Search results for: polarization Index (PI)

Authors: Diya Sarkar, Prafulla C. Mishra

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In a parliamentary system, party discipline is the impulse; when it falls short, the government usually falls. Conceivably, the platform of Indian politics suffers with innumerous practical disorders. The politics of defection is one such specie entailing gross miscarriage of fair conduct turning politics into a game of thrones (powers). This practice of political nomaditude can trace its seed in the womb of British House of Commons. Therein, if a legislator was found to cross the floor, the party considered him disloyal. In other words, the legislator lost his allegiance to his former party by joining another party. This very phenomenon, in practice has a two way traffic i.e. ruling party to the opposition party or vice versa. The democracies like USA, Australia and Canada were also aware of this fashion of swapping loyalties. There have been several instances of great politicians changing party allegiance, for example Winston Churchill, Ramsay McDonald, William Gladstone etc. Nevertheless, it is interesting to cite that irrespective of such practice of changing party allegiance, none of the democracies in the west ever desired or felt the need to legislatively ban defections. But, exceptionally India can be traced to have passed anti-defection laws. The politics of defection had been a unique popular phenomenon on the floor of Indian Parliamentary system gradually gulping the democratic essence and synchronization of the Federation. This study is both analytical and doctrinal, which tries to examine whether representative democracy has lost its essence due to political nomadism. The present study also analyzes the classical as well as contemporary pulse of floor crossing amidst dynastic politics in a representative democracy. It will briefly discuss the panorama of defections under the Indian federal structure in the light of the anti-defection law and an attempt has been made to add valuable suggestions to streamline remedy for the still prevalent political defections.

Keywords: constitutional law, defection, democracy, polarization, political anti-trust

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Authors: Haroon Khan, Chul Min Kim, Sung Yeol Kim, Sanket Goel, Prabhat K. Dwivedi, Ashutosh Sharma, Gyu Man Kim

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Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) have drawn the attention of researchers due to its demanding application in medical implants. In EBFCs, electricity is produced with the help of redox enzymes. In this study, we report the fabrication of membraneless EBFC with new design of electrodes to overcome microchannel related limitations. The device consists of double layer of electrodes on both sides of Y-shaped microchannel to reduce the effect of oxygen depletion layer and diffusion of fuel and oxidant at the end of microchannel. Moreover, the length of microchannel was reduced by half keeping the same area of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) electrodes. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stencils were used to pattern MWCNT electrodes on etched Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass. PDMS casting was used to fabricate microchannel of the device. Both anode and cathode were modified with glucose oxidase and laccase. Furthermore, these enzymes were covalently bound to carboxyl MWCNTs with the help of EDC/NHS. Glucose used as fuel was oxidized by glucose oxidase at anode while oxygen was reduced to water at the cathode side. The resulted devices were investigated with the help of polarization curves obtained from Chronopotentiometry technique by using potentiostat. From results, we conclude that the performance of double layer EBFC is improved 15 % as compared to single layer EBFC delivering maximum power density of 71.25 µW cm-2 at a cell potential of 0.3 V and current density of 250 µA cm-2 at micro channel height of 450-µm and flow rate of 25 ml hr-1. However, the new device was stable only for three days after which its power output was rapidly dropped by 75 %. This work demonstrates that the power output of membraneless EBFC is improved comparatively, but still efforts will be needed to make the device stable over long period of time.

Keywords: EBFC, glucose, MWCNT, microfluidic

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Authors: Chouahda Salima, Soltani Noureddine

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The present study is a part of biological control against mosquitoes. It aims to assess the impact of two xenobiotics (a selective insect growth regulator: halofenozide and heavy metals: cadmium, more toxic and widespread in the region) in mosquitofish: Gambusia affinis. Several approaches were examined: Acute toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide: The acute toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide was examined in juvenile and adult males and females of G. affinis at different concentrations, cadmium causes mortality of the species studied with a relation dose-response. In laboratory conditions, the impact of cadmium was determined on two biomarkers of environmental stress: glutathione and acetylcholinesterase. The results show that the juvenile followed by adult males are more susceptible than adult females, while the halofenozide does not have any effect on the mortality of juvenile and adult males and females of G.affinis. Chronic toxicity of cadmium and halofenozide: both xenobiotics were added to the water fish raising at different doses tested in juveniles and adults males and females during two months of experience. Growth and metric indices; results show that halofenozide added to the water juveniles of G. affinis has no effect on their growth (length and weight). On the other side, the cadmium at the dose 5 µg/L shows a higher toxicity against juvenile, where he appears to reduce significantly their linear growth and weight. In females, the both xenobiotics have significant effects on metric indices, but these effects are more important on the hepatosomatic index that the gonadosomatic index and the coefficient of condition. Biomarkers; acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH) used in assessing of environmental stress were measured in juveniles and adults males and females. The response of these biomarkers reveals an inhibition of AChE specific activity, an induction of GST activity, and decrease of GSH rates in juveniles in the end of experiment and during chronic treatment adult males and females. The effect of these biomarkers is more pronounced in females compared to males and juveniles. These different biomarkers have a similar profile for the duration of exposure.

Keywords: gambusia affinis, insecticide, heavy metal, morphology, biomarkers, chronic toxicity, acute toxicity, pollution

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Authors: Eric Noe Hernandez Rodriguez, Cristian Esneider Penuela Cruz

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Magnesium is a biocompatible and biodegradable material that has gained increased interest for application in resorbable orthopedic implants. However, to date, much research is being conducted to overcome the main disadvantage: its low corrosion resistance. In this work, we report our findings on the development and application of TiO₂-MgO coatings to improve and modulate the corrosion resistance of magnesium pieces. The plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) technique was employed to obtain the TiO₂-MgO coatings. The effect of the experimental parameters on the modulation of the TiO₂:MgO ratio was investigated. The most critical parameters were the chemical composition of the precursor electrolytic solution and the current density. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, the coatings were porous; however, they become more compact as the current density increases. XRD measurements showed that the coatings are formed by a composite consisting of TiO₂ and MgO oxides, whose ratio can be changed by the experimental conditions. TiO₂ had the anatase crystalline structure, while the MgO had the FCC crystalline structure. The corrosion resistance was evaluated through the corrosion current (Icorr) measured at room temperature by the polarization technique (Tafel). For doing it, Hank's solution was used in order to simulate the body fluids. Also, immersion tests were conducted. Tafel curves showed an improvement of the corrosion resistance at some coated magnesium pieces in contrast to control pieces (uncoated). Corrosion currents were lower, and the corrosion potential changed to positive values. It was observed that the experimental parameters allowed to modulate the protective capacity of the coatings by changing the TiO₂:MgO ratio. Coatings with a higher content of TiO₂ (measured by energy dispersive spectroscopy) showed higher corrosion resistance. Results showed that TiO₂-MgO coatings can be successfully applied to improve the corrosion resistance of Mg pieces in simulated body fluid; even more, the corrosion resistance can be tuned by changing the TiO₂:MgO ratio.

