Search results for: physical learning environment

Authors: Natsuda Rattamanee

Abstract:

Like other countries, Thailand continually experiences strong protests against dam and reservoir proposals, especially large-scale projects. The protestors are constantly worried about the potential significant adverse impacts of the projects on the environment and society. Although project proponents are required by laws to assess the environmental and social impacts of the dam proposals by making environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports and finding mitigation measures before implementing the plans, the outcomes of the assessments often do not lessen the affected people and public’s concerns about the potential negative effects of the projects. One of the main reasons is that Thailand does not have a proper and efficient law to regulate project proponents when determining the scope of environmental impact assessments. Scoping is the crucial second stage of the preparation of an EIA report. The appropriate scope of assessments will allow EIA studies to focus only on the significant effects of the proposed project on particular resources, areas, and communities. It will offer crucial and sufficient information to the decision-makers and the public. The decision to implement the dam and reservoir projects considered based on the assessments with a proper scoping will eventually be more widely accepted by the public and reduce community opposition. The research work seeks to identify flaws in the current requirements of scoping steps under Thai laws and regulations and proposes recommendations to improve the legal scheme. The paper explores the well-established United States laws and relevant rules regulating how lead agencies determine the scope of their environmental impact assessments and some guidelines concerning scoping published by dominant institutions. Policymakers and legislature will find the results of studies helpful in improving the scoping-step requirements of EIA for dam and reservoir projects and reducing the level of anti-dam protests in Thailand.

Keywords: dam and reservoir, EIA, environmental impact assessment, law, scoping, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Reiko Yamamoto

Abstract:

This paper reports on a joint research project in which a researcher in applied linguistics and elementary school teachers in Japan explored new ways to realize emotional synchrony in a classroom in childhood education. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a cross-curriculum of the first language (L1) and second language (L2) based on the concept of plurilingualism. This concept is common in Europe, and can-do statements are used in forming the standard of linguistic proficiency in any language; these are attributed to the action-oriented approach in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). CEFR has a basic tenet of language education: improving communicative competence. Can-do statements are classified into five categories based on the tenet: reading, writing, listening, speaking/ interaction, and speaking/ speech. The first approach of this research was to specify the linguistic proficiency of the children, who are still developing their L1. Elementary school teachers brainstormed and specified the linguistic proficiency of the children as the competency needed to synchronize with others – teachers or peers – physically and mentally. The teachers formed original can-do statements in language proficiency on the basis of the idea that emotional synchrony leads to understanding others in communication. The research objectives are to determine the effect of language education based on the newly developed curriculum and can-do statements. The participants of the experiment were 72 third-graders in Uji Elementary School, Japan. For the experiment, 17 items were developed from the can-do statements formed by the teachers and divided into the same five categories as those of CEFR. A can-do checklist consisting of the items was created. The experiment consisted of three steps: first, the students evaluated themselves using the can-do checklist at the beginning of the school year. Second, one year of instruction was given to the students in Japanese and English classes (six periods a week). Third, the students evaluated themselves using the same can-do checklist at the end of the school year. The results of statistical analysis showed an enhancement of linguistic proficiency of the students. The average results of the post-check exceeded that of the pre-check in 12 out of the 17 items. Moreover, significant differences were shown in four items, three of which belonged to the same category: speaking/ interaction. It is concluded that children can get to understand others’ minds through physical and emotional synchrony. In particular, emotional synchrony is what teachers should aim at in childhood education.

Keywords: elementary school education, emotional synchrony, language proficiency, sympathy with others

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Edwin O. Clarke, Akintade O. Adeboyejo

Abstract:

Intensive use of pesticides resulted in dispersal of pollutants throughout the globe. This study was carried out to investigate persistent Organochlorine pesticides (POPs) in water, sediment and fin fishes, Schilbes mystus and Hemichromis fasciatus from two different sampling stations along River Ogun between the month of June 2012 and January 2013. The Organochlorine pesticides analyzed include DDT (pp’1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethane), DDD, DDE (pp1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl) ethylene, HCH (gamma 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocylohexane, HCB hexachlorobenzene),Dieldrin (1,2,3,4,10,10-hexachloro-6,7-epoxy-1,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a octahydro- 1,4,5,8 dimethanonaphthalene). The analysis was done using Gas Chromatograph with Electron Capture Detector. In water sample, the result showed that PPDDT, Endrin aldehyde, Endrin ketone concentrations were high in both stations. The mean value of Organochlorine analyzed in water range from Beta BHC (0.50±0.10µg/l) to PP DDT (162.86±0.21µg/l) in Kara sample station and Beta BHC (0.20±0.07µg/l) to Endrin Aldehyde (76.47±0.02µg/l) in Odo-Ogun sample station. The levels of POPs obtained in sediments ranged from 0.40±0.23µg/g (Beta BHC) to 259.90 ± 1.00µg/kg (Endosulfan sulfate) in Kara sample station and 0.64±0.00µg/g (Beta BHC) to 379.77 ±0.15 µg/g (Endosulfan sulfate) in Odo-Ogun sample station. The levels of POPs obtained in fin fish samples ranged from 0.29±0.00µg/g (Delta BHC) to 197.87 ± 0.31µg/g (PP DDT) in Kara sample station and in Odo-Ogun sample station the mean value for fish samples range from 0.29 ± 0.00 µg/g (Delta BHC) to 197.87 ± 0.32 µg/g (PP DDT). The study showed that the accumulation of POPs affect the environment and reduce water quality. The results showed that the concentrations were found to exceed the maximum acceptable concentration of 0.10µg/l value set by the European Union for the protection of freshwater aquatic life and this can be hazardous if the trend is not checked.

