Search results for: Arabic natural language processing

Authors: Mohammed Makki, Milad Showkatbakhsh, Aiman Tabony

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Computational applications of natural evolutionary processes as problem-solving tools have been well established since the mid-20th century. However, their application within architecture and design has only gained ground in recent years, with an increasing number of academics and professionals in the field electing to utilize evolutionary computation to address problems comprised from multiple conflicting objectives with no clear optimal solution. Recent advances in computer science and its consequent constructive influence on the architectural discourse has led to the emergence of multiple algorithmic processes capable of simulating the evolutionary process in nature within an efficient timescale. Many of the developed processes of generating a population of candidate solutions to a design problem through an evolutionary based stochastic search process are often driven through the application of both environmental and architectural parameters. These methods allow for conflicting objectives to be simultaneously, independently, and objectively optimized. This is an essential approach in design problems with a final product that must address the demand of a multitude of individuals with various requirements. However, one of the main challenges encountered through the application of an evolutionary process as a design tool is the ability for the simulation to maintain variation amongst design solutions in the population while simultaneously increasing in fitness. This is most commonly known as the ‘golden rule’ of balancing exploration and exploitation over time; the difficulty of achieving this balance in the simulation is due to the tendency of either variation or optimization being favored as the simulation progresses. In such cases, the generated population of candidate solutions has either optimized very early in the simulation, or has continued to maintain high levels of variation to which an optimal set could not be discerned; thus, providing the user with a solution set that has not evolved efficiently to the objectives outlined in the problem at hand. As such, the experiments presented in this paper seek to achieve the ‘golden rule’ by incorporating a mathematical fitness criterion for the development of an urban tissue comprised from the superblock as its primary architectural element. The mathematical value investigated in the experiments is the standard deviation factor. Traditionally, the standard deviation factor has been used as an analytical value rather than a generative one, conventionally used to measure the distribution of variation within a population by calculating the degree by which the majority of the population deviates from the mean. A higher standard deviation value delineates a higher number of the population is clustered around the mean and thus limited variation within the population, while a lower standard deviation value is due to greater variation within the population and a lack of convergence towards an optimal solution. The results presented will aim to clarify the extent to which the utilization of the standard deviation factor as a fitness criterion can be advantageous to generating fitter individuals in a more efficient timeframe when compared to conventional simulations that only incorporate architectural and environmental parameters.

Keywords: architecture, computation, evolution, standard deviation, urban

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Authors: M. Attavanich, H. Kobayashi

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Moklen is a sub-group of ethnic minority in Thailand. In the past, they were vagabonds of the sea. Their livelihood relied on the sea but they built temporary shelters to avoid strong wind and waves during monsoon season. Recently, they have permanently settled on land along coastal area and mangrove forest in Phang Nga and Phuket Province, Southern Thailand. Moklen people have their own housing culture: the Moklen ethnic house was built from local natural materials, indicating a unique structure and design. Its wooden structure is joined by rattan ropes. The construction process is very unique because of using body-based unit of measurement for design and construction. However, there are several threats for those unique structures. One of the most important threats on Moklen ethnic house is tsunami. Especially the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami caused widely damage to Southern Thailand and Phang Nga province was the most affected area. In that time, Moklen villages which are located along the coastal area also affected calamitously. In order to recover the damage in affected villages, mostly new modern style houses were provided by aid agencies. This process has caused a significant impact on Moklen housing culture. Not only tsunami, but also modernization has an influence on the changing appearance of the Moklen houses and the effect of modernization has been started to experience before the tsunami. As a result, local construction knowledge is very limited nowadays because the number of elderly people in Moklen has been decreasing drastically. Last but not the least, restrictions of construction materials which are originally provided from accessible mangroves, create limitations in building a Moklen house. In particular, after the Reserved Forest Act, wood chopping without any permission has become illegal. These are some of the most important reasons for Moklen ethnic houses to disappear. Nevertheless, according to the results of field surveys done in 2013 in Phang Nga province, it is found out that some Moklen ethnic houses are still available in Tubpla Village, but only a few. Next survey in the same area in 2014 showed that number of Moklen houses in the village has been started to increase significantly. That proves that there is a high potential to conserve Moklen houses. Also the project of our research team in February 2014 contributed to continuation of Moklen ethnic house. With the cooperation of the village leader and our team, it was aimed to construct a Moklen house with the help of local participants. For the project, villagers revealed the building knowledge and techniques, and in the end, project helped community to understand the value of their houses. Also, it was a good opportunity for Moklen children to learn about their culture. In addition, NGOs recently have started to support ecotourism projects in the village. It not only helps to preserve a way of life, but also contributes to preserve indigenous knowledge and techniques of Moklen ethnic house. This kind of supporting activities are important for the conservation of Moklen ethnic houses.

Keywords: conservation, construction project, Moklen Ethnic House, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

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Authors: S. Fares, K. Mellakh, A. Hmouri

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The StorMer project aims to set up a network of researchers to study traditional hydraulic rainwater harvesting systems in the Mediterranean basin, a region suffering from the major impacts of climate change and limited natural water resources. The arid and semi-arid Mediterranean basin has a long history of pioneering water management practices. The region has developed various ancient traditional water management systems, such as cisterns and qanats, to sustainably manage water resources under historical conditions of scarcity. Therefore, the StorMer project brings together Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Jordan and Morocco to explore traditional rainwater harvesting practices and systems in the Mediterranean region and to develop accurate modeling to simulate the performance and sustainability of these technologies under present-day climatic conditions. The ultimate goal of this project was to resuscitate and valorize these practices in the context of contemporary challenges. This project was intended to establish a Mediterranean network to serve as a basis for a more ambitious project. The ultimate objective was to analyze traditional hydraulic systems and create a prototype hydraulic ecosystem using a coupled environmental approach and traditional and ancient know-how, with the aim of reinterpreting them in the light of current techniques. The combination of ‘traditional’ and ‘modern knowledge/techniques’ is expected to lead to proposals for innovative hydraulic systems. The pandemic initially slowed our progress, but in the end it forced us to carry out the fieldwork in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and so restart the project. With the participation of colleagues from chronologically distant fields (archaeology, sociology), we are now prepared to share our observations and propose the next steps. This interdisciplinary approach should give us a global vision of the project's objectives and challenges. A diachronic approach is needed to tackle the question of the long-term adaptation of societies in a Mediterranean context that has experienced several periods of water stress. The next stage of the StorMer project is the implementation of pilots in non-urbanized regions. These pilots will test the implementation of traditional systems and will be maintained and evaluated in terms of effectiveness, cost and acceptance. Based on these experiences, larger projects will be proposed and could provide information for regional water management policies. One of the most important lessons learned from this project is the highly social nature of managing traditional rainwater harvesting systems. Unlike modern, centralized water infrastructures, these systems often require the involvement of communities, which assume ownership and responsibility for them. This kind of community engagement leads to greater maintenance and, therefore, sustainability of the systems. Knowledge of the socio-cultural characteristics of these communities means that the systems can be adapted to the needs of each location, ensuring greater acceptance and efficiency.

Keywords: oasis, rainfall harvesting, arid regions, Mediterranean

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Authors: Desmond Appiah, Fan Zhang, Shouqi Yuan, Wei Xueyuan, Stephen N. Asomani

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The side channel pump has distinctive hydraulic performance characteristics over other vane pumps because of its generation of high pressure heads in only one impeller revolution. Hence, there is soaring utilization and application in the fields of petrochemical, food processing fields, automotive and aerospace fuel pumping where high heads are required at low flows. The side channel pump is characterized by unstable flow because after fluid flows into the impeller passage, it moves into the side channel and comes back to the impeller again and then moves to the next circulation. Consequently, the flow leaves the side channel pump following a helical path. However, the pressure fluctuation exhibited in the flow greatly contributes to the unwanted noise and vibration which is associated with the flow. In this paper, a side channel pump prototype was examined thoroughly through numerical calculations based on SST k-ω turbulence model to ascertain the pressure fluctuation behavior. The pressure fluctuation intensity of the 3D unstable flow dynamics were carefully investigated under different working conditions 0.8QBEP, 1.0 QBEP and 1.2QBEP. The results showed that the pressure fluctuation distribution around the pressure side of the blade is greater than the suction side at the impeller and side channel interface (z=0) for all three operating conditions. Part-load condition 0.8QBEP recorded the highest pressure fluctuation distribution because of the high circulation velocity thus causing an intense exchanged flow between the impeller and side channel. Time and frequency domains spectra of the pressure fluctuation patterns in the impeller and the side channel were also analyzed under the best efficiency point value, QBEP using the solution from the numerical calculations. It was observed from the time-domain analysis that the pressure fluctuation characteristics in the impeller flow passage increased steadily until the flow reached the interrupter which separates low-pressure at the inflow from high pressure at the outflow. The pressure fluctuation amplitudes in the frequency domain spectrum at the different monitoring points depicted a gentle decreasing trend of the pressure amplitudes which was common among the operating conditions. The frequency domain also revealed that the main excitation frequencies occurred at 600Hz, 1200Hz, and 1800Hz and continued in the integers of the rotating shaft frequency. Also, the mass flow exchange plots indicated that the side channel pump is characterized with many vortex flows. Operating conditions 0.8QBEP, 1.0 QBEP depicted less and similar vortex flow while 1.2Q recorded many vortex flows around the inflow, middle and outflow regions. The results of the numerical calculations were finally verified experimentally. The performance characteristics curves from the simulated results showed that 0.8QBEP working condition recorded a head increase of 43.03% and efficiency decrease of 6.73% compared to 1.0QBEP. It can be concluded that for industrial applications where the high heads are mostly required, the side channel pump can be designed to operate at part-load conditions. This paper can serve as a source of information in order to optimize a reliable performance and widen the applications of the side channel pumps.

