Search results for: forage production area

Authors: Amarachi Delight Onyemachi, Gregory Ikechukwu Onwuka

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The growing consumer trend for natural ingredients, functional foods with health benefits and the perceived risk of carcinogenesis associated with synthetic antioxidants have forced food manufacturers to look for alternatives for producing healthy and safe food. Herbs and spices are cheap, natural and harmless sources of antioxidants which can delay and prevent lipid oxidation of food products and also confer its unique organoleptic properties and health benefits to food products. The Nigerian climate has been proven to be conducive for the production of spices and herbs and is blessed bountifully with a wide range of them. Five selected Nigerian herbs and spices Piper guieense, Xylopia aethopica, Gongronema latifolium and Ocimum gratissimum were evaluated for their ability to act as radical scavengers. The spices were extracted with 80% ethanol and evaluated using total phenolic capacity (TPC), DPPH (1,1-diph diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical) ABTS (2,2’azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reducing power (RP) assays. The TPC ranged from 5.33 µg GAE/mg (in Gongronema latifolium) to 15.55 µg GAE/mg (in Ocimum gratissimum). The DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity of the extracts ranged from 0.23-0.36 IC50 mg/ml and 2.32-7.25 Trolox equivalent % respectively. The TAC and RP of the extract ranged from 6.73-10.64 µg AAE/mg and 3.52-10.19 µg AAE/mg. The result of percentage yield of the extract ranged from as low as 9.94% in Gongronema latifolium and to as high as 23.85% in Xylopia aethopica. A very strong positive relationship existed between the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of the tested herbs and spices (R2=0.96). All of the extracts exhibited different extent of strong antioxidant activity, high antioxidant activity was found in Ocimum gratissimum and Gongronema latifolium with the least. However, Gongronema latifolium possessed the highest total antioxidant capacity. These data confirm the appreciable antioxidant potentials and high phenolic content of Nigerian herbs and spices, thereby providing justification for their use in dishes and functional foods, prevention of cellular damage caused by free radicals and use as natural antioxidants in the food industry for prevention of lipid oxidation in food products. However, to utilize these natural antioxidants in food products, further analysis and studies of their behaviour in food systems at varying temperature, pH conditions and ionic concentrations should be carried out to displace the use of synthetic antioxidants like BHT and BHA.

Keywords: Antioxidant, free radicals, herbs, phenolic, spices

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Lisa Graham, Kathleen Grant

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South Africa is a multicultural country with eleven official languages, yet most of the formal education at institutions of higher education in the country is in English. It is well known that many students, irrespective of their home language, struggle to grasp difficult scientific concepts and the same is true for students enrolled in the Extended Curriculum Programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), studying biomedical sciences. Today we are fortunate in that there is a plethora of resources available to students to research and better understand subject matter online. For example, the students often use YouTube videos to supplement the formal education provided in our course. Unfortunately, most of this material is presented in English. The rationale behind this project lies in that it is well documented that students think and grasp concepts easier in their home language and addresses the fact that the lingua franca of instruction in the field of biomedical science is English. A project aimed at addressing the lack of available resources in most of the South African languages is planned, where students studying Bachelor of Health Science in Medical Laboratory Science will collaborate with those studying Film and Video Technology to create educational videos, explaining scientific concepts in their home languages. These videos will then be published on our own YouTube channel, thereby making them accessible to fellow students, future students and anybody with interest in the subject. Research will be conducted to determine the benefit of the project as well as the published videos to the student community. It is suspected that the students engaged in making the videos will benefit in such a way as to gain further understanding of their course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, an enhanced sense of civic responsibility, as well as greater respect for the different languages and cultures in our classes. Indeed, an increase in student engagement has been shown to play a central role in student success, and it is well noted that deeper learning and more innovative solutions take place in collaborative groups. We aim to make a meaningful contribution towards the production and repository of knowledge in multilingual teaching and learning for the benefit of the diverse student population and staff. This would strengthen language development, multilingualism, and multiculturalism at CPUT and empower and promote African languages as languages of science and education at CPUT, in other institutions of higher learning, and in South Africa as a whole.

Keywords: educational videos, multiculturalism, multilingualism, student engagement

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: H. S. Niroshani, W. M. Ediri Arachchi, R. Tudugala, U. J. M. A. L. Jayasinghe, U. M. U. J. Jayasekara, P. B. Hewavithana

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Mammography is used as a screening tool for early diagnosis of breast cancer. It is also useful in refining the diagnosis of breast cancer either by assessment or work up after a suspicious area in the breast has been detected. In order to detect breast cancer accurately and at the earliest possible stage, the image must have an optimum contrast to reveal mass densities and spiculated fibrous structures radiating from them. In addition, the spatial resolution must be adequate to reveal the suffusion of micro calcifications and their shape. The above factors can be optimized by implementing an effective QA programme to enhance the accurate diagnosis of mammographic imaging. Therefore, the radiographer’s knowledge on QA is greatly instrumental in routine mammographic practice. The aim of this study was to assess the radiographer’s knowledge on Quality Assurance and Quality Control programmes in relation to mammographic procedures. A cross-sectional study was carried out among all radiographers working in each mammography setting in Sri Lanka. Pre-tested, anonymous self-administered questionnaires were circulated among the study population and duly filled questionnaires returned within a period of three months were taken into the account. The data on demographical information, knowledge on QA programme and associated QC tests, overall knowledge on QA and QC programmes were obtained. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistical software (version 20.0). The total response rate was 59.6% and the average knowledge score was 54.15±11.29 SD out of 100. Knowledge was compared on the basis of education level, special training of mammography, and the years of working experience in a mammographic setting of the individuals. Out of 31 subjects, 64.5% (n=20) were graduate radiographers and 35.5% (n=11) were diploma holders while 83.9% (n=26) of radiographers have been specially trained for mammography and 16.1% (n=5) have not been attended for any special training for mammography. It is also noted that 58.1% (n=18) of individuals possessed their experience of less than one year and rest 41.9% (n=13) of them were greater than that. Further, the results found that there is a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the knowledge of QA and overall knowledge on QA and QC programme in the categories of education level and working experience. Also, results imply that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the knowledge of QC test among the groups of trained and non-trained radiographers. This study reveals that education level, working experience and the training obtained particularly in the field of mammography have a significant impact on their knowledge on QA and QC in mammography.

Keywords: knowledge, mammography, quality assurance, quality control

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Authors: Ernest Gyan Bediako, Petra Dancova, Tomas Vit

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Flow boiling heat transfer remains an important area of research due to its relevance in thermal management systems and other applications. Despite the enormous work done in the field of flow boiling heat transfer over the years to understand how flow parameters such as mass flux, heat flux, saturation conditions and tube geometries influence the characteristics of flow boiling heat transfer, there are still many contradictions and lack of agreement on the actual mechanisms controlling heat transfer and how flow parameters impact the heat transfer. This work thus seeks to experimentally investigate the heat transfer characteristics and flow patterns at low mass fluxes, low heat fluxes and low saturation pressure conditions which are of less attention in literature but prevalent in refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump applications. In this study, flow boiling experiment was conducted for R134a working fluid in a 5 mm internal diameter stainless steel horizontal smooth tube with mass flux ranging from 80- 100 kg/m2 s, heat fluxes ranging from 3.55kW/m2 - 25.23 kW/m2 and saturation pressure of 460 kPa. Vapor quality ranged from 0 to 1. A well-known flow pattern map created by Wojtan et al. was used to predict the flow patterns noticed during the study. The experimental results were correlated with well-known flow boiling heat transfer correlations in literature. The findings show that, heat transfer coefficient was influenced by both mass flux and heat fluxes. However, for an increasing heat flux, nucleate boiling was observed to be the dominant mechanism controlling the heat transfer especially at low vapor quality region. For an increasing mass flux, convective boiling was the dominant mechanism controlling the heat transfer especially in the high vapor quality region. Also, the study observed an unusual high heat transfer coefficient at low vapor qualities which could be due to periodic wetting of the walls of the tube due to slug flow pattern and stratified wavy flow patterns. The flow patterns predicted by Wojtan et al. flow pattern map were mixture of slug and stratified wavy, purely stratified wavy and dry out. Statistical assessment of the experimental data with various well-known correlations from literature showed that, none of the correlations reported in literature could predicted the experimental data with enough accuracy.

