Search results for: fields extraction from administrative documents

Authors: Jone Ibarruri, Mikel Manso, Marta Cebrián

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Fazl Ullah, Rahmat Ullah

Abstract:

This paper shows a comprehensive learning focused on the optimization of gas production in shale gas reservoirs through hydraulic fracturing. Shale gas has emerged as an important unconventional vigor resource, necessitating innovative techniques to enhance its extraction. The key objective of this study is to examine the influence of fracture parameters on reservoir productivity and formulate strategies for production optimization. A sophisticated model integrating gas flow dynamics and real stress considerations is developed for hydraulic fracturing in multi-stage shale gas reservoirs. This model encompasses distinct zones: a single-porosity medium region, a dual-porosity average region, and a hydraulic fracture region. The apparent permeability of the matrix and fracture system is modeled using principles like effective stress mechanics, porous elastic medium theory, fractal dimension evolution, and fluid transport apparatuses. The developed model is then validated using field data from the Barnett and Marcellus formations, enhancing its reliability and accuracy. By solving the partial differential equation by means of COMSOL software, the research yields valuable insights into optimal fracture parameters. The findings reveal the influence of fracture length, diversion capacity, and width on gas production. For reservoirs with higher permeability, extending hydraulic fracture lengths proves beneficial, while complex fracture geometries offer potential for low-permeability reservoirs. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of hydraulic cracking dynamics in shale gas reservoirs and provides essential guidance for optimizing gas production. The research findings are instrumental for energy industry professionals, researchers, and policymakers alike, shaping the future of sustainable energy extraction from unconventional resources.

Keywords: fluid-solid coupling, apparent permeability, shale gas reservoir, fracture property, numerical simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Fatemeh Jafari Hemmat Abadi

Abstract:

Through empathy, caring, and nurturing, benevolent leaders can help people with disabilities overcome the stigma of disability and smile at their work environment and work. The main purpose of our research is to examine the performance of people with physical disabilities in virtual teams across geographical, cultural and linguistic barriers around the world. Our results show the relationship between benevolent leadership and the three components of well-being among administrative staff, disability including perceived discrimination, job satisfaction and the need for improvement. The two factors identified for productivity are pervasive team attitudes in the team and proper leadership by the team leader.

Keywords: benevolent leadership, virtual teams, group attitudes pervasive, climate including disability

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Murtala Marafa

Abstract:

It’s been 50 years now since we began the desperate search for a genuine all round development as a nation. Painfully though, like a wild goose chase, the search for that promised land had remain elusive. In this piece, recourse is made to the sound administrative qualities of the 19th century Sokoto Caliphate leaders. It enabled them to administer the vast entity on the basis of mutual peace and justice. It also guaranteed a just political order built on a sound and viable economy. The paper is of the view that if the Nigerian society can allow for a replication of such moral virtues as exemplified by the founding fathers of the Caliphate, Nigeria could transform into a politically coherent and economically viable nation aspired by all.

Keywords: administration, religion, sokoto caliphate, moral teachings

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Qiuhu Shao

Abstract:

Community home-based care service system, which is based on the family pension, supported by community pension and supplied by institutions pension, is an effective pension system to solve the current situation of China's accelerated aging. However, due to the fundamental realities of our country, the government is not able to bear the unilateral supply of the old-age service of the community. Therefore, based on the theory of welfare pluralism, the participation of social organizations in the home-based care service center has become an important part of the diversified supply of the old-age service for the elderly. Meanwhile, the home-based care service industry is still in the early stage, the management is relatively rough, which resulted in a large number of social resources waste. Thus, scientific, objective and long-term implementation is needed for social organizations to participate in home-based care services to guide its performance management. In order to realize the design of the performance management system, the author has done a research work that clarifies the research status of social organization's participation in home-based care service. Relevant theories such as welfare pluralism, community care theory, and performance management theory have been used to demonstrate the feasibility of data envelopment analysis method in social organization performance research. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the operation mode of the home-based care service center, and hackles the national as well as local documents, standards and norms related to the development of the home-based care industry, particularly studies those documents in Nanjing. Based on this, the paper designed a set of performance management PDCA system for home-based care service center in Nanjing and clarified each step of the system in detail. Subsequently, the research methods of performance evaluation and performance management and feedback, which are two core steps of performance management have been compared and screened in order to establish the overall framework of the performance management system of the home-based care service center. Through a large number of research, the paper summarized and analyzed the characteristics of the home-based care service center. Based on the research results, combined with the practice of the industry development in Nanjing, the paper puts forward a targeted performance evaluation index system of home-based care service center in Nanjing. Finally, the paper evaluated and sub-filed the performance of 186 home-based care service centers in Nanjing and then designed the performance optimization direction and performance improvement path based on the results. This study constructs the index system of performance evaluation of home-based care service and makes the index detailed to the implementation level, and constructs the evaluation index system which can be applied directly. Meanwhile, the quantitative evaluation of social organizations participating in the home-based care service changed the subjective impression in the previous practice of evaluation.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, home-based care, performance management, social organization

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Noura Al Akkari, Aurélie Foucquier, Sylvain Lespinats

Abstract:

Load monitoring is a management process for energy consumption towards energy savings and energy efficiency. Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is one method of load monitoring used for disaggregation purposes. NILM is a technique for identifying individual appliances based on the analysis of the whole residence data retrieved from the main power meter of the house. Our NILM framework starts with data acquisition, followed by data preprocessing, then event detection, feature extraction, then general appliance modeling and identification at the final stage. The event detection stage is a core component of NILM process since event detection techniques lead to the extraction of appliance features. Appliance features are required for the accurate identification of the household devices. In this research work, we aim at developing a new event detection methodology with accurate load disaggregation to extract appliance features. Time-domain features extracted are used for tuning general appliance models for appliance identification and classification steps. We use unsupervised algorithms such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). The proposed method relies on detecting areas of operation of each residential appliance based on the power demand. Then, detecting the time at which each selected appliance changes its states. In order to fit with practical existing smart meters capabilities, we work on low sampling data with a frequency of (1/60) Hz. The data is simulated on Load Profile Generator software (LPG), which was not previously taken into consideration for NILM purposes in the literature. LPG is a numerical software that uses behaviour simulation of people inside the house to generate residential energy consumption data. The proposed event detection method targets low consumption loads that are difficult to detect. Also, it facilitates the extraction of specific features used for general appliance modeling. In addition to this, the identification process includes unsupervised techniques such as DTW. To our best knowledge, there exist few unsupervised techniques employed with low sampling data in comparison to the many supervised techniques used for such cases. We extract a power interval at which falls the operation of the selected appliance along with a time vector for the values delimiting the state transitions of the appliance. After this, appliance signatures are formed from extracted power, geometrical and statistical features. Afterwards, those formed signatures are used to tune general model types for appliances identification using unsupervised algorithms. This method is evaluated using both simulated data on LPG and real-time Reference Energy Disaggregation Dataset (REDD). For that, we compute performance metrics using confusion matrix based metrics, considering accuracy, precision, recall and error-rate. The performance analysis of our methodology is then compared with other detection techniques previously used in the literature review, such as detection techniques based on statistical variations and abrupt changes (Variance Sliding Window and Cumulative Sum).

Keywords: electrical disaggregation, DTW, general appliance modeling, event detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Mahdi PourAsghar, Abbas Mas'udzadeh, Abdulhakim Tirgari, Saeed Dabiri Roushan, Hooman Rashidi, Fariba Salehi

Abstract:

Objective: One of the major objectives in sports areas is to achieve maximum athletic performance. Physical and psychological preparations are the basic factors for achieving maximum performance in athletes. Unfortunately, in the field of physical preparation, we can see maximum attention and planning of trainers and sports officials. But despite the importance of psychological preparation of athletes and its serious and profound effect on athletic performance, the results of sports competitions show that less attention is paid to this topic, and it is less under the control of counselors and psychologists in different areas of our sport. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the attitude of athletes and coaches to sport psychology. Materials and methods: A descriptive study with a sample size of 234 elite athletes and 216 skilled coaches was conducted in different areas of sports, in Sari, Mazandaran in 2015.The instrument was a questionnaire consisting of two parts of demographic data and Martin questionnaire, assessing the attitude to sport psychology. The data from this study were analyzed using Spss version 18, descriptive statistics tests, and Chi-square test. Results: In this study, positive attitudes of participants in need and confidence towards sport psychology consultation in athletes and coaches group were 55/1 and 56/5 percent, respectively. The positive attitude of female athletes in belief to psychology consultation was more than male athletes. Athletes with higher education had more positive attitude towards the presence of psychologists and psychiatrists in fields of sports. Conclusion: According to the findings based on the need to the psychology consultation in different areas of sports, it is recommended that through training of specialists in the field of sport psychology and review of sports programs in different fields of sports, the presence of these counselors to maintain the psychological preparation of athletes to achieve maximum athletic performance and reduce anxiety and stress be used.

Keywords: Keywords: Athletes, Eliteathletes, Coaches, Attitude, Sport psychology.

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Vaishakh Medikeri

Abstract:

Lightning, the marvelous, spectacular and the awesome truth of nature is one of the greatest energy sources left unharnessed since ages. A single lightning bolt of lightning contains energy of about 15 billion joules. This huge amount of energy cannot be harnessed completely but partially. This paper proposes to harness the energy from lightning strikes. Throughout the globe the frequency of lightning is 40-50 flashes per second, totally 1.4 billion flashes per year; all of these flashes carrying an average energy of about 15 billion joules each. When a lightning bolt strikes the ground, tremendous amounts of energy is transferred to earth which propagates in the form of concentric circular energy waves. These waves have a frequency of about 7.83Hz. Harvesting the lightning bolt directly seems impossible, but harvesting the energy waves produced by the lightning is pretty easier. This can be done using a tricoil energy harnesser which is a new device which I have invented. We know that lightning bolt seeks the path which has minimum resistance down to the earth. For this we can make a lightning rod about 100 meters high. Now the lightning rod is attached to the tricoil energy harnesser. The tricoil energy harnesser contains three coils whose centers are collinear and all the coils are parallel to the ground. The first coil has one of its ends connected to the lightning rod and the other end grounded. There is a secondary coil wound on the first coil with one of its end grounded and the other end pointing to the ground and left unconnected and placed a little bit above the ground so that this end of the coil produces more intense currents, hence producing intense energy waves. The first coil produces very high magnetic fields and induces them in the second and third coils. Along with the magnetic fields induced by the first coil, the energy waves which are currents also flow through the second and the third coils. The second and the third coils are connected to a generator which in turn is connected to a capacitor which stores the electrical energy. The first coil is placed in the middle of the second and the third coil. The stored energy can be used for transmission of electricity. This new technique of harnessing the lightning strikes would be most efficient in places with more probability of the lightning strikes. Since we are using a lightning rod sufficiently long, the probability of cloud to ground strikes is increased. If the proposed apparatus is implemented, it would be a great source of pure and clean energy.

