Search results for: IoT based agriculture monitoring

Authors: Khajeerat Phumpurk

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This research aims to study the knowledge, attitude toward household accounting of people in Bangkeaw Samutsongkhram. The sample use in this study was the people in tambol bangkeao Mueang Samut songkhram province. The Sample size for 100 household by using the accidental sampling and data collection was a questionnaire. Statistical analysis for frequency, percentage, mean, minimum, maximum value and standard deviation. It was found that the most of the respondent are farmers for 63.4. Most of them are male, with average of age 49.54 years. The education is vocational. The average household income is 60,873.74 per year. The respondent has the debt with the bank for 64.4 percent. The greatest influence to do the household accounting of farmers is the bank expertise. All the advice about doing household accounts get it from the staff of the bank for agriculture and agricultural cooperatives. The farmers for 57.3 do household accounting during the night time.

Keywords: Bangkeaw Samutsongkhram, household accounting, knowledge, sufficiency economy

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Authors: Aschenaki Zerihun Kea, Bernt Lindtjorn, Achamyelesh Gebretsadik, Sven Gudmund Hinderaker

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Introduction: Maternal mortality studies conducted at the national level do not provide the information needed for planning and monitoring health programs at lower administrative levels. The aim of this study was to measure maternal mortality, identify risk factors and district-level variations in Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional population-based survey was carried out in households where women reported pregnancy and birth outcomes in the past five years. The study was conducted in the Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia, from July 2019 to May 2020. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed. The outcome variable of the study was maternal mortality. Complex sample logistic regression analysis was applied to assess variables independently associated with maternal mortality. Results: We registered 10602 live births (LB) and 48 maternal deaths, yielding an overall maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 419; 95% CI: 260-577 per 100,000 LB. Aroresa district had the highest MMR with 1142 (95% CI: 693-1591) per 100,000 LB. Leading causes of death were haemorrhage 21 (41%) and eclampsia 10 (27%). Thirty (59%) mothers died during labour, or within 24 hours after delivery, 25 (47%) died at home and 17 (38%) at a health facility. Mothers who did not have formal education had a higher risk of maternal death (AOR: 4.4; 95% CI: 1.7 – 11.0). The risk of maternal death was higher in districts with a low midwife-to-population ratio (AOR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.0-8.9). Conclusion: The high maternal mortality with district-level variations in Sidama Region highlights the importance of improving obstetric care and employing targeted interventions in areas with high mortality rates. Due attention should be given to improving access to female education. Additional midwives have to be trained and deployed to improve maternal health services and consequently save the lives of mothers.

Keywords: maternal mortality variation, maternal death, Sidama, Ethiopia

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Authors: K. Umbleja, M. Ichino, H. Yaguchi

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In this paper, we propose a coloring method for multivariate data visualization by using parallel coordinates based on dissimilarity and tree structure information gathered during hierarchical clustering. The proposed method is an extension for proximity-based coloring that suffers from a few undesired side effects if hierarchical tree structure is not balanced tree. We describe the algorithm by assigning colors based on dissimilarity information, show the application of proposed method on three commonly used datasets, and compare the results with proximity-based coloring. We found our proposed method to be especially beneficial for symbolic data visualization where many individual objects have already been aggregated into a single symbolic object.

Keywords: data visualization, dissimilarity-based coloring, proximity-based coloring, symbolic data

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Authors: Gannouni Sonia, Hammami Asma, Saidi Salwa, Rebai Noamen

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Water resources in Tunisia have experienced quantitative and qualitative degradation, especially when talking about wetlands and Sbekhas. Indeed, the objective of this work is to study the spatio-temporal evolution of salinity for 29 years (from 1987 to 2016). A study of the connection between surface water and groundwater is necessary to know the degree of influence of the Sebkha brines on the water table. The evolution of surface salinity is determined by remote sensing based on Landsat TM and OLI/TIRS satellite images of the years 1987, 2007, 2010, and 2016. The processing of these images allowed us to determine the NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), the salinity index, and the surface temperature around Sebkha. In addition, through a geographic information system(GIS), we could establish a map of the distribution of salinity in the subsurface of the water table of Chott Mariem and Hergla/SidiBouAli/Kondar. The results of image processing and the calculation of the index and surface temperature show an increase in salinity downstream of in addition to the sebkha and the development of vegetation cover upstream and the western part of the sebkha. This richness may be due both to contamination by seawater infiltration from the barrier beach of Hergla as well as the passage of groundwater to the sebkha.

Keywords: spatio-temporal monitoring, salinity, satellite images, NDVI, sebkha

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Authors: Julia R. Beulig, Stefan Ohla, Detlev Belder

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In contrast to off-line analytical methods, lab-on-a-chip technology delivers direct information about the observed reaction. Therefore, microfluidic devices make an important scientific contribution, e.g. in the field of synthetic chemistry. Herein, the rapid generation of analytical data can be applied for the optimization of chemical reactions. These microfluidic devices enable a fast change of reaction conditions as well as a resource saving method of operation. In the presented work, we focus on the investigation of multiphase regimes, more specifically on a biphasic microfluidic droplet systems. Here, every single droplet is a reaction container with customized conditions. The biggest challenge is the rapid qualitative and quantitative readout of information as most detection techniques for droplet systems are non-specific, time-consuming or too slow. An exception is the electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The combination of a reaction screening platform with a rapid and specific detection method is an important step in droplet-based microfluidics. In this work, we present a novel approach for synthesis optimization on the nanoliter scale with direct ESI-MS detection. The development of a droplet-based microfluidic device, which enables the modification of different parameters while simultaneously monitoring the effect on the reaction within a single run, is shown. By common soft- and photolithographic techniques a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip with different functionalities is developed. As an interface for the MS detection, we use a steel capillary for ESI and improve the spray stability with a Teflon siphon tubing, which is inserted underneath the steel capillary. By optimizing the flow rates, it is possible to screen parameters of various reactions, this is exemplarity shown by a Domino Knoevenagel Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. Different starting materials, catalyst concentrations and solvent compositions are investigated. Due to the high repetition rate of the droplet production, each set of reaction condition is examined hundreds of times. As a result, of the investigation, we receive possible reagents, the ideal water-methanol ratio of the solvent and the most effective catalyst concentration. The developed system can help to determine important information about the optimal parameters of a reaction within a short time. With this novel tool, we make an important step on the field of combining droplet-based microfluidics with organic reaction screening.

