Search results for: sustainable development of tourism

Authors: Siti Dewi Aisyah

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Islamic Muslim fashion has become a trend in Indonesia. It is said that social media has a huge impact on its development. Indonesia is ranked among the most users of social media. That is why people who wear hijab also use social media for different purposes, one of this is to introduce hijab fashion. Consequently, they are becoming famous in social media. Social media has become a tool for communicating their beliefs as a Muslim as well as personal branding as a good hijabi yet with a fashionable style. This research will examine the social media such as Blog and Instagram, how it triggers the consumer culture to hijabi, what is the actual meaning behind of their feed posts in their social media, how they produce good photograph in their social media and for what reason they use social media. This research had been conducted through in-depth interviews with several bloggers who created Hijabers Community who have made a new trend in Muslim fashion and also Instagrammers who made their feeds as a style inspiration. The methodology used for this research is by analyzing Blog and Instagram through visual analysis that also examines the semiotic meaning behind the photographs that are posted by the people on the social media especially about the Islamic Modest Fashion trend. The theoretical framework for this research is about studying social media that is examined through visual analysis. The Muslim fashion trend was lead by several bloggers and continued to Instagram which then created a consumption pattern. From colourful colors, pastel colors, monochrome colors to neutral coffee tone colors, it was influenced by the Muslim fashion designers that also become digital influencers in social media. It was concluded that social media had been a powerful promotional and effective tool to change the trend in Indonesian Muslim Fashion trend.

Keywords: blog, instagram, consumer culture, muslim fashion, social media, visual analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 350

Authors: Boukhalfa Djemouai, Belkadi Souhila, Safsaf Boubakeur

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To increase the profitability of the national herd so that it can meet the needs of the population, Algeria has proceeded to the introduction of new reproductive biotechnologies, including artificial insemination on natural heat, by induction and heat synchronization. This biotechnology uses the male way for the creation and dissemination of genetic progress. The study has focused on 30 goat kids and bucks local breed aged between 03 and 24 months, divided into 03 groups 03-06 months[Grp 1; n=9], 07-10 months [Grp 2; n=13] and 11-24 months [Grp 3; n=8], in order to determine the influence of age on testicular evolution by measurements of testis and scrotum, and the epididymis sperm parameters evaluation. These parameters are influenced by age variations (sperm and spermocytogram). The examined parameters have focused on testicular weight (grams), the scrotal circumference (cm), mass mobility (%), vitality rate (%), sperm concentration (x 109), and percentage of abnormal spermatozoa (%). The ANOVA reveals a significance effect of age on parameters: testis weight, scrotal circumference, sperm concentration, motility varying between high (p < 0.01) to very high significance (p < 0.001), while in viability and abnormalities no significance was observed between all groups. The value of these parameters increased significantly until the age of 02 years, while that of sperm abnormalities has increased in Grp2. The histological study of testicular development shows that the genetic spermatozoa function characterized by cell proliferation, which is more and more intense starting from the age of 05 months and can be considered as an age of puberty in the local breed goat Arbia and increases with animal age.

Keywords: kids and bucks, epididymis sperm, testicular measurements, Arbia breed

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Ebrahim Panah, Muhammad Yasir Babar

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Thanks to the development of online technology and social networks, people are able to communicate as well as learn. WhatsApp is a popular social network which is growingly gaining popularity. This app can be used for communication as well as education. It can be used for instructor-learner, learner-learner, and learner-content interactions; however, very little knowledge is available on these potentials of WhatsApp. The current study was undertaken to investigate university students’ perceptions of WhatsApp used as a tool for instructor-learner dialogue, learner-content dialogue, and learner-learner dialogue. The study adopted a survey approach and distributed the questionnaire developed by Google Forms to 54 (11 males and 43 females) university students. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The result of data analysis indicates that students have positive attitudes towards WhatsApp as a tool for Instructor-Learner Dialogue: it easy to reach the lecturer (4.07), the instructor gives me valuable feedback on my assignment (4.02), the instructor is supportive during course discussion and offers continuous support with the class (4.00). Learner-Content Dialogue: WhatsApp allows me to academically engage with lecturers anytime, anywhere (4.00), it helps to send graphics such as pictures or charts directly to the students (3.98), it also provides out of class, extra learning materials and homework (3.96), and Learner-Learner Dialogue: WhatsApp is a good tool for sharing knowledge with others (4.09), WhatsApp allows me to academically engage with peers anytime, anywhere (4.07), and we can interact with others through the use of group discussion (4.02). It was also found that there are significant positive correlations between students’ perceptions of Instructor-Learner Dialogue (ILD), Learner-Content Dialogue (LCD), Learner-Learner Dialogue (LLD) and WhatsApp Application in classroom. The findings of the study have implications for lectures, policy makers and curriculum developers.

Keywords: instructor-learner dialogue, learners-contents dialogue, learner-learner dialogue, whatsapp application

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Isaiah Oluranti Olurinola, Michael Kayode Bolarinwa, Ebenezer Bowale, Ifeoluwa Ogunrinola

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Abstract - While much literature exists on microfinancing and its impact on the development of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME), yet little is known in respect of the impact of different types of education of owner-managers on the performances as well as innovative possibilities of such enterprises. This paper aims at contributing to the understanding of the impact of different types of education (academic, technical, apprenticeship, etc) that influence the performance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME). This study utilises a recent and larger data-set collected in six states and FCT Abuja, Nigeria in the year 2014. Furthermore, the study carries out a comparative analysis of business performance among the different geo-political zones in Nigeria, given the educational attainment of the owner-managers. The data set were enterprise-based and were collected by the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) in the year 2014. Six hundred and eighty eight enterprises were covered in the survey. The method of data analysis for this study is the use of basic descriptive statistics in addition to the Logistic Regression model used in the prediction of the log of odds of business performance in relation to any of the identified educational attainment of the owner-managers in the sampled enterprises. An OLS econometric technique is also used to determine the effects of owner-managers' different educational types on the performance of the sampled MSME. Policy measures that will further enhance the contributions of education to MSME performance will be put forward.

