Search results for: intelligent multiplication table

Authors: Sanjay Dhiraaj, Puneet Goyal, Aditya Kapoor, Gaurav Misra

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In electrocardiography, an ECG artefact is used to indicate something that is not heart-made. Although technological advancements have produced monitors with the potential of providing accurate information and reliable heart rate alarms, despite this, interference of the displayed electrocardiogram still occurs. These interferences can be from the various electrical gadgets present in the operating room or electrical signals from other parts of the body. Artefacts may also occur due to poor electrode contact with the body or due to machine malfunction. Knowing these artefacts is of utmost importance so as to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted diagnostic as well as interventional procedures. We report a case of ECG artefacts occurring due to patient warming blanket and its consequences. A 20-year-old male with a preoperative diagnosis of exstrophy epispadias complex was posted for surgery under epidural and general anaesthesia. Just after endotracheal intubation, we observed nonspecific ECG changes on the monitor. At a first glance, the monitor strip revealed broad QRs complexes suggesting a ventricular bigeminal rhythm. Closer analysis revealed these to be artefacts because although the complexes were looking broad on the first glance there was clear presence of normal sinus complexes which were immediately followed by 'broad complexes' or artefacts produced by some device or connection. These broad complexes were labeled as artefacts as they were originating in the absolute refractory period of the previous normal sinus beat. It would be physiologically impossible for the myocardium to depolarize so rapidly as to produce a second QRS complex. A search for the possible reason for the artefacts was made and after deepening the plane of anaesthesia, ruling out any possible electrolyte abnormalities, checking of ECG leads and its connections, changing monitors, checking all other monitoring connections, checking for proper grounding of anaesthesia machine and OT table, we found that after switching off the patient’s warming apparatus the rhythm returned to a normal sinus one and the 'broad complexes' or artefacts disappeared. As misdiagnosis of ECG artefacts may subject patients to unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic interventions so a thorough knowledge of the patient and monitors allow for a quick interpretation and resolution of the problem.

Keywords: ECG artefacts, patient warming blanket, peri-operative arrhythmias, mobile messaging services

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Rahul Paul, Kedar Nath Das

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The paradigm of Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become prominent in training intelligent agents to make decisions in environments that are both dynamic and uncertain. The primary objective of RL is to optimize the policy of an agent in order to maximize the cumulative reward it receives throughout a given period. Nevertheless, the process of optimization presents notable difficulties as a result of the inherent trade-off between exploration and exploitation, the presence of extensive state-action spaces, and the intricate nature of the dynamics involved. Evolutionary Optimization Methods (EOMs) have garnered considerable attention as a supplementary approach to tackle these challenges, providing distinct capabilities for optimizing RL policies and value functions. The ongoing advancement of research in both RL and EOMs presents an opportunity for significant advancements in autonomous decision-making systems. The convergence of these two fields has the potential to have a transformative impact on various domains of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This article highlights the considerable influence of EOMs in enhancing the capabilities of RL. Taking advantage of evolutionary principles enables RL algorithms to effectively traverse extensive action spaces and discover optimal solutions within intricate environments. Moreover, this paper emphasizes the practical implementations of EOMs in the field of RL, specifically in areas such as robotic control, autonomous systems, inventory problems, and multi-agent scenarios. The article highlights the utilization of EOMs in facilitating RL agents to effectively adapt, evolve, and uncover proficient strategies for complex tasks that may pose challenges for conventional RL approaches.

Keywords: machine learning, reinforcement learning, loss function, optimization techniques, evolutionary optimization methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Odunayo Olawuyi Fadodun

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Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are a type of intelligent materials with salient features like electromechanical coupling, lightweight, fast actuation speed, low cost and high energy density that make them good candidates for numerous engineering applications. This paper adopts a new nonlinear electroelastic constitutive theory to examine radial deformation of a pressurized thick-walled spherical shell of soft dielectric material with compliant electrodes on its inner and outer surfaces. A general formular for the internal pressure, which depends on the deformation and a potential difference between boundary electrodes or uniform surface charge distributions, is obtained in terms of special function. To illustrate the effects of an applied electric field on the mechanical behaviour of the shell, three different energy functions with distinct mechanical properties are employed for numerical purposes. The observed behaviour of the shells is preserved in the presence of an applied electric field, and the influence of the field due to a potential difference declines more slowly with the increasing deformation to that produced by a surface charge. Counterpart results are then presented for the thin-walled shell approximation as a limiting case of a thick-walled shell without restriction on the energy density. In the absence of internal pressure, it is obtained that inflation is caused by the application of an electric field. The resulting numerical solutions of the theory presented in this work are in agreement with those predicted by the generally adopted Dorfmann and Ogden model.

Keywords: constitutive theory, elastic dielectric, electroelasticity, finite deformation, nonlinear response, spherical shell

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

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The web created by sport in academics has made it difficult for it to be separated from adolescent educational development. The enthusiasm expressed towards sport by students in higher institutions is quite enormous. Primarily, academic performance should be the pride of all students but whether sports affect the academic performance of student-athletes remain an unknown fact. This study investigated the influence of sports participation on academic performance among Afe Babalola University student-athletes. Ex post facto research design was used. Two groups of students were used for the study; Student-athlete (SA) and Regular Students (RS). Purposive sampling technique was used to select 224 student-athletes, only those that are regular in the university sports team training were considered and their records (i.e. name, department, level, matriculation number, and phone number) were collected through the assistance of their coaches. For the regular students, purposive sampling technique was used to select 224 participants, only those that have no interest in sports were considered and their records were retrieved from the college registration officer. The first and second semester examination results of the two groups were compared in 10 general study courses without their knowledge, using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, mean, and standard deviation. Out of the 10 compared courses, 7 courses result showed no significant difference between students-athlete and regular students while student-athletes perform better in 3 practically oriented courses. Sports role in academics is quite significant. Exposure to sports can help build the confidence that athletes need especially when it comes to practical courses. Student-athletes can perform better in academics if the environment is friendly and not intimidating. Lecturers and coaches need to work together in order to build a well cultured and intelligent graduate.

