Search results for: national water quality

Authors: Yu-Ching Liu

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Background: Family numbers usually take responsibility for taking care of their elderly relatives, especially parents. Caring for a patient with chronic diseases is a stressful experience, which makes carers suffer physical and mental health stress, difficulties maintaining family relationships and issues in participating in the labor market, which may lower their quality of life (QoL). The issue of providing care to relatives with chronic illness has been widely explored in Taiwan, but most studies focus on the need for full-time caregivers. Objective: The main goal of this study was to examine the topic of working carers involved in the decision-making process of LTC services and to explore what affects working carers considering when they choose the care services for their disabled, elderly relatives. Method: A total of 7 working caregivers were enrolled in this study. A face-to-face and semi-structured in-depth qualitative interview study were conducted to explore the caregivers' perspectives. Results: Working carers have a positive experience of using LTC service because it allows them to kill two birds with one stone, continue employment, and care for an elderly disabled relative. However, working carers have still been struggling to find friendly community-based LTC services. There were no longer available community services that could be used with the illness condition of patients getting worse. As such, patients have to be cared for at home, which might increase the caregiver burden of carers. Conclusion: Working family caregivers suffer from heavy physical and psychological burdens as they not only have to maintain their employment but care for elderly disabled relatives; however, the current support provided is insufficient. The design of services should consider working carers' employment situation and need rather than the only caring situation of patients at home.

Keywords: family caregiver, Long-term care, work-life balance, decision-making

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Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa Kitunzi, Annabella Haninka Ejiri

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Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. Our overall goal was to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners with AD through teledermatology in Uganda. We aimed to; i) to increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers; and ii) to improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons: Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prisons staff with AD. We conducted a five days training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: Draft iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin Increased proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80% Increased proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year. Increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year. Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

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Authors: Harveen Kaur Tatla, Parisa Niknejad, Rajender Gupta, Bipro Ranjan Dhar, Mohd. Adana Khan

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Sewage sludge management presents a pressing challenge in the realm of wastewater treatment, calling for sustainable and efficient solutions. This study explores the integration of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) and Anaerobic Digestion (AD) as a promising approach to address the complexities associated with sewage sludge treatment. The integration of these two processes offers a complementary and synergistic framework, allowing for the mitigation of inherent limitations, thereby enhancing overall efficiency, product quality, and the comprehensive utilization of sewage sludge. In this research, we investigate the optimal sequencing of HTL and AD within the treatment framework, aiming to discern which sequence, whether HTL followed by AD or AD followed by HTL, yields superior results. We explore a range of HTL working temperatures, including 250°C, 300°C, and 350°C, coupled with residence times of 30 and 60 minutes. To evaluate the effectiveness of each sequence, a battery of tests is conducted on the resultant products, encompassing Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA). Additionally, elemental analysis is employed to determine which sequence maximizes energy recovery. Our findings illuminate the intricate dynamics of HTL and AD integration for sewage sludge management, shedding light on the temperature-residence time interplay and its impact on treatment efficiency. This study not only contributes to the optimization of sewage sludge treatment but also underscores the potential of integrated processes in sustainable waste management strategies. The insights gleaned from this research hold promise for advancing the field of wastewater treatment and resource recovery, addressing critical environmental and energy challenges.

Keywords: Anaerobic Digestion (AD), aqueous phase, energy recovery, Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL), sewage sludge management, sustainability.

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Authors: Raeed Alanazi

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Introduction: Nursing students have a crucial role to play in the inhibition of infectious diseases and, therefore, must be trained in infection control and prevention modules prior to entering clinical settings. Simulations have been found to have a positive impact on infection control skills and the use of standard precautions. Aim: The purpose of this study was to use the four sources of self-efficacy in explaining the level of clinical self-efficacy and adherence to infection control practices in Saudi nursing students during simulation practice. Method: A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling was used. This study was conducted in all Saudi nursing schools, with a total number of 197 students participated in this study. Three scales were used simulation self- efficacy Scale (SSES), the four sources of self-efficacy scale (SSES), and Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS). Multiple linear regression was used to test the use of the four sources of self-efficacy (SSES) in explaining level of clinical self-efficacy and adherence to infection control in nursing students. Results: The vicarious experience subscale (p =.044) was statistically significant. The regression model indicated that for every one unit increase in vicarious experience (observation and reflection in simulation), the participants’ adherence to infection control increased by .13 units (β =.22, t = 2.03, p =.044). In addition, the regression model indicated that for every one unit increase in education level, the participants’ adherence to infection control increased by 1.82 units (beta=.34= 3.64, p <.001). Also, the mastery experience subscale (p <.001) and vicarious experience subscale (p = .020) were shared significant associations with clinical self-efficacy. Conclusion: The findings of this research support the idea that simulation-based learning can be a valuable teaching-learning method to help nursing students develop clinical competence, which is essential in providing quality and safe nursing care.

Keywords: simulation-based learning, clinical self-efficacy, infection control, nursing students

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Authors: Elyria Kemp, Kelly Cowart, My Bui

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 31.9% of adolescents have had an anxiety disorder. Several environmental factors may help to contribute to high levels of anxiety and depression in young people (i.e., Generation Z, Millennials). However, as young people negotiate life on social media, they may begin to evaluate themselves using excessively high standards and adopt self-perfectionism tendencies. Broadly defined, self-perfectionism involves very critical evaluations of the self. Perfectionism may also come from others and may manifest as socially prescribed perfectionism, and young adults are reporting higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism than previous generations. This rising perfectionism is also associated with anxiety, greater physiological reactivity, and a sense of social disconnection. However, theories from psychology suggest that improvement in emotion regulation can contribute to enhanced psychological and emotional well-being. Emotion regulation refers to the ways people manage how and when they experience and express their emotions. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression are common emotion regulation strategies. Cognitive reappraisal involves changing the meaning of a stimulus that involves construing a potentially emotion-eliciting situation in a way that changes its emotional impact. By contrast, expressive suppression involves inhibiting the behavioral expression of emotion. The purpose of this research is to examine the efficacy of social marketing initiatives which promote emotion regulation strategies to help young adults regulate their emotions. In Study 1 a single factor (emotional regulation strategy: a cognitive reappraisal, expressive, control) between-subjects design was conducted using an online, non-student consumer panel (n=96). Sixty-eight percent of participants were male, and 32% were female. Study participants belonged to the Millennial and Gen Z cohort, ranging in age from 22 to 35 (M=27). Participants were first told to spend at least three minutes writing about a public speaking appearance which made them anxious. The purpose of this exercise was to induce anxiety. Next, participants viewed one of three advertisements (randomly assigned) which promoted an emotion regulation strategy—cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, or an advertisement non-emotional in nature. After being exposed to one of the ads, participants responded to a measure composed of two items to access their emotional state and the efficacy of the messages in fostering emotion management. Findings indicated that individuals in the cognitive reappraisal condition (M=3.91) exhibited the most positive feelings and more effective emotion regulation than the expressive suppression (M=3.39) and control conditions (M=3.72, F(1,92) = 3.3, p<.05). Results from this research can be used by institutions (e.g., schools) in taking a leadership role in attacking anxiety and other mental health issues. Social stigmas regarding mental health can be removed and a more proactive stance can be taken in promoting healthy coping behaviors and strategies to manage negative emotions.