Keywords: biomaterials, PEO, corrosion resistance, magnesium

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Authors: Nezihe Şengün, Ragip Pala

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To prevent overweight and obesity, individuals need to consume food and beverages according to their nutritional needs, engage in regular exercises, and regularly monitor their body weight. This study aimed to examine the effects of exercise, diet, or combined intervention on changes in blood lipid parameters (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides) and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of oxidative stress, in parallel with the increase in body weight due to poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyle conditions. The study included a total of 48 female students aged 18-28 years with a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m². They were divided into four groups: control (C), exercise (Ex), diet (D), and exercise+diet (Ex+D). Those in the exercise groups received aerobic exercises at 60-70% intensity (10 minutes warm-up, 30 minutes running, 10 minutes cool-down), while those in the diet groups were provided with a diet program based on the calculation of energy needs considering basal metabolic rate, physical activity level, age, and BMI. The students’ body weight, body fat mass, Body Mass Index (BMI), and waist-hip ratios were measured at the beginning (day 1) and end (day 60) of the 8-week intervention period. Their total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and MDA levels were evaluated and analyzed, considering a statistical significance level of p<0.05. As a result, female students in the Ex+D group had the largest difference in body weight, body fat mass, BMI, and waist-hip ratios, and this difference was statistically significant. Except for those in the C group, those in the other groups experienced a decrease in their total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels and an increase in their HDL cholesterol levels. The decrease in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels was statistically significant for those in the D group, and the increase in HDL cholesterol level was statistically significant for those in the Ex+D group (p<0.05). A decrease in MDA level was found in all groups except those in the C group, and this decrease was significantly higher in the Ex group. In conclusion, our study revealed that the most effective way to achieve weight loss is through a combination of exercise and diet. The application of Ex+D is considered to balance blood lipid levels and suppress oxidative stress.

Keywords: obesity, exercise, diet, body mass index, blood lipids

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Authors: Hanee Ryu

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The former president Lee Myung-bak's administration of Korea presented “green growth” as a catchphrase from 2008. He declared “low-carbon, green growth” the nation's vision for the next decade according to United Nation Framework on Climate Change. The government designed omnidirectional policy for low-carbon and green growth with concentrating all effort of departments. The structural change was expected because this slogan is the identity of the government, which is strongly driven with the whole department. After his administration ends, the purpose of this paper is to quantify the policy effect and to compare with the value of the other OECD countries. The major target values under direct policy objectives were suggested, but it could not capture the entire landscape on which the policy makes changes. This paper figures out the policy impacts through comparing the value of ex-ante between the one of ex-post. Furthermore, each index level of Korea’s low-carbon and green growth comparing with the value of the other OECD countries. To measure the policy effect, indicators international organizations have developed are considered. Environmental Sustainable Index (ESI) and Environmental Performance Index (EPI) have been developed by Yale University’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and Joint Research Center of European Commission. It has been widely used to assess the level of natural resource endowments, pollution level, environmental management efforts and society’s capacity to improve its environmental performance over time. Recently OCED publish the Green Growth Indicator for monitoring progress towards green growth based on internationally comparable data. They build up the conceptual framework and select indicators according to well specified criteria: economic activities, natural asset base, environmental dimension of quality of life and economic opportunities and policy response. It considers the socio-economic context and reflects the characteristic of growth. Some selected indicators are used for measuring the level of changes the green growth policies have induced in this paper. As results, the CO2 productivity and energy productivity show trends of declination. It means that policy intended industry structure shift for achieving carbon emission target affects weakly in the short-term. Increasing green technologies patents might result from the investment of previous period. The increasing of official development aids which can be immediately embarked by political decision with no time lag present only in 2008-2009. It means international collaboration and investment to developing countries via ODA has not succeeded since the initial stage of his administration. The green growth framework makes the public expect structural change, but it shows sporadic effect. It needs organization to manage it in terms of the long-range perspectives. Energy, climate change and green growth are not the issue to be handled in the one period of the administration. The policy mechanism to transfer cost problem to value creation should be developed consistently.

Keywords: comparing ex-ante between ex-post indicator, green growth indicator, implication for green growth policy, measuring policy effect

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Authors: Rachel Koshy, Nazrila Hairizan Bt. Nasir, Samsiah Bt. Awang, Kamaliah Bt. Mohamad Noh

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Malaysia collaborated as a ‘trailblazer’ country with PHCPI (Primary Health Care Performance Initiative) to populate the Primary Health Care (PHC) Vital Signs Profile (VSP) for the country. The PHC VSP provides an innovative snapshot of the primary health care system's performance. Four domains were assessed: system financing, system capacity, system performance, and system equity, and completed in 2019. There were two phases using a mixed method study design. The first phase involved a quantitative study, utilising existing secondary data from national and international sources. In the case of unavailability of data for any indicators, comparable alternative indicators were used. The second phase was a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach to measure the functional capacity based on governance and leadership, population health needs, inputs, population health management, and facility organisation and management. PHC spending constituted 35% of overall health spending in Malaysia, with a per capita PHC spending of $152. The capacity domain was strong in the three subdomains of governance and leadership, information system, and funds management. The two subdomains of drugs & supplies and facility organisation & management had low scores, but the lowest score was in empanelment of the population under the population health management. The PHC system performed with an access index of 98%, quality index of 84%, and service coverage of 62%. In the equity domain, there was little fluctuation in the coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services by mother’s level of education and under-five child mortality between urban and rural areas. The public sector was stronger in the capacity domain as compared to the private sector. This is due to the different financing, organisational structures, and service delivery mechanism. The VSP has identified areas for improvement in the effort to provide high-quality PHC for the population. The gaps in PHC can be addressed through the system approach and the positioning of public and private primary health care delivery systems.

Keywords: primary health care, health system, system domains, vital signs profile

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Authors: Afifa Aslam, Muhammad Ibrahim, Abid Mahmood, Muhammad Usman Alvi, Fariha Jabeen, Umara Tabassum

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Many factors cause air pollution in Pakistan, which poses a significant threat to human health. Diesel fuel and gasoline motor vehicles, as well as industrial companies, pollute the air in Pakistan's cities. The study's goal is to determine the level of air pollution in a Pakistani industrial city and to establish risk levels for the health of the population. We measured the intensity of air pollution by chemical characterization and examination of air samples collected at stationary remark sites. The PM10 levels observed at all sampling sites, including residential, commercial, high-traffic, and industrial areas were well above the limits imposed by Pakistan EPA, the United States EPA, and WHO. We assessed the health risk via chemical factors using a methodology approved for risk assessment. All Igeo index values greater than one were considered moderately contaminated or moderately to severely contaminated. Heavy metals have a substantial risk of acute adverse effects. In Faisalabad, Pakistan, there was an enormously high risk of chronic effects produced by a heavy metal acquaintance. Concerning specified toxic metals, intolerable levels of carcinogenic risks have been determined for the entire population. As a result, in most of the investigated areas of Faisalabad, the indices and hazard quotients for chronic and acute exposure exceeded the permissible level of 1.0. In the current study, re-suspended roadside mineral dust, anthropogenic exhaust emissions from traffic and industry, and industrial dust were identified as major emission sources of elemental particulate contents. Because of the unacceptable levels of risk in the research area, it is strongly suggested that a comprehensive study of the population's health status as a result of air pollution should be conducted for policies to be developed against these risks.

