Search results for: calcination temperature effect

Authors: Tadele Tesfay Teame, Tsegaye Abrehame, Hágen István Zsombor

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Liquidity is one of the main concerns for banks, and thus achieving the optimum level of liquidity is critical. The main objective of this study is to discover the driving force of selected private commercial banks’ liquidity. In order to achieve the objective explanatory research design and quantitative research approach were used. Data has been collected from a secondary source of the sampled Ethiopian private commercial banks’ financial statements, the National Bank of Ethiopia, and the Minister of Finance, the sample covering the period from 2011 to 2022. Bank-specific and macroeconomic variables were analyzed by using the balanced panel fixed effect regression model. Bank’s liquidity ratio is measured by the total liquid asset to total deposits. The findings of the study revealed that bank size, capital adequacy, loan growth rate, and non-performing loan had a statistically significant impact on private commercial banks’ liquidity, and annual inflation rate and interest rate margin had a statistically significant impact on the liquidity of Ethiopian private commercial banks measured by L1 (bank liquidity). Thus, banks in Ethiopia should not only be concerned about internal structures and policies/procedures, but they must consider both the internal environment and the macroeconomic environment together in developing their strategies to efficiently manage their liquidity position and private commercial banks to maintain their financial proficiency shall have bank liquidity management policy by assimilating both bank-specific and macro-economic variables.

Keywords: liquidity, Ethiopian private commercial banks, liquidity ratio, panel data regression analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Zelalem Markos Borko

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Work-related stress is a reaction that occurs when the work weight progress toward becoming excessive. Therefore, unless properly managed, stress leads to high employee turnover, decreased performance, illness and absenteeism. Yet, little has been addressed regarding work-related stress and its predictors in the study area. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess stress prevalence and its predictors in the study area. To that effect, a cross-sectional study design was conducted on 281 employees from the Ethiopian Federal Bureau of Investigation by using stratified random sampling techniques. Survey questionnaire scales were employed to collect data. Data were analyzed by percentage, Pearson correlation coefficients, simple linear regression, multiple linear regressions, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA statistical techniques. In the present study13.9% of participants faced high stress, whereas 13.5% of participants faced low stress and the rest 72.6% of officers experienced moderate stress. There is no significant group difference among workers due to age, gender, marital status, educational level, years of service and police rank. This study concludes that factors such as role conflict, performance over-utilization, role ambiguity, and qualitative and quantitative role overload together predict 39.6% of work-related stress. This indicates that 60.4% of the variation in stress is explained by other factors, so other additional research should be done to identify additional factors predicting stress. To prevent occupational stress among police, the Ethiopian Federal Bureau of Investigation should develop strategies based on factors that will help to develop stress reduction management.

Keywords: work-related stress, Ethiopian federal bureau of investigation, predictors, Addis Ababa

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Shady S. Hassan, Brijesh K. Tiwari, Gwilym A. Williams, Amit K. Jaiswal

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EU is known as the destination with the highest rate of the coffee consumption per capita in the world. Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the main by-product of coffee brewing. SCG is either disposed as a solid waste or employed as compost, although the polysaccharides from such lignocellulosic biomass might be used as feedstock for fermentation processes. However, SCG as a lignocellulose have a complex structure and pretreatment process is required to facilitate an efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates. However, commonly used pretreatment methods, such as chemical, physico-chemical and biological techniques are still insufficient to meet optimal industrial production requirements in a sustainable way. Ultrasound is a promising candidate as a sustainable green pretreatment solution for lignocellulosic biomass utilization in a large scale biorefinery. Thus, ultrasound pretreatment of SCG without adding harsh chemicals investigated as a green technology to enhance enzyme hydrolysis. In the present work, ultrasound pretreatment experiments were conducted on SCG using different ultrasound frequencies (25, 35, 45, 130, and 950 kHz) for 60 min. Regardless of ultrasound power, low ultrasound frequency is more effective than high ultrasound frequency in pretreatment of biomass. Ultrasound pretreatment of SCG (at ultrasound frequency of 25 kHz for 60 min) followed by enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in total reducing sugars of 56.1 ± 2.8 mg/g of biomass. Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to investigate changes in functional groups of biomass after pretreatment, while high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for determination of glucose. Pretreatment of lignocellulose by low frequency ultrasound in water only was found to be an effective green approach for SCG to improve saccharification and glucose yield compared to native biomass. Pretreatment conditions will be optimized, and the enzyme hydrolysate will be used as media component substitute for the production of ethanol.

Keywords: lignocellulose, ultrasound, pretreatment, spent coffee grounds

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Bediru Abamecha

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Background: Domestic violence is a global problem that occurs regardless of culture, ethnicity or socio-economic class. It is known to be responsible for numerous hospital visits undertaken by women. Violence on pregnant women is a health and social problem that poses particular risks to the woman and her unborn child. Objective: The Objective of this study will be to assess prevalence of domestic violence and its correalates among pregnant women in Manna Woreda of Jimma Zone. Methods: Simple Random Sampling technique will be used to select 12 kebeles (48% of the study area) and Systematic Sampling will be used to reach to the house hold in selected kebeles in manna woreda of Jimma zone, south west Ethiopia from february 15-25, 2011. An in-depth interview will be conducted on Women affairs, police office and Nurses working and minimum of 4FGD with 6-8 members on pregnant women and selected male from the community. SPSS version 16.0 will be used to enter, clean and analyze the data. Descriptive statistics such as mean or median for continuous variables and percent for categorical variables will be made. Bivariate analysis will be used to check the association between independent variables and domestic violence. Variables found to have association with domestic violence will be entered to multiple logistic regressions for controlling the possible effect of confounders and finally the variables which had significance association will be identified on basis of OR, with 95% CI. All statistical significance will be considered at p<0.05. The qualitative data will be summarized manually and thematic analysis will be performed and finally both will be triangulated.