Keywords: generator, lightning rod, tricoil energy harnesser, harvesting energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Nikat Parveen, M. Ananthi

Abstract:

Big data is one of the emerging technology, which collects the data from various sensors and those data will be used in many fields. Data retrieval is one of the major issue where there is a need to extract the exact data as per the need. In this paper, large amount of data set is processed by using the feature selection. Feature selection helps to choose the data which are actually needed to process and execute the task. The key value is the one which helps to point out exact data available in the storage space. Here the available data is streamed and R-Center is proposed to achieve this task.

Keywords: big data, key value, feature selection, retrieval, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Nasser Karami

Abstract:

Piracy in the North West of Indian Ocean and the Red Sea has become a global crisis in recent years. Pirates of this area are often very poor people from the Horn of Africa and the western coast of the Red Sea. Climatic and geographical evidence suggests that poverty and destruction of social structures in the region have directly relation to prolonged-drought. Indeed, after the seventies (more than 40 years ago) due to the long-term drought in the region, all political, economic and social structures had declined. Spread of terrorism, violent extremism and of course piracy, are main effects of climate change and drought of this regression. It is disturbing to say the climatic documents say that because of global climate change, severe drought will continue in this region. This mean that the dangers worse than piracy threatens the future of this area. Forty-year data that has assessed in this study indicate that there is direct relationship between spread of drought and piracy in the Red Sea.

Keywords: climate, poverty, climate change, drought, piracy in red sea

Procedia PDF Downloads 484

Authors: Chin-Wen Chien

Abstract:

Protocols are tools that help teachers inquire into the teaching and professional learning during the professional dialogue. This study focused on the integration of protocols into elementary school English teachers’ professional dialogue and discussed the influence of protocols on teachers’ teaching and learning. Based on the analysis of documents, observations, and interviews, this study concluded that with the introduction of protocols to elementary school English teachers, three major protocols were used during their professional dialogue. These protocols led the teachers to gain professional learning in content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. However, the facilitators’ lack of experience in using protocols led to interruptions during the professional dialogue. Suggestions for effective protocol-based professional dialogue are provided.

Keywords: protocols, professional learning, professional dialogue, classroom practice

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Oyenike A. Adeyemo, Elizabeth Osibote, Adeyemi Adedugba, Olatunde A. Bhadmus, Adeoluwa A. Adeoshun, Mariam O. Allison

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Lemongrass leaves are widely used for tea and the treatment of malaria. The present study used Soxhlet extraction with aqueous ethanol (v/v). Fresh and dried leaves of selected ten lemongrasses (Cymbopogon citratus) accessions from different geographical regions in Nigeria were examined for total phenolic contents, and antioxidant activities. Aqueous methanol extraction was carried out and further partitioned into hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol to obtain fractions according to their polarities. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was carried out to identify the functional groups that may be present. Among the ten accessions, the leaf extracts at five different concentrations exhibited increasing antioxidant activities using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl- 1- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging test, stronger activities for dried leaves (71.15 ± 0.14 - 89.79 ± 0.16µg/ml) than fresh leaves (71.65 ± 0.45 -81.94 ± 0.84 µg/ml) at 100 µg/ml of sample extract. The total phenolic contents of dried leaf extracts revealed higher amounts in all lines ranging from 19.57±0.57 to 43.17±0.67mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g DW when compared with fresh leaf extracts, where the values ranged from 9.68 ± 2.20 to 28.5 ± 3.90 mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g fresh weight except for two lines which showed greater total phenolic contents than in the dried leaves. High total phenolic content may help contribute to the overall high antioxidant activity of the plant. FTIR identified the presence of major active functional groups including alcohol, ester, amide, alkanes, alkenes, carboxylic acid, ketones, and aldehyde in four partitioning solvents (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and methanol) leaf extracts of lemongrass samples.Lemongrass leaves are widely used for tea and the treatment of malaria. The present study used Soxhlet extraction with aqueous ethanol (v/v). Fresh and dried leaves of selected ten lemongrasses (Cymbopogon citratus) accessions from different geographical regions in Nigeria were examined for total phenolic contents, and antioxidant activities. Aqueous methanol extraction was carried out and further partitioned into hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol to obtain fractions according to their polarities. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was carried out to identify the functional groups that may be present. Among the ten accessions, the leaf extracts at five different concentrations exhibited increasing antioxidant activities using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl- 1- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging test, stronger activities for dried leaves (71.15 ± 0.14 - 89.79 ± 0.16µg/ml) than fresh leaves (71.65 ± 0.45 -81.94 ± 0.84 µg/ml) at 100 µg/ml of sample extract. The total phenolic contents of dried leaf extracts revealed higher amounts in all lines ranging from 19.57±0.57 to 43.17±0.67mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g DW when compared with fresh leaf extracts, where the values ranged from 9.68 ± 2.20 to 28.5 ± 3.90 mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g fresh weight except for two lines which showed greater total phenolic contents than in the dried leaves. High total phenolic content may help contribute to the overall high antioxidant activity of the plant. FTIR identified the presence of major active functional groups including alcohol, ester, amide, alkanes, alkenes, carboxylic acid, ketones, and aldehyde in four partitioning solvents (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and methanol) leaf extracts of lemongrass samples.