Keywords: elemental composition, particulate pollution, Igeo index, health risk assessment, hazard quotient

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Authors: Regina Tedjasulaksana, Maria Martina Nahak, A. A. Gede Agung, Ni Made Widhiasti

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Strategic effort to realize the empowerment of community in school is through the peer group approach so that it needs to choose the students who are trained as the’ little dentist’ in order to have the cognitive and skills to participate in the school dental health effort (UKGS) program, such as providing oral health education to the other students. Aim: To assessed the effectiveness of peer group approach to enhance the oral health knowledge level of schoolchildren at primary school in Klungkung, Bali. Methods: Experimental study using the pre-post test without control group design. The differences of knowledge levels, tooth brushing behavior and oral hygiene status (using PHP-M index) of 10 students before and after trained as the little dentists were analyzed using paired t-test. The correlations between knowledge level and tooth brushing behavior and correlations between tooth brushing behavior and oral hygiene before and after trained as the little dentists were analyzed using Spearman. Furthermore, the trained little dentists provide oral health education to 102 students of grade 1 to 5 at their school once a week for 3 months. The students’ knowledge level scores of each grade were taken every 21 days as many as three times The difference of it was analyzed using Repeated Measured. Result: The mean scores among all little dentists before and after training for each of knowledge level were each 63.05 + 5.62 and 85.00 + 7.81, tooth brushing behavior were each 31.00 + 14.49 and 100.00 + 0.00 and oral hygiene status using PHP-M index were each 32.80 + 10.17 and 11.40 + 8.01. The knowledge level, tooth brushing behavior and oral hygiene status of 10 students before and after trained as the little dentists were different significantly (p<0.05). Before and after trained as the little dentists it showed that significant correlations between knowledge level with tooth brushing behavior (p<0.05) and significant correlations between tooth brushing behavior and oral hygiene (p<0.05). The mean scores of knowledge level among all students before (pre-test) and after (post-test (1),(2),(3)) getting oral health education from little dentists for each, of grade 1 were 40.00 + 17.97; 67.85 + 18.88; 81.72 +26.48 and 70.00 + 22.87, grade 2 were 40.00 + 17.97; 67.85 + 18.88; 81.72 + 26.48 and 70.00 + 22.87, grade 3 were 65.83 + 23.94; 72.50 + 26.08; 80.41 + 24.93 and 83.75 + 19.74, grade 4 were 88.57 + 12.92; 90.71 + 9.97; 92.85 + 10.69 and 93.57 + 6.33 and grade 5 were 86.66 + 13.40; 93.33 + 9.16; 94.16 + 10.17 and 98.33 + 4.81. The students’ knowledge level of grade 1,2 and 3 before and after getting oral health education from little dentists showed significant different (p<0.05), meanwhile there was no significant different on grade 4 and 5 (p<0.05) although mean scores showed an increase. Conclusion: Peer group approach can be used to enhance the oral health knowledge level of schoolchildren at primary school in Klungkung, Bali.

Keywords: small dentists, oral health, peer group approach, school children

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Authors: Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Tomas Venckunas

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Background statement: Level of aerobic capacity in school age children provides important information about the current and future cardiovascular, skeletal and mental health. It is widely recognised that risk factors for modern chronic diseases of the adults have their origins in childhood and adolescence. The aim of the study was to analyse the trends of aerobic capacity across decades within groups of gender and age. Methods. The research included data of participants from the three nationally representative cohort studies performed in Lithuania in the years 1992, 2002 and 2012 among 11 to 18-years-old school children. Total of 18,294 school children were recruited for testing. Only those who had their body weight and height measured and completed 20 m shuttle endurance test were included in the analysis. The total number of students included in the analyses was 15,213 (7608 boys and 7605 girls). The permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Lithuanian Bioethics Committee (permission number BE-2-45). Major findings: Results are performed across gender and age groups. The comparison of shuttle endurance test, controlling for body mass index, indicated that in general there is a constant decrease of aerobic capacity across decades in both genders and age groups. The deterioration in aerobic capacity in boys accounted for 17 to 43 percent across age groups within decades. The biggest decrease was in 14 years-old boys. The deterioration in girls accounted for 19 to 37 percent across age groups with the highest decrease in 11 years-old girls. Though, girls had lower levels of aerobic capacity through all age groups and across three decades. Body mass index, as a covariate, accounted for up to six percent in deterioration of aerobic capacity. Final statement: The detected relationships may reflect the level and pattern of engagement in physical activity and sports where increased activity associates with superior performance in the tests because of the upregulated physiological function and instigated competitive/motivational level. The significance of the decade indirectly supports the importance of the recently changed activity among schoolchildren for this relationship.

Keywords: aerobic capacity, cardiovascular health, endurance, school age children

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Authors: Dipanshu Sur, Ratnabali Chakravorty, Rimi Pal, Siddhartha Chatterjee, Joyshree Chaterjee, Amal Mallik

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Background: Women with polycystic ovary disease (PCOD) frequently suffer from metabolic disturbances. PCOD is a common ovulatory disorder in young women, which affects 5-10% of the population and results in infertility due to anovulation. Importantly, aromatase in ovarian granulosa and luteinized granulosa cells plays an important role for women of reproductive age. Generation and metabolism of androgen is directly related to aromatase activity. The E2/T ratio provides important information about aromatase activity because conversion of androgens to estrogens is mediated by CYP19, suggesting that the E2/T ratio may be a direct marker of aromatase activity. The nature of the interaction between ovarian aromatase activity and PCOD in women has been controversial, and the impact of weight gain on aromatase activity as well as E2 levels is unknown. Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate the association and relation between aromatase activity and levels of body mass index (BMI) from a reproductive hormone perspective in a group of women with or without PCOD. Methods: We designed a cohort study which included 200 individuals. It enrolled 100 cases of PCOD based on 2006 Rotterdam criteria and 100 ovulatory normal- non PCOD, healthy, age-matched controls. Plasma sex hormones viz. estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by ELISA on the second day of the menstrual cycle, together with BMI and E2/T were calculated. Aromatase activity in PCOD patients with different BMI, T and E2 levels were compared. Results: PCOD patients showed significantly increased levels of BMI, E2 (P=0.004), T and LH, while their E2/T (P= <0.001), FSH and FSH/LH values were decreased compared with the control group. Higher E2 levels correlated with a relatively enhanced E2/T as well as T and LH levels but reduced BMI, FSH and FSH/LH levels in women with PCOD. Hyperandrogenic PCOD patients had increased E2 levels but their aromatase activity was markedly inhibited independent of their BMI values. Conclusions: We found a significant decrease of ovarian aromatase activity in women with PCOD as compared to controls. Our study showed that ovarian aromatase activity in PCOD was decreased which was independent of BMI. Enhancing aromatase activity may become an optimized strategy for developing therapies for PCOD women, especially those with obesity.