Keywords: flow boiling, heat transfer coefficient, mass flux, heat flux.

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Authors: Şeyma Saliha Fidan, Ozgur Serin, Ata Mugan

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While performing verification analyses under static and dynamic loads that composite structures used in aviation are exposed to, it is necessary to obtain the bearing strength limit value for mechanically connected composite structures. For this purpose, various tests are carried out in accordance with aviation standards. There are many companies in the world that perform these tests in accordance with aviation standards, but the test costs are very high. In addition, due to the necessity of producing coupons, the high cost of coupon materials, and the long test times, it is necessary to simulate these tests on the computer. For this purpose, various test coupons were produced by using reinforcement and alignment angles of the composite radomes, which were integrated into the aircraft. Glass fiber reinforced and Quartz prepreg is used in the production of the coupons. The simulations of the tests performed according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D5961 Procedure C standard were performed on the computer. The analysis model was created in three dimensions for the purpose of modeling the bolt-hole contact surface realistically and obtaining the exact bearing strength value. The finite element model was carried out with the Analysis System (ANSYS). Since a physical break cannot be made in the analysis studies carried out in the virtual environment, a hypothetical break is realized by reducing the material properties. The material properties reduction coefficient was determined as 10%, which is stated to give the most realistic approach in the literature. There are various theories in this method, which is called progressive failure analysis. Because the hashin theory does not match our experimental results, the puck progressive damage method was used in all coupon analyses. When the experimental and numerical results are compared, the initial damage and the resulting force drop points, the maximum damage load values ​​, and the bearing strength value are very close. Furthermore, low error rates and similar damage patterns were obtained in both test and simulation models. In addition, the effects of various parameters such as pre-stress, use of bushing, the ratio of the distance between the bolt hole center and the plate edge to the hole diameter (E/D), the ratio of plate width to hole diameter (W/D), hot-wet environment conditions were investigated on the bearing strength of the composite structure.

Keywords: puck, finite element, bolted joint, composite

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Vadim Kulikov

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The classical Stroop effect is the phenomenon that it takes more time to name the ink color of a printed word if the word denotes a conflicting color than if it denotes the same color. Over the last 80 years, there have been many variations of the experiment revealing various mechanisms behind semantic, attentional, behavioral and perceptual processing. The Stroop task is known to exhibit asymmetry. Reading the words out loud is hardly dependent on the ink color, but naming the ink color is significantly influenced by the incongruent words. This asymmetry is reversed, if instead of naming the color, one has to point at a corresponding color patch. Another debated aspects are the notions of automaticity and how much of the effect is due to semantic and how much due to response stage interference. Is automaticity a continuous or an all-or-none phenomenon? There are many models and theories in the literature tackling these questions which will be discussed in the presentation. None of them, however, seems to capture all the findings at once. A computational model is proposed which is based on the philosophical idea developed by the author that the mind operates as a collection of different information processing modalities such as different sensory and descriptive modalities, which produce emergent phenomena through mutual interaction and coherence. This is the framework theory where ‘framework’ attempts to generalize the concepts of modality, perspective and ‘point of view’. The architecture of this computational model consists of blocks of neurons, each block corresponding to one framework. In the simplest case there are four: visual color processing, text reading, speech production and attention selection modalities. In experiments where button pressing or pointing is required, a corresponding block is added. In the beginning, the weights of the neural connections are mostly set to zero. The network is trained using Hebbian learning to establish connections (corresponding to ‘coherence’ in framework theory) between these different modalities. The amount of data fed into the network is supposed to mimic the amount of practice a human encounters, in particular it is assumed that converting written text into spoken words is a more practiced skill than converting visually perceived colors to spoken color-names. After the training, the network performs the Stroop task. The RT’s are measured in a canonical way, as these are continuous time recurrent neural networks (CTRNN). The above-described aspects of the Stroop phenomenon along with many others are replicated. The model is similar to some existing connectionist models but as will be discussed in the presentation, has many advantages: it predicts more data, the architecture is simpler and biologically more plausible.

Keywords: connectionism, Hebbian learning, artificial neural networks, philosophy of mind, Stroop

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Noureddine Henka, Sami Tazi, Mohamad Assaad

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The electrical grid is a highly intricate system designed to transfer electricity from production areas to consumption areas. The Transmission System Operator (TSO) is responsible for ensuring the efficient distribution of electricity and maintaining the grid's safety and quality. However, due to the increasing integration of intermittent renewable energy sources, there is a growing level of uncertainty, which requires a faster responsive approach. A potential solution involves the use of electrical segmentation, which involves creating coherence zones where electrical disturbances mainly remain within the zone. Indeed, by means of coherent electrical zones, it becomes possible to focus solely on the sub-zone, reducing the range of possibilities and aiding in managing uncertainty. It allows faster execution of operational processes and easier learning for supervised machine learning algorithms. Electrical segmentation can be applied to various applications, such as electrical control, minimizing electrical loss, and ensuring voltage stability. Since the electrical grid can be modeled as a graph, where the vertices represent electrical buses and the edges represent electrical lines, identifying coherent electrical zones can be seen as a clustering task on graphs, generally called community detection. Nevertheless, a critical criterion for the zones is their ability to remain resilient to the electrical evolution of the grid over time. This evolution is due to the constant changes in electricity generation and consumption, which are reflected in graph structure variations as well as line flow changes. One approach to creating a resilient segmentation is to design robust zones under various circumstances. This issue can be represented through a multiplex graph, where each layer represents a specific situation that may arise on the grid. Consequently, resilient segmentation can be achieved by conducting community detection on this multiplex graph. The multiplex graph is composed of multiple graphs, and all the layers share the same set of vertices. Our proposal involves a model that utilizes a unified representation to compute a flattening of all layers. This unified situation can be penalized to obtain (K) connected components representing the robust electrical segmentation clusters. We compare our robust segmentation to the segmentation based on a single reference situation. The robust segmentation proves its relevance by producing clusters with high intra-electrical perturbation and low variance of electrical perturbation. We saw through the experiences when robust electrical segmentation has a benefit and in which context.

Keywords: community detection, electrical segmentation, multiplex graph, power grid

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Chiou-Shiue Ko

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As is explicitly stipulated in Article 7 of the Enforcement Rules of the Special Education Act as amended in 1998, "in principle, children with disabilities should be integrated with normal children for preschool education". Since then, all cities and counties have been committed to promoting preschool inclusive education. The Education Department, New Taipei City Government, has been actively recruiting advisory groups of professors to assist in the implementation of inclusive education in preschools since 2001. Since 2011, the author of this study has been guiding Preschool Rainbow to implement inclusive education. Through field observations, meetings, and teaching demonstration seminars, this study explored the process of how inclusive education has been successfully implemented in collaboration with teachers of special education classes and regular classes in Preschool Rainbow. The implementation phases for inclusive education in a single academic year include the following: 1) Preparatory stage. Prior to implementation, teachers in special education and regular classes discuss ways of conducting inclusive education and organize reading clubs to read books related to curriculum modifications that integrate the eight education strategies, early treatment and education, and early childhood education programs to enhance their capacity to implement and compose teaching plans for inclusive education. In addition to the general objectives of inclusive education, the objective of inclusive education for special children is also embedded into the Individualized Education Program (IEP). 2) Implementation stage. Initially, a promotional program for special education is implemented for the children to allow all the children in the preschool to understand their own special qualities and those of special children. After the implementation of three weeks of reverse inclusion, the children in the special education classes are put into groups and enter the regular classes twice a week to implement adjustments to their inclusion in the learning area and the curriculum. In 2013, further cooperation was carried out with adjacent hospitals to perform development screening activities for the early detection of children with developmental delays. 3) Review and reflection stage. After the implementation of inclusive education, all teachers in the preschool are divided into two groups to record their teaching plans and the lessons learned during implementation. The effectiveness of implementing the objective of inclusive education is also reviewed. With the collaboration of all teachers, in 2015, Preschool Rainbow won New Taipei City’s “Preschool Light” award as an exceptional model for inclusive education. Its model of implementing inclusive education can be used as a reference for other preschools.

