Search results for: environmental factors

Authors: Jolien Rijlaarsdam, Charlotte A. M. Cecil, J. Marieke Buil, Pol A. C. Van Lier, Edward D. Barker

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Although there is mounting evidence that the experience of being bullied associates with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, it is not known yet whether the identified associations are specific to these symptoms or shared between them. The primary focus of this study is to assess the prospective associations of bullying exposure with both general and specific (i.e., internalizing, externalizing) factors of psychopathology. This study included data from 6,210 children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Child bullying was measured by self-report at ages 8 and 10 years. Child psychopathology symptoms were assessed by parent-interview, using the Development and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA) at ages 7 and 13 years. Bullying exposure is significantly associated with the general psychopathology factor in early adolescence. In particular, chronically victimized youth exposed to multiple forms of bullying (i.e., both overt and relational) showed the highest levels of general psychopathology. Bullying exposure is also associated with both internalizing and externalizing factors from the correlated-factors model. However, the effect estimates for these factors decreased considerably in size and dropped to insignificant for the internalizing factor after extracting the shared variance that belongs to the general factor of psychopathology. In an integrative longitudinal model, higher levels of general psychopathology at age seven are associated with bullying exposure at age eight, which, in turn, is associated with general psychopathology at age 13 through its two-year continuity. Findings suggest that exposure to bullying is a risk factor for a more general vulnerability to psychopathology through mutually influencing relationships.

Keywords: bullying exposure, externalizing, general psychopathology, internalizing, longitudinal

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Authors: Omid Ghaffarzadeh Mollabashi, Sara Khorshidi, Hossein Kermanian Seyed, Majid Zabihzadeh

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The main problem that hinders the intensive use of non-wood raw materials in papermaking industry is the environmental pollution caused by black liquor. As a matter of fact, black liquor of nonwood pulping is discharged to the environment due to the lack of recovery. Traditionally, NaOH pulping produces Na-based black liquor that may increase soil erosion and reduce soil permeability. With substitution of KOH/NH4OH with NaOH as the cooking liquor, K and N can act as a soil fertilizer while offering an environmentally acceptable disposal alternative. For this purpose, rice straw samples were pulped under the following conditions; Constant factors were: straw weight: 100 gram (based on oven dry), liquor to straw ratio 7:1 and maximum temperature, 170 and 180 ºC. Variable factors for KOH cooks were: KOH dosage of 14, 17 and %20 on oven dry of straw and times at maximum temperature of 60 and 90 minutes. For KOH-NH4OH cooks, KOH dosage of 5 and %10 and NH4OH dosage of 25 and %35, both based as oven dry of straw were applied. Besides, time at maximum temperature was 90 minutes. Yield ranges of KOH and KOH-NH4OH pulp samples were obtained from 37.28 to 48.62 and 45.63 to 48.08 percent, respectively. In addition, Kappa number ranged from 21.91 to 29.85 and 55.15 to 56.25, respectively. In comparison with soda, soda-AQ, cold soda, kraft, EDA (dissolving), De-Ethylene Glycol (dissolving), burst and tensile index for KOH pulp was more in similar cooking condition. With an exception of soda pulps, tear index of the mentioned pulp is more than all compared treatments. Therefore, it can be resulted that KOH pulping method is an appropriate choice for making paper of the rice straw. Also, compared to KOH-NH4OH, KOH pulping method is more appropriate choice because of better pulping results.

Keywords: environmentally friendly process, rice straw, NH4OH-KOH pulping, pulp properties

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Authors: A. Anastasopoulou, A. Kolios, T. Somorin, A. Sowale, Y. Jiang, B. Fidalgo, A. Parker, L. Williams, M. Collins, E. J. McAdam, S. Tyrrel

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Developing countries are nowadays confronted with great challenges related to domestic sanitation services in view of the imminent water scarcity. Contemporary sanitation technologies established in these countries are likely to pose health risks unless waste management standards are followed properly. This paper provides a solution to sustainable sanitation with the development of an innovative toilet system, called Nano Membrane Toilet (NMT), which has been developed by Cranfield University and sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The particular technology converts human faeces into energy through gasification and provides treated wastewater from urine through membrane filtration. In order to evaluate the environmental profile of the NMT system, a deterministic life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted in SimaPro software employing the Ecoinvent v3.3 database. The particular study has determined the most contributory factors to the environmental footprint of the NMT system. However, as sensitivity analysis has identified certain critical operating parameters for the robustness of the LCA results, adopting a stochastic approach to the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) will comprehensively capture the input data uncertainty and enhance the credibility of the LCA outcome. For that purpose, Monte Carlo simulations, in combination with an artificial neural network (ANN) model, have been conducted for the input parameters of raw material, produced electricity, NO_X emissions, amount of ash and transportation of fertilizer. The given analysis has provided the distribution and the confidence intervals of the selected impact categories and, in turn, more credible conclusions are drawn on the respective LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment) profile of NMT system. Last but not least, the specific study will also yield essential insights into the methodological framework that can be adopted in the environmental impact assessment of other complex engineering systems subject to a high level of input data uncertainty.

