Search results for: health care system

Authors: Fatma Ünal, Hasancan Okutan

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Increasing worldwide population and technological requirements lead to an increase in energy demand every year. The demand has been mainly supplied from fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum due to insufficient natural gas resources. In recent years, the amount of coal reserves has reached almost 21 billion tons in Türkiye. These are mostly lignite (%92,7), that contains high levels of moisture and sulfur components. Underground coal gasification technology is one of the most suitable methods in comparison with direct combustion techniques for the evaluation of such coal types. In this study, the applicability of the underground coal gasification process is investigated in the Eskişehir-Alpu lignite reserve as a pilot region, both technologically and economically. It is assumed that the electricity is produced from the obtained synthesis gas in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). Firstly, an equilibrium model has been developed by using the thermodynamic properties of the gasification reactions. The effect of the type of oxidizing gas, the sulfur content of coal, the rate of water vapor/air, and the pressure of the system have been investigated to find optimum process conditions. Secondly, the parallel and linear controlled recreation and injection point (CRIP) models were implemented as drilling methods, and costs were calculated under the different oxidizing agents (air and high-purity O2). In Parallel CRIP (P-CRIP), drilling cost is found to be lower than the linear CRIP (L-CRIP) since two coal beds simultaneously are gasified. It is seen that CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) technology was the most effective unit on the total cost in both models. The cost of the synthesis gas produced varies between 0,02 $/Mcal and 0,09 $/Mcal. This is the promising result when considering the selling price of Türkiye natural gas for Q1-2023 (0.103 $ /Mcal).

Keywords: energy, lignite reserve, techno-economic analysis, underground coal gasification.

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Chowon Kim, Yoo-Kyung Kim, Kyeong Yeon Park, Hyun-Shik Lee

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Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) are globally distributed synthetic compounds that are known to adversely affect human health. Developmental toxicity assessment of PFCs is important to facilitate the evaluation of their environmental impact. In the present study, we assessed the developmental toxicity and teratogenicity of PFCs with different numbers of carbon atoms on Xenopus embryogenesis. An initial frog embryo teratogenicity assay-Xenopus (FETAX) assay was performed that identified perfluorohexanoic (PFHxA) and perfluoroheptanoic (PFHpA) acids as potential teratogens and developmental toxicants. The mechanism underlying this teratogenicity was also investigated by measuring the expression of tissue-specific biomarkers such as phosphotyrosine‑binding protein, xPTB (liver); NKX2.5 (heart); and Cyl18 (intestine). Whole‑mount in situ hybridization, reverse transcriptase‑polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and histologic analyses detected severe defects in the liver and heart following exposure to PFHxA or PFHpA. In addition, immunoblotting revealed that PFHpA significantly increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), while PFHxA slightly increased these, as compared with the control. These results suggest that PFHxA and PFHpA are developmental toxicants and teratogens, with PFHpA producing more severe effects on liver and heart development through the induction of ERK and JNK phosphorylation.

Keywords: PFCs, ERK, JNK, xenopus

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Mariam Ismail, Kazeem Rufai, Jeremiah Balogun

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A study was conducted to apply fuzzy logic to the development of a monitoring model for child pornography based on associated risk factors, which can be used by forensic experts or integrated into forensic systems for the early detection of child pornographic activities. A number of methods were adopted in the study, which includes an extensive review of related works was done in order to identify the factors that are associated with child pornography following which they were validated by an expert sex psychologist and guidance counselor, and relevant data was collected. Fuzzy membership functions were used to fuzzify the associated variables identified alongside the risk of the occurrence of child pornography based on the inference rules that were provided by the experts consulted, and the fuzzy logic expert system was simulated using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox available in the MATLAB Software Release 2016. The results of the study showed that there were 4 categories of risk factors required for assessing the risk of a suspect committing child pornography offenses. The results of the study showed that 2 and 3 triangular membership functions were used to formulate the risk factors based on the 2 and 3 number of labels assigned, respectively. The results of the study showed that 5 fuzzy logic models were formulated such that the first 4 was used to assess the impact of each category on child pornography while the last one takes the 4 outputs from the 4 fuzzy logic models as inputs required for assessing the risk of child pornography. The following conclusion was made; there were factors that were related to personal traits, social traits, history of child pornography crimes, and self-regulatory deficiency traits by the suspects required for the assessment of the risk of child pornography crimes committed by a suspect. Using the values of the identified risk factors selected for this study, the risk of child pornography can be easily assessed from their values in order to determine the likelihood of a suspect perpetuating the crime.

Keywords: fuzzy, membership functions, pornography, risk factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Iffat Ara Ebu, Fahmida Islam, Mohammad Abdus Shahid Rafi, Mahfuzur Rahman, Umar Iqbal, John Ball

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The application of multi-sensor fusion for enhanced distance estimation accuracy in dynamic environments is crucial for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles. Limitations of single sensors such as cameras or radar in adverse conditions motivate the use of combined camera and radar data to improve reliability, adaptability, and object recognition. A multi-sensor fusion approach using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed to combine sensor measurements with a dynamic system model, achieving robust and accurate distance estimation. The research utilizes the Mississippi State University Autonomous Vehicular Simulator (MAVS) to create a controlled environment for data collection. Data analysis is performed using MATLAB. Qualitative (visualization of fused data vs ground truth) and quantitative metrics (RMSE, MAE) are employed for performance assessment. Initial results with simulated data demonstrate accurate distance estimation compared to individual sensors. The optimal sensor measurement noise variance and plant noise variance parameters within the EKF are identified, and the algorithm is validated with real-world data from a Chevrolet Blazer. In summary, this research demonstrates that multi-sensor fusion with an EKF significantly improves distance estimation accuracy in dynamic environments. This is supported by comprehensive evaluation metrics, with validation transitioning from simulated to real-world data, paving the way for safer and more reliable autonomous vehicle control.

