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Authors: Sunil Kumar Ghosh

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Som plant (Machilus bombycina King) is an important plant in agroforestry system. It is cultivated in north -east part of India. It is cultivated in agricultural land by the marginal farmers for multi-storeyed cultivation with intercropping. Localized cottage industries are involved with this plant like sericulture industry (muga silk worm cultivation). Clothes are produced from this sericulture industry. Leaves of som plants are major food of muga silk worm ( Antherea assama ). Nutritional value of leaves plays an important role in the larval growth and silk productivity. The plant also has timber value. The plant is susceptible to mite pest (Tetranychus sp.) causes heavy damage to tender leaves. Lower population was recorded during 7th to 38th standard week, during 3rd week of February to 4th week of September and higher population was during 46th to 51st standard week, during 3rd week of November to 3rd week of December and peak population (6.06/3 leaves) was recorded on 46th standard week that is on 3rd week of November. Correlation studies revealed that mite population had a significant negative correlation with temperature and non-significant positive correlation with relative humidity. This indicates that activity of mites population increase with the rise of relative humidity and decrease with the rise of temperature. Tobacco leaf extracts was found most effective against mite providing 40.51% suppression, closely followed by extracts of Spilanthes (39.06% suppression). Extracts of Garlic and extracts of Polygonum plant gave moderate results, recording about 38.10% and 37.78% mite suppression respectively. The polygonum (Polygonum hydropiper) plant (floral parts), pongamia (Pongamia pinnata) leaves, garlic (Allium sativum), spilanthes (Spilanthes paniculata) (floral parts) were extracted in methanol. Synthetic insecticides contaminate plant leaves with the toxic chemicals. Plant extracts are of biological origin having low or no hazardous effect on health and environment and so can be incorporated in organic cultivation.

Keywords: Abiotic factors, incidence, botanical extracts, organic cultivation, silk industry

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Authors: Ranjan Banerjee, W. D. Gunawardana

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The free vibration and flutter analysis plays a major part in aircraft design which is indeed, a mandatory requirement. In particular, high aspect ratio transport airliner wings are prone to free vibration and flutter problems that must be addressed during the design process as demanded by the airworthiness authorities. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a detailed free vibration and flutter analysis for a wide range of high aspect ratio aircraft wings and generate design curves to provide useful visions and understandings of aircraft design from an aeroelastic perspective. In the initial stage of the investigation, the bending and torsional stiffnesses of a number of transport aircraft wings are looked at and critically examined to see whether it is possible to express the stiffness distributions in polynomial form, but in a sufficiently accurate manner. A similar attempt is made for mass and mass moment of inertia distributions of the wing. Once the choice of stiffness and mass distributions in polynomial form is made, the high aspect ratio wing is idealised by a series of bending-torsion coupled beams from a structural standpoint. Then the dynamic stiffness method is applied to compute the natural frequencies and mode shape of the wing. Next the wing is idealised aerodynamically and to this end, unsteady aerodynamic of Theodorsen type is employed to represent the harmonically oscillating wing. Following this step, a normal mode method through the use of generalised coordinates is applied to formulate the flutter problem. In essence, the generalised mass, stiffness and aerodynamic matrices are combined to obtain the flutter matrix which is subsequently solved in the complex domain to determine the flutter speed and flutter frequency. In the final stage of the investigation, an exhaustive parametric study is carried out by varying significant wing parameters to generate design curves which help to predict the free vibration and flutter behaviour of high aspect ratio transport aircraft wings in a generic manner. It is in the aeroelastic context of aircraft design where the results are expected to be most useful.

Keywords: high-aspect ratio wing, flutter, dynamic stiffness method, free vibration, aeroelasticity

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Authors: Mir Ahmad Lashteh Neshaei, Hamed Afsoos Biria, Ata Ghabraei, Mir Abdolhamid Mehrdad

