Search results for: impact on human health

Authors: Yao-Ying Lai, Maria Pinango, Ashwini Deo

Abstract:

While grammatical devices are essential to language processing, how comprehension utilizes cognitive mechanisms is less emphasized. This study addresses this issue by probing the complement coercion phenomenon: an entity-denoting complement following verbs like begin and finish receives an eventive interpretation. For example, (1) “The queen began the book” receives an agentive reading like (2) “The queen began [reading/writing/etc.…] the book.” Such sentences engender additional processing cost in real-time comprehension. The traditional account attributes this cost to an operation that coerces the entity-denoting complement to an event, assuming that these verbs require eventive complements. However, in closer examination, examples like “Chapter 1 began the book” undermine this assumption. An alternative, Structured Individual (SI) hypothesis, proposes that the complement following aspectual verbs (AspV; e.g. begin, finish) is conceptualized as a structured individual, construed as an axis along various dimensions (e.g. spatial, eventive, temporal, informational). The composition of an animate subject and an AspV such as (1) engenders an ambiguity between an agentive reading along the eventive dimension like (2), and a constitutive reading along the informational/spatial dimension like (3) “[The story of the queen] began the book,” in which the subject is interpreted as a subpart of the complement denotation. Comprehenders need to resolve the ambiguity by searching contextual information, resulting in additional cost. To evaluate the SI hypothesis, a questionnaire was employed. Method: Target AspV sentences such as “Shakespeare began the volume.” were preceded by one of the following types of context sentence: (A) Agentive-biasing, in which an event was mentioned (…writers often read…), (C) Constitutive-biasing, in which a constitutive meaning was hinted (Larry owns collections of Renaissance literature.), (N) Neutral context, which allowed both interpretations. Thirty-nine native speakers of English were asked to (i) rate each context-target sentence pair from a 1~5 scale (5=fully understandable), and (ii) choose possible interpretations for the target sentence given the context. The SI hypothesis predicts that comprehension is harder for the Neutral condition, as compared to the biasing conditions because no contextual information is provided to resolve an ambiguity. Also, comprehenders should obtain the specific interpretation corresponding to the context type. Results: (A) Agentive-biasing and (C) Constitutive-biasing were rated higher than (N) Neutral conditions (p< .001), while all conditions were within the acceptable range (> 3.5 on the 1~5 scale). This suggests that when lacking relevant contextual information, semantic ambiguity decreases comprehensibility. The interpretation task shows that the participants selected the biased agentive/constitutive reading for condition (A) and (C) respectively. For the Neutral condition, the agentive and constitutive readings were chosen equally often. Conclusion: These findings support the SI hypothesis: the meaning of AspV sentences is conceptualized as a parthood relation involving structured individuals. We argue that semantic representation makes reference to spatial structured-ness (abstracted axis). To obtain an appropriate interpretation, comprehenders utilize contextual information to enrich the conceptual representation of the sentence in question. This study connects semantic structure to human’s conceptual structure, and provides a processing model that incorporates contextual retrieval.

Keywords: ambiguity resolution, contextual retrieval, spatial structured-ness, structured individual

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Wantana Amatariyakul, Chumnong Amatariyakul

Abstract:

The research aims to examine the spread of drugs in higher education, especially amphetamine which is rapidly increasing in Thai society, its causes and effects, including the sociological perspective, in order to explain, prevent, control, and solve the problems. The students who participated in this research are regular students of Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen Campus. The data were collected using questionnaires, group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The quantity data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and using content analysis to analyzed quality data. The result of the study showed that the students had the results of examination on level of knowledge and understanding on drug abuse projected that the majority of sample group attained their knowledge on drug abuse respectively. Despite their uncertainty, the majority of samples presumed that amphetamine, marijuana and grathom (Mitragyna Speciosa Korth) would most likely be abused. The reason for first drug abuse is because they want to try and their friends convince them, as well as, they want to relax or solve the problems in life, respectively. The bad effects appearing to the drug addicts shows that their health deteriorates or worsens, as well as, they not only lose their money but also face with worse mental states. The reasons that respondents tried to avoid using drugs or refused drugs offered by friends were: not wanting to disappoint or upset their family members, fear of rejection by family members, afraid of being arrested by the police, afraid of losing their educational opportunity and ruining their future respectively. Students therefore defended themselves against drug addiction by refusing to try all drugs. Besides this, the knowledge about the danger and the harm of drugs persuaded them to stay away from drugs.

Keywords: drugs, higher education, drug addiction, spread of drugs

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: M. Eickermann, F. Ronellenfitsch, J. Junk

Abstract:

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important crops throughout Europe, but pressure due to pest insects and pathogens can reduce yield amount substantially. Therefore, the usage of pesticide applications is outstanding in this crop. In addition, climate change effects can interact with phenology of the host plant and their pests and can apply additional pressure on the yield. Next to the pollen beetle, Meligethes aeneus L., the seed-damaging pest insects, cabbage seed weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus Marsham) and the brassica pod midge (Dasineura brassicae Winn.) are of main economic impact to the yield. While females of C. obstrictus are infesting oilseed rape by depositing single eggs into young pods, the females of D. brassicae are using this local damage in the pod for their own oviposition, while depositing batches of 20-30 eggs. Without a former infestation by the cabbage seed weevil, a significant yield reduction by the brassica pod midge can be denied. Based on long-term, multisided field experiments, a comprehensive data-set on pest migration to crops of B. napus has been built up in the last ten years. Five observational test sides, situated in different climatic regions in Luxembourg were controlled between February until the end of May twice a week. Pest migration was recorded by using yellow water pan-traps. Caught insects were identified in the laboratory according to species specific identification keys. By a combination of pest observations and corresponding meteorological observations, the set-up of models to predict the migration periods of the seed-damaging pests was possible. This approach is the basis for a computer-based decision support tool, to assist the farmer in identifying the appropriate time point of pesticide application. In addition, the derived algorithms of that decision support tool can be combined with climate change projections in order to assess the future potential threat caused by the seed-damaging pest species. Regional climate change effects for Luxembourg have been intensively studied in recent years. Significant changes to wetter winters and drier summers, as well as a prolongation of the vegetation period mainly caused by higher spring temperature, have also been reported. We used the COSMO-CLM model to perform a time slice experiment for Luxembourg with a spatial resolution of 1.3 km. Three ten year time slices were calculated: The reference time span (1991-2000), the near (2041-2050) and the far future (2091-2100). Our results projected a significant shift of pest migration to an earlier onset of the year. In addition, a prolongation of the possible migration period could be observed. Because D. brassiace is depending on the former oviposition activity by C. obstrictus to infest its host plant successfully, the future dependencies of both pest species will be assessed. Based on this approach the future risk potential of both seed-damaging pests is calculated and the status as pest species is characterized.