Keywords: collaboration, inclusive education, preschool, teachers, special education classes, regular classes

Procedia PDF Downloads 415

Authors: Caio E. G. Reis, Sara Wassell, Adriana L. Porto, Angélica A. Amato, Leslie J. C. Bluck, Teresa H. M. da Costa

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Background: Multiple epidemiologic studies have consistently reported association between increased coffee consumption and a lowered risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. However, the mechanisms behind this finding have not been fully elucidated. Objective: We investigate the effect of coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) on glucose effectiveness and insulin sensitivity using the stable isotope minimal model protocol with oral glucose administration in healthy men. Design: Fifteen healthy men underwent 5 arms randomized crossover single-blinding (researchers) clinical trial. They consumed decaffeinated coffee, caffeinated coffee (with and without sugar), and controls – water (with and without sugar) followed 1 hour by an oral glucose tolerance test (75 g of available carbohydrate) with intravenous labeled dosing interpreted by the two compartment minimal model (225 minutes). One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment were used to compare the effects of the tested beverages on glucose metabolism parameters. Results: Decaffeinated coffee resulted in 29% and 85% higher insulin sensitivity compared with caffeinated coffee and water, respectively, and the caffeinated coffee showed 15% and 60% higher glucose effectiveness compared with decaffeinated coffee and water, respectively. However, these differences were not significant (p > 0.10). In overall analyze (0 – 225 min) there were no significant differences on glucose effectiveness, insulin sensitivity, and glucose and insulin area under the curve between the groups. The beneficial effects of coffee did not seem to act in the short-term (hours) on glucose metabolism parameters mainly on insulin sensitivity indices. The benefits of coffee consumption occur in the long-term (years) as has been shown in the reduction of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus risk in epidemiological studies. The clinical relevance of the present findings is that there is no need to avoid coffee as the drink choice for healthy people. Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that the consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee with or without sugar has no acute effects on glucose metabolism in healthy men. Further researches, including long-term interventional studies, are needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms behind the coffee effects on reduced risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Keywords: coffee, diabetes mellitus type 2, glucose, insulin

Procedia PDF Downloads 423

Authors: Julia R. Beulig, Stefan Ohla, Detlev Belder

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In contrast to off-line analytical methods, lab-on-a-chip technology delivers direct information about the observed reaction. Therefore, microfluidic devices make an important scientific contribution, e.g. in the field of synthetic chemistry. Herein, the rapid generation of analytical data can be applied for the optimization of chemical reactions. These microfluidic devices enable a fast change of reaction conditions as well as a resource saving method of operation. In the presented work, we focus on the investigation of multiphase regimes, more specifically on a biphasic microfluidic droplet systems. Here, every single droplet is a reaction container with customized conditions. The biggest challenge is the rapid qualitative and quantitative readout of information as most detection techniques for droplet systems are non-specific, time-consuming or too slow. An exception is the electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The combination of a reaction screening platform with a rapid and specific detection method is an important step in droplet-based microfluidics. In this work, we present a novel approach for synthesis optimization on the nanoliter scale with direct ESI-MS detection. The development of a droplet-based microfluidic device, which enables the modification of different parameters while simultaneously monitoring the effect on the reaction within a single run, is shown. By common soft- and photolithographic techniques a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip with different functionalities is developed. As an interface for the MS detection, we use a steel capillary for ESI and improve the spray stability with a Teflon siphon tubing, which is inserted underneath the steel capillary. By optimizing the flow rates, it is possible to screen parameters of various reactions, this is exemplarity shown by a Domino Knoevenagel Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. Different starting materials, catalyst concentrations and solvent compositions are investigated. Due to the high repetition rate of the droplet production, each set of reaction condition is examined hundreds of times. As a result, of the investigation, we receive possible reagents, the ideal water-methanol ratio of the solvent and the most effective catalyst concentration. The developed system can help to determine important information about the optimal parameters of a reaction within a short time. With this novel tool, we make an important step on the field of combining droplet-based microfluidics with organic reaction screening.

Keywords: droplet, mass spectrometry, microfluidics, organic reaction, screening

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Adil Mustafa, Ahmet Erten, Alper Kiraz, Melikhan Tanyeri

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Work presented here is based on a novel experimental technique used to hydrodynamically trap oil microdroplets inside a microfluidic chip at the junction of microchannels known as stagnation point. Hydrodynamic trapping has been recently used to trap and manipulate a number of particles starting from microbeads to DNA and single cells. Benzyl Benzoate (BB) is used as droplet material. The microdroplets are trapped individually at stagnation point and their dissolution was observed. Experiments are performed for two concentrations (10mM or 10µM) of AOT surfactant (Docusate Sodium Salt) and two flow rates for each case. Moreover, experimental data is compared with Zhang-Yang-Mao (ZYM) model which studies dissolution of liquid microdroplets in the presence of a host fluid experiencing extensional creeping flow. Industrial processes like polymer blending systems in which heat or mass transport occurs experience extensional flow and an insight into these phenomena is of significant importance to many industrial processes. The experimental technique exploited here gives an insight into the dissolution of liquid microdroplets under extensional flow regime. The comparison of our experimental results with ZYM model reveals that dissolution of microdroplets at lower surfactant concentration (10µM) fits the ZYM model at saturation concentration (Cs) value reported in literature (Cs = 15×10⁻³Kg\m³) while for higher surfactant concentration (10mM) which is also above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of surfactant (5mM) the data fits ZYM model at (Cs = 45×10⁻³Kg\m³) which is 3X times the value reported in literature. The difference in Cs value from the literature shows enhancement in dissolution rate of sparingly soluble BB microdroplets at surfactant concentrations higher than CMC. Enhancement in the dissolution of sparingly soluble materials is of great importance in pharmaceutical industry. Enhancement in the dissolution of sparingly soluble drugs is a key research area for drug design industry. The experimental method is also advantageous because it is robust and has no mechanical contact with droplets under study are freely suspended in the fluid as compared existing methods used for testing dissolution of drugs. The experiments also give an insight into CMC measurement for surfactants.