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Awareness of effective land using issues in coastal area including protection of natural ecosystems and coastal environment due to the increasing of human life along the coast is of great importance. There are numerous valuable structures and heritages which are located in defence sites and waterfront area. Marine structures such as groins, sea walls and detached breakwaters are constructed in coast to improve the coast stability against bed erosion due to changing wave and climate pattern. Marine mechanisms and interaction with the shore protection structures need to be intensively studied. Groins are one of the most prominent structures that are used in shore protection to create a safe environment for coastal area by maintaining the land against progressive coastal erosion. The main structural function of a groin is to control the long shore current and littoral sediment transport. This structure can be submerged and provide the necessary beach protection without negative environmental impact. However, for submerged structures adopted for beach protection, the shoreline response to these structures is not well understood at present. Nowadays, modelling and computer simulation are used to assess beach morphology in the vicinity of marine structures to reduce their environmental impact. The objective of this study is to predict the beach morphology in the vicinity of submerged groins and comparison with non-submerged groins with focus on a part of the coast located in Dahane sar Sefidrood, Guilan province, Iran where serious coast erosion has occurred recently. The simulations were obtained using a one-line model which can be used as a first approximation of shoreline prediction in the vicinity of groins. The results of the proposed model are compared with field measurements to determine the shape of the coast. Finally, the results of the present study show that using submerged groins can have a good efficiency to control the beach erosion without causing severe environmental impact to the coast. The important outcome from this study can be employed in optimum designing of defence sites in the coastal cities to improve their efficiency in terms of re-using the heritage lands.

Keywords: submerged structures, groin, shore protective structures, coastal cities

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Authors: Neda Orak, Mostafa Zarei

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Environmental assessment is an important session in environment management. Since various methods and techniques have been produces and implemented. Remote sensing (RS) is widely used in many scientific and research fields such as geology, cartography, geography, agriculture, forestry, land use planning, environment, etc. It can show earth surface objects cyclical changes. Also, it can show earth phenomena limits on basis of electromagnetic reflectance changes and deviations records. The research has been done on mangrove forests assessment by RS techniques. Mangrove forests quantitative analysis in Basatin and Bidkhoon estuaries was the aim of this research. It has been done by Landsat satellite images from 1975- 2013 and match to ground control points. This part of mangroves are the last distribution in northern hemisphere. It can provide a good background to improve better management on this important ecosystem. Landsat has provided valuable images to earth changes detection to researchers. This research has used MSS, TM, +ETM, OLI sensors from 1975, 1990, 2000, 2003-2013. Changes had been studied after essential corrections such as fix errors, bands combination, georeferencing on 2012 images as basic image, by maximum likelihood and IPVI Index. It was done by supervised classification. 2004 google earth image and ground points by GPS (2010-2012) was used to compare satellite images obtained changes. Results showed mangrove area in bidkhoon was 1119072 m2 by GPS and 1231200 m2 by maximum likelihood supervised classification and 1317600 m2 by IPVI in 2012. Basatin areas is respectively: 466644 m2, 88200 m2, 63000 m2. Final results show forests have been declined naturally. It is due to human activities in Basatin. The defect was offset by planting in many years. Although the trend has been declining in recent years again. So, it mentioned satellite images have high ability to estimation all environmental processes. This research showed high correlation between images and indexes such as IPVI and NDVI with ground control points.

Keywords: IPVI index, Landsat sensor, maximum likelihood supervised classification, Nayband National Park

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Authors: O. Y. Yurieva, O. V. Yurieva, O. V. Kiselkina, A. V. Kamaseva

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Since the early 2000s, there are some innovative changes in the civil service in Russia due to administrative reform. Perspectives of the reform of the civil service include a fundamental change in the personnel component, increasing the level of professionalism of officials, increasing their capacity for self-organization and self-regulation. In order to achieve this, the civil service must be able to continuously change. Organizational changes have long become the subject of scientific understanding; problems of research in the field of organizational change is presented by topics focused on the study of the methodological aspects of the implementation of the changes, the specifics of changes in different types of organizations (business, government, and so on), design changes in the organization, including based on the change in organizational culture. In this case, the organizational changes in the civil service are the least studied areas; research of problems of its transformation is carried out in fragments. According to the theory of resistance of Herbert Simon, the root of the opposition and rejection of change is in the person who will resist any change, if it threatens to undermine the degree of satisfaction as a member of the organization (regardless of the reasons for this change). Thus, the condition for successful adaptation to changes in the organization is the ability of its staff to perceive innovation. As part of the problem, the study sought to identify the innovation civil servants, to determine readiness for the development of proposals for the implementation of organizational change in the public service. To identify the relationship to organizational changes case study carried out by the method of "Attitudes to organizational change" of I. Motovilina, which allowed predicting the type of resistance to changes, to reveal the contradictions and hidden results. The advantage of the method of I. Motovilina is its brevity, simplicity, the analysis of the responses to each question, the use of "overlapping" issues potentially conflicting factors. Based on the study made by the authors, it was found that respondents have a positive attitude to change more local than those that take place in reality, such as "increase opportunities for professional growth", "increase the requirements for the level of professionalism of", "the emergence of possible manifestations initiatives from below". Implemented by the authors diagnostics related to organizational changes in the public service showed the presence of specific problem areas, with roots in the lack of understanding of the importance of innovation personnel in the process of bureaucratization of innovation in public service organizations.