Keywords: ante natal care, ethiopian demographic and health survey, domestic violence, statistical package for social science

Procedia PDF Downloads 520

Authors: Yuriy A. Knirel

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Enteric bacteria Escherichia coli is the predominant facultative anaerobe of the colonic flora, and some specific serotypes are associated with enteritis, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Shigella spp. are human pathogens that cause diarrhea and bacillary dysentery (shigellosis). They are in effect E. coli with a specific mode of pathogenicity. Strains of Salmonella enterica are responsible for a food-borne infection (salmonellosis), and specific serotypes cause typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever. All these bacteria are closely related in respect to structure and genetics of the lipopolysaccharide, including the O-polysaccharide part (O‑antigen). Being exposed to the bacterial cell surface, the O antigen is subject to intense selection by the host immune system and bacteriophages giving rise to diverse O‑antigen forms and providing the basis for typing of bacteria. The O-antigen forms of many bacteria are unique, but some are structurally and genetically related to others. The sequenced O-antigen gene clusters between conserved galF and gnd genes were analyzed taking into account the O-antigen structures established by us and others for all S. enterica and Shigella and most E. coli O-serogroups. Multiple genetic mechanisms of diversification of the O-antigen forms, such as lateral gene transfer and mutations, were elucidated and are summarized in the present paper. They include acquisition or inactivation of genes for sugar synthesis or transfer or recombination of O-antigen gene clusters or their parts. The data obtained contribute to our understanding of the origins of the O‑antigen diversity, shed light on molecular evolutionary relationships between the O-antigens of enteric bacteria, and open a way for studies of the role of gene polymorphism in pathogenicity.

Keywords: enteric bacteria, O-antigen gene cluster, polysaccharide biosynthesis, polysaccharide structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Kelebaone Tsamaase, Rapelang Kemoabe, Japhet Sakala, Edward Rakgati, Ishmael Zibani

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Increasing demand for energy, depletion of non-renewable energy, effects of climate change, the abundance of renewable energy such as solar energy have increased the interest in investing in renewable energies, in particular solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. Solar photovoltaic energy systems as part of clean technology are considered to be environmentally friendly, freely available, offer clean production systems, long term costs benefits as opposed to conventional sources, and are the attractive power source for a wide range of applications in remote areas where there is no easy access to the national grid. To get maximum electrical power, maximum solar power should penetrate the module and be converted accordingly. However, some environmental and other geographical related factors reduce the electrical power. One of them is dust which accumulates on the surface of the module and forming a dust layer and in the process obstructing the solar power from penetrating PV module. This study intends to improve the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy modules by establishing soil accumulation effects correction factor from dust characteristics and properties, and also from dust accumulation and retention pattern on PV module surface. The non-urban dry deposition flux model was adapted to determine monthly and yearly dust accumulation pattern. Consideration was done on prevailing environmental and other geographical conditions. Preliminary results showed that cumulative dust settlement increased during the months of July to October leading to a higher drop in module electrical output power.

Keywords: dust, electrical power output, PV module, soil correction factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Dina F. Mansour, Dalia O. Saleh, Rasha E. Mostafa

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Cyclophosphamide (CP), the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent, was reported to cause many side effects including urotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, gonadotoxicity, and hepatotoxicity; this limits its clinical practice. In the present study, the protective effect of genistein (GEN), the major phytoestrogen in soy products that possesses various pharmacological activities, has been investigated against CP-induced acute liver damage in rats. Forty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into five groups. The first group received the vehicles and act as normal control. In the other groups, rats were injected with a single dose of CP (200 mg/kg, i.p). The last three groups were pretreated with subcutaneous GEN at doses of 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg/day, respectively, for 15 consecutive days prior CP injection. Forty-eight hours following CP injection, rats of all groups were investigated for the serum levels of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, as well as the liver contents of reduced glutathione, malondialdehyde, nitrite, interleukin-1β, and myeloperoxidase. Histopathological examination of liver tissues was also conducted. CP resulted in acute liver damage in rats as evidenced by alteration of liver function biomarkers, oxidative stress, and inflammatory markers; that was confirmed by the histopathological outcomes. Pretreatment of rats with GEN significantly protected against CP-induced deterioration of liver function and showed marked anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that were demonstrated by the biochemical and histopathological findings. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrated the protective effects of GEN against CP-induced liver damage and suggested role of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Keywords: cyclophosphamide, genistein, inflammation, interleukin-1β, liver, myeloperoxidase, oxidative stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Reine Suci Wulandari, Rosa Suryantini

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Albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria) is a woody plant species that has a high economic value and multifunctional. Albizia is important timber, medicinal plants and can also be used as a plant to rehabilitate critical lands. The demand value of Albizia is increased so that the large quantities and high quality of seeds are required. In vitro propagation techniques are seed propagation that can produce more seeds and quality in a short time. In vitro cultures require growth regulators that can be obtained from biological agents such as endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi are micro fungi that colonize live plant tissue without producing symptoms or other negative effects on host plants and increase plant growth. The purposes of this research were to isolate and identify endophytic fungi isolated from the root of Albizia and to study the effect of endophytic fungus on the growth of Albizia in vitro. The methods were root isolation, endophytic fungal identification, and inoculation of endophytic fungi to Albizia plants in vitro. Endophytic fungus isolates were grown on PDA media before being inoculated with Albizia sprouts. Incubation is done for 4 (four) weeks. The observed growth parameters were live explant percentage, percentage of explant shoot, and percentage of explant rooted. The results of the research showed that 6 (six) endophytic fungal isolates obtained from the root of Albizia, namely Aspergillus sp., Verticillium sp, Penicillium sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp., and Acremonium sp. Statistical analysis found that Trichoderma sp. and Fusarium sp. affect in vitro growth of Albizia. Endophytic fungi from the results of this research were potential as plant growth promoting. It can be applied to increase productivity either through increased plant growth and increased endurance of Albizia seedlings to pests and diseases.

