Search results for: calcium silicate board
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 1577

Search results for: calcium silicate board

437 Developments in corporate governance and economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa

Authors: Martha Matashu

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This study examined corporate governance and economic growth trends in Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries. The need for corporate governance arise from the fact that the day to day running of the business is done by management who in accordance with the neoclassical theory and agency theory have inborn tendencies to use the resources of the company to their advantage. This prevails against a background where the endogenous economic growth theory hold the assumption that economic growth is an outcome of the overall performance of all companies within an economy. This suggest that corporate governance at firm level determine economic growth through its impact on the overall performance. Nevertheless, insight into literature suggest that efforts to promote corporate governance in countries across SSA since the 1980s to date have not yet yielded desired outcomes. The board responsibilities, shareholder rights, disclosure and transparency, protection of minority shareholder, and liability of directors were thus used as proxies of corporate governance because these are believed to be mechanisms that are believed to enhance company performance their effect on enhancing accountability and transparency. Using panel data techniques, corporate governance and economic growth data for 29 SSA countries from the period of 2008 to 2019 was analysed. The findings revealed declining economic growth trend despite an increase in corporate governance aspects such as director liability, shareholders’ rights, and protection of minority shareholder in SSA countries. These findings are in contradiction to the popularly held theoretical principles of economic growth and corporate governance. The study reached the conclusion thata nonlinearrelationship exists between corporate governance and economic growth within the selectedSSA countries during the period under investigation. This study thus recommends that measures should be taken to create conditions for corporate governance that would bolster significant positive contributions to economic growth in the region.

Keywords: corporate governance, economic growth, sub saharan Africa, agency theory, endogenous theory

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436 Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Cervical Cytology Features and Its Association with Endometrial Cancer

Authors: Faezah Shekh Abdullah, Mohd. Azizuddin Mohd. Yussof, Komathy Thiagarajan, Hasnoorina Husin, Noor Azreena Abd Aziz

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Polycystic ovary syndrome has been associated with multiple disorders such as endocrine disorder, metabolic syndrome, infertility, and endometrial cancer. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are anticipated to develop three times more chances for endometrial cancer than women without PCOS. This study, therefore, was conducted to determine the association between polycystic ovary syndrome and endometrial cancer and to determine the cervical cytology features of PCOS. Patients attending the Subfertility Clinic of the National Population and Family Development Board were recruited and examined physically by medical practitioners. They were categorized into two groups; i) the PCOS group if they met Rotterdam Criteria 2004 and ii) the control group if they did not meet Rotterdam Criteria 2004. Cervical sampling was done on all patients via the Liquid-Based Cytology (LBC) method in the pre-and post-subfertility treatment. A total of 167 patients participated in the study, of which 79 belonged to the PCOS group and 88 to the control group. The findings showed no cervical and endometrial cancer cases in both groups. The Liquid-Based Cytology results in the PCOS group displayed more cases with cellular changes, i.e., benign inflammation, atrophic smear and Candida sp. infection. To conclude, no association was found between polycystic ovary syndrome and endometrial cancer. A more holistic study with a higher number of participants can further determine the association between endometrial cancer and PCOS. Furthermore, a longer duration between LBC pre- and post-subfertility treatment should be implied to observe changes in the cervical cells.

Keywords: endometrial cancer, liquid-based cytology, PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome

Procedia PDF Downloads 140
435 Geographic Information System (GIS) for Structural Typology of Buildings

Authors: Néstor Iván Rojas, Wilson Medina Sierra

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Managing spatial information is described through a Geographic Information System (GIS), for some neighborhoods in the city of Tunja, in relation to the structural typology of the buildings. The use of GIS provides tools that facilitate the capture, processing, analysis and dissemination of cartographic information, product quality evaluation of the classification of buildings. Allows the development of a method that unifies and standardizes processes information. The project aims to generate a geographic database that is useful to the entities responsible for planning and disaster prevention and care for vulnerable populations, also seeks to be a basis for seismic vulnerability studies that can contribute in a study of urban seismic microzonation. The methodology consists in capturing the plat including road naming, neighborhoods, blocks and buildings, to which were added as attributes, the product of the evaluation of each of the housing data such as the number of inhabitants and classification, year of construction, the predominant structural systems, the type of mezzanine board and state of favorability, the presence of geo-technical problems, the type of cover, the use of each building, damage to structural and non-structural elements . The above data are tabulated in a spreadsheet that includes cadastral number, through which are systematically included in the respective building that also has that attribute. Geo-referenced data base is obtained, from which graphical outputs are generated, producing thematic maps for each evaluated data, which clearly show the spatial distribution of the information obtained. Using GIS offers important advantages for spatial information management and facilitates consultation and update. Usefulness of the project is recognized as a basis for studies on issues of planning and prevention.

Keywords: microzonation, buildings, geo-processing, cadastral number

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434 Parental Involvement and Students' Outcomes: A Study in a Special Education School in Singapore

Authors: E. Er, Y. S. Cheng

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The role of parents and caregivers in their children’s education is pivotal. Parental involvement (PI) is often associated with a range of student outcomes. This includes academic achievements, socioemotional development, adaptive skills, physical fitness and school attendance. This study is the first in Singapore to (1) explore the relationship between parental involvement and student outcomes; (2) determine the effects of family structure and socioeconomic status (SES) on parental involvement and (3) investigate factors that inform involvement in parents of children with specific developmental disabilities. Approval for the study was obtained from Nanyang Technological University’s Institutional Review Board in Singapore. The revised version of a comprehensive theoretical model on parental involvement was used as the theoretical framework in this study. Parents were recruited from a SPED school in Singapore which caters to school-aged children (7 to 21 years old). Pearson’s product moment correlation, analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses were used as statistical techniques in this study. Results indicate that there are significant associations between parental involvement and educational outcomes in students with developmental disabilities. Next, SES has a significant impact on levels of parental involvement. In addition, parents in the current study reported being more involved at home, in school activities and the community, when teachers specifically requested their involvement. Home-based involvement was also predicted by parents’ perceptions of their time and energy, efficacy and beliefs in supporting their child’s education, as well as their children’s invitations to be more involved. An interesting and counterintuitive inverse relationship was found between general school invitations and parental involvement at home. Research findings are further discussed, and suggestions are put forth to increase involvement for this specific group of parents.