Keywords: academic performance, regular students, sports participation, student-athlete, university sports team

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Bhat Geetalaxmi Jairam, D. V. Ashoka

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Wireless Sensor Networks are used in many applications to collect sensed data from different sources. Sensed data has to be delivered through sensors wireless interface using multi-hop communication towards the sink. The data collection in wireless sensor networks consumes energy. Energy consumption is the major constraints in WSN .Reducing the energy consumption while increasing the amount of generated data is a great challenge. In this paper, we have implemented two data gathering protocols with multiple mobile sinks/elements to collect data from sensor nodes. First, is Energy-Efficient Data Gathering with Tour Length-Constrained Mobile Elements in Wireless Sensor Networks (EEDG), in which mobile sinks uses vehicle routing protocol to collect data. Second is An Intelligent Agent-based Routing Structure for Mobile Sinks in WSNs (IAR), in which mobile sinks uses prim’s algorithm to collect data. Authors have implemented concepts which are common to both protocols like deployment of mobile sinks, generating visiting schedule, collecting data from the cluster member. Authors have compared the performance of both protocols by taking statistics based on performance parameters like Delay, Packet Drop, Packet Delivery Ratio, Energy Available, Control Overhead. Authors have concluded this paper by proving EEDG is more efficient than IAR protocol but with few limitations which include unaddressed issues likes Redundancy removal, Idle listening, Mobile Sink’s pause/wait state at the node. In future work, we plan to concentrate more on these limitations to avail a new energy efficient protocol which will help in improving the life time of the WSN.

Keywords: aggregation, consumption, data gathering, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Alexandros Lioulemes, Michail Theofanidis, Varun Kanal, Konstantinos Tsiakas, Maher Abujelala, Chris Collander, William B. Townsend, Angie Boisselle, Fillia Makedon

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This paper presents a home-based robot-rehabilitation instrument, called ”MAGNI Dynamics”, that utilized a vision-based kinematic/dynamic module and an adaptive haptic feedback controller. The system is expected to provide personalized rehabilitation by adjusting its resistive and supportive behavior according to a fuzzy intelligence controller that acts as an inference system, which correlates the user’s performance to different stiffness factors. The vision module uses the Kinect’s skeletal tracking to monitor the user’s effort in an unobtrusive and safe way, by estimating the torque that affects the user’s arm. The system’s torque estimations are justified by capturing electromyographic data from primitive hand motions (Shoulder Abduction and Shoulder Forward Flexion). Moreover, we present and analyze how the Barrett WAM generates a force-field with a haptic controller to support or challenge the users. Experiments show that by shifting the proportional value, that corresponds to different stiffness factors of the haptic path, can potentially help the user to improve his/her motor skills. Finally, potential areas for future research are discussed, that address how a rehabilitation robotic framework may include multisensing data, to improve the user’s recovery process.

Keywords: human-robot interaction, kinect, kinematics, dynamics, haptic control, rehabilitation robotics, artificial intelligence

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: N. D. Iswarya, M. A. Maluk Mohamed, N. Vijaya

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Grid is infrastructure that allows the deployment of distributed data in large size from multiple locations to reach a common goal. Scheduling data intensive applications becomes challenging as the size of data sets are very huge in size. Only two solutions exist in order to tackle this challenging issue. First, computation which requires huge data sets to be processed can be transferred to the data site. Second, the required data sets can be transferred to the computation site. In the former scenario, the computation cannot be transferred since the servers are storage/data servers with little or no computational capability. Hence, the second scenario can be considered for further exploration. During scheduling, transferring huge data sets from one site to another site requires more network bandwidth. In order to mitigate this issue, this work focuses on incorporating cognitive science in scheduling. Cognitive Science is the study of human brain and its related activities. Current researches are mainly focused on to incorporate cognitive science in various computational modeling techniques. In this work, the problem solving approach of human brain is studied and incorporated during the data intensive scheduling in grid environments. Here, a cognitive engine is designed and deployed in various grid sites. The intelligent agents present in CE will help in analyzing the request and creating the knowledge base. Depending upon the link capacity, decision will be taken whether to transfer data sets or to partition the data sets. Prediction of next request is made by the agents to serve the requesting site with data sets in advance. This will reduce the data availability time and data transfer time. Replica catalog and Meta data catalog created by the agents assist in decision making process.

Keywords: data grid, grid workflow scheduling, cognitive artificial intelligence

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Thomas Schalow

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It is commonly recognized that our present curriculum is not preparing students to function in the 21st century. This is particularly true in regard to communication needs across cultures - both human and non-human. In this paper, a comprehensive theory of communication-based on communication with non-human cultures and intelligences is presented to meet the following three imminent contingencies: communicating with sentient biological intelligences, communicating with extraterrestrial intelligences, and communicating with artificial super-intelligences. The paper begins with the argument that we need to become much more serious about communicating with the non-human, intelligent life forms that already exists around us here on Earth. We need to broaden our definition of communication and reach out to other sentient life forms in order to provide humanity with a better perspective of its place within our ecosystem. The paper next examines the science and philosophy behind CETI (communication with extraterrestrial intelligences) and how it could prove useful even in the absence of contact with alien life. However, CETI’s assumptions and methodology need to be revised in accordance with the communication theory being proposed in this paper if we are truly serious about finding and communicating with life beyond Earth. The final theme explored in this paper is communication with non-biological super-intelligences. Humanity has never been truly compelled to converse with other species, and our failure to seriously consider such intercourse has left us largely unprepared to deal with communication in a future that will be mediated and controlled by computer algorithms. Fortunately, our experience dealing with other cultures can provide us with a framework for this communication. The basic concepts behind intercultural communication can be applied to the three types of communication envisioned in this paper if we are willing to recognize that we are in fact dealing with other cultures when we interact with other species, alien life, and artificial super-intelligence. The ideas considered in this paper will require a new mindset for humanity, but a new disposition will yield substantial gains. A curriculum that is truly ready for the 21st century needs to be aligned with this new theory of communication.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, CETI, communication, language

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Dionyssia Lyra, Shoaib Ismail