Keywords: hazardous, persistent, pesticides, biomes

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Lidia Kowalska, Edward Arseniuk

Abstract:

Glume and leaf blotch is a disease of wheat caused by necrotrophic fungus Parastagonospora nodorum. It is a serious pathogen in many wheat-growing areas throughout the world. Use of resistant cultivars is the most effective and economical means to control the above-mentioned disease. Plant breeders and pathologists have worked intensively to incorporate resistance to the pathogen in new cultivars. Conventional methods of breeding for resistance can be supported by using the biotechnological ones, i.e., somatic embryogenesis and androgenesis. Therefore, an effort was undertaken to compare genetic variation in P. nodorum resistance among winter wheat somaclones, dihaploids and conventional varieties. For the purpose, a population of 16 somaclonal and 4 dihaploid wheat lines from six crosses were used to assess their resistance to P. nodorum under field conditions. Lines were grown in disease-free (fungicide protected) and inoculated micro plots in 2 replications of a split-plot design in a single environment. The plant leaves were inoculated with a mixture of P. nodorum isolates three times. Spore concentrations were adjusted to 4 x 10⁶ of viable spores per one milliliter. The disease severity was rated on a scale, where > 90% – susceptible, < 10% - resistant. Disease ratings of plant leaves showed statistically significant differences among all lines tested. Higher resistance to P. nodorum was observed more often on leaves of somaclonal lines than on dihaploid ones. On average, disease, severity reached 15% on leaves of somaclones and 30% on leaves of dihaploids. Some of the genotypes were showing low leaf infection, e.g. dihaploid D-33 (disease severity 4%) and a somaclone S-1 (disease severity 2%). The results from this study prove that dihaploid and somaclonal variation might be successfully used as an additional source of wheat resistance to the pathogen and it could be recommended to use in commercial breeding programs. The reported results prove that biotechnological methods may effectively be used in breeding for disease resistance of wheat to fungal necrotrophic pathogens.

Keywords: glume and leaf blotch, somaclonal, androgenic variation, wheat, resistance breeding

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Ahmed Stifi, Sascha Gentes

Abstract:

The German nuclear industry, while implementing the German policy, believes that the journey towards the green-field, namely phasing out of nuclear energy, should be achieved through green techniques. The most important techniques required for the wide range of decommissioning activities are decontamination techniques, cutting techniques, radioactivity measuring techniques, remote control techniques, techniques for worker and environmental protection and techniques for treating, preconditioning and conditioning nuclear waste. Many decontamination techniques are used for removing contamination from metal, concrete or other surfaces like the scales inside pipes. As the pipeline system is one of the important components of nuclear power plants, the process of decontamination in tubing is of more significance. The development of energy sectors like oil sector, gas sector and nuclear sector, since the middle of 20th century, increased the pipeline industry and the research in the decontamination of tubing in each sector is found to serve each other. The extraction of natural products and material through the pipeline can result in scale formation. These scales can be radioactively contaminated through an accumulation process especially in the petrochemical industry when oil and gas are extracted from the underground reservoir. The radioactivity measured in these scales can be significantly high and pose a great threat to people and the environment. At present, the decontamination process involves using high pressure water jets with or without abrasive material and this technology produces a high amount of secondary waste. In order to overcome it, the research team within Karlsruhe Institute of Technology developed a new sustainable method to carry out the decontamination of tubing without producing any secondary waste. This method is based on vibration technique which removes scales and also does not require any auxiliary materials. The outcome of the research project proves that the vibration technique used for decontamination of tubing is environmental friendly in other words a sustainable technique.

Keywords: sustainable technologies, decontamination, pipeline, nuclear industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Muhammad Umer, Aishwariya Giri, Umaiyma Rakha

Abstract:

Mimicked from the humpback whale flippers, the application of tubercle technology is seen to be particularly advantageous at high angles of attack. This particular advantage is of paramount importance when it comes to structures producing lift at high angles of attack. This characteristic of the technology makes it ideal for horizontal stabilizers and selecting the same as the subject of study to identify and exploit the advantage highlighted by researchers on airfoils, this project aims in establishing a foundation for the application of the bio-mimicked technology on an existing aircraft. Using a baseline and 2 tubercle configuration integrated models, the project targets to achieve the twin aim of highlighting the possibility and merits over the base model and also choosing the right configuration in providing the best characteristic suitable for high angles of attack. To facilitate this study, the required models are generated using Solidworks followed by trials in a virtual aerodynamic environment using Fluent in Ansys for resolving the project objectives. Following a structured plan, the aim is to initially identify the advantages mathematically and then selecting the optimal configuration, simulate the end configuration at angles mimicking the actual operation envelope for the particular structure. Upon simulating the baseline configuration at various angles of attack, the stall angle was determined to be 22 degrees. Thus, the tubercle configurations will be simulated and compared at 4 different angles of attacks: 0, 10, 20, and 24. Further, after providing the optimum configuration of horizontal stabilizers, this study aims at the integration of aircraft structure so that the results better imply the end deliverables of real life application. This draws the project scope closer at this point into longitudinal static stability considerations and improvements in the manoeuvrability characteristics. The objective of the study is to achieve a complete overview ready for real life application with marked benefits obtainable from bio morphing of the tubercle technology.

Keywords: flow simulation, horizontal stabilizer, stability enhancement, tubercle

Procedia PDF Downloads 303

Authors: Andrew R. Beatty

Abstract:

The exploitation of Australia’s vast mineral wealth is regulated by a matrix of planning, environment and heritage legislation, and despite the desire for a ‘balance’ between economic, environmental and heritage values, Aboriginal objects and places are often detrimentally impacted by mining approvals. The Australian experience is not novel. There are other cases of clashes between the rights of traditional landowners and businesses seeking to exploit mineral or other resources on or beneath those lands, including in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. How one reconciles the rights of traditional owners with those of resource companies is an ongoing legal problem of general interest. In Australia, planning and environmental approvals for resource projects are ordinarily issued by State or Territory governments. Federal legislation such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) is intended to act as a safety net when State or Territory legislation is incapable of protecting Indigenous objects or places in the context of approvals for resource projects. This paper will analyse the context and effectiveness of legislation enacted to protect Indigenous heritage in the planning process. In particular, the paper will analyse how the statutory objects of such legislation need to be weighed against the statutory objects of competing legislation designed to facilitate and control resource exploitation. Using a current claim in the Federal Court of Australia for the protection of a culturally significant landscape as a case study, this paper will examine the challenges faced in ascribing value to cultural heritage within the wider context of environmental and planning laws. Our findings will reveal that there is an inherent difficulty in defining and weighing competing economic, environmental and heritage considerations. An alternative framework will be proposed to guide regulators towards making decisions that result in better protection of Indigenous heritage in the context of resource management.