Keywords: sensor fusion, EKF, MATLAB, MAVS, autonomous vehicle, ADAS

Procedia PDF Downloads 10

Authors: Longkui Zhu, Zhengcao Li

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High temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) are considered as one of the next-generation advanced nuclear reactors, in which porous nuclear graphite is used as neutron moderators, reflectors, structure materials, and cooled by inert helium. Radioactive tritium and ¹⁴C are generated in terms of reactions of thermal neutrons and ⁶Li, ¹⁴N, ¹⁰B impurely within nuclear graphite and the coolant during HTGRs operation. Currently, hydrogen and nitrogen diffusion behavior together with nuclear graphite microstructure evolution were investigated to minimize the radioactive waste release, using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray computed tomography, the BET and mercury standard porosimetry methods. It is found that the peak value of graphite weight loss emerged at 573-673 K owing to nitrogen diffusion from graphite pores to outside when the system was subjected to vacuum. Macropore volume became larger while porosity for mesopores was smaller with temperature ranging from ambient temperature to 1073 K, which was primarily induced by coalescence of the subscale pores. It is suggested that the porous nuclear graphite should be first subjected to vacuum at 573-673 K to minimize the nitrogen and the radioactive 14°C before operation in HTGRs. Then, results on hydrogen diffusion show that the diffusible hydrogen and tritium could permeate into the coolant with diffusion coefficients of > 0.5 × 10⁻⁴ cm²·s⁻¹ at 50 bar. As a consequence, the freshly-generated diffusible tritium could release quickly to outside once formed, and an effective approach for minimizing the amount of radioactive tritium is to make the impurity contents extremely low in nuclear graphite and the coolant. Besides, both two- and three-dimensional observations indicate that macro and mesopore volume along with total porosity decreased with temperature at 50 bar on account of synergistic effects of applied compression strain, sharpened pore morphology, and non-uniform temperature distribution.

Keywords: advanced high temperature gas-cooled reactor, hydrogen and nitrogen diffusion, microstructure evolution, nuclear graphite, radioactive waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Mumtaz Ahmed Sohag, Ishaq Ahmed Sohag

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Kebbi State, located in the Nort-West of Nigeria, is rich in water resources as the major rivers viz. Niger and Rima irrigate a vast majority of land. Besides, there is significant amount of groundwater, which farmers use for agriculture purpose. The groundwater is also a major source of agricultural and domestic water as wells are installed in almost all parts of the region. Although Kebbi State is rich in water, however, there are some pertinent issues which are hampering its agricultural productivity. The low lands (locally called Fadama), has spread out to a vast area. It is inundated every year during the rainy season which lasts from June to September every year. The farmers grow rice during the rainy season when water is standing. They cannot do further agricultural activity for almost two months due to high standing water. This has resulted in widespread waterlogging problem. Besides, the impact of climate change is resulting in rapid variation in river/stream flows. The information about water bodies regarding the availability of water for agricultural and other uses and the behavior of rivers at different flows is seldom available. Furthermore, sediment load (suspended and bedload) is not measured due to which land erosion cannot be countered effectively. This study, carried out in seven different irrigation regions of Kebbi state, found that diversion structures need to be constructed at some strategic locations for the supply of surface water to the farmers. The water table needs to be lowered through an effective drainage system. The monitoring of water bodies is crucial for sound data to help efficient regulation and management of water. Construction of embankments is necessary to control frequent floods in the rivers of Niger and Rima. Furthermore, farmers need capacity and awareness for participatory irrigation management.

Keywords: water bodies, floods, agriculture, waterlogging

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: H. F. Shi, C. L. Zhang

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Visible-light-responsive g-C3N4/NaNbO3 nanowires photocatalysts were fabricated by introducing polymeric g-C3N4 on NaNbO3 nanowires. The microscopic mechanisms of interface interaction, charge transfer and separation, as well as the influence on the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 composite were systematic investigated. The HR-TEM revealed that an intimate interface between C3N4 and NaNbO3 nanowires formed in the g-C3N4/NaNbO3 heterojunctions. The photocatalytic performance of photocatalysts was evaluated for CO2 reduction under visible-light illumination. Significantly, the activity of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 composite photocatalyst for photoreduction of CO2 was higher than that of either single-phase g-C3N4 or NaNbO3. Such a remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic activity was mainly ascribed to the improved separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at the intimate interface of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 heterojunctions, which originated from the well-aligned overlapping band structures of C3N4 and NaNbO3. Pt loaded NaNbO3-xNx (Pt-NNON), a visible-light-sensitive photocatalyst, was synthesized by an in situ photodeposition method from H2PtCl6•6H2O onto NaNbO3-xNx (NNON) sample. Pt-NNON exhibited a much higher photocatalytic activity for gaseous 2-propanol (IPA) degradation under visible-light irradiation in contrast to NNON. The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of Pt-NNON sample for IPA photodegradation achieved up to 8.6% at the wavelength of 419 nm. The notably enhanced photocatalytic performance was attributed to the promoted charge separation and transfer capability in the Pt-NNON system. This work suggests that surface nanosteps possibly play an important role as an electron transfer at high way, which facilitates to the charge carrier collection onto Pt rich zones and thus suppresses recombination between photogenerated electrons and holes. This method can thus be considered as an excellent strategy to enhance photocatalytic activity of organic decomposition in addition to the commonly applied noble metal doping method.