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Salinization of natural resources constitutes a significant component of the degradation force that leads to depletion of productive lands and fresh water reserves. The global extent of salt-affected soils is approximately 7% of the earth’s land surface and is expanding. The problems of excessive salt accumulation are most widespread in coastal, arid and semi-arid regions, where agricultural production is substantially hindered. The use of crops that can withstand high saline conditions is extremely interesting in such a context. Salt-loving plants or else ‘halophytes’ thrive when grown in hostile saline conditions, where traditional crops cannot survive. Salicornia bigelovii, a halophytic crop with multiple uses (vegetable, forage, biofuel), has demonstrated remarkable adaptability to harsh climatic conditions prevailing in dry areas with great potential for its expansion. Since 2011, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) with Masdar Institute (MI) and King Abdul Aziz University of Science & Technology (KAUST) to look into the potential for growing S. bigelovii under hot and dry conditions. Through the projects undertaken, 50 different S. bigelovii genotypes were assessed under high saline conditions. The overall goal was to select the best performing S. bigelovii populations in terms of seed and biomass production for future breeding. Specific objectives included: 1) evaluation of selected S. bigelovii genotypes for various agronomic and growth parameters under field conditions, 2) seed multiplication of S. bigelovii using saline groundwater and 3) acquisition of inbred lines for further breeding. Field trials were conducted for four consecutive years at ICBA headquarters. During the first year, one Salicornia population was evaluated for seed and biomass production at different salinity levels, fertilizer treatments and planting methods. All growth parameters and biomass productivity for the salicornia population showed better performance with optimal biomass production in terms of both salinity level and fertilizer application. During the second year, 46 Salicornia populations (obtained from KAUST and Masdar Institute) were evaluated for 24 growth parameters and treated with groundwater through drip irrigation. The plant material originated from wild collections. Six populations were also assessed for their growth performance under full-strength seawater. Salicornia populations were highly variable for all characteristics under study for both irrigation treatments, indicating that there is a large pool of genetic information available for breeding. Irrigation with the highest level of salinity had a negative impact on the agronomic performance. The maximum seed yield obtained was 2 t/ha at 20 dS/m (groundwater treatment) at 25 cm x 25 cm planting distance. The best performing Salicornia populations for fresh biomass and seed yield were selected for the following season. After continuous selection, the best performing salicornia will be adopted for scaling-up options. Taking into account the results of the production field trials, salicornia expansion will be targeted in coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. As a crop with high biofuel and forage potential, its cultivation can improve the livelihood of local farmers.

Keywords: biosaline agriculture, genotypes selection, halophytes, Salicornia bigelovii

Procedia PDF Downloads 407

Authors: Z. Abdollahi Biron, P. Pisu

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Connected vehicles are one of the promising technologies for future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A connected vehicle system is essentially a set of vehicles communicating through a network to exchange their information with each other and the infrastructure. Although this interconnection of the vehicles can be potentially beneficial in creating an efficient, sustainable, and green transportation system, a set of safety and reliability challenges come out with this technology. The first challenge arises from the information loss due to unreliable communication network which affects the control/management system of the individual vehicles and the overall system. Such scenario may lead to degraded or even unsafe operation which could be potentially catastrophic. Secondly, faulty sensors and actuators can affect the individual vehicle’s safe operation and in turn will create a potentially unsafe node in the vehicular network. Further, sending that faulty sensor information to other vehicles and failure in actuators may significantly affect the safe operation of the overall vehicular network. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to take these issues into consideration while designing the control/management algorithms of the individual vehicles as a part of connected vehicle system. In this paper, we consider a connected vehicle system under Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) and propose a fault diagnosis scheme that deals with these aforementioned challenges. Specifically, the conventional CACC algorithm is modified by adding a Kalman filter-based estimation algorithm to suppress the effect of lost information under unreliable network. Further, a sliding mode observer-based algorithm is used to improve the sensor reliability under faults. The effectiveness of the overall diagnostic scheme is verified via simulation studies.

Keywords: fault diagnostics, communication network, connected vehicles, packet drop out, platoon

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Veronica S. Moertini, Vinsensius Kevin, Gede Karya

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Customer reviews have been collected by many kinds of e-commerce websites selling products, services, hotel rooms, tickets and so on. Each website collects its own customer reviews. The reviews can be crawled, collected from those websites and stored as big data. Text analysis techniques can be used to analyze that data to produce summarized information, such as customer opinions. Then, these opinions can be published by independent service provider websites and used to help customers in choosing the most suitable products or services. As the opinions are analyzed from big data of reviews originated from many websites, it is expected that the results are more trusted and accurate. Indonesian customers write reviews in Indonesian language, which comes with its own structures and uniqueness. We found that most of the reviews are expressed with “daily language”, which is informal, do not follow the correct grammar, have many abbreviations and slangs or non-formal words. Hadoop is an emerging platform aimed for storing and analyzing big data in distributed systems. A Hadoop cluster consists of master and slave nodes/computers operated in a network. Hadoop comes with distributed file system (HDFS) and MapReduce framework for supporting parallel computation. However, MapReduce has weakness (i.e. inefficient) for iterative computations, specifically, the cost of reading/writing data (I/O cost) is high. Given this fact, we conclude that MapReduce function is best adapted for “one-pass” computation. In this research, we develop an efficient technique for extracting or mining opinions from big data of Indonesian reviews, which is based on MapReduce with one-pass computation. In designing the algorithm, we avoid iterative computation and instead adopt a “look up table” technique. The stages of the proposed technique are: (1) Crawling the data reviews from websites; (2) cleaning and finding root words from the raw reviews; (3) computing the frequency of the meaningful opinion words; (4) analyzing customers sentiments towards defined objects. The experiments for evaluating the performance of the technique were conducted on a Hadoop cluster with 14 slave nodes. The results show that the proposed technique (stage 2 to 4) discovers useful opinions, is capable of processing big data efficiently and scalable.

Keywords: big data analysis, Hadoop MapReduce, analyzing text data, mining Indonesian reviews

Procedia PDF Downloads 201

Authors: Mariya Dayana, Budhmal Jain

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Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) is a new Greenfield airport project with airside development on an undulating terrain with an average height of 90m above Mean Sea Level (MSL) and a maximum height of 142m. To accommodate the desired Runway length and Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both the ends along the proposed alignment, it resulted in 45.5 million cubic meters in cutting and filling. The insufficient availability of land for the construction of free slope embankment at RESA 07 end resulted in the design and construction of Reinforced Soil Slope (RSS) with a maximum slope of 65 degrees. An embankment fill of average 70m height with steep slopes located in high rainfall area is a unique feature of this project. The design and construction was challenging being asymmetrical with curves and bends. The fill was reinforced with high strength Uniaxial geogrids laid perpendicular to the slope. Weld mesh wrapped with coir mat acted as the facia units to protect it against surface failure. Face anchorage were also provided by wrapping the geogrids along the facia units where the slope angle was steeper than 45 degrees. Considering high rainfall received on this table top airport site, extensive drainage system was designed for the high embankment fill. Gabion wall up to 10m height were also designed and constructed along the boundary to accommodate the toe of the RSS fill beside the jeepable track at the base level. The design of RSS fill was done using ReSSA software and verified in PLAXIS 2D modeling. Both slip surface failure and wedge failure cases were considered in static and seismic analysis for local and global failure cases. The site won excavated laterite soil was used as the fill material for the construction. Extensive field and laboratory tests were conducted during the construction of RSS system for quality assurance. This paper represents a case study detailing the design and construction of a very high embankment using geosynthetics for the provision of Runway length and RESA area.