Keywords: aromatase activity, polycystic ovary disease, obesity, body mass index

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Authors: Temenuzhka Spasova, Nadya Yanakieva

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Snow modulates the hydrological cycle and influences the functioning of ecosystems and is a significant resource for many populations whose water is harvested from cold regions. Snow observations are important for validating climate models. The accumulation and rapid melt of snow are two of the most dynamical seasonal environmental changes on the Earth’s surface. The actuality of this research is related to the modern tendencies of the remote sensing application in the solution of problems of different nature in the ecological monitoring of the environment. The subject of the study is the dynamic during the different seasons on Livingstone Island, South Shetland Islands in Antarctica and on Svalbard in Arctic. The objects were analyzed and mapped according to the Еuropean Space Agency data (ESA), acquired by sensors Sentinel-1 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), Sentinel 2 MSI and GIS. Results have been obtained for changes in snow coverage during the summer-winter transition and its dynamics in the two hemispheres. The data used is of high time-spatial resolution, which is an advantage when looking at the snow cover. The MSI images are with different spatial resolution at the Earth surface range. The changes of the environmental objects are shown with the SAR images and different processing approaches. The results clearly show that snow and snow melting can be best registered by using SAR data via hh- horizontal polarization. The effect of the researcher on aerospace data and technology enables us to obtain different digital models, structuring and analyzing results excluding the subjective factor. Because of the large extent of terrestrial snow coverage and the difficulties in obtaining ground measurements over cold regions, remote sensing and GIS represent an important tool for studying snow areas and properties from regional to global scales.

Keywords: climate changes, GIS, remote sensing, SAR images, snow coverage

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Authors: Balthazar Temu, Zhao Yan, Bogdan-Petrin Ratiu, Sang Soon Oh, Qiang Li

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Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers (PCSELs) are structures which are made up of a periodically repeating patterns with a unit cell consisting of changes in refractive index. The variation in refractive index can be achieved by etching air holes in a semiconductor material to get hole based PCSELs or by growing nanowires to get nanowire based PCSELs. As opposed to hole based PCSELs, nanowire based PCSELs can be integrated on silicon platform without threading dislocations, thanks to the small area of the nanowire that is in contact with silicon substrate that relaxes the strain. Nanowire based PCSELs reported in the literature have been designed using a triangular, square or honeycomb patterns. The triangular and square pattern PCSELs have limited degrees of freedom in tuning the design parameters which hinders the ability to design high quality factor (Q-factor) and/or variable wavelength devices. Nanowire based PCSELs designed using triangular and square patterns have been reported with the lasing thresholds of 130 kW/〖cm〗^2 and 7 kW/〖cm〗^2 respectively. On the other hand the honeycomb pattern gives more degrees of freedom in tuning the design parameters, which can allow one to design high Q-factor devices. A deformed honeycomb pattern device was reported with lasing threshold of 6.25 W/〖cm〗^2 corresponding to a simulated Q-factor of 5.84X〖10〗^5.Despite this achievement, the design principles which can lead to realization of even higher Q-factor honeycomb pattern PCSELs have not yet been investigated. In this work we study how the resonance wavelength and the Q-factor of three different resonance modes of the device vary when their design parameters are tuned. Through this study we establish the design and simulation of devices operating in 970nm wavelength band, O band and in the C band with quality factors up to 7X〖10〗^7 . We also investigate the quality factors of undeformed device and establish that the band edge close to 970nm can attain high quality factor when the device is undeformed and the quality factor degrades as the device is deformed.

Keywords: honeycomb PCSEL, nanowire laser, photonic crystal laser, simulation of photonic crystal surface emitting laser

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Authors: Ahmed Elwaleed, Huiho Jeong, Ali H. Abdelbagi, Nguyen Thi Quynh, Koji Arizono, Yasuhiro Ishibashi

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Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) poses substantial risks to both human health and the environment, particularly through contamination of soil, water, and air. Prolonged exposure to ASGM-contaminated soils can lead to acute or chronic mercury toxicity. This study assesses the human health risks associated with mercury-contaminated soils and tailings in the Alebediah mining community in Sudan. Soil samples were collected from various locations within Alebediah, including ASGM areas, farmlands, and residential areas, along with tailings samples commonly found within ASGM sites. The evaluation of potential health risks to humans included the computation of the estimated daily intake (AvDI), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the hazard index (HI) for both adults and children. The primary exposure route identified as potentially posing a significant health risk was the volatilization of mercury from tailings samples, where mercury concentrations reached up to 25.5 mg/kg. In contrast, other samples within the ASGM area showed elevated mercury levels but did not present significant health risks, with HI values below 1. However, all areas indicated HI values above 1 for the remaining exposure routes. The study observed a decrease in mercury concentration with increasing distance from the ASGM community. Additionally, soil samples revealed elevated mercury levels exceeding background values, prompting an assessment of contamination levels using the enrichment factor (EF). The findings indicated that farmlands and residential areas exhibited depleted EF, while areas surrounding the ASGM community showed none to moderate pollution. In contrast, ASGM areas exhibited significant to extreme pollution. A GIS map was generated to visually depict the extent of mercury pollution, facilitating communication with stakeholders and decision-makers.

