Search results for: avoidance of secondary damages

Authors: Faouzi Ameur, Atef Belhaj Ali

Abstract:

Located in the South-west of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah is more than a harbor. It is a big city of the Red Sea and the second town of Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh the capital. Jeddah profits from several economic assets due especially to its transit position towards the high sacred places of Islam like Mecca and Medina. During summer, this metropolis is transformed into a political capital and a tourist resort for foreigners and Saudis alike. The city of Jeddah was affected by serious sudden floods; two great ones took place in 2009, and in 2011. The human and material tools were considerable, since these events caused the death to hundreds of people, damaged thousands of buildings built on basins slopes, which, however had the authorizations necessary. To cope with these natural disasters, several urban hydraulic measures were undertaken like building dams and canals to collect surface waters. These urban measures aimed at the protection of inhabitants and belongings against the risks of floods as well as the interception and the drainage of streams. Although these protection measures are important, expensive, and effective, they are no longer enough or effective to cope with the evolution of the natural disasters that the city of Jeddah is constantly exposed to. These protective hydraulic measures did not make it possible to reach risk zero situations. They transferred the damages towards other zones. This paper purports to study the protection network systems in Jeddah and to understand their various impacts during floods on the city and on its inhabitants.

Keywords: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, urbanization, hydraulic protection

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Nicole Selvi Hill, Archchana Radhakrishnan

Abstract:

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality among trauma patients. In the management of TBI, the main principle is avoiding cerebral ischemia, as this is a strong determiner of neurological outcomes. The use of vasoactive drugs, such as vasopressin, has an important role in maintaining cerebral perfusion pressure to prevent secondary brain injury. Current guidelines do not suggest a preferred vasoactive drug to administer in the management of TBI, and there is a paucity of information on the therapeutic potential of vasopressin following TBI. Vasopressin is also an endogenous anti-diuretic hormone (AVP), and pathways mediated by AVP play a large role in the underlying pathological processes of TBI. This creates an overlap of discussion regarding the therapeutic potential of vasopressin following TBI. Currently, its popularity lies in vasodilatory and cardiogenic shock in the intensive care setting, with increasing support for its use in haemorrhagic and septic shock. Methodology: This is a review article based on a literature review. An electronic search was conducted via PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. The aim was to identify clinical studies looking at the therapeutic administration of vasopressin in severe traumatic brain injury. The primary aim was to look at the neurological outcome of patients. The secondary aim was to look at surrogate markers of cerebral perfusion measurements, such as cerebral perfusion pressure, cerebral oxygenation, and cerebral blood flow. Results: Eight papers were included in the final number. Three were animal studies; five were human studies, comprised of three case reports, one retrospective review of data, and one randomised control trial. All animal studies demonstrated the benefits of vasopressors in TBI management. One animal study showed the superiority of vasopressin in reducing intracranial pressure and increasing cerebral oxygenation over a catecholaminergic vasopressor, phenylephrine. All three human case reports were supportive of vasopressin as a rescue therapy in catecholaminergic-resistant hypotension. The retrospective review found vasopressin did not increase cerebral oedema in TBI patients compared to catecholaminergic vasopressors; and demonstrated a significant reduction in the requirements of hyperosmolar therapy in patients that received vasopressin. The randomised control trial results showed no significant differences in primary and secondary outcomes between TBI patients receiving vasopressin versus those receiving catecholaminergic vasopressors. Apart from the randomised control trial, the studies included are of low-level evidence. Conclusion: Studies favour vasopressin within certain parameters of cerebral function compared to control groups. However, the neurological outcomes of patient groups are not known, and animal study results are difficult to extrapolate to humans. It cannot be said with certainty whether vasopressin’s benefits stand above usage of other vasoactive drugs due to the weaknesses of the evidence. Further randomised control trials, which are larger, standardised, and rigorous, are required to improve knowledge in this field.

Keywords: catecholamines, cerebral perfusion pressure, traumatic brain injury, vasopressin, vasopressors

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Subodh Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Gaurav Kaushik, Pramod Avti, Phulen Sarma, Bikash Medhi, Krishan Lal Khanduja

Abstract:

Background: It is well known that cigarette smoke is one of the causative factors in various lung diseases especially cancer. Carcinogens and oxidant molecules present in cigarette smoke not only damage the cellular constituents (lipids, proteins, DNA) but may also regulate the molecular pathways involved in inflammation and cancer. Continuous oxidative stress caused by the constituents of cigarette smoke leads to higher PhospholipaseA₂ (PLA₂) activity, resulting in elevated levels of secondary metabolites whose role is well defined in cancer. To reduce the burden of chronic inflammation as well as oxidative stress, and higher levels of secondary metabolites, we checked the curative potential of PLA₂ inhibitor Bromoenol Lactone (BEL) during continuous exposure of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC). Aim: To check the therapeutic potential of Bromoenol Lactone (BEL), an inhibitor of PhospholipaseA₂s, in pathways of CSC-induced changes in type I and type II alveolar epithelial cells. Methods: Effect of BEL on CSC-induced PLA2 activity were checked using colorimetric assay, cellular toxicity using cell viability assay, membrane integrity using fluorescein di-acetate (FDA) uptake assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and apoptosis markers through flow cytometry, and cellular regulation using MAPKinases levels, in lung epithelium. Results: BEL significantly mimicked CSC-induced PLA₂ activity, ROS levels, apoptosis, and kinases level whereas improved cellular viability and membrane integrity. Conclusions: Current observations revealed that BEL may be a potential therapeutic agent during Cigarette smoke-induced anomalies in lung epithelium.