Keywords: exchanged flow, pressure fluctuation, numerical simulation, side channel pump

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Authors: Sharon Millen, Sarah Miller, Laura Dunne, Clare McGeady, Laura Neeson

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This paper presents the findings from a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and process evaluation of the Lifestart parenting programme. Lifestart is a structured child-centred programme of information and practical activity for parents of children aged from birth to five years of age. It is delivered to parents in their own homes by trained, paid family visitors and it is offered to parents regardless of their social, economic or other circumstances. The RCT evaluated the effectiveness of the programme and the process evaluation documented programme delivery and included a qualitative exploration of parent and child outcomes. 424 parents and children participated in the RCT: 216 in the intervention group and 208 in the control group across the island of Ireland. Parent outcomes included: parental knowledge of child development, parental efficacy, stress, social support, parenting skills and embeddedness in the community. Child outcomes included cognitive, language and motor development and social-emotional and behavioural development. Both groups were tested at baseline (when children were less than 1 year old), mid-point (aged 3) and at post-test (aged 5). Data were collected during a home visit, which took two hours. The process evaluation consisted of interviews with parents (n=16 at baseline and end-point), and focus groups with Lifestart Coordinators (n=9) and Family Visitors (n=24). Quantitative findings from the RCT indicated that, compared to the control group, parents who received the Lifestart programme reported reduced parenting-related stress, increased knowledge of their child’s development, and improved confidence in their parenting role. These changes were statistically significant and consistent with the hypothesised pathway of change depicted in the logic model. There was no evidence of any change in parents’ embeddedness in the community. Although four of the five child outcomes showed small positive change for children who took part in the programme, these were not statistically significant and there is no evidence that the programme improves child cognitive and non-cognitive skills by immediate post-test. The qualitative process evaluation highlighted important challenges related to conducting trials of this magnitude and design in the general population. Parents reported that a key incentive to take part in study was receiving feedback from the developmental assessment, which formed part of the data collection. This highlights the potential importance of appropriate incentives in relation to recruitment and retention of participants. The interviews with intervention parents indicated that one of the first changes they experienced as a result of the Lifestart programme was increased knowledge and confidence in their parenting ability. The outcomes and pathways perceived by parents and described in the interviews are also consistent with the findings of the RCT and the theory of change underpinning the programme. This hypothesises that improvement in parental outcomes, arising as a consequence of the programme, mediate the change in child outcomes. Parents receiving the Lifestart programme reported great satisfaction with and commitment to the programme, with the role of the Family Visitor being identified as one of the key components of the programme.

Keywords: parent-child relationship, parental self-efficacy, parental stress, school readiness

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Authors: Adriana Pereira Arteaga

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In many Latin American countries the transition towards legal pluralism - has developed as part of what is called Latin-American-Constitutionalism over the last thirty years. The aim of this paper is to discuss how legal pluralism in its current form in Bolivia may produce exclusion and violence. Legal sources and discourse analysis - as an approach to examine written language on discourse documentation- will be used to develop this paper. With the constitution of 2009, Bolivia was symbolically "re-founded" into a multi-nation state. This shift goes hand in hand with the "indigenista" and "decolonisation" ideologies developing since the early 20th century. Discourses based on these ideologies reflect the rejection of liberal and western premises on which the Bolivian republic was originally built after independence. According to the "indigenista" movements, the liberal nation-state generates institutions corresponding to a homogenous society. These liberal institutions not only ignore the Bolivian multi-nation reality, but also maintain the social structures originating form the colony times, based on prejudices against the indigenous. The described statements were elaborated through the image: the indigenous people humiliated by a cruel western system as highlighted by the constitution's preamble. This narrative had a considerable impact on the sensitivity of people and received great social support. Therefore the proposal for changing structures of the nation-state, is charged with an emancipatory message of restoring even the pre-Columbian order. An order at times romantically described as the perfect order. Legally this connotes a rejection of the positivistic national legal system based on individual rights and the promotion of constitutional recognition of indigenous justice administration. The pluralistic Constitution is supposed to promote tolerance and a peaceful coexistence among nations, so that the unity and integrity of the country could be maintained. In its current form, legal pluralism in Bolivia is justified on pre-existing rights contained for example in the International - Labour - Organization - Convention 169, but it is more developed on the described discursive constructions. Over time these discursive constructions created inconsistencies in terms of putting indigenous justice administration into practice: First, because legal pluralism has been more developed on level of political discourse, so a real interaction between the national and the indigenous jurisdiction cannot be observed. There are no clear coordination and cooperation mechanisms. Second, since the recently reformed constitution is based on deep sensitive experiences, little is said about the general legal principles on which a pluralistic administration of justice in Bolivia should be based. Third, basic rights, liberties, and constitutional guarantees are also affected by the antagonized image of the national justice administration. As a result, fundamental rights could be violated on a large scale because many indigenous justice administration practices run counter to these constitutional rules. These problems are not merely Bolivian but may also be encountered in other regional countries with similar backgrounds, like Ecuador.

Keywords: discourse, indigenous justice, legal pluralism, multi-nation

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Authors: Liang Zhao, Chongquan Zhong

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Introduction: According to statistics, people spend 80% to 90% of time indoor, so indoor air quality, either at home or in the office, greatly impacts the quality of life, health and work efficiency. Therefore, indoor air quality is very important to human activities. With the acceleration of urbanization, people are spending more time in indoor activity. The time in indoor environment, the living space, and the frequency interior decoration are all increasingly increased. However, housing decoration materials contain formaldehyde and other harmful substances, causing environmental and air quality problems, which have brought serious damage to countless families and attracted growing attention. According to World Health Organization statistics, the indoor environments in more than 30% of buildings in China are polluted by poisonous and harmful gases. Indoor pollution has caused various health problems, and these widespread public health problems can lead to respiratory diseases. Long-term inhalation of low-concentration formaldehyde would cause persistent headache, insomnia, weakness, palpitation, weight loss and vomiting, which are serious impacts on human health and safety. On the other hand, as for offices, some surveys show that good indoor air quality helps to enthuse the staff and improve the work efficiency by 2%-16%. Therefore, people need to further understand the living and working environments. There is a need for easy-to-use indoor environment monitoring instruments, with which users only have to power up and monitor the environmental parameters. The corresponding real-time data can be displayed on the screen for analysis. Environment monitoring should have the sensitive signal alarm function and send alarm when harmful gases such as formaldehyde, CO, SO2, are excessive to human body. System design: According to the monitoring requirements of various gases, temperature and humidity, we designed a portable, light, real-time and accurate monitor for various environmental parameters, including temperature, humidity, formaldehyde, methane, and CO. This monitor will generate an alarm signal when a target is beyond the standard. It can conveniently measure a variety of harmful gases and provide the alarm function. It also has the advantages of small volume, convenience to carry and use. It has a real-time display function, outputting the parameters on the LCD screen, and a real-time alarm function. Conclusions: This study is focused on the research and development of a portable parameter monitoring instrument for indoor environment. On the platform of an STM32 development board, the monitored data are collected through an external sensor. The STM32 platform is for data acquisition and processing procedures, and successfully monitors the real-time temperature, humidity, formaldehyde, CO, methane and other environmental parameters. Real-time data are displayed on the LCD screen. The system is stable and can be used in different indoor places such as family, hospital, and office. Meanwhile, the system adopts the idea of modular design and is superior in transplanting. The scheme is slightly modified and can be used similarly as the function of a monitoring system. This monitor has very high research and application values.

Keywords: indoor air quality, gas concentration detection, embedded system, sensor

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Authors: Katharina Lapin, Debashis Sanyal

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Worldwide urban areas are growing. Urbanization has a great impact on social and economic development and ecosystem services. This global trend of urbanization also has significant impact on habitat and biodiversity. The impact of urbanization on the biodiversity of cities in Europe and North America is well studied, while there is a lack of data from cities in currently fast growing urban areas. Indian cities are expanding. The scientific community and the governmental authorities are facing the ongoing urbanization process as an opportunity for the environment. This case study supports the evaluation of urban biodiversity of the city Raipur in the North-West of India. The aim of this study is to assess the overview of the environmental and ecological implications of urbanization. The collected data and analysis was used to discuss the challenges for the sustainable city development. Vascular plants were chosen as an appropriate indicator for the assessment of local biodiversity changes. On the one hand, the vegetation cover is sensible to anthropogenic influence, and in the other hand, the local species composition is comparable to changes at the regional and national scale, using the plant index of India. Further information of abiotic situation can be gathered with the determination of indicator species. In order to calculate the influence of urbanization on the native plant diversity, the Shannon diversity index H´ was chosen. The Pielou`s pooled quadrate method was used for estimating diversity when a random sample is not expected. It was used to calculate the Pilou´s index of evenness. The estimated species coverage was used for calculating the H´ and J. Pearson correlation was performed to test the relationship between urbanization pattern and plant diversity. Further, a SWOT analysis was used in for analyzing internal and external factors impinging on a decision making process. The city of Raipur (21.25°N 81.63°E) has a population of 1,010,087 inhabitants living in an urban area of 226km², in the district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Within the last decade, the urban area of Raipur increased. The results show that various novel ecosystems exist in the urban area of Raipur. The high amount of native flora is mainly to find at the shore of urban lakes and along the river Karun. These areas of high Biodiversity Index are to protect as urban biodiversity hot spots. The governmental authorities are well informed about the environmental challenges for the sustainable development of the city. Together with the scientific community of the Technical University of Raipur many engineering solutions are discussed for implementation of the future. The case study helped to point out the importance environmental measures that support the ecosystem services of green infrastructure. The fast process of urbanization is difficult to control. Uncontrolled creation of urban housing leads to difficulties in unsustainable use of natural resources. This is the major threat for the urban biodiversity.