Keywords: droplet, mass spectrometry, microfluidics, organic reaction, screening

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Authors: Siti Nurhidayah Naqiah Abdull Rani, Herlina Abdul Rahim

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Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has always been of great interest in the food and agriculture industries. The development of predictive models has facilitated the estimation process in recent years. In this research, 176 crude palm oil (CPO) samples acquired from Felda Johor Bulker Sdn Bhd were studied. A FOSS NIRSystem was used to tak e absorbance measurements from the sample. The wavelength range for the spectral measurement is taken at 1600nm to 1900nm. Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) prediction model with 50 optimal number of principal components was implemented to study the relationship between the measured Free Fatty Acid (FFA) values and the measured spectral absorption. PLSR showed predictive ability of FFA values with correlative coefficient (R) of 0.9808 for the training set and 0.9684 for the testing set.

Keywords: palm oil, fatty acid, NIRS, PLSR

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Authors: Purna Bahadur Lamichhane

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Education planning and management are foundational pillars for developing effective educational systems. However, in many educational contexts, especially in developing nations, technology-enabled management is still emerging. In such settings, manual-based systems, where instructions and guidelines are physically documented, remain central to educational planning and management. This paper examines the effectiveness, challenges, and potential of manual-based education planning systems in fostering structured, reliable, and adaptable management frameworks. The objective of this study is to explore how a manual-based approach can successfully guide administrators, educators, and policymakers in delivering high-quality education. By using structured, accessible instructions, this approach serves as a blueprint for educational governance, offering clear, actionable steps to achieve institutional goals. Through an analysis of case studies from various regions, the paper identifies key strategies for planning school schedules, managing resources, and monitoring academic and administrative performance without relying on automated systems. The findings underscore the significance of organized documentation, standard operating procedures, and comprehensive manuals that establish uniformity and maintain educational standards across institutions. With a manual-based approach, management can remain flexible, responsive, and user-friendly, especially in environments where internet access and digital literacy are limited. Moreover, it allows for localization, where instructions can be tailored to the unique cultural and socio-economic contexts of the community, thereby increasing relevancy and ownership among local stakeholders. This paper also highlights several challenges associated with manual-based education management. Manual systems often require significant time and human resources for maintenance and updating, potentially leading to inefficiencies and inconsistencies over time. Furthermore, manual records can be susceptible to loss, damage, and limited accessibility, which may affect decision-making and institutional memory. There is also the risk of siloed information, where crucial data resides with specific individuals rather than being accessible across the organization. However, with proper training and regular oversight, many of these limitations can be mitigated. The study further explores the potential for hybrid approaches, combining manual planning with selected digital tools for record-keeping, reporting, and analytics. This transitional strategy can enable schools and educational institutions to gradually embrace digital solutions without discarding the familiarity and reliability of manual instructions. In conclusion, this paper advocates for a balanced, context-sensitive approach to education planning and management. While digital systems hold the potential to streamline processes, manual-based systems offer resilience, inclusivity, and adaptability for institutions where technology adoption may be constrained. Ultimately, by reinforcing the importance of structured, detailed manuals and instructional guides, educational institutions can build robust management frameworks that facilitate both short-term successes and long-term growth in their educational mission. This research aims to provide a reference for policymakers, educators, and administrators seeking practical, low-cost, and adaptable solutions for sustainable educational planning and management.

Keywords: educatoin, planning, management, manual

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Authors: Zheni S. Stefanova, Kandethody M. Ramachandran

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With the increasing dependency on our computer devices, we face the necessity of adequate, efficient and effective mechanisms, for protecting our network. There are two main problems that Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) attempt to solve. 1) To detect the attack, by analyzing the incoming traffic and inspect the network (intrusion detection). 2) To produce a prompt response when the attack occurs (intrusion prevention). It is critical creating an Intrusion detection model that will detect a breach in the system on time and also challenging making it provide an automatic and with an acceptable delay response at every single stage of the monitoring process. We cannot afford to adopt security measures with a high exploiting computational power, and we are not able to accept a mechanism that will react with a delay. In this paper, we will propose an intrusion response mechanism that is based on artificial intelligence, and more precisely, reinforcement learning techniques (RLT). The RLT will help us to create a decision agent, who will control the process of interacting with the undetermined environment. The goal is to find an optimal policy, which will represent the intrusion response, therefore, to solve the Reinforcement learning problem, using a Q-learning approach. Our agent will produce an optimal immediate response, in the process of evaluating the network traffic.This Q-learning approach will establish the balance between exploration and exploitation and provide a unique, self-learning and strategic artificial intelligence response mechanism for IDS.

