Search results for: gender impact assessment

Authors: Murad Al-Rajab, Sherin Hazboun, Azhar Al-Hamamreh, Nirmeen Odeh, Siham Halaseh

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Tourism is considered an important sector for most countries, while maintaining good tourism attractions can promote national economic development. The State of Palestine is historically considered a wealthy country full of many archaeological places. In the city of Bethlehem, for example, the Church of the Nativity is the most important touristic site, but it does not have enough technology development to attract tourists. In this paper, we propose a smart mobile application named “Pal-STAR” (Palestine Smart Tourist Augmented Reality) as an innovative solution which targets tourists and assists them to make a visit inside the Church of the Nativity. The application will use augmented reality and feature a virtual tourist guide showing views of the church while providing historical information in a smart, easy, effective and user-friendly way. The proposed application is compatible with multiple mobile platforms and is considered user friendly. The findings show that this application will improve the practice of the tourism sector in the Holy Land, it will also increase the number of tourists visiting the Church of the Nativity and it will facilitate access to historical data that have been difficult to obtain using traditional tourism guidance. The value that tourism adds to a country cannot be denied, and the more technological advances are incorporated in this sector, the better the country’s tourism sector can be served. Palestine’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism in many of its main cities, despite several limitations, and technological development is needed to enable this sector to flourish. The proposed mobile application would definitely have a good impact on the development of the tourism sector by creating an Augmented Reality environment for tourists inside the church, helping them to navigate and learn about holy places in a non-traditional way, using a virtual tourist guide.

Keywords: smartphones, tourism, tourists guide, augmented reality, Palestine

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Authors: Hassan Sher

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Agriculture has a pivotal role in Pakistan’s economy, accounting for about one-fourth of the GDP and employing almost half the population. However, the competitiveness, productivity, growth, employment potential, export opportunity, and contribution to GDP of the sector is significantly hampered by agriculture marketing laws/regulations at the provincial level that reward rent seeking behavior, promote monopoly power, artificially reduce farmer incomes while inflating prices to consumers, and act as disincentives to investment. Although of more recent vintage than some other provincial agricultural marketing laws, the NWFP Agricultural and Livestock Produce Markets Act, 2007 is a throwback to a colonial paradigm, where restrictions on agricultural produce marketing and Government control of distribution channels is the norm. The Swat Valley (in which we include its tributary valleys) is an area of Pakistan in which there is poverty is both extreme and pervasive. For many, a significant portion of the family’s income comes from selling plants that are used as herbs, medicines, and perfumes. Earlier studies have shown that the benefit they derive from this work is less than they might because of: Lack of knowledge concerning which plants and which plant parts are valuable, Lack of knowledge concerning optimal preservation and storage of material, illiteracy. Another concern that much of the plant material sold from the valley is collected in the wild, without an appreciation of the negative impact continued collecting has on wild populations. We propose: Creating colored cards to help inhabitants recognize the 25 most valuable plants in their area; Developing and sharing protocols for growing the 25 most valuable plants in a home garden; Developing and sharing efficient mechanisms for drying plants so they do not lose value; Encouraging increased literacy by incorporating numbers and a few words in the handouts.

Keywords: food security, medicinal plants, industrial plants, economic development

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Intesar Ibrahim

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Large-scale Libyan emigration is a relatively new phenomenon. Most of the Libyan families in the UK are new immigrants, unlike the other neighbouring countries of Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and even Sudan. Libyans have no particular history of large-scale migration. On the other hand, many Libyan families live in modest homes located in large Muslim communities of Pakistanis and Yemenis. In the UK as a whole, there are currently 16 Libyan schools most of which are run during the weekend for children of school age. There are three such weekend schools in Sheffield that teach a Libyan school curriculum, and Libyan women and men run these schools. Further, there is also a Masjid (mosque) that is operated by Libyans, beside the other Masjids in the city, which most of the Libyan community attend for prayer and for other activities such as writing marriage contracts. The presence of this Masjid increases the attraction for Libyans to reside in the Sheffield area. This paper studies how Libyan immigrants in the UK make their decisions on their housing and living environment in the UK. Libyan residents in the UK come from different Libyan regions, social classes and lifestyles; this may have an impact on their choices in the interior designs of their houses in the UK. A number of case studies were chosen from Libyan immigrants who came from different types of dwellings in Libya, in order to compare with their homes and their community lifestyle in the UK and those in Libya. This study explores the meaning and the ways of using living rooms in Libyan emigrants’ houses in the UK and compares those with those in their houses back in their home country. For example, the way they set up furniture in rooms acts as an indicator of the hierarchical structure of society. The design of furniture for Libyan sitting rooms for floor-seating is different from that of the traditional English sitting room. The paper explores the identity and cultural differences that affected the style and design of the living rooms for Libyan immigrants in the UK. The study is carried out based on the "production of space" theory that any culture has its needs, style of living and way of thinking. I argue that the study found more than 70% of Libyan immigrants in the UK still furnish the living room in their traditional way (flooring seating).

Keywords: place, identity, culture, immigrants

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Authors: Abir Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim, Amina Titouche, Mohamed Hazzit

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Phytotherapy is based on use of plant natural products holding the main sources of drugs with healing properties for the treatment of human, animal or vegetable diseases. With these aims, and to replace chemical preservatives in natural products, we are interested to use essential oils from Algerian endemic plants belonging to the Asteraceae family: Artemisia herba alba Asso, which was undergoes a hydro-distillation after its irradiation by Gamma rays at frequencies: 10, 20, and 30 KGray which gave respectively the following essential oil yields: 1.087%, 1.087%, 1.085%, compared with that of the untreated sample giving a yield of 1.27 %. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity in vitro of essential oil for A. herba alba has been assessed by two different methods: inhibition of DPPH radical and measurement of reducing power. The first method has not revealed a very big difference regardless of the dose of irradiation, the IC50 is about 4000 mg/l, the maximum of inhibition was around 49.4%, likewise, the test of reducing power awarded us a maximum reducing capacity was of 0.76%; both of results were registered by the specimen irradiated at 20 KGy, it has a more better antioxidant power than no irradiated sample but slightly. To combat Fusarium culmorum, causing the wilts and rots, we are focused on the antifungal screening of this aromatic plant. The results obtained, followed by measurements of Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC); showed promising inhibitory effect against pathogen tested. With a yield superior to l%, the essential oil has shown a remarkable efficiency on the stump, mainly for sample irradiate at 30KGray (MICs= 625 µg/ml; MICc= 1250 µg/ml) with MIC of 2%. These results demonstrate a good antifungal activity, to limit and even to stop the development of the pathogenic microorganism and also the positive effect of dose of irradiation to upgrade this capacity as well, to uphold the antioxidant capacity.