Keywords: airport, embankment, gabion, high strength uniaxial geogrid, kial, laterite soil, plaxis 2d

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Chen Jun-Hong, He Pu, Tao Wen-Quan

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the most promising future energy source owing to its low operating temperature, high energy efficiency, high power density, and environmental friendliness. In this paper, a comprehensive PEMFC system control-oriented model is developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment, which includes the hydrogen supply subsystem, air supply subsystem, and thermal management subsystem. Besides, Improved Artificial Bee Colony (IABC) is used in the parameter identification of PEMFC semi-empirical equations, making the maximum relative error between simulation data and the experimental data less than 0.4%. Operation temperature is essential for PEMFC, both high and low temperatures are disadvantageous. In the thermal management subsystem, water pump and fan are both controlled with the PID controller to maintain the appreciate operation temperature of PEMFC for the requirements of safe and efficient operation. To improve the control effect further, fuzzy control is introduced to optimize the PID controller of the pump, and the Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network is introduced to optimize the PID controller of the fan. The results demonstrate that Fuzzy-PID and RBF-PID can achieve a better control effect with 22.66% decrease in Integral Absolute Error Criterion (IAE) of T_st (Temperature of PEMFC) and 77.56% decrease in IAE of T_in (Temperature of inlet cooling water) compared with traditional PID. In the end, a novel thermal management structure is proposed, which uses the cooling air passing through the main radiator to continue cooling the secondary radiator. In this thermal management structure, the parasitic power dissipation can be reduced by 69.94%, and the control effect can be improved with a 52.88% decrease in IAE of T_in under the same controller.

Keywords: PEMFC system, parameter identification, temperature control, Fuzzy-PID, RBF-PID, parasitic power

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: M. R. Babaei, S. M. Hosseini, S. Rahmani, L. Moradi

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Today, the quality of education and training systems and the effectiveness of the education systems of most concern to stakeholders and decision-makers of our country's development in each country. In Iran this is a double issue of concern to numerous reasons; So that governments, over the past decade have hardly even paid the running costs of education. ICT is claiming it has the power to change the structure of a program for training, reduce costs and increase quality, and do education systems and products consistent with the needs of the community and take steps to practice education. Own of the areas that the introduction of information technology has fundamentally changed is the field of education. The aim of this research is process reengineering management in schools simultaneously has been using field studies to collect data in the form of interviews and a questionnaire survey. The statistical community of this research has been the country of Iran and smart schools under the education. Sampling was targeted. The data collection tool was a questionnaire composed of two parts. The questionnaire consists of 36 questions that each question designates one of effective factors on the management of smart schools. Also each question consists of two parts. The first part designates the operating position in the management process, which represents the domain's belonging to the management agent (planning, organizing, leading, controlling). According to the classification of Dabryn and in second part the factors affect the process of managing the smart schools were examined, that Likert scale is used to classify. Questions the validity of the group of experts and prominent university professors in the fields of information technology, management and reengineering of approved and Cronbach's alpha reliability and also with the use of the formula is evaluated and approved. To analyse the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the factors contributing to the rating of (Linkert scale) descriptive statistics (frequency table data, mean, median, mode) was used. To analyse the data using analysis of variance and nonparametric tests and Friedman test, the assumption was evaluated. The research conclusions show that the factors influencing the management process re-engineering smart schools in school performance is affected.

Keywords: re-engineering, management process, smart school, Iran's school

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Mihretu Erjabo

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Halaba special district is characterized by drought, soil erosion, high population pressure, poor livestock production, lack of feed for livestock, very deep water table, very low productivity of crops and food insufficiency. In order to address these problems, the woreda agricultural development office along with other management practices such as soil physical conservation measures agroforestry was introduced decades ago as a means to alleviate the problem. However, the level of agroforestry adoption remains low. Objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence adoption of agroforestry technologies by farmers in the district. Random sampling was employed to select two kebele administrations and respondents. Data collection was conducted by rural household questionnaire survey, participatory rural appraisal, questionnaires for local and woreda extension staff, secondary data resources and field observation. A sample of 12 key informants, 6 extension staffs, and 182 households, were used in the data collection. Chi square test used to determine significant relationships between adoption of agroforestry and 15 selected variables. Out of which eleven were found to be significant to affect farmers’ adoptiveness. These were frequency of visits of farmers (13.39%), participation in training (11.49%), farmers’ attitude towards agroforestry practices (10.61%), frequency of visits of extensionists (10.38%), participation in extension meeting (10.34%), participation in field day (10.28%), land holding size (9.29%), level of literacy (8.78%), awareness about the importance of agroforestry technology packages (7.06%), time taken from their residence to nearest extension (5.04%) and gender of respondents (3.34%). This study also identified various factors that result in low adoption rates of agroforestry including fear of competition, seedling, rainfall and labour shortage, free grazing, financial problem, expecting trees as soil degrader and long span of trees and lack of need ranking. To improve farmers’ adoption, the factors identified should be well addressed by launching a series and recurrent outreach extension program appropriate and suitable to farmers need.

Keywords: farmers attitude, farmers participation, soil degradation, technology packages

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Claudia Martínez-Araneda, Mariella Gutiérrez, Pedro Gómez, Diego Maldonado, Alejandra Segura, Christian Vidal-Castro

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The purpose of this document is to showcase the preliminary work in developing an EduChatbot-type tool and measuring the effects of its use aimed at providing effective feedback to students in programming courses. This bot, hereinafter referred to as tutorBot+, was constructed based on chatGPT and is tasked with assisting and delivering timely positive feedback to students in the field of computer science at the Universidad Católica de Concepción. The proposed working method consists of four stages: (1) Immersion in the domain of Large Language Models (LLMs), (2) Development of the tutorBot+ prototype and integration, (3) Experiment design, and (4) Intervention. The first stage involves a literature review on the use of artificial intelligence in education and the evaluation of intelligent tutors, as well as research on types of feedback for learning and the domain of chatGPT. The second stage encompasses the development of tutorBot+, and the final stage involves a quasi-experimental study with students from the Programming and Database labs, where the learning outcome involves the development of computational thinking skills, enabling the use and measurement of the tool's effects. The preliminary results of this work are promising, as a functional chatBot prototype has been developed in both conversational and non-conversational versions integrated into an open-source online judge and programming contest platform system. There is also an exploration of the possibility of generating a custom model based on a pre-trained one tailored to the domain of programming. This includes the integration of the created tool and the design of the experiment to measure its utility.