Keywords: extensional flow, hydrodynamic trapping, Zhang-Yang-Mao, CMC

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: R. Kaleeswari

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An investigation was carried out to assess the soil biological quality parameters in rice soils under rainfed and to compare soil quality indexing methods viz., Principal component analysis, Minimum data set and Indicator scoring method and to develop soil quality indices for formulating soil and crop management strategies.Soil samples were collected and analyzed for soil biological properties by adopting standard procedure. Biological indicators were determined for soil quality assessment, viz., microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN) and soil respiration and dehydrogenease activity. Among the methods of rice cultivation, Organic nutrition, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) and System of Rice Intensification (SRI ), rice cultivation registered higher values of MBC, MBN and PMN. Mechanical and conventional rice cultivation registered lower values of biological quality indicators. Organic nutrient management and INM enhanced the soil respiration rate. SRI and aerobic rice cultivation methods increased the rate of soil respiration, while conventional and mechanical rice farming lowered the soil respiration rate. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) was registered to be higher in soils under organic nutrition and Integrated Nutrient Management INM. System of Rice Intensification SRI and aerobic rice cultivation enhanced the DHA; while conventional and mechanical rice cultivation methods reduced DHA. The microbial biomass carbon (MBC) of the rice soils varied from 65 to 244 mg kg-1. Among the nutrient management practices, INM registered the highest available microbial biomass carbon of 285 mg kg-1.Potentially mineralizable N content of the rice soils varied from 20.3 to 56.8 mg kg-1. Aerobic rice farming registered the highest potentially mineralizable N of 78.9 mg kg-1..The soil respiration rate of the rice soils varied from 60 to 125 µgCO2 g-1. Nutrient management practices ofINM practice registered the highest. soil respiration rate of 129 µgCO2 g-1.The dehydrogenase activity of the rice soils varied from 38.3 to 135.3µgTPFg-1 day-1. SRI method of rice cultivation registered the highest dehydrogenase activity of 160.2 µgTPFg-1 day-1. Soil variables from each PC were considered for minimum soil data set (MDS). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to select the representative soil quality indicators. In intensive rice cultivating regions, soil quality indicators were selected based on factor loading value and contribution percentage value using principal component analysis (PCA).Variables having significant difference within production systems were used for the preparation of minimum data set (MDS).

Keywords: soil quality, rice, biological properties, PCA analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Maggie Hui

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Risk management is not a new concept; however, it is an uncharted area as applied to the translation process and translator training. Risk managers are responsible for managing risk, i.e. adopting strategies with the intention to minimize loss and maximize gains in spite of uncertainty. Which risk strategy to use often depends on the frequency of an event (i.e. probability) and the severity of its outcomes (i.e. impact). This is basically the way translation/localization project managers handle risk management. Although risk management could involve both positive and negative impacts, impact seems to be always negative in professional translators’ management models, e.g. how many days of project time are lost or how many clients are lost. However, for analysis of translation performance, the impact should be possibly positive (e.g. increased readability of the translation) or negative (e.g. loss of source-text information). In other words, the straight business model of risk management is not directly applicable to the study of risk management in the rendition process. This research aims to explore trainee translators’ risk managing while translating in a simulated setting that involves translator-client relations. A two-cycle experiment involving two roles, the translator and the simulated client, was carried out with a class of translation students to test the effects of the main variable of peer-group interaction. The researcher made use of a user-friendly screen-voice recording freeware to record subjects’ screen activities, including every word the translator typed and every change they made to the rendition, the websites they browsed and the reference tools they used, in addition to the verbalization of their thoughts throughout the process. The research observes the translation procedures subjects considered and finally adopted, and looks into the justifications for their procedures, in order to interpret their risk management. The qualitative and quantitative results of this study have some implications for translator training: (a) the experience of being a client seems to reinforce the translator’s risk aversion; (b) there is a wide gap between the translator’s internal risk management and their external presentation of risk; and (c) the use of role-playing simulation can empower students’ learning by enhancing their attitudinal or psycho-physiological competence, interpersonal competence and strategic competence.

Keywords: risk management, role-playing simulation, translation pedagogy, translator-client relations

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: Morteza Rahbar Taramsari, Arya Mahdavi Baramchi, Mercedeh Enshaei, Ghazaleh Keshavarzi Baramchi

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Introduction: Malingering is one of the most challenging issues in the forensic psychology and imposes a heavy financial burden on health care and legal systems. It seems that some mental and personality abnormalities might have a crucial role in developing this condition. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess 100 malingering clients of Gilan province general office of forensic medicine, all filled the related questionnaires. The data about some psychometric characteristics were collected through the 71-items version- short form- of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) questionnaire and the personality traits were assessed by NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) - including 240 items- as a reliable and accurate measure of the five domains of personality. Results: The 100 malingering clients (55 males and 45 females) ranged from 23 to 45 (32+/- 5.6) years old. Regarding marital status, 36% were single, 57% were married and 7% were divorced. Almost two-thirds of the participants (64%) were unemployed, 21% were self-employed and the rest of them were employed. The data of MMPI clinical scales revealed that the mean (SD) T score of Hypochondrias (Hs) was 67(9.2), Depression (D) was 87(7.9), Hysteria (Hy) was 74(5.8), Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) was 62(8.5), Masculinity-Feminity (MF) was 76(8.4), Paranoia (Pa) was 62(4.5), Psychasthenia (Pt) was 80(7.9), Schizophrenia (Sc) was 69(6.8), Hypomania (Ma) was 64(5.9)and Social Introversion (Si) was 58(4.3). NEO PI-R test showed five domains of personality. The mean (SD) T score of Neuroticism was 65(9.2), Extraversion was 51(7.9), Openness was 43(5.8), Agreeableness was 35(3.4) and Conscientiousness was 42(4.9). Conclusion: According to MMPI test in our malingering clients, Hypochondriasis (Hs), depression (D), Hysteria (Hy), Muscularity-Feminity (MF), Psychasthenia (Pt) and Schizophrenia (Sc) had high scores (T >= 65) which means pathological range and psychological significance. Based on NEO PI-R test Neuroticism was in high range, on the other hand, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were in low range. Extroversion was in average range. So it seems that malingerers require basic evaluations of different psychological fields. Additional research in this area is needed to provide stronger evidence of the possible positive effects of the mentioned factors on malingering.

Keywords: malingerers, mental profile, MMPI, NEO PI-R, personality profile

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Authors: Deeba N. Baig, Ateeqa Ijaz, Saloome Rafiq

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Camel is a religious and culturally significant animal in Asian and African regions. In Pakistan Dromedary and Bactrian are common camel breeds. Other than the transportation use, it is a pivotal source of milk and meat. The quality of its milk and meat is predominantly dependent on the geographical location and variety of vegetation available for the diet. Camel milk (CM) is highly nutritious because of its reduced cholesterol and sugar contents along with enhanced minerals and vitamins level. The absence of beta-lactoglobulin (like human milk), makes CM a safer alternative for infants and children having Cow Milk Allergy (CMA). In addition to this, it has a unique probiotic profile both in raw and fermented form. Number of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including lactococcus, lactobacillus, enterococcus, streptococcus, weissella, pediococcus and many other bacteria have been detected. From these LAB Lactobacilli, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus are widely used commercially for fermentation purpose. CM has high therapeutic value as its effectiveness is known against various ailments like fever, arthritis, asthma, gastritis, hepatitis, Jaundice, constipation, postpartum care of women, anti-venom, dropsy etc. It also has anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, antitumor potential along with its robust efficacy in the treatment of auto-immune disorders. Recently, the role of CM has been explored in brain-gut axis for the therapeutics of neurodevelopmental disorders. In this connection, a lot of grey area was available to explore the probiotics and therapeutics latent in the CM available in Pakistan. Thus, current study was designed to explore the predominant probiotic flora and antimicrobial potential of CM from different local breeds of Pakistan. The probiotics have been identified through biochemical, physiological and ribo-typing methods. In addition to this, bacteriocins (antimicrobial-agents) were screened through PCR-based approach. Results of this study revealed that CM from different breeds of camel depicted a number of similar probiotic candidates along with the range of limited variability. However, the nucleotide sequence analysis of selected anti-listerial bacteriocins exposed least variability. As a conclusion, the CM has sufficient probiotic availability and significant anti-microbial potential.