Keywords: sanitation systems, nano-membrane toilet, lca, stochastic uncertainty analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, artificial neural network

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Authors: Zubair Ahmad

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The aim of this study is to analyze the risks factors and issues with waste management in developing nations as barriers. Depending on their content and categorization, wastes are managed differently. Waste management strategies differ for liquid, solid, and organic wastes. The final stage of trash disposal entails procedures like burning, interment, recycling, and treatment. Due to the rising creation of solid waste, the growing urban population has a magnified impact on the environment and public health. All regions, but especially informal urban neighborhoods, tribal villages, and official rural settlements have a protracted backlog in waste services. Another significant impediment seen in the developing world is a lack of education and awareness of effective waste-management practices. Unauthorized dumpsites pose a serious risk to the environment since they could contain dangerous elements like radioactive, infectious, and toxic waste. Wealthier individuals are more inclined to think that their actions will have an impact on environmental problems and to act to address them. Waste managers need to take action to make sure the public is given information that is consistent with what they currently know. The results of the data analysis conducted with the aid of the various methodologies discussed in the preceding chapter are presented in this chapter by the researcher. Descriptive analysis has been used in research to determine whether or not there are relationships between variables and to determine the importance of the variables. According to a survey, there are no efforts being made to lessen the odor that garbage dump sites emit (in terms of treating or recycling the material placed at dumpsite) This might be the case since respondents only commented on the waste management conditions in their immediate surroundings and may not have fully understood the steps taken to resolve this issue.

Keywords: risk factor of waste material, lack of awareness, developing countries struggles, waste management

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Authors: Surekha B. Bansode, Shakeela K. Shareef

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Working women have to face complex issues of family life and professional life. Stress is the condition that results from person’s response to physical, emotional or environmental factors. The stress response can cause problems when it overreacts or fails to turn off and reset itself properly. In the present investigation correlation between stress and blood glucose level in working women group and non working women group was studied. Working women when compared with non working women, experienced more physical and psychological stress. An additional increase in fasting blood glucose levels could be attributed to stress and anxiety they undergo at the workplace. This may lead to increase their susceptibility to develop type II Diabetes Mellitus in coming future.

Keywords: blood sugar, nutrition, stress, working women

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Authors: Camila Lima, Murilo Andrade Valle, Patrícia Teixeira Leite Asano

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The growth in demand for electricity, caused by human development, depletion and environmental impacts caused by traditional sources of electricity generation have made new energy sources are increasingly encouraged and necessary for companies in the electricity sector. Based on this scenario, this paper assesses the negative environmental impacts associated with thermoelectric power plants in Brazil, pointing out the importance of using renewable energy sources, reducing environmental aggression. This article points out the existence of an energy alternative, wind energy, of the municipalities of São Paulo, represented by georeferenced maps with the help of GIS, using as a premise the indicators of sustainability and multicriteria analysis in the decision-making process.

Keywords: GIS (geographic information systems), multicriteria analysis, sustainability, wind energy

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Authors: Marcin Debowski, Marcin Zielinski, Magdalena Zielinska, Paulina Rusanowska

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The problem with digestate management is one of the most important factors influencing on the development and operation of biogas plant. Turbidity and bacterial contamination negatively affect the growth of algae, which can limit the use of the effluent in the production of algae biomass on a large scale. These problems can be overcome by cultivating of algae species resistant to environmental factors, such as Chlorella sp., Scenedesmus sp., or reducing load of organic compounds to prevent bacterial contamination. The effluent requires dilution and/or purification. One of the methods of effluent treatment is the use of a membrane technology such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO), depending on the membrane pore size and the cut off point. Membranes are a physical barrier to solids and particles larger than the size of the pores. MF membranes have the largest pores and are used to remove turbidity, suspensions, bacteria and some viruses. UF membranes remove also color, odor and organic compounds with high molecular weight. In treatment of wastewater or other waste streams, MF and UF can provide a sufficient degree of purification. NF membranes are used to remove natural organic matter from waters, water disinfection products and sulfates. RO membranes are applied to remove monovalent ions such as Na⁺ or K⁺. The effluent was used in UF for medium to cultivation of two microalgae: Chlorella sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Growth rates of Chlorella sp. and P. tricornutum were similar: 0.216 d⁻¹ and 0.200 d⁻¹ (Chlorella sp.); 0.128 d⁻¹ and 0.126 d⁻¹ (P. tricornutum), on synthetic medium and permeate from UF, respectively. The final biomass composition was also similar, regardless of the medium. Removal of nitrogen was 92% and 71% by Chlorella sp. and P. tricornutum, respectively. The fermentation effluents after UF and dilution were also used for cultivation of algae Scenedesmus sp. that is resistant to environmental conditions. The authors recommended the development of biorafinery based on the production of algae for the biogas production. There are examples of using a multi-stage membrane system to purify the liquid fraction from digestate. After the initial UF, RO is used to remove ammonium nitrogen and COD. To obtain a permeate with a concentration of ammonium nitrogen allowing to discharge it into the environment, it was necessary to apply three-stage RO. The composition of the permeate after two-stage RO was: COD 50–60 mg/dm³, dry solids 0 mg/dm³, ammonium nitrogen 300–320 mg/dm³, total nitrogen 320–340 mg/dm³, total phosphorus 53 mg/dm³. However compostion of permeate after three-stage RO was: COD < 5 mg/dm³, dry solids 0 mg/dm³, ammonium nitrogen 0 mg/dm³, total nitrogen 3.5 mg/dm³, total phosphorus < 0,05 mg/dm³. Last stage of RO might be replaced by ion exchange process. The negative aspect of membrane filtration systems is the fact that the permeate is about 50% of the introduced volume, the remainder is the retentate. The management of a retentate might involve recirculation to a biogas plant.