Keywords: Business Performance, Education, Microfinancing, Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

Procedia PDF Downloads 491

Authors: Chun-Lin Chiang, Che-Yen Lee, Yu-Shan Yeh, Jiunn-Haur Shaw

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Wafer fabrication is a critical part of the semiconductor process, when the finest linewidth with the improvement of technology continues to decline and the structure development from 2D towards to 3D. The nanoparticles contained in the slurry or in the ultrapure water which used for cleaning have a large influence on the manufacturing process. Therefore, semiconductor industry is hoping to find a viable method for on-line detection the nanoparticles size and concentration. The resistive pulse sensing technology is one of the methods that may cover this question. As we know that nanoparticles properties of material differ significantly from their properties at larger length scales. So, we want to clear that the metal and non-metal nanoparticles translocation dynamic when we use the resistive pulse sensing technology. In this study we try to use the finite element method that contains three governing equations to do multiphysics coupling simulations. The Navier-Stokes equation describes the laminar motion, the Nernst-Planck equation describes the ion transport, and the Poisson equation describes the potential distribution in the flow channel. To explore that the metal nanoparticles and the non-metal nanoparticles in different concentration electrolytes, through the nanochannel caused by ion current changes. Then the reliability of the simulation results was verified by resistive pulse sensing test. The existing results show that the lower ion concentration, the greater effect of nanoparticles on the ion concentration in the nanochannel. The conductive spikes are correlated with nanoparticles surface charge. Then we can be concluded that in the resistive pulse sensing technique, the ion concentration in the nanochannel and nanoparticle properties are important for the translocation dynamic, and they have the interactions.

Keywords: multiphysics simulations, resistive pulse sensing, nanoparticles, nanochannel

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Huijie Wang, Bin Zhang

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In China, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River are well-developed, boasting a wealth of different types of watershed landscape. In this regard, landscape character assessment (LCA) can serve as a basis for protection, management and planning of trans-regional watershed landscape types. For this study, we chose the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Wuhan metropolitan area as our study site, wherein the water system consists of rich variety in landscape types. We analyzed trans-regional data to cluster and identify types of landscape characteristics at two levels. 55 basins were analyzed as variables with topography, land cover and river system features in order to identify the watershed landscape character types. For watershed landscape, drainage density and degree of curvature were specified as special variables to directly reflect the regional differences of river system features. Then, we used the principal component analysis (PCA) method and hierarchical clustering algorithm based on the geographic information system (GIS) and statistical products and services solution (SPSS) to obtain results for clusters of watershed landscape which were divided into 8 characteristic groups. These groups highlighted watershed landscape characteristics of different river systems as well as key landscape characteristics that can serve as a basis for targeted protection of watershed landscape characteristics, thus helping to rationally develop multi-value landscape resources and promote coordinated development of trans-regions.

Keywords: GIS, hierarchical clustering, landscape character, landscape typology, principal component analysis, watershed

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Sarah Kalaouze, Maxine Iannucelli, Kristen Dunfield

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Children’s implicit beliefs regarding intelligence (i.e., intelligence mindsets) influence their motivation, perseverance, and success. Previous research suggests that the way parents perceive failure influences the development of their child’s intelligence mindsets. We invited 151 children-parent dyads (Age= 5–6 years) to complete a series of difficult puzzles over zoom. We assessed parents’ intelligence and failure mindsets using questionnaires and recorded parents’ person/performance-oriented (e.g., “you are smart” or "you were almost able to complete that one) and process-oriented (e.g., “you are trying really hard” or "maybe if you place the bigger pieces first") failure feedback. We were interested in observing the relation between parental mindsets and the type of feedback provided. We found that parents’ intelligence mindsets were not predictive of the feedback they provided children. Failure mindsets, on the other hand, were predictive of failure feedback. Parents who view failure-as-debilitating provided more person-oriented feedback, focusing on performance and personal ability. Whereas parents who view failure-as-enhancing provided process-oriented feedback, focusing on effort and strategies. Taken all together, our results allow us to determine that although parents might already have a growth intelligence mindset, they don’t necessarily have a failure-as-enhancing mindset. Parents adopting a failure-as-enhancing mindset would influence their children to view failure as a learning opportunity, further promoting practice, effort, and perseverance during challenging tasks. The focus placed on a child’s learning, rather than their performance, encourages them to perceive intelligence as malleable (growth mindset) rather than fix (fixed mindset). This implies that parents should not only hold a growth mindset but thoroughly understand their role in the transmission of intelligence beliefs.

Keywords: mindset(s), failure, intelligence, parental feedback, parents

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Younes Abed

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The successful application of in-situ testing of soils heavily depends on development of interpretation methods of tests. The pressuremeter test simulates the expansion of a cylindrical cavity and because it has well defined boundary conditions, it is more unable to rigorous theoretical analysis (i. e. cavity expansion theory) then most other in-situ tests. In this article, and in order to make the identification process more convenient, we propose a relatively simple procedure which involves the numerical identification of some mechanical parameters of a granular soil, especially, the elastic modulus and the friction angle from a pressuremeter curve. The procedure, applied here to identify the parameters of generalised prager model associated to the Drucker & Prager criterion from a pressuremeter curve, is based on an inverse analysis approach, which consists of minimizing the function representing the difference between the experimental curve and the curve obtained by integrating the model along the loading path in in-situ testing. The numerical process implemented here is based on the established finite element program. We present a validation of the proposed approach by a database of tests on expansion of cylindrical cavity. This database consists of four types of tests; thick cylinder tests carried out on the Hostun RF sand, pressuremeter tests carried out on the Hostun sand, in-situ pressuremeter tests carried out at the site of Fos with marine self-boring pressuremeter and in-situ pressuremeter tests realized on the site of Labenne with Menard pressuremeter.