Keywords: assessment, chatGPT, learning strategies, LLMs, timely feedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Getahun Nigusie

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Background; antiretroviral treatment reduce HIV-related morbidity, and prolonged survival of patients however, there is lack of up-to-date information concerning the treatment long term effect on the survival of HIV positive children especially in the study area. Objective: To assess incidence and predictors of mortality among HIV positive children on ART in public hospitals of Harer town who were enrolled from 2011 to 2021. Methodology: Institution based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 429 HIV positive children enrolled in ART clinic from January 1st 2011 to December30th 2021. Data were collected from medical cards by using a data extraction form, Descriptive analyses were used to Summarized the results, and life table was used to estimate survival probability at specific point of time after introduction of ART. Kaplan Meier survival curve together with log rank test was used to compare survival between different categories of covariates, and Multivariate Cox-proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate adjusted Hazard rate. Variables with p-values ≤0.25 in bivariable analysis were candidates to the multivariable analysis. Finally, variables with p-values < 0.05 were considered as significant variables. Results: The study participants had followed for a total of 2549.6 child-years (30596 child months) with an overall mortality rate of 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1, 2.04) per 100 child-years. Their median survival time was 112 months (95% CI: 101–117). There were 38 children with unknown outcome, 39 deaths, and 55 children transfer out to different facility. The overall survival at 6, 12, 24, 48 months were 98%, 96%, 95%, 94% respectively. being in WHO clinical Stage four (AHR=4.55, 95% CI:1.36, 15.24), having anemia(AHR=2.56, 95% CI:1.11, 5.93), baseline low absolute CD4 count (AHR=2.95, 95% CI: 1.22, 7.12), stunting (AHR=4.1, 95% CI: 1.11, 15.42), wasting (AHR=4.93, 95% CI: 1.31, 18.76), poor adherence to treatment (AHR=3.37, 95% CI: 1.25, 9.11), having TB infection at enrollment (AHR=3.26, 95% CI: 1.25, 8.49),and no history of change their regimen(AHR=7.1, 95% CI: 2.74, 18.24), were independent predictors of death. Conclusion: more than half of death occurs within 2 years. Prevalent tuberculosis, anemia, wasting, and stunting nutritional status, socioeconomic factors, and baseline opportunistic infection were independent predictors of death. Increasing early screening and managing those predictors are required.

Keywords: human immunodeficiency virus-positive children, anti-retroviral therapy, survival, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 25

Authors: Rishi Agarwal

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Digital twins are emerging as a strong technology used to imitate and monitor physical objects digitally in real time across sectors. It is not only dealing with the digital space, but it is also actuating responses in the physical space in response to the digital space processing like storage, modeling, learning, simulation, and prediction. This paper explores the application of digital twins for enhancing physical security in retail stores. The retail sector still relies on outdated physical security practices like manual monitoring and metal detectors, which are insufficient for modern needs. There is a lack of real-time data and system integration, leading to ineffective emergency response and preventative measures. As retail automation increases, new digital frameworks must control safety without human intervention. To address this, the paper proposes implementing an intelligent digital twin framework. This collects diverse data streams from in-store sensors, surveillance, external sources, and customer devices and then Advanced analytics and simulations enable real-time monitoring, incident prediction, automated emergency procedures, and stakeholder coordination. Overall, the digital twin improves physical security through automation, adaptability, and comprehensive data sharing. The paper also analyzes the pros and cons of implementation of this technology through an Emerging Technology Analysis Canvas that analyzes different aspects of this technology through both narrow and wide lenses to help decision makers in their decision of implementing this technology. On a broader scale, this showcases the value of digital twins in transforming legacy systems across sectors and how data sharing can create a safer world for both retail store customers and owners.

Keywords: digital twin, retail store safety, digital twin in retail, digital twin for physical safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Ábrám Zoltán

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Introduction: Climate change is now a major health risk, and its environmental and health effects have become frequently discussed topics. The consequences of climate change are clearly visible in natural disasters and excess deaths caused by extreme weather conditions. Global warming and the increasingly frequent extreme weather events have direct, immediate effects or long-term, indirect effects on health. For this reason, it is a need to teach the health effects of climate change in medical schools. Material and methods: We looked for various surveys, studies, and reports on the main pathways through which global warming affects health. Medical schools face the challenge of teaching the health implications of climate change and integrating knowledge about the health effects of climate change into medical training. For this purpose, there were organised World Café workshops for three target groups: medical students, academic staff, and practising medical doctors. Results: Among the goals of the research is the development of a detailed curriculum for medical students, which serves to expand their knowledge in basic education. At the same time, the project promotes the increase of teacher motivation and the development of methodological guidelines for university teachers; it also provides further training for practicing doctors. The planned teaching materials will be developed in a format suitable for traditional face-to-face teaching, as well as e-learning teaching materials. CLIMATEMED is a project based on the cooperation of six universities and institutions from four countries, the aim of which is to improve the curriculum and expand knowledge about the health effects of climate change at medical universities. Conclusions: In order to assess the needs, summarize the proposals, to develop the necessary strategy, World Café type, one-and-a-half to two-hour round table discussions will take place separately for medical students, academic staff, and practicing doctors. The CLIMATEMED project can facilitate the integration of knowledge about the health effects of climate change into curricula and can promote practical use. The avoidance of the unwanted effects of global warming and climate change is not only a public matter, but it is also a challenge to change our own lifestyle. It is the responsibility of all of us to protect the Earth's ecosystem and the physical and mental health of ourselves and future generations.