Keywords: digestate, membrane filtration, microalgae cultivation, Chlorella sp.

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Authors: Showkat Ahmad Bhat, M. S. Bhatt

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The study evaluates the ex-post impact of institutional credit on agricultural output. It first examines the key factors that influence the accessibility of institutional credit by farm households. For quantitative analysis both program participant and non-participant respondents were drawn and cross-sectional survey data were collected from 412 households in Pulwama District of Jammu & Kashmir (India). Propensity Score Matching Method was employed to analyze the impact of the institutional credit on agricultural output. Results show that institutional credit has a positive and significant impact on the agricultural output measured in terms of farm income and crop productivity. To estimate the accessibility of credit, an examination of both demand side and supply side factors were carried out. The demand for credit was measured with respect to respondents who applied for credit. Supply side credit allocation measured in terms of the proportion of ‘credit amount’ farmers obtained. Logit and Two-limit Tobit Regression Models were used to investigate the determinants that influence the accessibility of formal credit for Demand for and supply of credit respectively. The estimated results suggested that the demand for credit is positively and significantly affected by the factors such as: age of the household head, formal education, membership, cash crop grown, farm size and saving account. All the variables were found significantly increasing the household’s likelihood to demand for and supply of credit from banks. However, the impact of these factors varies considerably across the credit markets. Factors which were found negatively and significantly influencing the accessibility of credit were: ‘square of the age’, household assets and rate of interest. The credit constraints analysis suggested that square of the age; household assets and rate of interest were the three most important factors that increased the probability of being constrained. The study finally discusses these results in detail and draws some recommendations.

Keywords: institutional credit, agriculture, propensity score matching logit model, Tobit model

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Authors: Jeong-Min Son, Jeong-Hee Eum, Jin-Kyu Min, Uk-Je Sung, Ju-Eun Kim

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While various environmental problems are severe due to climate change, especially in cities where population and development are concentrated, urban thermal environment problems such as heat waves and tropical nights are particularly worsening. Accordingly, the Korean government provides basic data related to the urban thermal environment to support each local government in effectively establishing policies to cope with heat waves. However, the basic data related to the thermal environment provided by the government has limitations in establishing a regional thermal adaptation plan with a minimum unit of cities, counties, and districts. In addition, the urban heat environment perceived by people differs in each region and space. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare practical measures that can be used to establish regional-based policies for heat wave adaptation by identifying people’s heat perception in the entire city. This study aims to develop a mobile phone application (APP) to gather people’s thermal sensation information and create Korea’s first thermal map based on this information. In addition, through this APP, citizens directly propose thermal adaptation policies, and urban planners and policymakers accept citizens' opinions, so this study provides a tool to solve local thermal environment problems. To achieve this purpose, first, the composition and contents of the app were discussed by examining various existing apps and cases for citizen participation and collection of heat information. In addition, factors affecting human thermal comfort, such as spatial, meteorological, and demographic factors, were investigated to construct the APP system. Based on these results, the basic version of the APP was developed. Second, the living lab methodology was adopted to gather people’s heat perception using the developed app to conduct overall evaluation and feedback of people on the APP. The people participating in the living lab were selected as those living in Daegu Metropolitan City, which is located in South Korea and annually records high temperatures. The user interface was improved through the living lab to make the app easier to use and the thermal map was modified. This study expects to establish high-resolution thermal maps for effective policies and measures and to solve local thermal environmental problems using the APP. The collected information can be used to evaluate spatial, meteorological, and demographic characteristics that affect the perceived heat of citizens. In addition, it is expected that the research can be expanded by gathering thermal information perceived by citizens of foreign cities as well as other cities in South Korea through the APP developed in this study.

Keywords: mobile application, living lab, thermal map, climate change adaptation

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Mohammadian, Dariush Sattarzadeh, Mir Mohammad Javad Poor Hadi Hosseini

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Population growth, urban development and urban buildup have disturbed the balance between the nature and the city, and so leading to the loss of quality of sustainability of proximity to rivers. While in the past, the sides of urban rivers were considered as urban green space. Urban rivers and their sides that have environmental, social and economic values are important to achieve sustainable development. So far, efforts have been made at various scales in various cities around the world to revitalize these areas. On the other hand, biophilic design is an innovative design approach in which attention to natural details and relation to nature is a fundamental concept. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated framework of urban design using the potential of urban rivers (in order to increase sustainability) with a biophilic design approach to be used in cities in developing countries. The methodology of the research is based on the collection of data and information from research and projects including a study on biophilic design, investigations and projects related to the urban rivers, and a review of the literature on sustainable urban development. Then studying the boundary of urban rivers is completed by examining case samples. Eventually, integrated framework of urban design, to design the boundaries of urban rivers in the cities of developing countries is presented regarding the factors affecting the design of these areas. The result shows that according to this framework, the potential of the river banks is utilized to increase not only the environmental sustainability but also social, economic and physical stability with regard to water, light, and the usage of indigenous materials, etc.