Keywords: Albizia, endophytic fungi, propagation, in vitro

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Olumayowa M. Olowe, Michael D. Asemoloye Odunayo J. Olawuyi, Hilda Vasanthakaalam

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Poor management of maize ear rot caused by fungal infection in Nigeria affected the quantity and quality of maize. This study, therefore, aims at characterizing and controlling Fusarium strains using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Maize ear showing rot symptoms were obtained from some selected farms located at Ilesa East and West using random sampling technique. Isolation of Fusarium pathogen from infected maize grain was done using direct pour plate method on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and was characterized based on morphological and molecular ITS-amplification methods. The reaction of PVASYN8F2, T2LCOMP1STR SYN-W-1, and T2LCOMP4 maize varieties, to the Fusarium ear rot pathogens and biocontrol efficacy of the mycorrhizal fungi were assessed on growth, yield, agronomic parameters and symptoms observed. The strains; olowILH1 and olowILH2 identified as Fusarium napiforme were the most dominant and virulent pathogens associated with the maize. They showed genetic similarity with documented ear rot pathogens on NCBI with accession numbers Fusarium proliferatum KT224027, KT224023, and Fusarium sp AY237110. They both exhibited varying inhibitory effects on the three maize varieties compare to control (uninfected plant) which had better growth characteristics. It was also observed that strain olowILH1 was more virulent than olowILH2. T2LCOMP4 was generally more susceptible to both fungal strains compared to the other two maize (T2LCOMP1STR SYN-W-1 and T2LCOMP4 ). In all, strain olowILH1 was more virulent than olowILH2, and Glomus clarum had higher inhibitory pathogenic effect against Fusarium strains compared to G. deserticola.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, disease management, Fusarium strains, identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Jun-Lun Jiang, Bing-Sheng Yu

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Processing of flat-panel displays generates huge amount of wasted glass polishing powder, with high concentration of cerium and other elements such as lanthanum. According to the current statistics, consumption of polishing powder was approximately ten thousand tons per year in the world. Nevertheless, wasted polishing powder was usually buried or burned. If the lanthanum and cerium compounds in the wasted polishing powder could be recycled, that will greatly reduce enterprise cost and implement waste circulation. Cathodes of SOFCs are the principal consisting of rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium. In this study, we recycled the lanthanum and cerium from wasted glass polishing powder by acid-solution method, and synthesized La0.8Sr0.05Ca0.15Fe0.8Co0.8O3-δ and Gd0.1Ce0.9O2 (LSCCF-GDC) composite cathode material for SOFCs by glycinenitrate combustion (GNP) method. The results show that the recovery rates of lanthanum and cerium could accomplish up to 80% and 100% under 10N nitric acid solution within one hour. Comparing with the XRD data of the commercial LSCCF-GDC powder and the LSCCF-GDC product synthesized with chemicals, we find that the LSCCF-GDC was successfully synthesized with the recycled La & Ce solution by GNP method. The effect of adding ammonia to the product was also discussed, the grain size is finer and recovery rate of the product is higher without the addition of ammonia to the solution.

Keywords: glass polishing powder, acid solution, recycling, composite cathodes of solid oxide fuel, cell (SOFC), perovskite, glycine-nitrate combustion(GNP) method

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: N. K. Thakur

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A major proportion of the formations drilled for the production of hydrocarbons consists of clay containing shales. The petroleum industry has hugely investigated the role of clay minerals and their subsequent effect on wellbore stability during the drilling and production of hydrocarbons. It has been found that when the shale formation comes in contact with water-based drilling fluid, the interaction of clay minerals like montmorillonite with infiltrated water leads to hydration of the clay minerals, which causes shale swelling. When shale swelling proceeds further, it may lead to major drilling complications like caving, pipe sticking, which invariably influences wellbore stability, wellbore diameter, the mechanical strength of shale, stress distribution in the wellbore, etc. These problems ultimately lead to an increase in nonproductive time and additional costs during drilling. Several additives are used to prevent shale instability. Among the popular additives used for shale inhibition in drilling muds, ionic liquids and nanoparticles are emerging to be the best additives. The efficiency of the proposed additives will be studied and compared with conventional clay inhibitors like KCl. The main objective is to develop a highly efficient water-based mud for mitigating shale instability and reducing fluid loss which is environmentally friendly and does not alter the formation permeability. The use of nanoparticles has been exploited to enhance the rheological and fluid loss properties in water-based drilling fluid ionic liquid have attracted significant research interest due to its unique thermal stability. It is referred to as ‘green chemical’. The preliminary experimental studies performed are promising. The application of more effective mud additives is always desirable to make the drilling process techno-economically proficient.