Keywords: antioxidant acivity, phenolic content, natural product, FTIR

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Authors: Narges Hamidipour

Abstract:

VOD, which stands for "video on demand", is one kind of watching movies and series on web platforms that, by using them, individuals can access lots of video content by paying abonnement. The first platform in Iran was funded in 2014, and in the last 10 years, it has become the main part of the movie and series industry. There are 374 VOD platforms in Iran, but just three of them are in the mainstream. However, in these years, they have been developed and famed in different ways. This article focuses on the reasons for this development in the past years. For the framework, "digital economy", "media industries," and "political economy" have been used with the interview method. In this research, some experts in SATRA (regulatory organization of inclusive audio and video media in Iran), owners or managers of VODs and some others who directly have been in the system conveyed their opinions. By the way, some documents and analysis statistics are invoked to reach complete results.

Keywords: digital economy, political economy, VOD, interview, iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Noura Al Akkari, Aurélie Foucquier, Sylvain Lespinats

Abstract:

Load monitoring is a management process for energy consumption towards energy savings and energy efficiency. Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is one method of load monitoring used for disaggregation purposes. NILM is a technique for identifying individual appliances based on the analysis of the whole residence data retrieved from the main power meter of the house. Our NILM framework starts with data acquisition, followed by data preprocessing, then event detection, feature extraction, then general appliance modeling and identification at the final stage. The event detection stage is a core component of NILM process since event detection techniques lead to the extraction of appliance features. Appliance features are required for the accurate identification of the household devices. In this research work, we aim at developing a new event detection methodology with accurate load disaggregation to extract appliance features. Time-domain features extracted are used for tuning general appliance models for appliance identification and classification steps. We use unsupervised algorithms such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). The proposed method relies on detecting areas of operation of each residential appliance based on the power demand. Then, detecting the time at which each selected appliance changes its states. In order to fit with practical existing smart meters capabilities, we work on low sampling data with a frequency of (1/60) Hz. The data is simulated on Load Profile Generator software (LPG), which was not previously taken into consideration for NILM purposes in the literature. LPG is a numerical software that uses behaviour simulation of people inside the house to generate residential energy consumption data. The proposed event detection method targets low consumption loads that are difficult to detect. Also, it facilitates the extraction of specific features used for general appliance modeling. In addition to this, the identification process includes unsupervised techniques such as DTW. To our best knowledge, there exist few unsupervised techniques employed with low sampling data in comparison to the many supervised techniques used for such cases. We extract a power interval at which falls the operation of the selected appliance along with a time vector for the values delimiting the state transitions of the appliance. After this, appliance signatures are formed from extracted power, geometrical and statistical features. Afterwards, those formed signatures are used to tune general model types for appliances identification using unsupervised algorithms. This method is evaluated using both simulated data on LPG and real-time Reference Energy Disaggregation Dataset (REDD). For that, we compute performance metrics using confusion matrix based metrics, considering accuracy, precision, recall and error-rate. The performance analysis of our methodology is then compared with other detection techniques previously used in the literature review, such as detection techniques based on statistical variations and abrupt changes (Variance Sliding Window and Cumulative Sum).

Keywords: general appliance model, non intrusive load monitoring, events detection, unsupervised techniques;

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Authors: Denis Mustafov, Emmanouil Karteris, Maria Braoudaki

Abstract:

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is a heterogenous primary brain tumour that kills most affected patients. To the authors best knowledge, despite all research efforts there is no early diagnostic biomarker for GBM. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules which are deregulated in many cancers. The aim of this research was to determine miRNAs with a diagnostic impact and to potentially identify promising therapeutic targets for glioblastoma multiform. In silico analysis was performed to identify deregulated miRNAs with diagnostic relevance for glioblastoma. The expression profiles of the chosen miRNAs were then validated in vitro in the human glioblastoma cell lines A172 and U-87MG. Briefly, RNA extraction was carried out using the Trizol method, whilst miRNA extraction was performed using the mirVANA miRNA isolation kit. Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction was performed to verify their expression. The presence of five target proteins within the A172 cell line was evaluated by Western blotting. The expression of the CORO1C protein within 32 GBM cases was examined via immunohistochemistry. The miRNAs identified in silico included miR-21-5p, miR-34a and miR-128a. These miRNAs were shown to target deregulated GBM genes, such as CDK6, E2F3, BMI1, JAG1, and CORO1C. miR-34a and miR-128a showed low expression profiles in comparison to a control miR-RNU-44 in both GBM cell lines suggesting tumour suppressor properties. Opposing, miR-21-5p demonstrated greater expression indicating that it could potentially function as an oncomiR. Western blotting revealed expression of all five proteins within the A172 cell line. In silico analysis also suggested that CORO1C is a target of miR-128a and miR-34a. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that 75% of the GBM cases showed moderate to high expression of CORO1C protein. Greater understanding of the deregulated expression of miR-128a and the upregulation of CORO1C in GBM could potentially lead to the identification of a promising diagnostic biomarker signature for glioblastomas.