Keywords: cigarette smoke condensate, phospholipase A₂, oxidative stress, alveolar epithelium, bromoenol lactone

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Sarah Nasser, Anne Moreau, Alain Hedoux, Romain Jeantet, Guillaume Delaplace

Abstract:

Background: Spray dryed powders containing some caseins are commonly produced in dairy industry. It is widely admitted that the structure of casein evolves during powder storage, inducing a loss of solubility. However few studies evaluate accurately the destabilization mechanisms at molecular and mesoscopic level, in particular for Native Phospho Casein powder (NPC). Consequently, at the state of the art, it is very difficult to assess which secondary structure change or crosslinks initiate insolubility during storage. To address this issue, controlled ageing conditions have been applied to a NPC powder (which was obtained by spray drying a concentrate containing a higher content of casein (90%), whey protein (8%) and lactose (few %)). Evolution of structure and loss of solubility, with the effects of temperature and time of storage were systematically reported. Methods: FTIR spectroscopy, Raman and Circular Dichroism were used to monitor changes of secondary structure in dry powder and in solution after rehydration. Besides, proteomic tools and electrophoresis have been performed after varying storage conditions for evaluating aggregation and post translational modifications, like lactosylation or phosphorylation. Finally, Tof Sims and MEB were used to follow in parallel evolution of structure in surface and skin formation due to storage. Results + conclusion: These results highlight the important role of storage temperature in the stability of NPC. It is shown that this is not lactosylation at the heart of formation of aggregates, as advanced in others publications This is almost the rise of multitude post translational modifications (chemical cross link), added to disulphide bridges (physical cross link) wich contribute to the destabilisation of structure and aggregation of casein. A relative quantification of each kind of cross link, source of aggregates, is proposed. In addition, it has been proved that migration of lipids and formation of skin in surface during the ageing also explains the evolution of structure casein and thus the alterations of functional properties of NPC powder.

Keywords: casein, cross link, powder, storage

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Mosupi Ratshaa

Abstract:

Despite years of diligent study, sedimentation is still undoubtedly the most severe technical problem faced by the dam industry. The problem of sedimentation build-up and its removal should be the focus as an approach to remedy this. The world's reservoirs lose about 1% of their storage capacity yearly to sedimentation, what this means is that 1% of water that could be stored is lost the world-over. The increase in population means that the need for water also increases and, therefore, the loss due to sedimentation is of great concern especially to the conservation of water. When it comes to reservoir sedimentation, the thought of water conservation comes with soil conservation since this increasing sediment that takes the volume meant for water is being lost from dry land. For this reason, reservoir sediment control is focused on reducing sediment entering the reservoir and reducing sediment within the reservoir. There are many problems with sediment control such as the difficulty to predict settling patterns, inability to greatly reduce the sediment volume entering the river flow which increases the reservoirs trap efficiency just to mention a few. Notably reservoirs are habitats for flora and fauna, the process of removing sediment from these reservoirs damages this ecosystem so there is an ethical point to be considered in this section. This paper looks at the methods used to control the sedimentation of reservoirs and their effects to the ecosystem in the aim of reducing water losses due to sedimentation. Various control measures which reduce sediment entering the reservoir such as Sabo dams or Check dams along with measures which emphasize the reduction in built-up settled sediment such as flushing will be reviewed all with the prospect of conservation.

Keywords: sedimentation, conservation, ecosystem, flushing

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Zhiyong Zheng, Xu Li, Liang Huang, Zhengliang Sun, Jianhua Xu

Abstract:

Yaw angle plays a significant role in many vehicle safety applications, such as collision avoidance and lane-keeping system. Although the estimation of the yaw angle has been extensively studied in existing literature, it is still the main challenge to simultaneously achieve a reliable and cost-effective solution in complex urban environments. This paper proposes a multi-stage learning framework to estimate the yaw angle with a monocular camera, which can deal with the challenge in a more reliable manner. In the first stage, an efficient road detection network is designed to extract the road region, providing a highly reliable reference for the estimation. In the second stage, a variational auto-encoder (VAE) is proposed to learn the distribution patterns of road regions, which is particularly suitable for modeling the changing patterns of yaw angle under different driving maneuvers, and it can inherently enhance the generalization ability. In the last stage, a gated recurrent unit (GRU) network is used to capture the temporal correlations of the learned patterns, which is capable to further improve the estimation accuracy due to the fact that the changes of deflection angle are relatively easier to recognize among continuous frames. Afterward, the yaw angle can be obtained by combining the estimated deflection angle and the road direction stored in a roadway map. Through effective multi-stage learning, the proposed framework presents high reliability while it maintains better accuracy. Road-test experiments with different driving maneuvers were performed in complex urban environments, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

Keywords: gated recurrent unit, multi-stage learning, reliable estimation, variational auto-encoder, yaw angle

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Kayla Renteria

Abstract:

This study explored the role animal-assisted psychotherapy (AAP) can play in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when incorporated into Trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). A review of the literature was performed to show how incorporating AAP could benefit TF-CBT since this treatment model often presents difficulties, such as client motivation and avoidance of the exposure element of the intervention. In addition, the fluidity of treatment goals during complex trauma cases was explored, as this issue arose in the case study. This study follows the course of treatment of a 12-year-old female presenting with symptoms of PTSD. Treatment consisted of traditional components of the TF-CBT model, with the added elements of AAP to address typical treatment obstacles in TF-CBT. A registered therapy dog worked with the subject in all sessions throughout her treatment. The therapy dog was incorporated into components such as relaxation and coping techniques, narrative therapy techniques, and psychoeducation on the cognitive triangle. Throughout the study, the client’s situation and clinical needs required the therapist to switch goals to focus on current safety and stability. The therapy dog provided support and neurophysiological benefits to the client through AAP during this shift in treatment. The client was assessed quantitatively using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale Self Report for DSM-5 (CPSS-SR-5) before and after therapy and qualitatively through a feedback form given after treatment. The participant showed improvement in CPSS-SR-V scores, and she reported that the incorporation of the therapy animal improved her therapy. The results of this study show how the use of AAP provided the client a solid, consistent relationship with the therapy dog that supported her through processing various types of traumas. Implications of the results of treatment and for future research are discussed.