Keywords: innovative changes, self-organization, self-regulation, civil service

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Authors: Laura Struik, Sarah Dow-Fleisner, Robert Janke

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Introduction: The use of e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, has risen exponentially among North American youth and young adults (YYA) in recent years and has become a critical public health concern. The marketing strategies used by e-cigarette companies have been associated with the uptick in use among YYA, with video advertisements on TV and other electronic platforms being the most pervasive strategy. It is unknown if or how these advertisements capitalize on the recently documented multi-faceted influences that contribute to the initiation of vaping among this demographic (e.g., stress, anxiety, gender, peers, etc.), which is examined in this study. Methods: This content analysis is phase one of a two-phased research project that aims to inform meaningful approaches to anti-vaping messaging and campaigns. As part of this first phase, a scoping review has been conducted to identify various influences (environmental, cognitive, contextual, social, and emotional) on e-cigarette uptake among YYA. The results of this scoping review will inform the development of a coding framework to analyze the multiple influences present in vaping advertisements, as seen on two popular television channels (Discovery and AMC). In addition, advertisement characteristics will be incorporated into the coding framework (e.g., the number of people present, demographic details, context, and setting, etc.), and analyzed. Findings: Findings will reveal the types of influences being leveraged in vaping advertisements, and identify the underlying messages that may be particularly attractive to YYA. This will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how e-cigarette companies market their products and to whom. The results will also inform the next phase of this research project, which will encompass an analysis of anti-vaping advertisements and how the underpinning strategies align with those of the pro-vaping advertisements. Conclusions: Findings of this will study bring forward important implications for developing effective anti-vaping messages, and assist public health professionals in providing more comprehensive prevention and cessation support as it relates to e-cigarette use. Understanding which marketing strategies e-cigarette companies use is vital to our understanding of how to combat them. Findings will inform recommendations for public health efforts aimed at curbing e-cigarette use among YYA, and ultimately contribute to the health and well-being of YYA.

Keywords: e-cigarettes, youth and young adults, advertisements, public health

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Authors: Ewa Kicko Walczak, Grazyna Rymarz

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In recent years, nanotechnology has been successfully applied for flame retardancy of polymers, in particular for construction materials. The consumption of thermoset resins as a construction polymers materials is approximately over one million tone word wide. Excellent mechanical, relatively high heat and thermal stability of their type of polymers are proven for variety applications, e.g. transportation, electrical, electronic, building part industry. Above applications in addition to the strength and thermal properties also requires -referring to the legal regulation or recommendation - an adequate level of flammability of the materials. This publication present the evaluation was made of effectiveness of flame retardancy of halogen-free hybrid flame retardants(FR) as compounds nitric/phosphorus modifiers that act with nanofillers (nano carbons, organ modified montmorillonite, nano silica, microsphere) in relation to unsaturated polyester/epoxy resins and glass-reinforced on base this resins laminates(GRP) as a final products. The analysis of the fire properties provided proof of effective flame retardancy of the tested composites by defining oxygen indices values (LOI), with the use of thermogravimetric methods (TGA) and combustion head (CH). An analysis of the combustion process with Cone Calorimeter (CC) method included in the first place N/P units and nanofillers with the observed phenomenon of synergic action of compounds. The fine-plates, phase morphology and rheology of composites were assessed by SEM/ TEM analysis. Polymer-matrix glass reinforced laminates with modified resins meet LOI over 30%, reduced in a decrease by 70% HRR (according to CC analysis), positive description of the curves TGA and values CH; no adverse negative impact on mechanical properties. The main objective of our current project is to contribute to the general understanding of the flame retardants mechanism and to investigate the corresponding structure/properties relationships. We confirm that nanotechnology systems are successfully concept for commercialized forms for non-flammable GRP pipe, concrete composites, and flame retardant tunnels constructions.