Keywords: cyber security, intrusion prevention, optimal policy, Q-learning

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Authors: O. Babalola Oladapo, A. Igbatayo Samuel

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Climate change and poverty are global issues which cannot be waved aside in welfare of the ever increasing population. The causes / consequences are far more elaborate in developing countries, including Nigeria, which poses threats to the existence of man and his environment. The dominant role of agriculture makes it obvious that even minor climate deteriorations can cause devastating socio-economic consequences. Policies to curb the climate change by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels like oil, gas or carbon compounds have significant economical impacts on the producers/suppliers of these fuels. Thus a unified political narrative that advances both agendas is needed, because their components of an environmental coin that needs to be addressed. The developed world should maintain a low-carbon growth & real commitment of 0.7% of gross national income, as aid to developing countries & renewable energy approach should be emphasized, hence global poverty combated.

Keywords: climate change, greenhouse gases, Nigeria, poverty

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Authors: George-Anokwuru Chioma Chidinma Bernadette

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This paper investigated the effect of trade liberalization on domestic private investment in Nigeria from 1981 to 2020. To achieve this objective, secondary data on domestic private investment, trade openness, exchange rate and interest rate were sourced from the statistical bulletin of Nigeria’s apex bank. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique was used as the main analytical tool. The ARDL Bounds test revealed the existence of long run association among the variables. The results revealed that trade openness and exchange rate have positive and insignificant relationship with domestic private investment both in the long and short runs. At the same time, interest rate has negative relationship with domestic private investment both in the long and short runs. Therefore, it was concluded that there is no significant relationship between trade openness, exchange rate, interest rate and domestic private investment in Nigeria during the period of study. Based on the findings, the study recommended that government should formulate trade policies that will encourage the growth of domestic private investment in Nigeria. To achieve this, government should ensure consistency in trade policies and at the same time strengthen the existing policies to build investors’ confidence. Also, government should make available an investment-friendly environment, as well as monitor real sector operators to ensure that foreign exchange allocations are not diverted. Government should increase capital investment in education, housing, transportation, agriculture, health, power, road construction, national defense, among others that will help the various sectors of the economy to function very well thereby making the business environment friendly thereby enhancing the growth and development of the country.

Keywords: trade openness, domestic private investment, ARDL, exchange rate

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Authors: Jeong Woo Kang, MiYoung Baek, Ki-Suk Kim, Kwang-Jick Lee, ByungJae So

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Introduction: A fast, easy and sensitive detection method was developed and validated by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of marbofloxacin in pig plasma which was further applied to study the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin. Materials and Methods: The plasma sample (500 μL) was mixed with 1.5 ml of 0.1% formic acid in MeCN to precipitate plasma proteins. After shaking for 20 min, The mixture was centrifuged at 5,000 × g for 30 min. It was dried under a nitrogen flow at 50℃. 500 μL aliquot of the sample was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. Chromatographic analysis was carried out mobile phase gradient consisting 0.1% formic acid in D.W. (A) and 0.1% formic acid in MeCN (B) with C18 reverse phase column. Mass spectrometry was performed using the positive ion mode and the selected ion monitoring (MRM). Results and Conclusions: The method validation was performed in the sample matrix. Good linearities (R2>0.999) were observed and the quantified average recoveries of marbofloxacin were 87 - 92% at level of 10 ng g-1 -100 ng g-1. The percent of coefficient of variation (CV) for the described method was less than 10 % over the range of concentrations studied. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 2 and 5 ng g-1, respectively. This method has also been applied successfully to pharmacokinetic analysis of marbofloxacin after intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM) and oral administration (PO). The mean peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was 2,597 ng g-1at 0.25 h, 2,587 ng g-1at 0.44 h and 2,355 ng g-1at 1.58 h for IV, IM and PO, respectively. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0–t) was 24.8, 29.0 and 25.2 h μg/mL for IV, IM and PO, respectively. The elimination half-life (T1/2) was 8.6, 13.1 and 9.5 for IV, IM and PO, respectively. Bioavailability (F) of the marbofloxacin in pig was 117 and 101 % for IM and PO, respectively. Based on these result, marbofloxacin does not have any obstacles as therapeutics to develop the oral formulations such as tablets and capsules.

Keywords: marbofloxacin, LC-MS/MS, pharmacokinetics, chromatographic

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Authors: Jorge Ferro-Diaz, Lazaro Marquez-Llauger, Jose Alberto Camejo-Lamas, Lazaro Marquez-Govea

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The invasion of Scaevola sericea Vahl (Goodeniaceae) in Cuba is a recent process, this exotic invasive species was reported for the first time, in the national territory, by 2008. S. sericea is native to the coasts around the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, common on sandy beaches; it has expanded rapidly around the planet by either natural or anthropic causes, mainly due to its use in hotel gardening. Cuba is highly vulnerable to the colonization of these species, mainly due to tropical hurricanes which have increased in the last decades; it also affects other native species such as Tournefortia gnaphalodes (L.) R. Br. (Boraginaceae) that show invasive manifestations because of the unbalanced state of demographic processes of littoral vegetation, which has been studied by authors during the last 10 years. The fast development of Cuban tourism has encouraged the use of exotic species in gardening that invade large sectors of sandy coasts. Taking into account the importance of assessing the impacts dimensions and adopting effective control measures, a monitoring program for the invasion of S. sericea in Cuba was undertaken. The program has been implemented since 2013 and the main objective was to identify invasive patterns and interactions with other native species of coastal vegetation. This experience also aimed to validate the design and propose a standardized monitoring protocol to be applied throughout the country. In the Cuban territory, 12 sites were chosen, where there were established 24 permanent plots of 100 m2; measurements were taken twice a year taking into consideration variables such as abundance, plant height, soil cover, flora and companion vegetation, density and frequency; other physical variables of the beaches were also measured. Similarly, for associated individuals of T. gnaphalodes, the same variables were measured. The results of these first four years allowed us to document patterns of S. sericea invasion, highlighting the use of adventitious roots to enhance their colonization, and to characterize demographic indicators, ecosystem affections, and interactions with native plants. A density-dependent relationship with T. gnaphalodes was documented, finding a controlling effect on S. sericea, so that a manipulation experiment was applied to evaluate possible management actions to be incorporated in the Plans of the protected areas involved. With these results, it was concluded, for the evaluated sites, that S. sericea has had an invasion dynamics ruled by effects of coastal dynamics, more intense in beaches with affectations to the native vegetation, and more controlled in beaches with more preserved vegetation. It was found that when S. sericea is established, the mechanism that most reinforces its invasion is the use of adventitious roots, used to expand the patches and colonize beach sectors. It was also found that when the density of T. gnaphalodes increases, it detains the expansion of S. sericea and reduces its colonization possibilities, behaving as a natural controller of its biological invasion. The results include a proposal of a new Monitoring Protocol for Scaevola sericea in Cuba, with the possibility of extending its implementation to other countries in the region.