Keywords: CORDEX projections, decision support tool, Brassica napus, pests

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Eman Ghoneim

Abstract:

The Arabian deserts include some of the driest areas on Earth. Yet, its landforms reserved a record of past wet climates. During humid phases, the desert was green and contained permanent rivers, inland deltas and lakes. Some of their water would have seeped and replenished the groundwater aquifers. When the wet periods came to an end, several thousand years ago, the entire region transformed into an extended band of desert and its original fluvial surface was totally covered by windblown sand. In this work, radar and thermal infrared images were used to reveal numerous hidden surface/subsurface features. Radar long wavelength has the unique ability to penetrate surface dry sands and uncover buried subsurface terrain. Thermal infrared also proven to be capable of spotting cooler moist areas particularly in hot dry surfaces. Integrating Radarsat images and GIS revealed several previously unknown paleoriver and lake basins in the region. One of these systems, known as the Kufrah, is the largest yet identified river basin in the Eastern Sahara. This river basin, which straddles the border between Egypt and Libya, flowed north parallel to the adjacent Nile River with an extensive drainage area of 235,500 km2 and massive valley width of 30 km in some parts. This river was most probably served as a spillway for an overflow from Megalake Chad to the Mediterranean Sea and, thus, may have acted as a natural water corridor used by human ancestors to migrate northward across the Sahara. The Gilf-Kebir is another large paleoriver system located just east of Kufrah and emanates from the Gilf Plateau in Egypt. Both river systems terminate with vast inland deltas at the southern margin of the Great Sand Sea. The trends of their distributary channels indicate that both rivers drained to a topographic depression that was periodically occupied by a massive lake. During dry climates, the lake dried up and roofed by sand deposits, which is today forming the Great Sand Sea. The enormity of the lake basin provides explanation as to why continuous extraction of groundwater in this area is possible. A similar lake basin, delimited by former shorelines, was detected by radar space data just across the border of Sudan. This lake, called the Northern Darfur Megalake, has a massive size of 30,750 km2. These former lakes and rivers could potentially hold vast reservoirs of groundwater, oil and natural gas at depth. Similar to radar data, thermal infrared images were proven to be useful in detecting potential locations of subsurface water accumulation in desert regions. Analysis of both Aster and daily MODIS thermal channels reveal several subsurface cool moist patches in the sandy desert of the Arabian Peninsula. Analysis indicated that such evaporative cooling anomalies were resulted from the subsurface transmission of the Monsoonal rainfall from the mountains to the adjacent plain. Drilling a number of wells in several locations proved the presence of productive water aquifers confirming the validity of the used data and the adopted approaches for water exploration in dry regions.

Keywords: radarsat, SRTM, MODIS, thermal infrared, near-surface water, ancient rivers, desert, Sahara, Arabian peninsula

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Amina R. Issae, Godfrey C. Katusi, Beda J. Mwang’Onde, Ladslaus L. Mnyone, Allen L. Malisa

Abstract:

Background: The fluctuating composition of mosquito species over time, driven by ecological changes in specific regions, plays a pivotal role in the transmission of malaria. Grasping these dynamics is fundamental for establishing a baseline understanding and is crucial for identifying transmission patterns. This knowledge is essential in devising effective strategies for managing and controlling vector populations. Our study focused on examining the species composition and Plasmodium infection rates of malaria vectors, aiming to enhance the health and well-being of communities affected by malaria. Methods: Species composition was determined through a cross-sectional collection of mosquitoes, conducted once in the village, in four selected villages of Kilosa district, Tanzania. Mosquitoes were collected indoors and outdoors using CDC light traps. A sub-sample of all collected mosquitoes was subjected to PCR identification and assayed for Plasmodium porozoites. Results: A total of 6493 female Anophelines mosquitoes were collected, of which eight species were identified as Anopheles gambiaes.l., An. funestus group, An. coustani, An. pharoensis, An. squamosus, and An. rufipes. The abundance of the Anopheles gambiaes.s.and An. funestuss.s. varied with location and village. A total of 5 sporozoite-positive mosquitoes were found, of which 4 were An. funestuss.s. and 1 was An. gambiaes.s. Conclusions: Anopheles gambiaes.s.and An. funestuss.s. were identified as the most abundant malaria vectors, respectively. Sporozoite analysis indicated this for An. funestuss.s. contribute to most of the malaria transmission in the area. Further studies are required to assess the role of seasonal shifts in vector abundance, insecticide resistance and malaria transmission of the vectors.

Keywords: mosquito, composition, malaria, sporozoites

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Micah J. Dobson

Abstract:

After-school programs of physical education provide children with opportunities to engage in physical activities while developing healthy habits. To ensure that these programs are inclusive, diverse, and engaging, however, schools must consider various factors when designing and implementing them. This study sought to bring out efficient strategies for structuring after-school programs of physical education. The literature review was conducted using various databases and search engines. Some databases that index the journals include ERIC, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost. The search terms were combinations of keywords such as “after-school,” “physical education,” “inclusion,” “diversity,” “engagement,” “program design,” “program implementation,” “program effectiveness,” and “best practices.” The findings of this study suggest that schools that desire inclusivity must consider four key factors when designing and implementing after-school physical education programs. First, the programs must be designed with variety and fun by incorporating activities such as dance, sports, and games that appeal to all students. Second, instructors must be trained to create supportive and positive environments that foster student engagement while promoting physical literacy. Third, schools must collaborate with community stakeholders and organizations to ensure that programs are culturally inclusive and responsive. Fourth, schools can incorporate technology into their programs to enhance engagement and provide additional growth and learning opportunities.In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into efficient strategies for structuring after-school programs of physical education that are inclusive, diverse, and engaging for all students. By considering these factors when designing and implementing their programs, schools can promote physical activity while supporting students’ overall well-being and health.

Keywords: after-school programs of physical education, community partnership, inclusivity, instructor training, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Ginés Hernández-Cánovas, Mª Camino Ramón-Llorens, Johanna Koëter-Kant

Abstract:

This paper uses a survey data-set of 837 Spanish SMEs to analyze the association between borrower discouragement and prior firm´s strategic decisions, while controlling for firm and owner characteristics. While existing literature has neglected factors limiting the demand for resources by an overreliance on arguments which attempt to explain the existence of discouraged borrowers solely in terms of lack of access to supply of credit. The objective of this paper is to show that factors limiting the demand for resources and, therefore, reducing the availability of funds, can be traced back to the firm manager´s decision. Our hypothesis is that managers that undertake strategic decisions seeking growth or improvement in their business performance participate more in the banking market than those showing contentment with their current business situation. Our results shows that SMEs that undertake an active role in research and development activities and that achieve improvements in the operating performance of their business are less likely to be discouraged from applying for a loan. Who needs credit and who applies for credit is important for firms, prospective lenders and policymakers interested in the financial health of these firms. Credit constrained firms are less likely to invest in R&D and to introduce new products, possibly harming long-term economic growth. Knowing how important borrower discouragement is in Europe, is important for judging the priority which should be attached to government policies aimed at reducing its effects. For example, policy makers could encourage the transparency about credit eligibility and conditions in order to reduce discouragement.

Keywords: discouragement, financial constraints, SMEs financing

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Ana Vulic, Tina Lesic, Nina Kudumija, Maja Kis, Manuela Zadravec, Nada Vahcic, Tomaz Polak, Jelka Pleadin

Abstract:

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by numerous types of molds. They can contaminate both food and feed so that they represent a serious public health concern. Production of dry-fermented meat products involves ripening, during which molds can overgrow the product surface, produce mycotoxins, and consequently contaminate the final product. Citrinin is a mycotoxin produced mainly by the Penicillium citrinum. Data on citrinin occurrence in both food and feed are limited. Therefore, there is a need for research on citrinin occurrence in these types of meat products. The LC-MS/MS method for citrinin determination was developed and validated. Sample preparation was performed using immunoaffinity columns, which resulted in clean sample extracts. Method validation included the determination of the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ), recovery, linearity, and matrix effect in accordance to the latest validation guidance. The determined LOD and LOQ were 0.60 µg/kg and 1.98 µg/kg, respectively, showing a good method sensitivity. The method was tested for its linearity in the calibration range of 1 µg/L to 10 µg/L. The recovery was 100.9 %, while the matrix effect was 0.7 %. This method was employed in the analysis of 47 samples of dry-fermented sausages collected from local households. Citrinin wasn’t detected in any of these samples, probably because of the short ripening period of the tested sausages that takes three months tops. The developed method shall be used to test other types of traditional dry-cured products, such as prosciuttos, whose surface is usually more heavily overgrown by surface molds due to the longer ripening period.