Keywords: emotion regulation, anxiety, social marketing, generation z

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Authors: Tomiwa, Akinyemi Clement

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Tropical regions experience diverse and complex precipitation patterns, posing significant challenges for accurate rainfall estimation and forecasting. This study addresses the problem of effectively classifying tropical rain types and refining the Z-R (Reflectivity-Rain Rate) relationship to enhance rainfall estimation accuracy. Through a combination of remote sensing, meteorological analysis, and machine learning, the research aims to develop an advanced classification framework capable of distinguishing between different types of tropical rain based on their unique characteristics. This involves utilizing high-resolution satellite imagery, radar data, and atmospheric parameters to categorize precipitation events into distinct classes, providing a comprehensive understanding of tropical rain systems. Additionally, the study seeks to improve the Z-R relationship, a crucial aspect of rainfall estimation. One year of rainfall data was analyzed using a Micro Rain Radar (MRR) located at The Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria, measuring rainfall parameters from ground level to a height of 4.8 km with a vertical resolution of 0.16 km. Rain rates were classified into low (stratiform) and high (convective) based on various microstructural attributes such as rain rates, liquid water content, Drop Size Distribution (DSD), average fall speed of the drops, and radar reflectivity. By integrating diverse datasets and employing advanced statistical techniques, the study aims to enhance the precision of Z-R models, offering a more reliable means of estimating rainfall rates from radar reflectivity data. This refined Z-R relationship holds significant potential for improving our understanding of tropical rain systems and enhancing forecasting accuracy in regions prone to heavy precipitation.

Keywords: remote sensing, precipitation, drop size distribution, micro rain radar

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Authors: Stanzin Gawa, Nalini Ranjan Kumar, Gohar Bilal Wani, Vinay Maruti Hatte, A. Vinay

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Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) are the two species of trout which were once introduced by British in waters of Kashmir has well adapted to favorable climatic conditions. Cold water fisheries are one of the emerging sectors in Kashmir valley and trout holds an important place Jammu and Kashmir fisheries. Realizing the immense potential of trout culture in Kashmir region, the state fisheries department started privatizing trout culture under the centrally funded scheme of RKVY in which they provide 80 percent subsidy for raceway construction and supply of feed and seed for the first year since 2009-10 and at present there are 362 private trout farms. To cater the growing demand for trout in the valley, it is important to understand the bottlenecks faced in the propagation of trout culture. Value chain analysis provides a generic framework to understand the various activities and processes, mapping and studying linkages is first step that needs to be done in any value chain analysis. In Kashmir, it is found that trout hatcheries play a crucial role in insuring the continuous supply of trout seed in valley. Feed is most limiting factor in trout culture and the farmer has to incur high cost in payment and in the transportation of feed from the feed mill to farm. Lack of aqua clinic in the Kashmir valley needs to be addressed. Brood stock maintenance, breeding and seed production, technical assistance to private farmer, extension services have to be strengthened and there is need to development healthier environment for new entrepreneurs. It was found that trout farmers do not avail credit facility as there is no well define credit scheme for fisheries in the state. The study showed weak institutional linkages. Research and development should focus more on applied science rather than basic science.

Keywords: trout, Kashmir, value chain, linkages, culture

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Authors: Eric Fang, Robert Chen, Ghim Song Chia, Bien Soo Tan

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Objective and Rationale: Training of radiology residents hinges on practical, on-the-job training in all facets and modalities of diagnostic radiology. Although residency is structured to be comprehensive, clinical exposure depends on the case mix available locally and during the posting period. To supplement clinical training, there are several e-learning resources available to allow for greater exposure to radiological cases. The objective of this study was to survey residents and faculty on the usefulness of these e-learning resources. Methods: E-learning resources were shortlisted with input from radiology residents, Google search and online discussion groups, and screened by their purported focus. Twelve e-learning resources were found to meet the criteria. Both radiology residents and experienced radiology faculty were then surveyed electronically. The e-survey asked for ratings on breadth, depth, testing capability and user-friendliness for each resource, as well as for rankings for the top 3 resources. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.4. Results: Seventeen residents and fifteen faculties completed an e-survey. Mean response rate was 54% ± 8% (Range: 14- 96%). Ratings and rankings were statistically identical between residents and faculty. On a 5-point rating scale, breadth was 3.68 ± 0.18, depth was 3.95 ± 0.14, testing capability was 2.64 ± 0.16 and user-friendliness was 3.39 ± 0.13. Top-ranked resources were STATdx (first), Radiopaedia (second) and Radiology Assistant (third). 9% of responders singled out R-ITI as potentially good but ‘prohibitively costly’. Statistically significant predictive factors for higher rankings are familiarity with the resource (p = 0.001) and user-friendliness (p = 0.006). Conclusion: A good e-learning system will complement on-the-job training with a broad case base, deep discussion and quality trainee evaluation. Based on our study on twelve e-learning resources, no single program fulfilled all requirements. The perception and use of radiology e-learning resources depended more on familiarity and user-friendliness than on content differences and testing capability.