Keywords: animal-assisted therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, PTSD in children, trauma treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Desiree David

Abstract:

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, with a sizable percentage of the population living with HIV. A substantial number of new infections occur as a result of sexual activity. South African courts have awarded civil claims for damages as a result of the transmission of HIV as a result of non-disclosure by the HIV-positive sexual partner, and more recently, the criminal courts have also convicted and sentenced individuals accused of infecting others as a result of sexual activity. This paper will analyse some case law from South African court cases that have dealt with criminal convictions for the transmission of HIV, and the potential for more widespread prosecutions of these cases. It will also address the desirability of this trend in light of the social public health system, as well as human rights concerns surrounding this highly contentious issue. This will be done by considering some applicable provisions of the Bill of Rights such as the right to privacy and equality, as espoused in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The paper further addresses the experience of other jurisdictions such as Canada, Singapore, Lesotho and Uganda, by analyzing case law, and consider the pitfalls of criminalizing a wide spectrum of sexual conduct that could result in the transmission of HIV. The paper concludes with a proposal that the issue of criminalizing the transmission of HIV cannot be addressed by the criminal justice system alone, as to do so could result in harsh consequences for those living with HIV. As such individuals may be burdened with additional responsibilities that could potentially impact on the rights of the individual. This may ultimately result in injustice for those living with HIV.

Keywords: criminalization, HIV, human rights, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Damayanti Sen

Abstract:

The Fair and Equitable Treatment standard has emerged as a core tenet of a formulated legal structure aimed at encouraging investment through the granting of a secure and stable environment for the investor in the Host State. As an absolute, non-contingent standard, it constitutes an independent and reliable system for the protection of the investor and is frequently invoked and applied in investor-state dispute settlement under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. Thus far, the standard has been examined principally as a measure for determining the responsibility of host countries towards investors and investments. The conduct of investor in applying the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard is relatively unexplored. Such an assessment may be necessary in light of the development of new defenses to demands of host governments to confine the application of the standard in order to ensure a proper balance between the protection of investors and the inherent right of a State to regulate economic conduct within its borders. This paper explores the implications of including considerations of investor conduct in the determination of whether an act of the host country’s administrative and/or judicial authorities has breached the fair and equitable treatment principle. The need for such defenses are of special concern for governments of developing countries, whose limited resources can affect their ability to provide an effective evaluation of the nature of the proposed investment, and, subsequently, to ensure that the expected benefits are realized. On the basis of conceptual analysis, and emerging international judicial and arbitral case law, this paper suggests that investor duties such as, the avoidance of unconscionable conduct, the reasonable assessment of investment risk in the host country, and a duty to operate an investment reasonably are leading to a new limit upon the fair and equitable treatment standard- one that can be succinctly captured in the phrase “Caveat Investor”.

Keywords: BITs, FET Standard, investor behavior, arbitral case law

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: J. S. Saini, P. P. K. Sandhu

Abstract:

The multi-hop nature of Wireless Mesh Networks and the hasty progression of throughput demands results in multi- channels and multi-radios structures in mesh networks, but the main problem of co-channels interference reduces the total throughput, specifically in multi-hop networks. Quality of Service mentions a vast collection of networking technologies and techniques that guarantee the ability of a network to make available desired services with predictable results. Quality of Service (QoS) can be directed at a network interface, towards a specific server or router's performance, or in specific applications. Due to interference among various transmissions, the QoS routing in multi-hop wireless networks is formidable task. In case of multi-channel wireless network, since two transmissions using the same channel may interfere with each other. This paper has considered the Destination Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV) routing protocol to locate the secure and optimised path. The proposed technique also utilizes the Lempel–Ziv–Welch (LZW) based lossless data compression and intra cluster data aggregation to enhance the communication between the source and the destination. The use of clustering has the ability to aggregate the multiple packets and locates a single route using the clusters to improve the intra cluster data aggregation. The use of the LZW based lossless data compression has ability to reduce the data packet size and hence it will consume less energy, thus increasing the network QoS. The MATLAB tool has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the projected technique. The comparative analysis has shown that the proposed technique outperforms over the existing techniques.

Keywords: WMNS, QOS, flooding, collision avoidance, LZW, congestion control

Procedia PDF Downloads 338

Authors: Ziwen Fang, Jianran Wang, Hongtao Liu, Weiguo Kong, Kefei Wang, Qi Luo, Haifeng Hong

Abstract:

A 4-stage crash energy management (CEM) system for subway rail vehicles used by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the USA is developed in this paper. The 4 stages of this new CEM system include 1) energy absorbing coupler (draft gear and shear bolts), 2) primary energy absorbers (aluminum honeycomb structured box), 3) secondary energy absorbers (crush tube), and 4) collision post and corner post. A sliding anti-climber and a fixed anti-climber are designed at the front of the vehicle cooperating with the 4-stage CEM to maximize the energy to be absorbed and minimize the damage to passengers and crews. In order to investigate the effectiveness of this CEM system, both finite element (FE) methods and crashworthiness test have been employed. The whole vehicle consists of 3 married pairs, i.e., six cars. In the FE approach, full-scale railway car models are developed and different collision cases such as a single moving car impacting a rigid wall, two moving cars into a rigid wall, two moving cars into two stationary cars, six moving cars into six stationary cars and so on are investigated. The FE analysis results show that the railway vehicle incorporating this CEM system has a superior crashworthiness performance. In the crashworthiness test, a simplified vehicle front end including the sliding anti-climber, the fixed anti-climber, the primary energy absorbers, the secondary energy absorber, the collision post and the corner post is built and impacted to a rigid wall. The same test model is also analyzed in the FE and the results such as crushing force, stress, and strain of critical components, acceleration and velocity curves are compared and studied. FE results show very good comparison to the test results.