Keywords: artemisia herba alba Asso, essential oil yield, gamma ray, antioxidant activity, antifungal activity

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Authors: Shengxin Yu

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Earthquakes can cause varying degrees of damage to building and bridge structures. Traditional laminated natural rubber bearings (NRB) exhibit inadequate energy dissipation and restraint, particularly under near-fault ground motions, resulting in excessive displacements in the superstructure. This paper presents a composite natural rubber bearing (NFUD-NRB) incorporating two types of shape memory alloy (SMA) U-shaped dampers (UD). The bearing exhibits adjustable features, predominantly characterized by partial self-centering and multi-level energy dissipation, facilitated by nickel-titanium-based SMA (NiTi-SMA) and iron-based SMA (Fe-SMA) UDs. The hysteresis characteristics of NFUD-NRB can be tailored by manipulating the configuration of NiTi-SMA and Fe-SMA UDs. Firstly, the proposed bearing's geometric configuration and working principle are introduced. The rationality of the modeling strategy for the bearing is validated through existing experimental results. Parameterized numerical simulations are subsequently performed to investigate the partially self-centering behavior of NFUD-NRB. The findings indicate that NFUD-NRB can attain the anticipated nonlinear behavior and deliver adequate energy dissipation. Finally, the impact of NFUD-NRB on improving the seismic resilience of highway bridges is examined using the OpenSees software, with particular emphasis on the seismic performance of NFUD-NRB under near-fault ground motions. System-level analysis reveals that bridge systems equipped with NFUD-NRBs exhibit satisfactory residual deformations and higher energy dissipation than those equipped with traditional NRBs. Moreover, NFUD-NRB markedly mitigates the detrimental impacts of near-fault ground motions on the main structure of bridges.

Keywords: partially self-centering behavior, energy dissipation, natural rubber bearing, shape memory alloy, U-shaped damper, numerical investigation, near-fault ground motion

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Authors: Andrea Ghermandi

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Natural treatment systems such as constructed wetlands and waste stabilization ponds are increasingly used to treat water and wastewater from a variety of sources, including stormwater and polluted surface water. The provision of ancillary benefits in the form of cultural ecosystem services makes these systems unique among water and wastewater treatment technologies and greatly contributes to determine their potential role in promoting sustainable water management practices. A quantitative analysis of these benefits, however, has been lacking in the literature. Here, a critical assessment of the recreational and educational benefits in natural treatment systems is provided, which combines observed public use from a survey of managers and operators with estimated public use as obtained using geotagged photos from social media as a proxy for visitation rates. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to characterize the spatial boundaries of 273 natural treatment systems worldwide. Such boundaries are used as input for the Application Program Interfaces (APIs) of two popular photo-sharing websites (Flickr and Panoramio) in order to derive the number of photo-user-days, i.e., the number of yearly visits by individual photo users in each site. The adequateness and predictive power of four univariate calibration models using the crowdsourced data as a proxy for visitation are evaluated. A high correlation is found between photo-user-days and observed annual visitors (Pearson's r = 0.811; p-value < 0.001; N = 62). Standardized Major Axis (SMA) regression is found to outperform Ordinary Least Squares regression and count data models in terms of predictive power insofar as standard verification statistics – such as the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), the mean absolute error of prediction (MAEP), the reduction of error (RE), and the coefficient of efficiency (CE) – are concerned. The SMA regression model is used to estimate the intensity of public use in all 273 natural treatment systems. System type, influent water quality, and area are found to statistically affect public use, consistently with a priori expectations. Publicly available information regarding the home location of the sampled visitors is derived from their social media profiles and used to infer the distance they are willing to travel to visit the natural treatment systems in the database. Such information is analyzed using the travel cost method to derive monetary estimates of the recreational benefits of the investigated natural treatment systems. Overall, the findings confirm the opportunities arising from an integrated design and management of natural treatment systems, which combines the objectives of water quality enhancement and provision of cultural ecosystem services through public use in a multi-functional approach and compatibly with the need to protect public health.

Keywords: constructed wetlands, cultural ecosystem services, ecological engineering, waste stabilization ponds

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Authors: Pedram Saadati, Zahra Nazari

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Anticipating and identifying future opportunities and challenges facing industry activists for the emergence and entry of new knowledge and technologies of personal financial planning, and providing practical solutions is one of the goals of this research. For this purpose, a future research tool based on receiving opinions from the main players of the insurance industry has been used. The research method in this study was in 4 stages; including 1- a survey of the specialist salesforce of life insurance in order to identify the variables 2- the ranking of the variables by experts selected by a researcher-made questionnaire 3- holding a panel of experts with the aim of understanding the mutual effects of the variables and 4- statistical analyzes of the mutual effects matrix in Mick Mac software is done. The integrated analysis of influencing variables in the future has been done with the method of Structural Analysis, which is one of the efficient and innovative methods of future research. A list of opportunities and challenges was identified through a survey of best-selling life insurance representatives who were selected by snowball sampling. In order to prioritize and identify the most important issues, all the issues raised were sent to selected experts who were selected theoretically through a researcher-made questionnaire. The respondents determined the importance of 36 variables through scoring, so that the prioritization of opportunity and challenge variables can be determined. 8 of the variables identified in the first stage were removed by selected experts, and finally, the number of variables that could be examined in the third stage became 28 variables, which, in order to facilitate the examination, were divided into 6 categories, respectively, 11 variables of organization and management. Marketing and sales 7 cases, social and cultural 6 cases, technological 2 cases, rebranding 1 case and insurance 1 case were divided. The reliability of the researcher-made questionnaire was confirmed with the Cronbach's alpha test value of 0.96. In the third stage, by forming a panel consisting of 5 insurance industry experts, the consensus of their opinions about the influence of factors on each other and the ranking of variables was entered into the matrix. The matrix included the interrelationships of 28 variables, which were investigated using the structural analysis method. By analyzing the data obtained from the matrix by Mic Mac software, the findings of the research indicate that the categories of "correct training in the use of the software, the weakness of the technology of insurance companies in personalizing products, using the approach of equipping the customer, and honesty in declaring no need Customer to Insurance", the most important challenges of the influencer and the categories of "salesforce equipping approach, product personalization based on customer needs assessment, customer's pleasant experience of being consulted with consulting robots, business improvement of the insurance company due to the use of these tools, increasing the efficiency of the issuance process and optimal customer purchase" were identified as the most important opportunities for influence.