Keywords: environmental law, heritage law, indigenous rights, mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Govindan Sudha, Mathumitha Subramaniam, Alamelu Govindasamy, Sasikala Gunasekaran

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of Hypsizygus ulmarius polysaccharides (HUP) on reducing oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and neurotoxicity in D-galactose induced aging mice. Mice were subcutaneously injected with D-galactose (150 mg/kg per day) for 6 weeks and were administered HUP simultaneously. Aged mice receiving vitamin E (100 mg/kg) served as positive control. Chronic administration of D-galactose significantly impaired cognitive performance oxidative defence and mitochondrial enzymes activities as compared to control group. The results showed that HUP (200 and 400 mg/kg) treatment significantly improved the learning and memory ability in Morris water maze test. Biochemical examination revealed that HUP significantly increased the decreased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), mitochondrial enzymes-NADH dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase (MDH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), Na+K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ATPase activities, elevated the lowered total anti-oxidation capability (TAOC), glutathione (GSH), vitamin C and decreased the raised acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroperoxide (HPO), protein carbonyls (PCO), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) levels in brain of aging mice induced by D-gal in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, present study highlights the potential role of HUP against D-galactose induced cognitive impairment, biochemical and mitochondrial dysfunction in mice. In vitro studies on the effect of HUP on scavenging DPPH, ABTS, DMPD, OH radicals, reducing power, B-carotene bleaching and lipid peroxidation inhibition confirmed the free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of HUP. The results suggest that HUP possesses anti-aging efficacy and may have potential in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: aging, antioxidants, mushroom, neurotoxicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Calvin Ralph, Edward Archer, Alistair McIlhagger

Abstract:

3D woven textile composites continue to emerge as an advanced material for structural applications and composite manufacture due to their bespoke nature, through thickness reinforcement and near net shape capabilities. When 3D woven preforms are produced, they are in their optimal physical state. As 3D weaving is a dry preforming technology it relies on compression of the preform to achieve the desired composite thickness, fibre volume fraction (Vf) and consolidation. This compression of the preform during manufacture results in changes to its thickness and architecture which can often lead to under-performance or changes of the 3D woven composite. Unlike traditional 2D fabrics, the bespoke nature and variability of 3D woven architectures makes it difficult to know exactly how each 3D preform will behave during processing. Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate the effect of compression on differing 3D woven architectures in terms of structure, crimp or fibre waviness and thickness as well as analysing the accuracy of available software to predict how 3D woven preforms behave under compression. To achieve this, 3D preforms are modelled and compression simulated in Wisetex with varying architectures of binder style, pick density, thickness and tow size. These architectures have then been woven with samples dry compression tested to determine the compressibility of the preforms under various pressures. Additional preform samples were manufactured using Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) with varying compressive force. Composite samples were cross sectioned, polished and analysed using microscopy to investigate changes in architecture and crimp. Data from dry fabric compression and composite samples were then compared alongside the Wisetex models to determine accuracy of the prediction and identify architecture parameters that can affect the preform compressibility and stability. Results indicate that binder style/pick density, tow size and thickness have a significant effect on compressibility of 3D woven preforms with lower pick density allowing for greater compression and distortion of the architecture. It was further highlighted that binder style combined with pressure had a significant effect on changes to preform architecture where orthogonal binders experienced highest level of deformation, but highest overall stability, with compression while layer to layer indicated a reduction in fibre crimp of the binder. In general, simulations showed a relative comparison to experimental results; however, deviation is evident due to assumptions present within the modelled results.

Keywords: 3D woven composites, compression, preforms, textile composites

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Ling-Lang Huang

Abstract:

Background: The holistic health care should ideally cover physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of a patient. With very constrained time in current clinical practice system, medical decisions often tip the balance in favor of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in comparison to patient's personal values. Even in the era of competence-based medical education (CBME), when scrutinizing the items of entrustable professional activities (EPAs), we found that EPAs of establishing doctor-patient relationship remained incomplete or even missing. This phenomenon prompted us to raise this project aiming at advocating value-based medicine (VBM), which emphasizes the importance of patient’s values in medical decisions. A true and effective doctor-patient communication and relationship should be a well-balanced harmony of EBM and VBM. By constructing VBM into current EPAs, we can further promote genuine shared decision making (SDM) and fix the missing link in holistic health care. Methods: In this project, we are going to find out EPA elements crucial for establishing an ideal doctor-patient relationship through three distinct pairs of doctor-patient relationships: patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (relatively young but with grave disease), patients undergoing surgery (facing critical medical decisions), and patients with terminal diseases (facing forthcoming death). We’ll search for important EPA elements through the following steps: 1. Narrative approach to delineate patients’ values among 2. distinct groups. 3.Hermeneutics-based interview: semi-structured interview will be conducted for both patients and physicians, followed by qualitative analysis of collected information by compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. 4. Preliminarily construct those VBM elements into EPAs for doctor-patient relationships in 3 groups. Expected Outcomes: The results of this project are going to give us invaluable information regarding the impact of patients’ values, while facing different medical situations, on the final medical decision. The competence of well-blending and -balanced both values from patients and evidence from clinical sciences is the missing link in holistic health care and should be established in future EPAs to enhance an effective SDM.

Keywords: value-based medicine, shared decision making, entrustable professional activities, holistic health care

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Ricky Saputra, Rashmi Walvekar, Mohammad Khalid

Abstract:

Landfills, water contamination, and toxic gas emission are a few impacts faced by the environment due to the increasing number of αof waste rubber tires (WRT). In spite of such concerning issue, only minimal efforts are taken to reclaim or recycle these wastes as their products are generally not-profitable for companies. Unlike the typical reclamation process, devulcanization is a method to selectively cleave sulfidic bonds within vulcanizates to avoid polymeric scissions that compromise elastomer’s mechanical and tensile properties. The process also produces devulcanizates that are re-processable similar to virgin rubber. Often, a devulcanizing agent is needed. In the current study, novel and sustainable ammonium chloride-based ternary deep eutectic solvents (TDES), with a different number of α-hydrogens, were utilised to devulcanize ground rubber tire (GRT) as an effort to implement green chemistry to tackle such issue. 40-mesh GRT were soaked for 1 day with different TDESs and sonicated at 37-80 kHz for 60-120 mins and heated at 100-140oC for 30-90 mins. Devulcanizates were then filtered, dried, and evaluated based on the percentage of by means of Flory-Rehner calculation and swelling index. The result shows that an increasing number of α-Hs increases the degree of devulcanization, and the value achieved was around eighty-percent, thirty percent higher than the typical industrial-autoclave method. Resulting bondages of devulcanizates were also analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Horikx fitting, and thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The earlier two confirms only sulfidic scissions were experienced by GRT through the treatment, while the latter proves the absence or negligibility of carbon-chains scission.