Keywords: e-learning, medicine, radiology, survey

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Authors: Luke Power, Paul O'Leary

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Research has long described the enhancement of student engagement as a fundamental aim of delivering a consistent, lifelong benefit to student success across the multitude of dimensions a quality HE (higher education) experience offers. Engagement may take many forms, with Universities and Institutes across the world attempting to define the parameters which constitutes a successful student engagement framework and implementation strategy. These efforts broadly include empowering students, encouraging involvement, and the transfer of decision-making power through a variety of methods with the goal of obtaining a meaningful partnership between students and staff. As the Republic of Ireland continues to observe an increasing population transferring directly from secondary education to HE institutions, it falls on these institutions to research and develop effective strategies which insures the growing student population have every opportunity to engage with their education, research community, and staff. This research systematically reviews SPAs (student partnership agreements) which are currently in the process of being defined, and/or have been adopted at HE institutions, worldwide. Despite the demonstrated importance of a student-staff partnership to the overall student engagement experience, there is no obvious framework or model by which to begin this process. This work will therefore provide a novel analysis of student-staff agreements which will focus on examining the factors of success common to each and builds towards a workable and applicable framework using critical review, analysis of the key words, phraseology, student involvement, and the broadly applicable HE traits and values. Following the analysis, this work proposes SPA ‘toolkit’ with input from key stakeholders such as students, staff, faculty, and alumni. The resulting implications for future research and the lessons learned from the development and implementation of the SPA will aid the systematic implementation of student-staff agreements in Ireland and beyond.

Keywords: student engagement, student partnership agreements, student-staff partnerships, higher education, systematic review, democratising students, empowering students, student unions

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Authors: Walter M. Millanzi, Stephen M. Kibusi

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Background: Currently, there has been a progressive shortage not only to the number but also the quality of medical practitioners for the most of nursing. Despite that, those who are present exhibit unethical and illegal practices, under standard care and malpractices. The concern is raised in the ways they are prepared, or there might be something missing in nursing curricula or how it is delivered. There is a need for transforming or testing new teaching modalities to enhance competent health workforces. Objective: to investigate the Effect of Facilitation in a Problem-based Environment (FPBE) on metacognition, self-directed learning and learning motivation to undergraduate nurse student in Tanzanian higher learning institutions. Methods: quasi-experimental study (quantitative research approach). A purposive sampling technique was employed to select institutions and achieving a sample size of 401 participants (interventional = 134 and control = 267). Self-administered semi-structured questionnaire; was the main data collection methods and the Statistical Package for Service Solution (v. 20) software program was used for data entry, data analysis, and presentations. Results: The pre-post test results between groups indicated noticeably significant change on metacognition in an intervention (M = 1.52, SD = 0.501) against the control (M = 1.40, SD = 0.490), t (399) = 2.398, p < 0.05). SDL in an intervention (M = 1.52, SD = 0.501) against the control (M = 1.40, SD = 0.490), t (399) = 2.398, p < 0.05. Motivation to learn in an intervention (M = 62.67, SD = 14.14) and the control (n = 267, M = 57.75), t (399) = 2.907, p < 0.01). A FPBE teaching pedagogy, was observed to be effective on the metacognition (AOR = 1.603, p < 0.05), SDL (OR = 1.729, p < 0.05) and Intrinsic motivation in learning (AOR = 1.720, p < 0.05) against conventional teaching pedagogy. Needless, was less likely to enhance Extrinsic motivation (AOR = 0.676, p > 0.05) and Amotivation (AOR = 0.538, p > 0.05). Conclusion and recommendation: FPBE teaching pedagogy, can improve student’s metacognition, self-directed learning and intrinsic motivation to learn among nurse students. Nursing curricula developers should incorporate it to produce 21st century competent and qualified nurses.

Keywords: facilitation, metacognition, motivation, self-directed

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Authors: I. Dumand, C. Clesse, M. Decker, C. Savini, J. Lighezzolo-Alnot

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In the landscape of French psychiatry, long-term institutionalization of patients with severe and disabling chronics disorders is common. Faced with the failures of classical reinsertion, sometimes these users are hurriedly considered as 'insortables'. However, this representation is often swayed by the current behavior of the patient observed through the clinical observation. Unfortunately, it seems that this way of proceeding can not integrate the potentialities of the institutionalized patients and their possible evolution. Therefore, in order not to make hasty conclusions about the life perspectives of these individuals, it seems essential to associate with clinical observation a psycho social rehabilitation diagnosis. Multidisciplinary, it combine all the aspects that make up the life of the subject (the life aspirations, psycho social determinants, family support, cognitive potential, symptoms ...). In this paper, we will rank these different aspects necessary prerequisites to the realization of a psycho social rehabilitation diagnosis. Then, we will specifically speak of the issue of psychological evaluation. By adopting an integrative approach combining neuro psychological tools (Grober and Buschke, Stroop, WCST, AIPSS, WAIS, Eyes test ...) and projective tools interpreted under a psycho dynamic angle (Rorschach, TAT ..) we think that we can grasp the patient in his globality. Thus, during this process we will justify the interest of combining a cognitive and a psycho affective approach, we will identify the different items assessed and their future implications on the everyday life of the users. Finally, we show that this diagnosis can give a chance to reintegration to 30% of patients considered as ''insortables''. In conclusion, we will highlight the importance of this process dear to the community psychology emphasizing in the same time the interests of this approach in terms of empowerment, recovery and quality of life.

Keywords: assessment, potentiality, psychosocial rehabilitation diagnosis, tools

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Authors: Monique Du Plessis, Anina Coetzee, Colleen L. Seymour, Claire N. Spottiswoode

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Artificial nectar feeders are used to attract nectarivorous birds to gardens and are increasing in popularity. The costs and benefits of these feeders remain controversial, however. Nectar feeders may have positive effects by attracting nectarivorous birds towards suburbia, facilitating their urban adaptation, and supplementing bird diets when floral resources are scarce. However, this may come at the cost of luring them away from the plants they pollinate in neighboring indigenous vegetation. This study investigated the effect of nectar feeders on an African pollinator-plant mutualism. Given that birds are important pollinators to many fynbos plant species, this study was conducted in gardens and natural vegetation along the urban edge of the Cape Peninsula. Feeding experiments were carried out to compare relative bird abundance and local distribution patterns for nectarivorous birds (i.e., sunbirds and sugarbirds) between feeder and control treatments. Resultant changes in their visitation rates to Erica flowers in the natural vegetation were tested by inspection of their anther ring status. Nectar feeders attracted higher densities of nectarivores to gardens relative to natural vegetation and decreased their densities in the neighboring fynbos, even when floral abundance in the neighboring vegetation was high. The consequent changes to their distribution patterns and foraging behavior decreased their visitation to at least Erica plukenetii flowers (but not to Erica abietina). This study provides evidence that nectar feeders may have positive effects for birds themselves by reducing their urban sensitivity but also highlights the unintended negative effects feeders may have on the surrounding fynbos ecosystem. Given that nectar feeders appear to compete with the flowers of Erica plukenetii, and perhaps those of other Erica species, artificial feeding may inadvertently threaten bird-plant pollination networks.