Keywords: personal financial planning, wealth management, advisor robots, life insurance, digital transformation

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Authors: Fahd I. Alghunaimi, Hind S. Dossary, Norah W. Aljuryyed, Tawfik A. Saleh

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Produced water (PW) is one of the largest by-volume waste streams and one of the most challenging effluents in the oil and gas industry. This is due to the variation of contaminants that make up PW. Severalmaterialshavebeen developed, studied, and implemented to remove hydrocarbonsfrom PW. Adsorption is one of the most effective ways ofremoving oil fromPW. In this work, three new and cost-effective hydrophobic adsorbentmaterials based on 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (POG) were synthesized for oil/water separation. Graphene derived from graphite was modified with 9-octadecenoic acid to yield 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (OG). The newsynthesized materials which called POG25, POG50, and POG75 were characterized by using N₂-physisorption (BET) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The BET surface area of POG75 was the highest with 288 m²/g, whereas POG50 was 225 m²/g and POG25 was lowest 79 m²/g. These three materials were also evaluated for their oil-water separation efficiency using a model mixture, whichdemonstrated that POG-75 has the highest oil removal efficiency and the faster rate of the adsorption (Figure-1). POG75 was regenerated, and its performance was verified again with a little reduced adsorption rate compared to the fresh material. The mixtures that used in the performance test were prepared by mixing nonpolar organic liquids such as heptane, dodecane, or hexadecane into the colored water. In general, the new materials showed fast uptake of the certain quantity of the oildue to the high hydrophobicity nature of the materials, which repel water as confirmed by the contact angle of approximately 150˚. Besides that, novel superhydrophobic material was also synthesized by introducing hydrophobic branches of laurate on the surface of the stainless steel mesh (SSM). This novel mesh could help to hold the novel adsorbent materials in a column to remove oil from PW. Both BOG-75 and the novel mesh have the potential to remove oil contaminants from produced water, which will help to provide an opportunity to recover useful components, in addition, to reduce the environmental impact and reuse produced water in several applications such as fracturing.

Keywords: graphite to graphene, oleophilic, produced water, separation

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Authors: Fuyuan Ma, Yuhan Wang, Junhe Zhang, Ying Wang

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Identifying the sources of information dissemination is a pivotal task in the study of collective behaviors in networks, enabling us to discern and intercept the critical pathways through which information propagates from its origins. This allows for the control of the information’s dissemination impact in its early stages. Numerous methods for source detection rely on pre-existing, underlying propagation models as prior knowledge. Current models that eschew prior knowledge attempt to harness label propagation algorithms to model the statistical characteristics of propagation states or employ Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for deep reverse modeling of the diffusion process. These approaches are either deficient in modeling the propagation patterns of information or are constrained by the over-smoothing problem inherent in GNNs, which limits the stacking of sufficient model depth to excavate global propagation patterns. Consequently, we introduce the ODESI model. Initially, the model employs a label propagation algorithm to delineate the distribution density of infected states within a graph structure and extends the representation of infected states from integers to state vectors, which serve as the initial states of nodes. Subsequently, the model constructs a deep architecture based on GNNs-coupled Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) to model the global propagation patterns of continuous propagation processes. Addressing the challenges associated with solving ODEs on graphs, we approximate the analytical solutions to reduce computational costs. Finally, we conduct simulation experiments on two real-world social network datasets, and the results affirm the efficacy of our proposed ODESI model in source identification tasks.

Keywords: source identification, ordinary differential equations, label propagation, complex networks

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Authors: Shringika Soni, Utkarsh Jain, Nidhi Chauhan

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Aptamers are recently discovered ~80-100 bp long artificial oligonucleotides that not only demonstrated their applications in therapeutics; it is tremendously used in diagnostic and sensing application to detect different biomarkers and drugs. Synthesizing aptamers for proteins or genomic template is comparatively feasible in laboratory, but drugs or other chemical target based aptamers require major specification and proper optimization and validation. One has to optimize all selection, amplification, and characterization steps of the end product, which is extremely time-consuming. Therefore, we performed asymmetric PCR (polymerase chain reaction) for random oligonucleotides pool synthesis, and further use them in Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) for anti-psychotic drugs based aptamers synthesis. Anti-psychotic drugs are major tranquilizers to control psychosis for proper cognitive functions. Though their low medical use, their misuse may lead to severe medical condition as addiction and can promote crime in social and economical impact. In this work, we have approached the in-vitro SELEX method for ssDNA synthesis for anti-psychotic drugs (in this case ‘target’) based aptamer synthesis. The study was performed in three stages, where first stage included synthesis of random oligonucleotides pool via asymmetric PCR where end product was analyzed with electrophoresis and purified for further stages. The purified oligonucleotide pool was incubated in SELEX buffer, and further partition was performed in the next stage to obtain target specific aptamers. The isolated oligonucleotides are characterized and quantified after each round of partition, and significant results were obtained. After the repetitive partition and amplification steps of target-specific oligonucleotides, final stage included sequencing of end product. We can confirm the specific sequence for anti-psychoactive drugs, which will be further used in diagnostic application in clinical and forensic set-up.

Keywords: anti-psychotic drugs, aptamer, biosensor, ssDNA, SELEX

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Authors: Aritra Das, Tanmay Mahapatra, Prabir Maharana, Sridhar Srikantiah

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In the absence of adequate well-equipped neonatal-care facilities serving rural Bihar, India, the practice of essential home-based newborn-care remains critically important for reduction of neonatal and infant mortality, especially among pre-term and small-for-gestational-age (Low-birth-weight) newborns. To improve the child health parameters in Bihar, ‘Very-Low-Birth-Weight (vLBW) Tracking’ intervention is being conducted by CARE India, since 2015, targeting public facility-delivered newborns weighing ≤2000g at birth, to improve their identification and provision of immediate post-natal care. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, 200 public health facilities were randomly selected from all functional public-sector delivery points in Bihar and various outcomes were tracked among the neonates born there. Thus far, one pre-intervention (Feb-Apr’2015-born neonates) and three post-intervention (for Sep-Oct’2015, Sep-Oct’2016 and Sep-Oct’2017-born children) follow-up studies were conducted. In each round, interviews were conducted with the mothers/caregivers of successfully-tracked children to understand outcome, service-coverage and care-seeking during the neonatal period. Data from 171 matched facilities common across all rounds were analyzed using SAS-9.4. Identification of neonates with birth-weight ≤ 2000g improved from 2% at baseline to 3.3%-4% during post-intervention. All indicators pertaining to post-natal home-visits by frontline-workers (FLWs) improved. Significant improvements between baseline and post-intervention rounds were also noted regarding mothers being informed about ‘weak’ child – at the facility (R1 = 25 to R4 = 50%) and at home by FLW (R1 = 19%, to R4 = 30%). Practice of ‘Kangaroo-Mother-Care (KMC)’– an important component of essential newborn care – showed significant improvement in postintervention period compared to baseline in both facility (R1 = 15% to R4 = 31%) and home (R1 = 10% to R4=29%). Increasing trend was noted regarding detection and birth weight-recording of the extremely low-birth-weight newborns (< 1500 g) showed an increasing trend. Moreover, there was a downward trend in mortality across rounds, in each birth-weight strata (< 1500g, 1500-1799g and >= 1800g). After adjustment for the differential distribution of birth-weights, mortality was found to decline significantly from R1 (22.11%) to R4 (11.87%). Significantly declining trend was also observed for both early and late neonatal mortality and morbidities. Multiple regression analysis identified - birth during immediate post-intervention phase as well as that during the maintenance phase, birth weight > 1500g, children of low-parity mothers, receiving visit from FLW in the first week and/or receiving advice on extra care from FLW as predictors of survival during neonatal period among vLBW newborns. vLBW tracking was found to be a successful and sustainable intervention and has already been handed over to the Government.