Keywords: ammonium, sustainable, deep eutectic solvent, α-hydrogen, waste rubber tire

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Dagim Dessalegn Haile

Abstract:

This study investigated the interaction between the drivers' socio-demographic background information (age, gender, and driving experience) and the risky events score in the i-DREAMS platform. Further, the relationship between the participants' background driving behavior and the i-DREAMS platform behavioral output scores of risky events was also investigated. The i-DREAMS acronym stands for Smart Driver and Road Environment Assessment and Monitoring System. It is a European Union Horizon 2020 funded project consisting of 13 partners, researchers, and industry partners from 8 countries. A total of 25 Belgian car drivers (16 male and nine female) were considered for analysis. Drivers' ages were categorized into ages 18-25, 26-45, 46-65, and 65 and older. Drivers' driving experience was also categorized into four groups: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, and 46-60 years. Drivers are classified into two clusters based on the recorded score for risky events during phase 1 (baseline) using risky events; acceleration, deceleration, speeding, tailgating, overtaking, and lane discipline. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering using SPSS shows Cluster 1 drivers are safer drivers, and Cluster 2 drivers are identified as risky drivers. The analysis result indicated no significant relationship between age groups, gender, and experience groups except for risky events like acceleration, tailgating, and overtaking in a few phases. This is mainly because the fewer participants create less variability of socio-demographic background groups. Repeated measure ANOVA shows that cluster 2 drivers improved more than cluster 1 drivers for tailgating, lane discipline, and speeding events. A positive relationship between background drivers' behavior and i-DREAMS platform behavioral output scores is observed. It implies that car drivers who in the questionnaire data indicate committing more risky driving behavior demonstrate more risky driver behavior in the i-DREAMS observed driving data.

Keywords: i-dreams, car drivers, socio-demographic background, risky events

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Nikoloz Jalabadze, Roin Chedia, Lili Nadaraia, Levan Khundadze

Abstract:

Nanocrystalline materials in powder condition can be manufactured by a number of different methods, however manufacture of composite materials product in the same nanocrystalline state is still a problem because the processes of compaction and synthesis of nanocrystalline powders go with intensive growth of particles – the process which promotes formation of pieces in an ordinary crystalline state instead of being crystallized in the desirable nanocrystalline state. To date spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been considered as the most promising and energy efficient method for producing dense bodies of composite materials. An advantage of the SPS method in comparison with other methods is mainly low temperature and short time of the sintering procedure. That finally gives an opportunity to obtain dense material with nanocrystalline structure. Graphene has recently garnered significant interest as a reinforcing phase in composite materials because of its excellent electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in particular have attracted much interest as reinforcements for ceramic matrix composites (mostly in Al2O3, Si3N4, TiO2, ZrB2 a. c.). SPS has been shown to fully densify a variety of ceramic systems effectively including Al2O3 and often with improvements in mechanical and functional behavior. Alumina consolidated by SPS has been shown to have superior hardness, fracture toughness, plasticity and optical translucency compared to conventionally processed alumina. Knowledge of how GNPs influence sintering behavior is important to effectively process and manufacture process. In this study, the effects of GNPs on the SPS processing of Al2O3 are investigated by systematically varying sintering temperature, holding time and pressure. Our experiments showed that SPS process is also appropriate for the synthesis of nanocrystalline powders of alumina-graphene composites. Depending on the size of the molds, it is possible to obtain different amount of nanopowders. Investigation of the structure, physical-chemical, mechanical and performance properties of the elaborated composite materials was performed. The results of this study provide a fundamental understanding of the effects of GNP on sintering behavior, thereby providing a foundation for future optimization of the processing of these promising nanocomposite systems.

Keywords: alumina oxide, ceramic matrix composites, graphene nanoplatelets, spark-plasma sintering

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Jamila Fakchich, Mostafa Jamila Lazaar Elachouri, Lakhder Fakchich, Fatna Ouali, Abd Errazzak Belkacem

Abstract:

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that has a significant impact on the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients as well as the health care system. By its nature diabetes, is a multisystem disease with wide-ranging complication that span nearly all region of the body. This epidemic problem, however, is not unique to the industrialized society, but has also hardly struck the developing countries. In Morocco, as developing country, there is an epidemic rise in diabetes, with ensuing concern about the management and control of this disease; it began a chronic burdensome disease of largely middle-aged and elderly people, with a long course and serious complications often resulting in high death-rate, the treatment of diabetes spent vast amount of resources including medicines, diets, physical training. Treatment of this disease is considered problematic due to the lack of effective and safe drugs capable of inducing sustained clinical, biochemical, and histological cure. In Moroccan society, the phytoremedies are some times the only affordable sources of healthcare, particularly for the people in remote areas. In this paper, we present a synthesis work obtained from the ethnobotanical data reported in different specialized journals. A Synthesis of four published ethnobotanical studies that have been carried out in different region of Morocco by different team seekers during the period from 1997 to 2015. Medicinal plants inventoried by different seekers in four Moroccan’s areas have been regrouped and codified, then, Factorial Analysis (FA) and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) are used to analyse the aggregated data from the four studies and plants are classified according to their frequency of use by population. Our work deals with an attempt to gather information on some traditional uses of medicinal plants from different regions of Morocco, also, it was designed to give a set of medicinal plants commonly used by Moroccan people in the treatment of diabetes; In this paper, we intended to provide a basic knowledge about plant species used by Moroccan society for treatment of diabetes. One of the most interesting aspects of this type of works is to assess the relative cultural importance of medicinal plants for specific illnesses and exploring its usefulness in the context of diabetes.

Keywords: Morocco, medicinal plants, ethnobotanical, diabetes, phytoremedies

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Małgorzata Smolarek

Abstract:

One of the barriers to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are difficulties connected with management of human resources. The first part of article defines the specifics of staff management in small and medium enterprises. The practical part presents results of own studies in the area of diagnosis of the state of the human resources management in small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland. It takes into account its impact on the functioning of SME in a variable environment. This part presents findings of empirical studies, which enabled verification of the hypotheses and formulation of conclusions. The findings presented in this paper were obtained during the implementation of the project entitled 'Tendencies and challenges in strategic managing SME in Silesian Voivodeship.' The aim of the studies was to diagnose the state of strategic management and human resources management taking into account its impact on the functioning of small and medium enterprises operating in Silesian Voivodeship in Poland and to indicate improvement areas of the model under diagnosis. One of the specific objectives of the studies was to diagnose the state of the process of strategic management of human resources and to identify fundamental problems. In this area, the main hypothesis was formulated: The enterprises analysed do not have comprehensive strategies for management of human resources. The survey was conducted by questionnaire. Main Research Results: Human resource management in SMEs is characterized by simplicity of procedures, and the lack of sophisticated tools and its specificity depends on the size of the company. The process of human resources management in SME has to be adjusted to the structure of an organisation, result from its objectives, so that an organisation can fully implement its strategic plans and achieve success and competitive advantage on the market. A guarantee of success is an accurately developed policy of human resources management based on earlier analyses of the existing procedures and possessed human resources.