Keywords: railway vehicle collision, crash energy management design, finite element method, crashworthiness test

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Ilaria Lucrezia Amerise

Abstract:

The statistical modelling of precipitation data for a given portion of territory is fundamental for the monitoring of climatic conditions and for Hydrogeological Management Plans (HMP). This modelling is rendered particularly complex by the changes taking place in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, presumably to be attributed to the global climate change. This paper applies the Wakeby distribution (with 5 parameters) as a theoretical reference model. The number and the quality of the parameters indicate that this distribution may be the appropriate choice for the interpolations of the hydrological variables and, moreover, the Wakeby is particularly suitable for describing phenomena producing heavy tails. The proposed estimation methods for determining the value of the Wakeby parameters are the same as those used for density functions with heavy tails. The commonly used procedure is the classic method of moments weighed with probabilities (probability weighted moments, PWM) although this has often shown difficulty of convergence, or rather, convergence to a configuration of inappropriate parameters. In this paper, we analyze the problem of the likelihood estimation of a random variable expressed through its quantile function. The method of maximum likelihood, in this case, is more demanding than in the situations of more usual estimation. The reasons for this lie, in the sampling and asymptotic properties of the estimators of maximum likelihood which improve the estimates obtained with indications of their variability and, therefore, their accuracy and reliability. These features are highly appreciated in contexts where poor decisions, attributable to an inefficient or incomplete information base, can cause serious damages.

Keywords: generalized extreme values, likelihood estimation, precipitation data, Wakeby distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Kafeero Frank

Abstract:

This study aimed at developing a frame work for open source software adoption in an institution of higher learning in Uganda, with the case of KIU as a study area. There were mainly four research questions based on; individual staff interaction with open source software forum, perceived FOSS characteristics, organizational characteristics and external characteristics as factors that affect open source software adoption. The researcher used causal-correlation research design to study effects of these variables on open source software adoption. A quantitative approach was used in this study with self-administered questionnaire on a purposively and randomly sampled sample of university ICT staff. Resultant data was analyzed using means, correlation coefficients and multivariate multiple regression analysis as statistical tools. The study reveals that individual staff interaction with open source software forum and perceived FOSS characteristics were the primary factors that significantly affect FOSS adoption while organizational and external factors were secondary with no significant effect but significant correlation to open source software adoption. It was concluded that for effective open source software adoption to occur there must be more effort on primary factors with subsequent reinforcement of secondary factors to fulfill the primary factors and adoption of open source software. Lastly recommendations were made in line with conclusions for coming up with Kyambogo University frame work for open source software adoption in institutions of higher learning. Areas of further research recommended include; Stakeholders’ analysis of open source software adoption in Uganda; Challenges and way forward. Evaluation of Kyambogo University frame work for open source software adoption in institutions of higher learning. Framework development for cloud computing adoption in Ugandan universities. Framework for FOSS development in Uganda IT industry

Keywords: open source software., organisational characteristics, external characteristics, cloud computing adoption

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: E. Cascarosa-Salillas, J. Pozuelo-Muñoz, C. Rodríguez-Casals, A. de Echave

Abstract:

This study focuses on improving the understanding of the capillarity phenomenon among Primary and Secondary Education students. Despite being a common concept in daily life and covered in various subjects, students’ comprehension remains limited. This work explores inquiry-based teaching methods to build a conceptual foundation of capillarity by examining the forces involved. The study adopts an inquiry-based teaching approach supported by research emphasizing the importance of modeling in science education. Scientific modeling aids students in applying knowledge across varied contexts and developing systemic thinking, allowing them to construct scientific models applicable to everyday situations. This methodology fosters the development of scientific competencies such as observation, hypothesis formulation, and communication. The research was structured as a case study with activities designed for Spanish Primary and Secondary Education students aged 9 to 13. The process included curriculum analysis, the design of an activity sequence, and its implementation in classrooms. Implementation began with questions that students needed to resolve using available materials, encouraging observation, experimentation, and the re-contextualization of activities to everyday phenomena where capillarity is observed. Data collection tools included audio and video recordings of the sessions, which were transcribed and analyzed alongside the students' written work. Students' drawings on capillarity were also collected and categorized. Qualitative analyses of the activities showed that, through inquiry, students managed to construct various models of capillarity, reflecting an improved understanding of the phenomenon. Initial activities allowed students to express prior ideas and formulate hypotheses, which were then refined and expanded in subsequent sessions. The generalization and use of graphical representations of their ideas on capillarity, analyzed alongside their written work, enabled the categorization of capillarity models: Intuitive Model: A visual and straightforward representation without explanations of how or why it occurs. Simple symbolic elements, such as arrows to indicate water rising, are used without detailed or causal understanding. It reflects an initial, immediate perception of the phenomenon, interpreted as something that happens "on its own" without delving into the microscopic level. Explanatory Intuitive Model: Students begin to incorporate causal explanations, though still limited and without complete scientific accuracy. They represent the role of materials and use basic terms such as ‘absorption’ or ‘attraction’ to describe the rise of water. This model shows a more complex understanding where the phenomenon is not only observed but also partially explained in terms of interaction, though without microscopic detail. School Scientific Model: This model reflects a more advanced and detailed understanding. Students represent the phenomenon using specific scientific concepts like ‘surface tension,’ cohesion,’ and ‘adhesion,’ including structured explanations connecting microscopic and macroscopic levels. At this level, students model the phenomenon as a coherent system, demonstrating how various forces or properties interact in the capillarity process, with representations on a microscopic level. The study demonstrated that the capillarity phenomenon can be effectively approached in class through the experimental observation of everyday phenomena, explained through guided inquiry learning. The methodology facilitated students’ construction of capillarity models and served to analyze an interaction phenomenon of different forces occurring at the microscopic level.