Keywords: India, novel ecosystems, plant diversity, urban ecology

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Authors: Mercedes Bertotto, Marcelo Bello, Hector Goicoechea, Veronica Fusca

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The National Service of Agri-Food Health and Quality (SENASA), controls honey to detect contamination by synthetic or natural chemical substances and establishes and controls the traceability of the product. The utility of near-infrared spectroscopy for the detection of adulteration of honey with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was investigated. First of all, a mixture of different authentic artisanal Argentinian honey was prepared to cover as much heterogeneity as possible. Then, mixtures were prepared by adding different concentrations of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to samples of the honey pool. 237 samples were used, 108 of them were authentic honey and 129 samples corresponded to honey adulterated with HFCS between 1 and 10%. They were stored unrefrigerated from time of production until scanning and were not filtered after receipt in the laboratory. Immediately prior to spectral collection, honey was incubated at 40°C overnight to dissolve any crystalline material, manually stirred to achieve homogeneity and adjusted to a standard solids content (70° Brix) with distilled water. Adulterant solutions were also adjusted to 70° Brix. Samples were measured by NIR spectroscopy in the range of 650 to 7000 cm⁻¹. The technique of specular reflectance was used, with a lens aperture range of 150 mm. Pretreatment of the spectra was performed by Standard Normal Variate (SNV). The ant colony optimization genetic algorithm sample selection (ACOGASS) graphical interface was used, using MATLAB version 5.3, to select the variables with the greatest discriminating power. The data set was divided into a validation set and a calibration set, using the Kennard-Stone (KS) algorithm. A combined method of Potential Functions (PF) was chosen together with Partial Least Square Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). Different estimators of the predictive capacity of the model were compared, which were obtained using a decreasing number of groups, which implies more demanding validation conditions. The optimal number of latent variables was selected as the number associated with the minimum error and the smallest number of unassigned samples. Once the optimal number of latent variables was defined, we proceeded to apply the model to the training samples. With the calibrated model for the training samples, we proceeded to study the validation samples. The calibrated model that combines the potential function methods and PLSDA can be considered reliable and stable since its performance in future samples is expected to be comparable to that achieved for the training samples. By use of Potential Functions (PF) and Partial Least Square Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) classification, authentic honey and honey adulterated with HFCS could be identified with a correct classification rate of 97.9%. The results showed that NIR in combination with the PT and PLS-DS methods can be a simple, fast and low-cost technique for the detection of HFCS in honey with high sensitivity and power of discrimination.

Keywords: adulteration, multivariate analysis, potential functions, regression

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Authors: Eiji Nakamachi, Tsuyoshi Eguchi, Sayo Yamamoto, Yusuke Morita, H. Sakamoto

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In this study, we aim to reveal the relationship between the meniscal tearing and the articular cartilage injury of knee joint by using the dynamic explicit finite element (FE) method. Meniscal injuries reduce its functional ability and consequently increase the load on the articular cartilage of knee joint. In order to prevent the induction of osteoarthritis (OA) caused by meniscal injuries, many medical treatment techniques, such as artificial meniscus replacement and meniscal regeneration, have been developed. However, it is reported that these treatments are not the comprehensive methods. In order to reveal the fundamental mechanism of OA induction, the mechanical characterization of meniscus under the condition of normal and injured states is carried out by using FE analyses. At first, a FE model of the human knee joint in the case of normal state – ‘intact’ - was constructed by using the magnetron resonance (MR) tomography images and the image construction code, Materialize Mimics. Next, two types of meniscal injury models with the radial tears of medial and lateral menisci were constructed. In FE analyses, the linear elastic constitutive law was adopted for the femur and tibia bones, the visco-hyperelastic constitutive law for the articular cartilage, and the visco-anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive law for the meniscus, respectively. Material properties of articular cartilage and meniscus were identified using the stress-strain curves obtained by our compressive and the tensile tests. The numerical results under the normal walking condition revealed how and where the maximum compressive stress occurred on the articular cartilage. The maximum compressive stress and its occurrence point were varied in the intact and two meniscal tear models. These compressive stress values can be used to establish the threshold value to cause the pathological change for the diagnosis. In this study, FE analyses of knee joint were carried out to reveal the influence of meniscal injuries on the cartilage injury. The following conclusions are obtained. 1. 3D FE model, which consists femur, tibia, articular cartilage and meniscus was constructed based on MR images of human knee joint. The image processing code, Materialize Mimics was used by using the tetrahedral FE elements. 2. Visco-anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive equation was formulated by adopting the generalized Kelvin model. The material properties of meniscus and articular cartilage were determined by curve fitting with experimental results. 3. Stresses on the articular cartilage and menisci were obtained in cases of the intact and two radial tears of medial and lateral menisci. Through comparison with the case of intact knee joint, two tear models show almost same stress value and higher value than the intact one. It was shown that both meniscal tears induce the stress localization in both medial and lateral regions. It is confirmed that our newly developed FE analysis code has a potential to be a new diagnostic system to evaluate the meniscal damage on the articular cartilage through the mechanical functional assessment.

Keywords: finite element analysis, hyperelastic constitutive law, knee joint injury, meniscal tear, stress concentration

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Authors: Ola Hall, Ibrahim Wahab, Thorsteinn Rognvaldsson, Mattias Ohlsson

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The subfield of poverty and welfare estimation that applies machine learning tools and methods on satellite imagery is a nascent but rapidly growing one. This is in part driven by the sustainable development goal, whose overarching principle is that no region is left behind. Among other things, this requires that welfare levels can be accurately and rapidly estimated at different spatial scales and resolutions. Conventional tools of household surveys and interviews do not suffice in this regard. While they are useful for gaining a longitudinal understanding of the welfare levels of populations, they do not offer adequate spatial coverage for the accuracy that is needed, nor are their implementation sufficiently swift to gain an accurate insight into people and places. It is this void that satellite imagery fills. Previously, this was near-impossible to implement due to the sheer volume of data that needed processing. Recent advances in machine learning, especially the deep learning subtype, such as deep neural networks, have made this a rapidly growing area of scholarship. Despite their unprecedented levels of performance, such models lack transparency and explainability and thus have seen limited downstream applications as humans generally are apprehensive of techniques that are not inherently interpretable and trustworthy. While several studies have demonstrated the superhuman performance of AI models, none has directly compared the performance of such models and human readers in the domain of poverty studies. In the present study, we directly compare the performance of human readers and a DL model using different resolutions of satellite imagery to estimate the welfare levels of demographic and health survey clusters in Tanzania, using the wealth quintile ratings from the same survey as the ground truth data. The cluster-level imagery covers all 608 cluster locations, of which 428 were classified as rural. The imagery for the human readers was sourced from the Google Maps Platform at an ultra-high resolution of 0.6m per pixel at zoom level 18, while that of the machine learning model was sourced from the comparatively lower resolution Sentinel-2 10m per pixel data for the same cluster locations. Rank correlation coefficients of between 0.31 and 0.32 achieved by the human readers were much lower when compared to those attained by the machine learning model – 0.69-0.79. This superhuman performance by the model is even more significant given that it was trained on the relatively lower 10-meter resolution satellite data while the human readers estimated welfare levels from the higher 0.6m spatial resolution data from which key markers of poverty and slums – roofing and road quality – are discernible. It is important to note, however, that the human readers did not receive any training before ratings, and had this been done, their performance might have improved. The stellar performance of the model also comes with the inevitable shortfall relating to limited transparency and explainability. The findings have significant implications for attaining the objective of the current frontier of deep learning models in this domain of scholarship – eXplainable Artificial Intelligence through a collaborative rather than a comparative framework.

Keywords: poverty prediction, satellite imagery, human readers, machine learning, Tanzania

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Authors: Lia Marchi, Ernesto Antonini

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The impact of industrial sites on people’s living environment both involves detrimental effects on the ecosystem and perceptual-aesthetic interferences with the scenery. These, in turn, affect the economic and social value of the landscape, as well as the wellbeing of workers and local communities. Given the diffusion of the phenomenon and the relevance of its effects, it emerges the need for a joint approach to assess and thus mitigate the impact of factories on the landscape –being this latest assumed as the result of the action and interaction of natural and human factors. However, the impact assessment tools suitable for the purpose are quite heterogeneous and mostly monodisciplinary. On the one hand, green building rating systems (GBRSs) are increasingly used to evaluate the performance of manufacturing sites, mainly by quantitative indicators focused on environmental issues. On the other hand, methods to detect the visual and social impact of factories on the landscape are gradually emerging in the literature, but they generally adopt only qualitative gauges. The research addresses the integration of the environmental impact assessment and the perceptual-aesthetic interferences of factories on the landscape. The GBRSs model is assumed as a reference since it is adequate to simultaneously investigate different topics which affect sustainability, returning a global score. A critical analysis of GBRSs relevant to industrial facilities has led to select the U.S. GBC LEED protocol as the most suitable to the scope. A revision of LEED v4 Building Design+Construction has then been provided by including specific indicators to measure the interferences of manufacturing sites with the perceptual-aesthetic and social aspects of the territory. To this end, a new impact category was defined, namely ‘PA - Perceptual-aesthetic aspects’, comprising eight new credits which are specifically designed to assess how much the buildings are in harmony with their surroundings: these investigate, for example the morphological and chromatic harmonization of the facility with the scenery or the site receptiveness and attractiveness. The credits weighting table was consequently revised, according to the LEED points allocation system. As all LEED credits, each new PA credit is thoroughly described in a sheet setting its aim, requirements, and the available options to gauge the interference and get a score. Lastly, each credit is related to mitigation tactics, which are drawn from a catalogue of exemplary case studies, it also developed by the research. The result is a modified LEED scheme which includes compatibility with the landscape within the sustainability assessment of the industrial sites. The whole system consists of 10 evaluation categories, which contain in total 62 credits. Lastly, a test of the tool on an Italian factory was performed, allowing the comparison of three mitigation scenarios with increasing compatibility level. The study proposes a holistic and viable approach to the environmental impact assessment of factories by a tool which integrates the multiple involved aspects within a worldwide recognized rating protocol.