Keywords: non-coding RNAs, gene expression, brain tumours, immunohistochemistry

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Authors: Jukka Törrönen

Abstract:

In the article, we examine the interplay between the practices of heavy drinking and exercise among young people as patterned around the ‘social’ and ‘physical health’ approaches. The comparison helps us to clarify why young people are currently drinking less than earlier and how the neoliberal healthism discourse, as well as the feminine tradition of taking care of one’s body, are modifying young people’s heavy drinking practices. The data is based on interviews (n = 56) in Sweden among 15-16-year-olds and 18˗19-year-olds. By drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and capital, we examine what kinds of resources of wellbeing young people accumulate in the fields of heavy drinking and exercise, how these resources carry symbolic value for distinction, and what kind of health-related habitus they imply. The analysis suggests that as heavy drinking is no longer able to stand as a practice through which one may acquire capital that is more valuable than the capital acquired in other fields, this lessens peer pressure to drink among young people. Our analysis further shows that the healthism discourse modifies young people’s heavy drinking practices both from inside and from outside. The interviewees translate the symbolic value of healthism discourse to social vulnerability and deploy it for the purposes of increasing one’s social status among peers. Moreover, our analysis demonstrates that the social spaces and positions in intoxication and exercise are shaped by gendered dualisms of masculine dominance. However, while the interviewees naturalize the gender binaries in intoxication as based on biological drives, they understand gender binaries in exercise as normative social constructions of neoliberal society. As these binaries emphasize the struggle for recognition of the symbolic value of bodily look, they may shift young men’s attention from risk-taking to issues that traditionally have been female concerns.

Keywords: young people, decline in drinking , health, intoxication, exercise, Bourdieu

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Authors: Sevil Yildiz

Abstract:

Audio visual communication is a type of collective expression. Collective expression activity informs the masses, gives direction to opinions and establishes public opinion. Due to these characteristics, audio visual communication must be subjected to special restrictions. This has been stipulated in both the Constitution and the European Human Rights Agreement. This paper aims to review freedom of expression and its restriction in audio visual media. For this purpose, the authorisation of the Radio and Television Supreme Council to impose sanctions as an independent administrative authority empowered to regulate the field of audio visual communication has been reviewed with regard to freedom of expression and its limits.

Keywords: audio visual media, freedom of expression, its limits, radio and television supreme council

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: Jonathan A. Noble

Abstract:

‘Origins’ is an exhibition designed and installed by MMA Design Studio, at the 2023 Venice Biennale. The instillation formed part of the ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ group exhibition at the Arsenale building. An immersive experience was created for those who visited, where video projection and the bodies of visitors interacted with the scene. Designed by South African architect, Mphethi Morojele – founder and owner of MMA – the primary inspiration for ‘Origins’ was the recent discovery by Professor Karim Sadr in 2019, of a substantial Tswana settlement. Situated in present day Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, some 45km south of Johannesburg, this precolonial city named Kweneng, has been dated back to the fifteenth century. This remarkable discovery was achieved thanks to advanced aerial, LiDAR scanning technology, which was used to capture the traces of Kweneng, spanning a terrain of some 10km long and 2km wide. Discovered by light (LiDAR) and exhibited through light, Origins presents a simulated experience of Kweneng. The presentation of Kweneng was achieved primarily though video, with a circular projection onto the floor of an animated LiDAR data sequence, and onto the walls a filmed dance sequence choreographed to embody the architectural, spatial and symbolic significance of Kweneng. This paper documents the design process that was involved in the conceptualization, development and final realization of this noteworthy exhibition, with an elucidation upon key social and cultural questions pertaining to precolonial heritage, reimagined histories and postcolonial identity. Periods of change and of social awakening sometimes spark an interest in questions of origin, of cultural lineage and belonging – and which certainly is the case for contemporary, post-Apartheid South Africa. Researching this paper has required primary study of MMA Design Studio’s project archive, including various proposals and other design related documents, conceptual design sketches, architectural drawings and photographs. This material is supported by the authors first-hand interviews with Morejele and others who were involved, especially with respect to the choreography of the interpretive dance, LiDAR visualization techniques and video production that informed the simulated, immersive experience at the exhibition. Presenting a ‘dangerous liaison’ between architecture and dance, Origins looks into the distant past to frame contemporary questions pertaining to intangible heritage, animism and embodiment through architecture and dance – considerations which are required “to survive the future”, says Morojele.

Keywords: architecture and dance, Kweneng, MMA design studio, origins, Venice Biennale

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Authors: Nicole Vlasman, Karamjeet Dhillon

Abstract:

Over the past four years, the Healthy Relationships Program has been delivered in community organizations and schools across Canada. More than 240 groups have been facilitated in collaboration with 33 organizations. As a result, 2157 youth have been engaged in the programming. The purpose and scope of the Healthy Relationships Program are to offer sustainable, evidence-based skills through small group implementation to prevent violence and promote positive, healthy relationships in youth. The program development has included extensive networking at regional and national levels. The Healthy Relationships Program is currently being implemented, adapted, and researched within the Resilience and Inclusion through Strengthening and Enhancing Relationships (RISE-R) project. Alongside the project’s research objectives, the RISE-R team has worked to virtually share the ongoing findings of the project through a slow ontology approach. Slow ontology is a practice integrated into project systems and structures whereby slowing the pace and volume of outputs offers creative opportunities. Creative production reveals different layers of success and complements the project, the building blocks for sustainability. As a result of integrating a slow ontology approach, the RISE-R team has developed a Geographic Information System (GIS) that documents local landscapes through a Story Map feature, and more specifically, video installations. Video installations capture the cartography of space and place within the context of singular diverse community spaces (case studies). By documenting spaces via human connections, the project captures narratives, which further enhance the voices and faces of the community within the larger project scope. This GIS project aims to create a visual and interactive flow of information that complements the project's mixed-method research approach. Conclusively, creative project development in the form of a geographic information system can provide learning and engagement opportunities at many levels (i.e., within community organizations and educational spaces or with the general public). In each of these disconnected spaces, fragmented stories are connected through a visual display of project outputs. A slow ontology practice within the context of the RISE-R project documents activities on the fringes and within internal structures; primarily through documenting project successes as further contributions to the Centre for School Mental Health framework (philosophy, recruitment techniques, allocation of resources and time, and a shared commitment to evidence-based products).