Keywords: autism, developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, parental involvement, Singapore

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433 Polygamy in the Jewish and Western Tradition - Religion, Class and Tolerance

Authors: S. Zev Kalifon

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The question of polygamy for Moslem minorities in Western nations has often been raised in the political and social discourse. Can polygamy be tolerated as a religious or human right in the West. For example, before the 2015 election in Israel, changes were made in the electoral system, which encouraged three small Arab parties to merge into one list. This “Unity List” included the socially liberal Communist list and a socially conservative Islamist list. Two members of the Islamist list were polygamists. Some rival politicians called for the election board to disqualify these men (and even the whole list) from the election process. This request was denied by the courts, and the men were elected to the parliament. Their subsequent seating in the parliament was questioned by many on both the liberal and conservative sides of the political spectrum. Some political commentators went so far as to describe polygamy as a “mark of disgrace” (a term usually reserved for people convicted on corruption charges). There are also problems in other areas of society; these include the rights of these families for welfare and social services (public policy issues) and residence in Israel. Using qualitative methods (primarily historical and archival data), this paper will analyze at the historic and cultural processes which created the intense opposition to polygamy in Judaism (for Israel) and Christianity (for the Western world). It will look at the debate over the "religious right" of polygamy for Moslem citizens in Israel and other Western cultures. Finally, it will examine the political, cultural, and demographic pressures which encourage polygamy in these minorities. This paper will demonstrate that the debate over polygamy is more than a question of religious freedom or human rights or multi-culturalism. It is a central symbol of modernity and the Western worldview.

Keywords: human rights, Judaism, multi-culturalism, polygamy, western values

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
432 Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination for the Sustainable Management of Vulnerable Mangrove Ecosystem, the Sundarbans

Authors: S. Begum, T. Biswas, M. A. Islam

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The present research investigates the distribution and contamination of heavy metals in core sediments collected from three locations of the Sundarbans mangrove forest. In this research, quality of the analysis is evaluated by analyzing certified reference materials IAEA-SL-1 (lake sediment), IAEA-Soil-7, and NIST-1633b (coal fly ash). Total concentrations of 28 heavy metals (Na, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Ga, As, Sb, Cs, La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Yb, Hf, Ta, Th, and U) have determined in core sediments of the Sundarbans mangrove by neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique. When compared with upper continental crustal (UCC) values, it is observed that mean concentrations of K, Ti, Zn, Cs, La, Ce, Sm, Hf, and Th show elevated values in the research area is high. In this research, the assessments of metal contamination levels using different environmental contamination indices (EF, Igeo, CF) indicate that Ti, Sb, Cs, REEs, and Th have minor enrichment of the sediments of the Sundarbans. The modified degree of contamination (mCd) of studied samples of the Sundarbans ecosystem show low contamination. The pollution load index (PLI) values for the cores suggested that sampling points are moderately polluted. The possible sources of the deterioration of the sediment quality can be attributed to the different chemical carrying cargo accidents, port activities, ship breaking, agricultural and aquaculture run-off of the area. Pearson correlation matrix (PCM) established relationships among elements. The PCM indicates that most of the metal's distributions have been controlled by the same factors such as Fe-oxy-hydroxides and clay minerals, and also they have a similar origin. The poor correlations of Ca with most of the elements in the sediment cores indicate that calcium carbonate has a less significant role in this mangrove sediment. Finally, the data from this research will be used as a benchmark for future research and help to quantify levels of metal pollutions, as well as to manage future ecological risks of the vulnerable mangrove ecosystem, the Sundarbans.

Keywords: contamination, core sediment, trace element, sundarbans, vulnerable

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431 Effect of Treated Grey Water on Bacterial Concrete

Authors: Deepa T., Inchara S. R., Venkatesh S. V., Seema Tharannum

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Concrete is the most widely used structural material. It is usually made using locally available materials. However, concrete has low tensile strength and may crack in the early days with exothermic hydration, for which water is essential. To address the increased construction water demand, treated greywater may be used. Bacillus subtilis bacteria that form endospores is the biological agent considered in this study for biomineralization or Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) technique to heal cracks. Treated grey water which is obtained from STP of PES University, opted in place of Potable water, which had qualities within the standard range as per codal provisions. In this work, M30 grade conventional concrete is designed using OPC 53-grade cement, manufactured sand, natural coarse aggregates, and potable water. Conventional concrete (CC), bacterial concrete with potable water (BS), and treated grey water concrete (TGWBS) are the three different concrete specimens cast. Experimental studies such as the strength test and the surface hardness test are performed on conventional and bacterial concrete samples after 7, 28, and 56 days of curing. Concrete cubes are subjected to a temperature of 50° C to investigate the effect of higher temperature. Cracked cube specimens are observed for self-healing -as well as microstructure analysis with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), and X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD). Noticeable calcium salt deposition is observed on the surface of the BS and TGWBS cracked specimen. Surface hardness and the EDAX test gave promising results on the advantage of using spore-forming bacteria in concrete. This is followed by the strength gained in compression and flexure. Results also indicate that treated grey water can be a substitute for potable water in concrete.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis concrete, microstructure, temperature, treated greywater

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430 25 (OH)D3 Level and Obesity Type, and Its Effect on Renal Excretory Function in Patients with a Functioning Transplant

Authors: Magdalena Barbara Kaziuk, Waldemar Kosiba, Marek Jan Kuzniewski

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Introduction: Vitamin D3 has a proven pleiotropic effect, not only responsible for calcium and phosphate management, but also influencing normal functioning of the whole body. Aim: Evaluation of vitamin D3 resources and its effect on a nutritional status, obesity type and glomerular filtration in kidney transplant recipients. Methods: Group of 152 (81 women and 71 men, average age 47.8 ± 11.6 years) patients with a functioning renal transplant their body composition was assessed using the bioimpendance method (BIA) and anthropometric measurements more than 3 months after the transplant. The nutritional status and the obesity type were determined with the Waist to Height Ratio (WHtR) and the Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR). 25- Hydroxyvitamin D3 (25 (OH)D3) was determined, together with its correlation with the obesity type and the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated with the MDRD formula. Results: The mean 25 (OH)D3 level was 20.4 ng/ml. 30ng/ml was considered as a minimum correct level 22,7% of patients from the study group were classified to be a correct body weight, 56,7% of participants had an android type and 20,6% had a gynoid type. Significant correlation was observed between 25 (OH)D3 deficiency and abdominal obesity (p < 0.005) in patients. Furthermore, a statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between the 25 (OH)D3 levels and eGFR in patients after a kidney transplant. Patients with an android body type had lower eGFR versus those with the gynoid body type (p=0.004). Conclusions: Correct diet in patients after a kidney transplant determines minimum recommended serum levels of vitamin D3. Excessive fatty tissue, low levels of 25 (OH)D3), may be a predictor for android obesity and renal injury; therefore, correct diet and pharmacological management together with physical activities adapted to the physical fitness level of a patient are necessary.

