Search results for: food availability

Authors: Mark Davey

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Communications on a Network on Chip (NoC) produce timing information, i.e., network injection delays, packet traversal times, throughput metrics, and other attributes relating to the traffic being sent across the chip. The security requirements of a platform encompass each node to operate with confidentiality, integrity, and availability (ISO 27001). Inherently, a shared NoC interconnect is exposed to analysis of timing patterns created by contention for the network components, i.e., links and switches/routers. This phenomenon is defined as information leakage, which represents a ‘side channel’ of sensitive information that can be correlated to platform activity. The key algorithm presented in this paper evaluates how an adversary can control two platform neighbouring nodes of a target node to obtain sensitive information about communication with the target node. The actual information obtained is the period value of a periodic task communication. This enacts a breach of the expected confidentiality of a node operating in a multiprocessor platform. An experimental investigation of the side channel is undertaken to judge the level and significance of inferred information produced by access times to the NoC. Results are presented with a series of expanding task set scenarios to evaluate the efficacy of the side channel detection algorithm as the network load increases.

Keywords: embedded systems, multiprocessor, network on chip, side channel

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Authors: Sumaya Ismail, Aijaz Ahmad Reshi

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The advances in sensor and embedded technologies have led to rapid developments in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Presently researchers focus on the integration of WSNs to the Internet for their pervasive availability to access these network resources as the interoperable subsystems. The recent computing technologies like cloud computing has made resource sharing as a converged infrastructure with required service interfaces for the shared resources over the Internet. This paper presents application architecture for wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANS) following web of things, which allows easy integration of each node to the Internet in order to provide them with web accessibility. The architecture enables the sensors and actuator nodes accessed and controlled using cloud interface on WWW. The application architecture was implemented using existing web and its emerging technologies. In particular, the Representational State Transfer protocol (REST) was extended for the specific requirements of the application. The Cloud computing environment has been used as a development platform for the application to assess the possibility of integrating the WSAN nodes to Cloud services. The mushroom farm environment monitoring and control using WSANs has been taken as a research use case.

Keywords: WSAN, REST, web of things, ZigBee, cloud interface, PaaS, sensor gateway

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Authors: Ben-Caleb Egbide, Iyoha Francis, Egharevba Mathew, Oduntan Emmanuel

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The prosperity of any nation is determined not just by the availability of resources, but also by the discipline exercised in the management of those resources. This paper examines the functional association between adherence to budgetary estimates or budget discipline (BDISC) and national prosperity proxied by Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) and Relative Poverty Index (RPI)/Human Development Index (HDI). Adopting a longitudinal retrospective research strategy, time series data relating to both the endogenous and exogenous variables were extracted from official government publications for 36 years’ (1980-2015 in the case of RGDP and RPI), and for 26 years (1990-2015 in the case of HDI). Ordinary Least Square (OLS), as well as cointegration regressions, were employed to gauge both the short term and long term impact of BDISC on RPI/HDI and RGDP. The results indicated that BDISC is directly related with RGDP but indirectly related with RPI. The implication is that while adherence to budgetary estimate can enhance economic growth, it has the capacity to slow down the rate of poverty in the long run. The paper, therefore, recommend stricter adherence to budgets as a way out of economic under performance in Nigeria and engender the process of promoting human development and national prosperity.

Keywords: budget discipline, human development index, national prosperity, Nigeria

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Authors: Heeyeul Kwon, Yongtae Park

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Despite the highly touted benefits, emerging technologies have unleashed pervasive concerns regarding unintended and unforeseen social impacts. Thus, those wishing to create safe and socially acceptable products need to identify such side effects and mitigate them prior to the market proliferation. Various methodologies in the field of technology assessment (TA), namely Delphi, impact assessment, and scenario planning, have been widely incorporated in such a circumstance. However, literatures face a major limitation in terms of sole reliance on participatory workshop activities. They unfortunately missed out the availability of a massive untapped data source of futuristic information flooding through the Internet. This research thus seeks to gain insights into utilization of futuristic data, future-oriented documents from the Internet, as a supplementary method to generate social impact scenarios whilst capturing perspectives of experts from a wide variety of disciplines. To this end, network analysis is conducted based on the social keywords extracted from the futuristic documents by text mining, which is then used as a guide to produce a comprehensive set of detailed scenarios. Our proposed approach facilitates harmonized depictions of possible hazardous consequences of emerging technologies and thereby makes decision makers more aware of, and responsive to, broad qualitative uncertainties.