Keywords: fire retardants, FR, halogen-free FR nanofillers, non-flammable pipe/concrete, thermoset resins

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Authors: Titinan Pothong, Prasit Wangpakapattanawong, Stephen Elliott

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Shifting cultivation is an indigenous agricultural practice among upland people and has long been one of the major land-use systems in Southeast Asia. As a result, fallows and secondary forests have come to cover a large part of the region. However, they are increasingly being replaced by monocultures, such as corn cultivation. This is believed to be a main driver of deforestation and forest degradation, and one of the reasons behind the recurring winter smog crisis in Thailand and around Southeast Asia. Accurate biomass estimation of trees is important to quantify valuable carbon stocks and changes to these stocks in case of land use change. However, presently, Thailand lacks proper tools and optimal equations to quantify its carbon stocks, especially for secondary evergreen forests, including fallow areas after shifting cultivation and smaller trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of less than 5 cm. Developing new allometric equations to estimate biomass is urgently needed to accurately estimate and manage carbon storage in tropical secondary forests. This study established new equations using a destructive method at three study sites: approximately 50-year-old secondary forest, 4-year-old fallow, and 7-year-old fallow. Tree biomass was collected by harvesting 136 individual trees (including coppiced trees) from 23 species, with a DBH ranging from 1 to 31 cm. Oven-dried samples were sent for carbon analysis. Wood density was calculated from disk samples and samples collected with an increment borer from 79 species, including 35 species currently missing from the Global Wood Densities database. Several models were developed, showing that aboveground biomass (AGB) was strongly related to DBH, height (H), and wood density (WD). Including WD in the model was found to improve the accuracy of the AGB estimation. This study provides insights for reforestation management, and can be used to prepare baseline data for Thailand’s carbon stocks for the REDD+ and other carbon trading schemes. These may provide monetary incentives to stop illegal logging and deforestation for monoculture.

Keywords: aboveground biomass, allometric equation, carbon stock, secondary forest

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Authors: Deirdre Mc Grath, Joanne Reid

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Background: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality among gynaecologic cancers in developed countries and the seventh most common cancer worldwide with nearly 240,000 women diagnosed each year. Although it is recognized engaging in exercise results in positive health care outcomes, women with ovarian cancer are reluctant to participate. No evidence currently exists focusing on how to successfully implement an exercise intervention program for patients with ovarian cancer, using a realist approach. There is a requirement for the implementation of exercise programmes within the oncology health care setting as engagement in such interventions has positive health care outcomes for women with ovarian cancer both during and following treatment. Aim: To co-design the implementation of an exercise intervention for women following treatment for ovarian cancer. Methods: This study is a realist evaluation using quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Realist evaluation is well-established within the health and social care setting and has in relation to this study enabled a flexible approach to investigate how to optimise implementation of an exercise intervention for this patient population. This single centre study incorporates three stages in order to identify the underlying contexts and mechanisms which lead to the successful implementation of an exercise intervention for women who have had treatment for ovarian cancer. Stage 1 - A realist literature review. Stage 2 -Co-design of the implementation of an exercise intervention with women following treatment for ovarian cancer, their carer’s, and health care professionals. Stage 3 –Implementation of an exercise intervention with women following treatment for ovarian cancer. Evaluation of the implementation of the intervention from the perspectives of the women who participated in the intervention, their informal carers, and health care professionals. The underlying program theory initially conceptualised before and during the realist review was developed further during the co-design stage. The evolving program theory in relation to how to successfully implement an exercise for these women is currently been refined and tested during the final stage of this realist evaluation which is the implementation and evaluation stage. Results: This realist evaluation highlights key issues in relation to the implementation of an exercise intervention within this patient population. The underlying contexts and mechanisms which influence recruitment, adherence, and retention rates of participants are identified. Conclusions: This study will inform future research on the implementation of exercise interventions for this patient population. It is anticipated that this intervention will be implemented into practice as part of standard care for this group of patients.