Keywords: urban rivers, biophilic design, urban sustainability, nature

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Authors: Benedicta Asante, Catherine Trask, Brenna Bath

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Background: Waste Collection Workers’ (WCWs) activities contribute greatly to the recycling sector and are an important component of the waste management industry. As the recycling sector evolves, there is the increase in reports of injuries, particularly for common and debilitating musculoskeletal disorders such as low back disorder (LBD). WCWs are likely exposed to diverse work-related hazards that could contribute to LBD. However, there is currently no summary of the state of knowledge on the prevalence and risk factors of LBD within this workforce. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted in Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and Global Health e-publications with search term categories ‘low back disorder’ and ‘waste collection workers’. Two reviewers screened articles at title, abstract, and full-text stages. Data were extracted on study design, sampling strategy, socio-demographics, geographical region, and exposure definition, the definition of LBD, response rate, statistical techniques, LBD prevalence and risk factors. The risk of bias was assessed with a standardized tool. Results: The search of three databases generated 79 studies. Thirty-two studies met the study inclusion criteria for both title and abstract; only thirteen full-text articles met the study criteria and underwent data extraction. The majority of articles reported a 12-month prevalence of LBD between 16-74%. Although none of the included studies quantified relationships between risk factors and LBD, the suggested risk factors for LBD among WCWs included: awkward posture; lifting; pulling; pushing; repetitive motions; work duration; and physical loads. Conclusion: LBD is a major occupational health issue among WCWs. In light of these risks and future growth in this industry, further research should focus on the investigation of risk factors, with more focus on ergonomic exposure assessment, and LBD prevention efforts.

Keywords: low back pain, scavenger, waste pickers, waste collection workers

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Authors: Evar C. Umeozor, Experience I. Nduagu, Ian D. Gates

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The energy requirements of carbon dioxide utilization (CDU) technologies/processes are diverse, so also are their environmental footprints. This paper explores the energy and environmental impacts of systems for CO₂ conversion to fuels, chemicals, and materials. Energy needs of the technologies and processes deployable in CO₂ conversion systems are met by one or combinations of hydrogen (chemical), electricity, heat, and light. Likewise, the environmental footprint of any CO₂ utilization pathway depends on the systems involved. So far, evaluation of CDU systems has been constrained to particular energy source/type or a subset of the overall system needed to make CDU possible. This introduces limitations to the general understanding of the energy and environmental implications of CDU, which has led to various pitfalls in past studies. A CDU system has an energy source, CO₂ supply, and conversion units. We apply a holistic approach to consider the impacts of all components in the process, including various sources of energy, CO₂ feedstock, and conversion technologies. The electricity sources include nuclear power, renewables (wind and solar PV), gas turbine, and coal. Heat is supplied from either electricity or natural gas, and hydrogen is produced from either steam methane reforming or electrolysis. The CO₂ capture unit uses either direct air capture or post-combustion capture via amine scrubbing, where applicable, integrated configurations of the CDU system are explored. We demonstrate how the overall energy and environmental impacts of each utilization pathway are obtained by aggregating the values for all components involved. Proper accounting of the energy and emission intensities of CDU must incorporate total balances for the utilization process and differences in timescales between alternative conversion pathways. Our results highlight opportunities for the use of clean energy sources, direct air capture, and a number of promising CO₂ conversion pathways for producing methanol, ethanol, synfuel, urea, and polymer materials.

Keywords: carbon dioxide utilization, processes, energy options, environmental impacts

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Authors: Gunay Imanguliyeva

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Burnout is one of the concerning issues in education. The present paper aimed to explore the concept of burnout among program directors and faculty working in three higher education institutions (HEIs) in Azerbaijan and identify the factors contributing to burnout and the possible consequences of this syndrome on research participants’ professional and personal life. The researcher believed that if the concept of burnout was defined precisely and explored among more faculty, administration, and educational institutions, university leadership may have looked for the ways to support program directors and faculty, which would increase job satisfaction and decrease turnover. An exploratory qualitative research design was chosen for this study. The conceptual framework of this study was based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The instruments of the research were semi-structured interviews, observation, and document review. Three EFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) instructors and three program directors of the English Language Department working in three higher educational institutions in Azerbaijan participated in this study. The major findings of this study showed that both program directors and faculty suffered from burnout. Though they were aware of the factors that caused burnout, they did not know how to deal with this feeling. While research participants had high feeling of Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization, they had a low feeling of Personal Accomplishment. The researcher suggests that further research is important to measure the level of burnout and to enable HEIs to increase the productivity of program directors’ and faculty’s work as well as decrease the rate of retention in future. Also, in order to help program directors and faculty to cope with burnout, the research recommends the university leadership to meet their psycho-social needs, emotional-physical needs, and personal-intellectual needs. Keywords: burnout, emotional exhaustion, factors, well-being, higher education