Keywords: weak newborn tracking, very low birth weight babies, newborn care, community response

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Authors: Makarios Mosaad Thabet Ibrahim

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the existing context paper targets to give the important position of ‘scholar voice’ and the track trainer inside the study room, which contributes to greater scholar-focused song training. The goal is to consciousness at the capabilities of the scholar voice via the tune spectrum, which has been born in the music school room, and the instructor’s methodologies and techniques used within the song classroom. The tune curriculum, the principles of pupil-centered song schooling, and the function of students and teachers as tune ambassadors have been taken into consideration the essential song parameters of scholar voice. The scholar- voice is a well worth-mentioning factor of a scholar-focused training, and all instructors have to take into account and sell its life in their lecture room. student affairs services play a critical function in contributing to the wholistic development and success of college students as they progress through their educational careers. The examine incorporates a multifaceted examination of student affairs carrier offerings among 10 personal and three public Baghdad universities. scholar affairs administrators (thirteen) have been surveyed together with over 300 students to determine university-subsidized services and pupil pride and attention. The pupil affairs service studies findings various drastically among non-public and public establishments and people that observed a country wide and international curriculum. Universities need to persist to conform to changing demographics and technological improvements to enhance students' private and academic successes, and pupil affairs services are key to preparing graduates to thrive in a diverse international world.

Keywords: college student-athletes, self-concept, use of social media training, social networking student affairs, student success, higher education, Iraq, universities, Baghdad student's voice, student-centered education, music ambassadors, music teachers

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Authors: Amina Umulisa

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Background: Despite efforts to enhance profitability and project planning, Rwanda has experienced a decline in project success rates, notably in housing projects managed by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB). This study aims to assess the impact of investment strategies and project planning practices on the performance of pension funds projects in Rwanda, focusing on housing projects by RSSB. Methods: Using descriptive and correlational research designs, this study surveyed 109 randomly selected respondents from a pool of 148 workers. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics in STATA version 18. Results: Findings revealed that 54% of respondents acknowledged the importance of personnel generation. Additionally, 61% agreed with the effectiveness of training programs, and 79% supported the cost of human resource utilization. In terms of project management practices, 65.7% could determine when a project needed adjustments, 65.7% agreed with the approved budget, and 73% supported forecasted expenses. Furthermore, 68% agreed with order placement, 76.0% with using the right materials, and 64.4% with defining project scope. The study found significant associations between order placement and project quality outcomes (r=0.711, P-value <0.001), as well as with time management (Pearson was 0.701 and sing was 0.00) and cost management (r=0.885, P-value <0.001). Moreover, project time targets were found to significantly affect quality management (Pearson was 0.798, sing was 0.000), time management, and cost management (r=0.740, P-value <0.001). Conclusion: The findings highlight the positive association between the project implementation stage and quality management, indicating effective project planning practices among senior staff. However, there is a need to enhance project team collaboration and coordination to improve the performance of constructed houses.

Keywords: project success rates, investment strategies, training programs, cost management

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Authors: L. Shafiq, A. Rigby

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All polyethylene processes are highly exothermic, and the safe removal of the heat of reaction is a fundamental issue in the process design. In slurry and gas processes, the velocity of the polymer particles in the reactor and external coolers can be very high, and under certain conditions, this can lead to static charging of these particles. Such static charged polymer particles may start building up on the reactor wall, limiting heat transfer, and ultimately leading to severe reactor fouling and forced reactor shut down. Statsafe™ is an FDA approved anti-fouling additive currently used around the world for polyolefin production as an anti-fouling additive. The unique polymer chemistry aids static discharge, which prevents the build-up of charged polyolefin particles, which could lead to fouling. Statsafe™ is being used and trailed in gas, slurry, and a combination of these technologies around the world. We will share data to demonstrate how the use of Statsafe™ allows more stable operation at higher solids level by eliminating static, which would otherwise prevent closer packing of particles in the hydrocarbon slurry. Because static charge generation depends also on the concentration of polymer particles in the slurry, the maximum slurry concentration can be higher when using Statsafe™, leading to higher production rates. The elimination of fouling also leads to less downtime. Special focus will be made on the impact anti-static additives have on catalyst performance within the polymerization process and how this has been measured. Lab-scale studies have investigated the effect on the activity of Ziegler Natta catalysts when anti-static additives are used at various concentrations in gas and slurry, polyethylene and polypropylene processes. An in-depth gas phase study investigated the effect of additives on the final polyethylene properties such as particle size, morphology, fines, bulk density, melt flow index, gradient density, and melting point.

Keywords: anti-static additives, catalyst performance, FDA approved anti-fouling additive, polymerisation

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Authors: Érica Lima

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In the digital era, in which we have an avalanche of information, it is not new that the Internet has brought new modes of communication and knowledge access. Characterized by the multiplicity of discourses, opinions, beliefs and cultures, the web is a space of political-ideological dimensions where people (who often do not know each other) interact and create representations, deconstruct stereotypes, and redefine identities. Currently, the translator needs to be able to deal with digital spaces ranging from specific software to social media, which inevitably impact on his professional life. One of the most impactful ways of being seen in cyberspace is the participation in social networking groups. In addition to its ability to disseminate information among participants, social networking groups allow a significant personal and social exposure. Such exposure is due to the visibility of each participant achieved not only on its personal profile page, but also in each comment or post the person makes in the groups. The objective of this paper is to study the representations of translators and translation process on the Internet, more specifically in publications in two Brazilian groups of great influence on the Facebook: "Translators/Interpreters" and "Translators, Interpreters and Curious". These chosen groups represent the changes the network has brought to the profession, including the way translators are seen and see themselves. The analyzed posts allowed a reading of what common sense seems to think about the translator as opposed to what the translators seem to think about themselves as a professional class. The results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that these two positions are antagonistic and sometimes represent conflict of interests: on the one hand, the society in general consider the translator’s work something easy, therefore it is not necessary to be well remunerated; on the other hand, the translators who know how complex a translation process is and how much it takes to be a good professional. The results also reveal that social networking sites such as Facebook provide more visibility, but it takes a more active role from the translator to achieve a greater appreciation of the profession and more recognition of the role of the translator, especially in face of increasingly development of automatic translation programs.