Keywords: CO2 reduction, NaNbO3, nanowires, g-C3N4

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Farnaz Amidi Fazli

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After long period of human experience about food processing from raw eating to canning of food in the last century now it is time to use novel technologies which are sometimes completely different from common technologies. It is possible to decontaminate food without using heat or the foods are stored without using cold chain. Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing is a non-thermal method of food preservation that uses short bursts of electricity, PEF can be used for processing liquid and semi-liquid food products. PEF processing offers high quality fresh-like liquid foods with excellent flavor, nutritional value, and shelf-life. High pressure processing (HPP) technology has the potential to fulfill both consumer and scientific requirements. The use of HPP for over 50 years has found applications in non-food industries. For food applications, ‘high pressure’ can be generally considered to be up to 600 MPa for most food products. After years, freezing has its high potential to food preservation due to new and quick freezing methods. Foods which are prepared by this technology have more acceptability and high quality comparing with old fashion slow freezing. Thus, quick freezing has further been adopted as a widespread commercial method for long-term preservation of perishable foods which improved both the health and convenience of everyone in the industrialised countries. Above parameters are achieved by Fluidised-bed freezing systems, freezing by immersion and Hydrofluidisation on the other hand new thawing methods like high-pressure, microwave, ohmic, and acoustic thawing have a key role in quality and adaptability of final product.

Keywords: quick freezing, thawing, high pressure, pulse electric, hydrofluidisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Ersilio Tushaj

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The efficient solution that satisfies the optimal condition is an important issue in the structural engineering design problem. The new codes of structural design consist in design methodology that looks after the exploitation of the total resources of the construction material. In recent years some non-deterministic or meta-heuristic structural optimization algorithms have been developed widely in the research community. These methods search the optimum condition starting from the simulation of a natural phenomenon, such as survival of the fittest, the immune system, swarm intelligence or the cooling process of molten metal through annealing. Among these techniques the most known are: the genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, evolution strategies, particle swarm optimization, tabu search, ant colony optimization, harmony search and big bang crunch optimization. In this study, five of these algorithms are applied for the optimum weight design of a steel truss structure with variable geometry but fixed topology. The design process selects optimum distances and size sections from a set of commercial steel profiles. In the formulation of the design problem are considered deflection limitations, buckling and allowable stress constraints. The approach is repeated starting from different initial populations. The design problem topology is taken from an existing steel structure. The optimization process helps the engineer to achieve good final solutions, avoiding the repetitive evaluation of alternative designs in a time consuming process. The algorithms used for the application, the results of the optimal solutions, the number of iterations and the minimal weight designs, will be reported in the paper. Based on these results, it would be estimated, the amount of the steel that could be saved by applying structural analysis combined with non-deterministic optimization methods.

Keywords: structural optimization, non-deterministic methods, truss structures, steel truss

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Nazmul Haque, Syeda Tasnuva Maria

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Sheehan's Syndrome (SS), also known as postpartum hypopituitarism, is a rare but potentially serious condition resulting from ischemic necrosis of the pituitary gland, often occurring during or after childbirth. This syndrome is characterized by hypopituitarism, leading to deficiencies in various hormones produced by the pituitary gland. The primary cause is typically severe postpartum hemorrhage, leading to inadequate blood supply and subsequent necrosis of the pituitary tissue. This chronic hypopituitarism sometimes plays the role of premature atherosclerosis, which may lead to cardiovascular disease. This abstract provides a comprehensive overview of Sheehan's Syndrome with ischaemic heart disease, encompassing its pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and current management strategies. The disorder presents a wide spectrum of symptoms, including chest pain, fatigue, amenorrhea, lactation failure, hypothyroidism, and adrenal insufficiency. Timely diagnosis is crucial, as delayed recognition can lead to complications and long-term health consequences. We herein report a patient complaining of chronic fatigue symptoms, aggressiveness, chest pain, and breathlessness with repeated LOC that were diagnosed with SS with IHD. The patient was treated with antiplatelet, antianginal, steroids, and hormone replacement with marked improvement in his overall condition.

Keywords: ischaemic heart disease, Sheehan's syndrome, post-partum haemorrhage, pituitary gland

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: Rara Wulan Anggareni, Narita Putri, Riski Septianing Astuti

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Breastfeeding is a key to prevent mortality and morbidity in children. It is also the second highest risk responsible for Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) among children below five years old. UNICEF estimates that during 1995 – 2003, there are only about 38% infants in developing countries who get to be exclusively breastfed during the first six months of their lives. According to Demography and Health Survey in Indonesia 2007, breastfeed practice rate still considered as low which is about 41%. One of the factors causing the low breastfeed practice rate in Indonesia is the anxiety and postpartum depression, and also the weanling dilemma in which mother feels that her breastmilk cannot suffice infant needs. Those factors finally resulting into low or even stopped production of breastmilk. Breastmilk production can be enhanced by consuming food containing phytosterol and lactogoga effect. Food with the highest phytosterol level is Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr leaf (merr leaf). In this study, we made alternative food which named Chocomerr for breastfeeding mothers. Chocomerr consists of merr leaves which have lactogoga effect and chocolate for relaxation. Based on organoleptic tests conducted towards 2 age groups, which are 18 – 21 and 25 – 40 years old, this product gets good acceptance in taste, texture, and colour categories. Chocomerr can be used as an alternative way for increasing breastmilk production to aim for the decreasing number of DALYs among children aged under 5 years old.

Keywords: breastfeeding, increasing, chocolate, merr leaves

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Manar Al-Ateeq

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The building construction industry plays a major role in the economy of the word and the state of Kuwait. This paper evaluates existing new civil site engineers, describes a new system for improvement and insures the importance of prequalifying and developing for new engineers. In order to have a strong base in engineering, educational institutes and workplaces should be responsible to continuously train engineers and update them with new methods and techniques in engineering. As to achieve that, school of engineering should constantly update computational resources to be used in the professions. A survey was prepared for graduated Engineers based on stated objectives to understand the status of graduate engineers in both the public and private sector. Interviews were made with different sectors in Kuwait, and several visits were made to different training centers within different workplaces in Kuwait to evaluate training process and try to improve it. Virtual Reality (VR) technology could be applied as a complement to three-dimensional (3D) modeling, leading to better communication whether in job training, in education or in professional practice. Techniques of 3D modeling and VR can be applied to develop the models related to the construction process. The 3D models can support rehabilitation design as it can be considered as a great tool for monitoring failure and defaults in structures; also it can support decisions based on the visual analyses of alternative solutions. Therefore, teaching computer-aided design (CAD) and VR techniques in school will help engineering students in order to prepare them to site work and also will assist them to consider these technologies as important supports in their later professional practice. This teaching technique will show how the construction works developed, allow the visual simulation of progression of each type of work and help them to know more about the necessary equipment needed for tasks and how it works on site.