Keywords: citrinin, dry-fermented meat products, LC-MS/MS, mycotoxins

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Jana Stepanovska, Roman Matejka, Jozef Rosina, Marta Vandrovcova, Lucie Bacakova

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to develop a system for mechanical and also electrical stimulation controlling in vitro osteogenesis under conditions more similar to the in vivo bone microenvironment than traditional static cultivation, which would achieve good adhesion, growth and other specific behaviors of osteogenic cells in cultures. An engineered culture system for mechanical stimulation of the mesenchymal stem cells on the charged surface was designed. The bioreactor allows efficient mechanical loading inducing an electrical response and perfusion of the culture chamber with seeded cells. The mesenchymal stem cells were seeded to specific charged materials, like polarized hydroxyapatite (Hap) or other materials with piezoelectric and ferroelectric features, to create electrical potentials for stimulating of the cells. The material of the matrix was TiNb alloy designed for these purposes, and it was covered by BaTiO3 film, like a kind of piezoelectric material. The process of mechanical stimulation inducing electrical response is controlled by measuring electrical potential in the chamber. It was performed a series of experiments, where the cells were seeded, perfused and stimulated up to 48 hours under different conditions, especially pressure and perfusion. The analysis of the proteins expression was done, which demonstrated the effective mechanical and electrical stimulation. The experiments demonstrated effective stimulation of the cells in comparison with the static culture. This work was supported by the Ministry of Health, grant No. 15-29153A and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic grant No. GA15-01558S.

Keywords: charged surface, dynamic cultivation, electrical stimulation, ferroelectric layers, mechanical stimulation, piezoelectric layers

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Julien G. Chenet, Mario A. Hernandez, U. Leonardo Rodriguez

Abstract:

The tropical areas are places where there is scarcity of access to potable water and where renewable energies need further development. They also display high undernourishment levels, even though they are one of the resources-richest areas in the world. In these areas, it is common to count on great extension of soils, high solar radiation and raw water from rain, groundwater, surface water or even saltwater. Even though resources are available, access to them is limited, and the low-density habitat makes central solutions expensive and investments not worthy. In response to this lack of investment, rural inhabitants use fossil fuels and timber as an energy source and import agrochemical for soils fertilization, which increase GHG emissions. The OASIS project brings an answer to this situation. It supplies renewable energy, potable water and organic food. The first step is the determination of the needs of the communities in terms of energy, water quantity and quality, food requirements and soil characteristics. Second step is the determination of the available resources, such as solar energy, raw water and organic residues on site. The pilot OASIS project is located in the Vichada department, Colombia, and ensures the sustainable use of natural resources to meet the community needs. The department has roughly 70% of indigenous people. They live in a very scattered landscape, with no access to clean water and energy. They use polluted surface water for direct consumption and diesel for energy purposes. OASIS pilot will ensure basic needs for a 400-students education center. In this case, OASIS will provide 20 kW of solar energy potential and 40 liters per student per day. Water will be treated form groundwater, with two qualities. A conventional one with chlorine, and as the indigenous people are not used to chlorine for direct consumption, second train is with reverse osmosis to bring conservable safe water without taste. OASIS offers a solution to supply basic needs, shifting from fossil fuels, timber, to a no-GHG-emission solution. This solution is part of the mitigation strategy against Climate Change for the communities in low-density areas of the tropics. OASIS is a learning center to teach how to convert natural resources into utilizable ones. It is also a meeting point for the community with high pedagogic impact that promotes the efficient and sustainable use of resources. OASIS system is adaptable to any tropical area and competes technically and economically with any conventional solution, that needs transport of energy, treated water and food. It is a fully automatic, replicable and sustainable solution to sort out the issue of access to basic needs in rural areas. OASIS is also a solution to undernourishment, ensuring a responsible use of resources, to prevent long-term pollution of soils and groundwater. It promotes the closure of the nutrient cycle, and the optimal use of the land whilst ensuring food security in depressed low-density regions of the tropics. OASIS is under optimization to Vichada conditions, and will be available to any other tropical area in the following months.

Keywords: climate change adaptation and mitigation, rural development, sustainable access to clean and renewable resources, social inclusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Vittorio Astarita, Giuseppe Guido, Vincenzo Pasquale Giofre, Alessandro Vitale

Abstract:

Traffic microsimulation has been used extensively to evaluate consequences of different traffic planning and control policies in terms of travel time delays, queues, pollutant emissions, and every other common measured performance while at the same time traffic safety has not been considered in common traffic microsimulation packages as a measure of performance for different traffic scenarios. Vehicle conflict techniques that were introduced at intersections in the early traffic researches carried out at the General Motor laboratory in the USA and in the Swedish traffic conflict manual have been applied to vehicles trajectories simulated in microscopic traffic simulators. The concept is that microsimulation can be used as a base for calculating the number of conflicts that will define the safety level of a traffic scenario. This allows engineers to identify unsafe road traffic maneuvers and helps in finding the right countermeasures that can improve safety. Unfortunately, most commonly used indicators do not consider conflicts between single vehicles and roadside obstacles and barriers. A great number of vehicle crashes take place with roadside objects or obstacles. Only some recent proposed indicators have been trying to address this issue. This paper introduces a new procedure based on the simulation of potential crash events for the evaluation of safety levels in microsimulation traffic scenarios, which takes into account also potential crashes with roadside objects and barriers. The procedure can be used to define new conflict indicators. The proposed simulation procedure generates with the random perturbation of vehicle trajectories a set of potential crashes which can be evaluated accurately in terms of DeltaV, the energy of the impact, and/or expected number of injuries or casualties. The procedure can also be applied to real trajectories giving birth to new surrogate safety performance indicators, which can be considered as “simulation-based”. The methodology and a specific safety performance indicator are described and applied to a simulated test traffic scenario. Results indicate that the procedure is able to evaluate safety levels both at the intersection level and in the presence of roadside obstacles. The procedure produces results that are expressed in the same unity of measure for both vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to roadside object conflicts. The total energy for a square meter of all generated crash can be used and is shown on the map, for the test network, after the application of a threshold to evidence the most dangerous points. Without any detailed calibration of the microsimulation model and without any calibration of the parameters of the procedure (standard values have been used), it is possible to identify dangerous points. A preliminary sensitivity analysis has shown that results are not dependent on the different energy thresholds and different parameters of the procedure. This paper introduces a specific new procedure and the implementation in the form of a software package that is able to assess road safety, also considering potential conflicts with roadside objects. Some of the principles that are at the base of this specific model are discussed. The procedure can be applied on common microsimulation packages once vehicle trajectories and the positions of roadside barriers and obstacles are known. The procedure has many calibration parameters and research efforts will have to be devoted to make confrontations with real crash data in order to obtain the best parameters that have the potential of giving an accurate evaluation of the risk of any traffic scenario.