Keywords: environmental impact, GBRS, landscape, LEED, sustainable factory

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Authors: Laura Villamizar, David Wright, Claudia Baena, Marie Foxwell, Maureen O'Callaghan

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Leguminous crops can be self-sufficient for their nitrogen requirements when their roots are nodulated with an effective Rhizobium strain and for this reason seed or soil inoculation is practiced worldwide to ensure nodulation and nitrogen fixation in grain and forage legumes. The most widely used method of applying commercially available inoculants is using peat cultures which are coated onto seeds prior to sowing. In general, rhizobia survive well in peat, but some species die rapidly after inoculation onto seeds. The development of improved formulation methodology is essential to achieve extended persistence of rhizobia on seeds, and improved efficacy. Formulations could be solid or liquid. Most popular solid formulations or delivery systems are: wettable powders (WP), water dispersible granules (WG), and granules (DG). Liquid formulation generally are: suspension concentrates (SC) or emulsifiable concentrates (EC). In New Zealand, R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii strain TA1 has been used as a commercial inoculant for white clover over wide areas for many years. Seeds inoculation is carried out by mixing the seeds with inoculated peat, some adherents and lime, but rhizobial populations on stored seeds decline over several weeks due to a number of factors including desiccation and antibacterial compounds produced by the seeds. In order to develop a more stable and suitable delivery system to incorporate rhizobia in pastures, two strains of R. leguminosarum (TA1 and CC275e) and several formulations and processes were explored (peat granules, self-sticky peat for seed coating, emulsions and a powder containing spray dried microcapsules). Emulsions prepared with fresh broth of strain TA1 were very unstable under storage and after seed inoculation. Formulations where inoculated peat was used as the active ingredient were significantly more stable than those prepared with fresh broth. The strain CC275e was more tolerant to stress conditions generated during formulation and seed storage. Peat granules and peat inoculated seeds using strain CC275e maintained an acceptable loading of 108 CFU/g of granules or 105 CFU/g of seeds respectively, during six months of storage at room temperature. Strain CC275e inoculated on peat was also microencapsulated with a natural biopolymer by spray drying and after optimizing operational conditions, microparticles containing 107 CFU/g and a mean particle size between 10 and 30 micrometers were obtained. Survival of rhizobia during storage of the microcapsules is being assessed. The development of a stable product depends on selecting an active ingredient (microorganism), robust enough to tolerate some adverse conditions generated during formulation, storage, and commercialization and after its use in the field. However, the design and development of an adequate formulation, using compatible ingredients, optimization of the formulation process and selecting the appropriate delivery system, is possibly the best tool to overcome the poor survival of rhizobia and provide farmers with better quality inoculants to use.

Keywords: formulation, Rhizobium leguminosarum, storage stability, white clover

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Hasti Ebrahimi

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This study sheds light on the challenges and difficulties caused by the Iranian clerical system’s intervention in the country’s school education during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools remained closed for almost two years. The pandemic brought Iranian elementary school education to a standstill for almost 6 months before the country developed a nationwide learning platform – a customized television network. While the initiative seemed to have been welcomed by the majority of Iranian parents, it resented some of the more traditional strata of the society, including the influential Friday Prayer Leaders who found the televised version of the elementary education ‘less spiritual’ and ‘more ‘material’ or science-based. That prompted the Iranian Channel of Education, the specialized television network that had been chosen to serve as a nationally televised school during the pandemic, to try to redefine much of its online elementary school educational content within the religious ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, young clergies appeared on the television screen as preachers of Islamic morality, religious themes and even sociology, history, and arts. The present research delves into the consequences of such an intervention, how it might have impacted the infrastructure of Iranian elementary education and whether or not the new ideology-infused curricula would withstand the opposition of students and mainstream teachers. The main methodology used in this study is Critical Discourse Analysis with a cognitive approach. It systematically finds and analyzes the alternative ideological structures of discourse in the Iranian Channel of Education from September 2021 to July 2022, when the clergy ‘teachers’ replaced ‘regular’ history and arts teachers on the television screen for the first time. It has aimed to assess how the various uses of the alternative ideological discourse in elementary school content have influenced the processes of learning: the acquisition of knowledge, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, abilities, and other cognitive and emotional changes, which are the goals of institutional education. This study has been an effort aimed at understanding and perhaps clarifying the relationships between the traditional textual structures and processing on the one hand and socio-cultural contexts created by the clergy teachers on the other. This analysis shows how the clerical portion of elementary education on the Channel of Education that seemed to have dominated the entire televised teaching and learning process faded away as the pandemic was contained and mainstream classes were restored. It nevertheless reflects the deep ideological rifts between the clerical approach to school education and the mainstream teaching process in Iranian schools. The semantic macrostructures of social content in the current Iranian elementary school education, this study suggests, have remained intact despite the temporary ideological intervention of the ruling clerical elite in their formulation and presentation. Finally, using thematic and schematic frameworks, the essay suggests that the ‘clerical’ social content taught on the Channel of Education during the pandemic cannot have been accepted cognitively by the channel’s target audience, including students and mainstream teachers.

Keywords: televised elementary school learning, Covid 19, critical discourse analysis, Iranian clerical ideology

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: Zulkifli, I. W. Eltara, Anawati

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Understanding the complementary roles of surface energy and roughness on natural nonwetting surfaces has led to the development of a number of biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces, which exhibit apparent contact angles with water greater than 150 degrees and low contact angle hysteresis. However, superoleophobic surfaces—those that display contact angles greater than 150 degrees with organic liquids having appreciably lower surface tensions than that of water—are extremely rare. In addition to chemical composition and roughened texture, a third parameter is essential to achieve superoleophobicity, namely, re-entrant surface curvature in the form of overhang structures. The overhangs can be realized as fibers. Superoleophobic surfaces are appealing for example, antifouling, since purely superhydrophobic surfaces are easily contaminated by oily substances in practical applications, which in turn will impair the liquid repellency. On the other studied have demonstrate that such aqueous nanofibrillar gels are unexpectedly robust to allow formation of highly porous aerogels by direct water removal by freeze-drying, they are flexible, unlike most aerogels that suffer from brittleness, and they allow flexible hierarchically porous templates for functionalities, e.g. for electrical conductivity. No crosslinking, solvent exchange nor supercritical drying are required to suppress the collapse during the aerogel preparation, unlike in typical aerogel preparations. The aerogel used in current work is an ultralight weight solid material composed of native cellulose nanofibers. The native cellulose nanofibers are cleaved from the self-assembled hierarchy of macroscopic cellulose fibers. They have become highly topical, as they are proposed to show extraordinary mechanical properties due to their parallel and grossly hydrogen bonded polysaccharide chains. We demonstrate that superoleophobic nanocellulose aerogels coating by sol-gel method, the aerogel is capable of supporting a weight nearly 3 orders of magnitude larger than the weight of the aerogel itself. The load support is achieved by surface tension acting at different length scales: at the macroscopic scale along the perimeter of the carrier, and at the microscopic scale along the cellulose nanofibers by preventing soaking of the aerogel thus ensuring buoyancy. Superoleophobic nanocellulose aerogels have recently been achieved using unmodified cellulose nanofibers and using carboxy methylated, negatively charged cellulose nanofibers as starting materials. In this work, the aerogels made from unmodified cellulose nanofibers were subsequently treated with fluorosilanes. To complement previous work on superoleophobic aerogels, we demonstrate their application as cargo carriers on oil, gas permeability, plastrons, and drag reduction, and we show that fluorinated nanocellulose aerogels are high-adhesive superoleophobic surfaces. We foresee applications including buoyant, gas permeable, dirt-repellent coatings for miniature sensors and other devices floating on generic liquid surfaces.