Keywords: burnout, well-being, higher education, factors

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Authors: Meseret Teshome

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This study has the objective of assessing the effect of kaizen (5S, Muda elimination and Quality Control Circle (QCC) on employees’ affective attitude (job satisfaction, commitment and job stress) in Kombolcha Textile Share Company. A conceptual model was developed to describe the relationship between Kaizen and Employees’ Affective Attitude (EAA) factors. The three factors of Employee Affective Attitude were measured using questionnaire derived from other validated questionnaire. In the data collection to conduct this study; questionnaire, unstructured interview, written documents and direct observations are used. To analyze the data, SPSS and Microsoft Excel were used. In addition, the internal consistency of similar items in the questionnaire instrument was measured for their equivalence by using the cronbach’s alpha test. In this study, the effect of 5S, Muda elimination and QCC on job satisfaction, commitment and job stress in Kombolcha Textile Share Company is assessed and factors that reduce employees’ job satisfaction with respect to kaizen implementation are identified. The total averages of means from the questionnaire are 3.1 for job satisfaction, 4.31 for job commitment and 4.2 for job stress. And results from interview and secondary data show that kaizen implementation have effect on EAA. In general, based on the thesis results it was concluded that kaizen (5S, muda elimination and QCC) have positive effect for improving EAA factors at KTSC. Finally, recommendations for improvement are given based on the results.

Keywords: kaizen, job satisfaction, job commitment, job stress

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Authors: Junaid Asimiyu Mohammed, Olakunle Docas Tosin

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The housing environment in many developing countries is fraught with risks that have potential negative impacts on the lives of the residents. The study examined the risk factors in residential areas of two neighborhoods in Bosso Local Government Areas of Minna in Nigeria with a view to determining the level of their potential impacts. A sample of 378 households was drawn from the estimated population of 22,751 household heads. The questionnaire and direct observation were used as instruments for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII) rule to determine the level of the potential impact of the risk factors while ArcGIS was used for mapping the spatial distribution of the risks. The study established that the housing environment of Angwan Biri and El-Waziri areas of Bosso is poor and vulnerable as 26% of the houses were not habitable and 57% were only fairly habitable. The risks of epidemics, building collapse and rainstorms were evident in the area as 53% of the houses had poor ventilation; 20% of residents had no access to toilets; 47% practiced open waste dumping; 46% of the houses had cracked walls while 52% of the roofs were weak and sagging. The results of the analysis of the potential impact of the risk factors indicate a RII score of 0.528 for building collapse, 0.758 for rainstorms and 0.830 for epidemics, indicating a moderate to very high level of potential impacts. The mean RII score of 0.639 shows a significant potential impact of the risk factors. The study recommends the implementation of sanitation measures, provision of basic urban facilities and neighborhood revitalization through housing infrastructure retrofitting as measures to mitigate the risks of disasters and improve the living conditions of the residents of the study area.

Keywords: assessment, risk, residential, Nigeria

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Authors: Peng-Shao Chen, Yen-Jong Chen

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In recent years, global warming, the dramatic change in energy prices and the exhaustion of natural resources illustrated that energy-related topic cannot be ignored. Despite the relationship between the cities and CO₂ emissions has been extensively studied in recent years, little attention has been paid to differences in the geographical location of the city. However, the geographical climate has a great impact on lifestyle from city to city, such as the type of buildings, the major industry of the city, etc. Therefore, the paper instigates empirically the effects of kinds of urban factors and CO₂ emissions with consideration of the different geographic, climatic zones which cities are located. Using the regression model and a dataset of urban agglomeration in East Asia cities with over one million population, including 2005, 2010, and 2015 three years, the findings suggest that the impact of urban factors on CO₂ emissions vary with the latitude of the cities. Surprisingly, all kinds of urban factors, including the urban population, the share of GDP in service industry, per capita income, and others, have different level of impact on the cities locate in the tropical climate zone and temperate climate zone. The results of the study analyze the impact of different urban factors on CO₂ emissions in urban area with different geographical climate zones. These findings will be helpful for the formulation of relevant policies for urban planners and policy makers in different regions.

Keywords: carbon emissions, urban agglomeration, urban factor, urban geography

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Authors: Khadiga Kahwa, Aniza Ismail

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Depression, anxiety, and stress are associated with decreased role functioning, productivity, and quality of life. International students are more prone to psychological distress as they face many stressors while studying abroad. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety, and stress among international students, their help-seeking behavior, and their awareness of the available on-campus mental support services. A cross-sectional study with a purposive sampling method was performed on 280 international students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) between the age of 18 and 35 years. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire was used anonymously to assess the mental health of students. Socio-demographic, help-seeking behavior, and awareness data were obtained. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA test, and multiple linear regression were used to explore associated factors. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among international students were 58.9%, 71.8%, and 53.9%, respectively. Age was significantly associated with depression and anxiety. Ethnicity showed a significant association with depression and stress. No other factors were found to be significantly associated with psychological distress. Only 9.6% of the international students had sought help from on-campus mental support services. Students who were aware of the presence of such services were only 21.4% of the participants. In conclusion, this study addressed the gap in the literature on the mental health of international students and provided data that could be used in intervention programs to improve the mental health of the increasing number of international students in Malaysia.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, stress, help-seeking behavior, students

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Authors: Suvorov Vasyl, Filipchuk Viktor