Keywords: human resources management, human resources policy, personnel strategy, small and medium enterprises

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Rory Brown, Jessica Daniels, Babatunde Oremule, William Tsang, Sadie Khwaja

Abstract:

Introduction: Dentures are common and are an intervention for both physical and psychological symptoms associated with tooth loss. However, the humble denture can cause morbidity and mortality if swallowed or aspirated. Numerous case reports document complications including hollow viscus perforation, fistula formation and airway compromise. The purpose of this review was to examine the literature documenting cases of swallowed or aspirated dentures over the past ten years to investigate factors that contribute to developing complications. Methods: A Medline literature search was performed to identify cases of denture ingestion or aspiration for over ten years. Data was collected to include patient, appliance and temporal factors that may contribute to developing complications including hollow viscus perforation, fistula formation, abscess, bowel obstruction, necrosis, hemorrhage and airway obstruction. The data was analyzed using observational and inferential statistics in the form of Chi-Squared and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Eighty-five cases of ingested or aspirated dentures were identified from 77 articles published between 1/10/2009 and 31/10/2019. Fourteen articles were excluded because they did not provide sufficient information on individual cases. Complications were documented in 37.6% of patients, and 2 cases resulted in death. There was no significant difference in complication risk based on patient age, hooked appliance, level of impaction, or radiolucency. However, symptoms of greater than 1-day duration are associated with an increased risk of complication (p=0.005). Increased time from ingestion or aspiration to removal is associated with an increased risk of complications, and the p-value remains significant up to and including day 4 (p=0.017). Conclusions: With denture use predicted to rise complications from the denture, ingestion and aspiration may become more frequent. We have demonstrated that increased symptom duration significantly increases the risk of developing complications. Additionally, we established the risk of developing complications is significantly reduced if the denture is removed with four days of aspiration or ingestion. By actively intervening early when presented with a case of swallowed or aspirated dentures, we may be able to reduce the morbidity associated with this unassuming device.

Keywords: aspiration, denture, ingestion, endoscopic foreign, body removal, foreign body impaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Busra Ekinci

Abstract:

Urban heat island term becomes one of the most important problem in urban areas as a reflection of global warming in local scale last years. Many communities and governments are taking action to reduce heat island effects on urban areas where the half of the world's population live today. At this point, urban design turned out to be an important practice and research area for providing an environmentally sensitive urban development. In this study, mitigating strategies of urban heat island effects by urban design are investigated in Aksaray Square and surroundings in Istanbul. Aksaray is an important historical and commercial center of Istanbul, which has an increasing density due to be the node of urban transportation. Also, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality prepared an urban design project to respond the needs of growing population in the area for 2018. The purpose of the study is emphasizing the importance of urban design objectives and strategies that are developed to reduce the heat island effects on urban areas. Depending on this, the urban heat island effect of the area was examined based on the albedo (reflectivity) parameter which is the most effective parameter in the formation of the heat island effect in urban areas. Albedo values were calculated by Albedo Viewer web application model that was developed by Energy and Environmental Engineering Department of Kyushu University in Japan. Albedo parameter had examined for the present situation and the planned situation with urban design project. The results show that, the current area has urban heat island potential. With the Aksaray Square Project, the heat island effect on the area can be reduced, but would not be completely prevented. Therefore, urban design strategies had been developed to reduce the island effect in addition to the urban design project of the area. This study proves that urban design objectives and strategies are quite effective to reduce the heat island effects, which negatively affect the social environment and quality of life in urban areas.

Keywords: Albedo, urban design, urban heat island, sustainable design

Procedia PDF Downloads 557

Authors: Paula C. Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Nádia Pereira, Aristides Ferreira, Alexandra Marques Pinto, Alexandra Barros, Vitor Martinho

Abstract:

Cyberbullying is a phenomenon of worldwide concern regarding children and adolescents’ mental health and risk behavior. Bystanders of this phenomenon can help diminish the incidence of this phenomenon if they engage in pro-social behavior. However, different social-cognitive and affective bystander reactions may surface because of the lack of contextual information and emotional cues in cyberbullying situations. Hence, this study investigated how cyberbullying bystanders’ unpleasant emotions could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions to cyberbully or defend the victim. It also proposed to investigate how their normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions. Three groups of adolescents participated in this study, namely a first of group 402 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.12; SD = 2.19; 55.7% girls) to compute explorative factorial analyses of the instruments used; a second group of 676 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 14.10; SD = 2.74; 55.5% were boys) to run confirmatory factor analyses; and a third group (N = 397; 5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.88 years; SD = 1.45; 55.5% girls) to perform the main analyses to test the research hypotheses. Self-report measures were used, such as the Personal moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Unpleasant emotions about cyberbullying incidents questionnaires, and the Bystanders’ behavioral intentions in cyberbullying situations questionnaires. Path analysis results revealed that unpleasant emotions were mediators of the relationship between adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ personal moral beliefs and their intentions to help the victims in cyberbullying situations. Moreover, adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ normative beliefs of gravity were mediators of the relationship between their personal moral beliefs and their intentions to cyberbully others. These findings provide insights for the development of prevention and intervention programs that promote social and emotional learning strategies as a means to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying.

Keywords: cyberbullying, normative beliefs of perceived severity, personal moral beliefs, unpleasant emotions

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: C. W. F. Che Wan Putra, M. Alshawi, M. S. Al Ahbabi, M. Jabakhanji

Abstract:

The construction industry is a multi-disciplinary and multi-national industry, which has an important role to play within the overall economy of any country. There are major challenges to an improved performance within the industry. Particularly lacking is, the ability to capture the large amounts of information generated during the life-cycle of projects and to make these available, in the right format, so that professionals can then evaluate alternative solutions based on life-cycle analysis. The fragmented nature of the industry is the main reason behind the unavailability and ill utilisation of project information. The lack of adequately engaging clients and managing their requirements contributes adversely to construction budget and schedule overruns. This is a difficult task to achieve, particularly if clients are not continuously and formally involved in the design and construction process, which means that the design intent is left to designers that may not always satisfy clients’ requirements. Client lead is strongly recognised in bringing change through better collaboration between project stakeholders. However, one of the major challenges is that collaboration is operated under conventional procurement methods, which hugely limit the stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities to bring about the required level of collaboration. A research has been conducted with a typical project in the UAE. A qualitative research work was conducted including semi-structured interviews with project partners to discover the real reasons behind this delay. The case study also investigated the real causes of the problems and if they can be adequately addressed by BIM and IPD. Special focus was also placed on the Client leadership and the role the Client can play to eliminate/minimize these problems. It was found that part of the ‘key elements’ from which the problems exist can be attributed to the client leadership and the collaborative environment and BIM.