Keywords: ionic liquid, shale inhibitor, wellbore stability, unconventional

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Doreen Duri, Danai Zhou, Babil Stray-Pedersen, Collet Dandara

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Given the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and the elusive search for a cure, understanding the pharmacogenetics of currently used drugs is critical in populations from the most affected regions. Compared to Asian and Caucasian populations, African population groups are more genetically diverse, making it difficult to extrapolate findings from one ethnic group to another. This study aimed to investigate the role of genetic variation in CYP2B6 (c.516G>T and c.983T>C) single nucleotide polymorphisms on plasma nevirapine levels among HIV-infected adult Zimbabwean patients. Using a cross-sectional study, patients on nevirapine-containing HAART, having reached steady state (more than six weeks on treatment) were recruited to participate. Blood samples were collected after patients provided consent and samples were used to extract DNA for genetic analysis or to measure plasma nevirapine levels. Genetic analysis was carried out using PCR and RFLP or Snapshot for the two single nucleotide polymorphisms; CYP2B6 c.516G>T and c.983T>C, while LC-MS/MS was used in analyzing nevirapine concentration. CYP2B6 c.516G>T and c.983T>C significantly predicted plasma nevirapine concentration with the c.516T and c.983T being associated with elevated plasma nevirapine concentrations. Comparisons of the variant allele frequencies observed in this group to those reported in some African, Caucasian and Asian populations showed significant differences. We conclude that pharmacogenetics of nevirapine can be creatively used to determine patients who are likely to develop nevirapine-associated side effects as well as too low plasma concentrations for viral suppression.

Keywords: allele frequencies, genetically diverse, nevirapine, single nucleotide polymorphism

Procedia PDF Downloads 458

Authors: Ramin Mansouri

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Due to the contrast of rivers discharge regime with water demands, one of the best ways to use water resources is to regulate the natural flow of the rivers and supplying water needs to construct dams. Optimal utilization of reservoirs, consideration of multiple important goals together at the same is of very high importance. To study about analyzing this method, statistical data of Bakhtiari and Roudbar dam over 46 years (1955 until 2001) is used. Initially an appropriate objective function was specified and using DE algorithm, the rule curve was developed. In continue, operation policy using rule curves was compared to standard comparative operation policy. The proposed method distributed the lack to the whole year and lowest damage was inflicted to the system. The standard deviation of monthly shortfall of each year with the proposed algorithm was less deviated than the other two methods. The Results show that median values for the coefficients of F and Cr provide the optimum situation and cause DE algorithm not to be trapped in local optimum. The most optimal answer for coefficients are 0.6 and 0.5 for F and Cr coefficients, respectively. After finding the best combination of coefficients values F and CR, algorithms for solving the independent populations were examined. For this purpose, the population of 4, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 members were studied in two generations (G=50 and 100). result indicates that the generation number 200 is suitable for optimizing. The increase in time per the number of population has almost a linear trend, which indicates the effect of population in the runtime algorithm. Hence specifying suitable population to obtain an optimal results is very important. Standard operation policy had better reversibility percentage, but inflicts severe vulnerability to the system. The results obtained in years of low rainfall had very good results compared to other comparative methods.

Keywords: reservoirs, differential evolution, dam, Optimal operation

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Gulelat Gatew

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Bamboo Woven Strand Board (WSB) products are manufactured from Ethiopia highland bamboo (Yushania alpina) as a multiple layer mat structure for enhanced mechanical performance. Hence, it shows similar mechanical properties as tropical hardwood products. WSB, therefore, constitutes a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood products. The resin and wax ratio had a great influence on the determinants properties of the product quality such as internal bonding, water absorption, thickness swelling, bending and stiffness properties. Among these properties, because of the hygroscopic nature of the bamboo, thickness swelling and water absorption are important performances of WSB for using in construction and outdoor facilities. When WSB is exposed to water or moist environment, they tend to swell and absorb water in all directions. The degree of swelling and water absorption depends on the type of resin used, resin formulation, resin ratio, wax type and ratio. The objective of this research is investigating effects of phenol formaldehyde and wax on thickness swelling and water absorption behavior on bamboo WSB for construction and outdoor facilities. The experiments were conducted to measure the effects of wax and phenol-formaldehyde resin content on WSB thickness swelling and water absorption which leads to investigate its effect on dimension stability and mechanical properties. Both experiments were performed with 2–hour and 24-hour water immersion test and a significant set of data regarding the influence of such method parameters is also presented. The addition of up to 2% wax with 10% of phenol formaldehyde significantly reduced thickness swelling and water absorption of WSB which resulted in making it more hydrophobic and less susceptible to the influences of moisture in high humidity conditions compared to the panels without wax.

Keywords: woven strand board (WSB), water absorption, thickness swelling, phenol formaldehyde resin

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: Hicham Idriss

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Hydrogen production from water is one of the most promising methods to secure renewable sources or vectors of energy for societies in general and for chemical industries in particular. At present over 90% of the total amount of hydrogen produced in the world is made from non-renewable fossil fuels (via methane reforming). There are many methods for producing hydrogen from water and these include reducible oxide materials (solar thermal production), combined PV/electrolysis, artificial photosynthesis and photocatalysis. The most promising of these processes is the one relying on photocatalysis; yet serious challenges are hindering its success so far. In order to make this process viable considerable improvement of the photon conversion is needed. Among the key studies that our group has been conducting in the last few years are those focusing on synergism between the semiconductor phases, photonic band gap materials, pn junctions, plasmonic resonance responses, charge transfer to metal cations, in addition to metal dispersion and band gap engineering. In this work results related to phase transformation of the anatase to rutile in the case of TiO2 (synergism), of Au and Ag dispersion (electron trapping and hydrogen-hydrogen recombination centers) as well as their plasmon resonance response (visible light conversion) are presented and discussed. It is found for example that synergism between the two common phases of TiO2 (anatase and rutile) is sensitive to the initial particle size. It is also found, in agreement with previous results, that the rate is very sensitive to the amount of metals (with similar particle size) on the surface unlike the case of thermal heterogeneous catalysis.