Keywords: three dimensional modeling (3DM), civil engineers (CE), professional practice (PP), virtual reality (VR)

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Maria Toader, Gheorghe Valentin Roman, Alina Maria Ionescu

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Crops diversity and maintaining and enhancing the fertility of agricultural lands are basic principles of organic farming. With a wider range of crops in agroecosystem can improve the ability to control weeds, pests and diseases, and the performance of crops rotation and food safety. In this sense, the main objective of the research was to study the productivity and chemical composition of some alternative crops and their adaptability to soil and climatic conditions of the agricultural area in Southern Romania and to cultivation in the organic farming system. The alternative crops were: lentil (7 genotypes); five species of grain legumes (5 genotypes); four species of oil crops (5 genotypes). The seed production was, on average: 1343 kg/ha of lentil; 2500 kg/ha of field beans; 2400 kg/ha of chick peas and blackeyed peas; more than 2000 kg/ha of atzuki beans, over 1250 kg/ha of fenugreek; 2200 kg/ha of safflower; 570 kg/ha of oil pumpkin; 2150 kg/ha of oil flax; 1518 kg/ha of camelina. Regarding chemical composition, lentil seeds contained: 22.18% proteins, 3.03% lipids, 33.29% glucides, 4.00% minerals, and 259.97 kcal energy values. For field beans: 21.50% proteins, 4.40% lipids, 63.90% glucides, 5.85% minerals, 395.36 kcal energetic value. For chick peas: 21.23% proteins, 4.55% lipids, 53.00% glucides, 3.67% minerals, 348.22 kcal energetic value. For blackeyed peas: 23.30% proteins, 2.10% lipids, 68.10% glucides, 3.93% minerals, 350.14 kcal energetic value. For adzuki beans: 21.90% proteins, 2.60% lipids, 69.30% glucides, 4.10% minerals, 402.48 kcal energetic value. For fenugreek: 21.30% proteins, 4.65% lipids, 63.83% glucides, 5.69% minerals, 396.54 kcal energetic value. For safflower: 12.60% proteins, 28.37% lipids, 46.41% glucides, 3.60% minerals, 505.78 kcal energetic value. For camelina: 20.29% proteins, 31.68% lipids, 36.28% glucides, 4.29% minerals, 526.63 kcal energetic value. For oil pumpkin: 29.50% proteins, 36.92% lipids, 18.50% glucides, 5.41% minerals, 540.15 kcal energetic value. For oil flax: 22.56% proteins, 34.10% lipids, 27.73% glucides, 5.25% minerals, 558.45 kcal energetic value.

Keywords: adaptability, alternative crops, chemical composition, organic farming productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Mohammed Badereldien, Rezk Diab, Mohamoud Ali, Ayman Aboelkassem

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The stone surfaces of historical architectural heritage in Egypt are under threat from of various environmental factors such as temperature fluctuation, humidity, pollution, and microbes. Due to these factors, the facades of buildings are deteriorating deformation and disfiguration of external decoration and the formation of black accretion also often from the stone works. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of CaCO₃ nano-particles as consolidation and protection material for calcareous stone monuments. Selected tests were carried out in order to estimate the superficial consolidating and protective effect of the treatment. When applied the nanoparticles dispersed in the acrylic copolymer; poly ethylmethacrylate (EMA)/methylacrylate (MA) (70/30, respectively) (EMA)/methylacrylate (MA) (70/30, respectively). The synthesis process of CaCO₃ nanoparticles/polymer nano-composite was prepared using in situ emulsion polymerization system. The consolidation and protection were characterized by TEM, while the penetration depth, re-aggregating effects of the deposited phase, and the surface morphology before and after treatment were examined by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). Improvement of the stones' mechanical properties was evaluated by compressive strength tests. Changes in water-interaction properties were evaluated by water absorption capillarity measurements, and colorimetric measurements were used to evaluate the optical appearance. Together the results appear to demonstrate that CaCO₃/polymer nanocomposite is an efficient material for the consolidation of limestone architecture and monuments. As compared with samples treated with pure acrylic copolymer without Calcium carbonate nanoparticles, for example, CaCO₃ nanoparticles are completely compatible, strengthening limestone against thermal aging and improving its mechanical properties.

Keywords: calcium carbonate nanoparticles, consolidation, nanocomposites, calcareous stone, colorimetric measurements, compressive strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Laurent Bellemare

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After the showcase of traditional Indonesian performing arts at the Vancouver Expo 1986, Canadian universities inherited sets of Indonesian gamelan orchestras and soon began offering courses for music students interested in learning these diverse traditions. Among them, Université de Montréal was offered two sets of Balinese orchestras, a novelty that allowed a community of Montreal gamelan enthusiasts to form and engage with this music. A few generations later, a large body of archives have amassed, framing the history of this niche community’s achievements. This data, scattered in public and private archive collections, comes in various formats: Digital Audio Tape, audio cassettes, Video Home System videotape, digital files, photos, reel-to-reel audiotape, posters, concert programs, letters, TV shows, reports and more. Attempting to study these documents in order to unearth a chronology of gamelan in Montreal has proven to be challenging since no suitable platform for preservation, storage, and research currently exists. These files are, therefore, hard to find due to their decentralized locations. Additionally, most of the documents in older formats have yet to be digitized. In the case of recent digital files, such as pictures or rehearsal recordings, their locations can be even messier and their quantity overwhelming. Aside from the basic issue of choosing a suitable repository platform, questions of legal rights and methodology arise. For posterity, these documents should nonetheless be digitized, organized, and stored in an easily accessible online repository. This paper aims to underline the various challenges encountered in the early stages of such a project as well as to suggest ways of overcoming the obstacles to a thorough archival investigation.