Keywords: superoleophobic, nanocellulose, aerogel, sol-gel

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Francisco Vidal Vázquez, Pekka Simell, Christian Frilund, Matti Reinikainen, Ilkka Hiltunen, Tim Böltken, Benjamin Andris, Paolo Piermartini

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Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) are one of the key topics in mitigation of CO2 emissions. There are many different technologies that are applied for the production of diverse chemicals from CO2 such as synthetic natural gas, Fischer-Tropsch products, methanol and polymers. Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Liquids concepts arise as a synergetic solution for storing energy and producing value added products from the intermittent renewable energy sources and CCU. VTT is a research and technology development company having energy in transition as one of the key focus areas. VTT has extensive experience in piloting and upscaling of new energy and chemical processes. Recently, VTT has developed and commissioned a Mobile Synthesis Unit (MOBSU) in close collaboration with INERATEC, a spin-off company of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany). The MOBSU is a multipurpose synthesis unit for CO2 upgrading to energy carriers and chemicals, which can be transported on-site where CO2 emission and renewable energy are available. The MOBSU is initially used for production of fuel compounds and chemical intermediates by combination of two consecutive processes: reverse Water-Gas Shift (rWGS) and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FT). First, CO2 is converted to CO by high-pressure rWGS and then, the CO and H2 rich effluent is used as feed for FT using an intensified reactor technology developed and designed by INERATEC. Chemical equilibrium of rWGS reaction is not affected by pressure. Nevertheless, compression would be required in between rWGS and FT in the case when rWGS is operated at atmospheric pressure. This would also require cooling of rWGS effluent, water removal and reheating. For that reason, rWGS is operated using precious metal catalyst in the MOBSU at similar pressure as FT to simplify the process. However, operating rWGS at high pressures has also some disadvantages such as methane and carbon formation, and more demanding specifications for materials. The main parts of FT module are an intensified reactor, a hot trap to condense the FT wax products, and a cold trap to condense the FT liquid products. The FT synthesis is performed using cobalt catalyst in a novel compact reactor technology with integrated highly-efficient water evaporation cooling cycle. The MOBSU started operation in November 2016. First, the FT module is tested using as feedstock H2 and CO. Subsequently, rWGS and FT modules are operated together using CO2 and H2 as feedstock of ca. 5 Nm3/hr total flowrate. On spring 2017, The MOBSU unit will be integrated together with a direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 unit, and a PEM electrolyser unit at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) premises for demonstration of the SoletAir concept. This would be the first time when synthetic fuels are produced by combination of DAC unit and electrolyser unit which uses solar power for H2 production.

Keywords: CO2 utilization, demonstration, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, intensified reactors, reverse water-gas shift

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Vanessa G. P. Severino, Eliangela Cristina Candida Costa, Nubia Alves Mariano Teixeira Pires Gomides, Lucilia Kato, Afif Felix Monteiro, Maria Anita Lemos Vasconcelos Ambrosio, Carlos Henrique Gomes Martins

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One of the biomes present in Brazil is known as Cerrado, which is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins and Minas Gerais. Many species of plants are characterized as endemic and they have therapeutic value for a large part of the population, especially to the rural communities. Given that, the southeastern region of the state of Goiás contains about 21 rural communities, which present a form of organization based on the use of natural resources available. One of these rural communities is named of Coqueiros, where the knowledge about the medicinal plants was very important to this research. Thus, this study focuses on the ethnobotanical survey of this community on the use of Kielmeyera coriacea to treat diseases. From the 37 members interviewed, 76% indicated this species for the treatment of intestinal infection, leukemia, anemia, gastritis, gum pain, toothache, cavity, arthritis, arthrosis, healing, vermifuge, rheumatism, antibiotic, skin problems, mycoses and all kinds of infections. The medicinal properties attributed during the interviews were framed in the body system (disease categories), adapted from ICD 10; thus, 20 indications of use were obtained, among five body systems. Therefore, the root of this species was select to chemical and biological (antioxidant and antimicrobial) studies. From the liquid-liquid extraction of ethanolic extract of root (EER), the hexane (FH), ethyl acetate (FAE), and hydro alcoholic (FHA) fractions were obtained. The chemical profile study of these fractions was performed by LC-MS, identifying major compounds such as δ-tocotrienol, prenylated acylphoroglucinol, 2-hydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone and quercitrin. EER, FH, FAE and FHA were submitted to biological tests. FHA presented the best antioxidant action (EC50 201.53 μg mL-1). EER inhibited the bacterial growth of Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, microorganisms associated with rheumatism, at Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 6.25 μg mL-1. In addition, the FH-10 subfraction, obtained from FH fractionation, presented MIC of 1.56 μg mL-1 against S. pneumoniae; EER also inhibited the fungus Candida glabrata (MIC 7.81 μg mL- 1). The FAE-4.7.3 fraction, from the fractionation of FAE, presented MIC of 200 μg mL-1 against Lactobacillus casei, which is one of the causes of caries and oral infections. By the correlation of the chemical and biological data, it is possible to note that the FAE-4.7.3 and FH-10 are constituted 4-hydroxy-2,3-methylenedioxy xanthone, 3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethoxy xanthone, lupeol, prenylated acylphoroglucinol and quercitrin, which could be associated with the biological potential found. Therefore, this study provides an important basis for further investigations regarding the compounds present in the active fractions of K. coriacea, which will permit the establishment of a correlation between ethnobotanical survey and bioactivity.

Keywords: biological activity, ethnobotanical survey, Kielmeyera coriacea Mart., LC-MS profile

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Richele P. Severino, Maria M. F. Alchaar, Lorena R. F. De Sousa, Patrik S. Vital, Ana G. Silva, Rosy I. M. A. Ribeiro

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Recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, the Cerrado (Brazil) presents an extreme abundance of endemic species and it is considered to be one of the biologically richest tropical savanna regions in the world. Erythroxylum genus is found in Cerrado and chemically is characterized by the presence of tropane alkaloids, among them cocaine, a natural alkaloid produced by Erythroxylum coca Lam., which was used as a local anesthetic in small surgeries. However, cocaine gained notoriety due to its psychoactive activity in the Central Nervous System (CNS), becoming one of the major problems of public health today. Some species of Erythroxylum are referred to in the literature as having pharmacological potential, which provide alkaloids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. E. vacciniifolium Mart., commonly known as 'catuaba', is used as a central nervous system stimulant and has aphrodisiac properties and E. pelleterianum A. St.-Hil. in the treatment of stomach pains. Already E. myrsinites Mart. and E. suberosum A. St.-Hil. are used in the tannery industry. Species of Erythroxylum are also used in folk medicine for various diseases, against diabetes, antiviral, fungicidal, cytotoxicity, among others. The Cerrado is recognized as the richer savannah in the world in biodiversity but little explored from the chemical view. In our on-going study of the chemistry of Erythroxylum genus, we have investigated four specimens collected in central Cerrado of Brazil: E. campestre (EC), E. deciduum (ED), E. suberosum (ES) and E. tortuosum (ET). The cytotoxic activity of extracts was evaluated using HeLa cells, in vitro assays. The chemical investigation was performed preparing the extracts using n-hexane (H), dichloromethane (D), ethyl acetate (E) and methanol (M). The cells were treated with increasing concentrations of extracts (50, 75 and 100 μg/mL) diluted in DMSO (1%) and DMEM (0.5% FBS and 1% P/S). The IC₅₀ values were determined measured spectrophotometrically at 570 nm, after incubation of HeLa cell line for 48 hours using the MTT (SIGMA M5655), and calculated by nonlinear regression analysis using GraphPad Prism software. All the assays were done in triplicate and repeated at least two times. The cytotoxic assays showed some promising results with IC₅₀ values less than 100 μg/mL (ETD = 38.5 μg/mL; ETM = 92.3 μg/mL; ESM = 67.8 μg/mL; ECD = 24.0 μg/mL; ECM = 32.9; EDA = 44.2 μg/mL). The chemical profile study of ethyl acetate (E) and methanolic (M) extracts of E. tortuosum leaves was performed by LC-MS, and the structures of the compounds were determined by analysis of ¹H, HSQC and HMBC spectra, and confirmed by comparison with the literature data. The investigation led to six substances: α-amyrin, β-amyrin, campesterol, stigmastan-3,5-diene, β-sitosterol and 7,4’-di-O-methylquercetin-3-O-β-rutinoside, with flavonoid the major compound of extracts. By alkaline extraction of the methanolic extract, it was possible to identify three alkaloids: tropacocaine, cocaine and 6-methoxy-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-ol. The results obtained are important for the chemical knowledge of the Cerrado biodiversity and brought a contribution to the chemistry of Erythroxylum genus.

Keywords: cytotoxicity, Erythroxylum, chemical profile, secondary metabolites

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Elodie Niemiec, Philippe Champagne, Jean-Francois Blach, Philippe Moreau, Anthony Thuault, Arnaud Tricoteaux

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Hygiene of equipment in contact with users is an important issue in the railroad industry. The numerous cleanings to eliminate bacteria and dirt cost a lot. Besides, mechanical solicitations on contact parts are observed daily. It should be interesting to elaborate on a self-cleaning and antibacterial coating with sufficient adhesion and good resistance against mechanical and chemical solicitations. Thus, a Hauts-de-France and Maubeuge Val-de-Sambre conurbation authority co-financed Ph.D. thesis has been set up since October 2017 based on anterior studies carried by the Laboratory of Ceramic Materials and Processing. To accomplish this task, a soft chemical route has been implemented to bring a lotus effect on metallic substrates. It involves nanometric liquid zinc oxide synthesis under 100°C. The originality here consists in a variation of surface texturing by modification of the synthesis time of the species in solution. This helps to adjust wettability. Nanostructured zinc oxide has been chosen because of the inherent photocatalytic effect, which can activate organic substance degradation. Two methods of heating have been compared: conventional and microwave assistance. Tested subtracts are made of stainless steel to conform to transport uses. Substrate preparation was the first step of this protocol: a meticulous cleaning of the samples is applied. The main goal of the elaboration protocol is to fix enough zinc-based seeds to make them grow during the next step as desired (nanorod shaped). To improve this adhesion, a silica gel has been formulated and optimized to ensure chemical bonding between substrate and zinc seeds. The last step consists of deposing a wide carbonated organosilane to improve the superhydrophobic property of the coating. The quasi-proportionality between the reaction time and the nanorod length will be demonstrated. Water Contact (superior to 150°) and Roll-off Angle at different steps of the process will be presented. The antibacterial effect has been proved with Escherichia Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, and Bacillus Subtilis. The mortality rate is found to be four times superior to a non-treated substrate. Photocatalytic experiences were carried out from different dyed solutions in contact with treated samples under UV irradiation. Spectroscopic measurements allow to determinate times of degradation according to the zinc quantity available on the surface. The final coating obtained is, therefore, not a monolayer but rather a set of amorphous/crystalline/amorphous layers that have been characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry. We will show that the thickness of the nanostructured oxide layer depends essentially on the synthesis time set in the hydrothermal growth step. A green, easy-to-process and control coating with self-cleaning and antibacterial properties has been synthesized with a satisfying surface structuration.