Keywords: granular soils, cavity expansion, pressuremeter test, finite element method, identification procedure

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Samir Chekchaki, ArifaBeddiar

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Nowadays, more and more species are introduced outside their natural range. If most of them remain difficult, some may adopt a much more dynamic behavior. Indeed, we have witnessed in recent decades, the development of high forests of Acacia mearnsii in El Kala National Park. Introduced indefinitely, this leguminous intended to make money (nitrogen supply for industrial plantations of Eucalyptus), became one of the most invasive and more costly in terms of forest management. It has crossed all barriers: it has acclimatized, naturalized and then expanded through diverse landscapes; entry into competition with native species such as cork oak and altered ecosystem functioning. Therefore, it is interesting to analyze this new threat by relying on plants as bio-indicator for assessing biodiversity at different scales. We have identified the species present in several plots distributed in a range of vegetation types subjected to different degrees of disturbance by using the braun-blanquet method. Fifty-six species have been recorded. They are distributed in 48 genera and 29 families. The analysis of the relative frequency of species correlated with relative abundance clearly shows that the Acacia mearnsii feels marginalized. The ecological analysis of this biological invasion shows that disruption of either natural or anthropogenic origin (fire, prolonged drought, cut) represent the factors that exacerbate invasion by opening invasion windows. The lifting of seeds of Acacia mearnsii lasting physical dormancy (and variable) is ensured by the thermal shock in relation to its heliophilous character.

Keywords: Acacia mearnsii De Wild, El Kala National park, fire, invasive, vegetation

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: K. Bala Subramanian, A. Siva, S. Swaminathan, Arul. M. G. Ajin

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Concrete is an essential building material which is widely used in construction industry all over the world due to its compressible strength. Curing of concrete plays a vital role in durability and other performance necessities. Improper curing can affect the concrete performance and durability easily. When areas like scarcity of water, structures is not accessible by humans external curing cannot be performed, so we opt for internal curing. Internal curing (or) self-curing plays a major role in developing the concrete pore structure and microstructure. The concept of internal curing is to enhance the hydration process to maintain the temperature uniformly. The evaporation of water in the concrete is reduced by self-curing agent (Super Absorbing Polymer – SAP) thereby increasing the water retention capacity of the concrete. The research work was carried out to reduce water, which is prime material used for concrete in the construction industry. Concrete curing plays a major role in developing hydration process. Concept of self-curing will reduce the evaporation of water from concrete. Self-curing will increase water retention capacity as compared to the conventional concrete. Proper self-curing (or) internal curing increases the strength, durability and performance of concrete. Super absorbing Polymer (SAP) used as internal curing agent. In this study 0.2% to 0.4% of SAP was varied in different grade of high strength concrete. In the experiment replacement of cement by silica fumes with 5%, 10% and 15% are studied. It is found that replacement of silica fumes by 10 % gives more strength and durability when compared to others

Keywords: compressive strength, high strength concrete rapid chloride permeability, super absorbing polymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Shital Bangar, G. B. Khandagale

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The experimentation was carried out to study the influence of sulphur and boron on growth parameters and productivity of soybean in kharif season of 2009-2010 at Experimental Farm, Department of Agricultural Botany, Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani (M.S.). The object was to evaluate the impact of sulphur and boron on growth, development, grain yield and physiological aspects of soybean variety MAUS-81. Nine treatments consisted of three levels of sulphur i.e. 20, 30 and 40 Kg/ha as well as three levels boron i.e.10, 15 and 20 kg boron/ha and the combinations of these two mineral elements i.e. Sulphur @30 kg/ha + Borax @15 kg/ha and Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha with one control treatment in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The effect of sulphur and boron on various growth parameters of soybean like relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) were remained statistically on par with each other. However, the application of higher dose of Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha enhanced significantly all the growth parameters. Application of the nutrients increased the dry matter accumulation of the crop plant and hence, other growth indices like RGR and NAR also increased significantly. RGR and NAR values were recorded highest at the initial crop growth stages and decline thereafter. The application of sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha recorded significantly higher content of chlorophyll ‘a’ than rest of the treatments and chlorophyll ‘b’ observed higher in boron @15 kg/ha as well as boron@20 kg/ha, whereas total chlorophyll content was maximum in sulphur @40 kg/ha. Oil content was not influenced significantly due to above fertilization. The highest seed yield and total biological yield were obtained with combination of Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha, single sulphur and boron application also showed a significant effect on seed and biological yield.

Keywords: boron, growth, productivity, quality, soybean and sulphur

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: E. Grochowska-Niedworok, K. Brukało, M. Hadasik, M. Kardas

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Consumption of vegetables by school children and adolescents is essential for their normal growth, development and health, but a significant minority of the world's population consumes the right amount of these products. The aim of the study was to evaluate the preferences and frequency of consumption of vegetables by school children and adolescents. It has been assumed that effectively implemented nutrition education programs should have an impact on increasing the frequency of vegetable consumption among the recipients. The study covered 514 students of five schools in the Opole Voivodeship aged 9 years to 22 years. The research tool was an author's questionnaire, which consisted of closed questions on the frequency of vegetable consumption and the use of 10 ways to treat them. Preferences and frequencies are shown in percentages, while correlations were estimated on the basis of Cramer`s V and gamma coefficients. In each of the examined age groups, the relationship between sex and vegetable consumption (the Cramer`s V coefficient value was 0.06 to 0.38) was determined and the various methods of culinary processing were used (V Craméra was 0.08 to 0.34). For both sexes, the relationship between age and frequency of vegetable consumption was shown (gamma values ranged from ~ 0.00 to 0.39) and different cooking methods (gamma values were 0.01 to 0.22). The most important determinant of nutritional choices is the taste and availability of products. The fact that they have a positive effect on their health is only in third position. As has been shown, obesity prevention programs can not only address nutrition education but also teach about new flavors and increase the availability of healthy foods. In addition, the frequency of vegetable consumption can be a good indicator reflecting the healthy behaviors of children and adolescents.