Keywords: archival work, archives, Balinese gamelan, Canada, Gamelan, Indonesia, Javanese gamelan, Montreal

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Adetokunbo Ademola Falade, Oluwatoyin Olakunle Akinsete, Hussein Omeiza Aliu

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Solvent-aided dilution processes are often employed to recover bitumen by reducing its viscosity. In this study, methanol, toluene, and xylene were investigated as potential hydrocarbon solvents for solvent-aided hydrocarbon recovery of Agbabu bitumen. Solubility, Viscosity, and Saturate, Aromatic, Resin and Asphaltene (SARA) Analysis tests were carried out to determine the solubility of the bitumen in the solvents, the viscosity, and the SARA fraction of the natural bitumen and bitumen-solvent mixtures. Agbabu bitumen was found to have a high content of saturates and aromatics. Viscosity decreases as pressure increases, while solubility reduces as temperature increases. The experimental diffusivity of the sample decreases with temperature and increases with pressure, indicating that the presence of additional solvent molecules in the oil phase facilitates diffusion. Agbabu bitumen was found to be most soluble in toluene, and its viscosity was reduced most in it. Xylene exhibited a similar effect as toluene on the sample, though lesser but better than methanol. Methanol reduced the saturated content and significantly raised the asphaltene content, keeping the mixture viscosity high, a condition that, in turn, favors its colloidal stability. The colloidal instability index (CII) values, which account for the asphaltene stability of the mixture, show that the bitumen-methanol system with a CII of 0.874 will have mild asphaltene deposit issues while others are unstable. This approach of combining multiple tests with the CII can accurately predict the behavior of Agbabu bitumen in solvents and enhance the decision on the choice of bitumen recovery technology.

Keywords: asphaltene, bitumen, diffusivity, hydrocarbon solvent, SARA

Procedia PDF Downloads 12

Authors: Emma Carr, Jennifer Morrison, Peter Walker

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Background: Due to COVID-19, there was a significant reduction in the number of children being treated under general anaesthetic (GA) within the health board, which led to a backlog of referrals. The referrals were being triaged and added to a waiting list in order of priority -determined by the information given. By implementing a checklist, it is anticipated that at least 70% of referrals will have the majority of the information required to effectively prioritise patients. The gold standard, as defined in ‘Guidelines For The Management Of Children Referred For Dental Extractions Under General Anaesthesia’, indicates that all referrals should mention: (i) Inability of the child to cooperate, (ii) Previously tried anxiety management techniques, (iii) Existence of psychological disorders, (iv) Presence of acute dental infection, (v) Requirement for extractions in multiple quadrants. Method: 130 referrals were examined over three months and compared to the recommended standard. A letter was emailed to referring dentists within Ayrshire & Arran outlining the recommended information to be included within the referral. The second round of data collection was then carried out, which involved an examination of 105 referrals. Results: The first round revealed that only 28% of referrals mentioned at least four defined standards outlined above. Following issuing a checklist to all dentists, this increased to 72%. Conclusion: As many of the children referred for extractions under GA have suffered pain and infection because of dental caries, it is important that delay of treatment is minimised, where possible. The implementation of a standardised checklist has enabled more effective prioritisation of patients.

Keywords: caries, dentistry, general anaesthetic, paediatrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Pabitra Sahu, M. Manohari, S. Priyadharshini, R. Santhanam, S. Chandrasekaran, B. Venkatraman

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Radiation workers of reprocessing plants have a potential for internal exposure due to actinides and fission products. Radionuclides like Americium, lead, Polonium and Europium are bone seekers and get accumulated in the skeletal part. As the major skeletal content is in the skull (13%) and knee (22%), measurements of old intake have to be carried out in the skull and knee. At the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, a twin HPGe-based actinide monitor is used for the measurement of actinides present in bone. Efficiency estimation, which is one of the prerequisites for the quantification of radionuclides, requires anthropomorphic phantoms. Such phantoms are very limited. Hence, in this study, efficiency curves for a Twin HPGe-based actinide monitoring system are established theoretically using the FLUKA Monte Carlo method and ICRP adult male voxel phantom. In the case of skull measurement, the detector is placed over the forehead, and for knee measurement, one detector is placed over each knee. The efficiency values of radionuclides present in the knee and skull vary from 3.72E-04 to 4.19E-04 CPS/photon and 5.22E-04 to 7.07E-04 CPS/photon, respectively, for the energy range 17 to 3000keV. The efficiency curves for the measurement are established, and it is found that initially, the efficiency value increases up to 100 keV and then starts decreasing. It is found that the skull efficiency values are 4% to 63% higher than that of the knee, depending on the energy for all the energies except 17.74 keV. The reason is the closeness of the detector to the skull compared to the knee. But for 17.74 keV the efficiency of the knee is more than the skull due to the higher attenuation caused in the skull bones because of its greater thickness. The Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for 241Am present in the skull and knee is 9 Bq. 239Pu has a MDA of 950 Bq and 1270 Bq for knee and skull, respectively, for a counting time of 1800 sec. This paper discusses the simulation method and the results obtained in the study.

Keywords: FLUKA Monte Carlo Method, ICRP adult male voxel phantom, knee, Skull.