Keywords: kidney transplantation, glomerular filtration rate, obesity, vitamin D3

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429 Microvoid Growth in the Interfaces during Aging

Authors: Jae-Yong Park, Gwancheol Seo, Young-Ho Kim

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Microvoids, sometimes called Kikendall voids, generally form in the interfaces between Sn-based solders and Cu and degrade the mechanical and electrical properties of the solder joints. The microvoid formation is known as the rapid interdiffusion between Sn and Cu and impurity content in the Cu. Cu electroplating from the acid solutions has been widely used by microelectronic packaging industry for both printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) applications. The quality of electroplated Cu that can be optimized by the electroplating conditions is critical for the solder joint reliability. In this paper, the influence of electroplating conditions on the microvoid growth in the interfaces between Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC) solder and Cu layer was investigated during isothermal aging. The Cu layers were electroplated by controlling the additive of electroplating bath and current density to induce various microvoid densities. The electroplating bath consisted of sulfate, sulfuric acid, and additives and the current density of 5-15 mA/cm2 for each bath was used. After aging at 180 °C for up to 250 h, typical bi-layer of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) was gradually growth at the SAC/Cu interface and microvoid density in the Cu3Sn showed disparities in the electroplating conditions. As the current density increased, the microvoid formation was accelerated in all electroplating baths. The higher current density induced, the higher impurity content in the electroplated Cu. When the polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Cl- ion were mixed in an electroplating bath, the microvoid formation was the highest compared to other electroplating baths. On the other hand, the overall IMC thickness was similar in all samples irrespective of the electroplating conditions. Impurity content in electroplated Cu influenced the microvoid growth, but the IMC growth was not affected by the impurity content. In conclusion, the electroplated conditions are properly optimized to avoid the excessive microvoid formation that results in brittle fracture of solder joint under high strain rate loading.

Keywords: electroplating, additive, microvoid, intermetallic compound

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428 Macronutrient Accumulation and Partitioning for Six Wheat Genotypes Grown at Contrasting Nitrogen Supply

Authors: E. Chakwizira, D. J. Moot, M. Andrews, E. Teixeira

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Partitioning of macro-nutrients in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plant organs have not been extensively studied, particularly for modern genotypes grown under contrasting N supply. Nutrient accumulation and partitioning of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur (P, K, Ca, Mg and S) were determined for six wheat genotypes [12S2-2021, 12S3-3019, 13S3-2026, Discovery, Duchess and Reliance] grown with (200 kg/ha) or without (0 kg/ha) nitrogen (N), in a fully irrigated field experiment in 2017-18 season at Lincoln, New Zealand. Data were collected at three growth stages (GS): tillering (GS21), anthesis (GS60) and grain maturity (GS92). Grain yield varied with both N and genotype; from 6-7.5 t/ha for the 0 kg N/ha crops and 8.1-9.3 t/ha for the 200 kg N/ha treatments. Plant nutrient uptake at maturity responded to both N supply and genotype for all nutrients, except S which did not differ among the genotypes. For example, total P uptake averaged 13.5 (12.4-14.3) kg/ha for the 0 kg N/ha treatments and 17.8 (15.1-19.7) kg/ha when 200 kg N/ha was applied. Similarly, K uptake increased from an average of 23 (21.6-25.3) for the 0 kg N/ha treatments to 34.3 (32.4-40.8) kg/ha when 200 kg N/ha was applied. Similar trends were observed for Ca and Mg. The S content only responded to N supply but not to genotype, increasing from 7.9 kg/ha for the 0 kg N treatments to 12.8 kg/ha when 200 kg N was applied. Relative nutrient content at anthesis compared with those at maturity were 30% for P, 100% for both K and Ca and 34% of Mg. Sulphur content at anthesis decreased 29% with N supply and was highest for genotypes 12S2-2021 compared with the other five genotype. At grain maturity, the ratio of nutrients in grain to total plant nutrient, defined as the nutrient harvest index (NHI) varied with both N supply and genotype. Averaged across treatments, the NHI was 0.96 for P, 0.53 for K, 0.58 for Ca, 0.90 for Mg and 0.85 for S. These results suggest that Ca and K should be provided earlier in the season as there is limited or no uptake after anthesis. These results also show that Ca and K are important for structural functions, while P, Mg and S are remobilised to the grains and become important for quality.

Keywords: anthesis, genotype, nutrient harvests index, NHI, Triticum aestivum L.

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427 Design and Construction Validation of Pile Performance through High Strain Pile Dynamic Tests for both Contiguous Flight Auger and Drilled Displacement Piles

Authors: S. Pirrello

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Sydney’s booming real estate market has pushed property developers to invest in historically “no-go” areas, which were previously too expensive to develop. These areas are usually near rivers where the sites are underlain by deep alluvial and estuarine sediments. In these ground conditions, conventional bored pile techniques are often not competitive. Contiguous Flight Auger (CFA) and Drilled Displacement (DD) Piles techniques are on the other hand suitable for these ground conditions. This paper deals with the design and construction challenges encountered with these piling techniques for a series of high-rise towers in Sydney’s West. The advantages of DD over CFA piles such as reduced overall spoil with substantial cost savings and achievable rock sockets in medium strength bedrock are discussed. Design performances were assessed with PIGLET. Pile performances are validated in two stages, during constructions with the interpretation of real-time data from the piling rigs’ on-board computer data, and after construction with analyses of results from high strain pile dynamic testing (PDA). Results are then presented and discussed. High Strain testing data are presented as Case Pile Wave Analysis Program (CAPWAP) analyses.

Keywords: contiguous flight auger (CFA) , DEFPIG, case pile wave analysis program (CAPWAP), drilled displacement piles (DD), pile dynamic testing (PDA), PIGLET, PLAXIS, repute, pile performance

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426 Raman Spectroscopic of Cardioprotective Mechanism During the Metabolic Inhibition of Heart Cells

Authors: A. Almohammedi, A. J. Hudson, N. M. Storey

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Following ischaemia/reperfusion injury, as in a myocardial infraction, cardiac myocytes undergo oxidative stress which leads to several potential outcomes including; necrotic or apoptotic cell death or dysregulated calcium homeostasis or disruption of the electron transport chain. Several studies have shown that nitric oxide donors protect cardiomyocytes against ischemia and reperfusion. However until present, the mechanism of cardioprotective effect of nitric oxide donor in isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes is not fully understood and has not been investigated before using Raman spectroscopy. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to develop a novel technique, pre-resonance Raman spectroscopy, to investigate the mechanism of cardioprotective effect of nitric oxide donor in isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes exposed to metabolic inhibition and re-energisation. The results demonstrated the first time that Raman microspectroscopy technique has the capability to monitor the metabolic inhibition of cardiomyocytes and to monitor the effectiveness of cardioprotection by nitric oxide donor prior to metabolic inhibition of cardiomyocytes. Metabolic inhibition and reenergisation were used in this study to mimic the low and high oxygen levels experienced by cells during ischaemic and reperfusion treatments. A laser wavelength of 488 nm used in this study has been found to provide the most sensitive means of observe the cellular mechanisms of myoglobin during nitric oxide donor preconditioning, metabolic inhibition and re-energisation and did not cause any damage to the cells. The data also highlight the considerably different cellular responses to metabolic inhibition to ischaemia. Moreover, the data has been shown the relationship between the release of myoglobin and chemical ischemia where that the release of myoglobin from the cell only occurred if a cell did not recover contractility.