Keywords: mercury pollution, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, health risk assessment, hazard index, soil and tailings, enrichment factor

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Authors: Pouneh Soleimaninejadian, Chengyu Yang

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In this paper, we use data on Household Income and Expenditure survey of Statistics Centre of Iran, conducted from 2005-2014, to calculate several inequality measures and to estimate the effects of Iran’s targeted subsidy reform act on consumption and income inequality. We first calculate Gini coefficients for income and consumption in order to study the relation between the two and also the effects of subsidy reform. Results show that consumption inequality has not been always mirroring changes in income inequality. However, both Gini coefficients indicate that subsidy reform caused improvement in inequality. Then we calculate Generalized Entropy Index based on consumption and income for years before and after the Subsidy Reform Act of 2010 in order to have a closer look into the changes in internal structure of inequality after subsidy reforms. We find that the improvement in income inequality is mostly caused by the decrease in inequality of lower income individuals. At the same time consumption inequality has been decreased as a result of more equal consumption in both lower and higher income groups. Moreover, the increase in Engle coefficient after the subsidy reform shows that a bigger portion of income is allocated to consumption on food which is a sign of lower living standard in general. This increase in Engle coefficient is due to rise in inflation rate and relative increase in price of food which partially is another consequence of subsidy reform. We have conducted some experiments on effect of subsidy payments and possible effects of change on distribution pattern and amount of cash subsidy payments on income inequality. Result of the effect of cash payments on income inequality shows that it leads to a definite decrease in income inequality and had a bigger share in improvement of rural areas compared to those of urban households. We also examine the possible effect of constant payments on the increasing income inequality for years after 2011. We conclude that reduction in value of payments as a result of inflation plays an important role regardless of the fact that there may be other reasons. We finally experiment with alternative allocations of transfers while keeping the total amount of cash transfers constant or make it smaller through eliminating three higher deciles from the cash payment program, the result shows that income equality would be improved significantly.

Keywords: consumption inequality, generalized entropy index, income inequality, Irans subsidy reform

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Authors: C. M. Kalleshwaraswamy, G. S. Sathisha, A. S. Vidyashree, H. B. Pavithra

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Isoptera are an interesting group of social insects with different castes and division of labour. They are primarily wood-feeders, but also feed on a variety of other organic substrates, such as living trees, leaf litter, soil, lichens and animal faeces. The number of species and their biomass are especially large in tropics. In natural ecosystems, they perform a beneficial role in nutrient cycles by accelerating decomposition. The magnitude and dimension of ecological role played by termites is a function of their diversity, population density, and biomass. Termite assemblage composition has a strong response to habitat disturbance and may be indicative of quantitative changes in the decomposition process. Many previous studies in Western Ghat region of India suggest increased anthropogenic activities that adversely affect the soil macrofauna and diversity. Shivamogga district provides a good opportunity to study the effect of topography, cropping pattern, human disturbance on the termite fauna, thereby acquiring accurate baseline information for conservation decision making. The district has 3 distinct agro-ecological areas such as maidan area, semi-malnad and Western Ghat region. Thus, the district provides a unique opportunity to study the effect of varied climate and anthropogenic disturbance on the termite diversity. The standard protocol of belt transects method developed by Eggleton et al. (1997) was used for sampling termites. Sampling was done at monthly interval from September-2014 to August-2015 in Western Ghats, semi-malnad and maidan habitats. The transect was 100m long and 2m wide and divided into 20 contiguous sections, each 5 x 2m in each habitat. Within each section, all the probable microhabitats of termites were searched, which include dead logs, fallen tree, branch, sticks, leaf litter, vegetation etc.,. All the castes collected were labelled, preserved in 80% alcohol, counted and identified to species level. The number of encounters of a species in the transect was used as an indicator of relative abundance of species. The species diversity, species richness, density were compared in three different habitats such as Western Ghats, semi-malnad and maidan region. The study indicated differences in the species composition in the three different habitats. A total of 15 species were recorded which belonging to four sub family and five genera in three habitats. Eleven species viz., Odontotermes obesus, O. feae, O. anamallensis, O. bellahunisensis, O. adampurensis, O. boveni, Microcerotermes fletcheri, M. pakistanicus, Nasutitermes anamalaiensis, N. indicola, N. krishna were recorded in Western Ghat region. Similarly, 11 species viz., Odontotermes obesus, O. feae, O. anamallensis, O. bellahunisensis, O. hornii, O. bhagwathi, Microtermes obesi, Microcerotermes fletcheri, M. pakistanicus, Nasutitermes indicola and Pericapritermes sp. were recorded in semi-malnad habitat. However, only four species viz., O. obesus, O. feae, Microtemes obesi and Pericapritermes sp. species were recorded in maidan area. Shannon’s wiener diversity index (H) showed that Western Ghats had more species dominance (1.56) followed by semi- malnad (1.36) and lowest in maidan (0.89) habitats. Highest value of simpson’s index (D) was observed in Western Ghats habitat (0.70) with more diverse species followed by semi-malnad (0.58) and lowest in maidan (0.53). Similarly, evenness was highest (0.65) in Western Ghats followed by maidan (0.64) and least in semi-malnad habitat (0.54). Menhinick’s index (Dmn) value was ranging from 0.03 to 0.06 in different habitats in the study area. Highest index was observed in Western Ghats (0.06) followed by semi-malnad (0.05) and lowest in maidan (0.03). The study conclusively demonstrated that Western Ghat had highest species diversity compared to semi-malnad and maidan habitat indicating these two habitats are continuously subjected to anthropogenic disturbances. Efforts are needed to conserve the uncommon species which otherwise may become extinct due to human activities.

Keywords: anthropogenic disturbance, isoptera, termite species diversity, Western ghats

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Authors: Chandrasekaran, Ravisankar N. Harikrishnan, Rajalakshmi, K. K. Satapathy M. V. R. Prasad, K. V. Kanagasabapathy

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Heavy metals were considered as highly toxic environmental pollutants to soil ecosystem and human health. In present study the 12 heavy metals (Mg, Al, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, V, Cr, Mn, Co,Ni and Zn.) are determined in soils of Yelagiri hills, Tamilnadu by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique. Metal concentrations were used to quantify pollution contamination factors such as enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and contamination factor (CF) are calculated and reported.

Keywords: soil, heavy metals, EDXRF, pollution contamination factors

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Authors: Radyah Ivan, Khanferyan Roman

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Milk and dairy products are an important component of a balanced diet. Dairy products represent a heterogeneous food group of solid, semi-solid and liquid, fermented or non-fermented foods, each differing in nutrients such as fat and micronutrient content. Deficiency of milk and dairy products contributes a impact on the main health parameters of the various age groups of the population. The goal of this study was to analyze of the frequency of the consumption of milk and various groups of dairy products by students and its association with their body mass index (BMI), body composition and other physiological parameters. 388 full-time students of the Medical Institute of RUDN University (185 male and 203 female, average age was 20.4+2.2 and 21.9+1.7 y.o., respectively) took part in the cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements, estimation of BMI and body composition were analyzed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The frequency of consumption of the milk and various groups of dairy products was studied using a modified questionnaire on the frequency of consumption of products. Due to the questionnaire data on the frequency of consumption of the diary products, it have been demonstrated that only 11% of respondents consume milk daily, 5% - cottage cheese, 4% and 1% - fermented natural and with fillers milk products, respectively, hard cheese -4%. The study demonstrated that about 16% of the respondents did not consume milk at all over the past month, about one third - cottage cheese, 22% - natural sour-milk products and 18% - sour-milk products with various fillers. hard cheeses and pickled cheeses didn’t consume 9% and 26% of respondents, respectively. We demonstrated the gender differences in the characteristics of consumer preferences were revealed. Thus female students are less likely to use cream, sour cream, soft cheese, milk comparing to male students. Among female students the prevalence of persons with overweight was higher (25%) than among male students (19%). A modest inverse relationship was demonstrated between daily milk intake, BMI, body composition parameters and diary products consumption (r=-0.61 and r=-0.65). The study showed daily insufficient milk and dairy products consumption by students and due to this it have been demonstrated the relationship between the low and rare consumption of diary products and main parameters of indicators of physical activity and health indicators.