Keywords: children and adolescents, frequency, welfare rate, vegetables

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Song Zhang, Hui Wang, Johannes Henrich Schleifenbaum

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Due to the increasing demand for quality assurance and reliability for additive manufacturing, the development of an advanced in-situ monitoring system is required to monitor the process anomalies as input for further process control. Optical-based monitoring systems, such as CMOS cameras and NIR cameras, are proved as effective ways to monitor the geometrical distortion and exceptional thermal distribution. Therefore, many studies and applications are focusing on the availability of the optical-based monitoring system for detecting varied types of defects. However, the capability of the monitoring setup is not quantified. In this study, a quantification model to evaluate the capability of the monitoring setups for the LPBF machine based on acquired monitoring data of a designed test artifact is presented, while the design of the relevant test artifacts is discussed. The monitoring setup is evaluated based on its hardware properties, location of the integration, and light condition. Methodology of data processing to quantify the capacity for each aspect is discussed. The minimal capability of the detectable size of the monitoring set up in the application is estimated by quantifying its resolution and accuracy. The quantification model is validated using a CCD camera-based monitoring system for LPBF machines in the laboratory with different setups. The result shows the model to quantify the monitoring system's performance, which makes the evaluation of monitoring systems with the same concept but different setups possible for the LPBF process and provides the direction to improve the setups.

Keywords: data processing, in-situ monitoring, LPBF process, optical system, quantization model, test artifact

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Mahnaz Sanjari, Sedigheh Salemi, Mohammad Mirzabeigi

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Nowadays, the world is facing a crisis of workforce and one of the most striking examples is the shortage of nurses. Nursing workforce productivity is related by various factors such as absenteeism, professional effectiveness and quality care. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 700 nurses who work in government hospitals from 35 hospitals of 9 provinces in Iran. The study was approved by the Nursing Council and was carried out with the authorization of the Research Ethics Committee. The questionnaire included 33 questions and 4 sub categories such as human resource, education and management. The reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha (α=0/85). Statistical analyzes were performed, using SPSS version 16. The result showed that nurses emphasized on "respect to nurse-to-bed ratio" and less importance item was "using less experienced nurse". In addition, another important factor in clinical productivity is "Proper physical structure and amenities","good communication with colleagues" and "having good facilities". Also, "human resources at all levels of standard", "promoting on merit" and "well defined relationship in health system" are another important factors in productivity from nurse` view. The main managerial factor is "justice between employees" and the main educational component of productivity is “updating nursing knowledge”. The results show that more than half of the participants emphasized on the management and educational factors. Productivity as one of the main part of the health care quality leads to appropriate use of human and organizational resources, reduce cost services, and organizational development.

Keywords: productivity, nursing services, workforce, cost services

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Lisdey Espinoza Pedraza

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In places from Latin America to Africa, a big number of authoritarian regimes have given way to democratic forces and increasingly responsive and open societies. Many countries have embarked upon a process of democratisation for the first time while many others have moved to restore their democratic roots. Mexico is one of these countries, and although the Mexican state is not democratic neither dictatorial in the strict sense the Anglo-Saxon and European tradition has defined these concepts, it is possible to find elements that combine both concepts. History helps us understand and study the past, interpret the present and predict the future. In the case of the Mexican political system, history has had a very specific effect in each of the areas that comprise the making of what it is now the contemporary Mexican system. Each of the different historical periods has left a legacy that has marked the way the political system has evolved. The historical periods that Mexico has undergone since its emergence as an independent state, have permeated until modern days and some of these legacies are the ones which will help us understand and interpret many of the structures of the current Mexican political system. The most notorious characteristic of contemporary Latin America is its dependency, underdevelopment and economic disparity once this region if compared with Europe and North America. There is a widespread persistence of economic dependence and social problems despite the creation of independent countries. The role of the state is to supervise the development of relations among actors. The political phenomenon is full of a constant process of transitions and the particular case of the formation of the Mexican state evidences this.

Keywords: Mexico, democratisation process, PRI, authoritarian regimes, political transitions, Latin America

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Huajuan Shi

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Background: The biopsy of the preimplantation embryo may increase the potential risk and concern of embryo viability. Clinically discarded spent embryo medium (SEM) has entered the view of researchers, sparking an interest in noninvasive embryo screening. However, one of the major restrictions is the extremelty low quantity of cf-RNA, which is difficult to efficiently and unbiased amplify cf-RNA using traditional methods. Hence, there is urgently need to an efficient and low bias amplification method which can comprehensively and accurately obtain cf-RNA information to truly reveal the state of SEM cf-RNA. Result: In this present study, we established an agarose PCR amplification system, and has significantly improved the amplification sensitivity and efficiency by ~90 fold and 9.29 %, respectively. We applied agarose to sequencing library preparation (named AG-seq) to quantify and characterize cf-RNA in SEM. The number of detected cf-RNAs (3533 vs 598) and coverage of 3' end were significantly increased, and the noise of low abundance gene detection was reduced. The increasing percentage 5' end adenine and alternative splicing (AS) events of short fragments (< 400 bp) were discovered by AG-seq. Further, the profiles and characterizations of cf-RNA in spent cleavage medium (SCM) and spent blastocyst medium (SBM) indicated that 4‐mer end motifs of cf-RNA fragments could remarkably differentiate different embryo development stages. Significance: This study established an efficient and low-cost SEM amplification and library preparation method. Not only that, we successfully described the characterizations of SEM cf-RNA of preimplantation embryo by using AG-seq, including abundance features fragment lengths. AG-seq facilitates the study of cf-RNA as a noninvasive embryo screening biomarker and opens up potential clinical utilities of trace samples.