Keywords: Facebook, social representation, translation, translator

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Authors: Flóra Pomázi, Sándor Baranya, Zoltán Szalai

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A harmonized monitoring of the suspended sediment transport along such a large river as the world’s most international river, the Danube River, is a rather challenging task. The traditional monitoring method in Hungary is obsolete but using indirect measurement devices and techniques like optical backscatter sensors (OBS), laser diffraction or acoustic backscatter sensors (ABS) could provide a fast and efficient alternative option of direct methods. However, these methods are strongly sensitive to the particle characteristics (i.e. particle shape, particle size and mineral composition). The current method does not provide sufficient information about particle size distribution, mineral analysis is rarely done, and the shape of the suspended sediment particles have not been examined yet. The aims of the study are (1) to determine the particle characterisation of suspended sediment in the Danube River using advanced particle characterisation methods as laser diffraction and automated imaging, and (2) to perform a sensitivity analysis of the indirect methods in order to determine the impact of suspended particle characteristics. The particle size distribution is determined by laser diffraction. The particle shape and mineral composition analysis is done by the Morphologi G3ID image analyser. The investigated indirect measurement devices are the LISST-Portable|XR, the LISST-ABS (Sequoia Inc.) and the Rio Grande 1200 kHz ADCP (Teledyne Marine). The major findings of this study are (1) the statistical shape of the suspended sediment particle - this is the first research in this context, (2) the actualised particle size distribution – that can be compared to historical information, so that the morphological changes can be tracked, (3) the actual mineral composition of the suspended sediment in the Danube River, and (4) the reliability of the tested indirect methods has been increased – based on the results of the sensitivity analysis and the previous findings.

Keywords: advanced particle characterisation, automated imaging, indirect methods, laser diffraction, mineral composition, suspended sediment

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Authors: Faride Peña, Teresita Castillo, Concepción Campo

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Sexual violence, and particularly child sexual abuse, is a serious problem all over the world, México included. Given its importance, there are several preventive and care programs done by the government and the civil society all over the country but most of them are developed in urban areas even though these problems are especially serious in rural areas. Yucatán, a state in southern México, occupies one of the first places in child sexual abuse. Considering the above, the University Unit of Clinical Research and Victimological Attention (UNIVICT) of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, designed, implemented and is currently evaluating the program named “Sharing Mouth to Mouth: My Body, Nobody Can Touch It”, a program to prevent child sexual abuse in rural communities of Yucatán, México. Its aim was to develop skills for the detection of risk situations, providing protection strategies and mechanisms for prevention through culturally relevant psycho-educative strategies to increase personal resources in children, in collaboration with parents, teachers, police and municipal authorities. The diagnosis identified that a particularly vulnerable population were children between 4 and 10 years. The program run during 2015 in primary schools in the municipality whose inhabitants are mostly Mayan. The aim of this paper is to present its evaluation in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency. This evaluation included documental analysis of the work done in the field, psycho-educational and recreational activities with children, evaluation of knowledge by participating children and interviews with parents and teachers. The results show high efficiency in fulfilling the tasks and achieving primary objectives. The efficiency shows satisfactory results but also opportunity areas that can be resolved with minor adjustments to the program. The results also show the importance of including culturally relevant strategies and activities otherwise it minimizes possible achievements. Another highlight is the importance of participatory action research in preventive approaches to child sexual abuse since by becoming aware of the importance of the subject people participate more actively; in addition to design culturally appropriate strategies and measures so that the proposal may not be distant to the people. Discussion emphasizes the methodological implications of prevention programs (convenience of using participatory action research (PAR), importance of monitoring and mediation during implementation, developing detection skills tools in creative ways using psycho-educational interactive techniques and working assessment issued by the participants themselves). As well, it is important to consider the holistic character this type of program should have, in terms of incorporating social and culturally relevant characteristics, according to the community individuality and uniqueness, consider type of communication to be used and children’ language skills considering that there should be variations strongly linked to a specific cultural context.

Keywords: child sexual abuse, evaluation, PAR, prevention

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Authors: Abosede Omowumi Babatunde

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While the Niger Delta region satisfies the global thirst for oil, the inhabitants have not been adequately compensated for the use of their ancestral land. Besides, the ruthless exploitation and destruction of the natural environment upon which the inhabitants of the Niger Delta depend for their livelihood and sustenance by the activities of oil multinationals, pose major threats to food security in the region and by implication, Nigeria in general, Africa, and the world, given the present global emphasis on food security. This paper examines the effect of oil exploitation on household food security, identify key gaps in measures put in place to address the changes to livelihoods and food security and explore what should be done to improve the local people access to sufficient, safe and culturally acceptable food in the Niger Delta. Data is derived through interviews with key informants and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) conducted with respondents in the local communities in the Niger Delta states of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers as well as relevant extant studies. The threat to food security is one important aspect of the human security challenges in the Niger Delta which has received limited scholarly attention. In addition, successive Nigerian governments have not meaningfully addressed the negative impacts of oil-induced environmental degradation on traditional livelihoods given the significant linkages between environmental sustainability, livelihood security, and food security. The destructive impact of oil pollution on the farmlands, crops, economic trees, creeks, lakes, and fishing equipment is so devastating that the people can no longer engage in productive farming and fishing. Also important is the limited access to modern agricultural methods for fishing and subsistence farming as fishing and farming are done using mostly crude implements and traditional methods. It is imperative and urgent to take stock of the negative implications of the activities of oil multinationals for environmental and livelihood sustainability, and household food security in the Niger Delta.

Keywords: challenges, food security, Nigeria's Niger delta, oil

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Authors: Michelle V. Tomczak, Reyhaneh Bakhtiari, Aaron Granley, Anthony Singhal

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Objective: Cannabis and cocaine are associated with a range of mental and physical effects that can impair aspects of human behavior. Driving is a complex cognitive behavior that is an essential part of everyday life and can be broken down into many subcomponents, each of which can uniquely impact road safety. With the growing movement of jurisdictions to legalize cannabis, there is an increased focus on impairment and driving. The purpose of this study was to identify driving-related cognitive-performance deficits that are impacted by recreational drug use. Design and Methods: With the assistance of law enforcement agencies, we recruited over 300 participants under the influence of various drugs including cannabis and cocaine. These individuals performed a battery of computer-based tasks scientifically proven to be re-lated to on-road driving performance and designed to test response-speed, memory processes, perceptual-motor skills, and decision making. Data from a control group with healthy non-drug using adults was collected as well. Results: Compared to controls, the drug group showed def-icits in all tasks. The data also showed clear differences between the cannabis and cocaine groups where cannabis users were faster, and performed better on some aspects of the decision-making and perceptual-motor tasks. Memory performance was better in the cocaine group for simple tasks but not more complex tasks. Finally, the participants who consumed both drugs performed most similarly to the cannabis group. Conclusions: Our results show distinct and combined effects of cannabis and cocaine on human performance relating to driving. These dif-ferential effects are likely related to the unique effects of each drug on the human brain and how they distinctly contribute to mental states. Our results have important implications for road safety associated with driver impairment.