Keywords: antibacterial, biomimetism, soft-chemistry, zinc oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Kayla Belanger, Pascale Vigneron, Guy Schlatter, Bernard Devauchelle, Christophe Egles

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A severe injury to a peripheral nerve leads to its degeneration and the loss of sensory and motor function. To this day, there still lacks a more effective alternative to the autograft which has long been considered the gold standard for nerve repair. In order to overcome the numerous drawbacks of the autograft, tissue engineered biomaterials may be effective alternatives. Silk fibroin is a favorable biomaterial due to its many advantageous properties such as its biocompatibility, its biodegradability, and its robust mechanical properties. In this study, bio-mimicking multi-channeled nerve guidance conduits made of aligned nanofibers achieved by electrospinning were functionalized with signaling biomolecules and were tested in vitro and in vivo for nerve regeneration support. Silk fibroin (SF) extracted directly from silkworm cocoons was put in solution at a concentration of 10wt%. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was added to the resulting SF solution to increase solution viscosity and the following three electrospinning solutions were made: (1) SF/PEO solution, (2) SF/PEO solution with nerve growth factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor, and (3) SF/PEO solution with nerve growth factor and neurotrophin-3. Each of these solutions was electrospun into a multi-layer architecture to obtain mechanically optimized aligned nanofibrous mats. For in vitro studies, aligned fibers were treated to induce β-sheet formation and thoroughly rinsed to eliminate presence of PEO. Each material was tested using rat embryo neuron cultures to evaluate neurite extension and the interaction with bio-functionalized or non-functionalized aligned fibers. For in vivo studies, the mats were rolled into 5mm long multi-, micro-channeled conduits then treated and thoroughly rinsed. The conduits were each subsequently implanted between a severed rat sciatic nerve. The effectiveness of nerve repair over a period of 8 months was extensively evaluated by cross-referencing electrophysiological, histological, and movement analysis results to comprehensively evaluate the progression of nerve repair. In vitro results show a more favorable interaction between growing neurons and bio-functionalized silk fibers compared to pure silk fibers. Neurites can also be seen having extended unidirectionally along the alignment of the nanofibers which confirms a guidance factor for the electrospun material. The in vivo study has produced positive results for the regeneration of the sciatic nerve over the length of the study, showing contrasts between the bio-functionalized material and the non-functionalized material along with comparisons to the experimental control. Nerve regeneration has been evaluated not only by histological analysis, but also by electrophysiological assessment and motion analysis of two separate natural movements. By studying these three components in parallel, the most comprehensive evaluation of nerve repair for the conduit designs can be made which can, therefore, more accurately depict their overall effectiveness. This work was supported by La Région Picardie and FEDER.

Keywords: electrospinning, nerve guidance conduit, peripheral nerve regeneration, silk fibroin

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Authors: Andreas Latz, Daniela Heinz, Fatima Hashemi, Melek Baygül

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Introduction: Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline coronavirus (FCoV) are serious infectious diseases affecting cats worldwide. Transmission of these viruses occurs primarily through close contact with infected cats (via saliva, nasal secretions, faeces, etc.). FeLV, FIV, and FCoV infections can occur in combination and are expressed in similar clinical symptoms. Diagnosis can therefore be challenging: Symptoms are variable and often non-specific. Sick cats show very similar clinical symptoms: apathy, anorexia, fever, immunodeficiency syndrome, anemia, etc. Sample volume for small companion animals for diagnostic purposes can be challenging to collect. In addition, multiplex diagnosis of diseases can contribute to an easier, cheaper, and faster workflow in the lab as well as to the better differential diagnosis of diseases. For this reason, we wanted to develop a new diagnostic tool that utilizes less sample volume, reagents, and consumables than multiplesingleplex ELISA assays Methods: The Multiplier from Dynextechonogies (USA) has been used as platform to develop a Multiplex diagnostic tool for the detection of antibodies against FIV and FCoV/FIP and antigens for FeLV. Multiplex diagnostics. The Dynex®Multiplier®is a fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer that significantly simplifies laboratory workflow. The Multiplier®ease-of-use reduces pre-analytical steps by combining the power of efficiently multiplexing multiple assays with the simplicity of automated microplate processing. Plastic beads have been coated with antigens for FIV and FCoV/FIP, as well as antibodies for FeLV. Feline blood samples are incubated with the beads. Read out of results is performed via chemiluminescence Results: Bead coating was optimized for each individual antigen or capture antibody and then combined in the multiplex diagnostic tool. HRP: Antibody conjugates for FIV and FCoV antibodies, as well as detection antibodies for FeLV antigen, have been adjusted and mixed. 3 individual prototyple batches of the assay have been produced. We analyzed for each disease 50 well defined positive and negative samples. Results show an excellent diagnostic performance of the simultaneous detection of antibodies or antigens against these feline diseases in a fully automated system. A 100% concordance with singleplex methods like ELISA or IFA can be observed. Intra- and Inter-Assays showed a high precision of the test with CV values below 10% for each individual bead. Accelerated stability testing indicate a shelf life of at least 1 year. Conclusion: The new tool can be used for multiplex diagnostics of the most important feline infectious diseases. Only a very small sample volume is required. Fully automation results in a very convenient and fast method for diagnosing animal diseases.With its large specimen capacity to process over 576 samples per 8-hours shift and provide up to 3,456 results, very high laboratory productivity and reagent savings can be achieved.

Keywords: Multiplex, FIV, FeLV, FCoV, FIP

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Jone Ibarruri, Mikel Manso, Marta Cebrián

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A high amount of food is lost or discarded in the World every year. In addition, in the last decades, an increasing demand of new alternative and sustainable sources of proteins and other valuable compounds is being observed in the food and feeding sectors and, therefore, the use of food by-products as nutrients for these purposes sounds very interesting from the environmental and economical point of view. However, the direct use of discarded fruit and vegetables that present, in general, a low protein content is not interesting as feeding ingredient except if they are used as a source of fiber for ruminants. Especially in the case of aquaculture, several alternatives to the use of fish meal and other vegetable protein sources have been extensively explored due to the scarcity of fish stocks and the unsustainability of fishing for these purposes. Fish mortality is also of great concern in this sector as this problem highly reduces their economic feasibility. So, the development of new functional and natural ingredients that could reduce the need for vaccination is also of great interest. In this work, several fermentation tests were developed at lab scale using a selected mixture of fruit and vegetable discards from a wholesale market located in the Basque Country to increase their protein content and also to produce some bioactive extracts that could be used as additives in aquaculture. Fruit and vegetable mixtures (60/40 ww) were centrifugated for humidity reduction and crushed to 2-5 mm particle size. Samples were inoculated with a selected Rhizopus oryzae strain and fermented for 7 days in controlled conditions (humidity between 65 and 75% and 28ºC) in Petri plates (120 mm) by triplicate. Obtained results indicated that the final fermented product presented a twofold protein content (from 13 to 28% d.w). Fermented product was further processed to determine their possible functionality as a feed additive. Extraction tests were carried out to obtain an ethanolic extract (60:40 ethanol: water, v.v) and remaining biomass that also could present applications in food or feed sectors. The extract presented a polyphenol content of about 27 mg GAE/gr d.w with antioxidant activity of 8.4 mg TEAC/g d.w. Remining biomass is mainly composed of fiber (51%), protein (24%) and fat (10%). Extracts also presented antibacterial activity according to the results obtained in Agar Diffusion and to the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests determined against several food and fish pathogen strains. In vitro, digestibility was also assessed to obtain preliminary information about the expected effect of extraction procedure on fermented product digestibility. First results indicated that remaining biomass after extraction doesn´t seem to improve digestibility in comparison to the initial fermented product. These preliminary results show that fermented fruit and vegetables can be a useful source of functional ingredients for aquaculture applications and a substitute of other protein sources in the feeding sector. Further validation will be also carried out through “in vivo” tests with trout and bass.