Keywords: cell-free RNA, agarose, spent embryo medium, RNA sequencing, non-invasive detection

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Authors: Hayley Boal, Chloe Bromley, John Fairfield

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Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are synthetic compounds designed to reproduce effects of illicit drugs. Cheap, potent, and readily available on UK highstreets from so-called ‘head shops’, in recent years their use has surged and with it have emerged side effects including seizures, aggression, palpitations, coma, and death. Rapid development of new substances has vastly outpaced pre-existing drug legislation but the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 rendered all but tobacco, alcohol, and amyl nitrates, illegal. Drug use has long been rife within prisons, but the absence of a reliable screening tool alongside the availability of NPS makes them ideal for prison use. Here we examine the occurrence of NPS-related adverse side effects within HMP Leeds, comparing May-September of 2015 and 2017 using daily reports distributed amongst prison staff summarising medical and behavioural incidents of the previous day. There was a statistically-significant rise of over 200% in the use of NPS between 2015 and 2017: 0.562 and 1.149 incidents per day respectively. In 2017, 38.46% incidents required ambulances, fallen from 51.02% in 2015. Although the most common descriptions in both years were ‘seizure’ and ‘unresponsive’, by 2017 ‘inhalation by staff’ had emerged. Patterns of NPS consumption mirrored the prison regime, peaking when cell doors opened, and prisoners could socialise. Despite limited data, the Psychoactive Substances Act has clearly been an insufficient deterrent to the prison population; more must be done to understand and address substance misuse in prison. NPS remains a significant risk to prisoners’ health and wellbeing.

Keywords: legislation, novel psychoactive substances, prison, spice

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Daniel M. Barry

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Since more than half a century ago, attempts have been made to culture cells and embryos outside the body (in vitro or ex vivo). This was done with different culture media and in various “incubators”. In the present study two different culture media were used: a standard TCM-199 culture medium and first trimester amniotic fluid (BAF) collected sterilely from pregnant cows after slaughter. Two different culture conditions were also investigated, the standard laboratory CO2 incubator versus culturing bovine embryos in the vagina of a goat doe. Two experiments were done: Firstly the permeability of different receptacles to CO2 gas was analyzed for possible culture in the vagina. Four-well plates and straws were used to incubate TCM-199 and BAF for a period of 120 h in the presence or absence of 5% CO2 gas. The pH values were measured and recorded every 24 h. In the second experiment pre-compacted morula stage bovine embryos were cultured in the above culture media in sealed 0.25 mL straws in a standard laboratory incubator and in the vagina of a goat doe. Evaluation was done on (1) stage of development and (2) number of blastomeres after 96 h of culture. In the first experiment it was shown that the CO2 gas diffused out of the 4-well plate as well as through the wall of the straws in the absence of CO2 gas, while in the presence of CO2 the pH of both media stabilized between 7.3 and 7.5. This meant that the semen straws were permeable to CO2 gas and could therefore be used as receptacles for culturing early stage bovine embryos. In the second experiment no statistical differences (p>0.05) were found in the number of pre-compacted bovine embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage, or the hatched blastocyst stage, neither for the culture medium used, or the method of culturing in the two incubators. Neither was there any difference (p>0.05) in the number of blastomeres that developed at the blastocyst stage between the two types of incubators. The bovine embryos tended to develop more blastomeres when cultured in BAF than when cultured in TCM-199 in both the standard laboratory incubator and when using the vagina of a goat doe as an incubator.

Keywords: alternative culture, bovine embryos, vagina, bovine amniotic fluid, incubator

Procedia PDF Downloads 475

Authors: Kayode Festus Oyedele, Sunday Oladele, Adaora Chibundu Nduka

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The subsurface of a proposed site for building development in Mowe, Nigeria, using Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT) supplemented with Horizontal Electrical Profiling (HEP) was investigated with the aim of evaluating the suitability of the strata for foundation materials. Four SPT and CPT were implemented using 10 tonnes hammer. HEP utilizing Wenner array were performed with inter-electrode spacing of 10 – 60 m along four traverses coincident with each of the SPT and CPT. The HEP data were processed using DIPRO software and textural filtering of the resulting resistivity sections was implemented to enable delineation of hidden layers. Sandy lateritic clay, silty lateritic clay, clay, clayey sand and sand horizons were delineated. The SPT “N” value defined very soft to soft sandy lateritic (<4), stiff silty lateritic clay (7 – 12), very stiff silty clay (12 - 15), clayey sand (15- 20) and sand (27 – 37). Sandy lateritic clay (5-40 kg/cm2) and silty lateritic clay (25 - 65 kg/cm2) were defined from the CPT response. Sandy lateritic clay (220-750 Ωm), clay (< 50 Ωm) and sand (415-5359 Ωm) were delineated from the resistivity sections with two thin layers of silty lateritic clay and clayey sand defined in the texturally filtered resistivity sections. This study concluded that the presence of incompetent thick clayey materials (18 m) beneath the study area makes it unsuitable for shallow foundation. Deep foundation involving piling through the clayey layers to the competent sand at 20 m depth was recommended.