Keywords: capillarity, inquiry-based learning, scientific modeling, primary and secondary education, conceptual understanding, Drawing analysis.

Procedia PDF Downloads 14

Authors: Sara D. Garduno-Diaz, Lorena Loriato

Abstract:

Food selection is one of the main modifiable risk factors for the avoidance of several detrimental health conditions. Excessive and regular sugar intake has been identified as highly unfavorable, yet a highly occurring practice. A proposed approach to modify this eating practice is the online program developed here. The program targets a modification of mindset and lifestyle habits around food, through a four week raw-vegan guided eating program. While the focus of the program is to set up sustainable changes in sugar intake reduction, it also aims to promote a plant-based eating style. Three pilot sessions have been run with participants from seven different countries. Participants are guided through the program via a combination of daily e-mails, a 24-hour support platform, and by-weekly remote live sessions. Meal preparation techniques, as well as cooking instructions, are provided, following set menus developed by a team of professional chefs and nutritionists. Goal setting, as well as alternatives to specific food-related challenges, is addressed. While the program is intended for both women and men, the majority of participants to date have been female. Feedback has been positive, with changes in eating habits have included an elimination of added sugars, an increase in home cooking and vegetable intake, and a reduction in foods of animal origin. Difficulties in following the program have been reported as unavailability of certain ingredients depending on the country of residence of the participants, social and cultural hurdles, and time restrictions. Nevertheless, the results obtained to date indicate this to be a highly interactive program with the potential to be scaled up and applied to various populations as a public health measure on the way to better health.

Keywords: eating habits, food addiction, nutrition education, plant-based, remote practice

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: T. Santiboon, S. Tongbu, P. S. Saihong

Abstract:

This study focuses on investigating students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments of their individualizations and their interactions with the instructional practicum in teaching physics of the master science trainee educational students for improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics for upper secondary educational students in Thailand. Associations between these perceptions and students' attitudes toward physics were also determined. The learning environment perceptions were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI) modified from the original Science Laboratory Environment Inventory. The 25-item Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) was assessed those dimensions which distinguish individualized physics classrooms from convention on individualized open and inquiry-based education Teacher-student interactions were assessed with the 48-item Questionnaires on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Both these questionnaires have an Actual Form (assesses the class as it actually is) and a Preferred Form (asks the students what they would prefer their class to be like - the ideal situation). Students’ creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics were assessed with the Test Of Physics-Related Attitude (TOPRA) modified from the original Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) The questionnaires were administered in three phases with the Custer Random Sampling technique to a sample consisted of 989 students in 28 physics classes from 10 schools at the grade 10, 11, and 12 levels in the Secondary Educational Service Area 26 (Maha Sarakham Province) and Area 27 (Roi-Et). Statistically significant differences were found between the students' perceptions of actual-1, actual-2 and preferred environments of their physics laboratory and distinguish individualized classrooms, and teacher interpersonal behaviors with their improving and creating attitudes skills’ sustainable development to their physics classes also were found. Predictions of the monitoring and evaluation of master science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skills developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%,science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skill developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%, 63%, and 72% for the ICEQ, and 38%, 59%, and 68% for the QTI in physics environment classes were attributable to their perceptions of their actual and preferred physics environments and their developing creative science skills’ sustainable toward physics, consequently. Based on all the findings, suggestions for improving the physics laboratory and individualized classes and teacher interpersonal behaviors with students' perceptions are provided of their improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development by the master science trainee educational students ’ instructional administrations.

Keywords: promotion, instructional model, qualitative method, reflective thinking, trainee teacher student

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Gokul Pathak, Dilip Kumar Yadav

Abstract:

Background: Unsafe/unprotected and early sexual relations are highly responsible for the problems of unwanted pregnancy, child birth and other adverse consequences. Emergency contraception (EC) refers to methods that women can use to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse, method failure or incorrect use. Aim and Objective: The objective of this research study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and behavior on emergency contraception among youth students of Lekhnath Municipality. Methodology: This institution based descriptive study was carried out in August-October 2012 on Lekhnath Municipality, Nepal. Multistage simple random sampling procedure with pretested semi structured questionnaire following self administered technique was used to collect information. Collected data was coded and entered in the EpiData 3.1 ® and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS®) version 20.0 for analysis. Chi-square test and Spearman correlation was applied wherever required. Results: A total of 641 students (87.6 %), youth students participated in this study which incorporates 354 male and 287 female youth students, of them 54.3% were from Higher Secondary level and 45.7% were from Undergraduate level. The awareness of EC among respondents was found only 64.7%. 25.8% respondents were found to have fair knowledge level where as 74.2% had poor knowledge level. Level of knowledge was significantly associated with age, educational level, faculty and educational status of mother. The study showed 82.4% respondent’s favorable attitude towards use of EC. 21.1% respondents were found to be sexually active (29.7% male and 10.5% female) and only 28.1% of sexually active respondents had ever used any method of EC. Conclusion: Knowledge about EC was found quiet low among youth. There was significant lack of knowledge about exact time limit of using devices of EC. Similarly several misconceptions regarding EC were found very high among youth. Health education initiatives should target students as they are more likely to be sexually active.