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Background: If non-surgical treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) fails or if DDH is late-detected, surgery is necessary. Salter pelvic osteotomy (SPO) is an effective surgical option for such cases. The objectives of this study were to assess the results after SPO, evaluate risk factors, and reveal those radiological parameters that may correlate with the results. Mid- and long-term postoperative results after SPO in 17 patients (22 hip joints) were analyzed. Risk factors included those that do not depend on the surgeon (patient's age, value of the acetabular index (AI) preoperatively, DDH Tonnis grade) and those that depend on the surgeon (amount of AI correction). To radiological parameters which may correlate with the amount of AI correction, we referred distance "d" and the lateral rotation angle. Results: SPO allows performing AI correction in ranges 24.1 ± 6.5°. Excellent and good clinical results were obtained in 95.5% of patients; excellent and good radiological results in 86.4% of patients. Risk factors that do not depend on the surgeon were older patient’s age and higher preoperative AI values (p < 0.05). The risk factor that depends on the surgeon was the amount of AI correction (p < 0.05). The distance "d" was recognized as a radiological parameter that may indicate sufficient AI correction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In older patients with a higher preoperative AI value, the results will be predictably worse. The surgeon may influence the result with a greater amount of AI correction (which may also be indicated radiologically by the distance "d" values).

Keywords: developmental dysplasia of the hip, results, risk factor, pelvic osteotomy, salter osteotomy

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Authors: D. Avila

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The tourism industry is a phenomenon that has become a growing presence in international socio-economic dynamics, which in most cases exceeds the control parameters in the various environmental regulations and sustainability of existing resources. Because of this, the effects on the natural environment at the regional and national levels represent a challenge, for which a number of strategies are necessary to minimize the environmental impact generated by the occupation of the territory. The hotel tourist building and sustainable development in the coastal zone, have an important impact on the environment and on the physical and psychological health of the inhabitants. Environmental quality associated with the comfort of humans to the sustainable development of natural resources; applied to the hotel architecture this concept involves the incorporation of new demands on all of the constructive process of a building, changing customs of developers and users. The methodology developed provides an initial analysis to determine and rank the different tourist buildings, with the above it will be feasible to establish methods of study and environmental impact assessment. Finally, it is necessary to establish an overview regarding the best way to implement tourism development on the coast, containing guidelines to improve and protect the natural environment. This paper analyzes the parameters and strategies to reduce environmental impacts derived from deployments tourism on the coast, through a series of recommendations towards sustainability, in the context of the Bahia de Banderas, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. The environmental impact caused by the implementation of tourism development, perceived in a coastal environment, forcing a series of processes, ranging from the identification of impacts, prediction and evaluation of them. For this purpose are described below, different techniques and valuation procedures: Identification of impacts. Methods for the identification of damage caused to the environment pursue general purpose to obtain a group of negative indicators that are subsequently used in the study of environmental impact. There are several systematic methods to identify the impacts caused by human activities. In the present work, develops a procedure based and adapted from the Ministry of works public urban reference in studies of environmental impacts, the representative methods are: list of contrast, arrays, and networks, method of transparencies and superposition of maps.

Keywords: environmental impact, physical health, sustainability, tourist building

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Authors: Qaiser Akram, Ahsan Naeem, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Waqas Ahmad, Rubeena Yasmeen

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Aspergillus has good secretory potential for phytases. Morphologically and microscopically identified Aspergillus terreus (A. terreus) (n=20) were screened for phytase production and non-toxicity. Phytases produced by non-toxigenic A. terreus under optimum conditions were quantified. Phytases of highest producer A. terreus were evaluated for stability after exposure to temperature (35, 55, 75 and 95ºC) and pH (2, 4, 6 and 8). Effect of metal ions (Fe⁺³, Ba⁺², Ca⁺², Cu⁺², Mg⁺², Mn⁺², K⁺¹ and Na⁺¹) was assessed on phytase activity. Log reduction in phytase activity was calculated. The highest activity units of phytase produced by A. terreus were 271.49 ± 8.14 phytase unit / mL (FTU/ mL). The lowest reduction in phytase activity was 50.20 ± 7.36 (18.5%) and 68.22 ± 10.3 FTU/mL (25.13%) at 35ºC and pH 6, respectively for 15 minutes. The highest reduction 259 ± 0.84 (95.5%) and 211.99 ± 4.39 FTU/mL (78.1%) was recorded at 95ºC for 60 minutes and pH 2.0 for 45 minutes exposure, respectively. All metal ions negatively affected phytase activity. Phytase activity was inhibited minimum (45.32 ± 28.54 FTU/mL, 16.69%) by K⁺¹(1 mM) and maximum (231.48 ± 3.68 FTU/mL, 80.8%) by Cu⁺² (10 mM). It was concluded that A. terreus phytase stability and activity was dependent on physio-chemical factors.

Keywords: stability, phytase, aspergillus terreus, physio-chemical factors and metal ions

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Authors: Su-Hyun Cho, Chang-U Chae

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Environmental impact assessment techniques have been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in particular in the construction field. In this study, intended for concrete products for the construction materials, by using the LCA evaluation method, we compared the results of environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to existing products. As a results, by introducing a raw material of industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of the carbon emission reduction effect of low-carbon technologies, it is intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse gases in the construction sector and the development of low-carbon technologies of the future.