Keywords: photo-catalysis, hydrogen production, water splitting, plasmonic

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: N. Tumenbayeva

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At the present time in Kazakhstan, the area for saxaul growing is strongly depopulateddue to anthropogenic and other factors. To prevent further reduction of natural haloxylon forest area their artificial crops are offered. Seed germination and survival of young plants in such haloxylon crops are very low. Insects, as one of the most important nutrient factors have appreciable effect on seed germination and saxaul productivity at the all stages of its formation. Insects, feeding on leaves, flowers, seeds and developing inside the trunk, branches, twigs, roots have a change in its formation and influence on the lifespan of saxaul. Representatives of Lepidoptera troop (Lepidopteraare the most harmful pests forsaxaul. As a result of our research we have identified 15 species of Lepidoptera living on haloxylon which display very different cycles and different types of food relations. It allows them to inhabit a variety of habitats, and feeding on various parts of saxaul. Some of them cause significant and sometimes very heavy damage for saxaul. There are 17identified species of Lepidoptera from the Coleophoridaefamily - 1, Gelechidae - 5, Pyralidae - 4, Noctuidae - 4, Lymantridae- 1, Cossidae - 2 species. At the same time we found 8 species for the first time, which have not been mentioned in the literature before. According to food specialization they are divided into monophages (2 types), oligophages (6 species) and polyphages (3 species). By affinity to plant parts, leaves and seeds are fed by 8 species, shoots by 1 specie, scions by 5 species, flowers, scions, seeds by 1, and 2species damage the roots and trunks. In whole installed seasonal groups of Lepidoptera - saxaul pests in the desert area, confined to the certain parts of the year, as well as certain parts of the plant for feeding. Harmfulness, depending on their activity appear during the growing season is also different.

Keywords: saxaul, Lepidoptera, insecta, haloxylon

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Eid Alotaibi

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of tourists’ culture on perception and evaluation of hotel service experience and behavioral intentions. Drawing on Hofested’s cultural dimensions, this study seeks to further contribute towards understanding the effect of culture on perception and evaluation of hotels’ services, and whether there are differences between Saudi and European tourists’ perceptions of hotel services evaluation. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used in this study. Data were collected from tourists staying in five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia using the self-completion technique. The findings show that evaluations of hotel services differ from one culture to another. T-test results reveal that Saudis were more tolerant and reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction, were more likely to return and recommend the hotel, and perceived the price for the hotel stay as being good value for money as compared to their European counterparts. The sample was relatively small and specific to only five-star hotel evaluations. As a result, findings cannot be generalized to the wider tourist population. The results of this research have important implications for management within the Saudi hospitality industry. The study contributes to the tourist cultural theory by emphasizing the relative importance of cultural dimensions in-service evaluation. The author argues that no studies could be identified that compare Saudis and Europeans in their evaluations of their experiences staying at hotels. Therefore, the current study would enhance understanding of the effects of cultural factors on service evaluations and provide valuable input for international market segmentation and resource allocation in the Saudi hotel industry.

Keywords: culture, tourist, service experience, hotel industry, Hofested’s cultural dimensions

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: S. I. Usenko, V. N. Golubeva, I. A. Konopkina, I. V. Astakhova, O. V. Vakhnina, A. A. Korableva, A. A. Kalinina, K. B. Zhogova

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Gold can be determined in natural objects and manufactured articles of different origin. The up-to-date status of research and problems of high gold level determination in alloys and manufactured articles are described in detail in the literature. No less important is the task of this metal determination in minerals, process products and waste pieces. The latters, as objects of gold content chemical analysis, are most hard-to-study for two reasons: Because of high requirements to accuracy of analysis results and because of difference in chemical and phase composition. As a rule, such objects are characterized by compound, variable and very often unknown matrix composition that leads to unpredictable and uncontrolled effect on accuracy and other analytical characteristics of analysis technique. In this paper, the methods for the determination of gold are described, using flame atomic-absorption spectrophotometry and gravimetric analysis technique. The techniques are aimed at gold determination in a solution for gold etching (KJ+J2), in the technological mixture formed after cleaning stainless steel members of vacuum-deposit installation with concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids as well as in gold-containing powder resulted from liquid wastes reprocessing. Optimal conditions for sample preparation and analysis of liquid and solid waste specimens of compound and variable matrix composition were chosen. The boundaries of relative resultant error were determined for the methods within the range of gold mass concentration from 0.1 to 30g/dm3 in the specimens of liquid wastes and mass fractions from 3 to 80% in the specimens of solid wastes.

Keywords: microelectronics waste pieces, gold, sample preparation, atomic-absorption spectrophotometry, gravimetric analysis technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Sadhana Ghnayem

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This article examines the relationship between several socio-economic and background variables of Arab-Israeli families and their effect on the conflict management style of forcing, where teenage children are expected to obey their parents without questioning. The article explores the inter-generational gap and the desire of Arab-Israeli parents to force their teenage children to obey without questioning. The independent variables include: the sex of the parent, religion (Christian or Muslim), income of the parent, years of education of the parent, and the sex of the teenage child. We use the dependent variable of “Obedience Without Questioning” that is reported twice: by each of the parents as well as by the children. We circulated a questionnaire and collected data from a sample of 180 parents and their adolescent child living in the Galilee area during 2018. In this questionnaire we asked each of the parent and his/her teenage child about whether the latter is expected to follow the instructions of the former without questioning. The outcome of this article indicates, first, that Christian-Arab families are less authoritarian than Muslims families in demanding sheer obedience from their children. Second, female parents indicate more than male parents that their teenage child indeed obeys without questioning. Third, there is a negative correlation between the variable “Income” and “Obedience without Questioning.” Yet, the regression coefficient of this variable is close zero. Fourth, there is a positive correlation between years of education and obedience reported by the children. In other words, more educated parents are more likely to demand obedience from their children.  Finally, after running the regression, the study also found that the impact of the variables of religion as well as the sex of the child on the dependent variable of obedience is also significant at above 95 and 90%, respectively.