Keywords: client leadership, building information modelling (BIM), integrated project delivery (IPD), case study

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Abhishek Ranka

Abstract:

Rock-cut Architecture is a manifestation of human endurance in constructing magnificent structures by sculpting and cutting entire hills. Cave Architecture in India form an important part of rock-cut development and is among the most prolific examples of rock-cut architecture in the world. There are more than 1500 rock-cut caves in various regions of India. Among them mostly are located in western India, more particularly in the state of Maharashtra. Some of the rock-cut caves are located in the central region of India, which is presently known as Malawa (Madhya Pradesh). The region is dominated by the vidhyachal hill ranges toward the west, dotted with the coarse laterite rock. Dhamnar Caves have been excavated in the central region of Mandsaur Dist. With a combination of shared sacred faiths. The earliest rock-cut activity began in the north, in Bihar, where caves were excavated in the Barabar and the Nagarjuni hills during the Mauryan period (3rd century BCE). The rock-cut activity then shifts to the central part of India in Madhya Pradesh, where the caves at Dhamnar, Bagh, Udayagiri, Poldungar, etc. excavated between 3rdto 9ᵗʰ CE. The rock-cut excavation continued to flourish in Madhya Pradesh till 10ᵗʰ century CE, simultaneously with monolithic Hindu temples. Dhamnar caves fall into four architectural typologies: the Lena caves, Chaitya caves, Viharas & Lena-Chaityagriha caves. The Buddhist rock-cutting activity in central India is divisible into two phases. In the first phase (2ndBCE-3rd CE), the Buddha image is conspicuously absent. After a lapse of about three centuries, activity begins again, and the Buddha images this time are carved. The former group belongs to the Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) phase and the latter to the Mahayana (Greater Vehicle). Dhamnar caves has an elaborate facades, pillar capitals, and many more creative sculptures in various postures. These caves were excavated against the background of invigorating trade activities and varied socio-religious or Socio Cultural contexts. These caves also highlights the wealthy and varied patronage provided by the dynasties of the past. This paper speaks about the appraisal of the rock cut mechanisms, design strategies, and approaches while promoting a scope for further research in conservation practices. Rock-cut sites, with their physical setting and various functional spaces as a sustainable habitat for centuries, has a heritage footprint with a researchquotient.

Keywords: rock-cut architecture, buddhism, hinduism, Iconography, and architectural typologies, Jainism

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Mengying Wang, Dongjing Liu, Holger Schwender, Ping Wang, Hongping Zhu, Tao Wu, Terri H Beaty

Abstract:

Background: Maternal smoking is a recognized risk factor for nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P). It has been reported that the effect of maternal smoking on oral clefts is mediated through genes that influence nicotine dependence. The polymorphisms of cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha (CHRNA) and beta (CHRNB) subunits genes have previously shown strong associations with nicotine dependence. Here, we attempted to investigate whether the above genes are associated with clefting risk through testing for potential gene-gene (G×G) and gene-environment (G×E) interaction. Methods: We selected 120 markers in 14 genes associated with nicotine dependence to conduct transmission disequilibrium tests among 806 Chinese NSCL/P case-parent trios ascertained in an international consortium which conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of oral clefts. We applied Cordell’s method using “TRIO” package in R to explore G×G as well as G×E interaction involving environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) based on conditional logistic regression model. Results: while no SNP showed significant association with NSCL/P after Bonferroni correction, we found signals for G×G interaction between 10 pairs of SNPs in CHRNA3, CHRNA5, and CHRNB4 (p<10-8), among which the most significant interaction was found between RS3743077 (CHRNA3) and RS11636753 (CHRNB4, p<8.2×10-12). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis revealed only low level of LD between these markers. However, there were no significant results for G×ETS interaction. Conclusion: This study fails to detect association between nicotine dependence genes and NSCL/P, but illustrates the importance of taking into account potential G×G interaction for genetic association analysis in NSCL/P. This study also suggests nicotine dependence genes should be considered as important candidate genes for NSCL/P in future studies.

Keywords: Gene-Gene Interaction, Maternal Smoking, Nicotine Dependence, Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip with or without Cleft Palate

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Yusuf Hussaini Atulukwu, Daramola Japheth, Tabitit S. Tabiti, Daramola Elizabeth Lara

Abstract:

In view of the recent limitations faced by the township concerning poorly constructed and in some cases non - existence of drainage facilities that resulted into incessant flooding in some parts of the community poses threat to life,property and the environment. The research seeks to address this issue by showing the spatial distribution of drainage network in Bida Urban using Geographic information System techniques. Relevant features were extracted from existing Bida based Map using un-screen digitization and x, y, z, data of existing drainages were acquired using handheld Global Positioning System (GPS). These data were uploaded into ArcGIS 9.2, software, and stored in the relational database structure that was used to produce the spatial data drainage network of the township. The result revealed that about 40 % of the drainages are blocked with sand and refuse, 35 % water-logged as a result of building across erosion channels and dilapidated bridges as a result of lack of drainage along major roads. The study thus concluded that drainage network systems in Bida community are not in good working condition and urgent measures must be initiated in order to avoid future disasters especially with the raining season setting in. Based on the above findings, the study therefore recommends that people within the locality should avoid dumping municipal waste within the drainage path while sand blocked or weed blocked drains should be clear by the authority concerned. In the same vein the authority should ensured that contract of drainage construction be awarded to professionals and all the natural drainages caused by erosion should be addressed to avoid future disasters.

Keywords: drainage network, spatial, digitization, relational database, waste

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: T. Yasmin, M. A. Farrelly, B. C. Rogers

Abstract:

Urban water governance in developing countries faces numerous challenges arising from uncontrolled urban population expansion, water pollution, greater economic push and more recently, climate change impact while undergoing transitioning towards a sustainable system. Sustainability transition requires developing adaptive capacities of the socio-ecological and socio-technical system to be able to deal with complexity. Adaptive capacities deliver strategies to connect individuals, organizations, agencies and institutions at multiple levels for dealing with such complexity. Understanding the level of adaptive capacities for sustainability transformation thus has gained significant research attention within developed countries, much less so in developing countries. Filling this gap, this article develops a conceptual framework for analysing the level of adaptive capacities (if any) within a developing context. This framework then applied to the chronological development of urban water governance strategies in Bangladesh for almost two centuries. The chronological analysis of governance interventions has revealed that crisis (public health, food and natural hazards) became the opportunities and thus opened the windows for experimentation and learning to occur as a deviation from traditional practices. Self-organization and networks thus created the platform for development or disruptions to occur for creating change. Leadership (internal or external) is important for nurturing and upscaling theses development or disruptions towards guiding policy vision and targets as well as championing ground implementation. In the case of Bangladesh, the leadership from the international and national aid organizations and targets have always lead the development whereas more often social capital tools (trust, power relations, cultural norms) act as disruptions. Historically, this has been evident in the development pathways of urban water governance in Bangladesh. Overall this research has shown some level of adaptive capacities is growing for sustainable urban growth in big cities, nevertheless unclear regarding the growth in medium and small cities context.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, Bangladesh, sustainability transformation, water governance