Keywords: avian nectarivores, bird feeders, bird pollination, indirect effects in human-wildlife interactions, sugar water feeders, supplementary feeding

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Authors: Huang Chiung Chiu

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This article is about the nursing experience of assisting an outpatient with premature menopause, osteoporosis and sarcopenia through a multi-discipline care model. The nursing period is from September 22nd, 2020, to December 7th, 2020, collecting data through interviews with the patient, observation, and physical assessment. It was found that the main health problems were insufficient nutrition, less physical need, insomnia, and potentially dangerous falls. As an outpatient nurse, the author observed that in recent years, the age group of women with premature menopause, osteoporosis and sarcopenia had shifted downward. Integrated multi-disciplinary interventions were provided upon the initial diagnosis of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Under the outpatient care setting, the collaborative team works between the doctors, nutritionists, osteoporosis educators, rehabilitates, physical therapists and other specialized teams were applied to provide individualized, integrated multi-disciplinary care. Through empathy and the establishment of attentive care, companionship and trust, we discussed care plans and treatment guidelines with the case, providing accurate, complete disease information and feedback education to strengthen the patient’s knowledge and motivation for exercise. Nursing guidance regarding the dietary nutrition and adjustment of daily routine was provided to increase the self-care ability, improve the health problems of muscle weakness and insomnia, and prevent falls. For patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis and sarcopenia, it is recommended that the nurses coordinate the multi-discipline integrated care model, adjust patients’ lifestyle and diet, and establish a regular exercise plan so that the cases can be evaluated holistically to improve the quality of care and physical and mental comfort.

Keywords: multi-discipline care model, premature menopause, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, insomnia

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Authors: Wei Qu, Cassandra Agius, Nikki Varvazovsky, Angela Meade

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The goals of the case study are to address the importance of early diagnosis of osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) and to analyse the types, duration, and intensities of the rehabilitation program to promote neurological and functional recovery. It can be associated with biphasic course of disease and severe neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Although a few treatment modalities, such as plasmapheresis, immunoglobulin therapy, steroid, and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone, have been suggested, there is no effective treatment for ODS. The overall prognosis of established ODS is generally poor. A high proportion of patients have a severe permanent disability, which has led to social, economic, and emotional burdens to carers and societies. In this case, a 69-year-old retired pensioner with chronic alcoholism was admitted to the hospital with a reduced level of consciousness and tonic-clonic seizure. He had severe hyponatraemia (serum sodium 118 mmol/L) and hypokalemia (serum potassium 2.8 mmol/L). He was treated with anticonvulsants, 150ml 3% hypertonic saline over one hour, and 40 mmol potassium chloride over one hour, and his sodium was increased by 11 mmol/L in the first 24 hours. However, he had worsened neurological symptoms with quadriplegia, dysphagia, anarthria, and confusion, and the radiological features suggested the diagnosis of ODS. He had minimal neurological recovery during the first four weeks of hospital admission. He was treated with seven weeks of a multi-disciplinary intensive rehabilitation program. On discharge, he had made a significant cognitive and functional recovery and could mobilize independently without a walking aid. In conclusion, ODS can still occur despite correcting sodium following the current clinical guidelines. Patients with severe neurological deficits in the context of osmotic demyelination syndrome would benefit from intensive rehabilitation to facilitate their functional improvement and to promote their quality of life.

Keywords: osmotic demyelination syndrome, hyponatremia, central pontine and extrapontine myelinolysis, rehabilitation

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Authors: Samuel Abebe Ebebo

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Scale precipitation causes a major issue for geothermal power plants because it reduces the production rate of geothermal energy. Each geothermal power plant's different chemical and physical conditions can cause the scale to precipitate under a particular set of fluid-rock interactions. Depending on the mineral, it is possible to have scale in the production well, steam separators, heat exchangers, reinjection wells, and everywhere in between. The scale consists mainly of smectite and trace amounts of chlorite, magnetite, quartz, hematite, dolomite, aragonite, and amorphous silica. The smectite scale is one of the difficult scales at injection wells in geothermal power plants. X-ray diffraction and chemical composition identify this smectite as Stevensite. The characteristics and the scale of each injection well line are different depending on the fluid chemistry. The smectite scale has been widely distributed in pipelines and surface plants. Mineral water equilibrium showed that the main factors controlling the saturation indices of smectite increased pH and dissolved Mg concentration due to the precipitate on the equipment surface. This study aims to characterize the scales and geothermal fluids collected from the Onuma geothermal power plant in Akita Prefecture, Japan. Field tests were conducted on October 30–November 3, 2021, at Onuma to determine the pH control methods for preventing magnesium silicate scaling, and as exemplified, the formation of magnesium silicate hydrates (M-S-H) with MgO to SiO2 ratios of 1.0 and pH values of 10 for one day has been studied at 25 °C. As a result, M-S-H scale formation could be suppressed, and stevensite formation could also be suppressed when we can decrease the pH of the fluid by less than 8.1, 7.4, and 8 (at 97 °C) in the fluid from O-3Rb and O-6Rb, O-10Rg, and O-12R, respectively. In this context, the scales and fluids collected from injection wells at a geothermal power plant in Japan were analyzed and characterized to understand the formation conditions of Mg-silicate scales with on-site synthesis experiments. From the results of the characterizations and on-site synthesis experiments, the inhibition method of their scale formation is discussed based on geochemical modeling in this study.