Keywords: ex vivo biospectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, biophotonics, cardiomyocytes, ischaemia / reperfusion injury, cardioprotection, nitric oxide donor

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425 A Multivariate Statistical Approach for Water Quality Assessment of River Hindon, India

Authors: Nida Rizvi, Deeksha Katyal, Varun Joshi

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River Hindon is an important river catering the demand of highly populated rural and industrial cluster of western Uttar Pradesh, India. Water quality of river Hindon is deteriorating at an alarming rate due to various industrial, municipal and agricultural activities. The present study aimed at identifying the pollution sources and quantifying the degree to which these sources are responsible for the deteriorating water quality of the river. Various water quality parameters, like pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, chloride, nitrate, sulphate, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and total alkalinity were assessed. Water quality data obtained from eight study sites for one year has been subjected to the two multivariate techniques, namely, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Principal component analysis was applied with the aim to find out spatial variability and to identify the sources responsible for the water quality of the river. Three Varifactors were obtained after varimax rotation of initial principal components using principal component analysis. Cluster analysis was carried out to classify sampling stations of certain similarity, which grouped eight different sites into two clusters. The study reveals that the anthropogenic influence (municipal, industrial, waste water and agricultural runoff) was the major source of river water pollution. Thus, this study illustrates the utility of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and elucidation of multifaceted data sets, recognition of pollution sources/factors and understanding temporal/spatial variations in water quality for effective river water quality management.

Keywords: cluster analysis, multivariate statistical techniques, river Hindon, water quality

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424 Oral Lichen Planus a Manifestation of Grinspan's Syndrome or a Lichenoid Reaction to Medication

Authors: Sahar Iqrar, Malik Adeel Anwar, Zain Akram, Maria Noor

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Introduction: Oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory condition of unknown etiology. Oral lichen planus may be related with several other diseases. Grinspan's Syndrome is characterized by a triad of oral lichen planus, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Other associations reported in the literature are with chronic liver disease and, with dyslipidemia. The nature of these associations is still not fully understood. Material and methods: Study was conducted in Department of Oral Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan. A total of n=89 clinically diagnosed patients of oral lichen planus of both gender and all age groups were recruited and detailed history were recorded in the designed performs. Results: A total of n=89 patients were taken with male to female ratio of 3:8 in which 24 were male and 65 females. Mean age was 48.8 ± 13.8 years. Age range of 10-74 years was seen. Among these patients suffering from oral lichen planus, 41.6% (n=37) had a positive history for hypertension with 59.5% (n=22) of these patients were taking different medication for their condition. Whereas Diabetes Mellitus was found in 24.7% (n=22) patients with 72.7% (n=16) of these patients using the hypoglycemic drug (oral or injectable) to control their blood glucose levels. Out of these n=89 lichen planus patients 21.3% had both hypertension and diabetes mellitus (fulfilling the criteria for Grinspan's Syndrome). Out of this Grinspan's Syndrome pool 94.7% (n=19) were taking drug atleast for one of the two conditions. Conclusion: As noticed form the medical history of the patients, most of them were using hypoglycemic drugs for diabetes mellitus and beta blockers, diuretics and calcium channel blockers for hypertension. These drugs are known for lichenoid reaction. Therefore, it should be ruled out at histopathological/ immunological and molecular level whether these patients are suffering from lichen planus or lichenoid drug reaction to truly declare them as patients with Grinspan’s Syndrome.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, grinspan's syndrome, lichenoid drug reaction, oral lichen planus

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423 Deproteinization of Moroccan Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) Scales: A Pilot-Scale Study

Authors: F. Bellali, M. Kharroubi, Y. Rady, N. Bourhim

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In Morocco, fish processing industry is an important source income for a large amount of by-products including skins, bones, heads, guts, and scales. Those underutilized resources particularly scales contain a large amount of proteins and calcium. Sardina plichardus scales from resulting from the transformation operation have the potential to be used as raw material for the collagen production. Taking into account this strong expectation of the regional fish industry, scales sardine upgrading is well justified. In addition, political and societal demands for sustainability and environment-friendly industrial production systems, coupled with the depletion of fish resources, drive this trend forward. Therefore, fish scale used as a potential source to isolate collagen has a wide large of applications in food, cosmetic, and biomedical industry. The main aim of this study is to isolate and characterize the acid solubilize collagen from sardine fish scale, Sardina pilchardus. Experimental design methodology was adopted in collagen processing for extracting optimization. The first stage of this work is to investigate the optimization conditions of the sardine scale deproteinization on using response surface methodology (RSM). The second part focus on the demineralization with HCl solution or EDTA. And the last one is to establish the optimum condition for the isolation of collagen from fish scale by solvent extraction. The advancement from lab scale to pilot scale is a critical stage in the technological development. In this study, the optimal condition for the deproteinization which was validated at laboratory scale was employed in the pilot scale procedure. The deproteinization of fish scale was then demonstrated on a pilot scale (2Kg scales, 20l NaOH), resulting in protein content (0,2mg/ml) and hydroxyproline content (2,11mg/l). These results indicated that the pilot-scale showed similar performances to those of lab-scale one.