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Qin Yao

Abstract:

Content and language integrated instruction provides second language learners instruction in subject matter and language, and is greatly valued, particularly in the language immersion classroom where a language other than students’ first language is the vehicle for teaching school curriculum. Corrective feedback is an essential instructional technique for teachers to integrate a focus on language into their content instruction. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature on immersion—the lack of studies examining corrective feedback in Chinese immersion classrooms, by studying learning opportunities brought by oral corrective feedback in a Chinese immersion classroom. Specifically, it examines what is the distribution of different types of teacher corrective feedback and how students respond to each feedback type, as well as how the focus of the teacher-student interactional exchanges affect the effect of feedback. Two Chinese immersion teachers and their immersion classes were involved, and data were collected through classroom observations interviews. Observations document teachers’ provision of oral corrective feedback and students’ responses following the feedback in class, and interviews with teachers collected teachers’ reflective thoughts about their teaching. A primary quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that, among different types of corrective feedback, recast occurred most frequently. Metalinguistic clue and repetition were the least occurring feedback types. Clarification request lead to highest percentage of learner uptake manifested by learners’ oral production immediately following the feedback, while explicit correction came the second and recast the third. In addition, the results also showed the interactional context played a role in the effectiveness of the feedback: teachers were most likely to give feedback in conversational exchanges that focused on explicit language and content, while students were most likely to use feedback in exchanges that focused on explicit language. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate recasts are preferred by Chinese immersion teachers, confirming results of previous studies on corrective feedback in non-Chinese immersion classrooms; and clarification request and explicit language instruction elicit more target language production from students and are facilitative in their target language development, thus should not be overlooked in immersion and other content and language integrated classrooms.

Keywords: Chinese immersion, content and language integrated instruction, corrective feedback, interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Gülcan Taşkıran, Ayla Bayık Temel

Abstract:

Background: Florence Nightingale, the modern founder of the nursing, is most famous for her role as a nurse. But not so much known about her contributions as a mathematician and statistician. Aim: In this conceptual article it is aimed to examine Florence Nightingale's statistics education, how she used her passion for statistics and applied statistical data in nursing care and her scientific contributions to statistical science. Design: Literature review method was used in the study. The databases of Istanbul University Library Search Engine, Turkish Medical Directory, Thesis Scanning Center of Higher Education Council, PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO Host, Web of Science were scanned to reach the studies. The keywords 'statistics' and 'Florence Nightingale' have been used in Turkish and English while being screened. As a result of the screening, totally 41 studies were examined from the national and international literature. Results: Florence Nightingale has interested in mathematics and statistics at her early ages and has received various training in these subjects. Lessons learned by Nightingale in a cultured family environment, her talent in mathematics and numbers, and her religious beliefs played a crucial role in the direction of the statistics. She was influenced by Quetelet's ideas in the formation of the statistical philosophy and received support from William Farr in her statistical studies. During the Crimean War, she applied statistical knowledge to nursing care, developed many statistical methods and graphics, so that she made revolutionary reforms in the health field. Conclusions: Nightingale's interest in statistics, her broad vision, the statistical ideas fused with religious beliefs, the innovative graphics she has developed and the extraordinary statistical projects that she carried out has been influential on the basis of her professional achievements. Florence Nightingale has also become a model for women in statistics. Today, using and teaching of statistics and research in nursing care practices and education programs continues with the light she gave.

Keywords: Crimean war, Florence Nightingale, nursing, statistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Moldir Makenova

Abstract:

Alongside the implementation of trilingual education in schools, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan innovated the school curriculum in 2013 to include a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach. In this regard, some transition issues have arisen, such as unprepared teachers, a need for more awareness of the CLIL approach, and teaching resources. Some teachers view it as a challenge due to its combination of both content and language. This often creates anxiety among teachers who are knowledgeable about their subject areas in Kazakh or Russian but are deficient in delivering the subject’s content in English. Thus, with this new teaching approach, teachers encounter to choose the role of language and answer how language works in the CLIL classroom. This study aimed to explore how teachers experience the changing role of language in the curriculum and to find out what challenges teachers face related to CLIL implementation and how their language proficiency influences their teaching practices. A qualitative comparative case study was conducted in an X Lyceum and a mainstream school piloting CLIL. Data collection procedures were conducted via semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Eight content teachers were chosen from these two schools as the target group of this study. Subject teachers, rather than language teachers, were chosen as the target group to grasp how the language-related issues in the new curriculum are interpreted by educators who do not necessarily identify themselves as language experts at the outset. The findings showed that mainstream teachers prioritize content over language because, as content teachers, the knowledge of content is more essential for them rather than the language. In contrast, most X Lyceum teachers balance language and content and additionally showed their preferences to support the ‘English language only' policy among 10-11 graders. Moreover, due to the low-level English proficiency, mainstream teachers did highlight the necessity of CLIL training and further collaboration with language teachers. This study will be beneficial for teachers and policy-makers to enable them to solve the issues mentioned above related to the implementation of CLIL. Larger-scale research conducted in the future would further inform its successful deployment country-wide.

Keywords: role of language, trilingual education, updated curriculum, teacher practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Sitarrine Thongpussawal, Dasarath Jayasuriya, Thanaroj Woraratprasert, Sakawtree Prajamwong

Abstract:

Thailand grapples with recurrent floods causing substantial repercussions on its economy, society, and environment. In 2021, the economic toll of these floods amounted to an estimated 53,282 million baht, primarily impacting the agricultural sector. The existing flood monitoring system in Thailand suffers from inaccuracies and insufficient information, resulting in delayed warnings and ineffective communication to the public. The Office of the National Water Resources (OWNR) is tasked with developing and integrating data and information systems for efficient water resources management, yet faces challenges in monitoring accuracy, forecasting, and timely warnings. This study endeavors to evaluate the viability of enhancing Thailand's Flood Forecasting and Warning (FFW) systems. Additionally, it aims to formulate a comprehensive work package grounded in international best practices to enhance the country's FFW systems. Employing qualitative research methodologies, the study conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with pertinent agencies. Data analysis involved techniques like note-taking and document analysis. The study substantiates the feasibility of developing and enhancing FFW systems in Thailand. Implementation of international best practices can augment the precision of flood forecasting and warning systems, empowering local agencies and residents in high-risk areas to prepare proactively, thereby minimizing the adverse impact of floods on lives and property. This research underscores that Thailand can feasibly advance its FFW systems by adopting international best practices, enhancing accuracy, and improving preparedness. Consequently, the study enriches the theoretical understanding of flood forecasting and warning systems and furnishes valuable recommendations for their enhancement in Thailand.