Keywords: magnesium silicate, scaling, inhibitor, geothermal power plant

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Authors: James Kinyua Gitonga, Toshio Fujimi

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Vulnerability assessment and analysis is essential to solving the degree of damage and loss as a result of natural disasters. Urban flooding causes a major economic loss and casualties, at Mathare residential area in Nairobi, Kenya. High population caused by rural-urban migration, Unemployment, and unplanned urban development are among factors that increase flood vulnerability in Mathare area. This study aims to analyse flood risk physical vulnerabilities in Mathare based on scientific data, research data that includes the Rainfall data, River Mathare discharge rate data, Water runoff data, field survey data and questionnaire survey through sampling of the study area have been used to develop the risk curves. Three structural types of building were identified in the study area, vulnerability and risk curves were made for these three structural types by plotting the relationship between flood depth and damage for each structural type. The results indicate that the structural type with mud wall and mud floor is the most vulnerable building to flooding while the structural type with stone walls and concrete floor is least vulnerable. The vulnerability of building contents is mainly determined by the number of floors, where households with two floors are least vulnerable, and households with a one floor are most vulnerable. Therefore more than 80% of the residential buildings including the property in the building are highly vulnerable to floods consequently exposed to high risk. When estimating the potential casualties/injuries we discovered that the structural types of houses were major determinants where the mud/adobe structural type had casualties of 83.7% while the Masonry structural type had casualties of 10.71% of the people living in these houses. This research concludes that flood awareness, warnings and observing the building codes will enable reduce damage to the structural types of building, deaths and reduce damage to the building contents.

Keywords: flood loss, Mathare Nairobi, risk curve analysis, vulnerability

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Authors: Anne Klimesch, Alejandra Martinez, Martin HäRter, Isabelle Scholl, Paulina Bravo

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Patient-centered care (PCC) is a key principle of high-quality healthcare. In Latin America, research on and promotion of PCC have taken place in the past. However, thorough implementation of PCC in practice is still missing. In Germany, an integrative model of patient-centeredness has been developed by synthesis of diverse concepts of PCC. The model could serve as a point of reference for further research on the implementation of PCC. However, it is predominantly based on research from Europe and North America. This scoping review, therefore, aims to accumulate research on PCC in Latin America in the past 15 years and analyse how PCC has been conceptualized. The resulting overview of PCC in Latin America will be a foundation for a subsequent study aiming at the adaptation of the integrative model of patient-centeredness to the Latin American health care context. Scientific databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, SCIELO, Redalyc.) will be searched, and reference and citation tracking will be performed. Studies will be included if they were carried out in Latin America, investigated PCC in any clinical and community setting (public and private), and were published in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese since 2006. Furthermore, any theoretical framework or conceptual model to guide how PCC is conceptualized in Latin America will be included. Two reviewers will be responsible for the identification of articles, screening of records, and full-text assessment. The results of the scoping review will be used in the development of a mixed-methods study with the aim to understand the needs for PCC, as well as barriers and facilitators in Latin America. Based on the outcomes, the integrative model of PCC will be translated to Spanish and adapted to the Latin American context. The integrative model will enable the dissemination of the concept of PCC in Latin America and will provide a common ground for further research on the topic. The project will thereby make an important contribution to an evidence-based implementation of PCC in Latin America.

Keywords: conceptual framework, integrative model of PCC, Latin America, patient-centered care

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Authors: Aishi Kundu, Elhan Raza

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"Necessity is the mother of invention" - Rapid increase in the global human population has directed the agricultural domain toward machine learning. The basic need of human beings is considered to be food which can be satisfied through farming. Farming is one of the major revenue generators for the Indian economy. Agriculture is not only considered a source of employment but also fulfils humans’ basic needs. So, agriculture is considered to be the source of employment and a pillar of the economy in developing countries like India. This paper provides a brief review of the progress made in implementing Machine Learning in the agricultural sector. Accurate predictions are necessary at the right time to boost production and to aid the timely and systematic distribution of agricultural commodities to make their availability in the market faster and more effective. This paper includes a thorough analysis of various machine learning algorithms applied in different aspects of agriculture (crop management, soil management, water management, yield tracking, livestock management, etc.).Due to climate changes, crop production is affected. Machine learning can analyse the changing patterns and come up with a suitable approach to minimize loss and maximize yield. Machine Learning algorithms/ models (regression, support vector machines, bayesian models, artificial neural networks, decision trees, etc.) are used in smart agriculture to analyze and predict specific outcomes which can be vital in increasing the productivity of the Agricultural Food Industry. It is to demonstrate vividly agricultural works under machine learning to sensor data. Machine Learning is the ongoing technology benefitting farmers to improve gains in agriculture and minimize losses. This paper discusses how the irrigation and farming management systems evolve in real-time efficiently. Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled programs to emerge with rich apprehension for the support of farmers with an immense examination of data.

Keywords: machine Learning, artificial intelligence, crop management, precision farming, smart farming, pre-harvesting, harvesting, post-harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Sinarwati Mohamad Suhaili, Naomie Salim, Mohamad Nazim Jambli

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Sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) models augmented with attention mechanisms are playing an increasingly important role in automated customer service. These models, which are able to recognize complex relationships between input and output sequences, are crucial for optimizing chatbot responses. Central to these mechanisms are neural attention weights that determine the focus of the model during sequence generation. Despite their widespread use, there remains a gap in the comparative analysis of different attention weighting functions within seq2seq models, particularly in the domain of chatbots using the Customer Support Twitter (CST) dataset. This study addresses this gap by evaluating four distinct attention-scoring functions—dot, multiplicative/general, additive, and an extended multiplicative function with a tanh activation parameter — in neural generative seq2seq models. Utilizing the CST dataset, these models were trained and evaluated over 10 epochs with the AdamW optimizer. Evaluation criteria included validation loss and BLEU scores implemented under both greedy and beam search strategies with a beam size of k=3. Results indicate that the model with the tanh-augmented multiplicative function significantly outperforms its counterparts, achieving the lowest validation loss (1.136484) and the highest BLEU scores (0.438926 under greedy search, 0.443000 under beam search, k=3). These results emphasize the crucial influence of selecting an appropriate attention-scoring function in improving the performance of seq2seq models for chatbots. Particularly, the model that integrates tanh activation proves to be a promising approach to improve the quality of chatbots in the customer support context.