Keywords: driving, cognitive impairment, recreational drug use, cannabis and cocaine

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Authors: H. Dakhlaoui, D. Ruelland, Y. Tramblay, Z. Bargaoui

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To evaluate the impact of climate change on water resources at the catchment scale, not only future projections of climate are necessary but also robust rainfall-runoff models that are able to be fairly reliable under changing climate conditions. This study aims at assessing the robustness of three conceptual rainfall-runoff models (GR4j, HBV and IHACRES) on five basins in Northern Tunisia under long-term climate variability. Their robustness was evaluated according to a differential split sample test based on a climate classification of the observation period regarding simultaneously precipitation and temperature conditions. The studied catchments are situated in a region where climate change is likely to have significant impacts on runoff and they already suffer from scarcity of water resources. They cover the main hydrographical basins of Northern Tunisia (High Medjerda, Zouaraâ, Ichkeul and Cap bon), which produce the majority of surface water resources in Tunisia. The streamflow regime of the basins can be considered as natural since these basins are located upstream from storage-dams and in areas where withdrawals are negligible. A 30-year common period (1970‒2000) was considered to capture a large spread of hydro-climatic conditions. The calibration was based on the Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) criterion, while the evaluation of model transferability is performed according to the Nash-Suttfliff efficiency criterion and volume error. The three hydrological models were shown to have similar behaviour under climate variability. Models prove a better ability to simulate the runoff pattern when transferred toward wetter periods compared to the case when transferred to drier periods. The limits of transferability are beyond -20% of precipitation and +1.5 °C of temperature in comparison with the calibration period. The deterioration of model robustness could in part be explained by the climate dependency of some parameters.

Keywords: rainfall-runoff modelling, hydro-climate variability, model robustness, uncertainty, Tunisia

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Authors: Bipin Popat Sonawane

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After 1988 Electron muon Collaboration (EMC) announcement of measurement of spin dependent structure function, it has been found that it has become a need to understand spin structure of a hadron. In the study of three-dimensional spin structure of a proton, we need to understand the foundation of quantum field theory in terms of electro-weak and strong theories using rigorous mathematical theories and models. In the process of understanding the inner dynamical stricture of proton we need understand the mathematical formalism in perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD). In QCD processes like proton-proton collision at high energy we calculate cross section using conventional collinear factorization schemes. In this calculations, parton distribution functions (PDFs) and fragmentation function are used which provide the information about probability density of finding quarks and gluons ( partons) inside the proton and probability density of finding final hadronic state from initial partons. In transverse momentum dependent (TMD) PDFs and FFs, collectively called as TMDs, take an account for intrinsic transverse motion of partons. The TMD factorization in the calculation of cross sections provide a scheme of hadronic and partonic states in the given QCD process. In this study we review Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) factorization scheme using Collins-Soper-Sterman (CSS) Formalism. CSS formalism considers the transverse momentum dependence of the partons, in this formalism the cross section is written as a Fourier transform over a transverse position variable which has physical interpretation as impact parameter. Along with this we compare this formalism with improved CSS formalism. In this work we study the TMD evolution schemes and their comparison with other schemes. This would provide description in the process of measurement of transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA) in hadro-production and electro-production of J/psi meson at RHIC, LHC, ILC energy scales. This would surely help us to understand J/psi production mechanism which is an appropriate test of QCD.

Keywords: QCD, PDF, TMD, CSS

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Authors: Liu Bijin

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Floating breakwaters have several advantages, including being environmentally friendly, easy to construct, and cost-effective regardless of water depth. They have a broad range of applications in coastal engineering. However, they face significant challenges due to the unstable effect of wave dissipation, structural vulnerability, and high mooring system requirements. This paper investigates the wave dissipation performance of a floating breakwater structure. The structure consists of double cylinders, double vertical plates, and horizontal connecting plates. The investigation is carried out using physical model tests and numerical simulation methods based on STAR-CCM+. This paper discusses the impact of wave elements, relative vertical plate heights, and relative horizontal connecting plate widths on the wave dissipation performance of the double-cylinder, double-plate floating breakwater (DCDPFB). The study also analyses the changes in local vorticity and velocity fields around the DCDPFB to determine the optimal structural dimensions. The study found that the relative width of the horizontal connecting plate, the relative height of the vertical plate, and the size of the semi-cylinder are the key factors affecting the wave dissipation performance of the DCDPFB. The transmittance coefficient is minimally affected by the wave height and the depth of water entry. The local vortex and velocity field formed around the DCDPFB are important factors for dissipating wave energy. The test section of the DCDPFB, constructed according to the relative optimal structural dimensions, showed good wave dissipation performance during offshore prototype tests. The test section of DCDPFB, constructed with optimal structural dimensions, exhibits excellent wave dissipation performance in offshore prototype tests.

Keywords: floating breakwater, wave dissipation performance, transmittance coefficient, model test

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Authors: Saúl Rivero, Estefanya Marín, Katherine Bolaño, Elena Urán, Juan Yepes, Andrés Cossio

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Medellín is the Colombian city with the best public transport systems in the country, which is made up of two metro lines, five metrocables, two BRT-type bus lines, and a tram. But despite the above, the Aburrá Valley, the area in which the city is located, has about 3000 km of roads, which for the existing population of 3.2 million inhabitants, gives an indicator of 900 meters of road per 1000 inhabitants, which is lower than the country's average, which is approximately 3900 meters. In addition, given that in Medellín, there is approximately one vehicle for every three inhabitants, the problems of congestion and environmental pollution have worsened over the years. In this sense, due to the limitations of physical space, the low public investment in road infrastructure, it is necessary to opt for mobility alternatives according to the above. Among the options for the city, there is what is known as micromobility. Micromobility is understood to be those small and light means of transport that are used for short distances, that use electrical energy, such as skateboards and bicycles. Taking into account the above, in this work, the current state and future of micromobility in the city of Medellín were analyzed, carrying out a prospective analysis, supported by a PEST analysis, but also of the crossed impact matrices; of influence and dependence; and the technique of the actor's game. The analysis was carried out for two future scenarios: one normal and one optimistic. Result of the analysis, it was determined that micromobility as an alternative social practice to mobility in the city of Medellín has favorable conditions since the local government has adopted strategies such as the Metropolitan Bicycle Master Plan of Valle de Aburrá and the plan " Bicycle paths in the city: more public spaces for life,” where a projection of 400 kilometers of bicycle paths was estimated by the year 2030, as for that same year it is expected that 10% of all trips in the region will be in bike mode. The total trip indicator is an achievable goal, while that of the number of kilometers of bike paths would be close to being met.