Keywords: cone penetrometer, foundation, lithologic texture, resistivity section, standard penetration test

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Authors: Afshin Keshvadi, Johari Endan, Haniff Harun, Desa Ahmad, Farah Saleena

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Experiments were conducted to develop a model for analyzing the ripening process of oil palm fresh fruits in relation to oil yield and oil quality of palm oil produced. This research was carried out on 8-year-old Tenera (Dura × Pisifera) palms planted in 2003 at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board Research Station. Fresh fruit bunches were harvested from designated palms during January till May of 2010. The bunches were divided into three regions (top, middle and bottom), and fruits from the outer and inner layers were randomly sampled for analysis at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after anthesis to establish relationships between maturity and oil development in the mesocarp and kernel. Computations on data related to ripening time, oil content and oil quality were performed using several computer software programs (MSTAT-C, SAS and Microsoft Excel). Nine nonlinear mathematical models were utilized using MATLAB software to fit the data collected. The results showed mean mesocarp oil percent increased from 1.24 % at 8 weeks after anthesis to 29.6 % at 20 weeks after anthesis. Fruits from the top part of the bunch had the highest mesocarp oil content of 10.09 %. The lowest kernel oil percent of 0.03 % was recorded at 12 weeks after anthesis. Palmitic acid and oleic acid comprised of more than 73 % of total mesocarp fatty acids at 8 weeks after anthesis, and increased to more than 80 % at fruit maturity at 20 weeks. The Logistic model with the highest R2 and the lowest root mean square error was found to be the best fit model.

Keywords: oil palm, oil yield, ripening process, anthesis, fatty acids, modeling

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Authors: Gule Teri

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The effective validation of analytical methods forms a crucial component of pharmaceutical manufacturing. However, traditional validation techniques can occasionally fail to fully account for inherent variations within datasets, which may result in inconsistent outcomes. This deficiency in validation accuracy is particularly noticeable when quantifying low concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, or impurities, introducing a risk to the reliability of the results and, subsequently, the safety and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical products. In response to this challenge, we introduce an enhanced, tolerance-based Design of Experiments (DoE) approach for the validation of analytical methods. This approach distinctly measures variability with reference to tolerance or design margins, enhancing the precision and trustworthiness of the results. This method provides a systematic, statistically grounded validation technique that improves the truthfulness of results. It offers an essential tool for industry professionals aiming to guarantee the accuracy of their measurements, particularly for low-concentration components. By incorporating this innovative method, pharmaceutical manufacturers can substantially advance their validation processes, subsequently improving the overall quality and safety of their products. This paper delves deeper into the development, application, and advantages of this tolerance-based DoE approach and demonstrates its effectiveness using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) data for verification. This paper also discusses the potential implications and future applications of this method in enhancing pharmaceutical manufacturing practices and outcomes.

Keywords: tolerance-based design, design of experiments, analytical method validation, quality control, biopharmaceutical manufacturing

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Authors: Baki Cicek, Umit Calisir

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Carbazoles have been replaced lots of studies from 1960's to present and also still continues. In 1987, the first diode device had been developed. Thanks to that study, light emitting devices have been investigated and developed and also have been used on commercial applications. Nowadays, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) technology is using on lots of electronic screen such as (mobile phone, computer monitors, televisions, etc.) Carbazoles were subject a lot of study as a semiconductor material. Although this technology is used commen and widely, it is still development stage. Metal complexes of these compounds are using at pigment dyes because of colored substances, polymer technology, medicine industry, agriculture area, preparing rocket fuel-oil, determine some of biological events, etc. Becides all of these to preparing of schiff base synthesis is going on intensely. In this study, some of novel carbazole schiff bases were synthesized starting from carbazole. For that purpose, firstly, carbazole was alkylated. After purification of N-substituted-carbazole was nitrated to sythesized 3-nitro-N-substituted and 3,6-dinitro-N-substituted carbazoles. At next step, nitro group/groups were reduced to amines. Purified with using a type of silica gel-column chromatography. At the last step of our study, with sythesized 3,6-diamino-N-substituted carbazoles and 3-amino-N-substituted carbazoles were reacted with aldehydes to condensation reactions. 3-(imino-p-hydroxybenzyl)-N-isobutyl -carbazole, 3-(imino-2,3,4-trimethoxybenzene)-N-butylcarbazole, 3-(imino-3,4-dihydroxybenzene)-N-octylcarbazole, 3-(imino-2,3-dihydroxybenzene)-N-octylkarbazole and 3,6-di(α-imino-β-naphthol) -N-hexylcarbazole compounds were synthesized. All of synthesized compounds were characterized with FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and LC-MS.

Keywords: carbazole, carbazol schiff base, condensation reactions, OLED

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Authors: Bita Mohajernia, R. J. Urbanic

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Mold making techniques have focused on meeting the customers’ functional and process requirements; however, today, molds are increasing in size and sophistication, and are difficult to manufacture, transport, and set up due to their size and mass. Presently, mold weight saving techniques focus on pockets to reduce the mass of the mold, but the overall size is still large, which introduces costs related to the stock material purchase, processing time for process planning, machining and validation, and excess waste materials. Reducing the overall size of the mold is desirable for many reasons, but the functional requirements, tool life, and durability cannot be compromised in the process. It is proposed to use Finite Element Analysis simulation tools to model the forces, and pressures to determine where the material can be removed. The potential results of this project will reduce manufacturing costs. In this study, a light weight structure is defined by an optimal distribution of material to carry external loads. The optimization objective of this research is to determine methods to provide the optimum layout for the mold structure. The topology optimization method is utilized to improve structural stiffness while decreasing the weight using the OptiStruct software. The optimized CAD model is compared with the primary geometry of the mold from the NX software. Results of optimization show an 8% weight reduction while the actual performance of the optimized structure, validated by physical testing, is similar to the original structure.