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Ashgar Ali Ali Mohamed, Farheen Baig Sardar Baig

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In Malaysia, the Whistle-blower Protection Act 2010 provides protection to a person in an organization who exposes misconduct, alleged dishonest or illegal activity that violates the existing laws, among others. For example, alleged fraud, health and safety violations, and corruption, to name but a few. Undeniable, most whistle-blowers are internal to an organisation who report misconduct of a fellow employee or superior within their company and they frequently face reprisal at the hands of the organisation which they have accused. In fact, many people do not consider blowing the whistle because of fear of retaliation and losing their relationships at workplace. Although whistle-blowers are protected under law from employer retaliation, there have been many cases where punishment for whistleblowing has occurred, such as suspension, demotion, termination, or harsh mistreatment by other employees. Hence, this paper will analyse the adequacy of the legal protection available to employees who whistle-blow on their employers with reference to the Whistle-blower Protection Act 2010. Reference will also be made to the approach taken in other selected jurisdiction with a view of highlighting the adequacy of the Malaysian legislation on this subject besides strengthen employee whistle-blower protection. Further, reference is also made to the Islamic approach on this subject with particular reference to the concept of amr-bil-Ma’roof (ordering for acknowledged virtues) and nahi anil munkar (forbidding from sin). Allah (SWT) says: “And there should be a group amongst you who invite towards good, order for acknowledged virtues, forbid from sin and these it is that are the successful ones” (Al Imran(Chp 3), verse 104).

Keywords: whistleblower protection, employee whistleblower, detrimental and reprisal, Malaysian law

Procedia PDF Downloads 538

Authors: Tzu-Jung Tseng, Pei-Hsuen Han, Tsung-Hsueh Lu

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Background: Ensuring patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) access to hospitals that could perform percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in time is an important concern of healthcare managers. One commonly used the method to assess the coverage of population access to PCI hospital is the use GIS-estimated linear distance (crow's fly distance) between the district centroid and the nearest PCI hospital. If the distance is within a given distance (such as 20 km), the entire population of that district is considered to have appropriate access to PCI. The premise of using district centroid to estimate the coverage of population resident in that district is that the people live in the district are evenly distributed. In reality, the population density is not evenly distributed within the administrative district, especially in rural districts. Fortunately, the Taiwan government released basic statistical area (on average 450 population within the area) recently, which provide us an opportunity to estimate the coverage of population access to PCI services more accurate. Objectives: We aimed in this study to compare the population covered by a give PCI hospital according to traditional administrative district versus basic statistical area. We further examined if the differences between two geographic units used would be larger in a rural area than in urban area. Method: We selected two hospitals in Tainan City for this analysis. Hospital A is in urban area, hospital B is in rural area. The population in each traditional administrative district and basic statistical area are obtained from Taiwan National Geographic Information System, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Results: Estimated population live within 20 km of hospital A and B was 1,515,846 and 323,472 according to traditional administrative district and was 1,506,325 and 428,556 according to basic statistical area. Conclusion: In urban area, the estimated access population to PCI services was similar between two geographic units. However, in rural areas, the access population would be overestimated.

Keywords: accessibility, basic statistical area, modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)

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Authors: Mubarak Suliman, Mohamed Hassan

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Detection of downed conductors occurring with high fault resistance (reaching kilo-ohms) has always been a challenge, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia, on which earth resistivity is very high in general (reaching more than 1000 Ω-meter). The new approaches for the detection of resistive and high impedance faults are based on the analysis of the fault current waveform. These methods are still under research and development, and they are currently lacking security and dependability. The other approach is communication-based solutions which depends on voltage measurement at the end of overhead line branches and communicate the measured signals to substation feeder relay or a central control center. However, such a detection method is costly and depends on the availability of communication medium and infrastructure. The main objective of this research is to utilize the available standard protection schemes to increase the probability of detection of downed conductors occurring with a low magnitude of fault currents and at the same time avoiding unwanted tripping in healthy conditions and feeders. By specifying the operating region of the faulty feeder, use of tripping curve for discrimination between faulty and healthy feeders, and with proper selection of core balance current transformer (CBCT) and voltage transformers with fewer measurement errors, it is possible to set the pick-up of sensitive earth fault current to minimum values of few amps (i.e., Pick-up Settings = 3 A or 4 A, …) for the detection of earth faults with fault resistance more than (1 - 2 kΩ) for 13.8kV overhead network and more than (3-4) kΩ fault resistance in 33kV overhead network. By implementation of the outcomes of this study, the probability of detection of downed conductors is increased by the utilization of existing schemes (i.e., Directional Sensitive Earth Fault Protection).

Keywords: sensitive earth fault, zero sequence current, grounded system, resistive fault detection, healthy feeder

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Authors: Siti Rahmah Fitrianti, Mela Milani

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Inadequate of water intake has negative effects on the health of the body, which can cause kidney failure and death. One of the factors that can affect someone intake of water is level of knowledge about the importance of water intake itself. A good knowledge of the daily water intake can increase the awareness of daily needed of water intake. Therefore, researchers initiated a study on the relationship of water intake to the level of knowledge related with water intake in food workers, at “Puspa” Hospital. Type of this research is quantitative research with cross-sectional approach. The research data was collected by measuring the independent and dependent variable at a time. This study took place in the food production unit of Nutrition Installation in "Puspa" Hospital, Jakarta in October 2016. The population target in this study were workers in food production unit aged 30-64 years. The instrument was a questionnaire question regarding water intake and 24 hours food recall. The result is 78.6% of respondents have less knowledge about the importance of water intake. Meanwhile, as many as 85.7% of respondents have adequate water intake. Tested by Chi-Square test, showed that no significant relationship between water intake with the level of knowledge related to water intake in workers of food production unit. Adequate intake of water in food workers commonly may be not caused by the level of knowledge related to water intake, but it may be cause of work environment factor which has a high temperature.