Keywords: attention weight, chatbot, encoder-decoder, neural generative attention, score function, sequence-to-sequence

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Authors: Sardorbek Numonov, Hyohun Kim, Dongwha Shin, Yeonseok Kim, Ji-Su Ahn, Dongeun Choi, Byung-Woo Hong

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The detection of curvilinear structures often plays an important role in the analysis of images. In particular, it is considered as a crucial step for the diagnosis of chronic respiratory diseases to localize the fissures in chest CT imagery where the lung is divided into five lobes by the fissures that are characterized by linear features in appearance. However, the characteristic linear features for the fissures are often shown to be subtle due to the high intensity variability, pathological deformation or image noise involved in the imaging procedure, which leads to the uncertainty in the quantification of anatomical or functional properties of the lung. Thus, it is desired to enhance the linear features present in the chest CT images so that the distinctiveness in the delineation of the lobe is improved. We propose a recursive diffusion process that prefers coherent features based on the analysis of structure tensor in an anisotropic manner. The local image features associated with certain scales and directions can be characterized by the eigenanalysis of the structure tensor that is often regularized via isotropic diffusion filters. However, the isotropic diffusion filters involved in the computation of the structure tensor generally blur geometrically significant structure of the features leading to the degradation of the characteristic power in the feature space. Thus, it is required to take into consideration of local structure of the feature in scale and direction when computing the structure tensor. We apply an anisotropic diffusion in consideration of scale and direction of the features in the computation of the structure tensor that subsequently provides the geometrical structure of the features by its eigenanalysis that determines the shape of the anisotropic diffusion kernel. The recursive application of the anisotropic diffusion with the kernel the shape of which is derived from the structure tensor leading to the anisotropic scale-space where the geometrical features are preserved via the eigenanalysis of the structure tensor computed from the diffused image. The recursive interaction between the anisotropic diffusion based on the geometry-driven kernels and the computation of the structure tensor that determines the shape of the diffusion kernels yields a scale-space where geometrical properties of the image structure are effectively characterized. We apply our recursive anisotropic diffusion algorithm to the detection of curvilinear structure in the chest CT imagery where the fissures present curvilinear features and define the boundary of lobes. It is shown that our algorithm yields precise detection of the fissures while overcoming the subtlety in defining the characteristic linear features. The quantitative evaluation demonstrates the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for the detection of fissures in the chest CT in terms of the false positive and the true positive measures. The receiver operating characteristic curves indicate the potential of our algorithm as a segmentation tool in the clinical environment. This work was supported by the MISP(Ministry of Science and ICT), Korea, under the National Program for Excellence in SW (20170001000011001) supervised by the IITP(Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion).

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, chest CT imagery, chronic respiratory disease, curvilinear structure, fissure detection, structure tensor

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Authors: Boshra Mozaffar, Arash Ardavani, Iskandar Idris

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Food taste and flavor affect food choice and acceptance, which are essential to maintain good health and quality of life. Reduced circulating zinc levels have been shown to adversely affect taste which can result in reduced appetite, weight loss and psychological problems, but the efficacy of Zinc supplementation to treat disorders of taste remains unclear. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to examine the efficacy of zinc supplementation in the treatment of taste disorders. We searched four electronic bibliographical databases; Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid AMAD and PubMed. Article bibliographies were also searched, which yielded additional relevant studies. To facilitate the collection and identification of all available and relevant articles published before 7 December 2020, there were no restrictions on the publication date. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the PRISMA Statement. This review was registered at PROSPERO and given the identification number CRD42021228461. In total, we included 12 randomized controlled trials with 938 subjects. Intervention includes zinc (sulfate, gluconate, picolinate, polaprezinc and acetate); the pooled results of the meta-analysis indicate that improvements in taste disorder occurred more frequently in the intervention group compared to the control group (RR = 1.8; 95% CI:1.27 -2.57, p=0.009). The doses are equivalent to 17 mg- 86.7 mg of elemental zin for three to six months. Zinc supplementation is an effective treatment for taste disorders in patients with zinc deficiency or idiopathic taste disorders when given in high doses ranging from 68–86.7 mg/d for up to three months. However, we did not find sufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in patients with taste disorders induced by chronic renal failure.

Keywords: taste change, taste disorder, zinc, zinc sulfate or Zn, deficiency, supplementation.

Procedia PDF Downloads 255

Authors: A. Terfous, Y. Liu, A. Ghenaim, P. A. Garambois

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With increasing urbanization worldwide, it is crucial to sustainably manage sediment flows in urban networks and especially in stormwater detention basins. One key aspect is to propose optimized designs for detention tanks in order to best reduce flood peak flows and in the meantime settle particles. It is, therefore, necessary to understand complex flows patterns and sediment deposition conditions in stormwater detention basins. The aim of this paper is to study flow structure and particle deposition pattern for a given tank geometry in view to control and maximize sediment deposition. Both numerical simulation and experimental works were done to investigate the flow and sediment distribution in a storm tank with a cavity. As it can be indicated, the settle distribution of the particle in a rectangular tank is mainly determined by the flow patterns and the bed shear stress. The flow patterns in a rectangular tank differ with different geometry, entrance flow rate and the water depth. With the changing of flow patterns, the bed shear stress will change respectively, which also play an influence on the particle settling. The accumulation of the particle in the bed changes the conditions at the bottom, which is ignored in the investigations, however it worth much more attention, the influence of the accumulation of the particle on the sedimentation should be important. The approach presented here is based on the resolution of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations to account for turbulent effects and also a passive particle transport model. An analysis of particle deposition conditions is presented in this paper in terms of flow velocities and turbulence patterns. Then sediment deposition zones are presented thanks to the modeling with particle tracking method. It is shown that two recirculation zones seem to significantly influence sediment deposition. Due to the possible overestimation of particle trap efficiency with standard wall functions and stick conditions, further investigations seem required for basal boundary conditions based on turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress. These observations are confirmed by experimental investigations processed in the laboratory.

Keywords: storm sewers, sediment deposition, numerical simulation, experimental investigation

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Authors: Sara D. Garduno-Diaz, Ramona Milcheva, Chanyu Xu

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Women’s reproductive stages (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and lactation) represent a time of higher micronutrient needs. With a healthy food selection as the first path of choice to cover these increased needs, tandem micronutrient supplementation is often required. Because pregnancy and lactation should be treated with care, all supplements consumed should be of quality ingredients and manufactured through controlled processes. This work describes the process followed for the development of plant-based multiple micronutrient supplements aimed at addressing the growing demand for natural ingredients of non-animal origin. A list of key nutrients for inclusion was prioritized, followed by the identification and selection of qualified raw ingredient providers. Nutrient absorption into the food matrix was carried out through natural processes. The outcome is a new line of products meeting the set criteria of being gluten and lactose-free, suitable for vegans/vegetarians, and without artificial conservatives. In addition, each product provides the consumer with 10 vitamins, 6 inorganic nutrients, 1 source of essential fatty acids, and 1 source of phytonutrients each (maca, moringa, and chlorella). Each raw material, as well as the final product, was submitted to microbiological control three-fold (in-house and external). The final micronutrient mix was then tested for human factor contamination, pesticides, total aerobic microbial count, total yeast count, and total mold count. The product was created with the aim of meeting product standards for the European Union, as well as specific requirements for the German market in the food and pharma fields. The results presented here reach the point of introduction of the newly developed product to the market, with acceptability and effectiveness results to be published at a later date.