Keywords: flooding, forecasting, warning, monitoring, communication, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Sanyka Banerjee, Saikat Nandi, P. K. Dan

Abstract:

Synchronizers as an integral part of gearbox is a key element in the transmission system in automotive. The performance of synchronizer affects transmission efficiency and driving comfort. Synchronizing mechanism as a major component of transmission system must be capable of preventing vibration and noise in the gears. Gear shifting efficiency improvement with an aim to achieve smooth, quick and energy efficient power transmission remains a challenge for the automotive industry. Performance of the synchronizer is dependent on the features and characteristics of its sub-components and therefore analysis of the contribution of such characteristics is necessary. An important exercise involved is to identify all such characteristics or factors which are associated with the modeling and analysis and for this purpose the literature was reviewed, rather extensively, to study the mathematical models, formulated considering such. It has been observed that certain factors are rather common across models; however, there are few factors which have specifically been selected for individual models, as reported. In order to obtain a more realistic model, an attempt here has been made to identify and assimilate practically all possible factors which may be considered in formulating the model more comprehensively. A simulation study, formulated as a block model, for such analysis has been carried out in a reliable environment like MATLAB. Lower synchronization time is desirable and hence, it has been considered here as the output factors in the simulation modeling for evaluating transmission efficiency. An improved synchronizer model requires optimized values of sub-component design parameters. A parametric optimization utilizing Taguchi’s design of experiment based response data and their analysis has been carried out for this purpose. The effectiveness of the optimized parameters for the improved synchronizer performance has been validated by the simulation study of the synchronizer block model with improved parameter values as input parameters for better transmission efficiency and driver comfort.

Keywords: design of experiments, modeling, parametric optimization, simulation, synchronizer

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Fausto Morais

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence has been widely used in law. Programs are able to classify suits, to identify decision-making patterns, to predict outcomes, and to formalize legal arguments as well. In Brazil, the artificial intelligence victor has been classifying cases to supreme court’s standards. When those programs act doing those tasks, they simulate some kind of legal decision and legal arguments, raising doubts about how artificial intelligence can be integrated into legal reasoning. Taking this into account, the following three issues are identified; the problem of hypernormatization, the argument of legal anthropocentrism, and the artificial legal principles. Hypernormatization can be seen in the Brazilian legal context in the Supreme Court’s usage of the Victor program. This program generated efficiency and consistency. On the other hand, there is a feasible risk of over standardizing factual and normative legal features. Then legal clerks and programmers should work together to develop an adequate way to model legal language into computational code. If this is possible, intelligent programs may enact legal decisions in easy cases automatically cases, and, in this picture, the legal anthropocentrism argument takes place. Such an argument argues that just humans beings should enact legal decisions. This is so because human beings have a conscience, free will, and self unity. In spite of that, it is possible to argue against the anthropocentrism argument and to show how intelligent programs may work overcoming human beings' problems like misleading cognition, emotions, and lack of memory. In this way, intelligent machines could be able to pass legal decisions automatically by classification, as Victor in Brazil does, because they are binding by legal patterns and should not deviate from them. Notwithstanding, artificial intelligent programs can be helpful beyond easy cases. In hard cases, they are able to identify legal standards and legal arguments by using machine learning. For that, a dataset of legal decisions regarding a particular matter must be available, which is a reality in Brazilian Judiciary. Doing such procedure, artificial intelligent programs can support a human decision in hard cases, providing legal standards and arguments based on empirical evidence. Those legal features claim an argumentative weight in legal reasoning and should serve as references for judges when they must decide to maintain or overcome a legal standard.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, artificial legal principles, hypernormatization, legal anthropocentrism argument, legal reasoning

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Vrinda P. S. Borker

Abstract:

Major water pollutants are dyes from effluents of industries. Different methods have been tried to degrade or treat the effluent before it is left to the environment. In order to understand the degradation process and later apply it to effluents, solar degradation study of methylene blue (MB) and methyl red (MR), the model dyes was carried out in the presence of photo-catalysts, the oxides of cobalt oxide Co₃O₄, and copper doped cobalt oxides (Co₀.₉Cu₀.₁)₃O₄ and (Co₀.₉₅Cu₀.₀₅)₃O₄. They were prepared from oxalate complex and hydrazinated oxalate complex of cobalt as well as mix metals, copper, and cobalt. The complexes were synthesized and characterized by FTIR. Complexes were decomposed to form oxides and were characterized by XRD. They were found to be monophasic. Solar degradation of MR and MB was carried out in presence of these oxides in acidic and basic medium. Degradation was faster in alkaline medium in the presence of Co₃O₄ obtained from hydrazinated oxalate. Doping of nanomaterial oxides modifies their characteristics. Doped cobalt oxides are found to photo-decolourise MR in alkaline media efficiently. In the absence of photocatalyst, solar degradation of alkaline MR does not occur. In acidic medium, MR is minimally decolorized even in the presence of photocatalysts. The industrial textile effluent contains chemicals like NaCl and Na₂CO₃ along with the unabsorbed dye. It is reported that these two chemicals hamper the degradation of dye. The chemicals like K₂S₂O₈ and H₂O₂ are reported to enhance degradation. The solar degradation study of MB in presence of photocatalyst (Co₀.₉Cu₀.₁)₃O₄ and these four chemicals reveals that presence of K₂S₂O₈ and H₂O₂ enhances degradation. It proves that H₂O₂ generates hydroxyl ions required for degradation of dye and the sulphate anion radical being strong oxidant attacks dye molecules leading to its fragmentation rapidly. Thus addition of K₂S₂O₈ and H₂O₂ during solar degradation in presence of (Co₀.₉Cu₀.₁)₃O₄ helps to break the organic moiety efficiently.

Keywords: cobalt oxides, Cu-doped cobalt oxides, H₂O₂ in dye degradation, photo-catalyst, solar dye degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 153