Keywords: road safety, traffic, traffic safety, traffic simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Alebiosu Olugbenga Shadrak, Victor Victoria

Abstract:

Honey bees exhibit preferences in their foraging behaviour on pollen and nectar for food and honey production, respectively. Melissopalynology is the study of pollen in honey and other honey products. Several work have been conducted on the palynological studies of honeys from the southern parts of Nigeria but with relatively scant records from the Northern region of the country. This present study aimed at revealing the favourably visited plants by honey bees, Apis melifera var. adansonii, at some apiaries in Northern Nigeria, as well as determining the quality of honeys produced. Honeys were harvested and collected from four apiaries of the region, namely: Sarkin Dawa missionary bee farm, Taraba State; Eleeshuwa Bee Farm, Keffi, Nassarawa State, Bulus Beekeeper Apiaries, Kagarko, Kaduna State and Mai Gwava Bee Farm, Kano State. These honeys were acetolysed for palynological microscopic analysis and subjected to standard treatment methods for the determination of their proximate composition and sugar profiling. Fresh anthers of two dominantly represented plants in the honeys were then collected for the quantification of their pollen protein contents, using the micro-kjeldhal procedure. A total of 30 pollen types were identified in the four honeys, and some of them were common to the honeys. A classification method for expressing pollen frequency class was employed: Senna cf. siamea, Terminalia cf. catappa, Mangifera indica, Parinari curatelifolia, Vitellaria paradoxa, Elaeis guineensis, Parkia biglobosa, Phyllantus muellerianus and Berlina Grandiflora, as “Frequent” (16-45%); while the others are either Rare (3-15%) or Sporadic (less than 3 %). Pollen protein levels of the two abundantly represented plants, Senna siamea (15.90mg/ml) and Terminalia catappa (17.33mg/ml) were found to be considerably lower. The biochemical analyses revealed varying amounts of proximate composition, non-reducing sugar and total sugar levels in the honeys. The results of this study indicate that pollen and nectar of the “Frequent” plants were preferentially foraged by honeybees in the apiaries. The estimated pollen protein contents of Senna same and Terminalia catappa were considerably lower and not likely to have influenced their favourable visitation by honeybees. However, a relatively higher representation of Senna cf. siamea in the pollen spectrum might have resulted from its characteristic brightly coloured and well scented flowers, aiding greater entomophily. Terminalia catappa, Mangifera indica, Elaeis guineensis, Vitellaria paradoxa, and Parkia biglobosa are typical food crops; hence they probably attracted the honeybees owing to the rich nutritional values of their fruits and seeds. Another possible reason for a greater entomophily of the favourably visited plants are certain nutritional constituents of their pollen and nectar, which were not investigated in this study. The nutritional composition of the honeys was observed to fall within the safe limits of international norms, as prescribed by Codex Alimentarius Commission, thus they are good honeys for human consumption. It is therefore imperative to adopt strategic conservation steps in ensuring that these favourably visited plants are protected from indiscriminate anthropogenic activities and also encourage apiarists in the country to establish their bee farms more proximally to the plants for optimal honey yield.

Keywords: honeybees, melissopalynology, preferentially foraged, nutritional, bee farms, proximally

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Marilena Fatigante

Abstract:

Contemporary psychoanalysis is increasingly acknowledging the existential demands of clients in psychotherapy. A significant aspect of the personal crises that patients face today is often rooted in the difficulty to find meaning in their own existence, even after working through or resolving traumatic memories and experiences. Tracing back to the correspondence between Freud and Romain Rolland (1927), psychoanalysis could not ignore that investigation of the psyche also encompasses the encounter with deep, psycho-sensory experiences, which involve a sense of "being one with the external world as a whole", the well-known “oceanic feeling”, as Rolland posed it. Despite the recognition of Non-ordinary States of Consciousness (NSC) as catalysts for transformation in clinical practice, highlighted by neuroscience and results from psychedelic-assisted therapies, there is few research on how psychoanalytic knowledge can integrate with other treatment traditions. These traditions, commonly rooted in non -Western, unconventional, and non-formal psychological knowledge, emphasize the individual’s innate tendency toward existential integrity and transcendence of self-boundaries. Inspired by an autobiographical account, this paper examines narratives of 12 individuals, who engaged in psychoanalytic therapy and also underwent treatment involving a non-formal helping relationship with an expert guide in consciousness, which included experience of this nature. The guide relies on 35 yrs of experience in Psychological, multidisciplinary studies in Human Sciences and Art, and demonstrates knowledge of many wisdom traditions, ranging from Eastern to Western philosophy, including Psychoanalysis and its development in cultural perspective (e.g, Ethnopsychiatry). Analyses focused primarily on two dimensions that research has identified as central in assessing the degree of treatment “success” in the patients’ narrative accounts of their therapies: agency and coherence, defined respectively as the increase, expressed in language, of the client’s perceived ability to manage his/her own challenges and the capacity, inherent in “narrative” itself as a resource for meaning making (Bruner, 1990), to provide the subject with a sense of unity, endowing his /her life experience with temporal and logical sequentiality. The present study reports that, in all narratives from the participants, agency and coherence are described differently than in “common” psychotherapy narratives. Although the participants consistently identified themselves as responsible agentic subject, the sense of agency derived from the non-conventional guidance pathway is never reduced to a personal, individual accomplishment. Rather, the more a new, fuller sense of “Life” (more than “Self”) develops out of the guidance pathway they engage with the expert guide, the more they “surrender” their own sense of autonomy and self-containment. Something, which Safran (2016) identified as well talking about the sense of surrender and “grace” in psychoanalytic sessions. Secondly, narratives of individuals engaging with the expert guide describe coherence not as repairing or enforcing continuity but as enhancing their ability to navigate dramatic discontinuities, falls, abrupt leaps and passages marked by feelings of loss and bereavement. The paper ultimately explores whether valid criteria can be established to analyze experiences of non-conventional paths of self-evolution. These paths are not opposed or alternative to conventional ones, and should not be simplistically dismissed as exotic or magical.

Keywords: oceanic feeling, non conventional guidance, consciousness, narratives, treatment outcomes

Procedia PDF Downloads 32

Authors: Henar Martín-Sanz García, Eleni Chatzi, Eugen Brühwiler

Abstract:

Located on the shore of Geneva Lake, in Switzerland, the Chillon Viaducts are two parallel structures consisted of post-tensioned concrete box girders, with a total length of 2 kilometers and 100m spans. Built in 1969, the bridges currently accommodate a traffic load of 50.000 vehicles per day, thereby holding a key role both in terms of historic value as well as socio-economic significance. Although several improvements have been carried out in the past two decades, recent inspections demonstrate an Alkali-Aggregate reaction in the concrete deck and piers reducing the concrete strength. In order to prevent further expansion of this issue, a layer of 40 mm of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced cement-based Composite (UHPFRC) (incorporating rebars) was casted over the slabs, acting as a waterproof membrane and providing significant increase in resistance of the bridge structure by composite UHPFRC – RC composite action in particular of the deck slab. After completing the rehabilitation works, a Structural Monitoring campaign was installed on the deck slab in one representative span, based on accelerometers, strain gauges, thermal and humidity sensors. This campaign seeks to reveal information on the behavior of UHPFRC-concrete composite systems, such as increase in stiffness, fatigue strength, durability and long-term performance. Consequently, the structural monitoring is expected to last for at least three years. A first insight of the analyzed results from the initial months of measurements is presented herein, along with future improvements or necessary changes on the deployment.