Keywords: conflict, religion, conflict management style, obedience

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Sujit Kumar Guchhait, Subir Paul

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One of the major research areas is to find an alternative source of energy to fulfill the energy crisis and environmental problems. The Fuel cell is such kind of energy producing unit. Use of fuel cell to produce renewable energy for commercial purpose is limited by the high cost of Pt based electrode material. Development of high energetic, as well as inexpensive fuel cell electrode materials, is needs of hour to produce clean energy using derive bio-fuel. In this present investigation, inexpensive Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode material has been synthesized by using pulse current. The surface morphology of the electrode materials is controlled by several deposition parameters to increase the rate of electrochemical oxidation of alcoholic fuel, ethanol. The electrochemical characterization of the developed material was done by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Chronoamperometry (CA) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy test. It is interesting to find that both these materials have shown high electrocatalytic properties in terms of high exchange current density (I0), low polarization resistance (Rp) and low impedance. It is seen that the addition of CeO2 to Ni-Cu has outperformed Pt as far as high electrocatalytic properties are concerned. The exchange current density on the Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode surface for ethanol oxidation is about eight times higher than the same on the Pt surface with much lower polarization resistance than the later. The surface morphology of the electrode materials has been revealed by Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). It is seen that grains are narrow and subspherical with 3D surface containing pores in between two elongated grains. XRD study exhibits the presence of Ni and CeO2 on the Cu surface.

Keywords: electro-catalyst, alcoholic fuel, cyclic voltammetry, potentiodynamic polarization, EIS, XRD, SEM

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Authors: Ahmed M. Kabel, Maaly A. Abd Elmaaboud

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Scleroderma is one of the connective tissue disorders characterized by skin and systemic fibrosis. Its pathogenesis involves multiple interrelated processes of autoimmunity, vasculopathy, inflammation, and oxidative stress. This study was a trial to explore the possible ameliorative effects of sodium valproate on an experimental model of skin fibrosis induced by bleomycin. Forty male BALB/c mice were divided into four equal groups as follows: control group; bleomycin group; bleomycin + sodium valproate group, and sodium valproate group. Mice were assessed for their body weight every four days throughout the whole study. Skin tissues were used to evaluate the oxidative stress parameters, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 15, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Skin fibrosis was evaluated by measuring dermal thickness and staining the skin tissues with Masson trichrome stain. Also, the skin tissues were immunostained with alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Administration of sodium valproate to bleomycin-treated mice resulted in the restoration of the body weight with a significant decrease in the dermal thickness, amelioration of oxidative stress, suppression of TGF-β1 and mTOR expression, and significant reduction of the percentage of α-SMA immunostaining and the proinflammatory cytokine levels compared to mice treated with bleomycin alone. In conclusion, sodium valproate has an antifibrotic effect on skin fibrosis which may represent a beneficial therapeutic modality for the management of scleroderma.

Keywords: scleroderma, bleomycin, sodium valproate, skin fibrosis

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Authors: Leona Ondrejikova, Martin Hill, Antonin Parizek

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The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is higher in women predisposed to developing intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). Both diseases are associated with altered steroidogenesis when compared with none-ICP controls. However, the effect of GDM on circulating steroids in ICP patients remains unclear. The question remains, whether the levels of circulating steroids differ between ICP patients with and without GDM. In total 10 ICP patients without GDM (ICP+GDM-), 7 ICP patients with GDM (ICP+GDM+), and 15 controls (ICP-GDM-) were monitored during late gestation, at labor, and during three periods postpartum (day 5, week 3, and week 6 postpartum) (Šimják et al., 2018). The relationships between steroid profiles and patients’ status were evaluated using the ANOVA model consisting of subject factor, between-subject factors Group (ICP+GDM+, ICP+GDM-, ICP-GDM-), gestational age at the diagnosis of ICP and gestational age at labor, and within-subject factor Stage and ICP × Stage interaction. The levels of the C21 and C19 Δ5 steroids and 5α/β-reduced C19 steroids were highest in ICP+GDM+, while those for the ICP-GDM-, and ICP+GDM- groups were lower. In the C21 Δ4 steroids and their 5α/β-reduced metabolites, the steroid levels were highest in the ICP+GDM-, intermediate in the ICP-GDM- and lowest in the ICP+GDM+ group. This higher concentration in ICP+GDM- group may be of importance as the 5α-pregnane-3α,20α-diol disulfate, is considered as the substance inducing ICP. In general, these data show that the comorbidity with GDM substantially changes the steroidome in ICP patients towards the higher activity of steroid CYP17A1 lyase step in adrenal zona reticularis reduced CYP17A1 hydroxylase step in zona fasciculata. This is consistent with our previously published hypothesis about the critical role of maternal zona reticularis in the pathophysiology of ICP. Our present data also indicate that the comorbidity with GDM might moderate the gravity of the ICP in this way.