Keywords: food production unit, food workers, level of knowledge, water intake

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Authors: Mohammed Qutishat, Omar Al-Omari, Kholoud Al-Damery, Mohammed Al-Qadiri

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Objective: The current study aims to explore the relationship between Night Eating Syndrome and the experiences of Fear of Missing out (FOMO) among college students in Oman. Methods: The study adopted a descriptive correlational design. The total sample was 366 based on defined inclusion criteria. The questionnaires were distributed over one month during the spring semester of 2020. We used a self-report instrument as a measurement tool to investigate the extents of the research phenomena, and it consists of two major sections: fear of missing out Questionnaires and Night Eating Questionnaire. Results: The respondents' age ranged between 18 and 30. The majority of the participants were female 76.7% (204), single 97.7% (266), in their third academic year 28.6% (76), live in –campus, 57.1% (152). The findings of this study showed that fear of missing out experiences are significantly correlated with age (P=.010), gender (P= .005), and daily sleeping hours (P= .007). However, night eating experiences are significantly associated with age (p=018), living arrangement (P= .017), and sleeping hours (P= .000). Conclusion: This article can define a limiting aspect of the relationship between fear of missing out and night eating behaviors. During academic life, students may find themselves overloaded and use their smartphones to do the simplest tasks they have, leading them to skip their meals frequently and interfere with their eating patterns and psychological function. Health awareness programs or the implementation of healthy eating standards and technology uses can be introduced for undergraduates.

Keywords: fear of missing out, night eating syndrome, smartphone, addiction

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Authors: Sidali Khedidji, Noureddine Yassaa, Riad Ladji

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In this study, n-alkanes which are hazardous for the environment and human health were investigated in Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere at a sampling point from April 2013 to Mai 2013. Ambient concentration measurements of n-Alkanes were carried out at a regional study of the cement industry in Sour El Ghozlane. During sampling, the airborne particulate matter was enriched onto PTFE filters by using a two medium volume samplers with or without a size-selective inlet for PM10 and TSP were used and each sampling period lasted approximately 24 h. The organic compounds were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). Total concentrations for n-Alkanes recorded in Sour El Ghozlane suburban ranged from 42 to 69 ng m-3. Gravimeter method was applied to the black smoke concentration data for Springer seasons. The 24 h average concentrations of n-alkanes contain the PM10 and TSP of Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere were found in the range 0.50–7.06 ng/m3 and 0.29–6.97 ng/m3, respectively, in the sampling period. Meteorological factors, such as (relative humidity and temperature) were typically found to be affecting PMs, especially PM10. Air temperature did not seem to be significantly affecting TSP and PM10 mass concentrations. The guide value fixed by the European Community, 40 μg/m3 was not to exceed 35 days, was exceeded in some samples. However, it should be noted that the value limit fixed by the Algerian regulations 80 μg/m3 has been exceeded in 1 sampler during the period study.

Keywords: n-alkanes, PM10, TSP, particulate matter, cement industry

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Authors: Srishty Gulati, Anju Singh, Shrikant Kukreti

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The manifestation of structural polymorphism in DNA depends on the sequence and surrounding environment. Ample of folded DNA structures have been found in the cellular system out of which DNA hairpins are very common, however, are indispensable due to their role in the replication initiation sites, recombination, transcription regulation, and protein recognition. We enumerate this approach in our study, where the two base substitutions and change in temperature embark destabilization of DNA structure and misbalance the equilibrium between two structures of a sequence present at the overlapping region of the human COMT gene and MIR4761 gene. COMT and MIR4761 gene encodes for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme and microRNAs (miRNAs), respectively. Environmental changes and errors during cell division lead to genetic abnormalities. The COMT gene entailed in dopamine regulation fosters neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, velocardiofacial syndrome, etc. A 19-mer deoxyoligonucleotide sequence 5'-AGGACAAGGTGTGCATGCC-3' (COMT19) is located at exon-4 on chromosome 22 and band q11.2 at the intersection of COMT and MIR4761 gene. Bioinformatics studies suggest that this sequence is conserved in humans and few other organisms and is involved in recognition of transcription factors in the vicinity of 3'-end. Non-denaturating gel electrophoresis and CD spectroscopy of COMT sequences indicate the formation of hairpin type DNA structures. Temperature-dependent CD studies revealed an unusual shift in the slipped DNA-Hairpin DNA equilibrium with the change in temperature. Also, UV-thermal melting techniques suggest that the two base substitutions on the complementary strand of COMT19 did not affect the structure but reduces the stability of duplex. This study gives insight about the possibility of existing structurally polymorphic transient states within DNA segments present at the intersection of COMT and MIR4761 gene.

Keywords: base-substitution, catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT), hairpin-DNA, structural polymorphism

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Authors: A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, Zs. Csanádi, J. Erdős

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In Hungary, the measurement of ambient PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations is great importance for a number of reasons related to human health, the environment and compliance with European Union legislation. However, the monitoring of PAHs associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction is still incomplete. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the concentration levels of PAHs in PM2.5 urban aerosol fraction. PM2.5 and associated PAHs were monitored in November 2014 in an urban site of Győr (Northwest Hungary). The aerosol samples were collected every day for 24-hours over two weeks with a high volume air sampler provided with a PM2.5 cut-off inlet. The levels of 19 PAH compounds associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction were quantified by a gas chromatographic method. Polluted air quality for PM2.5 (>25 g/m3) was indicated in 50% of the collected samples. The total PAHs concentrations ranged from 2.1 to 37.3 ng/m3 with the mean value of 12.4 ng/m3. Indeno(123-cd)pyrene (IND) and sum of three benzofluoranthene isomers were the most dominant PAH species followed by benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Using BaP-equivalent approach on the concentration data of carcinogenic PAH species, BaP, and IND contributed the highest carcinogenic exposure equivalent (1.50 and 0.24 ng/m3 on average). A selected number of concentration ratios of specific PAH compounds were calculated to evaluate the possible sources of PAH contamination. The ratios reflected that the major source of PAH compounds in the PM2.5 aerosol fraction of Győr during the study period was fossil fuel combustion from automobiles.