Keywords: frequency of consumption, milk, dairy products, physical development, nutrition, body mass index.

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Authors: Chhaya Sharma, Dushyant Kumar

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The present work deals with the treatment of wastewater generated by paper industry by using aluminium as anode material. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of chloropenolics have been carried out by using primary clarifier effluent with the help of gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Sixteen chlorophenolics compounds have been identified and estimated. Results indicated that among 16 identified compounds, 7 are 100% removed and overall 66% reduction in chorophenolics compounds have been detected. Moreover, during the treatment, the biodegradability index of wastewater significantly increases, along with 70 % reduction in chemical oxygen demand and 99 % in color.

Keywords: aluminium anode, chlorophenolics, electrocoagulation, pollution load, wastewater

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Authors: Narimen Rdhaounia Mohamed Kouni

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Our aim in this paper is to identify the origins of inflation in Tunisia on the period from 1988 to 2018. In order to estimate the model, an ARDL methodology is used. We studied also the effect of informal economy on inflation. Indeed, we estimated the size of the informal economy in Tunisia based on Gutmann method. The results showed that there are three main origins of inflation. In fact, the first origin is the fiscal policy adopted by Tunisia, particularly after revolution. The second origin is the increase of monetary variables. Finally, informal economy played an important role in inflation.

Keywords: inflation, consumer price index, informal, gutmann method, ARDL model

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Authors: Ibtihal D. Mustafa, Mawia A. Hassan

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Tumor segmentation from MRI image is important part of medical images experts. This is particularly a challenging task because of the high assorting appearance of tumor tissue among different patients. MRI images are advance of medical imaging because it is give richer information about human soft tissue. There are different segmentation techniques to detect MRI brain tumor. In this paper, different procedure segmentation methods are used to segment brain tumors and compare the result of segmentations by using correlation and structural similarity index (SSIM) to analysis and see the best technique that could be applied to MRI image.

Keywords: MRI, segmentation, correlation, structural similarity

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Authors: Remy Kulagowski, Tobias Sturm, Audrey Leopold, Aurelie Metay, Josephine Peigne, Alexis Thoumazeau, Alain Brauman, Bruno Fogliani, Florent Tivet

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A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity while limiting the impact on the environment. Conservation agriculture (CA) is one strategy whereby both sustainability and productivity can be achieved by preserving and improving the soil quality. Soils provide and regulate a large number of ecosystem services (ES) such as agricultural productivity and climate change adaptation and mitigation. The aim of this study is to assess the impacts of contrasted CA crop management on soil functions for maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation in an eight years field experiment (2010-2018). The study included two CA practices: direct seeding in dead mulch (DM) and living mulch (LM), and conventional plough-based tillage (CT) practices on a fluvisol in New Caledonia (French Archipelago in the South Pacific). In 2018, soil quality of the cropping systems were evaluated with the Biofunctool® set of indicators, that consists in twelve integrative, in-field, and low-tech indicators assessing the biological, physical and chemical properties of soils. Main soil functions were evaluated including (i) carbon transformation, (ii) structure maintenance, and (iii) nutrient cycling in the ten first soil centimeters. The results showed significant higher score for soil structure maintenance (e.g., aggregate stability, water infiltration) and carbon transformation function (e.g., soil respiration, labile carbon) under CA in DM and LM when compared with CT. Score of carbon transformation index was higher in DM compared with LM. However, no significant effect of cropping systems was observed on nutrient cycling (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus). In conclusion, the aggregated synthetic scores of soil multi-functions evaluated with Biofunctool® demonstrate that CA cropping systems lead to a better soil functioning. Further analysis of the results with agronomic performance of the soil-crop systems would allow to better understand the links between soil functioning and production ES of CA.

Keywords: conservation agriculture, cropping systems, ecosystem services, soil functions

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Authors: M. A. Hernández-Ceballos, M. Marín-Ferrer, G. Cinelli, L. De Felice, T. Tollefsen, E. Nweke, P. V. Tognoli, S. Vanzo, M. De Cort

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This study analyses the latitudinal impact of the spatial and temporal distribution on the cosmogenic isotope 7Be in surface air along Europe. The long-term database of the 6 sampling sites (Ivalo, Helsinki, Berlin, Freiburg, Sevilla and La Laguna), that regularly provide data to the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring (REM) network managed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, were used. The selection of the stations was performed attending to different factors, such as 1) heterogeneity in terms of latitude and altitude, and 2) long database coverage. The combination of these two parameters ensures a high degree of representativeness of the results. In the later, the temporal coverage varies between stations, being used in the present study sampling stations with a database more or less continuously from 1984 to 2011. The mean values of 7Be activity concentration presented a spatial distribution value ranging from 2.0 ± 0.9 mBq/m3 (Ivalo, north) to 4.8 ± 1.5 mBq/m3 (La Laguna, south). An increasing gradient with latitude was observed from the north to the south, 0.06 mBq/m3. However, there was no correlation with altitude, since all stations are sited within the atmospheric boundary layer. The analyses of the data indicated a dynamic range of 7Be activity for solar cycle and phase (maximum or minimum), having been observed different impact on stations according to their location. The results indicated a significant seasonal behavior, with the maximum concentrations occurring in the summer and minimum in the winter, although with differences in the values reached and in the month registered. Due to the large heterogeneity in the temporal pattern with which the individual radionuclide analyses were performed in each station, the 7Be monthly index was calculated to normalize the measurements and perform the direct comparison of monthly evolution among stations. Different intensity and evolution of the mean monthly index were observed. The knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of this natural radionuclide in the atmosphere is a key parameter for modeling studies of atmospheric processes, which are important phenomena to be taken into account in the case of a nuclear accident.