Keywords: community programming, geographic information system, project development, project management, qualitative, slow ontology

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Valentine C. Eze, Adam P. Harvey

Abstract:

Contamination of groundwater and soil by heavy metals and metalloids through anthropogenic activities and natural occurrence poses serious environmental challenges globally. A possible solution to this problem is through phytoremediation of the contaminants using hyper-accumulating plants. Conventional phytoremediation treats the contaminated hyper-accumulator biomass as a waste stream which adds no value to the heavy metal(loid)s decontamination process. This study investigates strategies for remediation of soil contaminated with arsenic and the extractive chemical routes for recovery of arsenic and phosphorus from the hyper-accumulator biomass. Pteris cretica ferns species were investigated for their uptake of arsenic from soil containing 200 ± 3ppm of arsenic. The Pteris cretica ferns were shown to be capable of hyper-accumulation of arsenic, with maximum accumulations of about 4427 ± 79mg to 4875 ± 96mg of As per kg of the dry ferns. The arsenic in the Pteris cretica fronds was extracted into various solvents, with extraction efficiencies of 94.3 ± 2.1% for ethanol-water (1:1 v/v), 81.5 ± 3.2% for 1:1(v/v) methanol-water, and 70.8 ± 2.9% for water alone. The recovery efficiency of arsenic from the molybdic acid complex process 90.8 ± 5.3%. Phosphorus was also recovered from the molybdic acid complex process at 95.1 ± 4.6% efficiency. Quantitative precipitation of Mg₃(AsO₄)₂ and Mg₃(PO₄)₂ occurred in the treatment of the aqueous solutions of arsenic and phosphorus after stripping at pH of 8 – 10. The amounts of Mg₃(AsO₄)₂ and Mg₃(PO₄)₂ obtained were 96 ± 7.2% for arsenic and 94 ± 3.4% for phosphorus. The arsenic nanoparticles produced from the Mg₃(AsO₄)₂ recovered from the biomass have the average particles diameter of 45.5 ± 11.3nm. A two-stage reduction process – a first step pre-reduction of As(V) to As(III) with L-cysteine, followed by NaBH₄ reduction of the As(III) to As(0), was required to produced arsenic nanoparticles from the Mg₃(AsO₄)₂. The arsenic nanoparticles obtained are potentially valuable for medical applications, while the Mg₃(AsO₄)₂ could be used as an insecticide. The phosphorus contents of the Pteris cretica biomass was recovered as phosphomolybdic acid complex and converted to Mg₃(PO₄)₂, which could be useful in productions of fertilizer. Recovery of these valuable products from phytoremediation biomass would incentivize and drive commercial industries’ participation in remediation of contaminated lands.

Keywords: phytoremediation, Pteris cretica, hyper-accumulator, solvent extraction, molybdic acid process, arsenic nanoparticles

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Authors: Amir Rashid

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Today is the world of innovations where everyone is looking for a change. Organizations are now looking toward virtualization in order to minimize their computing cost. Cloud Computing has also introduced itself by the means of reducing computing cost. It offers different approach to make computing better by improving utilization and reducing infrastructure and administrative costs. Cloud Computing is basically the amalgamation of Utility Computing and SaaS (Software as a Service). Cloud Computing is quite new to organizations as it is still at its deploying stage. Due to this reason, organizations are not confident whether to adopt it or not. This thesis investigates the problem for organization concerning the security and cost issues. Benefits and drawbacks are being highlighted which organizations can have or suffer in order to adopt Cloud Computing. In Conclusion, Cloud Computing is a better option available for small and medium organizations with a comparison to large companies both in terms of data security and cost.

Keywords: cloud computing, security, cost, elasticity, PaaS, IaaS, SaaS

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Authors: Salih Uzun

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The laboratory activities are seen an indispensable part of science, teaching, and learning. In this study, the aim was to identify pre-service science teachers’ perceptions related to the concept of laboratory through metaphors. It is expressed that metaphors can be used as a powerful research tool in order to understand personal perceptions. Therefore, metaphors were used with the aim of revealing a picture regarding how pre-service science teachers perceive laboratory. Within the scope of this aim, phenomenographic research design was adopted for this study and an answer was sought to the question; ‘What are pre-service science teachers’ perceptions about the concept of laboratory?’. The sample of this study was a total of 80 pre-service science teachers at various grade levels in Turkey. Participants were asked to complete the sentence; ‘Laboratory is like…; because…’. Documents including pre-service science teachers’ answers to the open-ended questions were used as data sources and the data were analysed with content analysis.

Keywords: laboratory, metaphor, phenomenology, pre-service science teachers

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Authors: Okike Benjamin, Garba E J. D.