Keywords: emerging technologies, futuristic data, scenario, text mining

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Authors: Leandra Prempeh, Emily Malugen

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Prenatal drug exposure can have a molecular impact on the hypothalamic and reward genes that regulate feeding behavior. This can impact feeding regulation, resulting in feeding difficulties and growth failure. This was potentially seen in “McKayla,” a 19- month old girl with a history of in-utero drug exposure, patent ductus arteriosus, and gastroesophageal reflux disease who presented for intensive day treatment feeding therapy. She was diagnosed with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, described as total food refusal and meeting 100% of her caloric needs from a gastrostomy tube. The primary goals during intensive feeding therapy were to increase her oral intake and decrease her reliance on supplementation with formula. Several behavioral antecedent manipulations were implemented to establish consistent responding and make progress towards treatment goals. This included multiple modified bolus placements (using underloaded and Nuk brush), reinforcement contingencies, and variety fading before stability was finally achieved. Following, increasing retention of bites then increasing volume and variety were goals targeted. From treatment onset to the last 3 days of treatment, McKayla's rate of rapid acceptance of bite presentations increased significantly from 33.33% to 93.13%, rapid swallowing went from 0.00% to 92.32%, and her percentage of inappropriate mealtime behavior and expels decreased from 58.33% and 100% to 2.31% and 7.68%, respectively. Overall, the treatment team successfully introduced and increased the bite size of 7 pureed foods, generalize the treatment to caregivers with high integrity, and began facilitating tube weaning. She was receiving about 33.42% of her needs by mouth at the time of discharge. Other nutritional concerns addressed during treatment included drinking a nutritionally complete drink out of an open cup and age appropriate growth. McKayla continued to have emesis almost daily, as was her baseline before starting treatment; however, the frequency during mealtime decreased. Overall, McKayla responded well to treatment. She had a very slow response to treatment and required a lot of antecedent manipulations to establish consistent responding. As the literature suggests, [drug]-exposed neonates, like McKayla, may be at increased risk for nutritional and growth challenges that may persist throughout development. This supports the need for longterm follow-up of infant growth.

Keywords: behavioral intervention, feeding problems, in-utero drug exposure, intensive multidisciplinary intervention

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Authors: Yun Chen, David Penton, Fazlul Karim, Santosh Aryal, Shahriar Wahid, Peter Taylor, Susan M. Cuddy

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Droughts have severely affected Afghanistan over the last four decades, leading to critical food shortages where two-thirds of the country’s population are in a food crisis. Long years of conflict have lowered the country’s ability to deal with hazards such as drought, which can rapidly escalate into disasters. Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of droughts is needed to be able to respond effectively to disasters and plan for future occurrences. This study used Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at monthly, seasonal, and annual temporal scales to map the spatiotemporal change dynamics of drought characteristics (distribution, frequency, duration, and severity) in Afghanistan. SPEI indices were mapped for river basins, disaggregated into 189 sub-catchments, using monthly precipitation and potential evapotranspiration derived from temperature station observations from 1980 to 2017. The results show these multi-dimensional drought characteristics vary along different years, change among sub-catchments, and differ across temporal scales. During the 38 years, the driest decade and period are the 2000s and 1999–2022, respectively. The 2000–01 water year is the driest, with the whole country experiencing ‘severe’ to ‘extreme’ drought, more than 53% (87 sub-catchments) suffering the worst drought in history, and about 58% (94 sub-catchments) having ‘very frequent’ drought (7 to 8 months) or ‘extremely frequent’ drought (9 to 10 months). The estimated seasonal duration and severity present significant variations across the study area and throughout the study period. The nation also suffered from recurring droughts with varying length and intensity in 2004, 2006, 2008, and, most recently, 2011. There is a trend towards increasing drought with longer duration and higher severity extending all over sub-catchments from southeast to north and central regions. These datasets and maps help to fill the knowledge gap on detailed sub-catchment scale meteorological drought characteristics in Afghanistan. The study findings improve our understanding of the influences of climate change on drought dynamics and can guide catchment planning for reliable adaptation to and mitigation against future droughts.