Keywords: biological invasion, exotic invasive species, plant interactions, Scaevola sericea

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Authors: Prakash Chandra Subedi

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Family farming is the family based farming activities, where the farmers cultivate their farm themselves and all the members of the family are engaged in farming as per their skill, age, and physical strength. This study was conducted to examine the food sufficiency level of family farmers and, was carried in the four VDCs of Kavrepalanchowk district -Jaisithok Mandan, Mahadevsthan Mandan and Gairi Bisouna Deupur. A total of 115 households determined as the sample size from each of the four VDCs were randomly visited for interview in the study. The size of land holding was found to be very small and fragmented. The quality of soil was fertile and could yield high production if irrigation existed. The labour used patterns were significant number of family labour but due to high youth migration there were labour shortage. The rate of adoption of agri-technology was low but the households adopting insectides/pesticides and chemical fertilizers were found to be high without any knowledge regarding its using techniques. In conclusion, the study highpoint that the crop production and food sufficiency level of the family farmers of the Kavrepalanchowk district is decreasing. Many farmers were leaving their farming and started seeking opportunity to go for foreign employment or engaged in non-agricultural activities in urban areas. If no action is taken timely, there may come situation that we will have to depend on imports for all the food requirements. Thus, the study reveals that the family farming could act as an agent for ensuring food sufficiency for all, if proper policies is promoted to family farmers with legal titles to their land or promoted with sustainable agriculture methods or provided with proper agri-technology or given their share of respect and responsibilities that farming as honorable profession.

Keywords: family farming, technology transfer, crop production, food sufficiency

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Authors: Mohd Zaki Hamzah, Roslan Rani, Ahmad Bazli Razali, Satiful Bahri Mamat, Abdul Hadi Ripin, Mohd Harun Esa

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Ever since 1901, forest management and silviculture practices in Malaysia have been frequently reviewed and updated to take into account changes in forest conditions, markets, timber demand/supply and technical advances that can be achieved in industrial processes, logging and forest harvesting, and currently, the forest management system practiced in Peninsular Malaysia is the Selective Management System (SMS) which was introduced in 1978. This system requires the selection of management regime (felling) based on Pre-Felling Forest Inventory (Pre-F) data to ensure economical harvesting and also ensuring adequate standing stands for subsequent rounds of felling, while maintaining ecological balance and environmental quality. SMS regulates forest harvesting through area and volume controls, with the cutting cycle 30 years. Most of the forest management units (FMU) (in Peninsular Malaysia) implementing SMS have been certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and one such FMU belongs to Kumpulan Pengurusan Kayu Kayan Terengganu (KPKKT). KPKKT, a timber management subsidiary of Golden Pharos Berhad (GPB), adopts the SMS to manage its 108,900 ha of timber concessionary areas in its role as logs’ supplier for the consumption of three subsidiaries of GPB. KPKKT is also responsible for the sustainable development and management of its concession in accordance with the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standards to ensure that it addresses the loss of forest cover and forest degradation, forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, and ecologically protecting forests while mobilising financial resources for the implementation of sustainable forest management planning, harvesting, monitoring and the marketing of products. This paper will detail out the management and harvesting guidelines imposed by the controlling government agency, and harvesting processes taken by KPKKT to comply with guidelines and eventually supplying timber to the relevant subsidiaries (downstream mills under GPB).

Keywords: sustainable forest management, silviculture, reduce impact logging, forest certification

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Authors: Selvaprakash Ramalingam, Rabi N. Sahoo, Dharmendra Saraswat, A. Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan, Joydeep Mukerjee, Viswanathan Chinnasamy, K. K. Chaturvedi, Sanjeev Kumar

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Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. Among the various diseases that affect rice crops, rice blast is particularly significant, causing crop yield and economic losses. While the plant has defense mechanisms in place, such as chemical indicators (proteins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and azelaic acid) and resistance genes in certain varieties that can protect against diseases, susceptible varieties remain vulnerable to these fungal diseases. Early prediction of rice blast (RB) disease is crucial, but conventional techniques for early prediction are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques hold the potential to predict RB disease at its asymptomatic stage. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the prediction of RB disease at the asymptomatic stage using non-imaging hyperspectral ASD spectroradiometer under controlled laboratory conditions. We applied statistical spectral discrimination theory to identify unknown spectra of M. Oryzae, the fungus responsible for rice blast disease. The infrared (IR) region was found to be significantly affected by RB disease. These changes may result in alterations in the absorption, reflection, or emission of infrared radiation by the affected plant tissues. Our research revealed that the protein spectrum in the IR region is impacted by RB disease. In our study, we identified strong correlations in the region (Amide group - I) around X 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm with the Lambda / Lambda derived spectra methods for protein detection. During the stages when the disease is developing, typically from day 3 to day 5, the plant's defense mechanisms are not as effective. This is especially true for the PB-1 variety of rice, which is highly susceptible to rice blast disease. Consequently, the proteins in the plant are adversely affected during this critical time. The spectral contour plot reveals the highly correlated spectral regions 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm associated with RB disease infection. Based on these spectral sensitivities, we developed new spectral disease indices for predicting different stages of disease emergence. The goal of this research is to lay the foundation for future UAV and satellite-based studies aimed at long-term monitoring of RB disease.