Keywords: bacteriocins, camel milk, probiotics potential, therapeutics

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Yusuf Yilmaz, Gamze Gediz Ilis

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Gas Nitrogen where has a boiling point of -189.52oC at atmospheric pressure widely used in the industry. Nitrogen that used in the industry should be transported in liquid form to the plant area. Ambient air vaporizer (AAV) generally used for vaporization of cryogenic gases such as liquid nitrogen (LN2), liquid oxygen (LOX), liquid natural gas (LNG), and liquid argon (LAR) etc. AAV is a group of star-shaped fin vaporizer. The design and the effect of the shape of fins of the vaporizer is one of the most important criteria for the performance of the vaporizer. In this study, the performance of AAV working with liquid nitrogen was analyzed numerically in a star-shaped aluminum finned pipe. The numerical analysis is performed in order to investigate the heat capacity of the vaporizer per meter pipe length. By this way, the vaporizer capacity can be predicted for the industrial applications. In order to achieve the validation of the numerical solution, the experimental setup is constructed. The setup includes a liquid nitrogen tank with a pressure of 9 bar. The star-shaped aluminum finned tube vaporizer is connected to the LN2 tank. The inlet and the outlet pressure and temperatures of the LN2 of the vaporizer are measured. The mass flow rate of the LN2 is also measured and collected. The comparison of the numerical solution is performed by these measured data. The ambient conditions of the experiment are given as boundary conditions to the numerical model. The surface tension and contact angle have a significant effect on the boiling of liquid nitrogen. Average heat transfer coefficient including convective and nucleated boiling components should be obtained for liquid nitrogen saturated flow boiling in the finned tube. Fluent CFD module is used to simulate the numerical solution. The turbulent k-ε model is taken to simulate the liquid nitrogen flow. The phase change is simulated by using the evaporation-condensation approach used with user-defined functions (UDF). The comparison of the numerical and experimental results will be shared in this study. Besides, the performance capacity of the star-shaped finned pipe vaporizer will be calculated in this study. Based on this numerical analysis, the performance of the vaporizer per unit length can be predicted for the industrial applications and the suitable pipe length of the vaporizer can be found for the special cases.

Keywords: liquid nitrogen, numerical modeling, two-phase flow, cryogenics

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: A. Schander, T. Tessmann, H. Stemmann, S. Strokov, A. Kreiter, W. Lang

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For the chronic application of neural prostheses and other brain-computer interfaces, long-term stable microelectrodes for electrical stimulation are essential. In recent years many developments were done to investigate different appropriate materials for these electrodes. One of these materials is the electrical conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), which has lower impedance and higher charge injection capacity compared to noble metals like gold and platinum. However the long-term stability of this polymer is still unclear. Thus this paper reports on the in-vitro evaluation of the long-term stability of PEDOT coated gold microelectrodes. For this purpose a highly flexible electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode array, based on the polymer polyimide, is used. This array consists of circular gold electrodes with a diameter of 560 µm (0.25 mm2). In total 25 electrodes of this array were coated simultaneously with the polymer PEDOT:PSS in a cleanroom environment using a galvanostatic electropolymerization process. After the coating the array is additionally sterilized using a steam sterilization process (121°C, 1 bar, 20.5 min) to simulate autoclaving prior to the implantation of such an electrode array. The long-term measurements were performed in phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS, pH 7.4) at the constant body temperature of 37°C. For the in-vitro electrical stimulation a one channel bipolar current stimulator is used. The stimulation protocol consists of a bipolar current amplitude of 5 mA (cathodal phase first), a pulse duration of 100 µs per phase, a pulse pause of 50 µs and a frequency of 1 kHz. A PEDOT:PSS coated gold electrode with an area of 1 cm2 serves as the counter electrode. The electrical stimulation is performed continuously with a total amount of 86.4 million bipolar current pulses per day. The condition of the PEDOT coated electrodes is monitored in between with electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results of this study demonstrate that the PEDOT coated electrodes are stable for more than 3.6 billion bipolar current pulses. Also the unstimulated electrodes show currently no degradation after the time period of 5 months. These results indicate an appropriate long-term stability of this electrode coating for chronic recording and electrical stimulation. The long-term measurements are still continuing to investigate the life limit of this electrode coating.

Keywords: chronic recording, electrical stimulation, long-term stability, microelectrodes, PEDOT

Procedia PDF Downloads 577

Authors: Katarzyna Miśkiewicz, Magdalena Lasoń-Rydel, Małgorzata Krępska, Katarzyna Sieczyńska, Iwona Masłowska-Lipowicz, Katarzyna Ławińska

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The aim of the study was to analyse a selection of 12 pasteurised products made from fruit and vegetables, such as fruit juices, fruit drinks, jams, marmalades and jam produced by small regional factories as well as large food corporations. The research was carried out as part of the project "Innovative system of healthy and regional food distribution", funded by the Ministry of Education and Science (Poland), which aims to create an economically and organisationally strong agri-food industry in Poland through effective cooperation between scientific and socio-economic actors. The main activities of the project include support for the creation of new distribution channels for regional food products and their easy access to a wide group of potential customers while maintaining the highest quality standards. One of the key areas of the project is food quality analyses conducted to indicate the competitive advantage of regional products. Presented here are studies on the content of sugars, vitamin C, preservatives, synthetic colours, sweeteners, sodium and potassium, as well as studies on the microbiological purity of selected products made from fruit and vegetables. The composition of products made from fruit and vegetables varies greatly and depends on both the type of raw material and the way it is processed. Of the samples tested, fruit drinks contained the least amount of sugars, and jam and marmalade made by large producers and bought in large chain stores contained the most. However, the low sugar content of some fruit drinks is due to the presence of the sweetener sucralose in their composition. The vitamin C content of the samples varied, being higher in products where it was added during production. All products made in small local factories were free of food additives such as preservatives, sweeteners and synthetic colours, indicating their superiority over products made by large producers. Products made in small local factories were characterised by a relatively high potassium content. The microbiological purity of commercial products was confirmed - no Salmonella spp. were detected, and the number of mesophilic bacteria, moulds, yeasts, and β-glucuronidase-positive E. coli was below the limit of quantification.

Keywords: fruit and vegetable products, sugars, food additives, HPLC, ICP-OES

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Panagiota A. Kotsoni, George S. Ypsilandis

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Learning an L2 is a demanding process for all students and in particular for those with learning disabilities (LD) who demonstrate an inability to catch up with their classmates’ progress in a given period of time. This area of study, i.e. examining children with learning disabilities in L2 has not (yet) attracted the growing interest that is registered in L1 and thus remains comparatively neglected. It is this scientific field that this study wishes to contribute to. The longitudinal purpose of this study is to locate effective Supportive Feedback Strategies (SFS) and add to the quality of learning in second language vocabulary in both typically developing (TD) and LD children. Specifically, this study aims at investigating and comparing the performance of TD with LD children on two different types of SFSs related to vocabulary short and long-term retention. In this study two different SFSs have been examined to a total of ten (10) unknown vocabulary items. Both strategies provided morphosyntactic clarifications upon new contextualized vocabulary items. The traditional SFS (direct) provided the information only in one hypertext page with a selection on the relevant item. The experimental SFS (engaging) provided the exact same split information in three successive hypertext pages in the form of a hybrid dialogue asking from the subjects to move on to the next page by selecting the relevant link. It was hypothesized that this way the subjects would engage in their own learning process by actively asking for more information which would further lead to their better retention. The participants were fifty-two (52) foreign language learners (33 TD and 19 LD) aged from 9 to 12, attending an English language school at the level of A1 (CEFR). The design of the study followed a typical pre-post-post test procedure after an hour and after a week. The results indicated statistically significant group differences with TD children performing significantly better than the LD group in both short and long-term memory measurements and in both SFSs. As regards the effectiveness of one SFS over another the initial hypothesis was not supported by the evidence as the traditional SFS was more effective compared to the experimental one in both TD and LD children. This difference proved to be statistically significant only in the long-term memory measurement and only in the TD group. It may be concluded that the human brain seems to adapt to different SFS although it shows a small preference when information is provided in a direct manner.