Keywords: deproteinization, pilot scale, scale, sardine pilchardus

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422 Ecosystem Modeling along the Western Bay of Bengal

Authors: A. D. Rao, Sachiko Mohanty, R. Gayathri, V. Ranga Rao

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Modeling on coupled physical and biogeochemical processes of coastal waters is vital to identify the primary production status under different natural and anthropogenic conditions. About 7, 500 km length of Indian coastline is occupied with number of semi enclosed coastal bodies such as estuaries, inlets, bays, lagoons, and other near shore, offshore shelf waters, etc. This coastline is also rich in wide varieties of ecosystem flora and fauna. Directly/indirectly extensive domestic and industrial sewage enter into these coastal water bodies affecting the ecosystem character and create environment problems such as water quality degradation, hypoxia, anoxia, harmful algal blooms, etc. lead to decline in fishery and other related biological production. The present study is focused on the southeast coast of India, starting from Pulicat to Gulf of Mannar, which is rich in marine diversity such as lagoon, mangrove and coral ecosystem. Three dimensional Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) along with Darwin biogeochemical module is configured for the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) to study the biogeochemistry over this region. The biogeochemical module resolves the cycling of carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, silica, iron and oxygen through inorganic, living, dissolved and particulate organic phases. The model domain extends from 4°N-16.5°N and 77°E-86°E with a horizontal resolution of 1 km. The bathymetry is derived from General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which has a resolution of 30 sec. The model is initialized by using the temperature, salinity filed from the World Ocean Atlas (WOA2013) of National Oceanographic Data Centre with a resolution of 0.25°. The model is forced by the surface wind stress from ASCAT and the photosynthetically active radiation from the MODIS-Aqua satellite. Seasonal climatology of nutrients (phosphate, nitrate and silicate) for the southwest BoB region are prepared using available National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in-situ data sets and compared with the WOA2013 seasonal climatology data. The model simulations with the two different initial conditions viz., WOA2013 and the generated NIO climatology, showed evident changes in the concentration and the evolution of the nutrients in the study region. It is observed that the availability of nutrients is more in NIO data compared to WOA in the model domain. The model simulated primary productivity is compared with the spatially distributed satellite derived chlorophyll data and at various locations with the in-situ data. The seasonal variability of the model simulated primary productivity is also studied.

Keywords: Bay of Bengal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model, MITgcm, biogeochemistry, primary productivity

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421 INNPT Nano Particles Material Technology as Enhancement Technology for Biological WWTP Performance and Capacity

Authors: Medhat Gad

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Wastewater treatment became a big issue in this decade due to shortage of water resources, growth of population and modern live requirements. Reuse of treated wastewater in industrial and agriculture sectors has a big demand to substitute the shortage of clean water supply as well as to save the eco system from dangerous pollutants in insufficient treated wastewater In last decades, most of wastewater treatment plants are built using primary or secondary biological treatment technology which almost does not provide enough treatment and removal of phosphorus and nitrogen. those plants which built ten to 15 years ago also now suffering from overflow which decrease the treatment efficiency of the plant. Discharging treated wastewater which contains phosphorus and nitrogen to water reservoirs and irrigation canals destroy ecosystem and aquatic life. Using chemical material to enhance treatment efficiency for domestic wastewater but it leads to huge amount of sludge which cost a lot of money. To enhance wastewater treatment, we used INNPT nano material which consists of calcium, aluminum and iron oxides and compounds plus silica, sodium and magnesium. INNPT nano material used with a dose of 100 mg/l to upgrade SBR treatment plant in Cairo Egypt -which has three treatment tanks each with a capacity of 2500 cubic meters per day - to tertiary treatment level by removing Phosphorus, Nitrogen and increase dissolved oxygen in final effluent. The results showed that the treatment retention time decreased from 9 hours in SBR system to one hour using INNPT nano material with improvement in effluent quality while increasing plant capacity to 20 k cubic meters per day. Nitrogen removal efficiency achieved 77%, while phosphorus removal efficiency achieved 90% and COD removal efficiency was 93% which all comply with tertiary treatment limits according to Egyptian law.

Keywords: INNPT technology, nanomaterial, tertiary wastewater treatment, capacity extending

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420 An Appraisal of Grade 12 Educators’ Difficulties in Understanding Electric Circuits in South Africa: A Case Study of Umgungundlovu District of Kwazulu-Natal

Authors: Akinrogunde Omolere Moses

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A plethora of studies indicated that teaching and learning of the physical sciences in the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase (Grades 10–12) have long been declared problematic in South Africa. For instance, the results from the National Senior Certificate Matric Examination in Physical Sciences, especially in the questions related to practical skills, more specifically, electric circuits, have been unsatisfactory in the past decades. Learner difficulties in understanding electric circuits are well stated. Thus, this study appraised the difficulties Grade 12 Educators often face in understanding Electric Circuits in Umgungundlovu, District of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. A mixed-methods research methodology was employed, while a total of 30 schools were sampled, including Ex-Model C, Independent Exam Board, community, rural, and deep rural schools. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires. The findings revealed that a large percentage of the Grade 12 physical sciences educators have difficulties with the Grade 9 and 12 physical sciences content. It was also observed that most of the educators who had difficulties were unable to detect the type of difficulties learners would experience; as a result, they were unable to explain why learners experience such difficulties. The results also showed that only those educators with more experience in teaching the physical sciences were able to provide clearer explanations of both the why and how of dealing with learner difficulties with this section on electric circuits. The study recommended that there is a need to recruit more qualified educators, with at least a Bachelor of Science in Physics in particular, in order to combat the misconceptions. Also, Educators with an inadequate understanding of physical sciences should be orientated in order to meet the standard of classroom practice.

Keywords: grade 12 educators' difficulties, electric circuits, learners' difficulties, educators understanding of EC.

Procedia PDF Downloads 23
419 Action Potential of Lateral Geniculate Neurons at Low Threshold Currents: Simulation Study

Authors: Faris Tarlochan, Siva Mahesh Tangutooru

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Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) is the relay center in the visual pathway as it receives most of the input information from retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and sends to visual cortex. Low threshold calcium currents (IT) at the membrane are the unique indicator to characterize this firing functionality of the LGN neurons gained by the RGC input. According to the LGN functional requirements such as functional mapping of RGC to LGN, the morphologies of the LGN neurons were developed. During the neurological disorders like glaucoma, the mapping between RGC and LGN is disconnected and hence stimulating LGN electrically using deep brain electrodes can restore the functionalities of LGN. A computational model was developed for simulating the LGN neurons with three predominant morphologies, each representing different functional mapping of RGC to LGN. The firings of action potentials at LGN neuron due to IT were characterized by varying the stimulation parameters, morphological parameters and orientation. A wide range of stimulation parameters (stimulus amplitude, duration and frequency) represents the various strengths of the electrical stimulation with different morphological parameters (soma size, dendrites size and structure). The orientation (0-1800) of LGN neuron with respect to the stimulating electrode represents the angle at which the extracellular deep brain stimulation towards LGN neuron is performed. A reduced dendrite structure was used in the model using Bush–Sejnowski algorithm to decrease the computational time while conserving its input resistance and total surface area. The major finding is that an input potential of 0.4 V is required to produce the action potential in the LGN neuron which is placed at 100 µm distance from the electrode. From this study, it can be concluded that the neuroprostheses under design would need to consider the capability of inducing at least 0.4V to produce action potentials in LGN.