Keywords: fertility, lactation, organic, pregnancy, vegetarian

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Yaw Opoku-Damoah, Run Zhang, Hang Thu Ta, Zhi Ping Xu

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Gas therapy is still at an early stage of research and development. Even though most gasotransmitters have proven their therapeutic potential, their handling, delivery, and controlled release have been extremely challenging. This research work employs a versatile nanosystem that is capable of delivering a gasotransmitter in the form of a photo-responsive carbon monoxide-releasing molecule (CORM) for targeted cancer therapy. The therapeutic action was mediated by upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) designed to transfer bio-friendly low energy near-infrared (NIR) light to ultraviolet (UV) light capable of triggering carbon monoxide (CO) from a water-soluble amphiphilic manganese carbonyl complex CORM incorporated into a carefully designed lipid drug delivery system. Herein, gaseous CO that plays a role as a gasotransmitter with cytotoxic and homeostatic properties was investigated to instigate cellular apoptosis. After successfully synthesizing the drug delivery system, the ability of the system to encapsulate and mediate the sustained release of CO after light excitation was demonstrated. CO fluorescence probe (COFP) was successfully employed to determine the in vitro drug release profile upon NIR light irradiation. The uptake of nanoparticles enhanced by folates and its receptor interaction was also studied for cellular uptake purposes. The anticancer potential of the final lipid nanoparticle Lipid/UCNPs/CORM/FA (LUCF) was also determined by cell viability assay. Intracellular CO release and a subsequent therapeutic action involving ROS production, mitochondrial damage, and CO production was also evaluated. In all, this current project aims to use in vitro studies to determine the potency and efficiency of a NIR-mediated CORM prodrug delivery system.

Keywords: carbon monoxide-releasing molecule, upconversion nanoparticles, site-specific delivery, amphiphilic manganese carbonyl complex, prodrug delivery system.

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Authors: D. Castillo T., Luis F. Jimenez

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The compressed earth blocks (CEBs) constitute an alternative as a constructive element for building homes in regions with high levels of poverty and marginalization. Such is the case of Southeastern Mexico, where the population, predominantly indigene, build their houses with feeble materials like wood and palm, vulnerable to extreme weather in the area, because they do not have the financial resources to acquire concrete blocks. There are several advantages that can provide BTCs compared to traditional vibro-compressed concrete blocks, such as the availability of materials, low manufacturing cost and reduced CO2 emissions to the atmosphere for not be subjected to a burning process. However, to improve its mechanical properties and resistance to adverse weather conditions in terms of humidity and temperature of the sub-humid climate zones, it requires the use of a chemical stabilizer; in this case we chose Ca(OH)2. The stabilization method Eades-Grim was employed, according to ASTM C977-03. This method measures the optimum amount of lime required to stabilize the soil, increasing the pH to 12.4 or higher. The minimum amount of lime required in this experiment was 1% and the maximum was 10%. The employed material was clay unconsolidated low to medium plasticity (CL type according to the Unified Soil Classification System). Based on these results, the CEBs manufacturing process was determined. The obtained blocks were from 10x15x30 cm using a mixture of soil, water and lime in different proportions. Later these blocks were put to dry outdoors and subjected to several physical and mechanical tests, such as compressive strength, absorption and drying shrinkage. The results were compared with the limits established by the Mexican Standard NMX-C-404-ONNCCE-2005 for the construction of housing walls. In this manner an alternative and sustainable material was obtained for the construction of rural households in the region, with better security conditions, comfort and cost.

Keywords: calcium hydroxide, chemical stabilization, compressed earth blocks, sub-humid warm weather

Procedia PDF Downloads 392

Authors: Ying-Hsiang Ho, Hsiao-Tseng Lin

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Mudan Township is a remote mountainous area in Taiwan. In recent years, due to the migration of the population, inconvenient transportation, digital divide, and low production, agricultural products marketing have become a major issue. This research aims to develop the marketing strategy suitable for the agricultural products of the rural areas. The main objective of this work is to conduct in-depth interviews with scholars and experts in the marketing field, combined with the marketing 4P combination, to analyze and summarize the possible marketing strategies for agricultural products for remote districts. The interviews consist of seven experts from industry who have practical experience in producing, marketing, and selling agricultural products and three professors that have experience in teaching marketing management. The in-depth interviews are conducted for about an hour using a pre-drafted interview outline. The results of the interviews are summarized by semantic analysis and presented in a marketing 4P combination. The results indicate that in terms of products, high-quality products with original characteristics can be added through the implementation of production history, organic certification, and cultural packaging. In the place part, we found that the use of emerging communities, the emphasis on cross-industry alliances, the improvement of information application capabilities of rural households, production and marketing group, and contractual farming system are the development priorities. In terms of promotion, it should be an emphasis on the management of internet social media and word-of-mouth marketing. Mudan Township may consider promoting agricultural products through special festivals such as farmer's market, wild ginger flower season and hot spring season. This research also proposes relevant recommendations for the government's public sector and related industry reference for the promotion of agricultural products for remote area.