Keywords: SPEI, precipitation, evapotranspiration, climate extremes

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Authors: Bunki Enid Pitsoane

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This study was influenced by the radical change in the tutorial system of UNISA, immigrating from face to face to E-tutoring. The study was undertaken to investigate the perceptions, experiences, and views of E-tutors in relation to active learning. The study is aimed at capturing the views and experiences of E-tutors as they are deemed to implement active learning within their E-tutoring. The problem was traced from Developmental and behaviorist’s theorists perspective and factors related to perception, experience, and views of E-tutors on active learning. The research is aligned with the views of constructivism which put more emphasis on situated learning, chaos, and digital factors. The basis of the theory is that learning is developmental, situational and context-sensitive and also digital. The theorists further purports that the tutor’s conception of teaching and learning influence their tutoring style. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, qualitative research in the form of interviews and document analysis were conducted. The sample of the study constituted of 10 E-tutors who are involved in tutoring modules from the College of Education. The identified E-tutors were randomly selected based on their availability. The data concerning E-tutors perception and experience was analysed and interpreted. The results of the empirical study indicated that some tutors are struggling to implement active learning because they are digital immigrants or they lack in digital knowledge which affect productivity in their teaching.

Keywords: E-Tutoring, active learning, perceptions, views

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Authors: Ikumapayi Catherine Mayowa

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The well-being of humans on a construction site is critical; abundant manpower had been lost through accidents which kill or make workers physically unfit to carry out construction activities, these, in turn, have multiple effects on the whole economy. Thus, it is necessary to put all safety items and regulations in place before construction activities can commence. This study was carried out in the Ondo state of Nigeria to investigate and analyze the state of health and safety of construction workers in the state. The study was done using first-hand observations, 50 construction project sites were visited in ten major towns of Ondo state, questionnaires were distributed, and the results were analyzed. The result shows that construction workers are being exposed to many construction site hazards due to lack of inadequate safety programs and lack of appropriate safety equipment for workers on site. From the data gotten from each site visited and the statistical analysis, it can be concluded that occurrences of an accident on construction sites depend significantly on the available safety facilities on the sites. The result of the regression statistics shows that the dependence of the frequency of occurrence of an accident on the availability of safety items on the site is 0.0362 which is less than 0.05 maximum significant level allowed. Therefore, a vital way of sustaining our building strategy is given a detail attention to the provision of adequate health and safety items on construction sites which will reduce the occurrence of accident, loss of manpower and death of skilled workers.

Keywords: construction sites, health, safety, welfare

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Authors: Qingliang Tang

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The transition from voluntary to mandatory carbon reporting (also refers to climate reporting) poses serious challenges for accounting professionals aiming to support firms in achieving net-zero goals. The accounting literature addresses the topics that are currently bewildering accounting academics and professional accountants on how to make accounting as a useful tool for the management to achieve a carbon neutral business model. This paper explores the evolving role of carbon accounting within corporate financial reporting systems, emphasizing its integration as a crucial component. Key challenges addressed include data availability, climate risk assessment, defining reporting boundaries, selecting appropriate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodologies, and integrating climate-related events into traditional financial statements. A dynamic, integrated carbon accounting framework is proposed to facilitate this transformative process effectively. Furthermore, the paper identifies critical knowledge gaps and sets forth a research agenda aimed at enhancing transparency and relevance in carbon accounting and reporting systems, thereby empowering informed decision-making. The purpose of the paper is to succinctly capture the essence of carbon accounting practice in the transitional period, focusing on the challenges, proposed solutions, and future research directions in the realm of carbon accounting and mandatory climate reporting.

Keywords: mandatory carbon reporting, carbon management, net zero target, sustainability, climate risks

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Authors: Rupali Thorat, S. B. Dodake, V. N. Palsande, S. D. Patil