Keywords: CO₂ emissions, CO₂ reduction, ready-mixed concrete, environmental impact assessment

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Authors: Elackiya Sithamparanathan

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Chemical agents used during the Sri Lankan civil war continue to threaten human and environmental health as affected areas are re-settled. Bioremediation is a cost-effective and eco-friendly approach to degrading chemical agents, and has greater public acceptance than chemical degradation. Baseline data on contaminant distribution, environmental parameters, and indigenous microbes are required before bioremediation can commence. The culture and isolate of suitable microbes and enzymes should be followed by laboratory trials, before field application and long-term monitoring of contaminant concentration, soil parameters, microbial ecology, and public health to monitor environmental and public health. As local people are not aware of the persistence of warfare chemicals and do not understand the potential impacts on human health, community awareness programs are required. Active community participation, and collaboration with international and local agencies, would contribute to the success of bioremediation and the effective removal of chemical agents in war affected areas of Sri Lanka.

Keywords: bioremediation, environmental protection, human health, war affected regions in Sri Lanka

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Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Salah Mostafa, Hamed Elkhayat, Kalled Hassan Sewidan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mones M. Abu Shady

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Pubertal growth is influenced by many factors including environmental and nutritional factors. Objective: To assess impact of nutritional status on pubertal staging, ovarian and uterine volumes among school girls. Method: Study was cross sectional and carried out on 1000 healthy school girls, aged 8-18 years selected randomly. They were categorized according to their ages into three groups: 8-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years ±6 months, then according to their body mass index percentile to normal weight: (≥15-<85.), overweight (≥85-<95) and obese (≥95). All girls were subjected for physical, anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index), nutritional markers WAZ (weight/age Z score), HAZ (height/age Z score) and BMI-Z (body mass index Z score), pubertal assessment (Tanner stage) and pelvic transabdominal sonography (uterine and ovarian volumes). Results: Highly significant differences in ovarian and uterine volumes and nutritional markers (WAZ, HAZ and BMI-Z score) were detected among different grades of puberty in the two age groups (8-12 years, 13-15 years) coming in advance of obese girls (with increase of BMI); except HAZ in the second age group. Girls aged 16-18 years reached to final volume for the uterus and ovary with insignificant differences. Pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine sizes were highly significantly correlated with nutritional markers. Mean ages of onset: of puberty, menarche and complete puberty were, 11.65 + 1.84, 14.79 + 1.75 and 15.02 + 1.68 years respectively. Conclusion: Nutritional status has a crucial role in determining pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine volumes among Egyptian girls during the pubertal process.

Keywords: pubertal stage, nutritional markers, girls, ovarian and uterine volumes

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Authors: Daniel Y. Fiaveh, Michael P.K. Okyerefo, Clara K. Fayorsey

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Although sexual pleasure is an important aspect of human sexuality, there is little knowledge on how women and men negotiate pleasure in Ghana. The paper explores women and men’s agency in negotiating sexual pleasure in an urban community in Ghana based on the narratives of 20 women and 16 men. Specifically, we explore meanings of sexual pleasure, the erotic factors that stimulate sexual pleasure, and how women and men negotiate for these factors. Women are active negotiators of stimulants of sexual pleasure based on symbolic meanings.

Keywords: eroticism, sexual pleasure, sexual negotiation, Ghana

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Authors: Bonginkosi A. Thango, Jacobus A. Jordaan, Agha F. Nnachi

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In this day and age, there is a proliferate concern from all governments across the globe to barricade the environment from greenhouse gases, which absorb infrared radiation. As a result, solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity has been an expeditiously growing renewable energy source and will eventually undertake a prominent role in the global energy generation. The selection and purchasing of energy-efficient transformers that meet the operational requirements of the solar photovoltaic energy generation plants then become a part of the Independent Power Producers (IPP’s) investment plan of action. Taking these into account, this paper proposes a procedure that put into effect the intricate financial analysis necessitated to precisely evaluate the transformer service lifetime no-load and load loss factors. This procedure correctly set forth the transformer service lifetime loss factors as a result of a solar PV plant’s sporadic generation profile and related levelized costs of electricity into the computation of the transformer’s total ownership cost. The results are then critically compared with the conventional transformer total ownership cost unaccompanied by the emission costs, and demonstrate the significance of the sporadic energy generation nature of the solar PV plant on the total ownership cost. The findings indicate that the latter play a crucial role for developers and Independent Power Producers (IPP’s) in making the purchase decision during a tender bid where competing offers from different transformer manufactures are evaluated. Additionally, the susceptibility analysis of different factors engrossed in the transformer service lifetime cost is carried out; factors including the levelized cost of electricity, solar PV plant’s generation modes, and the loading profile are examined.

Keywords: solar photovoltaic plant, transformer, total ownership cost, loss factors

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Authors: Purnima K Bajre, Rujula Talloo

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A variety of vehicles are driven on roads such as private vehicles, commercial vehicles, public vehicles, and emergency service vehicles (EMV). Drivers driving different vehicles can have attitude differences towards emergency service vehicles which in turn affects their likelihood to give way to them. The present review aims to understand the factors that mediate this yielding behavior of drivers towards EMVs. Through extensive review of available literature, factors such as effects of lights and sirens, cognitive load, age of the driver, driving general experience, traffic load, drivers’ experience and training with EMVs and drivers’ attitude towards EMV drivers, have emerged as mediating factors. Whereas cognitive load is the most researched area and is observed to be associated negatively with on road drivers’ attitudes towards EMVs, there is a paucity of research to understand the relationships between empathy, pro-social skills, and on road drivers’ attitude towards EMVs.