Keywords: Berilium-7, latitudinal impact in Europe, seasonal and monthly variability, solar cycle

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Authors: Kathryn Nderitu, Atunga Nyachieo, Ezekiel Mecha

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Introduction: Solanum nigrum , also known as black nightshade, biosynthesizes various phytochemical compounds with various pharmacological activities, including treating cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, among others. Materials and Methods: To assess the anti-obesity effects of Solanum nigrum using high-fat-fed diet rats, Sprague Dawley male rats (n = 35) of weights 160–180 g were assigned randomly into seven groups comprising n = 5 rats each. Each group was fed for 11 weeks as follows: normal group (normal chow rat feed); high-fat diet control (HFD); HFD and standard drug (Orlistat 30 mg/kg bw); HFD and methanolic extract 150 mg/kgbw; HFD and methanolic extract 300 mg/kgbw; HFD and dichloromethane extract 150 mg/kgbw; HFD and dichloromethane extract 300 mg/kgbw. Body mass index and food intake were monitored per week, and an oral glucose tolerance test was measured in weeks 5 and 10. Lipid profiles, liver function tests, adipose tissue, liver weights, and phytochemical analysis of Solanum nigrum were later carried out. Results: High-fat diet control group rats exhibited a significant increase in body mass index (BMI), while rats administered with leaf extracts of Solanum nigrum showed a reduction in BMI. Both low doses of dichloromethane (150 mg/kgbw) and high doses of methanol extracts (300 mg/kgbw) showed a better reduction in BMI than the other treatment groups. A significant decrease (p <0.05) in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, and cholesterol was observed among the rats administered with Solanum nigrum extracts compared to those of HFD control. Moreover, the HFD control group significantly increased liver and adipose tissue weights compared to other treatment groups (p<0.05). Solanum nigrum also decreased glycemic levels and normalized the hepatic enzymes of HFD control. However, food intake among the groups showed no significant difference (p>0.05). Qualitative analysis of Solanum nigrum leaf extracts indicated the presence of various bioactive compounds associated with anti-obesity. Conclusion: These results validate the use of Solanum nigrum in controlling obesity.

Keywords: solanum nigrum, High fat diet, phytocompounds, obesity

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Authors: Svetlana Guryeva, Inna Kornienko, Andrey Usanov, Dmitry Usanov, Elena Petersen

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Every day cells in our organism are exposed to various factors: chemical agents, reactive oxygen species, ionizing radiation, and others. These factors can cause damage to DNA, cellular membrane, intracellular compartments, and proteins. The fate of cells depends on the exposure intensity and duration. The prolonged and intense exposure causes the irreversible damage accumulation, which triggers the permanent cell cycle arrest (cellular senescence) or cell death programs. In the case of low dose of impacts, it can lead to cell renovation and to cell functional state improvement. Therefore, it is a pivotal question to investigate the factors and doses that result in described positive effects. In order to estimate the influence of different agents, the proliferation index and levels of cell death markers (annexin V/propidium iodide), senescence-associated β-galactosidase, and lipofuscin were measured. The experiments were conducted on primary human fibroblasts of the 8th passage. According to the levels of mentioned markers, these cells were defined as senescent cells. The effect of low-frequency magnetic field was investigated. Different modes of magnetic field exposure were tested. The physical agents were compared with chemical agents: metformin (10 mM) and taurine (0.8 mM and 1.6 mM). Cells were incubating with chemicals for 5 days. The highest decrease in the level of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (21%) and lipofuscin (17%) was observed in the primary senescent fibroblasts after 5 days after double treatments with 48 h intervals with low-frequency magnetic field. There were no significant changes in the proliferation index after magnetic field application. The cytotoxic effect of magnetic field was not observed. The chemical agent taurine (1.6 mM) decreased the level of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (23%) and lipofuscin (22%). Metformin improved the activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase on 15% and the level of lipofuscin on 19% in this experiment. According to these results, the effect of double treatment with 48 h interval with low-frequency magnetic field and the effect of taurine (1.6 mM) were comparable to the effect of metformin, for which anti-aging properties are proved. In conclusion, this study can become the first step towards creation of the standardized system for the investigation of different effects on senescent cells.

Keywords: biomarkers, magnetic field, metformin, primary fibroblasts, senescence, taurine

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Authors: Betül Ersoy, Deniz Özalp Kizilay, Gül Gümüşer, Fatma Taneli

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Introduction: Peak bone mass is reached in late adolescence in females. Age at menarche influences estrogen exposure, which plays a vital role in bone metabolism. The relationship between age at menarche and bone mineral density (BMD) is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the relationship between age at menarche, BMD, socioeconomic status (SES) and body composition in female university student. Participant and methods: A total of 138 healthy girls at late adolescence period (mean age 20.13±0.93 years, range 18-22) were included in this university school-based cross-sectional study in the urban area western region of Turkey. Participants have been randomly selected to reflect the university students studying in all faculties. We asked relevant questions about socioeconomic status and age at menarche to female university students. Students were grouped into three SES as lower, middle and higher according to the educational and occupational levels of their parents using Hollingshead index. Height and weight were measured. Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m2 ) was calculated. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed using the Lunar DPX series, and BMD and body composition were evaluated. Results: The mean age of menarche of female university student included in the study was 13.09.±1.3 years. There was no significant difference between the three socioeconomic groups in terms of height, body weight, age at menarche, BMD [BMD (gr/cm2 ) (L2-L4) and BMD (gr/cm2 ) (total body)], and body composition (lean tissue, fat tissue, total fat, and body fat) (p>0.05). While no correlation was found between the age at menarche and any parameter (p>0.05), a positive significant correlation was found between lean tissue and BMD L2-L4 (r=0.286, p=0.01). When the relationships were evaluated separately according to socioeconomic status, there was a significant correlation between BMDL2-L4 (r: 0.431, p=0.005) and lean tissue in females with low SES, while this relationship disappeared in females with middle and high SES. Conclusion: Age at menarche did not change according to socioeconomic status, nor did BMD and body composition in female at late adolescents. No relationship was found between age at menarche and BMD and body composition determined by DEXA in female university student who were close to reaching peak bone mass. The results suggested that especially BMDL2-L4 might increase as lean tissue increases.

Keywords: bone, osteoposis, menarche, dexa

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Authors: N. Gopal, K. Jaasminerjiit, L. Z. Xiang

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Quinazoline-4(3H)-one ring system has been consistently regarded as promising privileged structural icon owing to its pharmacodynamic versatility in many of its synthetic derivatives as well as in several naturally occurring alkaloids. The literature reveals that 2nd & 3rd positions of the quinazolin-4(3H)-one pharmacophore are the target for substitution with other moieties. On the other hand, sulphanilamide derivatives and isatin moiety also displayed valuable biological activities. Hence, it was thought worthwhile to study the effects of three pharmacophoric moieties like quinazolinone, sulphanilamide and isatin in a single molecule for the better analgesic activity with lower toxicity. Series of novel 2,3-disubstituted quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives have been synthesised from the intermediate Schiff base of 2-(4’-substitutedphenyl)-3-[(N-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-4”-sulphonamidophenyl]-quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives, which was prepared from reacting 2-(substituted phenyl)-4H-benzo[d][1,3]-oxazin-4-one with sulphanilamide. The required benzoxazinone derivatives were prepared by reacting anthranilic acid with benzoyl chloride. All the compounds structure was characterised by using H1 NMR, IR and Mass spectroscopy. The intermediate Schiff base and final Mannich base compounds were evaluated for their analgesic activity by acetic acid-induced writhing method at the dose of 25mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg (bw) and Diclofenac (25mg/kg of body weight) will be used as the reference drugs. From the results of the study, it has been observed that final Mannich base showed a better analgesic activity when compared to the parent Schiff bases, it was found that compound substituted with N-methyl piperazine at 1st position of the indole nucleus of the final quinazolinone derivatives (GA4B1) i.e. 2-(4’-methoxy phenyl)-3-[4-(N-(1-N-methyl piperazine amine) methyl-2-oxo indoilin-3-ylidene] benzenesulfonyl quinazolin-4(3H)-one increases the analgesic activity and among the synthesised compounds, GA4B1 exhibited quite superior analgesic activity. The remaining Schiff bases and Mannich base derivatives exhibited moderate analgesic activity. All the compounds showed a dose dependent activity. None of the synthesised compound showed ulcer index whereas the standard drug, diclofenac [25 mg/kg (bw)] showed significantly higher gross ulcer index values.