Keywords: Lateral Geniculate Nucleus, visual cortex, finite element, glaucoma, neuroprostheses

Procedia PDF Downloads 268
418 Nutritional Composition of Maize-Based Snack Fortified with Kidney Beans and Alligator Pepper

Authors: B. E. Adeyanju, M. K. Bolade, V. N. Enijuigha

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This work examined the nutritional composition of maize-based snack (kango) fortified with kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and alligator pepper (Aframomum melegueta). The snack is essentially traditional food being consumed by all ages in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Three varieties of maize were obtained from the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, Nigeria, namely: ART-98-SW06-W, Br 9943-DMR-SR-W and SUWAN-1-SR-Y. Flour blends were obtained using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) which resulted in appropriate blending ratios of maize, kidney beans and alligator pepper. Kango was prepared by milling maize grain into flour; ingredients such as pepper, onion, salt and water were added to the maize flour, mixed together to make a slurry. The slurry was fried in hot groundnut oil at a temperature of 126°C for 8 minutes. The incorporation of kidney bean and alligator pepper in maize flour was observed to increase the water and oil absorption capacities of the resultant blends thereby giving 109.21 to 156.90 ml/mg and 110.68 to 136.67 ml/mg respectively for kango. The pasting properties of the maize flour blends were also enhanced due to the incorporation of kidney bean and alligator pepper. The peak viscosity of the flour blends ranged from 3.24 to 7.67 RVU. The incorporation of kidney bean and alligator pepper in the production of the snacks increased the protein contents from 9.63 to 16.37%. The mineral contents (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc) of the snacks were equally increased due to the incorporation of kidney bean and alligator pepper. A general increase was observed for vitamin B1 (0.69- 1.25 mg/100g), B2 (0.09 - 0.46 mg/100g) and B3 (0.11 - 0.72 mg/100g) in the snacks due to the incorporation of kidney bean and alligator pepper. This research work showed that kango produced from the composited maize flour, kidney bean and alligator pepper had better functional properties and higher nutritional contents.

Keywords: functional properties, kango, nutritional composition, snack

Procedia PDF Downloads 159
417 A Study of Fatigue Life Estimation of a Modular Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by Developing a Structural Health Monitoring System

Authors: Zain Ul Hassan, Muhammad Zain Ul Abadin, Muhammad Zubair Khan

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have now become of predominant importance for various operations, and an immense amount of work is going on in this specific category. The structural stability and life of these UAVs is key factor that should be considered while deploying them to different intelligent operations as their failure leads to loss of sensitive real-time data and cost. This paper presents an applied research on the development of a structural health monitoring system for a UAV designed and fabricated by deploying modular approach. Firstly, a modular UAV has been designed which allows to dismantle and to reassemble the components of the UAV without effecting the whole assembly of UAV. This novel approach makes the vehicle very sustainable and decreases its maintenance cost to a significant value by making possible to replace only the part leading to failure. Then the SHM for the designed architecture of the UAV had been specified as a combination of wings integrated with strain gauges, on-board data logger, bridge circuitry and the ground station. For the research purpose sensors have only been attached to the wings being the most load bearing part and as per analysis was done on ANSYS. On the basis of analysis of the load time spectrum obtained by the data logger during flight, fatigue life of the respective component has been predicted using fracture mechanics techniques of Rain Flow Method and Miner’s Rule. Thus allowing us to monitor the health of a specified component time to time aiding to avoid any failure.

Keywords: fracture mechanics, rain flow method, structural health monitoring system, unmanned aerial vehicle

Procedia PDF Downloads 291
416 Optical and Structural Characterization of Rare Earth Doped Phosphate Glasses

Authors: Zélia Maria Da Costa Ludwig, Maria José Valenzuela Bell, Geraldo Henriques Da Silva, Thales Alves Faraco, Victor Rocha Da Silva, Daniel Rotmeister Teixeira, Vírgilio De Carvalho Dos Anjos, Valdemir Ludwig

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Advances in telecommunications grow with the development of optical amplifiers based on rare earth ions. The focus has been concentrated in silicate glasses although their amplified spontaneous emission is limited to a few tens of nanometers (~ 40nm). Recently, phosphate glasses have received great attention due to their potential application in optical data transmission, detection, sensors and laser detector, waveguide and optical fibers, besides its excellent physical properties such as high thermal expansion coefficients and low melting temperature. Compared with the silica glasses, phosphate glasses provide different optical properties such as, large transmission window of infrared, and good density. Research on the improvement of physical and chemical durability of phosphate glass by addition of heavy metals oxides in P2O5 has been performed. The addition of Na2O further improves the solubility of rare earths, while increasing the Al2O3 links in the P2O5 tetrahedral results in increased durability and aqueous transition temperature and a decrease of the coefficient of thermal expansion. This work describes the structural and spectroscopic characterization of a phosphate glass matrix doped with different Er (Erbium) concentrations. The phosphate glasses containing Er3+ ions have been prepared by melt technique. A study of the optical absorption, luminescence and lifetime was conducted in order to characterize the infrared emission of Er3+ ions at 1540 nm, due to the radiative transition 4I13/2 → 4I15/2. Our results indicate that the present glass is a quite good matrix for Er3+ ions, and the quantum efficiency of the 1540 nm emission was high. A quenching mechanism for the mentioned luminescence was not observed up to 2,0 mol% of Er concentration. The Judd-Ofelt parameters, radiative lifetime and quantum efficiency have been determined in order to evaluate the potential of Er3+ ions in new phosphate glass. The parameters follow the trend as Ω2 > Ω4 > Ω6. It is well known that the parameter Ω2 is an indication of the dominant covalent nature and/or structural changes in the vicinity of the ion (short range effects), while Ω4 and Ω6 intensity parameters are long range parameters that can be related to the bulk properties such as viscosity and rigidity of the glass. From the PL measurements, no red or green upconversion was measured when pumping the samples with laser excitation at 980 nm. As future prospects: Synthesize this glass system with silver in order to determine the influence of silver nanoparticles on the Er3+ ions.