Keywords: air, PM2.5, benzo(a)pyrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

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Authors: Ahmad Shahin, Walid Moudani, Ali Bekraki

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This research aims at presenting a predictive data mining model to handle an accurate diagnosis of acute appendicitis with patients for the purpose of maximizing the health service quality, minimizing morbidity/mortality, and reducing cost. However, acute appendicitis is the most common disease which requires timely accurate diagnosis and needs surgical intervention. Although the treatment of acute appendicitis is simple and straightforward, its diagnosis is still difficult because no single sign, symptom, laboratory or image examination accurately confirms the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in all cases. This contributes in increasing morbidity and negative appendectomy. In this study, the authors propose to generate an accurate model in prediction of patients with acute appendicitis which is based, firstly, on the segmentation technique associated to ABC algorithm to segment the patients; secondly, on applying fuzzy logic to process the massive volume of heterogeneous and noisy data (age, sex, fever, white blood cell, neutrophilia, CRP, urine, ultrasound, CT, appendectomy, etc.) in order to express knowledge and analyze the relationships among data in a comprehensive manner; and thirdly, on applying dynamic programming technique to reduce the number of data attributes. The proposed model is evaluated based on a set of benchmark techniques and even on a set of benchmark classification problems of osteoporosis, diabetes and heart obtained from the UCI data and other data sources.

Keywords: healthcare management, acute appendicitis, data mining, classification, decision tree

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Authors: Neslihan Sahin Celik, Ali Eraslan

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Mathematical model and modeling are one of the topics that have been intensively discussed in recent years. In line with the results of the PISA studies, researchers in many countries have begun to question how much students in school-education system are prepared to solve the real-world problems they encounter in their future professional lives. As a result, many mathematics educators have begun to emphasize the importance of new skills and understanding such as constructing, Hypothesizing, Describing, manipulating, predicting, working together for complex and multifaceted problems for success in beyond the school. When students increasingly face this kind of situations in their daily life, it is important to make sure that students have enough experience to work together and interpret mathematical situations that enable them to think in different ways and share their ideas with their peers. Thus, model eliciting activities are one of main tools that help students to gain experiences and the new skills required. This research study was carried on the town center of a big city located in the Black Sea region in Turkey. The participants were eighth-grade students in a middle school. After a six-week preliminary study, three students in an eighth-grade classroom were selected using criterion sampling technique and placed in a focus group. The focus group of three students was videotaped as they worked on a model eliciting activity, the Summer Job Problem. The conversation of the group was transcribed, examined with students’ written work and then qualitatively analyzed through the lens of Blum’s (1996) modeling processing cycle. The study results showed that eighth grade students can successfully work with the model eliciting, develop a model based on the two parameters and review the whole process. On the other hand, they had difficulties to relate parameters to each other and take all parameters into account to establish the model.

Keywords: middle school, modeling, mathematical modeling, summer job problem

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Authors: Arun Dhakal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni

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This paper attempts to fulfil the gap in measuring adoption in agroforestry studies. It explains the derivation of an index of adoption rate in a Nepalese context and examines the factors affecting adoption of agroforestry-based land management practice (AFLMP) in the Dhanusha District of Nepal. Data about the different farm practices and the factors (bio-physical, socio-economic) influencing adoption were collected during focus group discussion and from the randomly selected households using a household survey questionnaire, respectively. A multivariate regression model was used to determine the factors. The factors (variables) found to significantly affect adoption of AFLMP were: farm size, availability of irrigation water, education of household heads, agricultural labour force, frequency of visits by extension workers, expenditure on farm inputs purchase, household’s experience in agroforestry, and distance from home to government forest. The regression model explained about 75% of variation in adoption decision. The model rejected ‘erosion hazard’, ‘flood hazard’ and ‘gender’ as determinants of adoption, which in case of single agroforestry practice were major variables and played positive role. Out of eight variables, farm size played the most powerful role in explaining the variation in adoption, followed by availability of irrigation water and education of household heads. The results of this study suggest that policies to promote the provision of irrigation water, extension services and motivation to obtaining higher education would probably provide the incentive to adopt agroforestry elsewhere in the terai of Nepal.

Keywords: agroforestry, adoption index, determinants of adoption, step-wise linear regression, Nepal

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Authors: Lenore Van Den Berg

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Vocabulary development is positively associated with reading development, reading comprehension, and academic achievement. It is frequently stated that South Africa is in the midst of a literacy crisis. The past 24 years since the first democratically elected government have not revolutionised the education system; rather, after various curriculum changes and continued struggles to incorporate all 11 official languages as languages of instruction, research shows that 78 per cent of South African Grade 4 learners are functionally illiterate. The study sets out to find solutions to this problem and to add to the research base on vocabulary acquisition by assessing the effect of integrating the principles of explicit, interactive vocabulary instruction, within the context of storybook reading, on Grade 1 vocabulary acquisition. Participants comprised of 69 Grade 1 English second language learners from three classes in two government primary schools. The two schools differ in socio-economic status (SES), with School A having a lower SES than School B. One Grade 1 class was randomly assigned to be the Experimental Group, while two other classes served as control groups. The intervention took place for a period of 18 weeks and consisted of 30-minute storybook reading sessions, accompanied by interactive vocabulary instruction, twice a week. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IV (PPVT-IV) was the diagnostic test administered to all learners before the intervention, as a pre-test, and after the interventions as a post-test. Data regarding excising vocabulary instruction practices and approaches were also collected through classroom observations and individual, semi-structured interviews with the Experimental Group’s teacher. Findings suggest that second language storybook reading, accompanied by explicit, interactive vocabulary instruction, have a positive impact on Grade 1 vocabulary acquisition but that vocabulary teaching practices and socio-economic status also play a key role in vocabulary acquisition.

Keywords: interactive vocabulary instruction, second language vocabulary, storybook reading, vocabulary acquisition, reading development, PPVT

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