Keywords: rice blast, asymptomatic stage, spectral sensitivity, IR

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Authors: Hossam E. Emam

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The functional textiles development history in the military field could be ascribed as a uniquely interesting research topic. Soldiers are like a high-performance athletes, where monitoring their physical and physiological capabilities is a vital requirement. Functional clothes represent a “second skin” that has a close, “intimate” relationship with the human body. For the application of textiles in military purposes, which is normally required in difficult weather and environmental conditions, several functions are required. The requirements for designing functional military textiles for soldier's protection can be categorized into three categories; i) battle field (protection from chemical warfare agents, flames, and thermal radiation), ii) environmental (water proof, air permeable, UV-protection, antibacterial), iii) physiological (minimize heat stress, low weight, insulative, durability). All of these requirements are important, but the means to fulfill these requirements are not simple and straight forward. Additionally, the combination of more than one function is reported to be very expensive and requires many complicated steps, and the final product is found to be low durability. Not only do all of these requirements are overlapping, but they are also contradicting each other at various levels. Thus, we plan to produce multi-functional textiles (e.g., anti-microbial, UV-protection, fire retardant, photoluminescent) to be applied in military clothes. The current project aims to use quite a simple and applicable technique through the modification of textiles with different coordination polymers and functionalized coordination polymers.

Keywords: functional textiles, military clothes, coordination polymers, antimicrobial, fire retardant, photolumenscent

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Authors: Mera Ababneh, Sayer Al-Azzam, Karem Alzoubi, Abeer Rababa'h

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Background: Medication errors are among the most common medical errors. Their occurrences result in patient’s mortality, morbidity, and additional healthcare costs. Continuous monitoring and detection is required. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare medication errors in outpatient’s prescriptions in two different hospitals (paper system vs. electronic system). Methods: This was a cross sectional observational study conducted in two major hospitals; King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) and Princess Bassma Teaching Hospital (PBTH) over three months period. Data collection was conducted by two trained pharmacists at each site. During the study period, medication prescriptions and dispensing procedures were screened for medication errors in both participating centers by two trained pharmacist. Results: In the electronic prescription hospital, 2500 prescriptions were screened in which 631 medication errors were detected. Prescription errors were 231 (36.6%), and dispensing errors were 400 (63.4%) of all errors. On the other side, analysis of 2500 prescriptions in paper-based hospital revealed 3714 medication errors, of which 288 (7.8%) were prescription errors, and 3426 (92.2%) were dispensing errors. A significant number of 2496 (67.2%) were inadequately and/or inappropriately labeled. Conclusion: This study provides insight for healthcare policy makers, professionals, and administrators to invest in advanced technology systems, education, and epidemiological surveillance programs to minimize medication errors.

Keywords: medication errors, prescription errors, dispensing errors, electronic prescription, handwritten prescription

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Authors: Bharathadas Sandhya

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Janamaithri Suraksha Project is the community policing project of Kerala police, fully sponsored by the Government of Kerala and in vogue in Kerala for the last ten years. The socio-economically weaker areas in the hilly terrains consisting of tribal hamlets are given special importance under the project. These hamlets are visited by the beat police officers, and they intervene in various issues in the hamlets. This study is based on data collected from 350 respondents living in the tribal hamlets of the Nilambur area in the District of Malappuram. The respondents were personally interviewed by the research team using a questionnaire consisting of 183 questions, seeking the details regarding their interaction with beat police officers, their ability to prevent or detect crimes, the menace of Maoists (extremist) presence, their interventions in other socio-economic problems like alcoholism, school dropout issues, lack of facilities for preparation for competitive examinations for educated youth, etc. The perception of the tribal population regarding the effectiveness of police intervention in their criminal justice complaints, the attitude of the police officers towards the tribal population when they approach the police station with a criminal complaint, are also studied. The general socio-economic problems of the tribal population as perceived by them are also brought out. Being the visible agency of the government, the police person coming on beat duty to the hamlet is generally seen by the tribal population as a representative to whom they can communicate the issues, even if it’s solution rests with another department like the forest or agriculture. The analysis of the primary data is carried out using computer applications. The amount of social justice benefits the tribal hamlets received through various government schemes, and their deficiencies are brought out in the study. From the conclusions of the study, certain suggestions for positive criminal justice and social justice intervention strategies are made out. The need for various government departments to work in tandem with each other so as to bring out more effectiveness in the socio-economic projects is evident from the study. Whether it is the need to obtain a transport to go to school or problem of drinking water or even opening a bank account, at least occasionally, the visiting beat police officer is of help to the tribal population. Mostly the tribal population feels free to approach the police with a criminal complaint without any inhibitions.

Keywords: community policing, beat police officer, criminal justice, social justice

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Authors: Gaetano Zazzaro, Angelo Martone, Roberto V. Montaquila, Luigi Pavone

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Seizure is the main factor that affects the quality of life of epileptic patients. The diagnosis of epilepsy, and hence the identification of epileptogenic zone, is commonly made by using continuous Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal monitoring. Seizure identification on EEG signals is made manually by epileptologists and this process is usually very long and error prone. The aim of this paper is to describe an automated method able to detect seizures in EEG signals, using knowledge discovery in database process and data mining methods and algorithms, which can support physicians during the seizure detection process. Our detection method is based on Artificial Neural Network classifier, trained by applying the multilayer perceptron algorithm, and by using a software application, called Training Builder that has been developed for the massive extraction of features from EEG signals. This tool is able to cover all the data preparation steps ranging from signal processing to data analysis techniques, including the sliding window paradigm, the dimensionality reduction algorithms, information theory, and feature selection measures. The final model shows excellent performances, reaching an accuracy of over 99% during tests on data of a single patient retrieved from a publicly available EEG dataset.