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A field experiment was conducted to study the “Response of onion to FYM and inorganic fertilizers application on growth, yield and nutrient uptake in lateritic soil of Konkan” at the farm of Pangari block of Irrigation of Scheme, Central Experimentation Station, Wakawali during Rabi 2009-10. There were 12 treatment combinations, comprising of 3 levels of NPK fertilizers (C1 ,C2-125 kg N, 62.5 kg P205 and 62.5 kg K20 ha-1 and C3-150 kg N, 75 kg P205 and 75 kg K20 ha-1) and 4 levels of FYM (F1-10 t FYM ha-1, F2 - 15 t FYM ha-1, F3-20 t FYM ha-1, F4-25 t FYM ha-1) replicated thrice using Factorial Randomized Block Design. The observations on plant height, number of leaves, girth of plant, polar and equatorial diameter of bulb as well as dry matter yield, onion bulb yield recorded during the course of field study were subjected to statistical analysis. Similarly nutrient content and uptake, quality parameters of bulb and soil properties were also determined and their data were also analyzed statistically. It is revealed from the study that the growth attributes, dry matter yield, onion bulb yield, nutrient content, nutrient uptake, quality parameters were improved significantly due to application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 along with FYM @ 20 t ha-1(C3F3). Application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 along with FYM @ 20 t ha-1 (C3F3) registered highest onion bulb yield (t ha-1). The quality of onion as well as availability of N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in the soil was improved due to application of NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1 and FYM @ 20 t ha-1.

Keywords: onion, FYM, yield, nutrient uptake and fertilizer

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Authors: Luh Putu T. Darmayanti, A. A. Duwipayana, I. Nengah K. Putra, Nyoman S. Antara

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Tabah Bamboo (Gigantochloa nigrociliata (Buese) Kurz) is the indigenous bamboo species which grows in District of Pupuan, Tabanan at Province of Bali. Compared to the others, this shoot has low concentration of hydrocyanide acid (HCN). However, as found for almost of bamboo shoot, its seasonal availability, perishable in nature, and short-lived. This study aimed to gather information about total of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), pH, total acidity, HCN content, detection of LAB’s type involved during fermentation, and organic acids’ profiles of fermented pickles of Tabah bamboo shoot. The pickle was made by natural fermentation with 6 % salt concentration and fermentation conducted for 13 days. The result showed during the fermentation time, in the fourth day we found LAB’s number was highest as much as 72 x 107 CFU/ml and the lowest pH was 3.09. We also found decreasing in HCN from 37.8 ppm at the beginning to 20.52 ppm at the end of fermentation process. The total number of indigenous LAB isolated from the pickle are 48 strains we found 18 out of these had rod shape. For the preliminary study, all of the LAB with rod shape were detected by PCR as member of Lactobacillus spp., in which 17 strains detected as L. plantarum. The organic acids detected during the fermentation were lactic acid with the highest concentration was 0.0546 g/100 g and small amount of acetic acid.

Keywords: fermentation, LAB, pickle, Tabah Bamboo shoot

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Authors: Ahmed F. Ghanem, Marwa I. Wahba, Asmaa N. El-Dein, Mohamed A. EL-Raey, Ghada E.A. Awad

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Numerous attempts are being performed in order to formulate suitable packaging materials for meat products. However, to the best of our knowledge, the incorporation of free hibiscus extract or its microcapsules in the pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix as packaging materials for meats is seldom reported. Therefore, this study aims at protection of the aqueous crude extract of hibiscus flowers utilizing spry drying encapsulation technique. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and zetasizer results confirmed the successful formation of assembled capsules via strong interactions, spherical rough microparticles, and ~ 235 nm of particle size, respectively. Also, the obtained microcapsules enjoy high thermal stability, unlike the free extract. Then, the obtained spray-dried particles were incorporated into the casting solution of the pure PVA film with a concentration 10 wt. %. The segregated free-standing composite films were investigated, compared to the neat matrix, with several characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tester, contact angle, water vapor permeability, and oxygen transmission. The results demonstrated variations in the physicochemical properties of the PVA film after the inclusion of the free and the extract microcapsules. Moreover, biological studies emphasized the biocidal potential of the hybrid films against microorganisms contaminating the meat. Specifically, the microcapsules imparted not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant activities to PVA. Application of the prepared films on the real meat samples displayed low bacterial growth with a slight increase in the pH over the storage time up to 10 days at 4 oC which further proved the meat safety. Moreover, the colors of the films did not significantly changed except after 21 days indicating the spoilage of the meat samples. No doubt, the dual-functional of prepared composite films pave the way towards combined active/smart food packaging applications. This would play a vital role in the food hygiene, including also quality control and assurance.