Keywords: learning disabilities, memory, second/foreign language acquisition, supportive feedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Charles Ruffner, Michael Manton, Gintautas Kibirkstis, Gediminas Brazaitas, Vitas Marozas, Ekaterine Makrickiene, Rutile Pukiene, Per Angelstam

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In dynamic boreal forests, fire is an important natural disturbance, which drives regeneration and mortality of living and dead trees, and thus successional trajectories. However, current forest management practices focusing on wood production only have effectively eliminated fire as a stand-level disturbance. While this is generally well studied across much of Europe, in Lithuania, little is known about the historic fire regime and the role fire plays as a management tool towards the sustainable management of future landscapes. Focusing on Scots pine forests, we explore; i) the relevance of fire disturbance regimes on forestlands of Lithuania; ii) fire occurrence in the Dzukija landscape for dry upland and peatland forest sites, and iii) correlate tree-ring data with climate variables to ascertain climatic influences on growth and fire occurrence. We sampled and cross-dated 132 Scots pine samples with fire scars from 4 dry pine forest stands and 4 peatland forest stands, respectively. The fire history of each sample was analyzed using standard dendrochronological methods and presented in FHAES format. Analyses of soil moisture and nutrient conditions revealed a strong probability of finding forests that have a high fire frequency in Scots pine forests (59%), which cover 34.5% of Lithuania’s current forestland. The fire history analysis revealed 455 fire scars and 213 fire events during the period 1742-2019. Within the Dzukija landscape, the mean fire interval was 4.3 years for the dry Scots pine forest and 8.7 years for the peatland Scots pine forest. However, our comparison of fire frequency before and after 1950 shows a marked decrease in mean fire interval. Our data suggest that hemi-boreal forest landscapes of Lithuania provide strong evidence that fire, both human and lightning-ignited fires, has been and should be a natural phenomenon and that the examination of biological archives can be used to guide sustainable forest management into the future. Currently, fire use is prohibited by law as a tool for forest management in Lithuania. We recommend introducing trials that use low-intensity prescribed burning of Scots pine stands as a regeneration tool towards mimicking natural forest disturbance regimes.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, cultural burning, dendrochronology, forest dynamics, forest management, succession

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Bernard Tan

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The paper presents a conceptual framework which serves as an art model of Singapore artistic identity. Specifically, the study examines Singapore's artistic identity through the artworks of the country’s significant artists covering the period 1950s to the present. Literature review will discuss the challenges of favouring or choosing one artist over the other. Methodology provides an overview of the perspectives of local artists and surveys Singapore’s artistic histories through qualitative interviews and case studies. Analysis from qualitative data reveals that producing works of accrued visual significance for the country which captures it zeitgeist further strengthens artist’s artistic identity, and consequently, their works remembered by future generations. The paper presents a conceptual framework for Singapore’s artistic identity by categorising it into distinctive categories or Periods: Colonial Period (pre-1965); Nation Building Period (1965-1988); Globalisation Period (1989-2000); Paternal Production Period (2001-2015); and A New Era (2015-present). Godalisation, coined from God and Globalisation – by artist and art collector, Teng Jee Hum – is a direct reference to the godlike influence on Singapore by its founding Father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister who steered the city state “from Third World to First” for close to half a century, from 1965 to his passing in 2015. A detailed schema showing important factors in different art categories: key global geopolitics, key local social-politics, and significant events will be analysed in depth. Main artist groups or artist initiatives which evolved in Singapore during the different Periods from pre-1965 to the present will be categorized and discussed. Taken as a whole, all these periods collectively add up to the Godalisation Era; impacted by the social-political events and historical period of the nation, and captured through the visual representation of the country’s significant artists in their attempt at either visualizing or mythologizing the Singapore Story. The author posits a co-relation between a nation’s economic success and the value or price appreciation of the country’s artist of significance artworks. The paper posed a rhetorical question: “Which Singapore’s artist will historian of the future – and by extension, the people of the country from future generations – remember? Who will remain popular? Whilst which artists will be forgotten.” The searching question: “Who will survive, be remembered in the annals of history and, above all, how to ensure the survival of one’s nation artistic identity? The art that last will probably be determined by the future, in the future, where art historians pontificate from a later vantage point.

Keywords: artistic identity, art collection, godalisation, singapore

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Ni Zhenyu

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A human settlement is defined as the social activities, social relationships and lifestyles generated within a certain territory, which is also relatively independent territorial living space and domain composed of common people. Along with the advancement of technology and the development of society, the idea, presented in traditional research, that human settlements are deemed as substantial organic integrity with strong autonomy, are more often challenged nowadays. Spatial form of human settlements is one of the most outstanding external expressions with its subjectivity and autonomy, nevertheless, the projections of social, economic activities on certain territories are even more significant. What exactly is the relationship between human beings and the spatial form of the settlements where they live in? a question worth thinking over has been raised, that if a new view, a spatial anthropological one , can be constructed to review and respond to spatial form of human settlements based on research theories and methods of cultural anthropology within the profession of architecture. This article interprets how the typical spatial form of human settlements in the basin area of Bac Giang Province is formed under the collective impacts of local social order, land use condition, topographic features, and social contracts. A particular case of the settlement in Sizhai Village, City of Zhuji, Zhejiang Province is chosen to study for research purpose. Spatial form of human settlements are interpreted as a modeled integrity affected corporately by dominant economy, social patterns, key symbol marks and core values, etc.. Spatial form of human settlements, being a structured existence, is a materialized, behavioral, and social space; it can be considered as a place where human beings realize their behaviors and a path on which the continuity of their behaviors are kept, also for social practice a territory where currant social structure and social relationships are maintained, strengthened and rebuilt. This article aims to break the boundary of understanding that spatial form of human settlements is pure physical space, furthermore, endeavors to highlight the autonomy status of human beings, focusing on their relationships with certain territories, their interpersonal relationships, man-earth relationships and the state of existence of human beings, elaborating the deeper connotation behind spatial form of human settlements.

Keywords: spatial anthropology, human settlement, spatial pattern, spatial structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: H. M. Ferreira, H. Cockings, D. F. Gordon

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Climate change is driving a transition in the energy sector, with low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen (H2) emerging as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the successful implementation of a hydrogen economy requires an expansion of hydrogen production, transportation and storage capacity. The costs associated with this transition are high but can be partly mitigated by adapting the current oil and natural gas networks, such as pipeline, an important component of the hydrogen infrastructure, to transport pure or blended hydrogen. Steel pipelines are designed to withstand fatigue, one of the most common causes of pipeline failure. However, it is well established that some materials, such as steel, can fail prematurely in service when exposed to hydrogen-rich environments. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate how defects (e.g. inclusions, dents, and pre-existing cracks) will interact with hydrogen under cyclic loading and, ultimately, to what extent hydrogen induced failure will limit the service conditions of steel pipelines. This presentation will explore how the exposure of API 5L X65 to a hydrogen-rich environment and cyclic loads will influence its susceptibility to hydrogen induced failure. That evaluation will be performed by a combination of several techniques such as hydrogen permeation testing (ISO 17081:2014), fatigue crack growth (FCG) testing (ISO 12108:2018 and AFGROW modelling), combined with microstructural and fractographic analysis. The development of a FCG test setup coupled with an electrochemical cell will be discussed, along with the advantages and challenges of measuring crack growth rates in electrolytic hydrogen environments. A detailed assessment of several electrolytic charging conditions will also be presented, using hydrogen permeation testing as a method to correlate the different charging settings to equivalent hydrogen concentrations and effective diffusivity coefficients, not only on the base material but also on the heat affected zone and weld of the pipelines. The experimental work is being complemented with AFGROW, a useful FCG modelling software that has helped inform testing parameters and which will also be developed to ultimately help industry experts perform structural integrity analysis and remnant life characterisation of pipeline steels under representative conditions. The results from this research will allow to conclude if there is an acceleration of the crack growth rate of API 5L X65 under the influence of a hydrogen-rich environment, an important aspect that needs to be rectified instandards and codes of practice on pipeline integrity evaluation and maintenance.