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Encryption is used to conceal information from prying eyes. Presently, information and data encryption are common due to the volume of data and information in transit across the globe on daily basis. Image encryption is yet to receive the attention of the researchers as deserved. In other words, video and multimedia documents are exposed to unauthorized accessors. The authors propose image encryption using matrix transpose. An algorithm that would allow image encryption is developed. In this proposed image encryption technique, the image to be encrypted is split into parts based on the image size. Each part is encrypted separately using matrix transpose. The actual encryption is on the picture elements (pixel) that make up the image. After encrypting each part of the image, the positions of the encrypted images are swapped before transmission of the image can take place. Swapping the positions of the images is carried out to make the encrypted image more robust for any cryptanalyst to decrypt.

Keywords: image encryption, matrices, pixel, matrix transpose

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Authors: Siyabonga Aubrey Mhlongo, Linda Lunga Sibali, Phumlane Selby Mdluli, Peter Papoh Ndibewu, Kholofelo Clifford Malematja

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This paper reports on the successful extraction and quantification of an antibacterial and antifungal agent present in some consumer products (Triclosan: C₁₂H₇Cl₃O₂)generally found in wastewater or effluents using molecularly imprinted membrane adsorbent (MIMs) followed by quantification and removal on a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent present in some consumer products like toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments. The MIMs was fabricated usingpolyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer with selective micro composite particles known as molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs)via a phase inversion by immersion precipitation technique. This resulted in an improved hydrophilicity and mechanical behaviour of the membranes. Wastewater samples were collected from the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex (UIC) (south coast of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa). central UIC effluent treatment plant and pre-treated before analysis. Experimental parameters such as sample size, contact time, stirring speed were optimised. The resultant MIMs had an adsorption efficiency of 97% of TCS with reference to NIMs and bare membrane, which had 92%, 88%, respectively. The analytical method utilized in this review had limits of detection (LoD) and limits of quantification (LoQ) of 0.22, 0.71µgL-1 in wastewater effluent, respectively. The percentage recovery for the effluent samples was 68%. The detection of TCS was monitored for 10 consecutive days, where optimum TCS traces detected in the treated wastewater was 55.0μg/L inday 9 of the monitored days, while the lowest detected was 6.0μg/L. As the concentrations of analytefound in effluent water samples were not so diverse, this study suggested that MIMs could be the best potential adsorbent for the development and continuous progress in membrane technologyand environmental sciences, lending its capability to desalination.

Keywords: molecularly imprinted membrane, triclosan, phase inversion, wastewater

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Authors: G. Robles, A. Stifi, José L. Ponz-Tienda, S. Gentes

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This research paper aims to identify, analyze and rank factors affecting labor productivity in Spain with respect to their relative importance. Using a selected set of 35 factors, a structured questionnaire survey was utilized as the method to collect data from companies. Target population is comprised by a random representative sample of practitioners related with the Spanish construction industry. Findings reveal the top five ranked factors are as follows: (1) shortage or late supply of materials; (2) clarity of the drawings and project documents; (3) clear and daily task assignment; (4) tools or equipment shortages; (5) level of skill and experience of laborers. Additionally, this research also pretends to provide simple and comprehensive recommendations so that they could be implemented by construction managers for an effective management of construction labor forces.

Keywords: construction management, factors, improvement, labor productivity, lean construction

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Authors: Rashid Mahmood

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The network as a service (NaaS) usage has been well-known from the last few years in the many applications, like mission critical applications. In the NaaS, prevention method is not adequate as the security concerned, so the detection method should be added to the security issues in NaaS. The authentication and encryption are considered the first solution of the NaaS problem whereas now these are not sufficient as NaaS use is increasing. In this paper, we are going to present the concept of intrusion detection and then survey some of major intrusion detection techniques in NaaS and aim to compare in some important fields.

Keywords: IDS, cloud, naas, detection

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Authors: Shoukat Ali, Abdul Qadir Jandga, Amjad Hussain

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Objective: The main purpose of this study is to compare the Percent Depth dose (PDD) and In-plane and cross-plane profiles of Varian Golden beam data to the measured data of 6 and 18 MV photons for the commissioning of Eclipse treatment planning system. Introduction: Commissioning of treatment planning system requires an extensive acquisition of beam data for the clinical use of linear accelerators. Accurate dose delivery require to enter the PDDs, Profiles and dose rate tables for open and wedges fields into treatment planning system, enabling to calculate the MUs and dose distribution. Varian offers a generic set of beam data as a reference data, however not recommend for clinical use. In this study, we compared the generic beam data with the measured beam data to evaluate the reliability of generic beam data to be used for the clinical purpose. Methods and Material: PDDs and Profiles of Open and Wedge fields for different field sizes and at different depths measured as per Varian’s algorithm commissioning guideline. The measurement performed with PTW 3D-scanning water phantom with semi-flex ion chamber and MEPHYSTO software. The online available Varian Golden Beam Data compared with the measured data to evaluate the accuracy of the golden beam data to be used for the commissioning of Eclipse treatment planning system. Results: The deviation between measured vs. golden beam data was in the range of 2% max. In PDDs, the deviation increases more in the deeper depths than the shallower depths. Similarly, profiles have the same trend of increasing deviation at large field sizes and increasing depths. Conclusion: Study shows that the percentage deviation between measured and golden beam data is within the acceptable tolerance and therefore can be used for the commissioning process; however, verification of small subset of acquired data with the golden beam data should be mandatory before clinical use.