Keywords: emergency contraception, youth, unsafe/unprotected sexual intercourse, knowledge, attitude and behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 446

Authors: Naghmeh Moradpoor Sheykhkanloo

Abstract:

Structured Query Language Injection (SQLI) attack is a code injection technique in which malicious SQL statements are inserted into a given SQL database by simply using a web browser. Losing data, disclosing confidential information or even changing the value of data are the severe damages that SQLI attack can cause on a given database. SQLI attack has also been rated as the number-one attack among top ten web application threats on Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). OWASP is an open community dedicated to enabling organisations to consider, develop, obtain, function, and preserve applications that can be trusted. In this paper, we propose an effective pattern recognition neural network model for detection and classification of SQLI attacks. The proposed model is built from three main elements of: a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) generator in order to generate thousands of malicious and benign URLs, a URL classifier in order to: 1) classify each generated URL to either a benign URL or a malicious URL and 2) classify the malicious URLs into different SQLI attack categories, and an NN model in order to: 1) detect either a given URL is a malicious URL or a benign URL and 2) identify the type of SQLI attack for each malicious URL. The model is first trained and then evaluated by employing thousands of benign and malicious URLs. The results of the experiments are presented in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Keywords: neural networks, pattern recognition, SQL injection attacks, SQL injection attack classification, SQL injection attack detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 469

Authors: Maria Altamirano, Alfonso Duran

Abstract:

Biostimulation has recently become important in order to improve the stability and performance of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. This strategy involves the addition of nutrients or supplements to improve the rate of degradation of a native microbial consortium. With the aim of biostimulate sytrophism between secondary fermenting bacteria and methanogenic archaea, improving metabolite degradation and efficient conversion to methane, the addition of conductive materials, mainly carbon based have been studied. This research seeks to highlight the effect that coconut biochar (CBC) has on the metanogenic conversion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), analyzing the surface chemistry properties that give biochar its capacity to serve as a redox mediator in the anaerobic digestion process. The biochar characterization techniques were electrical conductivity (EC) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Transmission Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). Effect of coconut biochar addition was studied using Authomatic Methane Potential Test System (AMPTS II) applying a one-way variance analysis to determine the dose that leads to higher methane performance. The surface chemistry of the CBC could confer properties that enhance the AD process, such as the presence of alkaline and alkaline earth metals and their hydrophobicity that may be related to their buffering capacity and the adsorption of polar and non-polar compounds, such as NH4+ and CO2. It also has aromatic functional groups, just as quinones, whose potential as a redox mediator has been demonstrated and its morphology allows it to form an immobilizing matrix that favors a closer activity among the syntrophic microorganisms, which directly contributed in the oxidation of secondary metabolites and the final reduction to methane, whose yield is increased by 39% compared to controls, with a CBC dose of 1 g/L.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biochar, biostimulation, syntrophic metabolism

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Tunca Gul Altuntas, Aziz Baydar, Cemre Acar, Sezen Yılmaz, Tulay Coban

Abstract:

Free radicals, which are generated in many bioorganic redox processes, play a role in the pathogenesis of several diseases including cancer, arthritis, hemorrhagic shock, inflammatory, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative diseases and age-related degenerative brain diseases. Exposures of normal cell to free radical damages several structures, oxidizes nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, or DNA. Compounds interfere with the action of reactive oxygen species might be useful in prevention and treatment of these pathologies. A series of indole compounds containing piperazine ring were synthesized. Coupling of indole-2-carboxylic acid with monosubstituted piperazines was accomplished with 1,1’-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) in a good yield. The structures of prepared compounds were verified in good agreement with their 1H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), MS (mass spectrophotometry), and IR (infrared spectrophotometry) characteristics. In this work, all synthetized indole derivatives were screened in vitro for their antioxidative potential against vitamin E (α-tocopherol) using different antioxidant assays such as superoxide anion formation, lipid peroxidation levels in rat liver, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) stable radical scavenging activity. The synthesized compounds showed various levels of inhibition compared to vitamin E. This may give promising results for the development of new antioxidant agents.

Keywords: antioxidant, indoles, piperazines, reactive oxygen species

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Zsolt Szabolcsi

Abstract:

Political communication in Hungary has undergone a significant change in the 2010s. One element of the transformation is the Flashnews. This media product was launched in March 2015 and since then 40-50 blocks are broadcasted, daily, on 5 channels. Flashnews blocks are condensed news sessions, containing the summary of political narratives. It starts with the introduction of the narrator, then, usually four news topics are presented and, finally, the narrator concludes the block. The block lasts only one minute and, therefore, it provides a blink session into the main narratives of political communication at the time. Beyond its rapid pace, what makes its avoidance difficult is that these blocks are always in the first position in the commercial break of a non-political media product. Although it is only one minute long, its significance is high. The content of the Flashnews reflects the main governmental narratives and, therefore, the Flashnews is part of the agenda-setting capacity of political communication. It reaches media consumers who have limited knowledge and interest in politics, and their use of media products is not politically related. For this audience, the Flashnews pops up in the same way as commercials. Due to its structure and appearance, the impact of Flashnews seems to be similar to commercials, imbedded into the break of media products. It activates existing knowledge constructs, builds up associational links and maintains their presence in a way that the recipient is not aware of the phenomenon. The research aims to examine the extent to which the Flashnews and the main news narratives are identical in their content. This aim is realized with the content analysis of the two news products by examining the Flashnews and the evening news during main sport events from 2016 to 2018. The initial hypothesis of the research is that Flashnews is a contribution to the news management technique for an effective articulation of political narratives in public service media channels.

Keywords: flashnews, political communication, political marketing, news management

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: B. D. Ravindra, A. K. Tyagi, C. Kathirvelan

Abstract:

Some micronutrients in food (milk and meat), called ‘functional food components’ exert beneficial effects other than their routine nutrient function and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is an unsaturated fatty acid of ruminant origin, an example of this category. However, recently the fear of hypercholesterolemia due to saturated fats has led to the avoidance of dietary fat especially of animal origin despite its advantages such as lowering blood cholesterol, immuno-modulation and anticarcinogenic property due to the presence of CLA. The dietary increase of linoleic acid (LA) and linolenic acid (LNA) is one of the feeding strategies for increasing the CLA concentration in milk. Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens is the one potential rumen bacteria, which has high potential to isomerize LA to CLA. The study was conducted to screen the different oils for CLA production, selected based on their LA concentration. Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens culture (strain 49, MZ3, 30/10) were isolated from the rumen liquor of fistulated Buffalo (age ≈ 3 years; weight ≈ 250 kg) were used in in-vitro experiments, further work was carried out with three oils viz., sunflower, mustard and soybean oil at different concentration (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3 g/L of media) to study the growth of bacteria and CLA production at different incubation period (0, 8, 12, 18, 24, 48, 72 h). In the present study, growth of the bacteria was decreased linearly with increase in concentration of three oils. However, highest decrease in growth was recorded at the concentration of 0.30 g of three oils per litre of the media. Highest CLA production was 51.96, 42.08 and 25.60 µg/ml at 0.25 g and it decreased to 48.19, 39.35 and 23.41 µg/ml at 0.3 g supplementation of sunflower, soybean, and mustard oil per litre of the media, respectively at 18 h incubation period. The present study indicates the Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens bacteria involves in the biohydrogenation process, and LA rich sunflower meal can be used to improve the CLA production in rumen and thereby increasing the CLA concentration of milk.

Keywords: Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, CLA, fatty acids, sunflower oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 374

Authors: Mohieldin Elmashad, Salwa Yassin

Abstract:

Expansive soils regarded as one of the most problematic unsaturated formations in the Egyptian arid zones and present a great challenge in civil engineering, in general, and geotechnical engineering, in particular. Severe geotechnical complications and consequent structural damages have been arising due to an excessive and differential volumetric change upon wetting and change in water content. Different studies have been carried out concerning the swelling performance of the expansive soils using different additives including phospho-gypsum as an industrial waste product. However, this paper describes the results of a comprehensive testing programme that was carried out to investigate the effect of phospho-gypsum (PG) and sodium chloride (NaCl), as an additive mixture, on the swelling performance of constituent samples of swelling soils. The constituent samples comprise commercial bentonite collected from a natural site, mixed with different percentages of PG-NaCl mixture. The testing programme had been scoped to cover the physical and chemical properties of the constituent samples. In addition, a mineralogical study using x-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed on the collected bentonite and the mixed bentonite with PG-NaCl mixture samples. The obtained results of this study showed significant improvement in the swelling performance of the tested samples with the increase of the proposed PG-NaCl mixture content.

Keywords: expansive soils, industrial waste, mineralogical study, swelling performance, X-ray diffraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: W. Swiderski

Abstract:

In the paper introduced the diagnostic technique making possible the research of internal structures in composite materials reinforced fibres using in different applications. The main reason of damages in structures of these materials is the changing distribution of load in constructions in the lifetime. Appearing defect is largely complicated because of the appearance of disturbing of continuity of reinforced fibres, binder cracks and loss of fibres adhesiveness from binders. Defect in composite materials is usually more complicated than in metals. At present, infrared thermography is the most effective method in non-destructive testing composite. One of IR thermography methods used in non-destructive evaluation is vibrothermography. The vibrothermography is not a new non-destructive method, but the new solution in this test is use ultrasonic waves to thermal stimulation of materials. In this paper, both modelling and experimental results which illustrate the advantages and limitations of ultrasonic IR thermography in inspecting composite materials will be presented. The ThermoSon computer program for computing 3D dynamic temperature distribuions in anisotropic layered solids with subsurface defects subject to ulrasonic stimulation was used to optimise heating parameters in the detection of subsurface defects in composite materials. The program allows for the analysis of transient heat conduction and ultrasonic wave propagation phenomena in solids. The experiments at MIAT were fulfilled by means of FLIR SC 7600 IR camera. Ultrasonic stimulation was performed with the frequency from 15 kHz to 30 kHz with maximum power up to 2 kW.

Keywords: composite material, ultrasonic, infrared thermography, non-destructive testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Geminne Manzano, Clairecynth Yu, Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes, Viviene Santiago, Porfirio AliñO

Abstract:

The distribution and abundance patterns of many marine sessile organisms such as sponges vary among and within reefs. Determining the factors affecting its distribution is essential especially for organisms that produce secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical importance. In this study, the small-scale distribution patterns of the Philippine blue sponge, Xestospongia sp. in relation to some ecological factors were examined. The relationship between the renieramycin-M production and their benthic attributes were also determined. Ecological surveys were conducted on two stations with varying depth and exposure located in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. Three 30 by 6m belt transect were used to assess the sponge abundance at each station. The substratum of the sponges was also characterized. Fish visual census observations were also taken together with the photo transect methods benthic surveys. Sponge samples were also collected for the extraction of Renieramycin-M and for further chemical analysis. Varying distribution patterns were observed to be attributed to the combination of different ecological and environmental factors. The amount of Renieramycin-production also varied in each station. The common substratum for blue sponges includes hard and soft corals, as well as, dead coral with algal patches. Blue sponges from exposed habitat frequently grow associated with massive and branching corals, Porites sp., while the most frequent substrate found on sheltered habitats is the coral Pavona sp. Exploring the influence of ecological and environmental parameters on the abundance and distribution of sponge assemblages provide ecological insights and their potential applications to pharmaceutical studies. The results of this study provide further impetus in pursuing studies into patterns and processes of the Philippine blue sponge, Xestospongia sp. distribution in relation to the chemical ecology of its secondary metabolites.

Keywords: distribution patterns, Porifera, Renieramycin-M, sponge assemblages, Xestospongia sp.

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Innocent Kafodya, Guijun Xian

Abstract:

This paper presents effects of distilled water, seawater and sustained bending strains of 30% and 50% ultimate strain at room temperature, on the durability of unidirectional pultruded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. In this study, dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) was used to investigate the synergic effects of the immersions and bending strains on the visco-elastic properties of (CFRP) such as storage modulus, tan delta and glass transition temperature. The study reveals that the storage modulus and glass transition temperature increase while tan delta peak decreases in the initial stage of both immersions due to the progression of curing. The storage modulus and Tg subsequently decrease and tan delta increases due to the matrix plasticization. The blister induced damages in the unstrained seawater samples enhance water uptake and cause more serious degradation of Tg and storage modulus than in water immersion. Increasing sustained bending decreases Tg and storage modulus in a long run for both immersions due to resin matrix cracking and debonding. The combined effects of immersions and strains are not clearly reflected due to the statistical effects of DMA sample sizes and competing processes of molecular reorientation and postcuring.