Keywords: cognitive load, emergency service vehicle, empathy, traffic load

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Authors: Leyli Khavari, Javad Yousefian

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of physical biorhythm cycle on health-related fitness factors. For this purpose, 120 athlete and non-athlete male and female students were selected randomly and based on the level of physical activity divided into athletic and non-athletic groups. The exact date of birth and also when the subjects were in the positive, negative and critical physical biorhythm cycle was determined by calculation software biorhythm. The physical fitness factors tests, including Queens College Step Test, AAHPERD sit-ups; Wells stretch test and hand dynamometer. Students in three stages in positive, negative and critical physical cycle were tested. Data processing using SPSS software and statistical tests ANOVA with repeated measures and student t test was used for dependent. The results of this study showed that changes in physical fitness and physical biorhythm were not affected by changes in the 23-day physical cycle.

Keywords: AAHPERD test, biorhythm, physical cycle, Queens College Step Test

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Authors: Mehmet Tahir Dursun, Hilmi Rafet Yüncü

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In social life growing fast, not only people, but also, companies and regions are located in a struggle to provide continuity of life cycles. This struggle brings together an important competitiveness when considering environmental conditions. By emphasizing this point, being able to competitiveness notion comes out as a determiner of the struggle to exist. With the development of technology in tourism industry so as in all branches, it is seen that the companies and regions in different districts are in competitiveness and competitiveness ability is affected in assessing of marketing shares. A condition of competitiveness is to provide sustainability of all structured forms. In addition, environment and sensitiveness of environment are notions affecting directly the competitiveness ability of tourism destinations. It is claimed that providing the sustainability of environment gives competitiveness to tourism destinations. In this study, competitiveness and performances of tourism in Mediterranean countries are going to be compared by examining a variety of indexes related to the sensitiveness of environment. Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (T&TCI) (Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resources), Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Ecological Foot Print, Human Development Index (HDI), Climate Risk Index (CRI) will be used in this study. These Index data will be compared with international tourist arrivals, international tourism receives and expenses of per tourist of countries.

Keywords: ecological foot print, environmental performance index, human development index, sustainability, travel and tourism competitiveness index

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Authors: Parisa Toloue Hayat Azar

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Businesses have been playing an important role in the economic growth and social welfare of cities; however, they generally have negative reputations regarding their impact on environmental issues regarding sustainability. However, some believe that by incorporating strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, businesses will be able to solve problems in society, including environmental ones. Besides economic, social and environmental aspects, governance is another essential pillar for creating sustainable communities and cities. Governance plays a key role in the success of sustainable projects or creating long lasting legacies; an example of this can be creating circular supply chain with collaboration between different businesses, which in the end results in positive economic, social and environmental outcomes for everyone. Governance is a very important parameter in creating the legacy of low carbon and environmentally friendly city due to the fact that, besides building energy efficient buildings and infrastructure, citizens who are also part of the success of this system should know about how to behave and collaborate with others to make the system work. By deploying the philosophy of cultural historical activity theory, this paper explains how influential businesses have been and can be still used as a mediating tool for governance purposes, and succeed in creating shared value and lasting legacy within society.

Keywords: business, governance, CSR, sustainability

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Authors: Mohsen Rabbani, Trista McLaughlin, Ehsan Vahidi

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the remediation of polluted sites with heavy metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs), has been a primary concern of researchers to decontaminate the soil. Among all developed methods to address this concern, phytoremediation has been established as efficient, cost-effective, easy-to-use, and environmentally friendly way, providing a long-term solution for addressing this global concern. Furthermore, this technology has another great potential application in the metals production sector through returning metals buried in soil via metals cropping. Considering the significant metal concentration in hyper-accumulators, the utilization of bioaccumulated metals to extract metals from plant matter has been proposed as a sub-economic area called phytomining. As a recent, more advanced technology to eliminate such pollutants from the soil and produce critical metals, bioharvesting (phytomining/agromining) has been considered another compromising way to produce metals and meet the global demand for critical/target metals. The bio-ore obtained from phytomining can be safely disposed of or introduced to metal production pathways to obtain the most demanded metals, such as REEs. It is well-known that some hyperaccumulators, e.g., fern Dicranopteris linearis, can be used to absorb REE metals from the polluted soils and accumulate them in plant organs, such as leaves and stems. After soil remediation, the plant species can be harvested and introduced to the downstream steps, namely crushing/grinding, leaching, and purification processes, to extract REEs from plant matter. This novel interdisciplinary field can fill the gap between agriculture, mining, metallurgy, and the environment. Despite the advantages of agromining for the REEs production industry, key issues related to the environmental sustainability of the entire life cycle of this new concept have not been assessed yet. Hence, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) study was conducted to quantify the environmental footprints of REEs phytomining. The current LCA study aims to estimate and calculate environmental effects associated with phytomining by considering critical factors, such as climate change, land use, and ozone depletion. The results revealed that phytomining is an easy-to-use and environmentally sustainable approach to either eliminate REEs from polluted sites or produce REEs, offering a new source of such metals production. This LCA research provides guidelines for researchers active in developing a reliable relationship between agriculture, mining, metallurgy, and the environment to encounter soil pollution and keep the earth green and clean.

Keywords: phytoremediation, phytomining, life cycle assessment, environmental impacts, rare earth elements, hyperaccumulator

Procedia PDF Downloads 68