Keywords: climate change, health effects, medical schools, World Café, medical students

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Authors: Magdy Roman, Mostafa Shoeib, Mostafa Rostom

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Global vision, whether provided by overhead fixed cameras, on-board aerial vehicle cameras, or satellite images can always provide detailed information on the environment around mobile robots. In this paper, an intelligent vision-based method of path planning and obstacle avoidance for mobile robots is presented. The method integrates visual perception with a new proposed field-based path-planning method to overcome common path-planning problems such as local minima, unreachable destination and unnecessary lengthy paths around obstacles. The method proposes an exponential angle deviation field around each obstacle that affects the orientation of a close robot. As the robot directs toward, the goal point obstacles are classified into right and left groups, and a deviation angle is exponentially added or subtracted to the orientation of the robot. Exponential field parameters are chosen based on Lyapunov stability criterion to guarantee robot convergence to the destination. The proposed method uses obstacles' shape and location, extracted from global vision system, through a collision prediction mechanism to decide whether to activate or deactivate obstacles field. In addition, a search mechanism is developed in case of robot or goal point is trapped among obstacles to find suitable exit or entrance. The proposed algorithm is validated both in simulation and through experiments. The algorithm shows effectiveness in obstacles' avoidance and destination convergence, overcoming common path planning problems found in classical methods.

Keywords: path planning, collision avoidance, convergence, computer vision, mobile robots

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Authors: Mahdi Eskandarlou, Mehrdad Taghipour

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Background: Partial-thickness skin graft is the cornerstone for scalp defect repair. Routine donor sites include abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. Given the potential side effects following harvesting from these sites and the potential advantages of harvesting from scalp (broad surface, rapid healing, and better cosmetics results), this study is trying to compare the outcomes of graft harvesting from scalp and lower limb. Methods: This clinical trial is conducted among a sample number of 40 partial thickness graft candidates (20 case and 20 control group) with scalp defect presenting to plastic surgery clinic at Besat Hospital during the time period between 2018 and 2019. Sampling was done by simple randomization using random digit table. Data gathering was performed using a designated checklist. The donor site in case group and control group was scalp and lower limb, respectively. The resultant data were analyzed using chi-squared and t-test and SPPS version 21 (SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Results: Of the total 40 patients participating in this study, 28 patients (70%) were male, and 12 (30%) were female with and mean age of 63.62 ± 09.73 years. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities among patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and trauma being the most common etiology for the defects. There was a statistically meaningful relationship between two groups regarding the etiology of defect (P=0.02). The most common anatomic location of defect for case and control groups was temporal and parietal, respectively. Most of the defects were deep to galea zone. The mean diameter of defect was 24.28 ± 45.37 mm for all of the patients. The difference between diameter of defect in both groups was statistically meaningful, while no such difference between graft diameter was seen. The graft 'Take' was completely successful in both groups according to evaluations. The level of postoperative pain was lower in the case group compared to the control according to VAS scale, and the satisfaction was higher in them per Likert scale. Conclusion: Scalp can safely be used as donor site for skin graft to be used for scalp defects, which is associated with better results and lower complication rates compared to other donor sites.

Keywords: donor site, leg, partial-thickness graft, scalp

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Authors: Hamitri-Guerfi Fatiha, Madani Khodir, Hadjal Samir, Kati Djamel, Youyou Ahcene

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Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a principal fruit that is grown in many regions of the world, resulting in a surplus production of dates. Algeria is considered to be one of the date producing countries. Date seeds (pits) have been a problem to the date industry as a waste stream. However, finding a way to make a profit on the pits would benefit date farmers substantially. This work concentrated on the valorization of date seed oils. A preliminary study was carried out on three varieties (soft, half soft, and dry) and we selected the dry variety. This work concerns the valorization of the date seed oil of the dry variety: ‘Mech Degla’ by its incorporation in a food formulation: margarine of table. Lipid extraction was carried out by hot extraction with the soxhlet; the extracts obtained are rich in fat contents, the results gave outputs of 13.21±0.21 %. The antioxidant activity of extracted oils was studied by the test of DPPH, the content polyphenols as well as the anti-radicalaire activity. The analysis of fatty acids was made by CPG. Thus, it comes out from our results that the recovered fat contents are interesting and considerable. A formulation of the margarine ‘BIO’ was elaborated on the scale industrialist by the addition of the extracts of date seeds ‘Mech-Degla’ oil in order to substitute a synthetic additive. The physicochemical characteristics of the elaborate margarines prove to be in conformity with the standards set by the Algerian companies. The texture of the elaborate margarine has an acceptable color, an aspect brilliant and homogeneous, it is plastic and easy to paste having an index of required SFC and the margarine melts easily in the mouth. Moreover, the evaluation of oxidative stability is carried out by the test of Rancimat. The result obtained reported that the margarine enriched with date seed oil, proved more resistant to oxidation, than the margarine without extract, which is improved much during incorporation of the extracts simultaneously. By conclusion, considering the content of polyphénols noted in the two extracts (aqueous and oily), we can exhort the scientific community to become aware of the treasures of our country especially the wonders of the south which are the dates and theirs under products (pits).

Keywords: antioxydant activity, date seed oil, quality characteristics, margarine

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Authors: Khiari Nor El Houda, Hiouani Amira Sarra

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Many EFL students with high capacities are hidden because they suffer from speaking anxiety (SA). Most of them find public speaking much demanding. They feel unable to communicate, they fear to make mistakes and they fear negative evaluation or being called on. With the growing number of the learners who suffer from foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA), it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore its harmful outcomes on their performance and success, especially during their first contact with the pupils, as they will be teaching in the near future. Different researchers suggested different ways to minimize the negative effects of FLSA. The present study sheds light on emotional intelligence skills training as an effective strategy not only to influence public speaking success but also to help pre-service EFL teachers lessen their speaking anxiety and eventually to prepare them for their professional career. A quasi-experiment was used in order to examine the research hypothesis. We worked with two groups of third-year EFL students at Oum El Bouaghi University. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) were used to collect data about the participants’ FLSA and EI levels. The analysis of the data has yielded that the assumption that there is a negative correlation between EI and FLSA was statistically validated by the Pearson Correlation Test, concluding that, the more emotionally intelligent the individual is the less anxious s/he will be. In addition, the lack of amelioration in the results of the control group and the noteworthy improvement in the experimental group results led us to conclude that EI skills training was an effective strategy in minimizing the FLSA level and therefore, we confirmed our research hypothesis.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence skills training, EQ-I, FLCAS, foreign language speaking anxiety, pre-service EFL teachers

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Authors: Gabriel Legorreta Paulin, Marcus I. Bursik, Lilia Arana Salinas, Fernando Aceves Quesada