Keywords: AFGROW, electrolytic hydrogen charging, fatigue crack growth, hydrogen, pipeline, steel

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Deborah L. Smith

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To review our program and determine the best redesign options, department members gathered feedback and input through focus groups, analysis of data, and a review of the current research to ensure that the changes proposed were not based solely on the state’s new professional standards. In designing course assignments and assessments, we listened to a variety of constituents, including students, other institutions of higher learning, MDE webinars, host teachers, literacy clinic personnel, and other disciplinary experts. As a result, we are designing a program that is more inclusive of a variety of field experiences for growth. We have determined ways to improve our program by connecting academic disciplinary knowledge, educational psychology, and community building both inside and outside the classroom for professional learning communities. The state’s release of new professional standards led my department members to question what is working and what needs improvement in our program. One aspect of our program that continues to be supported by research and data analysis is the function of supervised field experiences with meaningful feedback. We seek to expand in this area. Other data indicate that we have strengths in modeling a variety of approaches such as cooperative learning, discussions, literacy strategies, and workshops. In the new program, field assignments will be connected to multiple courses, and efforts to scaffold student learning to guide them toward best evidence-based practices will be continuous. Despite running a program that meets multiple sets of standards, there are areas of need that we directly address in our redesign proposal. Technology is ever-changing, so it’s inevitable that improving digital skills is a focus. In addition, scaffolding procedures for English Language Learners (ELL) or other students who struggle is imperative. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been an integral part of our curriculum, but the research indicates that more self-reflection and a deeper understanding of culturally relevant practices would help the program improve. Connections with professional learning communities will be expanded, as will leadership components, so that teacher candidates understand their role in changing the face of education. A pilot program will run in academic year 22/23, and additional data will be collected each semester through evaluations and continued program review.

Keywords: DEI, field experiences, program redesign, teacher preparation

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: B. O. Olawale, C. R. Chatwin, R. C. D. Young, P. M. Birch, F. O. Faithpraise, A. O. Olukiran

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Ortho-rectification is the process of geometrically correcting an aerial image such that the scale is uniform. The ortho-image formed from the process is corrected for lens distortion, topographic relief, and camera tilt. This can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the Earth’s surface. Ortho-rectification and geo-referencing are essential to pin point the exact location of targets in video imagery acquired at the UAV platform. This can only be achieved by comparing such video imagery with an existing digital map. However, it is only when the image is ortho-rectified with the same co-ordinate system as an existing map that such a comparison is possible. The video image sequences from the UAV platform must be geo-registered, that is, each video frame must carry the necessary camera information before performing the ortho-rectification process. Each rectified image frame can then be mosaicked together to form a seamless image map covering the selected area. This can then be used for comparison with an existing map for geo-referencing. In this paper, we present a four-step ortho-rectification procedure for real-time geo-referencing of video data from a low-cost UAV equipped with multi-sensor system. The basic procedures for the real-time ortho-rectification are: (1) Decompilation of video stream into individual frames; (2) Finding of interior camera orientation parameters; (3) Finding the relative exterior orientation parameters for each video frames with respect to each other; (4) Finding the absolute exterior orientation parameters, using self-calibration adjustment with the aid of a mathematical model. Each ortho-rectified video frame is then mosaicked together to produce a 2-D planimetric mapping, which can be compared with a well referenced existing digital map for the purpose of georeferencing and aerial surveillance. A test field located in Abuja, Nigeria was used for testing our method. Fifteen minutes video and telemetry data were collected using the UAV and the data collected were processed using the four-step ortho-rectification procedure. The results demonstrated that the geometric measurement of the control field from ortho-images are more reliable than those from original perspective photographs when used to pin point the exact location of targets on the video imagery acquired by the UAV. The 2-D planimetric accuracy when compared with the 6 control points measured by a GPS receiver is between 3 to 5 meters.

Keywords: geo-referencing, ortho-rectification, video frame, self-calibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 470

Authors: Ruzanna Muradyan

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Medical data mining is a crucial field in contemporary healthcare that offers cutting-edge tactics with enormous potential to transform patient care. This abstract examines how sophisticated data mining techniques could transform the healthcare industry, with a special focus on how they might improve patient outcomes. Healthcare data repositories have dynamically evolved, producing a rich tapestry of different, multi-dimensional information that includes genetic profiles, lifestyle markers, electronic health records, and more. By utilizing data mining techniques inside this vast library, a variety of prospects for precision medicine, predictive analytics, and insight production become visible. Predictive modeling for illness prediction, risk stratification, and therapy efficacy evaluations are important points of focus. Healthcare providers may use this abundance of data to tailor treatment plans, identify high-risk patient populations, and forecast disease trajectories by applying machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics. Better patient outcomes, more efficient use of resources, and early treatments are made possible by this proactive strategy. Furthermore, data mining techniques act as catalysts to reveal complex relationships between apparently unrelated data pieces, providing enhanced insights into the cause of disease, genetic susceptibilities, and environmental factors. Healthcare practitioners can get practical insights that guide disease prevention, customized patient counseling, and focused therapies by analyzing these associations. The abstract explores the problems and ethical issues that come with using data mining techniques in the healthcare industry. In order to properly use these approaches, it is essential to find a balance between data privacy, security issues, and the interpretability of complex models. Finally, this abstract demonstrates the revolutionary power of modern data mining methodologies in transforming the healthcare sector. Healthcare practitioners and researchers can uncover unique insights, enhance clinical decision-making, and ultimately elevate patient care to unprecedented levels of precision and efficacy by employing cutting-edge methodologies.

Keywords: data mining, healthcare, patient care, predictive analytics, precision medicine, electronic health records, machine learning, predictive modeling, disease prognosis, risk stratification, treatment efficacy, genetic profiles, precision health

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: A. Julio, R. Caparica, S. Costa Lima, S. Reis, J. G. Costa, P. Fonte, T. Santos De Almeida

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The Mycobacterium leprae causes a chronic and infectious disease called leprosy, which the most common symptoms are peripheral neuropathy and deformation of several parts of the body. The pharmacological treatment of leprosy is a combined therapy with three different drugs, rifampicin, clofazimine, and dapsone. However, clofazimine and dapsone have poor solubility in water and also low bioavailability. Thus, it is crucial to develop strategies to overcome such drawbacks. The use of ionic liquids (ILs) may be a strategy to overcome the low solubility since they have been used as solubility promoters. ILs are salts, liquid below 100 ºC or even at room temperature, that may be placed in water, oils or hydroalcoholic solutions. Another approach may be the encapsulation of drugs into polymeric nanoparticles, which improves their bioavailability. In this study, two different classes of ILs were used, the imidazole- and the choline-based ionic liquids, as solubility enhancers of the poorly soluble antileprotic drugs. Thus, after the solubility studies, it was developed IL-PLGA nanoparticles hybrid systems to deliver such drugs. First of all, the solubility studies of clofazimine and dapsone were performed in water and in water: IL mixtures, at ILs concentrations where cell viability is maintained, at room temperature for 72 hours. For both drugs, it was observed an improvement on the drug solubility and [Cho][Phe] showed to be the best solubility enhancer, especially for clofazimine, where it was observed a 10-fold improvement. Later, it was produced nanoparticles, with a polymeric matrix of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) 75:25, by a modified solvent-evaporation W/O/W double emulsion technique in the presence of [Cho][Phe]. Thus, the inner phase was an aqueous solution of 0.2 % (v/v) of the above IL with each drug to its maximum solubility determined on the previous study. After the production, the nanosystem hybrid was physicochemically characterized. The produced nanoparticles had a diameter of around 580 nm and 640 nm, for clofazimine and dapsone, respectively. Regarding the polydispersity index, it was in agreement of the recommended value of this parameter for drug delivery systems (around 0.3). The association efficiency (AE) of the developed hybrid nanosystems demonstrated promising AE values for both drugs, given their low solubility (64.0 ± 4.0 % for clofazimine and 58.6 ± 10.0 % for dapsone), that prospects the capacity of these delivery systems to enhance the bioavailability and loading of clofazimine and dapsone. Overall, the study achievement may signify an upgrading of the patient’s quality of life, since it may mean a change in the therapeutic scheme, not requiring doses of drug so high to obtain a therapeutic effect. The authors would like to thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), UID/DTP/04567/2016-CBIOS/PRUID/BI2/2018).