Keywords: CYP17A1, GC-MS, gestational diabetes mellitus, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

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Authors: Sayantika Biswas, Dipanshu Sur, Amitoj Athwal, Ratnabali Chakravorty

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Title: Impact of serum estrogen and progesterone levels in the outcome pregnancy rate in frozen embryo transfer cycles. A prospective cohort study Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of serum estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) levels at different time points on pregnancy outcomes in frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. Materials & Method: A prospective cohort study was performed in patients undergoing frozen embryo transfer. Patients under age 37 years of age with at least one good blastocyst or three good day 3 embryos were included in the study. For endometrial preparation, 14 days of oral estradiol use (2X2 mg for 5 days. 3X2 mg for 4 days, and 4X2 mg for 5 days) was followed by vaginal progesterone twice a day and 50 mg intramuscular progesterone twice a day. Embryo transfer was scheduled 72-76 hrs or 116-120hrs after the initiation of progesterone. Serum E2 and P4 levels were examined at 4 times a) at the start of the menstrual cycle prior to the hormone supplementation. b) on the day of P4 start. c) on the day of ET. d) on the third day after ET. Result: A total 41 women were included in this study (mean age 31.8; SD 2.8). Clinical pregnancy rate was 65.55%. Serum E2 levels on at the start of the menstrual cycle prior to the hormone supplementation and on the day of P4 start were high in patients who achieved pregnancy compared to who did not (P=0.005 and P=0.019 respectively). P4 levels on on the day of ET were also high in patients with clinical pregnancy. On the day of P4 start, a serum E2 threshold of 186.4 pg/ml had a sensitivity of 82%, and P4 had a sensitivity of 71% for the prediction of clinical pregnancy at the threshold value 16.00 ng/ml. Conclusion: In women undergoing FET with hormone replacement, serum E2 level >186.4 pg/ml on the day of the start of progesterone and serum P4 levels >16.00 ng/ml on embryo transfer day are associated with clinical pregnancy.

Keywords: serum estradiol, serum progesterone, clinical pregnancy, frozen embryo transfer

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Authors: Ismail Mahdi, Nidal Fahsi, Mohamed Hafidi, Abdelmounaim Allaoui, Latefa Biskri

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To meet the worldwide demand for food, smart management of arable lands is needed. This could be achieved through sustainable approaches such as the use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms including bacteria. Phosphate (P) solubilization is one of the major mechanisms of plant growth promotion by associated bacteria. In the present study, we isolated and screened 14 strains from the rhizosphere of Chenopodium quinoa wild grown in the experimental farm of UM6P and assessed their plant growth promoting properties. Next, they were identified by using 16S rRNA and Cpn60 genes sequencing as Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. These strains showed dispersed capacities to solubilize P (up to 346 mg L−1) following five days of incubation in NBRIP broth. We also assessed their abilities for indole acetic acid (IAA) production (up to 795,3 µg ml−1) and in vitro salt tolerance. Three Bacillus strains QA1, QA2, and S8 tolerated high salt stress induced by NaCl with a maximum tolerable concentration of 8%. Three performant isolates, QA1, S6 and QF11, were further selected for seed germination assay because of their pronounced abilities in terms of P solubilization, IAA production and salt tolerance. The early plant growth potential of tested strains showed that inoculated quinoa seeds displayed greater germination rate and higher seedlings growth under bacterial treatments. The positive effect on seed germination traits strongly suggests that the tested strains are growth promoting, halotolerant and P solubilizing bacteria which could be exploited as biofertilizers.

Keywords: phosphate solubilizing bacteria, IAA, Seed germination, salt tolerance, quinoa

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Authors: Tejas Dhadphale

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The user-centered design (UCD) approach has led to an increased interest in empathy within the product development process. Designers have explored several empathetic methods and tools such as personas, empathy maps, journey maps, user needs statements and user scenarios to capture and visualize users’ needs. The goal of these tools is not only to generate a deeper and shared understanding of user needs but also to become a point of reference for subsequent decision making, brainstorming and concept evaluation tasks. The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of empathy priming on divergent brainstorming tasks. This study compares the effects of three empathy tools, personas, empathy maps and user needs statements, on ideation fluency and originality of ideas during brainstorming tasks. In a three-between-subjects experimental design study, sixty product design students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: persona, empathy maps and user needs statements. A one-way, between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a a statistically significant difference in empathy priming on fluency and originality of ideas. Participants in the persona group showed higher ideation fluency and generated a greater number of original ideas compared to the other groups. The results show that participants in the user need statement group to generate a greater number of feasible and relevant ideas. The study also aims to understand how formatting and visualization of empathy tools impact divergent brainstorming tasks. Participants were interviewed to understand how different visualizations of users’ needs (personas, empathy maps and user needs statements) facilitated idea generation during brainstorming tasks. Implications for design education are discussed.

Keywords: empathy, persona, priming, Design research

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Authors: Jenan Abu Qadourah

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With the depletion of traditional fossil resources and the growing human population, it is now more important than ever to reduce our energy usage and harmful emissions. In the Mediterranean region, the intense solar radiation contributes to summertime overheating, which raises energy costs and building carbon footprints, alternatively making it suitable for the installation of solar energy systems. In urban settings, where multi-story structures predominate and roof space is limited, photovoltaic integrated shading devices (PVSD) are a clean solution for building designers. However, incorporating photovoltaic (PV) systems into a building's envelope is a complex procedure that, if not executed correctly, might result in the PV system failing. As a result, potential PVSD design solutions must be assessed based on their overall energy performance from the project's early design stage. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate and compare the possible impact of various PVSDs on the energy performance of new apartments in the Mediterranean region, with a focus on Amman, Jordan. To achieve the research aim, computer simulations were performed to assess and compare the energy performance of different PVSD configurations. Furthermore, an energy index was developed by taking into account all energy aspects, including the building's primary energy demand and the PVSD systems' net energy production. According to the findings, the PVSD system can meet 12% to 43% of the apartment building's electricity needs. By highlighting the potential interest in PVSD systems, this study aids the building designer in producing more energy-efficient buildings and encourages building owners to install PV systems on the façade of their buildings.