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In volcanic environments, landslides and debris flows occur continually along stream systems of large stratovolcanoes. This is the case on Pico de Orizaba volcano, the highest mountain in Mexico. The volcano has a great potential to impact and damage human settlements and economic activities by landslides. People living along the lower valleys of Pico de Orizaba volcano are in continuous hazard by the coalescence of upstream landslide sediments that increased the destructive power of debris flows. These debris flows not only produce floods, but also cause the loss of lives and property. Although the importance of assessing such process, there is few landslide inventory maps and landslide susceptibility assessment. As a result in México, no landslide susceptibility models assessment has been conducted to evaluate advantage and disadvantage of models. In this study, a comprehensive study of landslide susceptibility models assessment using GIS technology is carried out on the SE flank of Pico de Orizaba volcano. A detailed multi-temporal landslide inventory map in the watershed is used as framework for the quantitative comparison of two landslide susceptibility maps. The maps are created based on 1) the Stability Index MAPping (SINMAP) model by using default geotechnical parameters and 2) by using findings of volcanic soils geotechnical proprieties obtained in the field. SINMAP combines the factor of safety derived from the infinite slope stability model with the theory of a hydrologic model to produce the susceptibility map. It has been claimed that SINMAP analysis is reasonably successful in defining areas that intuitively appear to be susceptible to landsliding in regions with sparse information. The validations of the resulting susceptibility maps are performed by comparing them with the inventory map under LOGISNET system which provides tools to compare by using a histogram and a contingency table. Results of the experiment allow for establishing how the individual models predict the landslide location, advantages, and limitations. The results also show that although the model tends to improve with the use of calibrated field data, the landslide susceptibility map does not perfectly represent existing landslides.

Keywords: GIS, landslide, modeling, LOGISNET, SINMAP

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Authors: Japhet N. Mwambusi

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High tropical forests deforestation for solid wood furniture industry is among of climate change contributing agents. This pressure indirectly is caused by furniture joints failure due to poor gluing technology based on improper use of different glues to different wood species which lead to low quality and weak wood-glue joints. This study was carried in order to run performance tests of wood glues on different wood species used in wood workshops: Morogoro Tanzania whereby three popular wood species of C. lusitanica, T. glandis and E. maidenii were tested against five glues of Woodfix, Bullbond, Ponal, Fevicol and Coral found in the market. The findings were necessary on developing a guideline for proper glue selection for a particular wood species joining. Random sampling was employed to interview carpenters while conducting a survey on the background of carpenters like their education level and to determine factors that influence their glues choice. Monsanto Tensiometer was used to determine bonding strength of identified wood glues to different wood species in use under British Standard of testing wood shear strength (BS EN 205) procedures. Data obtained from interviewing carpenters were analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Science software (SPSS) to allow the comparison of different data while laboratory data were compiled, related and compared by the use of MS Excel worksheet software as well as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results revealed that among all five wood glues tested in the laboratory to three different wood species, Coral performed much better with the average shear strength 4.18 N/mm², 3.23 N/mm² and 5.42 N/mm² for Cypress, Teak and Eucalyptus respectively. This displays that for a strong joint to be formed to all tree wood species for soft wood and hard wood, Coral has a first priority in use. The developed table of guideline from this research can be useful to carpenters on proper glue selection to a particular wood species so as to meet glue-bond strength. This will secure furniture market as well as reduce pressure to the forests for furniture production because of the strong existing furniture due to their strong joints. Indeed, this can be a good strategy on reducing climate change speed in tropics which result from high deforestation of trees for furniture production.

Keywords: climate change, deforestation, gluing technology, joint failure, wood-glue, wood species

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Anne Joseph, Yinusa Asiwaju-Bello, Oluwaseun Olabode

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Sustainable administration of groundwater resources tapped in Coastal Plain Sands aquifer in Abesan area, Eastern Dahomey Basin, Southwestern Nigeria necessitates the knowledge of the pattern of groundwater flow in meeting a suitable environmental need for habitation. Thirty hand-dug wells were identified and evaluated to study the groundwater flow dynamics and anionic species distribution in the study area. Topography and water table levels method with the aid of Surfer were adopted in the identification of recharge and discharge zones where six recharge and discharge zones were delineated correspondingly. Dissolved anionic species of HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-and NO3- were determined using titrimetric and spectrophotometric method. The trend of significant anionic concentrations of groundwater samples are in the order Cl- > HCO3-> SO42- > NO3-. The prominent anions in the discharge and recharge area are Cl- and HCO3- ranging from 0.22ppm to 3.67ppm and 2.59ppm to 0.72ppm respectively. Analysis of groundwater head distribution and the groundwater flow vector in Abesan area confirmed that Cl- concentration is higher than HCO3- concentration in recharge zones. Conversely, there is a high concentration of HCO3- than Cl- inland towards the continent; therefore, HCO3-concentration in the discharge zones is higher than the Cl- concentration. The anions were to be closely related to the recharge and discharge areas which were confirmed by comparison of activities such as rainfall regime and anthropogenic activities in Abesan area. A large percentage of the samples showed that HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-and NO3- falls within the permissible limit of the W.H.O standard. Most of the samples revealed Cl- / (CO3- + HCO3-) ratio higher than 0.5 indicating that there is saltwater intrusion imprints in the groundwater of the study area. Gibbs plot shown that most of the samples is from rock dominance, some from evaporation dominance and few from precipitation dominance. Potential salinity and SO42/ Cl- ratios signifies that most of the groundwater in Abesan is saline and falls in a water class found to be insuitable for irrigation. Continuous dissolution of these anionic species may pose a significant threat to the inhabitants of Abesan area in the nearest future.

Keywords: Abessan, Anionic species, Discharge, Groundwater flow, Recharge

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Authors: Lina F. Ballesteros, Hafsae Lamsaf, Miguel A. Cerqueira, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, Sandra Carvalho, Jose A. Teixeira, S. Calderon V.