Keywords: percent depth dose, flatness, symmetry, golden beam data

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Authors: Satu Lautamäki

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This paper presents findings from a multidisciplinary course (bachelor level) implemented at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Finland. The course aims to develop innovative thinking of students, by having projects given by companies, using design thinking methods as a tool for creativity and by integrating students into multidisciplinary teams working on the given projects. The course is obligatory for all first year bachelor students across four faculties (business and culture, food and agriculture, health care and social work, and technology). The course involves around 800 students and 30 pedagogical coaches, and it is implemented as an intensive one-week course each year. The paper discusses the pedagogy, structure and coordination of the course. Also, reflections on methods for the development of creative skills are given. Experts in contemporary, global context often work in teams, which consist of people who have different areas of expertise and represent various professional backgrounds. That is why there is a strong need for new training methods where multidisciplinary approach is at the heart of learning. Creative learning takes place when different parties bring information to the discussion and learn from each other. When students in different fields are looking for professional growth for themselves and take responsibility for the professional growth of other learners, they form a mutual learning relationship with each other. Multidisciplinary team members make decisions both individually and collectively, which helps them to understand and appreciate other disciplines. Our results show that creative and multidisciplinary project learning can develop diversity of knowledge and competences, for instance, students’ cultural knowledge, teamwork and innovation competences, time management and presentation skills as well as support a student’s personal development as an expert. It is highly recommended that higher education curricula should include various studies for students from different study fields to work in multidisciplinary teams.

Keywords: multidisciplinary learning, creative skills, innovative thinking, project-based learning

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Authors: Priyanka Yadav, Rajkumar Ghosh, Alok Saini

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Human civilization cannot exist and thrive in the absence of adequate water. As a result, even in smart cities, water plays an important role in human existence. The key causes of this catastrophic water scarcity crisis are lifestyle changes, over-exploitation of groundwater, water over usage, rapid urbanization, and uncontrolled population growth. Furthermore, salty water seeps into deeper aquifers, causing land subsidence. The purpose of this study on artificial groundwater recharge is to address the water shortage in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. Submersibles are the most common methods of collecting freshwater from groundwater in Gomti Nagar neighbourhood of Lucknow. Gomti Nagar area has a groundwater depletion rate of 1968 m3/day/km2 and is categorized as Zone-A (very high levels) based on the existing groundwater abstraction pattern - A to D. Harvesting rainwater using roof top rainwater harvesting systems (RTRWHs) is an effective method for reducing aquifer depletion in a sustainable water management system. Rainwater collecting using roof top rainwater harvesting systems (RTRWHs) is an effective method for reducing aquifer depletion in a sustainable water conservation system. Due to a water imbalance of 24519 ML/yr, the Gomti Nagar region is facing severe groundwater depletion. According to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), the impact of installed RTRWHs (plot area 300 sq. m.) is 0.04 percent of rainfall collected through RTRWHs in Gomti Nagar region of Lucknow. When RTRWHs are deployed in all buildings, their influence will be greater. Bye-laws in India have mandated the installation of RTRWHs on plots greater than 300 sq.m. A better India without any water problem is a pipe dream that may be realized by installing residential and commercial rooftop rainwater collecting systems in every structure. According to the current study, RTRWHs should be used as an alternate source of water to bridge the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction in smart city viz. Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, India.

Keywords: groundwater recharge, RTRWHs, harvested rainwater, rainfall, water extraction

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Authors: Giancarlo La Marca, Engy Shokry, Fabio Villanelli

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Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, with an estimated prevalence of 50 million people worldwide. Twenty five percent of the epilepsy population is represented in children under the age of 15 years. For antiepileptic drugs (AED), there is a poor correlation between plasma concentration and dose especially in children. This was attributed to greater pharmacokinetic variability than adults. Hence, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is recommended in controlling toxicity while drug exposure is maintained. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a first-line AED and the drug of first choice in trigeminal neuralgia. CBZ is metabolised in the liver into carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZE), its major metabolite which is equipotent. This develops the need for an assay able to monitor the levels of both CBZ and CBZE. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of CBZ and CBZE in dried blood spots (DBS). DBS technique overcomes many logistical problems, ethical issues and technical challenges faced by classical plasma sampling. LC-MS/MS has been regarded as superior technique over immunoassays and HPLC/UV methods owing to its better specificity and sensitivity, lack of interference or matrix effects. Our method combines advantages of DBS technique and LC-MS/MS in clinical practice. The extraction process was done using methanol-water-formic acid (80:20:0.1, v/v/v). The chromatographic elution was achieved by using a linear gradient with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water-0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.50 mL/min. The method was linear over the range 1-40 mg/L and 0.25-20 mg/L for CBZ and CBZE respectively. The limit of quantification was 1.00 mg/L and 0.25 mg/L for CBZ and CBZE, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day assay precisions were found to be less than 6.5% and 11.8%. An evaluation of DBS technique was performed, including effect of extraction solvent, spot homogeneity and stability in DBS. Results from a comparison with the plasma assay are also presented. The novelty of the present work lies in being the first to quantify CBZ and its metabolite from only one 3.2 mm DBS disc finger-prick sample (3.3-3.4 µl blood) by LC-MS/MS in a 10 min. chromatographic run.

Keywords: carbamazepine, carbamazepine-10, 11-epoxide, dried blood spots, LC-MS/MS, therapeutic drug monitoring

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