Keywords: analgesic activity, isatin, mannich base, quinazolin-4(3H)-one

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Authors: Wei-Kuang Liu, Ya-Hsu Chiang

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In the coming of an aging society, the issues of living quality, health care, and social security for the elderly have been gradually taken seriously. In order to maintain favorable living condition, urban societies are also facing the challenge of disasters caused by extreme climate change. However, in the practice of disaster prevention, elderly people are always weak due to their physiological conditions. That is to say, in the planning of resilient urbanism, the aging society is relatively in need of more care. Thus, this research aims to map areas where have high-density elderly population and fragile environmental condition in Taiwan, and to understand the actual situation of disaster prevention management in these areas, so as to provide suggestions for the development of intellectual resilient urban management. The research takes the cities of Taoyuan and Taichung as examples for explorations. According to GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential, the communities of Sihai and Fuyuan in Taoyuan and the communities of Taichang and Nanshih in Taichung are highlighted. In these communities, it can be found that there are more elderly population and less labor population with high-density living condition. In addition, they are located in the areas where they have experienced severe flooding in the recent past. Based on a series of interviews with community organizations, there is only one community out of the four using flood information mobile app and Line messages for the management of disaster prevention, and the others still rely on the traditional approaches that manage the works of disaster prevention by their community security patrol teams and community volunteers. The interview outcome shows that most elderly people are not interested in learning the use of intellectual devices. Therefore, this research suggests to keep doing the GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential for grasping the high-risk communities and to help develop smart monitor and forecast systems for disaster prevention practice in these areas. Based on case-study explorations, the research also advises that it is important to develop easy-to-use bottom-up and two-way immediate communication mechanism for the management of aging society’s disaster prevention.

Keywords: aging society, disaster prevention, GIS, resilient, Taiwan

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Authors: Naomi Grigoryan, Alexandros Loutsioli Daskalakis, Anna Elisse Uy, Yihe Huang, Aude Laurent (Webanck)

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In response to the building and construction sectors accounting for a third of all energy demand and emissions, the European Union has placed new laws and regulations in the construction sector that emphasize material circularity, energy efficiency, biodiversity, and social impact. Existing design tools assess sustainability in early-stage design for products or buildings; however, there is no standardized methodology for measuring the circularity performance of building components. Existing assessment methods for building components focus primarily on carbon footprint but lack the comprehensive analysis required to design for circularity. The research conducted in this paper covers the parameters needed to assess sustainability in the design process of architectural products such as doors, windows, and facades. It maps a framework for a tool that assists designers with real-time sustainability metrics. Considering the life cycle of building components such as façades, windows, and doors involves the life cycle stages applied to product design and many of the methods used in the life cycle analysis of buildings. The current industry standards of sustainability assessment for metal building components follow cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA), track Global Warming Potential (GWP), and document the parameters used for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Developed by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) is a methodology utilizing the data from LCA and EPDs to rate circularity, with a "value between 0 and 1 where higher values indicate a higher circularity+". Expanding on the MCI with additional indicators such as the Water Circularity Index (WCI), the Energy Circularity Index (ECI), the Social Circularity Index (SCI), Life Cycle Economic Value (EV), and calculating biodiversity risk and uncertainty, the assessment methodology of an architectural product's impact can be targeted more specifically based on product requirements, performance, and lifespan. Broadening the scope of LCA calculation for products to incorporate aspects of building design allows product designers to account for the disassembly of architectural components. For example, the Material Circularity Indicator for architectural products such as windows and facades is typically low due to the impact of glass, as 70% of glass ends up in landfills due to damage in the disassembly process. The low MCI can be combatted by expanding beyond cradle-to-grave assessment and focusing the design process on disassembly, recycling, and repurposing with the help of real-time assessment tools. Design for Disassembly and Urban Mining has been integrated within the construction field on small scales as project-based exercises, not addressing the entire supply chain of architectural products. By adopting more comprehensive sustainability metrics and incorporating uncertainty calculations, the sustainability assessment of building components can be more accurately assessed with decarbonization and disassembly in mind, addressing the large-scale commercial markets within construction, some of the most significant contributors to climate change.

Keywords: architectural products, early-stage design, life cycle assessment, material circularity indicator

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Authors: Purba Biswas, Priyanka Dey

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Worldwide rapid urbanisation has accelerated city expansion in both developed and developing nations. This unprecedented urbanisation trend due to the increasing population and economic growth has caused challenges for the decision-makers in city planning and urban management. Metropolitan cities, class-I towns, and major urban centres undergo a continuous process of evolution due to interaction between socio-cultural and economic attributes. This constant evolution leads to urban expansion in all directions. Understanding the patterns and dynamics of urban built-up growth is crucial for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers, as it aids in resource management, decision-making, and the development of sustainable strategies to address the complexities associated with rapid urbanisation. Identifying spatio-temporal patterns of urban growth has emerged as a crucial challenge in monitoring and assessing present and future trends in urban development. Analysing urban growth patterns and tracking changes in land use is an important aspect of urban studies. This study analyses spatio-temporal urban transformations and land-use and land cover changes using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Built-up growth analysis has been done for the city of Surat as a case example, using the GIS tools of NDBI and GIS models of the Built-up Urban Density Index and Shannon Entropy Index to identify trends and the geographical direction of transformation from 2005 to 2020. Surat is one of the fastest-growing urban centres in both the state and the nation, ranking as the 4th fastest-growing city globally. This study analyses the dynamics of urban built-up area transformations both zone-wise and geographical direction-wise, in which their trend, rate, and magnitude were calculated for the period of 15 years. This study also highlights the need for analysing and monitoring the urban growth pattern of class-I cities in India using spatio-temporal and quantitative techniques like GIS for improved urban management.

Keywords: urban expansion, built-up, geographic information system, remote sensing, Shannon’s entropy

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