Keywords: finite element analysis, plastic injection molding, topology optimization, weight reduction

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Authors: Pippa Sipanoun, Jo Wray, Kate Oulton, Faith Gibson

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Background: With rapidly evolving digital health innovation, there is a need for digital health transformation that is accessible and sustainable, that demonstrates utility for all stakeholders while maintaining data safety. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children aimed to future-proof the hospital by transitioning to an electronic patient record (EPR) system with a tethered patient portal (MyGOSH) in April 2019. MyGOSH patient portal enables patients 12 years or older (with their parent's consent) to access their digital health data. This includes access to results, documentation, and appointments that facilitate communication with their care team. As part of the Going Digital Study conducted between 2018-2021, data were collected from a sample of all relevant stakeholders before and after EPR and MyGOSH implementation. Data collection reach was wide and included the hospital legal and ethics teams. Aims: This study aims to understand the ethical and legal implications of young people and their parents accessing their digital health data. Methods: A focus group was conducted. Recruited participants were members of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Paediatric Bioethics Centre. Participants included expert and lay members from the Committee from a variety of professional or academic disciplines. Written informed consent was provided by all participants (n=7). The focus group was recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Six themes were identified: access, competence and capacity - granting access to the system; inequalities in access resulting in inequities; burden, uncertainty and responding to change - managing expectations; documenting, risks and data safety; engagement, empowerment and understanding – how to use and manage personal information; legal considerations and obligations. Discussion: If healthcare professionals are to empower young people to be more engaged in their care, the importance of including them in decisions about their health is paramount, especially when they are approaching the age of becoming the consenter for treatment. Complexities exist in assessing competence or capacity when granting system access, when disclosing sensitive information, and maintaining confidentiality. Difficulties are also present in managing clinician burden, managing user expectations whilst providing an equitable service, and data management that meets professional and legal requirements. Conclusion: EPR and tethered-portal implementation at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children was not only timely, due to the need for a rapid transition to remote consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which would not have been possible had EPR/MyGOSH not been implemented, but also integral to the digital health revolution required in healthcare today. This study is highly relevant in understanding the complexities around young people and their parents accessing their digital health data and, although the focus of this research related to portal use and access, the findings translate to young people in the wider digital health context. Ongoing support is required for all relevant stakeholders following MyGOSH patient portal implementation to navigate the ethical and legal complexities. Continued commitment is needed to balance the benefits and burdens, promote inclusion and equity, and ensure portal utility for patient benefit, whilst maintaining an individualized approach to care.

Keywords: patient portal, young people and their parents, ethical, legal

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Authors: G. K. Viswanadh, B. Rajasekhar, G. Venkata Ramana

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Water distribution networks play a vital role in ensuring a reliable supply of clean water to urban areas. However, they face several challenges, including pressure control, pump speed optimization, and burst event detection. This paper combines insights from two studies to address these critical issues in Water distribution networks, focusing on the specific context of Kapra Municipality, India. The first part of this research concentrates on optimizing pressure control and pump speed in complex Water distribution networks. It utilizes the EPANET- MATLAB Toolkit to integrate EPANET functionalities into the MATLAB environment, offering a comprehensive approach to network analysis. By optimizing Pressure Reduce Valves (PRVs) and variable speed pumps (VSPs), this study achieves remarkable results. In the Benchmark Water Distribution System (WDS), the proposed PRV optimization algorithm reduces average leakage by 20.64%, surpassing the previous achievement of 16.07%. When applied to the South-Central and East zone WDS of Kapra Municipality, it identifies PRV locations that were previously missed by existing algorithms, resulting in average leakage reductions of 22.04% and 10.47%. These reductions translate to significant daily Water savings, enhancing Water supply reliability and reducing energy consumption. The second part of this research addresses the pressing issue of burst event detection and localization within the Water Distribution System. Burst events are a major contributor to Water losses and repair expenses. The study employs wireless sensor technology to monitor pressure and flow rate in real time, enabling the detection of pipeline abnormalities, particularly burst events. The methodology relies on transient analysis of pressure signals, utilizing Cumulative Sum and Wavelet analysis techniques to robustly identify burst occurrences. To enhance precision, burst event localization is achieved through meticulous analysis of time differentials in the arrival of negative pressure waveforms across distinct pressure sensing points, aided by nodal matrix analysis. To evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology, a PVC Water pipeline test bed is employed, demonstrating the algorithm's success in detecting pipeline burst events at flow rates of 2-3 l/s. Remarkably, the algorithm achieves a localization error of merely 3 meters, outperforming previously established algorithms. This research presents a significant advancement in efficient burst event detection and localization within Water pipelines, holding the potential to markedly curtail Water losses and the concomitant financial implications. In conclusion, this combined research addresses critical challenges in Water distribution networks, offering solutions for optimizing pressure control, pump speed, burst event detection, and localization. These findings contribute to the enhancement of Water Distribution System, resulting in improved Water supply reliability, reduced Water losses, and substantial cost savings. The integrated approach presented in this paper holds promise for municipalities and utilities seeking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their Water distribution networks.

Keywords: pressure reduce valve, complex networks, variable speed pump, wavelet transform, burst detection, CUSUM (Cumulative Sum), water pipeline monitoring

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Authors: Hawbash Jalil

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In this study, the effects of whey protein based films on various properties of kashar cheese were examined. In the study, edible film solutions based on whey protein isolate, whey protein isolate + transglutaminase enzyme and whey protein isolate + chitosan were produced and Kashar cheese samples were coated with these films by dipping method and stored at +4 ºC for 60 days. Chemical, microbiological and textural analyzes were carried out on samples at 0, 30 and 60 days of storage. As a result of the study, the highest dry matter and total nitrogen values were obtained from uncoated control samples This is an indication that the coatings limit water vapor permeability. The highest acidity and pH values obtained from the samples as storage results were 3.33% and 5.86%, respectively, in the control group samples. Both acidity and pH rise in these groups, is a consequence of the buffering of pH changes of hydrolsis products which are as a result of proteolysis occurring in the sample. Nitrogen changes and lipolysis values, which are indicative of the degree of hydrolysis of proteins and triglycerides in kashar cheese, were generally higher in the control group This result is due to limiting the micro organism reproduction by limiting the gas passage of the coatings. Hardness and chewiness values of the textural properties of the samples were significantly reduced in uncoated control samples compared to the coated samples due to maturation. The chitosan film coatings used in the study limited the development of mold yeast until the 30th day but after that did not yield successful results in this respect.