Keywords: marketing strategy, remote districts, agricultural products, in-depth interviews

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Abdalla Mohamed M. Musbahi

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The study area lies in Al-Falah area on Airport-Tripoli in Zone (16) Where planned establishment of complex multi-floors for residential and commercial, this part was divided into seven subzone. In each sup zone, were collected Orthogonal profiles by using Seismic refraction method. The overall aim with this project is to investigate the applicability of Seismic refraction method is a commonly used traditional geophysical technique to determine depth-to-bedrock, competence of bedrock, depth to the water table, or depth to other seismic velocity boundaries The purpose of the work is to make engineers and decision makers recognize the importance of planning and execution of a pre-investigation program including geophysics and in particular seismic refraction method. The overall aim with this thesis is achieved by evaluation of seismic refraction method in different scales, determine the depth and velocity of the base layer (bed-rock). Calculate the elastic property in each layer in the region by using the Seismic refraction method. The orthogonal profiles was carried out in every subzones of (zone 16). The layout of the seismic refraction set up is schematically, the geophones are placed on the linear imaginary line whit a 5 m spacing, the three shot points (in beginning of layout–mid and end of layout) was used, in order to generate the P and S waves. The 1st and last shot point is placed about 5 meters from the geophones and the middle shot point is put in between 12th to 13th geophone, from time-distance curve the P and S waves was calculated and the thickness was estimated up to three-layers. As we know any change in values of physical properties of medium (shear modulus, bulk modulus, density) leads to change waves velocity which passing through medium where any change in properties of rocks cause change in velocity of waves. because the change in properties of rocks cause change in parameters of medium density (ρ), bulk modulus (κ), shear modulus (μ). Therefore, the velocity of waves which travel in rocks have close relationship with these parameters. Therefore we can estimate theses parameters by knowing primary and secondary velocity (p-wave, s-wave).

Keywords: application of seismic, geotechnical study, physical properties, seismic refraction

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Authors: Juan-Pedro Rica-Peromingo

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The important change taking place with respect to the media and the audiovisual world in Europe needs to benefit all populations, in particular those with special needs, such as the deaf and hard-of-hearing population (SDH) and blind and partially-sighted population (AD). This recent interest in the field of audiovisual translation (AVT) can be observed in the teaching and learning of the different modes of AVT in the degree and post-degree courses at Spanish universities, which expand the interest and practice of AVT linguistic accessibility. We present a research project led at the UCM which consists of the compilation of AVT activities for teaching purposes and tries to analyze the creation and reception of SDH and AD: the AVLA Project (Audiovisual Learning Archive), which includes audiovisual materials carried out by the university students on different AVT modes and evaluations from the blind and deaf informants. In this study, we present the materials created by the students. A group of the deaf and blind population has been in charge of testing the student's SDH and AD corpus of audiovisual materials through some questionnaires used to evaluate the students’ production. These questionnaires include information about the reception of the subtitles and the audio descriptions from linguistic and technical points of view. With all the materials compiled in the research project, a corpus with both the students’ production and the recipients’ evaluations is being compiled: the CALING (Corpus de Accesibilidad Lingüística) corpus. Preliminary results will be presented with respect to those aspects, difficulties, and deficiencies in the SDH and AD included in the corpus, specifically with respect to the length of subtitles, the position of the contextual information on the screen, and the text included in the audio descriptions and tone of voice used. These results may suggest some changes and improvements in the quality of the SDH and AD analyzed. In the end, demand for the teaching and learning of AVT and linguistic accessibility at a university level and some important changes in the norms which regulate SDH and AD nationally and internationally will be suggested.

Keywords: audiovisual translation, corpus linguistics, linguistic accessibility, teaching

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Authors: Benjamin K. Ghansah, Richard K. Appoh, Iliya Nababa, Eric K. Forkuo

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The Nasia River is an important source of water for domestic and agricultural purposes to the inhabitants of its catchment. Major farming activities takes place within the floodplain of the river and its network of tributaries. The actual inundation extent of the river system is; however, unknown. Reasons for this lack of information include financial constraints and inadequate human resources as flood modelling is becoming increasingly complex by the day. Knowledge of the inundation extent will help in the assessment of risk posed by the annual flooding of the river, and help in the planning of flood recession agricultural activities. This study used a simple terrain based algorithm, Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND), to delineate the floodplain of the Nasia River and its tributaries. The HAND model is a drainage normalized digital elevation model, which has its height reference based on the local drainage systems rather than the average mean sea level (AMSL). The underlying principle guiding the development of the HAND model is that hillslope flow paths behave differently when the reference gradient is to the local drainage network as compared to the seaward gradient. The new terrain model of the catchment was created using the NASA’s SRTM Digital Elevation Model (DEM) 30m as the only data input. Contours (HAND Contour) were then generated from the normalized DEM. Based on field flood inundation survey, historical information of flooding of the area as well as satellite images, a HAND Contour of 2m was found to best correlates with the flood inundation extent of the river and its tributaries. A percentage accuracy of 75% was obtained when the surface area created by the 2m contour was compared with surface area of the floodplain computed from a satellite image captured during the peak flooding season in September 2016. It was estimated that the flooding of the Nasia River and its tributaries created a floodplain area of 1011 km².

Keywords: digital elevation model, floodplain, HAND contour, inundation extent, Nasia River

Procedia PDF Downloads 439

Authors: Lintle Mohase, Ninikoe Lebusa, Mpho Stephen Mafa

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Wheat is an economically important cereal crop. However, the changing climatic conditions that intensify drought in production areas, and additional pest infestation, such as the Russian wheat aphid (RWA, Diuraphis noxia), severely hamper its production. Drought and pest management require an additional water supply through irrigation and applying inorganic nutrients (including silicon) as alternative strategies to mitigate the stress effects. Therefore, other approaches are needed to enhance wheat productivity during drought stress and aphid abundance. Two wheat cultivars were raised under greenhouse conditions, exposed to drought stress, and treated with silicon before infestation with the South African RWA biotype 2 (RWASA2). The morphological evaluations showed that severe drought or a combination of drought and infestation significantly reduced the plant height of wheat cultivars. Silicon treatment did not alleviate the growth reduction. The biochemical responses were measured using spectrophotometric assays with specific substrates. An evaluation of the enzyme activities associated with oxidative stress and defence responses indicated that drought stress increased NADPH oxidase activity, while silicon treatment significantly reduced it in drought-stressed and infested plants. At 48 and 72 hours sampling periods, a combination of silicon, drought and infestation treatment significantly increased peroxidase activity compared to drought and infestation treatment. The treatment also increased β-1,3-glucanase activity 72 hours after infestation. In addition, silicon and drought treatment increased glucose but reduced sucrose accumulation. Furthermore, silicon, drought, and infestation treatment combinations reduced the sucrose content. Finally, silicon significantly increased the trehalose content under severe drought and infestation, evident at 48 and 72-hour sampling periods. Our findings shed light on silicon’s ability to induce protective biochemical responses during drought and aphid infestation.

Keywords: drought, enzyme activity, silicon, soluble sugars, Russian wheat aphid, wheat

Procedia PDF Downloads 65