Keywords: artificial neural network, data mining, electroencephalogram, epilepsy, feature extraction, seizure detection, signal processing

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Authors: Purba Biswas, Priyanka Dey

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

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

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Authors: Sang Ho Lee, Tae Heon Moon, Youn Taik Leem, Kwang Woo Nam

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Knowledge and IT inputs to other industrial production have become more important as a key factor for the competitiveness of national and regional economies, such as knowledge economies in smart cities. Knowledge and IT industries lead the industrial innovation and technical (r)evolution through low cost, high efficiency in production, and by creating a new value chain and new production path chains, which is referred as knowledge and IT dynamics. This study aims to investigate the knowledge and IT dynamics in Korea, which are analyzed through the input-output model and structural path analysis. Twenty-eight industries were reclassified into seven categories; Agriculture and Mining, IT manufacture, Non-IT manufacture, Construction, IT-service, Knowledge service, Non-knowledge service to take close look at the knowledge and IT dynamics. Knowledge and IT dynamics were analyzed through the change of input output coefficient and multiplier indices in terms of technical innovation, as well as the changes of the structural paths of the knowledge and IT to other industries in terms of new production value creation from 1985 and 2010. The structural paths of knowledge and IT explain not only that IT foster the generation, circulation and use of knowledge through IT industries and IT-based service, but also that knowledge encourages IT use through creating, sharing and managing knowledge. As a result, this paper found the empirical investigation on the knowledge and IT dynamics of the Korean economy. Knowledge and IT has played an important role regarding the inter-industrial transactional input for production, as well as new industrial creation. The birth of the input-output production path has mostly originated from the knowledge and IT industries, while the death of the input-output production path took place in the traditional industries from 1985 and 2010. The Korean economy has been in transition to a knowledge economy in the Smart City.

Keywords: knowledge and IT industries, input-output model, structural path analysis, dynamics of knowledge and it, knowledge economy, knowledge city and smart city

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Authors: Laetitia Lemiere, Marie Gosme, Gerard Subsol, Marc Jaeger

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Agroforestry is recognized as a way of developing sustainable and resilient agriculture that can fight against climate change. However, the number of species combinations, spatial configurations, and management options for trees and crops is vast. These choices must be adapted to the pedoclimatic and socio-economic contexts and to the objectives of the farmer, who therefore needs support in designing his system. Participative design workshops are a good way to integrate the knowledge of several experts in order to design such complex systems. The design of agroforestry systems should take into account both spatial aspects (e.g., spacing of trees within the lines and between lines, tree line orientation, tree-crop distance, species spatial patterns) and temporal aspects (e.g., crop rotations, tree thinning and pruning, tree planting in the case of successional agroforestry). Furthermore, the interactions between trees and crops evolve as the trees grow. However, agroforestry design workshops generally emphasize the spatial aspect only through the use of static tokens to represent the different species when designing the spatial configuration of the system. Augmented reality (AR) may overcome this limitation, allowing to visualize dynamic representations of trees and crops, and also their interactions, while at the same time retaining the possibility to physically interact with the system being designed (i.e., move trees, add or remove species, etc.). We propose an ergonomic digital solution capable of assisting a group of agroforestry experts to design an agroforestry system and to represent it. We investigated the use of web-based marker-based AR that does not require specific hardware and does not require specific installation so that all users could use their own smartphones right out of the pocket. We developed a prototype mobilizing the AR.js, ArToolKit.js, and Three.js open source libraries. In our implementation, we gradually build a virtual agroforestry system pattern scene from the users' interactions. A specific set of markers initialize the scene properties, and the various plant species are added and located during the workshop design session. The full virtual scene, including the trees positions with their neighborhood, are saved for further uses, such as virtual, augmented instantiation in the farmer fields. The number of tree species available in the application is gradually increasing; we mobilize 3D digital models for walnut, poplar, wild cherry, and other popular species used in agroforestry systems. The prototype allows shadow computations and the representation of trees at various growth stages, as well as different tree generations, and is thus able to visualize the dynamics of the system over time. Future work will focus on i) the design of complex patterns mobilizing several tree/shrub organizations, not restricted to lines; ii) the design of interfaces related to cultural practices, such as clearing or pruning; iii) the representation of tree-crop interactions. Beside tree shade (light competition), our objective is to represent also below-ground competitions (water, nitrogen) or other variables of interest for the design of agroforestry systems (e.g., predicted crop yield).

Keywords: agroforestry system design, augmented reality, marker-based AR, participative design, web-based AR

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Authors: Atif Naim, Faisal E. Ahmed, Sershen

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A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive winter seasons at the Demonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Sudan, to study effects of different levels of irrigation regime and plant density on yield of introduced small seeded (desi type) chickpea cultivar (ILC 482). The experiment was laid out in a 3X3 factorial split-plot design with 4 replications. The treatments consisted of three irrigation regimes (designated as follows: I1 = optimum irrigation, I2 = moderate stress and I3 = severe stress; this corresponded with irrigation after drainage of 50%, 75% and 100% of available water based on 70%, 60% and 50% of field capacity, respectively) assigned as main plots and three plant densities (D₁=20, D₂= 40 and D₃= 60 plants/m²) assigned as subplots. The results indicated that the yield components (number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight), seed yield per plant, harvest index and yield per unit area of chickpea were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by irrigation regime. Decreasing irrigation regime significantly (p < 0.05) decreased all measured parameters. Alternatively, increasing plant density significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the number of pods and seed yield per plant and increased seed yield per unit area. While number of seeds per pod and harvest index were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by plant density. Interaction between irrigation regime and plant density was also significantly (p < 0.05) affected all measured parameters of yield, except for harvest index. It could be concluded that the best irrigation regime was full irrigation (after drainage of 50% available water at 70% field capacity) and the optimal plant density was 20 plants/m² under conditions of semi-arid regions.