Keywords: fungal solid state fermentation, protein increase, functional extracts, feed ingredients

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Mariia Karizhenskaia, Tanvi Nandani, Ali Tafazoli Moghadam

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Hospice palliative care (HPC) is one of the most complicated philosophies of care in which physical, social/cultural, and spiritual aspects of human life are intermingled with an undeniably significant role in every aspect. Among these dimensions of care, culture possesses an outstanding position in the process and goal determination of HPC. This study shows the importance of cultural elements in the establishment of effective and optimized structures of HPC in the Canadian healthcare environment. Our systematic search included Medline, Google Scholar, and St. Lawrence College Library, considering original, peer-reviewed research papers published from 1998 to 2023 to identify recent national literature connecting culture and palliative care delivery. The most frequently presented feature among the articles is the role of culture in the efficiency of the HPC. It has been shown frequently that including the culturespecific parameters of each nation in this system of care is vital for its success. On the other hand, ignorance about the exclusive cultural trends in a specific location has been accompanied by significant failure rates. Accordingly, implementing a culture-wise adaptable approach is mandatory for multicultural societies. The following outcome of research studies in this field underscores the importance of culture-oriented education for healthcare staff. Thus, all the practitioners involved in HPC will recognize the importance of traditions, religions, and social habits for processing the care requirements. Cultural competency training is a telling sample of the establishment of this strategy in health care that has come to the aid of HPC in recent years. Another complexity of the culturized HPC nowadays is the long-standing issue of racialization. Systematic and subconscious deprivation of minorities has always been an adversity of advanced levels of care. The last part of the constellation of our research outcomes is comprised of the ethical considerations of culturally driven HPC. This part is the most sophisticated aspect of our topic because almost all the analyses, arguments, and justifications are subjective. While there was no standard measure for ethical elements in clinical studies with palliative interventions, many research teams endorsed applying ethical principles for all the involved patients. Notably, interpretations and projections of ethics differ in varying cultural backgrounds. Therefore, healthcare providers should always be aware of the most respectable methodologies of HPC on a case-by-case basis. Cultural training programs have been utilized as one of the main tactics to improve the ability of healthcare providers to address the cultural needs and preferences of diverse patients and families. In this way, most of the involved health care practitioners will be equipped with cultural competence. Considerations for ethical and racial specifications of the clients of this service will boost the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the HPC. Canadian society is a colorful compilation of multiple nationalities; accordingly, healthcare clients are diverse, and this divergence is also translated into HPC patients. This fact justifies the importance of studying all the cultural aspects of HPC to provide optimal care on this enormous land.

Keywords: cultural competence, end-of-life care, hospice, palliative care

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Alvarez M., Chapela M. J., Balboa E., Rubianes D., Sinde E., Fernandez de Ana C., Rodríguez-Blanco A.

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The gut microbiota plays an important role as gut inflammation could contribute to colorectal cancer development; however, this role is still not fully understood, and tools able to prevent this progression are yet to be developed. The main objective of this study was to monitor the effects of a mushroom extracts formulation in gut microbial community composition of an Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) mice model of inflammation-linked carcinogenesis. For the in vivo study, 41 adult male mice of the C57BL / 6 strain were obtained. 36 of them have been induced in a state of colon carcinogenesis by a single intraperitoneal administration of AOM at a dose of 12.5 mg/kg; the control group animals received instead of the same volume of 0.9% saline. DSS is an extremely toxic polysaccharide sulfate that causes chronic inflammation of the colon mucosa, favoring the appearance of severe colitis and the production of tumors induced by AOM. Induction by AOM/DSS is an interesting platform for chemopreventive intervention studies. This time the model was used to monitor gut microbiota changes as a result of supplementation with a specific mushroom extracts formulation previously shown to have prebiotic activity. The animals have been divided into three groups: (i) Cancer + mushroom extracts formulation experimental group: to which the MicoDigest2.0 mushroom extracts formulation developed by Hifas da Terra S.L has been administered dissolved in drinking water at an estimated concentration of 100 mg / ml. (ii) Control group of animals with Cancer: to which normal water has been administered without any type of treatment. (iii) Control group of healthy animals: these are the animals that have not been induced cancer or have not received any treatment in drinking water. This treatment has been maintained for a period of 3 months, after which the animals were sacrificed to obtain tissues that were subsequently analyzed to verify the effects of the mushroom extract formulation. A microbiological analysis has been carried out to compare the microbial communities present in the intestines of the mice belonging to each of the study groups. For this, the methodology of massive sequencing by molecular analysis of the 16S gene has been used (Ion Torrent technology). Initially, DNA extraction and metagenomics libraries were prepared using the 16S Metagenomics kit, always following the manufacturer's instructions. This kit amplifies 7 of the 9 hypervariable regions of the 16S gene that will then be sequenced. Finally, the data obtained will be compared with a database that makes it possible to determine the degree of similarity of the sequences obtained with a wide range of bacterial genomes. Results obtained showed that, similarly to certain natural compounds preventing colorectal tumorigenesis, a mushroom formulation enriched the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria phyla and depleted Bacteroidetes. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the consumption of the mushroom extracts’ formulation developed could promote the recovery of the microbial balance that is disrupted in the mice model of carcinogenesis. More preclinical and clinical studies are needed to validate this promising approach.

Keywords: carcinogenesis, microbiota, mushroom extracts, inflammation

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Authors: Ajay Kumar Pandey

Abstract:

White grub (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), locally known as Kurmula, Pagra, Chinchu, is a major destructive pest in western Himalayan region of Uttarakhand state of India. Various crops like cereals (up land paddy, wheat, and barley), vegetables (capsicum, cabbage, tomato, cauliflower, carrot etc) and some pulse (like pigeon pea, green gram, black gram) are grown with limited availability of primary resources. Among the various limitations in successful cultivation of these crops, white grub has been proved a major constraint in for all crops grown in hilly area. The losses incurred due to white grubs are huge in case of commercial crops like sugarcane, groundnut, potato, maize and upland rice. Moreover, it has been proved major constraint in potato production in mid and higher hills of India. Adults emerge in May-June following the onset of monsoon and thereafter defoliate the apple, apricot, plum, and walnut during night while 2nd and 3rd instar grubs feed on live roots of cultivated as well as non cultivated crops from August to January. Survey was conducted in hilly (Pauri and Tehri) as well as plain area (Haridwar district) of Uttarakhand state. Collection of beetle was done from various locations from August to September of five consecutive years with the help of light trap and directly from host plant. The grub was also collected by excavating one square meter area from different locations and reared in laboratory to find out adult. During the collection, the diseased or dead cadaver were also collected and brought in the laboratory and identified the causal organisms. Total 25 species of white grub was identified out of which Holotrichia longipennis, Anomala dimidiata, Holotrichia lineatopennis, Maladera insanabilis, Brahmina sp. make complex problem in different area of Uttarakhand where they cause severe damage to various crops. During the survey, it was observed that white grubs beetles have variation in preference of host plant, even in choice of fruit and leaves of host plant. It was observed that, a white grub species, which identified as Lepidiota mansueta Burmeister., was causing severe havoc to sugarcane crop grown in major sugarcane growing belt of Haridwar district. The study also revealed that Bacillus cereus, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Steinernema, Heterorhabditis are major disease causing agents in immature stage of white grub under rain-fed condition of Uttarakhand which caused 15.55 to 21.63 percent natural mortality of grubs with an average of 18.91 percent. However, among the microorganisms, B. cereus found to be significantly more efficient (7.03 percent mortality) then the entomopathogenic fungi (3.80 percent mortality) and nematodes (3.20 percent mortality).

Keywords: Lepidiota, profiling, Uttarakhand, whitegrub

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Authors: Salima Bijapuri, Shweta Bhatbolan, Sejalben Patel

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Ergonomics concerns the fitting of the environment and the equipment to the worker. Ergonomic principles can be employed in different dimensions of the industrial sector. Participation of all the stakeholders is the key to the formulation of a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to lessen the burden of occupational hazards. Taking responsibility for one’s own work activities by acquiring sufficient knowledge and potential to influence the practices and outcomes is the basis of participatory ergonomics and even hastens the process to identify workplace hazards. The study was aimed to check how participatory ergonomics can be effective in the management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Method: A mega kitchen was identified in a twin city of Karnataka, India. Consent was taken, and the screening of workers was done using observation methods. Kitchen work was structured to include different tasks, which included preparation, cooking, distributing, and serving food, packing food to be delivered to schools, dishwashing, cleaning and maintenance of kitchen and equipment, and receiving and storing raw material. Total 100 workers attended the education session on participatory ergonomics and its role in implementing the correct ergonomic practices, thus preventing WRMSDs. Demographic details and baseline data on related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort were collected using the Nordic pain questionnaire and VAS score pre- and post-study. Monthly visits were made, and the education sessions were reiterated on each visit, thus reminding, correcting, and problem-solving of each worker. After 9 months with a total of 4 such education session, the post education data was collected. The software SPSS 20 was used to analyse the collected data. Results: The majority of them (78%), depending on the availability and feasibility, participated in the intervention workshops were arranged four times. The average age of the participants was 39 years. The percentage of female participants was 79.49%, and 20.51% of participants comprised of males. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) showed that knee pain was the most commonly reported complaint (62%) from the last 12 months with a mean VAS of 6.27, followed by low back pain. Post intervention, the mean VAS Score was reduced significantly to 2.38. The comparison of pre-post scores was made using Wilcoxon matched pairs test. Upon enquiring, it was found that, the participants learned the importance of applying ergonomics at their workplace which inturn was beneficial for them to handle any problems arising at their workplace on their own with self confidence. Conclusion: The participatory ergonomics proved effective with workers of mega kitchen, and it is a feasible and practical approach. The advantage of the given study area was that it had a sophisticated and ergonomically designed workstation; thus it was the lack of education and practical knowledge to use these stations was of utmost need. There was a significant reduction in VAS scores with the implementation of changes in the working style, and the knowledge of ergonomics helped to decrease physical load and improve musculoskeletal health.