Keywords: phosphate glass, erbium, luminescence, glass system

Procedia PDF Downloads 505
415 A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of the Lack of Racial, Sexual, and Gender Diversity among Top Dermatologist Influencers on TikTok

Authors: Madison Meyer

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Dermatological conditions are one of the most viewed medical subjects on the social media platform TikTok, resulting in the rise of several prominent American board-certified dermatologists as influencers. Notably, dermatology is one of the least diverse specialties. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess individuals’ preferences related to race, gender, and sexual identity of doctors in terms of dermatology-related information on TikTok and which group posts more reliable information. This study qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the racial, gender, and sexual diversity of the top 55 dermatologist influencers on TikTok based on their follower count. The DISCERN tool was used to determine the reliability of consumer health content based on a score ranging from 1-5. Among the top 55 dermatologist influencers, African American (54,241.60) and Latinx (6,696) groups had the lowest mean number of followers compared to Caucasian (1,046,298.50) and Asian (1,403,393.50) physicians. Latinx and African American dermatologists had the highest DISCERN scores of 2 and 1.9, respectively. None of the physicians identified as a different gender or as LGBTQIA+ in any racial category. There is a considerable lack of minority dermatologist influencers on TikTok, especially Latinx, African American, and LGBTQIA+ physicians. The lack of diversity in the dermatology specialty can lead to inequitable care and health outcomes for racial/ethnic, gender, and sexual minority patient populations. This study’s findings also suggest Latinx and African American dermatologists post more reliable content compared with their Caucasian and Asian counterparts.

Keywords: dermatology, social media, sexual and gender minorities, racial minorities, skin of color, tiktok

Procedia PDF Downloads 76
414 Gender and Geographical Disparity in Editorial Boards of Lithuanian Scientific Journals: An Overview of Different Science Disciplines

Authors: Andrius Suminas

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Editors-in-chief and members of editorial boards of scientific journals play an extremely important role in the development of science and assure research integrity, as scientific publications are the major results of research. While gender parity in tenure-track hiring decisions and promotion rates has improved, female academics remain underrepresented in senior career phases, including editors-in-chief and members of editorial boards positions of scientific journals. Journal editors and members of editorial boards exert considerable power over what is published and in certain cases the direction of an academic discipline and the career advancement of authors. For this reason it is important to minimize biases extrinsic to the merit of the work impacting publication decisions. One way to achieve this is to ensure a diverse pool of editors and members of editorial boards, ensuring the widest possible coverage of different competencies. This is in line with a diversity model of editorial appointment where editorial boards are structured to dismantle wider conditions of inequality. Another possible option, a distributive model would seek an editorial board reflective of existing proportions in the field at large. Paper presents comprehensive results of Lithuanian scientific journals study. During the research process were reviewed publicly available information from all scientific journals published in Lithuania to infer the proportions of members of editorial boards by gender and country of affiliation. The results of the study revealed differences the proportions of male and female members of editorial boards in different disciplines of science, as well as clear geographical disparity in Lithianian scientific journals editorial boards.

Keywords: scientific journals, editorial boards of scientific journals, gender disparity, geographical disparity, scientific communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 91
413 WWSE School Development in German Christian Schools Revisited: Organizational Development Taken to a Test

Authors: Marco Sewald

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WWSE School Development (Wahrnehmungs- und wertorientierte Schulentwicklung) contains surveys on pupils, teachers and parents and enables schools to align the development to the requirements mentioned by these three stakeholders. WWSE includes a derivative set of questions for Christian schools, meeting their specific needs. The conducted research on WWSE is reflecting contemporary questions on school development, questioning the quality of the implementation of the results of past surveys, delivered by WWSE School Development in Christian schools in Germany. The research focused on questions connected to organizational development, including leadership and change management. This is done contoured to the two other areas of WWSE: human resources development and development of school teaching methods. The chosen research methods are: (1) A quantitative triangulation on three sets of data. Data from a past evaluation taken in 2011, data from a second evaluation covering the same school conducted in 2014 and a structured survey among the teachers, headmasters and members of the school board taken within the research. (2) Interviews with teachers and headmasters have been conducted during the research as a second stage to fortify the result of the quantitative first stage. Results: WWSE is supporting modern school development. While organizational development, leadership, and change management are proofed to be important for modern school development, these areas are widespread underestimated by teachers and headmasters. Especially in comparison to the field of human resource development and to an even bigger extent in comparison to the area of development of school teaching methods. The research concluded, that additional efforts in the area of organizational development are necessary to meet modern demands and the research also shows which areas are the most important ones.

Keywords: school as a social organization, school development, school leadership, WWSE, Wahrnehmungs- und wertorientierte Schulentwicklung

Procedia PDF Downloads 219
412 Characteristics of the Particle Size Distribution and Exposure Concentrations of Nanoparticles Generated from the Laser Metal Deposition Process

Authors: Yu-Hsuan Liu, Ying-Fang Wang

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The objectives of the present study are to characterize nanoparticles generated from the laser metal deposition (LMD) process and to estimate particle concentrations deposited in the head (H), that the tracheobronchial (TB) and alveolar (A) regions, respectively. The studied LMD chamber (3.6m × 3.8m × 2.9m) is installed with a robot laser metal deposition machine. Direct-reading instrument of a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS, Model 3082, TSI Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA) was used to conduct static sampling inside the chamber for nanoparticle number concentration and particle size distribution measurements. The SMPS obtained particle number concentration at every 3 minutes, the diameter of the SMPS ranged from 11~372 nm when the aerosol and sheath flow rates were set at 0.6 and 6 L / min, respectively. The resultant size distributions were used to predict depositions of nanoparticles at the H, TB, and A regions of the respiratory tract using the UK National Radiological Protection Board’s (NRPB’s) LUDEP Software. Result that the number concentrations of nanoparticles in indoor background and LMD chamber were 4.8×10³ and 4.3×10⁵ # / cm³, respectively. However, the nanoparticles emitted from the LMD process was in the form of the uni-modal with number median diameter (NMD) and geometric standard deviation (GSD) as 142nm and 1.86, respectively. The fractions of the nanoparticles deposited on the alveolar region (A: 69.8%) were higher than the other two regions of the head region (H: 10.9%), tracheobronchial region (TB: 19.3%). This study conducted static sampling to measure the nanoparticles in the LMD process, and the results show that the fraction of particles deposited on the A region was higher than the other two regions. Therefore, applying the characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from LMD process could be provided valuable scientific-based evidence for exposure assessments in the future.