Keywords: pultruded CFRP plate, bending strain, glass transition temperature, storage modulus, tan delta

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Robert P. Dufresne, Hamid Arabzadeh

Abstract:

The current study investigates the effectiveness of a new form of permanent baseboard insulators with an umbrella action, hereinafter referred to as Coronary Insulator, in supporting and protecting the assembly of electrodes immersed in an electrolytic cell and in increasing the lifespan of the lateral sides of the electrolytic cell, in both electro-winning and electro-refinery method. The advantages of using a coronary insulator in addition to the top capping board (equipotential insulator) were studied compared to the conventional assembly of an electrolytic cell. Then, a thermal imaging technique was utilized during high-temperature thermal (heat transfer) tests for sample cell walls with and without coronary insulators in their assembly to show the effectiveness of coronary insulators in protecting the cell wall under extreme conditions. It was shown that, unlike the conventional assembly, which is highly prone to damages to the cell wall under thermal shocks, the presence of coronary insulator can significantly increase the level of protection of the cell due to their ultra-high thermal and chemical resistance, as well as decreasing the replacement frequency of insulators to almost zero. Besides, the results of the study showed that the test assembly with the coronary insulator provides better consistency in positioning and, subsequently, better contact, compared to the conventional method, which reduces the chance of electric short-circuit in the system.

Keywords: capping board, coronary insulator, electrolytic cell, thermal shock.

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Manchari Paranthahan

Abstract:

Higher education has often presented barriers to many communities as a result of its colonial roots. While higher education was initially created for white cis-males, student populations have become more diverse in the past few decades. Despite this increase in diversity, barriers like rising costs and hostile education settings continue to make higher education hard to access for certain demographics. These barriers and limitations are compounded for students who are intersectionality marginalized, such as Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (QTBIPOC) Disabled students. As of 2021-2022, only 57.5% of the Canadian population between the ages of 25 - 64 held a college or university credential, with only 32.9% holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. In that same time frame, only 0.64% of the students who successfully completed a higher education program identified as transgender or nonbinary. QTBIPOC Disabled students experience diverse forms of oppression while navigating education systems, often preventing them from completing their education successfully. This research project will investigate the complex experiences of intersectional marginalization of QTBIPOC Disabled students in Canadian post-secondary education systems. Through this investigation, this research seeks to reimagine more inclusive and accessible education systems in Canada and beyond. The social and academic experiences of QTBIPOC Disabled students in education systems are largely absent from scholarly literature, speaking to their continued marginalization and erasure from academic discourses. The lack of representation for this community in academia reinforces the idea that there is no space for marginalized bodies in further education, a discriminatory belief that this research project aims to investigate and reframe with this project. This research study will be informed by Critical Race theory, Queer Theory and Critical Disability Theories. Through a blend of critical narrative ethnography and ethnodrama for my methodological framing. Using these methodologies will speak to the intersecting factors that impact the experiences that QTBIPOC Disabled students have in education systems while offering space to analyze and create new systems of learning that benefits all students.

Keywords: QTBIPOC, queer, disability, pedagogy

Procedia PDF Downloads 25

Authors: Juhanita Jiman

Abstract:

Malaysia is a unique country with multifaceted society; rich with its beautiful cultural values. It has been a long assimilation process for Malaysia to emerge its national identity. Malaysian government has been working hard for centuries to keep its people together in harmony. Cultural identity is identified to be ‘container’ that brings Malaysians together. The uniqueness of Malaysian cultures can actually be exploited for the benefit of the nation. However, this unique culture is somehow being threatened by those imported foreign values. If not closely monitored, these foreign influences can bring more damages than good. This paper aims to study elements in Upin and Ipin animation series and investigate how this series could help to educate local children with good moral and behaviour without being too serious and sententious. Upin and Ipin is chosen as a study to investigate the effectiveness of animation as a media of communication to promote positive values amongst pre-school children. Purposive sampling method was employed to determine the sample of studies hence pre-school children from Putrajaya Presint 9(2) school were chosen to take part in this study. The findings of this study demonstrate positive suggestions on how animation programmes being shown on TV can play significant roles in children social development and inculcate good moral behaviour as well as social skills among children and people around them.

Keywords: animation characters, children informal education, foreign influences, moral values

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Sareh Rajabi, Salwa Bheiry

Abstract:

In general, Covid-19 created many financial and non-financial damages to the economy and community. Level and severity of covid-19 as pandemic case varies over the region and due to different types of the projects. Covid-19 virus emerged as one of the most imperative risk management factors word-wide recently. Therefore, as part of portfolio management assessment, it is essential to evaluate severity of such risk on the project and program in portfolio management level to avoid any risky portfolio. Covid-19 appeared very effectively in South America, part of Europe and Middle East. Such pandemic infection affected the whole universe, due to lock down, interruption in supply chain management, health and safety requirements, transportations and commercial impacts. Therefore, this research proposes Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze and assess such pandemic case like Covid-19 and its impacts on the construction projects. The AHP technique uses four sub-criteria: Health and safety, commercial risk, completion risk and contractual risk to evaluate the project and program. The result will provide the decision makers with information which project has higher or lower risk in case of Covid-19 and pandemic scenario. Therefore, the decision makers can have most feasible solution based on effective weighted criteria for project selection within their portfolio to match with the organization’s strategies.

Keywords: portfolio management, risk management, COVID-19, analytical hierarchy process technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 109