Keywords: ergonomic awareness session, mega kitchen, participatory ergonomics, work related musculoskeletal disorders

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Till Gramberg, Erwin Gross, Christoph Birenbaum

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This paper presents the approach of the Easy2IoT research project. Easy2IoT aims to enable companies in the prefabrication sheet metal and sheet metal processing industry to enter the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with a low-threshold and cost-effective approach. It focuses on the development of physical hardware and software to easily capture machine activities from on a sawing machine, benefiting various stakeholders in the SME value chain, including machine operators, tool manufacturers and service providers. The methodological approach of Easy2IoT includes an in-depth requirements analysis and customer interviews with stakeholders along the value chain. Based on these insights, actions, requirements and potential solutions for smart services are derived. The focus is on providing actionable recommendations, competencies and easy integration through no-/low-code applications to facilitate implementation and connectivity within production networks. At the core of the project is a novel, non-invasive measurement and analysis system that can be easily deployed and made IIoT-ready. This system collects machine data without interfering with the machines themselves. It does this by non-invasively measuring the tension on a sawing machine. The collected data is then connected and analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide smart services through a platform-based application. Three Smart Services are being developed within Easy2IoT to provide immediate benefits to users: Wear part and product material condition monitoring and predictive maintenance for sawing processes. The non-invasive measurement system enables the monitoring of tool wear, such as saw blades, and the quality of consumables and materials. Service providers and machine operators can use this data to optimize maintenance and reduce downtime and material waste. Optimize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by monitoring machine activity. The non-invasive system tracks machining times, setup times and downtime to identify opportunities for OEE improvement and reduce unplanned machine downtime. Estimate CO2 emissions for connected machines. CO2 emissions are calculated for the entire life of the machine and for individual production steps based on captured power consumption data. This information supports energy management and product development decisions. The key to Easy2IoT is its modular and easy-to-use design. The non-invasive measurement system is universally applicable and does not require specialized knowledge to install. The platform application allows easy integration of various smart services and provides a self-service portal for activation and management. Innovative business models will also be developed to promote the sustainable use of the collected machine activity data. The project addresses the digitalization gap between large enterprises and SME. Easy2IoT provides SME with a concrete toolkit for IIoT adoption, facilitating the digital transformation of smaller companies, e.g. through retrofitting of existing machines.

Keywords: smart services, IIoT, IIoT-platform, industrie 4.0, big data

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: K. J. Sannapapamma, H. Malligawad Lokanath, Sakeena Naikwadi

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Eco-friendly textiles are gaining importance among the consumers and textile manufacturers in the healthcare sector due to increased environmental pollution which leads to several health and environmental hazards. Hence, the research was designed to cultivate and develop the organic cotton knit, to prepare and characterize the Vetiver oil microcapsules for textile finishing and to access the wash durability of finished knits. The cotton SAHANA variety grown under organic production systems was processed and spun into 30 single yarn dyed with four natural colorants (Arecanut slurry, Eucalyptus leaves, Pomegranate rind and Indigo) and eco dyed yarn was further used for development of single jersy knitted fabric. Vetiveria zizanioides is an aromatic grass which is being traditionally used in medicine and perfumery. Vetiver essential oil was used for preparation of microcapsules by interfacial polymerization technique subjected to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for characterization of microcapsules. The knitted fabric was finished with vetiver oil microcapsules by exhaust and pad dry cure methods. The finished organic knit was assessed for laundering on antimicrobial efficiency and aroma intensity. GCMS spectral analysis showed that, diethyl phthalate (28%) was the major compound found in vetiver oil followed by isoaromadendrene epoxide (7.72%), beta-vetivenene (6.92%), solavetivone (5.58%), aromadenderene, azulene and khusimol. Bioassay explained that, the vetiver oil and diluted vetiver oil possessed greater zone of inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli than the coconut oil. FTRI spectra of vetiver oil and microcapsules possessed similar peaks viz., C-H, C=C & C꞊O stretching and additionally oil microcapsules possessed the peak of 3331.24 cm^-1 at 91.14 transmittance was attributed to N-H stretches. TGA of oil microcapsules revealed that, there was a minimum weight loss (5.835%) recorded at 467.09°C compared to vetiver oil i.e., -3.026% at the temperature of 396.24°C. The shape of the microcapsules was regular and round, some were spherical in shape and few were rounded by small aggregates. Irrespective of methods of application, organic cotton knits finished with microcapsules by pad dry cure method showed maximum zone of inhibition compared to knits finished by exhaust method against S. aureus and E. coli. The antimicrobial activity of the finished samples was subjected to multiple washing which indicated that knits finished with pad dry cure method showed a zone of inhibition even after 20^th wash and better aroma retention compared to knits finished with the exhaust method of application. Further, the group of respondents rated that the 5^th washed samples had the greater aroma intensity in both the methods than the other samples. Thus, the vetiver microencapsulated organic cotton knits are free from hazardous chemicals and have multi-functional properties that can be suitable for medical and healthcare textiles.

Keywords: exhaust and pad dry cure finishing, interfacial polymerization, organic cotton knits, vetiver oil microcapsules

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Emir Sunguroglu, Merve Sunguroglu, Yesim Aliefendioglu, Harun Tanrivermis

Abstract:

Basic human needs range from physiological needs such as food, water and shelter to safety needs such as security, protection from natural disasters and even urban terrorism which are extant and not fulfilled even in urban areas where people live civilly in large communities. These basic needs when arose in urban life lead to a different kind of crime set defined as urban crimes. Urban crimes mostly result from differences between socioeconomic conditions in society. Income inequality increases tendency towards urban crimes. Especially in slum areas and suburbs, urban crimes not only threaten public security but they also affect deliverance of public services. It is highlighted that, construction of urban security against problems caused by urban crimes is not only achieved by involvement of urban security in security of the community but also comprises juridical development and staying above a level of legal standards concurrently. The idea of urban transformation emerged as interventions to demolishment and rebuilding of built environment to solve the unhealthy urban environment, inadequate infrastructure and socioeconomic problems came up during the industrialization process. Considering the probability of urbanization process driving citizens to commit crimes, The United Nations Commission on Human Security’s focus on this theme is conferred to be a proper approach. In this study, the analysis and change in security before, through and after urban transformation, which is one of the tools related to urbanization process, is strived to be discussed through the case of Sincan County Saraycik District. The study also aims to suggest improvements to current legislation on public safety, urban resilience, and urban transformation. In spite of Saraycik District residing in a developing County in Ankara, Turkey, from urbanization perspective as well as socioeconomic and demographic indicators the District exhibits a negative view throughout the County and the country. When related to the county, rates of intentional harm reports, burglary reports, the offense of libel and threat reports and narcotic crime reports are higher. The District is defined as ‘crime hotspot’. Interviews with residents of Saraycik claim that the greatest issue of the neighborhood is Public Order and Security (82.44 %). The District becomes prominent with negative aspects, especially with the presence of unlicensed constructions, occurrence of important social issues such as crime and insecurity and complicated lives of inhabitants from poverty and low standard conditions of living. Additionally, the social structure and demographic properties and crime and insecurity of the field have been addressed in this study. Consequently, it is claimed that urban crime rates were related to level of education, employment and household income, poverty trap, physical condition of housing and structuration, accessibility of public services, security, migration, safety in terms of disasters and emphasized that urban transformation is one of the most important tools in order to provide urban security.

Keywords: urban security, urban crimes, urban transformation, Saraycik district

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Khulud Alhussain, Anna Gavine, Stephen Macgillivray, Sushila Chowdhry

Abstract:

Background: Estimates show that by the year 2030, mental illness will account for more than half of the global economic burden, second to non-communicable diseases. Often, the perinatal period is characterised by psychological ambivalence and a mixed anxiety-depressive condition. Maternal mental disorder is associated with perinatal anxiety and depression and affects breastfeeding behaviors. Studies also indicate that maternal mental health can considerably influence a baby's health in numerous aspects and impact the newborn health due to lack of adequate breastfeeding. However, studies reporting factors associated with breastfeeding behaviors are predominantly quantitative. Therefore, it is not clear what literature is available to understand the factors affecting breastfeeding and perinatal women’s perspectives and experiences. Aim: This review aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of women with perinatal anxiety and depression, as well as how these experiences influence their breastfeeding behaviours. Methods: A systematic literature review of qualitative studies in line with the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ). Four electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar) were explored for relevant studies using a search strategy. The search was restricted to studies published in the English language between 2000 and 2022. Findings from the literature were screened using a pre-defined screening criterion and the quality of eligible studies was appraised using the Walsh and Downe (2006) checklist. Findings were extracted and synthesised based on Braun and Clark. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42022319609). Result: A total of 4947 studies were identified from the four databases. Following duplicate removal and screening 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included 87 pregnant and 302 post-partum women from 12 countries. The participants were from a variety of economic, regional, and religious backgrounds, mainly from the age of 18 to 45 years old. Three main themes were identified: Barriers to breastfeeding, breastfeeding facilitators, emotional disturbance, and breastfeeding. Seven subthemes emerged from the data: expectation versus reality, uncertainly about maternal competencies, body image and breastfeeding, lack of sufficient breastfeeding support for family and caregivers’ support, influences positive breastfeeding practices, breastfeeding education, and causes of mental strain among breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding duration is affected in women with mental health disorders, irrespective of their desire to breastfeed. Conclusion: There is significant empirical evidence that breastfeeding behaviour and perinatal mental disturbance are linked. However, there is a lack of evidence to apply the findings to Saudi women due to lack of empirical qualitative information. To improve the psychological well-being of mothers, it is crucial to explore and recognise any concerns with their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Therefore, robust research is needed so that breastfeeding intervention researchers and policymakers can focus on specifically what needs to be done to help mentally distressed perinatal women and their new-born.

Keywords: pregnancy, perinatal period, anxiety, depression, emotional disturbance, breastfeeding

Procedia PDF Downloads 68