Keywords: ionic liquids, ionic liquids-PLGA nanoparticles hybrid systems, leprosy treatment, solubility

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Y. I. Tretyakova, S. G. Shulkina, T. Y. Kravtsova, A. A. Antipova, N. Y. Kolomeets

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The research aimed to assess the functional significance of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene polymorphism at the -308G/A (rs1800629) region and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) gene polymorphism at the -634G/C (rs 2010963) region in the development of ulcerative colitis (UC), focusing on patients from the Perm region, Russia. We examined 70 UC patients and 50 healthy donors during the active phase of the disease. Our focus was on TNF-α and VEGF concentration in the blood serum, as well as TNF-α and VEGFA gene polymorphisms at the -308G/А and -634G/C regions, respectively. We found that TNF-α and VEGF levels were significantly higher in patients with severe UC and high endoscopic activity compared to those with milder forms of the disease and low endoscopic activity. These tests could serve as additional non-invasive markers for assessing mucosal damage in the large intestine of UC patients. The frequency of allele variations in the TNF-α gene -308G/A (rs1800629) revealed a significantly higher occurrence of the unfavorable homozygote AA in UC patients compared to donors. Additionally, the major allele G and the allele pair GG were more frequent in patients with mild to moderate disease and 1-2 degree of endoscopic activity than in those with severe UC and 3-4 degree of endoscopic activity (χ2=14.19; p=0.000). We also observed a mutant allele A and the unfavorable homozygote AA associated with severe progressive UC. The occurrence of the mutant allele increased the risk of severe UC by 5 times (OR 5.03; CI 12.07-12.21). We did not find any significant differences in the frequency of the CC homozygote (χ2=1.02; p=0.6; OR=1.32) and the mutant allele C of the VEGFA gene -634G/C (rs 2010963) (χ2=0.01; p=0.913; OR=0.97) between groups of UC patients and healthy individuals. However, we detected that the mutant allele C and the unfavorable homozygote CC of the VEGFA gene were associated with more severe endoscopic changes in the colonic mucosa of UC patients (χ2=25,76; р=0,000; OR=0,15). The presence of the mutant allele increased the risk of severe UC by 6 times (OR 6,78; CI 3,13–14,7). We found a direct correlation between TNF-α and VEGFA gene polymorphisms, increased production of the same factors, disease severity, and endoscopic activity (р=0.000). Therefore, the presence of the mutant allele A and homozygote AA of the TNF-α gene at the -308G/A region and the mutant allele C and homozygote CC of the VEGFA gene at the -634G/C region are associated with risks related to an unfavorable clinical course of UC, frequent recurrences, and rapid progression. These findings should be considered when making prognoses regarding the clinical course of the disease and selecting treatment strategies. The presence of the homozygote AA in the TNF-α gene (rs1800629) is considered a sign of genetic predisposition to UC.

Keywords: gene polymorphism, TNF-α, ulcerative colitis, VEGF

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Daniel John Avutia

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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) development is reliant on the sunlight hours available in a particular region to generate electricity. A potential area is assessed through its inherent solar radiation intensity measured in watts per square meter. Solar energy development involves the feasibility, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the relevant infrastructure, but this paper will focus on the design and construction aspects. Africa and Australasia have the longest sunlight hours per day and the highest solar radiation per square meter, 7 sunlight hours/day and 5 kWh/day respectively. Solar PV support configurations consist of fixed-tilt support and tracker system structures, the differentiation being that the latter was introduced to improve the power generation efficiency of the former due to the sun tracking movement capabilities. The installation of Solar PV foundations involves rammed piles, drilling/grout piles and shallow raft reinforced concrete structures. This paper presents a case study of 2 solar PV projects in Africa and Australia, discussing the foundation design consideration and associated construction cost implications of the selected foundations systems. Solar PV foundations represent up to one fifth of the civil works costs in a project. Therefore, the selection of the most structurally sound and feasible foundation for the prevailing ground conditions is critical towards solar PV development. The design wind speed measured by anemometers govern the pile embedment depth for rammed and drill/grout foundation systems. The lateral pile deflection and vertical pull out resistance of piles increase proportionally with the embedment depth for uniform pile geometry and geology. The pile driving rate may also be used to anticipate the lateral resistance and skin friction restraining the pile. Rammed pile foundations are the most structurally suitable due to the pile skin friction and ease of installation in various geological conditions. The competitiveness of solar PV projects within the renewable energy mix is governed by lowering capital expenditure, improving power generation efficiency and power storage technological advances. The power generation reliability and efficiency are areas for further research within the renewable energy niche.

Keywords: design, foundations, piles, solar

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Kangrij Roeksiripat

Abstract:

Street vending is one of the informal economy activities which considered significance to Thai people in the economic and the day-to-day social life. It had been believed that the street vendor is a group of the poor and uneducated people. With the increasing numbers of the street vendor occupying space on public sidewalks especially in central business districts, it becomes unclear whether street vending continues as a solution to unemployment for access labors. This research attempts to study and analyze types of street vendors in Bangkok under the informal economy framework. The debate on the heterogeneous informal economy has categorized into four schools; the dualism, the structuralism, the legalism and the voluntarism. The examination also embodies with market concept with Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position Model analysis and the interviews with the street vendors in three case study areas: Inner zone (Pathumwan district - the sidewalk on the opposite side of Siam Paragon mall), Middle zone (Ramkhamhaeng district - the sidewalk on the opposite side of Ramkhamhaeng University) and Outer zone (Minburi district- the sidewalk of Sriburanukit Road). The result indicates that most of street vendors in Siam square are voluntarily choose to make a living in vending on a sidewalk and tend to take it as a long-term occupation even though they can be in formal wage employment. Moreover, average income and positive attitude towards self-employed are the important factors that drive them to operate street vending businesses. Meanwhile, street vending is often a family enterprise in Ramkhamhaeng area and most vendors do not wish to transform their businesses into the formal sectors. Whereas the survey conducted in Sriburankit Road reveals that almost all of street vendors migrated from other provinces and were previously paid as the unskilled workers in formal sectors. They moved to informal trades because of the uncertainty of employment in the mainstream sectors and the inconsistent income with knowledge support of friends and relatives from the same hometown. In particular, the result reveals a common pattern that street vending is the very first occupation of some group of vendors and they will continue to engage in this activity. Thus, it is important for the government to design optimal policy which not only integrating informal workers into the formal economy but also monitoring the enforcement of regulations on the modern informal economy.

Keywords: informal economy, sidewalks, street vendors, occupation

Procedia PDF Downloads 272