Keywords: composite materials, rehabilitation, structural health monitoring, UHPFRC

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Frances Turner

Abstract:

Gloves are significant physical objects, being one of the oldest forms of dress. Glove culture is part of every facet of life; its extraordinary history encompasses practicality, and symbolism reflecting a wide range of social practices. The survival of not only the gloves but associated articles enables the possibility to analyse real lives, however so far this area has been largely neglected. Limited information is available to students, researchers, or those involved with the design and making of gloves. There are several museums and independent collectors in England that hold collections of gloves (some from as early as 16th century), machinery, tools, designs and patterns, marketing materials and significant archives which demonstrate the rich heritage of English glove design and manufacturing, being of national significance and worthy of international interest. Through a research glove network which now exists thanks to research grant funding, there is potential for the holders of glove collections to make connections and explore links between these resources to promote a stronger understanding of the significance, breadth and heritage of the English glove industry. The network takes an interdisciplinary approach to bring together interested parties from academia, museums and manufacturing, with expert knowledge of the production, collections, conservation and display of English leather gloves. Academics from diverse arts and humanities disciplines benefit from the opportunities to share research and discuss ideas with network members from non-academic contexts including museums and heritage organisations, industry, and contemporary designers. The fragmented collections when considered in entirety provide an overview of English glove making since earliest times and those who wore them. This paper makes connections and explores links between these resources to promote a stronger understanding of the significance, breadth and heritage of the English Glove industry. The following areas are explored: current content and status of the individual museum collections, potential links, sharing of information histories, social and cultural and relationship to history of fashion design, manufacturing and materials, approaches to maintenance and conservation, access to the collections and strategies for future understanding of their national significance. The facilitation of knowledge exchange and exploration of the collections through the network informs organisations’ future strategies for the maintenance, access and conservation of their collections. By involving industry in the network, it is possible to ensure a contemporary perspective on glove-making in addition to the input from heritage partners. The slow fashion movement and awareness of artisan craft and how these can be preserved and adopted for glove and accessory design is addressed. Artisan leather glove making was a skilled and significant industry in England that has now declined to the point where there is little production remaining utilising the specialist skills that have hardly changed since earliest times. This heritage will be identified and preserved for future generations of the rich cultural history of gloves may be lost.

Keywords: artisan glove-making skills, English leather gloves, glove culture, the glove network

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Kubra Dogan, Fatih Tornuk

Abstract:

Due to increasing consumer demand for the high-quality food products and awareness regarding the health benefits of different nutrients in food minimal processing becomes more popular in modern food preservation. To date, heat treatment is often used for inactivation of spoilage microorganisms in foods. However, it may cause significant changes in the quality and nutritional properties of food. In order to overcome the detrimental effects of heat treatment, several alternatives of non-thermal microbial inactivation processes have been investigated. Ultraviolet (UV) inactivation is a promising and feasible method for better quality and longer shelf life as an alternative to heat treatment, which aims to inhibit spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and to inactivate the enzymes in vegetable juice production. UV-C is a sub-class of UV treatment which shows the highest microcidal effect between 250-270 nm. The wavelength of 254 nm is used for the surface disinfection of certain liquid food products such as vegetable juice. Effects of UV-C treatment on microbiological load and quality parameter of vegetable juice which is a mix of celery, carrot, lemon and orange was investigated. Our results showed that storing of UV-C applied vegetable juice for three months, reduced the count of TMAB by 3.5 log cfu/g and yeast-mold by 2 log cfu/g compared to control sample. Total phenolic content was found to be 514.3 ± 0.6 mg gallic acid equivalent/L, and there wasn’t a significant difference compared to control. The present work suggests that UV-C treatment is an alternative method for disinfection of vegetable juice since it enables adequate microbial inactivation, longer shelf life and has minimal effect on degradation of quality parameters of vegetable juice.

Keywords: heat treatment, phenolic content, shelf life, ultraviolet (UV-C), vegetable juice

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: M. D. Haneef, R. B. Randall, Z. Peng

Abstract:

Journal bearings used in IC engines are prone to premature failures and are likely to fail earlier than the rated life due to highly impulsive and unstable operating conditions and frequent starts/stops. Vibration signature extraction and wear debris analysis techniques are prevalent in the industry for condition monitoring of rotary machinery. However, both techniques involve a great deal of technical expertise, time and cost. Limited literature is available on the application of these techniques for fault detection in reciprocating machinery, due to the complex nature of impact forces that confounds the extraction of fault signals for vibration based analysis and wear prediction. This work is an extension of a previous study, in which an engine simulation model was developed using a MATLAB/SIMULINK program, whereby the engine parameters used in the simulation were obtained experimentally from a Toyota 3SFE 2.0 litre petrol engines. Simulated hydrodynamic bearing forces were used to estimate vibrations signals and envelope analysis was carried out to analyze the effect of speed, load and clearance on the vibration response. Three different loads 50/80/110 N-m, three different speeds 1500/2000/3000 rpm, and three different clearances, i.e., normal, 2 times and 4 times the normal clearance were simulated to examine the effect of wear on bearing forces. The magnitude of the squared envelope of the generated vibration signals though not affected by load, but was observed to rise significantly with increasing speed and clearance indicating the likelihood of augmented wear. In the present study, the simulation model was extended further to investigate the bearing wear behavior, resulting as a consequence of different operating conditions, to complement the vibration analysis. In the current simulation, the dynamics of the engine was established first, based on which the hydrodynamic journal bearing forces were evaluated by numerical solution of the Reynold’s equation. Also, the essential outputs of interest in this study, critical to determine wear rates are the tangential velocity and oil film thickness between the journal and bearing sleeve, which if not maintained appropriately, have a detrimental effect on the bearing performance. Archard’s wear prediction model was used in the simulation to calculate the wear rate of bearings with specific location information as all determinative parameters were obtained with reference to crank rotation. Oil film thickness obtained from the model was used as a criterion to determine if the lubrication is sufficient to prevent contact between the journal and bearing thus causing accelerated wear. A limiting value of 1 µm was used as the minimum oil film thickness needed to prevent contact. The increased wear rate with growing severity of operating conditions is analogous and comparable to the rise in amplitude of the squared envelope of the referenced vibration signals. Thus on one hand, the developed model demonstrated its capability to explain wear behavior and on the other hand it also helps to establish a correlation between wear based and vibration based analysis. Therefore, the model provides a cost-effective and quick approach to predict the impending wear in IC engine bearings under various operating conditions.

Keywords: condition monitoring, IC engine, journal bearings, vibration analysis, wear prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Leila Kharrat, Younes Boujelbene

Abstract:

In recent decades, solid waste management (SWM) has become a global concern because rapid population growth and overexploitation of non-renewable resources have generated enormous amounts of waste far exceeding carrying capacity; too, it poses serious threats to the environment and health. However, it is still difficult to combat the growing amount of solid waste before assessing the condition of people. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, perception, and practices on the separation of solid waste in Sfax City. Nowadays, GDS is essential for sustainable development, hence the need for intensive research. Respondents from seven different districts in the city of Sfax were analyzed through a questionnaire survey with 342 households. This paper presents a qualitative exploratory study on the behavior of the citizens in the field of waste separation. The objective knows the antecedents of waste separation and the representation that individuals have about sorting waste on a specific territory which presents some characteristics regarding waste management in Sfax city. Source separation is not widely practiced and people usually sweep their places throwing waste components into the streets or neighboring plots. The results also indicate that participation in solid waste separation activities depends on the level of awareness of separating activities in the area, household income and educational level. It is, therefore, argued that increasing quality of municipal service is the best means of promoting positive attitudes to solid waste separation activities. One of the effective strategies identified by households that can be initiated by policymakers to increase the rate of participation in separation activities and eventually encourage them to participate in recycling activities is to provide a financial incentive in all residential areas in Sfax city.