Keywords: photovoltaic integrated shading device, solar energy, architecture, energy performance, simulation, overall energy index, Jordan

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Authors: Hrishikesh Purandare, Ashwini Pethe

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Research from developed countries has demonstrated that the built environment can have a significant effect on children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development. A majority of the studies on the relationship between the built environment and the well-being of children have been conducted in North America and Western Europe, though most of the world’s children live in the global South. Millions of children living in urban slums in India confront issues associated with poor living conditions and lack of access to basic services. It is a well-known fact that slums are places of extreme poverty, substandard housing, overcrowding, and poor sanitation. These challenges faced by children living in slums can have a significant impact on their physical, psychological, and social development. Despite the magnitude of the problem, the area of research, particularly on the impact of the built environment of slums on children and adolescent well-being, has been understudied in India. Only a few studies in the global South have investigated the impact of the built environment on children’s well-being. Apart from issues of the limited access to health and education of these children, the perception of children regarding the built environment which they inhabit is rarely addressed. A sample of 120 children living in the slums of Pune city between the ages 7 and 16 participated in this study, which employed a concurrent embedded approach of mixed method research. Questionnaires were administered to obtain quantitative data that included attributes of crowding, noise, privacy, territoriality and housing quality in the built environment. The qualitative analysis of children’s sketches highlighted aspects of the built environment with which they associated themselves the most. The study sought to examine the perception of the deprived children living in the urban slums in the city of Pune (India) towards their built environment.

Keywords: physical environment, poverty, underprivileged children, urban Indian slums

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Authors: Juang R. Matangaran, Qi Adlan

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Industrial plantation forest in Indonesia was developed in 1983, and since then, several companies have been successfully planted a total area of concessionaire approximately 10 million hectares. Currently, these plantation forests have their annual harvesting period. In the timber harvesting process, amount part of the trees generally become logging residue. Tree parts such as branches, twigs, defected stem and leaves are unused section of tree on the ground after timber harvesting. The use of heavy machines in timber harvesting area has caused damage to the forest soil. The negative impact of such machines includes loss of topsoil, soil erosion, and soil compaction. Forest soil compaction caused reduction of forest water infiltration, increase runoff and causes difficulty for root penetration. In this study, we used logging residue as soil covers on the passages passed by skidding machines in order to observe the reduction soil compaction. Bulk density of soil was measured and analyzed after several times of skidding machines passage on skid trail. The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of logging residue on reducing soil compaction. The research was taken place at one of the industrial plantation forest area of South Sumatra Indonesia. The result of the study showed that percentage increase of soil compaction bare soil was larger than soil surface covered by logging residue. The maximum soil compaction occurred after 4 to 5 passes on soil without logging residue or bare soil and after 7 to 8 passes on soil cover by logging residue. The use of logging residue coverings could reduce soil compaction from 45% to 60%. The logging residue was effective in decreasing soil disturbance of timber harvesting at the plantation forest area.

Keywords: bulk density, logging residue, plantation forest, soil compaction, timber harvesting

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Authors: Neda Amidi Fazli, Farid Amidi Fazli

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Enriched fruits by minerals provide minerals which are needed to human body the minerals are used by body cells for daily activities. This paper indicates the result of mass transfer in fruit slices in 55% sucrose syrup in presence of calcium and phosphorus ions. Osmosis agent 55% (w/w) was prepared by solving sucrose in deionized water and adding calcium or phosphorus in 1 and 2% concentration. Dry matter, solid gain, water loss as well as weight reduction were calculated. Results showed that by increasing of calcium concentration in osmosis solution solid gain, water loss and weight reduction were increased in short experiment time in kiwi fruit but the parameters decreased in long experiment time by concentration increasing and rise of calcium concentration caused decrease of osmosis parameters in banana. In the case of phosphorus, increasing of ion concentration had adverse effect on all treatments, this may be due to different osmosis force that is created by two types of ions. The mentioned parameters decreased in all treatments by increasing of ion concentration. Highest mass transfer in kiwi fruit occurs when 1% calcium solution applied for 60 minutes, values obtained for solid gain, water loss and weight reduction were 42.60, 51.97, and 9.37 respectively. In the case of banana, when 2% phosphorus concentration was applied as osmosis agent for 60 minutes highest values for solid gain, water loss and weight reduction obtained as 21, 25.84, and 4.84 respectively.

Keywords: calcium, concentration, osmotic dehydration, phosphorus

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Mehdi Moghimi

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Doctrines associated with situational prevention considers 'place of committing crime' as one of the fundamental elements of a crime. Meanwhile, with regard to causing or having effect on a crime situation, 'place' can be one of the pivotal indices in situational prevention analyses. This study aims at examining the role of place in construction of a crime situation and explaining the relationship between 'place' and situational preventive measures and procedures. Also, how to identify high-crime places, types of high-crime places and the factors influencing their creation are among the most important secondary objectives of this article. Concerning the purpose, it is a practical study whose material has been written through a documentary method using original sources (English), books and written and translated articles etc. This article is written in two main parts. In the first section, cognitive-conceptual issues about 'place' as one of the main causes of crime situation, and its effective interaction with situational preventive measures will be reviewed. The second part of this paper will focus on criminological examination of places and critical locations of crime and provide situational preventive measures to deal with the situation. 'Crime displacement' and 'geographical distribution of benefits'are also considered as the possible consequences of implementing preventive strategies. The results of the study suggest that the inventory of offenses is distributed according to the spatial characteristics. Moreover, according to the criminological characteristics governing region or location, offenders choose the place of crime based on a logical calculation. Therefore, some locations, regions or neighborhoods are permanent places of occurring lots of crimes. As a result, considering "place", preventive measures and procedures can be systematically directed, and using the most effective ways, limited preventive resources are utilized in the most critical places. Finally, some suggestions for further research and application are provided in line with more favorable promotion of situational preventive measures.

Keywords: crime prevention, place, police crime, situational crime prevention

Procedia PDF Downloads 519