Keywords: electric vehicles, micromobilty, public transport, sustainable transport

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Authors: Siddarth Kannan

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Objectives: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Motor Cortex stimulation (MCS) are innovative interventions in order to treat various neuropathic pain disorders such as post-stroke pain. While each treatment has a varying degree of success in managing pain, comparative analysis has not yet been performed, and the success rates of these techniques using validated, objective pain scores have not been synthesised. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of pain relief offered by MCS and DBS on patients with post-stroke pain and to assess if either of these procedures offered better results. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (PROSPEROID CRD42021277542). Three databases were searched, and articles published from 2000 to June 2023 were included (last search date 25 June 2023). Meta-analysis was performed using random effects models. We evaluated the performance of DBS or MCS by assessing studies that reported pain relief using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Data analysis of descriptive statistics was performed using SPSS (Version 27; IBM; Armonk; NY; USA). R statistics (Rstudio Version 4.0.1) was used to perform meta-analysis. Results: Of the 478 articles identified, 27 were included in the analysis (232 patients- 117 DBS & 115 MCS). The pooled number of patients who improved after DBS was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.57-0.77, I2=36%). The pooled number of patients who improved after MCS was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.62-0.80, I2=59%). Further sensitivity analysis was done to include only studies with a minimum of 5 patients in order to assess if there was any impact on the overall results. Nine studies each for DBS and MCS met these criteria. There seemed to be no significant difference in results. Conclusions: The use of surgical interventions such as DBS and MCS is an upcoming field for the treatment of post-stroke pain, with limited studies exploring and comparing these two techniques. While our study shows that MCS might be a slightly better treatment option, further research would need to be done in order to determine the appropriate surgical intervention for post-stroke pain.

Keywords: post-stroke pain, deep brain stimulation, motor cortex stimulation, pain relief

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Authors: Praveena Sinha

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Context: Diabetes is a global public health burden, particularly affecting postmenopausal women. Insulin resistance (IR) is prevalent in this population, and it is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Yoga therapy is gaining attention as a complementary intervention for diabetes due to its potential to address stress psychophysiology. This study focuses on the efficacy of a 12-week yoga practice in attenuating insulin resistance in early postmenopausal women. Research Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of a 3-month long yoga practice on insulin resistance in early postmenopausal women. Methodology: The study conducted a prospective longitudinal design with 67 women within five years of menopause. Participants were divided into two groups based on their willingness to join yoga. The Yoga group (n = 37) received routine gynecological management along with an integrated yoga module, while the Non-Yoga group (n = 30) received only routine management. Insulin resistance was measured using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) method before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism Version 5 software, with statistical significance set at P < 0.05. Findings: The results indicate a significant decrease in serum fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR measurements in the Yoga group, although the decrease did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, the Non-Yoga group showed a significant rise in serum fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR measurements after 3 months, suggesting a detrimental effect on insulin resistance in these postmenopausal women. Theoretical Importance: This study provides evidence that a 12-week yoga practice can attenuate the increase in insulin resistance in early postmenopausal women. It highlights the potential of yoga as a preventive measure against the early onset of insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Regular yoga practice can be a valuable tool in addressing hormonal imbalances associated with early postmenopause, leading to a decrease in morbidity and mortality related to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus in this population. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: Data collection involved measuring serum fasting insulin levels and calculating HOMA-IR. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism Version 5 software, and mean values with standard error of the mean were reported. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. Question Addressed: The study aimed to address whether a 3-month long yoga practice could attenuate insulin resistance in early postmenopausal women. Conclusion: The research findings support the efficacy of a 12-week yoga practice in attenuating insulin resistance in early postmenopausal women. Regular yoga practice has the potential to prevent the early onset of insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in this population. By addressing the hormonal imbalances associated with early post menopause, yoga could significantly decrease morbidity and mortality related to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus in these subjects.

Keywords: post menopause, insulin resistance, HOMA-IR, yoga, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Irfan Turetgen

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Closed-circuit cooling towers are cooling units that operate according to the indirect cooling principle. Unlike the open-loop cooling tower, the filler material includes a closed-loop water-operated heat exchanger. The main purpose of this heat exchanger is to prevent the cooled process water from contacting with the external environment. In order to ensure that the hot water is cooled, the water is cooled by the air flow and the circulation water of the tower as it passes through the pipe. They are now more commonly used than open loop cooling towers that provide cooling with plastic filling material. As with all surfaces in contact with water, there is a biofilm formation on the outer surface of the pipe. Although biofilm has been studied very well on plastic surfaces in open loop cooling towers, studies on biofilm layer formed on the heat exchangers of the closed circuit tower have not been found. In the recent study, natural biofilm formation was observed on the heat exchangers of the closed loop tower for 6 months. At the same time, nano-silica coating, which is known to reduce the formation of the biofilm layer, a comparison was made between the two different surfaces in terms of biofilm formation potential. Test surfaces were placed into biofilm reactor along with the untreated control coupons up to 6-months period for biofilm maturation. Natural bacterial communities were monitored to analyze the impact to mimic the real-life conditions. Surfaces were monthly analyzed in situ for their microbial load using epifluorescence microscopy. Wettability is known to play a key role in biofilm formation on surfaces, because characteristics of surface properties affect the bacterial adhesion. Results showed that surface-conditioning with nano-silica significantly reduce (up to 90%) biofilm formation. Easy coating process is a facile and low-cost method to prepare hydrophobic surface without any kinds of expensive compounds or methods.

Keywords: biofilms, cooling towers, fill material, nano silica

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Authors: Ippei Torii, Kaoruko Ohtani, Takahito Niwa, Naohiro Ishii

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This paper shows developing an objectivity index using the measurement of subtle eyeball movement to diagnose autism. The developmentally disabled assessment varies, and the diagnosis depends on the subjective judgment of professionals. Therefore, a supplementary inspection method that will enable anyone to obtain the same quantitative judgment is needed. The diagnosis are made based on a comparison of the time of gazing an object in the conventional autistic study, but the results do not match. First, we divided the pupil into four parts from the center using measurements of subtle eyeball movement and comparing the number of pixels in the overlapping parts based on an afterimage. Then we developed the objective evaluation indicator to judge non-autistic and autistic people more clearly than conventional methods by analyzing the differences of subtle eyeball movements between the right and left eyes. Even when a person gazes at one point and his/her eyeballs always stay fixed at that point, their eyes perform subtle fixating movements (ie. tremors, drifting, microsaccades) to keep the retinal image clear. Particularly, the microsaccades link with nerves and reflect the mechanism that process the sight in a brain. We converted the differences between these movements into numbers. The process of the conversion is as followed: 1) Select the pixel indicating the subject's pupil from images of captured frames. 2) Set up a reference image, known as an afterimage, from the pixel indicating the subject's pupil. 3) Divide the pupil of the subject into four from the center in the acquired frame image. 4) Select the pixel in each divided part and count the number of the pixels of the overlapping part with the present pixel based on the afterimage. 5) Process the images with precision in 24 - 30fps from a camera and convert the amount of change in the pixels of the subtle movements of the right and left eyeballs in to numbers. The difference in the area of the amount of change occurs by measuring the difference between the afterimage in consecutive frames and the present frame. We set the amount of change to the quantity of the subtle eyeball movements. This method made it possible to detect a change of the eyeball vibration in numerical value. By comparing the numerical value between the right and left eyes, we found that there is a difference in how much they move. We compared the difference in these movements between non-autistc and autistic people and analyzed the result. Our research subjects consists of 8 children and 10 adults with autism, and 6 children and 18 adults with no disability. We measured the values through pasuit movements and fixations. We converted the difference in subtle movements between the right and left eyes into a graph and define it in multidimensional measure. Then we set the identification border with density function of the distribution, cumulative frequency function, and ROC curve. With this, we established an objective index to determine autism, normal, false positive, and false negative.