Keywords: solid waste management, waste separation, public policy, econometric modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Luh Eka Suryani, Purhadi

Abstract:

Poisson regression is a non-linear regression model with response variable in the form of count data that follows Poisson distribution. Modeling for a pair of count data that show high correlation can be analyzed by Poisson Bivariate Regression. Data, the number of infant mortality and maternal mortality, are count data that can be analyzed by Poisson Bivariate Regression. The Poisson regression assumption is an equidispersion where the mean and variance values are equal. However, the actual count data has a variance value which can be greater or less than the mean value (overdispersion and underdispersion). Violations of this assumption can be overcome by applying Generalized Poisson Regression. Characteristics of each regency can affect the number of cases occurred. This issue can be overcome by spatial analysis called geographically weighted regression. This study analyzes the number of infant mortality and maternal mortality based on conditions in East Java in 2016 using Geographically Weighted Bivariate Generalized Poisson Regression (GWBGPR) method. Modeling is done with adaptive bisquare Kernel weighting which produces 3 regency groups based on infant mortality rate and 5 regency groups based on maternal mortality rate. Variables that significantly influence the number of infant and maternal mortality are the percentages of pregnant women visit health workers at least 4 times during pregnancy, pregnant women get Fe3 tablets, obstetric complication handled, clean household and healthy behavior, and married women with the first marriage age under 18 years.

Keywords: adaptive bisquare kernel, GWBGPR, infant mortality, maternal mortality, overdispersion

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Ayaka A. Matsuo, Gweyneth Victoria I. Maranan, Shawn Mikel Hobayan

Abstract:

In this study, we delve into the application of mahogany fruits as biochar for soil amendment, aiming to evaluate their effectiveness in improving soil quality and influencing the growth parameters of okra plants through a comprehensive analysis employing various multivariate tests. In a more straightforward approach, our results show that biochar derived from isn't just a minor player but emerges as a key contributor to our study. This finding holds profound implications, as it highlights the material significance of biochar derived from Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) fruits, leaves, and branches in shaping the outcomes. The importance of this discovery lies in its contribution to an enhanced comprehension of the overall effects of biochar on the variables explored in our investigation. Notably, the positive changes observed in height, number of leaves, and width of leaves in okra plants further support the premise that the incorporation of biochar improves soil quality. These findings provide valuable insights for agricultural practices, suggesting that biochar derived from Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) fruits, leaves, and branches holds promise as a sustainable soil amendment with positive implications for plant growth. The statistical results from multivariate tests serve to solidify the conclusion that biochar plays a pivotal role in driving the observed outcomes in our study. In essence, this research not only sheds light on the potential of mahogany fruit-derived biochar but also emphasizes its significance in fostering healthier soil conditions and, consequently, enhanced plant growth.

Keywords: soil amendment, biochar, mahogany, soil health

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, I-Ju Chen, Jeu-Jung Chen, Cheng-Fen Chang, Shiu-Yan Yang

Abstract:

Taiwan now is an aging society Research on the elderly should not be confined to caring for seniors, but should also be focused on ways to improve health and the quality of life. Senior citizens who participate in volunteer services could become less lonely, have new growth opportunities, and regain a sense of accomplishment. Thus, the question of how to get the elderly to participate in volunteer service is worth exploring. Apply the Transtheoretical Model to understand stages of change in regular volunteer service and voluntary service behaviour among the seniors. 1525 adults over the age of 65 from the Renai district of Keelung City were interviewed. The research tool was a self-constructed questionnaire and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. Then the data was processed and analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 (Windows version) statistical software program. In the past six months, research subjects averaged 9.92 days of volunteer services. A majority of these elderly individuals had no intention to change their regular volunteer services. We discovered that during the maintenance stage, the self-efficacy for volunteer services was higher than during all other stages, but self-perceived barriers were less during the preparation stage and action stage. Self-perceived benefits were found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in the previous stage, and self-efficacy was found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in later stages. The research results support the conclusion that community nursing staff should group elders based on their regular volunteer services change stages and design appropriate behavioral change strategies.

Keywords: seniors, stages of change in regular volunteer services, volunteer service behavior, self-efficacy, self-perceived benefits

Procedia PDF Downloads 425

Authors: Athanasios Karasimos, Vasiliki Makri

Abstract:

This research focuses on the design and development of the first text Corpus based on Board Game Rulebooks (BGRC) with direct application on the morphological analysis of neologisms and tendencies in word-formation processes. Corpus linguistics is a dynamic field that examines language through the lens of vast collections of texts. These corpora consist of diverse written and spoken materials, ranging from literature and newspapers to transcripts of everyday conversations. By morphologically analyzing these extensive datasets, morphologists can gain valuable insights into how language functions and evolves, as these extensive datasets can reflect the byproducts of inflection, derivation, blending, clipping, compounding, and neology. This entails scrutinizing how words are created, modified, and combined to convey meaning in a corpus of challenging, creative, and straightforward texts that include rules, examples, tutorials, and tips. Board games teach players how to strategize, consider alternatives, and think flexibly, which are critical elements in language learning. Their rulebooks reflect not only their weight (complexity) but also the language properties of each genre and subgenre of these games. Board games are a captivating realm where strategy, competition, and creativity converge. Beyond the excitement of gameplay, board games also spark the art of word creation. Word games, like Scrabble, Codenames, Bananagrams, Wordcraft, Alice in the Wordland, Once uUpona Time, challenge players to construct words from a pool of letters, thus encouraging linguistic ingenuity and vocabulary expansion. These games foster a love for language, motivating players to unearth obscure words and devise clever combinations. On the other hand, the designers and creators produce rulebooks, where they include their joy of discovering the hidden potential of language, igniting the imagination, and playing with the beauty of words, making these games a delightful fusion of linguistic exploration and leisurely amusement. In this research, more than 150 rulebooks in English from all types of modern board games, either language-independent or language-dependent, are used to create the BGRC. A representative sample of each genre (family, party, worker placement, deckbuilding, dice, and chance games, strategy, eurogames, thematic, role-playing, among others) was selected based on the score from BoardGameGeek, the size of the texts and the level of complexity (weight) of the game. A morphological model with morphological networks, multi-word expressions, and word-creation mechanics based on the complexity of the textual structure, difficulty, and board game category will be presented. In enabling the identification of patterns, trends, and variations in word formation and other morphological processes, this research aspires to make avail of this creative yet strict text genre so as to (a) give invaluable insight into morphological creativity and innovation that (re)shape the lexicon of the English language and (b) test morphological theories. Overall, it is shown that corpus linguistics empowers us to explore the intricate tapestry of language, and morphology in particular, revealing its richness, flexibility, and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape of human expression.