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The use of bio-based packaging materials containing metallic and bimetallic nanostructures is relatively modern technology. In this sense, the food packaging industry has been investigating biological and renewable resources that can replace petroleum-based materials to reduce the environmental impact and, at the same time, including new functionalities using nanotechnology. Therefore, the main objective of the present work consisted of developing bio-based poly-lactic acid (PLA) films with Zinc (Zn) and Zinc-Iron (Zn-Fe) nanostructures deposited by magnetron sputtering. The structural, antimicrobial, and optical properties of the films were evaluated when exposed at 60% and 96% relative humidity (RH). The morphology and elemental analysis of the samples were determined by scanning (transmission) electron microscopy (SEM and STEM), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The structure of the PLA was monitored before and after deposition by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, and the antimicrobial and color assays were performed by using the zone of inhibition (ZOI) test and a Minolta colorimeter, respectively. Finally, the films were correlated in terms of the deposit conditions, Zn or Zn-Fe concentrations, and thickness. The results revealed PLA films with different morphologies, compositions, and thicknesses of Zn or Zn-Fe nanostructures. The samples showed a significant antibacterial and antifungal activity against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescens, S. aureus, and A. niger, and considerable changes of color and opacity at 96% RH, especially for the thinner nanostructures (150-250 nm). On the other hand, when the Fe fraction was increased, the lightness of samples increased, as well as their antimicrobial activity when compared to the films with pure Zn. Hence, these findings are relevant to the food packaging field since intelligent and active films with multiple properties can be developed.

Keywords: biopolymers, functional properties, magnetron sputtering, Zn and Zn-Fe nanostructures

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Authors: M. Pushparani, A. Sagaya

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Embedded systems have emerged as important elements in various domains with extensive applications in automotive, commercial, consumer, healthcare and transportation markets, as there is emphasis on intelligent devices. On the other hand, Business Intelligence (BI) has also been extensively used in a range of applications, especially in the agriculture domain which is the area of this research. The aim of this research is to create a framework for Embedded Weight Comparison Algorithm with Business Intelligence (EWCA-BI). The weight comparison algorithm will be embedded within the plantation management system and the weighbridge system. This algorithm will be used to estimate the weight at the site and will be compared with the actual weight at the plantation. The algorithm will be used to build the necessary alerts when there is a discrepancy in the weight, thus enabling better decision making. In the current practice, data are collected from various locations in various forms. It is a challenge to consolidate data to obtain timely and accurate information for effective decision making. Adding to this, the unstable network connection leads to difficulty in getting timely accurate information. To overcome the challenges embedding is done on a portable device that will have the embedded weight comparison algorithm to also assist in data capture and synchronize data at various locations overcoming the network short comings at collection points. The EWCA-BI will provide real-time information at any given point of time, thus enabling non-latent BI reports that will provide crucial information to enable efficient operational decision making. This research has a high potential in bringing embedded system into the agriculture industry. EWCA-BI will provide BI reports with accurate information with uncompromised data using an embedded system and provide alerts, therefore, enabling effective operation management decision-making at the site.

Keywords: embedded business intelligence, weight comparison algorithm, oil palm plantation, embedded systems

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Authors: Michael Howard

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The growing popularity of electric vehicles in the United States requires an ever-expanding infrastructure of commercial DC fast charging stations. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates 33,355 publicly available DC fast charging stations as of September 2023. In 2017, 115,370 gasoline stations were operating in the United States, much more ubiquitous than DC fast chargers. Range anxiety is an important impediment to the adoption of electric vehicles and is even more relevant in underserved regions in the country. The peer-to-peer energy marketplace helps fill the demand by allowing private home and small business owners to rent their 240 Volt, level-2 charging facilities. The existing, publicly accessible outlets are wrapped with a Cloud-connected microcontroller managing security and charging sessions. These microcontrollers act as Edge devices communicating with a Cloud message broker, while both buyer and seller users interact with the framework via a web-based user interface. The database storage used by the marketplace framework is a key component in both the cost of development and the performance that contributes to the user experience. A traditional storage solution is the SQL database. The architecture and query language have been in existence since the 1970s and are well understood and documented. The Structured Query Language supported by the query engine provides fine granularity with user query conditions. However, difficulty in scaling across multiple nodes and cost of its server-based compute have resulted in a trend in the last 20 years towards other NoSQL, serverless approaches. In this study, we evaluate the NoSQL vs. SQL solutions through a comparison of Google Cloud Firestore and Cloud SQL MySQL offerings. The comparison pits Google's serverless, document-model, non-relational, NoSQL against the server-base, table-model, relational, SQL service. The evaluation is based on query latency, flexibility/scalability, and cost criteria. Through benchmarking and analysis of the architecture, we determine whether Firestore can support the energy marketplace storage needs and if the introduction of a GraphQL middleware layer can overcome its deficiencies.

Keywords: non-relational, relational, MySQL, mitigate, Firestore, SQL, NoSQL, serverless, database, GraphQL

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Authors: Alive Ntunja, Wilma ten Ham-Baloyi, June Teare, Oyedele Opeoluwa, Paula Melariri

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Sanitation workers are also known as “garbage workers” who play a significant role in the sanitation chain. For many generations sanitation workers’ level of knowledge regarding hygiene practices remains low due to a lack of educational programs on hygiene. As a result, they are widely exposed to hygiene-related diseases such as cholera, skin infections and various other diseases, increasing their risk of mortality to 40%. This review aimed to explore the global impact of educational programs on the hygiene knowledge and practices of sanitation workers. The systematic literature search was conducted for studies published between 2013 and 2023 using the following databases: MEDLINE (via EBSCOHost), PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify quantitative studies on the subject. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Evaluation Instruments. Data extracted from the included articles was presented using a summary of findings table and presented graphically through charts and tables, employing both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA assessed the pooled effect of the intervention on mean scores across studies. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Office 365 (2019 version), with significance set at p<0.05. The PRISMA flow diagram was used to present the article selection process. The systematic review included 15 eligible studies from a total of 2 777 articles. At least 60% (n=9) of the reviewed studies found educational program relating to hygiene to have a positive impact on sanitation workers’ hygiene knowledge and practices. The findings further showed that the stages (pre-post) of knowledge intervention used lead to statistically significant differences in mean score obtained [F (1,7) = 22.166, p = 0.002]. Likewise, it can be observed that the stages of practice intervention used lead to statistically significant differences in mean score obtained [F (1,7) = 21.857, p = 0.003]. However, most (n=7) studies indicated that, the efficacy of programs on hygiene knowledge and practices is indirectly influenced by educational background, age and work experience (predictor factors). Educational programs regarding hygiene have the potential to significantly improve sanitation workers knowledge and practices. Findings also suggest the implementation of active and intensive intervention programs, to improve sanitation workers hygiene knowledge and practices.

Keywords: educational programs, hygiene knowledge, practices, sanitation workers

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