Keywords: irrigation regime, Cicer arietinum, chickpea, plant density

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Authors: A. Kherraf, M. Bouziane, L. Azzouzi, R. Habbal

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Introduction: Hypocalcaemia is a rare cause of heart failure. We report the clinical case of a young patient with reversible dilated cardiomyopathy secondary to hypocalcaemia in the context of hyperparathyroidism. Clinical case: We report the clinical case of a 23-year-old patient with a history of thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma 3 years previously, who presented to the emergency room with a progressive onset dyspnea and edema of the lower limbs. Clinical examination showed hypotension at 90/70 mmHg, tachycardia at 102 bpm, and edema of the lower limbs. The ECG showed a regular sinus rhythm with a prolonged corrected QT interval to 520ms. The chest x-ray showed cardiomegaly. Echocardiography revealed dilated cardiomyopathy with biventricular dysfunction and a left ventricular ejection fraction of 45%, as well as moderate mitral insufficiency by restriction of the posterior mitral leaflet, moderate tricuspid insufficiency, and a dilated inferior vena cava with a pulmonary arterial pressure estimated at 46 mmHg. Blood tests revealed severe hypocalcemia at 38 mg / l with normal albumin and thyroxine levels, as well as hyperphosphatemia and increased TSH. The patient received calcium intake and vitamin D supplementation and was treated with beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics with good progress and progressive normalization of cardiac function. Discussion: The cardiovascular manifestations of hypocalcaemia usually appear with deeply low serum calcium levels. This can lead to hypotension, arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation, prolonged QT interval, or even heart failure. Heart failure is a rare and serious complication of hypocalcemia but most often characterized by complete normalization of myocardial function after treatment. The etiology of the hypocalcaemia, in this case, was probably related to accidental parathyroid removal during thyroidectomy. This is why careful monitoring of calcium levels is recommended after surgery. Conclusion: Hypocalcemic heart failure is rare but reversible heart disease. Systematic monitoring of serum calcium should be performed in all patients after thyroid surgery to avoid any complications related to hypoparathyroidism.

Keywords: hypocalcemia, heart failure, thyroid surgery, hypoparathyroidism

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Authors: Er-Yuan Chuang

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Bio-mimetic matters have biological functionalities. This might be valuable in the development of versatile biomaterials. At biological fields, protein-based materials might be components to form a 3D network of extracellular biomolecules, containing growth factors. Also, the protein-based biomaterial provides biochemical and structural assistance of adjacent cells. In this study, we try to prepare protein based biomaterial, which was harvested from living animal. We analyzed it’s chemical, physical and biological property in vitro. Besides, in vivo bio-interaction of the prepared biomimetic matrix was tested in an animal model. The protein-based biomaterial has degradability and biocompatibility. This development could be used for tissue regenerations and be served as platform technologies.

Keywords: protein based, in vitro study, in vivo study, biomaterials

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Authors: Daria Karasalihovic Sedlar, Lucija Jukic, Ivan Smajla, Marija Macenic

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This paper analyses possible geothermal energy production from a mature oil reservoir based on exploitation of underlying aquifer thermal energy for the purpose of heating public buildings. Research was conducted based on the case study of the City of Ivanic-Grad public buildings energy demand and Ivanic oil filed that is situated in the same area. Since the City of Ivanic is one of the few cities in the EU where hydrocarbon exploitation has been taking place for decades almost entirely in urban area, decommissioning of oil wells is inevitable; therefore, the research goal was to investigate how to extend the life-time of the reservoir by exploiting geothermal brine beneath the oil reservoir in an environmental friendly manner. This kind of a project is extremely complex in all segments, from documentation preparation, implementation of technological solutions, and providing ecological measures for environmentally acceptable geothermal energy production and utilization. New mining activities that will be needed for the development of geothermal project at the observed Hydrocarbon Exploitation Field Ivanic will be carried out in order to prepare wells for increasing geothermal brine production. These operations involve the conversion of existing wells (well completion for conversion of the observation wells to production ones) along with workover activities, installation of new heat exchangers, and pipelines. Since the wells are in the urban area of the City of Ivanic-Grad in high density populated area, the inhabitants will be exposed to the different environmental impacts during preparation phase of the project. For the purpose of performing workovers, it will be necessary to secure access to wellheads of existing wells. This paper gives guidelines for describing potential impacts on environment components that could occur during geothermal production preparation on existing mature oil filed, recommends possible protection measures to mitigate these impacts, and gives recommendations for environmental monitoring.