Keywords: subtle eyeball movement, autism, microsaccade, pursuit eye movements, ROC curve

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Authors: Lívia Pimentel Sant'ana Dourado, Raquel Das Neves Almeida, Luís Henrique Costa Corrêa Neto, Nayara Soares, Kelly Grace Magalhães

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Introduction: Obesity and high-fat diet intake have a crucial impact on immune cells and inflammatory profile, highlighting an emerging realization that obesity is an inflammatory disease. In the present work, we aimed to characterize the role of caspase-1/11 and NLRP3 inflammasome in the establishment of mice obesity and modulation of inflammatory lipid metabolism induced by high fat diet intake. Methods and results: Wild type, caspase-1/11 and NLRP3 knockout mice were fed with standard fat diet (SFD) or high fat diet (HFD) for 90 days. The weight of animals was measured weekly to monitor the weight gain. After 90 days, the blood, peritoneal lavage cells, heart and liver were collected from mice studied here. Cytokines were measured in serum by ELISA and analyzed in spectrophotometry. Lipid antigen presentation molecule CD1d expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and lipid droplets biogenesis were analyzed in cells from mice peritoneal cavity by flow cytometry. Liver histopathology was performed for morphological evaluation of the organ. The absence of caspase-1/11, but not NLRP3, in mice fed with HFD favored the mice weight gain, increased liver size, induced development of hepatic steatosis and IL-12 secretion in mice compared to mice fed with SFD. In addition, caspase-1/11 knockout mice fed with HFD presented an increased CD1d molecule expression, as well as higher levels of lipid droplets biogenesis and ROS generation compared to wild type mice also fed with HFD. Conclusion: Our data suggest that caspase-1/11 knockout mice have greater susceptibility to obesity as well as increased activation of lipid metabolism and inflammatory markers.

Keywords: caspase 1, caspase 11, inflamassome, obesity, lipids

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Authors: S. Sabatino, V. Calderaro, V. Galdi, G. Graber, L. Ippolito

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Climate change is a rapidly growing global threat caused mainly by increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. These emissions come from multiple sources, including industry, power generation, and the transport sector. The need to tackle climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions is indisputable. A crucial solution to achieving decarbonization in the transport sector is the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). These vehicles use lithium (Li-Ion) batteries as an energy source, making them extremely efficient and with low direct emissions. However, Li-Ion batteries are not without problems, including the risk of overheating and performance degradation. To ensure its safety and longevity, it is essential to use a battery management system (BMS). The BMS constantly monitors battery status, adjusts temperature and cell balance, ensuring optimal performance and preventing dangerous situations. From the monitoring carried out, it is also able to optimally manage the battery to increase its life. Among the parameters monitored by the BMS, the main ones are State of Charge (SoC), State of Health (SoH), and State of Power (SoP). The evaluation of these parameters can be carried out in two ways: offline, using benchtop batteries tested in the laboratory, or online, using batteries installed in moving vehicles. Online estimation is the preferred approach, as it relies on capturing real-time data from batteries while operating in real-life situations, such as in everyday EV use. Actual battery usage conditions are highly variable. Moving vehicles are exposed to a wide range of factors, including temperature variations, different driving styles, and complex charge/discharge cycles. This variability is difficult to replicate in a controlled laboratory environment and can greatly affect performance and battery life. Online estimation captures this variety of conditions, providing a more accurate assessment of battery behavior in real-world situations. In this article, a hybrid approach based on a neural network and a statistical method for real-time estimation of SoC, SoH, and SoP parameters of interest is proposed. These parameters are estimated from the analysis of a one-day driving profile of an electric vehicle, assumed to be divided into the following four phases: (i) Partial discharge (SoC 100% - SoC 50%), (ii) Partial discharge (SoC 50% - SoC 80%), (iii) Deep Discharge (SoC 80% - SoC 30%) (iv) Full charge (SoC 30% - SoC 100%). The neural network predicts the values of ohmic resistance and incremental capacity, while the statistical method is used to estimate the parameters of interest. This reduces the complexity of the model and improves its prediction accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated by analyzing its performance in terms of square mean error (RMSE) and percentage error (MAPE) and comparing it with the reference method found in the literature.

Keywords: electric vehicle, Li-Ion battery, BMS, state-of-charge, state-of-health, state-of-power, artificial neural networks

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Authors: Kumari Sweta, Ajanta Goswami, Abhilasha Dixit

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Landslide is a geomorphic process that plays an essential role in the evolution of the hill-slope and long-term landscape evolution. But its abrupt nature and the associated catastrophic forces of the process can have undesirable socio-economic impacts, like substantial economic losses, fatalities, ecosystem, geomorphologic and infrastructure disturbances. The estimated fatality rate is approximately 1person /100 sq. Km and the average economic loss is more than 550 crores/year in the Himalayan belt due to landslides. This study presents a comparative performance of a statistical bivariate method and a machine learning technique for landslide susceptibility mapping in and around Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The final produced landslide susceptibility maps (LSMs) with better accuracy could be used for land-use planning to prevent future losses. Dharamshala, a part of North-western Himalaya, is one of the fastest-growing tourism hubs with a total population of 30,764 according to the 2011 census and is amongst one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM’s Smart Cities Mission. A total of 209 landslide locations were identified in using high-resolution linear imaging self-scanning (LISS IV) data. The thematic maps of parameters influencing landslide occurrence were generated using remote sensing and other ancillary data in the GIS environment. The landslide causative parameters used in the study are slope angle, slope aspect, elevation, curvature, topographic wetness index, relative relief, distance from lineaments, land use land cover, and geology. LSMs were prepared using information value (Info Val), and Fuzzy Expert System (FES) models. Info Val is a statistical bivariate method, in which information values were calculated as the ratio of the landslide pixels per factor class (Si/Ni) to the total landslide pixel per parameter (S/N). Using this information values all parameters were reclassified and then summed in GIS to obtain the landslide susceptibility index (LSI) map. The FES method is a machine learning technique based on ‘mean and neighbour’ strategy for the construction of fuzzifier (input) and defuzzifier (output) membership function (MF) structure, and the FR method is used for formulating if-then rules. Two types of membership structures were utilized for membership function Bell-Gaussian (BG) and Trapezoidal-Triangular (TT). LSI for BG and TT were obtained applying membership function and if-then rules in MATLAB. The final LSMs were spatially and statistically validated. The validation results showed that in terms of accuracy, Info Val (83.4%) is better than BG (83.0%) and TT (82.6%), whereas, in terms of spatial distribution, BG is best. Hence, considering both statistical and spatial accuracy, BG is the most accurate one.

Keywords: bivariate statistical techniques, BG and TT membership structure, fuzzy expert system, information value method, machine learning technique

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