Keywords: chitosan, edible film, transglutaminase, whey protein

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Authors: Sahar S. Tabrizi, Dogan Ibrahim

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Cloud Computing is a convenient model for on-demand networks that uses shared pools of virtual configurable computing resources, such as servers, networks, storage devices, applications, etc. The cloud serves as an environment for companies and organizations to use infrastructure resources without making any purchases and they can access such resources wherever and whenever they need. Cloud computing is useful to overcome a number of problems in various Information Technology (IT) domains such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Scientific Research, e-Governance Systems, Decision Support Systems, ERP, Web Application Development, Mobile Technology, etc. Companies can use Cloud Computing services to store large amounts of data that can be accessed from anywhere on Earth and also at any time. Such services are rented by the client companies where the actual rent depends upon the amount of data stored on the cloud and also the amount of processing power used in a given time period. The resources offered by the cloud service companies are flexible in the sense that the user companies can increase or decrease their storage requirements or the processing power requirements at any time, thus minimizing the overall rental cost of the service they receive. In addition, the Cloud Computing service providers offer fast processors and applications software that can be shared by their clients. This is especially important for small companies with limited budgets which cannot afford to purchase their own expensive hardware and software. This paper is an overview of the Cloud Computing, giving its types, principles, advantages, and disadvantages. In addition, the paper gives some example engineering applications of Cloud Computing and makes suggestions for possible future applications in the field of engineering.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud systems, cloud services, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS

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Authors: Stanislaw Kosmynka

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Although the genesis of the activity of fighting salafist radicalism in Spain dates back to the 80’s, the development of extremism of this kind manifested itself only in the next decade. Its first permanently functioning structures in this country in the second half of 90’s of 20th century came from Algieria and Syria. At the same time it should be emphasized that this distinction is in many dimensions conventional, the more so because they consisted also of immigrants from other coutries of Islam, particularly from Morocco. The paper seeks to understand the radical salafist challenge for Spain in the context of some terrorist networks consisted of immigrants from Morocco. On the eve of the new millennium Moroccan jihadists played an increasingly important role. Although the activity of these groups had for many years mainly logistical and propaganda character, the bomb attack carried out on 11 March 2004 in Madrid constituted an expression of open forms of terrorism, directed against the authorities and society of Spain and reflected the narration of representatives of the trend of the global jihad. The people involved in carrying out that act of violence were to a large extent Moroccan immigrants; also in the following years among the cells of radicals in Spain Moroccans stood out many times. That is why the forms and directions of activity of these extremists in Spain, also after 11th March 2004 and in the actual context of the impact of Islamic State, are worth presenting. The paper is focused on threats to the security of Spain and the region and remains connected with the issues of mutual relations of the society of a host country with immigrant communities which to a large degree come from this part of Maghreb.

Keywords: jihadi terrorism, Morocco, radical salafism, security, Spain, terrorist cells, threat

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Authors: Ali Shubbar, Hassnen M. Jafer, Anmar Dulaimi, William Atherton, Ali Al-Rifaie

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This research represents experimental work for investigation of the influence of utilising Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and High Calcium Fly Ash (HCFA) as a partial replacement for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and produce a low carbon cementitious material with comparable compressive strength to OPC. Firstly, GGBS was used as a partial replacement to OPC to produce a binary blended cementitious material (BBCM); the replacements were 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50% by the dry mass of OPC. The optimum BBCM was mixed with HCFA to produce a ternary blended cementitious material (TBCM). The replacements were 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50% by the dry mass of BBCM. The compressive strength at ages of 7 and 28 days was utilised for assessing the performance of the test specimens in comparison to the reference mixture using 100% OPC as a binder. The results showed that the optimum BBCM was the mix produced from 25% GGBS and 75% OPC with compressive strength of 32.2 MPa at the age of 28 days. In addition, the results of the TBCM have shown that the addition of 10, 15, 20 and 25% of HCFA to the optimum BBCM improved the compressive strength by 22.7, 11.3, 5.2 and 2.1% respectively at 28 days. However, the replacement of optimum BBCM with more than 25% HCFA have showed a gradual drop in the compressive strength in comparison to the control mix. TBCM with 25% HCFA was considered to be the optimum as it showed better compressive strength than the control mix and at the same time reduced the amount of cement to 56%. Reducing the cement content to 56% will contribute to decrease the cost of construction materials, provide better compressive strength and also reduce the CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.

Keywords: cementitious material, compressive strength, GGBS, HCFA, OPC

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Authors: Yakubu Abdulai, Kenichi Matsui

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The agricultural industry has faced a variety of challenges in meeting the expanding income demand of the rural population. As a result, rural households must diversify their income sources to meet their income demand. Although income diversification strategies help rural households, it contributes to total household income, and the socio-demographic determinants are not known in the Upper East Region of Ghana. For these reasons, the purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of income diversification strategies to household income and the socio-demographic factors influencing it. We conducted a questionnaire survey among 360 rural households in the Upper East Region of Ghana. We asked about their socio-demographic information, their choice of income diversification strategies, and their remittances through rural-city migration. The questionnaire survey findings demonstrate that the main livelihood income source contributes 22%, and on-farm income diversification contributes the most to household total income (47%), followed by non-farm diversification income (16%) and off-farm diversification income (15%). Calculations from the income diversity index showed that the average income diversification strategy was 0.5 out of 1. The calculation of the income dependence index also showed that the average dependent on a particular source of income was 0.2 out of 1. All the respondents said household members temporarily migrate to contribute to household income through remittances. The results further reveal that their choice of income diversification is influenced by their age, educational background, experience, and farm size. The paper recommends the promotion of rural development policies that increase income-generating activities and educate rural households on how to increase returns from their investment.

Keywords: income diversification, poverty alleviation, rural households, upper east region

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