Keywords: geothermal energy production, mature oil filed, environmental impact assessment, underlying aquifer thermal energy

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Authors: Usha Loganathan, Haresh Pandya

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Analysis and correlation of soil properties represent an important outset for precision agriculture and is currently promoted and implemented in the developed world. Establishing relationships among indices of soil salinity has always been a challenging task in salt affected soils necessitating unique approaches for their reclamation and management to sustain long term productivity of Soil. Soil salinity indices like Electrical Conductivity (EC) and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) are normally used to characterize soils as either sodic or saline sodic. Currently, Determination of Soil sodium adsorption ratio is a more accepted and reliable measure of soil salinity. However, it involves arduous and protracted laboratory investigations which demand evolving new and economical methods to determine SAR based on simple soil salinity index. A linear regression model to predict soil SAR from soil electrical conductivity has been developed and presented in this paper as per which, soil SAR could very well be worked out as a pedotransfer function of soil EC. The present study was carried out in Orathupalayam (11.09-11.11 N latitude and 74.54-77.59 E longitude) in the vicinity of Orathupalayam Reservoir of Noyyal River Basin, India, over a period of 3 consecutive years from September 2013 through February 2016 in different locations chosen randomly through different seasons. The research findings are discussed in the light of micro level farming practices in India and recommend determination of SAR as a low cost technology aiding in the effective management of salt affected agricultural land.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, orathupalayam, pedotranfer function, sodium adsorption ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Ernest Tambo, Ghislaine Madjou, Jeanne Y. Ngogang, Shenglan Tang, Zhou XiaoNong

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Implementing national to community-based 'One Health' surveillance approach for human, animal and environmental consequences mitigation offers great opportunities and value-added in sustainable development and wellbeing. 'One Health' surveillance approach global partnerships, policy commitment and financial investment are much needed in addressing the evolving threats and epidemics crises mitigation in African countries. The paper provides insights onto how China-Africa health development cooperation in promoting “One Health” surveillance approach in response advocacy and mitigation. China-Africa health development initiatives provide new prospects in guiding and moving forward appropriate and evidence-based advocacy and mitigation management approaches and strategies in attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Early and continuous quality and timely surveillance data collection and coordinated information sharing practices in malaria and other diseases are demonstrated in Comoros, Zanzibar, Ghana and Cameroon. Improvements of variety of access to contextual sources and network of data sharing platforms are needed in guiding evidence-based and tailored detection and response to unusual hazardous events. Moreover, understanding threats and diseases trends, frontline or point of care response delivery is crucial to promote integrated and sustainable targeted local, national “One Health” surveillance and response approach needs implementation. Importantly, operational guidelines are vital in increasing coherent financing and national workforce capacity development mechanisms. Strengthening participatory partnerships, collaboration and monitoring strategies in achieving global health agenda effectiveness in Africa. At the same enhancing surveillance data information streams reporting and dissemination usefulness in informing policies decisions, health systems programming and financial mobilization and prioritized allocation pre, during and post threats and epidemics crises programs strengths and weaknesses. Thus, capitalizing on “One Health” surveillance and response approach advocacy and mitigation implementation is timely in consolidating Africa Union 2063 agenda and Africa renaissance capabilities and expectations.

Keywords: Africa, one health approach, surveillance, response

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Authors: Rajesh Ranjan, Marimuthu Palaniswami, A. A. Hashmi

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With the changing lifestyle and environment around us, the prevalence of the critical and incurable disease has proliferated. One such condition is the neurological disorder which is rampant among the old age population and is increasing at an unstoppable rate. Most of the neurological disorder patients suffer from some movement disorder affecting the movement of their body parts. Tremor is the most common movement disorder which is prevalent in such patients that infect the upper or lower limbs or both extremities. The tremor symptoms are commonly visible in Parkinson’s disease patient, and it can also be a pure tremor (essential tremor). The patients suffering from tremor face enormous trouble in performing the daily activity, and they always need a caretaker for assistance. In the clinics, the assessment of tremor is done through a manual clinical rating task such as Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale which is time taking and cumbersome. Neurologists have also affirmed a challenge in differentiating a Parkinsonian tremor with the pure tremor which is essential in providing an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, there is a need to develop a monitoring and assistive tool for the tremor patient that keep on checking their health condition by coordinating them with the clinicians and caretakers for early diagnosis and assistance in performing the daily activity. In our research, we focus on developing a system for automatic classification of tremor which can accurately differentiate the pure tremor from the Parkinsonian tremor using a wearable accelerometer-based device, so that adequate diagnosis can be provided to the correct patient. In this research, a study was conducted in the neuro-clinic to assess the upper wrist movement of the patient suffering from Pure (Essential) tremor and Parkinsonian tremor using a wearable accelerometer-based device. Four tasks were designed in accordance with Unified Parkinson’s disease motor rating scale which is used to assess the rest, postural, intentional and action tremor in such patient. Various features such as time-frequency domain, wavelet-based and fast-Fourier transform based cross-correlation were extracted from the tri-axial signal which was used as input feature vector space for the different supervised and unsupervised learning tools for quantification of severity of tremor. A minimum covariance maximum correlation energy comparison index was also developed which was used as the input feature for various classification tools for distinguishing the PT and ET tremor types. An automatic system for efficient classification of tremor was developed using feature extraction methods, and superior performance was achieved using K-nearest neighbors and Support Vector Machine classifiers respectively.

Keywords: machine learning approach for neurological disorder assessment, automatic classification of tremor types, feature extraction method for tremor classification, neurological movement disorder, parkinsonian tremor, essential tremor

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Authors: Alireza Fakhari, Abdul Razak Rahmat

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In this study, new palm oil-based polymer systems have been produced by blending unsaturated polyester (UPE) and maleinated, acrylated epoxidized palm oil (MAEPO). The MAEPO/UPE ratio was varied between 10/90 and 40/60 wt%. The influences of various loadings of MAEPO (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%) on tensile, flexural and impact properties of resulting polymer systems were investigated. The results revealed that, these bio-based polymer systems exhibit mechanical properties comparable to those of petroleum-based polymers.

Keywords: palm oil, bio-based resin, renewable resources, unsaturated polyester resin

Procedia PDF Downloads 346