Keywords: ovarian cancer, exercise intervention, implementation, Co-design

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Authors: Debit Datta, Jeffrey J. Coleman, Scott A. Enebak, Lori G. Eckhardt

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Pinus taeda, commonly known as loblolly pine, is a crucial timber species native to the southeastern USA. An emerging problem has been encountered for the past few years, which is better to be known as loblolly pine needle defoliation (LPND), which is threatening the ecological health of southeastern forests and economic vitality of the region’s timber industry. Currently, more than 1000 hectares of loblolly plantations in Alabama are affected with similar symptoms and have created concern among southeast landowners and forest managers. However, it is still uncertain whether LPND results from one or the combination of several fungal pathogens. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to identify and characterize the fungi associated with LPND in the southeastern USA and document the damage being done to loblolly pine as a result of repeated defoliation. Identification of fungi was confirmed using classical morphological methods (microscopic examination of the infected needles), conventional and species-specific priming (SSPP) PCR, and ITS sequencing. To date, 17 species of fungi, either cultured from pine needles or formed fruiting bodies on pine needles, were identified based on morphology and genetic sequence data. Among them, brown-spot pathogen Lecanostica acicola has been frequently recovered from pine needles in both spring and summer. Moreover, Ophistomatoid fungi such as Leptographium procerum, L. terebrantis are associated with pine decline have also been recovered from root samples of the infected stands. Trees have been increasingly and repeatedly chlorotic and defoliated from 2019 to 2020. Based on morphological observations and molecular data, emerging loblolly pine needle defoliation is due in larger part to the brown-spot pathogen L. acoicola followed by pine decline pathogens L. procerum and L. terebrantis. Root pathogens were suspected to emerge later, and their cumulative effects contribute to the widespread mortality of the trees. It is more likely that longer wet spring and warmer temperatures are favorable to disease development and may be important in the disease ecology of LPND. Therefore, the outbreak of the disease is assumed to be expanded over a large geographical area in a changing climatic condition.

Keywords: brown-spot fungi, emerging disease, defoliation, loblolly pine

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Authors: Suzan Sayegh, Izzeldin Ibrahim, Mercia Van Der Walt, Mohamed Al-Kuwari

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Background: Walking is the most common form of physical activity which can promote a healthy well-being among people of different age groups. In this regard, pedometers are becoming more popular within research and are considered useful tools in monitoring physical activity levels based on individuals’ daily steps. A value of ˂5,000 steps/day is identified as a sedentary lifestyle index where individuals are physically inactive. Those achieving 5,000-7,499 steps/day have a low active lifestyle as they do not meet the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations. Moreover, individuals achieving ≥7,500 steps/day are classified as physically active. The objective of this study is to assess the physical activity levels of adult population in Qatar through a pedometer-based program over a one-year period. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis, as part of a longitudinal study, was carried out over one year to assess the daily step count. “Step into Health” is a community-based program launched by Aspire as an approach for the purpose of improving physical activity across the population of Qatar. The program involves distribution of pedometers to registered members which is supported by a self-monitoring online account and linked to a web database. Daily habitual physical activity (daily total step count) was assessed through Omron HJ-324U pedometer. Analyses were done on data extracted from the web database. Results: A total of 1,988 members were included in this study (males: n=1,143, 57%; females: n=845, 43%). Average age was 37.8±10.9 years distributed as 60% of age between age 25-54 (n=1,186), 27% of age 45-64 (n=546), and 13% of age 18-24 years (n=256). Majority were non-Qataris, 81% (n=1,609) compared with 19% of the Qatari nationality (n=379). Average body mass index (BMI) was 27.8±6.1 (kg/m2) where most of them (41%, n=809) were found to be overweight, between 25-30 kg/m2. Total average step count was 5,469±3,884. Majority were found to be sedentary (n=1110, 55.8%). Middle aged individuals were more active than the other two age groups. Males were seen as more active than females. Those who were less active had a higher BMI. Older individuals were more active. There was a variation in the physical activity level throughout the year period. Conclusion: It is essential to further develop the available intervention programs and increase their physical activity behavior. Planning such physical activity interventions for female population should involve aspects such as time, environmental variables and aerobic steps.

Keywords: adults, pedometer, physical activity, step-count

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