Keywords: exposure assessment, laser metal deposition process, nanoparticle, respiratory region

Procedia PDF Downloads 280
411 Study on the Effect of Different Media on Green Roof Water Retention

Authors: Chen Zhi-Wei, Hsieh Wei-Fang

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Taiwan annual rainfall is global average of 2.5 times, plus city excessive development, green constantly to reduced, instead of is big area of artificial base disc, makes Taiwan rainy season during occurred of storm cannot timely of emissions, led to flood constantly, and rain also cannot was retained again using, led to city hydrological balance suffered damage, and to Regulation city of by brings of negative effect, increased green covered rate became most effective of method, and city land limited, so roof green gradually became a alternative program. Green roofs have become one of the Central and local government policy initiatives for urban development, in foreign countries, such as the United States, and Japan, and Singapore etc. Development of roof greening as an important policy, has become a trend of the times. In recent years, many experts and scholars are also on the roof greening all aspects of research, mostly for green roof for the environmental impact of benefits, such as: carbon reduction, cooling, thermostat, but research on the benefits of green roofs under water cut but it is rare. Therefore, this research literature from green roof in to view and analyze what kind of medium suitable for roof greening and use of green base plate combination simulated green roof structure, via different proportions of the medium with water retention plate and drainage board, experiment with different planting base plate combination of water conservation performance. Research will want to test the effect of roof planting base mix, promotion of relevant departments and agencies in future implementation of green roofs, prompted the development of green roofs, which in the end Taiwan achieve sustainable development of the urban environment help.

Keywords: thin-layer roof greening and planting medium, water efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 344
410 Investigation Into the Effects of Egg Shells Powder and Groundnut Husk Ash on the Properties of Concrete

Authors: Usman B.M., Basheer O. B., . Ahmed A., Amali N. U., Taufeeq O.

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This study presents an investigation into the improvement of strength properties of concrete using egg shell powder (ESP) and groundnut husk ash (GHA) as additives so as to reduce its high cost and find alternative disposal method for agricultural waste. A standard consistency test was carried out on the egg shell powder and groundnut husk ash. A prescribed concrete mix ratio of 1:2:4 concrete cubes (150mm by 150mm) and water-cement ratio of 0.6 were casted. A total of One hundred and forty four (144) cubes were cast and cured for 3, 7 and 28 days and compressive strength subsequently determined in comparison with the relevant specifications. Consistency test on the cement paste at the various concentrations exhibited an increase in the setting time as the concentration increases with the highest value recorded at 5% egg shell powder and groundnut husk ash concentration as 219 minutes for the initial setting time and 275 minutes for the final setting time as against the control specimen of 159 minutes and 234 minutes for both initial and final setting times respectively. The results of the investigations showed that GHA was predominantly of Silicon oxide (56.73%) and a combined SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ content of 66.75%; and the result of the investigations showed that ESP was predominantly of Calcium oxide (52.75%) and a combined SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ content of 3.86%. The addition of GHA and ESP in concrete showed slight different in compressive strength with increase in GHA and ESP additive up to 5% and high decrease in compressive strength with further increase in GHA and ESP content. The 28 days compressive strength of the concrete cubes; compared with that of the control; showed a slight increase. Thus the use of GHA and ESP as partial replacement of cement will provide an economic use of by-product and consequently produce a cheaper concrete construction without comprising its strength

Keywords: additive, concrete, eggshell powder, groundnut husk ash compressive strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 128
409 DOG1 Expression Is in Common Human Tumors: A Tissue Microarray Study on More than 15,000 Tissue Samples

Authors: Kristina Jansen, Maximilian Lennartz, Patrick Lebok, Guido Sauter, Ronald Simon, David Dum, Stefan Steurer

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DOG1 (Discovered on GIST1) is a voltage-gated calcium-activated chloride and bicarbonate channel that is highly expressed in interstitial cells of Cajal and in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) derived from Cajal cells. To systematically determine in what tumor entities and normal tissue types DOG1 may be further expressed, a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 15,965 samples from 121 different tumor types and subtypes as well as 608 samples of 76 different normal tissue types were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. DOG1 immunostaining was found in 67 tumor types, including GIST (95.7%), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (31.9%), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (33.6%), adenocarcinoma of the Papilla Vateri (20%), squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva (15.8%) and the oral cavity (15.3%), mucinous ovarian cancer (15.3%), esophageal adenocarcinoma (12.5%), endometrioid endometrial cancer (12.1%), neuroendocrine carcinoma of the colon (11.1%) and diffuse gastric adenocarcinoma (11%). Low level-DOG1 immunostaining was seen in 17 additional tumor entities. DOG1 expression was unrelated to histopathological parameters of tumor aggressiveness and/or patient prognosis in cancers of the breast (n=1,002), urinary bladder (975), ovary (469), endometrium (173), stomach (233), and thyroid gland (512). High DOG1 expression was linked to estrogen receptor expression in breast cancer (p<0.0001) and the absence of HPV infection in squamous cell carcinomas (p=0.0008). In conclusion, our data identify several tumor entities that can show DOG1 expression levels at similar levels as in GIST. Although DOG1 is tightly linked to a diagnosis of GIST in spindle cell tumors, the differential diagnosis is much broader in DOG1 positive epithelioid neoplasms.

Keywords: biomarker, DOG1, immunohistochemistry, tissue microarray

Procedia PDF Downloads 210
408 Juvenile Justice Reforms for the 21st Century: Promising Approaches in Bangladesh

Authors: Nahid Ferdousi

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Juvenile justice is a key component of the child rights to keep the best interest and completely different from criminal justice. After independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Children Act 1974 and the Children Rules 1976 were considered as the basic law for juvenile justice which written before many international instruments on children’s rights came into existence, did not align with the international mandate set by those instruments. These Acts were not really child rights-based and modern concept such as diversion, restorative justice and community-based rehabilitation has not developed accordingly. In this backdrop, government has enacted the new Children Act 2013 and introduced extensive reforms to the juvenile justice system in Bangladesh. The Act has been adopted with the provisions for child-friendly juvenile courts in each district and different kinds of child-oriented practices in a number of settings, such as, child affairs police officer, probation officer, national child welfare board, diversion, alternative preventive measures on the basis of international principles. Prior to the Act, there had been a number of High Court rulings which considered the international standards for juvenile justice. But the recent reforms to juvenile justice system hail a new commitment to the country’s international obligations to its children and a change in the philosophy guiding the treatment of offender children. This is high time to create an effective juvenile justice system for the 21st century in Bangladesh by the proper implementation of the Children Act 2013. Additionally, the new Children Rules should be enacted and juvenile courts along with correctional institutions should be established in each district in Bangladesh. This study assesses the juvenile justice reforms in Bangladesh over the five decades (1974-2014) and focuses on changes that will improve the system as a whole and enable us to better achieve the ends of fair juvenile justice.

Keywords: Juvenile justice reforms, international obligations, child-oriented practices, commitment of the state

Procedia PDF Downloads 421