Keywords: board game rulebooks, corpus design, morphological innovations, neologisms, word-formation processes

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Bassant M. M. Ibrahim, Doha H. Abou Baker, Ahmed Abd Elghafour

Abstract:

Excessive exposure to heavy metals contributes to the occurrence of deleterious health problems that affect vital organs like the brain, liver, kidneys, and heart. The use of natural products that have antioxidant capabilities may contribute to the protection of these organs. In the present study, the essential oil of summer savory (Satureja hortensis) was used to evaluate its protective effects against lead acetate induced damaging effect on rats’ vital organs, due to its high contents of carvacrol, y-terpinene, and p-cymene. Forty female Wister Albino rats were classified into five equal groups, the 1st served as normal group, the 2nd served as positive control group was given lead acetate (60 mg/kg) intra-peritoneal (IP), the third to fifth groups were treated with calcium disodium (EDTA) as chelating agent and summer savory essential oil in doses of (50 and 100mg/kg) respectively. All treatments were given IP concomitant with lead acetate for ten successive days. At the end of the experiment duration electrocardiogram (ECG), an open field test for the evaluation of psychological state, rotarod test as for the evaluation of locomotor coordination ability as well as anti-inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in serum and histopathology of vital organs were performed. The investigations in this study show that the protective effect of high dose of summer savory essential oil is more than the low dose and that the essential oil of summer savory is a promising agent that can contribute to the protection of vital organs against the hazardous damaging effects of lead acetate.

Keywords: brain, heart, kidneys, lead acetate, liver, protective, summer savory

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Zixuan Zhao, Lingbin Du, Le Wang, Youqing Wang, Yi Yang, Jingjun Chen, Hengjin Dong

Abstract:

Objectives: Few results from public attitudes for lung cancer screening are available both in China and abroad. This study aimed to identify preferred lung cancer screening modalities in a Chinese population and predict uptake rates of different modalities. Materials and Methods: A discrete choice experiment questionnaire was administered to 392 Chinese individuals aged 50–74 years who were at high risk for lung cancer. Each choice set had two lung screening options and an option to opt-out, and respondents were asked to choose the most preferred one. Both mixed logit analysis and stepwise logistic analysis were conducted to explore whether preferences were related to respondent characteristics and identify which kinds of respondents were more likely to opt out of any screening. Results: On mixed logit analysis, attributes that were predictive of choice at 1% level of statistical significance included the screening interval, screening venue, and out-of-pocket costs. The preferred screening modality seemed to be screening by low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) + blood test once a year in a general hospital at a cost of RMB 50; this could increase the uptake rate by 0.40 compared to the baseline setting. On stepwise logistic regression, those with no endowment insurance were more likely to opt out; those who were older and housewives/househusbands, and those with a health check habit and with commercial endowment insurance were less likely to opt out from a screening programme. Conclusions: There was considerable variance between real risk and self-perceived risk of lung cancer among respondents, and further research is required in this area. Lung cancer screening uptake can be increased by offering various screening modalities, so as to help policymakers further design the screening modality.

Keywords: lung cancer, screening, China., discrete choice experiment

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Harini Chakkera

Abstract:

Background: Inpatient hyperglycemia is an established independent risk factor among several patient cohorts with hospital readmission. This has not been studied after kidney transplantation. Nearly one-third of patients who have undergone a kidney transplant reportedly experience 30-day readmission. Methods: Data on first-time solitary kidney transplantations were retrieved between September 2015 to December 2018. Information was linked to the electronic health record to determine a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and extract glucometeric and insulin therapy data. Univariate logistic regression analysis and the XGBoost algorithm were used to predict 30-day readmission. We report the average performance of the models on the testing set on five bootstrapped partitions of the data to ensure statistical significance. Results: The cohort included 1036 patients who received kidney transplantation, and 224 (22%) experienced 30-day readmission. The machine learning algorithm was able to predict 30-day readmission with an average AUC of 77.3% (95% CI 75.30-79.3%). We observed statistically significant differences in the presence of pretransplant diabetes, inpatient-hyperglycemia, inpatient-hypoglycemia, and minimum and maximum glucose values among those with higher 30-day readmission rates. The XGBoost model identified the index admission length of stay, presence of hyper- and hypoglycemia and recipient and donor BMI values as the most predictive risk factors of 30-day readmission. Additionally, significant variations in the therapeutic management of blood glucose by providers were observed. Conclusions: Suboptimal glucose metrics during hospitalization after kidney transplantation is associated with an increased risk for 30-day hospital readmission. Optimizing the hospital blood glucose management, a modifiable factor, after kidney transplantation may reduce the risk of 30-day readmission.

Keywords: kidney, transplant, diabetes, insulin

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: S. Delgado, C. Cerrada, R. S. Gómez

Abstract:

This research introduces an approach to voxelizing the surfaces of triangular meshes with efficiency and accuracy. Our method leverages parallel equidistant scan-lines and introduces a Gap Detection technique to address the limitations of existing approaches. We present a comprehensive study showcasing the method's effectiveness, scalability, and versatility in different scenarios. Voxelization is a fundamental process in computer graphics and simulations, playing a pivotal role in applications ranging from scientific visualization to virtual reality. Our algorithm focuses on enhancing the voxelization process, especially for complex models and high resolutions. One of the major challenges in voxelization in the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is the high cost of discovering the same voxels multiple times. These repeated voxels incur in costly memory operations with no useful information. Our scan-line-based method ensures that each voxel is detected exactly once when processing the triangle, enhancing performance without compromising the quality of the voxelization. The heart of our approach lies in the use of parallel, equidistant scan-lines to traverse the interiors of triangles. This minimizes redundant memory operations and avoids revisiting the same voxels, resulting in a significant performance boost. Moreover, our method's computational efficiency is complemented by its simplicity and portability. Written as a single compute shader in Graphics Library Shader Language (GLSL), it is highly adaptable to various rendering pipelines and hardware configurations. To validate our method, we conducted extensive experiments on a diverse set of models from the Stanford repository. Our results demonstrate not only the algorithm's efficiency, but also its ability to produce 26 tunnel free accurate voxelizations. The Gap Detection technique successfully identifies and addresses gaps, ensuring consistent and visually pleasing voxelized surfaces. Furthermore, we introduce the Slope Consistency Value metric, quantifying the alignment of each triangle with its primary axis. This metric provides insights into the impact of triangle orientation on scan-line based voxelization methods. It also aids in understanding how the Gap Detection technique effectively improves results by targeting specific areas where simple scan-line-based methods might fail. Our research contributes to the field of voxelization by offering a robust and efficient approach that overcomes the limitations of existing methods. The Gap Detection technique fills a critical gap in the voxelization process. By addressing these gaps, our algorithm enhances the visual quality and accuracy of voxelized models, making it valuable for a wide range of applications. In conclusion, "Closing the Gap: Efficient Voxelization with Equidistant Scan-lines and Gap Detection" presents an effective solution to the challenges of voxelization. Our research combines computational efficiency, accuracy, and innovative techniques to elevate the quality of voxelized surfaces. With its adaptable nature and valuable innovations, this technique could have a positive influence on computer graphics and visualization.

Keywords: voxelization, GPU acceleration, computer graphics, compute shaders

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Jose Rodrigo Zubiri, Sofia Carmen Tomacruz

Abstract:

Amidst an increasingly digitalized society, information and communication technologies have been seamlessly integrated into the economic, social, and political life of individuals. Information has been regarded as a primary good, essential to the wellbeing and self-respect of individuals in society. The digital engagements of an individual play a key role in a variety of life outcomes ranging from academic performance to entrepreneurial success to health service uptake. As a result of varying degrees of access to the Internet and ICTs across populations and individuals, a digital divide emerges. Education, a sector pivotal to directing individual life trajectories, has been radically transformed with regards to the learning process and access to information and thus faces the implications of the digital divide, as new waves of inequalities are introduced in the classroom. As the period of basic education is critical to transitioning into civic life or higher education, digital inequalities are capable of aggravating pre-existing social inequalities. Through survey-questionnaires, conducted on 152 high school students from a Philippine public school, the study reveals the correlation of academic performance and aspirations (for their highest academic qualification) to access to digital technologies and the Internet, according to Van Dijk’s four measurements of digital poverty, namely: motivational access, material access, skills access, and usage access. The findings reveal a positive correlation for academic performance whereas no correlation was found between aspirations and digital access. In the study, significant correlational differences were also found between genders, specifically, in terms of skills access and academic performance.

Keywords: digital divide, ICTs, inequality, education, life trajectories

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Catherine Alex Agbor

Abstract:

The modern Nigerian society is dynamic, divided in zones based on economic, political and educational resources often shared across the zones. The Six Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria is a major division in modern Nigeria, created during the regime of president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. They are North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South and South West. However, the zone used in this study is known as former South-Eastern State of Akwa-Ibom State and Cross-River State; former Rivers State of Bayelsa State and Rivers State; and former Mid-Western Region, Nigeria of Delta State and Edo State. Many reforms have taken place overtime, particularly in the education sector. Education is constantly presenting new ideas and innovative approaches which act to facilitate the rapid exchange of knowledge and provide quality basic education for learners. The Federal Government of Nigeria in accordance with its National Council on Education directed the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council to restructure its basic education curriculum with the hope to enable the nation meet national and global developmental goals. One of the goals of the 9-year Basic Education Programme is developing in the entire citizenry a strong consciousness for education and a strong commitment to its vigorous promotion. Another is ensuring the acquisition of appropriate levels of literacy, numeracy, manipulative, communicative and life-skills as well as the ethical, moral and civic values for laying a solid foundation for lifelong learning. Therefore, this article at the introductory stage is aimed to describe some key issues in Nigeria’s experience in the basic education curriculum. In this study, particular attention is paid to this very recent educational policy of the Nigerian government known as Universal Basic Education, its challenges and what can be done to make the policy achieve its desired objectives. It progresses to analyze modern requirements for second language teaching; and presents the challenges of second language teaching in Nigeria. Finally, it reports a study which investigated special efforts for appropriate achievement of quality education in language classroom in the south-south zone of Nigeria. One fundamental research question was posed on what educational practices can contribute to current understanding of the structure of language curriculum. More explicitly, the study was designed to analyze the extent to which quality content contributes to current understanding of the structure of school curriculum in the zone. Otherwise stated, it investigated how student-centred educational practices impact on their learning of French language. One hundred and eighty (180) participants (teachers) were purposefully sampled for the study. Qualitative technique was used to elicit information from participants. The qualitative method used was Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Participants were divided into six groups comprising of 30 teachers from each zone. Group discussions were based mainly on curriculum contents and practices. Information from participants revealed that the curriculum content, among others is inadequate and should be re-examined. Recommendations were proffered as a panacea to concrete implementation of the basic education in Nigeria.

Keywords: basic education, quality contents, second language, south-south states

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: X. Simon, D. Copena, M. Montero

Abstract:

The last decades have witnessed a significant increase in renewable energy, especially wind energy, to achieve sustainable development. Specialized literature in this field has carried out interesting case studies to extensively analyze both the environmental benefits of this energy and its social acceptance. However, to the best of our knowledge, work to date makes no analysis of the role of private owners of lands with wind potential within a broader territory of strong wind implantation, nor does it estimate their economic incomes relating them to social acceptance. This work fills this gap by focusing on Galicia, territory housing over 4,000 wind turbines and almost 3,400 MW of power. The main difficulty in getting this financial information is that it is classified, not public. We develop methodological techniques (semi- structured interviews and work groups), inserted within the Participatory Research, to overcome this important obstacle. In this manner, the work directly compiles qualitative and quantitative information on the processes as well as the economic results derived from implementing wind energy in Galicia. During the field work, we held 106 semi-structured interviews and 32 workshops with owners of lands occupied by wind farms. The compiled information made it possible to create the socioeconomic database on wind energy in Galicia (SDWEG). This database collects a diversity of quantitative and qualitative information and contains economic information on the income received by the owners of lands occupied by wind farms. In the Galician case, regulatory framework prevented local participation under the community wind farm formula. The possibility of local participation in the new energy model narrowed down to companies wanting to install a wind farm and demanding land occupation. The economic mechanism of local participation begins here, thus explaining the level of acceptance of wind farms. Land owners can receive significant income given that these payments constitute an important source of economic resources, favor local economic activity, allow rural areas to develop productive dynamism projects and improve the standard of living of rural inhabitants. This work estimates that land owners in Galicia perceive about 10 million euros per year in total wind revenues. This represents between 1% and 2% of total wind farm invoicing. On the other hand, relative revenues (Euros per MW), far from the amounts reached in other spaces, show enormous payment variability. This signals the absence of a regulated market, the predominance of partial agreements, and the existence of asymmetric positions between owners and developers. Sustainable development requires the replacement of conventional technologies by low environmental impact technologies, especially those that emit less CO₂. However, this new paradigm also requires rural owners to participate in the income derived from the structural transformation processes linked to sustainable development. This paper demonstrates that regulatory framework may contribute to increasing sustainable technologies with high social acceptance without relevant local economic participation.

Keywords: regulatory framework, social acceptance, sustainable development, wind energy, wind income for landowners

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Saul Ngarava, Leocadia Zhou, Nomakhaya Monde

Abstract:

Water crises have the fourth most significant societal impact after weapons of mass destruction, climate change, and extreme weather conditions, ahead of natural disasters. Intricacies between women and water are central to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The majority of the 1.2 billion poor people worldwide, with two-thirds being women, and mostly located in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) and South Asia, do not have access to safe and reliable sources of water. There exist gendered differences in water security based on the division of labour associating women with water. Globally, women and girls are responsible for water collection in 80% of the households which have no water on their premises. Women spend 16 million hours a day collecting water, while men and children spend 6 million and 4 million per day, respectively, which is time foregone in the pursuit of other livelihood activities. Due to their proximity and activities concerning water, women are vulnerable to water insecurity through exposures to water-borne diseases, fatigue from physically carrying water, and exposure to sexual and physical harassment, amongst others. Proximity to treated water and their wellbeing also has an effect on their sensitivity and adaptive capacity to water insecurity. The great distances, difficult terrain and heavy lifting expose women to vulnerabilities of water insecurity. However, few studies have quantified the vulnerabilities and burdens on women, with a few taking a phenomenological qualitative approach. Vulnerability studies have also been scanty in the water security realm, with most studies taking linear forms of either quantifying exposures, sensitivities or adaptive capacities in climate change studies. The current study argues for the need for a water insecurity vulnerability assessment, especially for women into research agendas as well as policy interventions, monitoring, and evaluation. The study sought to identify and provide pathways through which female-headed households were water insecure in South Africa, the 30th driest country in the world. This was through linking the drinking water decision as well as the vulnerability frameworks. Secondary data collected during the 2016 General Household Survey (GHS) was utilised, with a sample of 5928 female-headed households. Principal Component Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were used to analyse the data. The results show dynamic relationships between water characteristics and water treatment. There were also associations between water access and wealth status of the female-headed households. Association was also found between water access and water treatment as well as between wealth status and water treatment. The study concludes that there are dynamic relationships in water insecurity (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) for female-headed households in South Africa. The study recommends that a multi-prong approach is required in tackling exposures, sensitivities, and adaptive capacities to water insecurity. This should include capacitating and empowering women for wealth generation, improve access to water treatment equipment as well as prioritising the improvement of infrastructure that brings piped and safe water to female-headed households.

Keywords: gender, principal component analysis, structural equation modelling, vulnerability, water insecurity

Procedia PDF Downloads 117