Keywords: PVA, hibiscus, extraction, encapsulation, active packaging, smart and intelligent packaging, meat spoilage

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Authors: E. T. Svahn

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This article documents how open science policy is perceived in the scientific literature globally throughout the history. It also presents what policy needs are persistent to enable safe and effective dissemination of scientific knowledge. This information may be of interest to open science and science policy makers globally, especially in the view of recent adoption of supranational open science policies such as Plan S. Evaluation of open science policy landscape is in pressing need of assessment regarding its impact on the research community and society at wide as no previous literature review has been conducted on the topic. This study is a rigorous literature review based on constructivist grounded theory method on the full body of scientific open science policy publications. Selection of these articles has been conducted in 2019 and 2020 in major global knowledge databases. Through the analysis of these articles, two key themes emerged that are seen to shape the relationship between science and society. 1st is that of the policy enabling open science in a safe and effective way, and 2nd is that of the outcome of the science policy may have on the research community and the wider society. These findings accentuate that open science policies can have a major impact on not only research process and availability of knowledge but also on society itself. As an outcome of this study, a theoretical framework is constructed, and the need for further study on open science policy itself on a higher level becomes apparent.

Keywords: constructivist grounded theory, open science policy, rigorous literature review, science policy

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Authors: Akinwumi Omotayo, Badu-B Apraku, Joseph Olobasola, Petra Abdul Saghir, Yinka Sobowale

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In southwestern Nigeria, climate change has led to loss of at least two months of rainfall. Consequently, only one cycle of maize can now be grown because of the shorter duration of rainy season as against two cycles in the past. The Early and Extra-early maturing varieties of maize were originally developed for the semi-arid and arid zones of West and Central Africa where there are seasonal challenges of water threatening optimum performance of the traditional maize grown, which are commonly late in maturity (115 to 120 days). The early varieties of maize mature in 90 to 95 days; while the Extra-Early maize varieties reach physiological maturity in less than 90 days. It was broadly hypothesized that the extra early varieties of maize could mitigate the effects of climate change in southwestern Nigeria with higher levels of rainfall by reinstating the original two cycles of rain-fed maize crop. Trials were therefore carried out in southwestern Nigeria on the possibility of adapting the extra early maize to mitigate the effects of climate change. The trial was the Mother/Baby design. The mother trial involves the evaluation of extra-early varieties following ideal recommendations and closely supervised centrally at the University research farm and the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs). This requires farmers to observe and evaluate the technology and the management regime meant to precede the second stage of evaluation at several satellite farmers field managed by selected farmers. The Baby Trial is expected to provide a realistic assessment of the technology by farmers in their own environment. A stratified selection of thirty farmers for the Baby Trial ensured appropriate representation across the different categories of the farming population by age and gender. Data from the trials indicate that extra early maize can be grown in two cycles rain fed in south west Nigeria and a third and fourth cycle could be obtained with irrigation. However the long duration varieties outyielded the extra early maize in both the mother and baby trials. When harvested green, the extra early maize served as source of food between March and May when there was scarcity of food. This represents a major advantage. The study recommends that further work needs to be done to improve the yield of extra early maize to encourage farmers to adopt.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, extra early, maize varieties, mitigation

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Authors: Sahara Piang Brahim

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This paper looks at the current state of water governance in the Philippines. It is mainly descriptive and relies on an analysis of secondary data gathered during the author’s fieldwork as well as those found in available scholarly literature, legal and government policy documents, reports and publicly available information on the official websites of government agencies and departments. This paper finds that despite the Philippines having relatively abundant water resources due to its topographical characteristics, it is facing a number of water-related problems, including the availability of water supply in light of growing water demand, increasing population and urbanization as well as climate change. Another key finding is that the sheer number of agencies, which have overlapping legal mandates and functions in relation to water governance and management, make coordination, planning and data collection difficult especially since they are neither vertically nor horizontally integrated. These findings have obvious implications for water policy and governance in the country. This study also finds that 'predict and control' characterizes the government’s approach to water resources management and allocation. This paper argues that taking such an approach and the existing institutional context into account is quite relevant not only in terms of making sense of how decision-making and policymaking take place but also when contemplating the kinds of alternative governance arrangements that could address water-related issues and challenges and that might work 'best' in the Philippines.

Keywords: Philippines, water governance, water issues, water policy

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Authors: Italo Luigi de Paoli

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The use of synthetic soil for the vegetables cultivation in conditions of limited water consumption The separate collection of urban organic waste and green waste for the countries of the European Union averages 100 kg / inhabitant x year with an annual growth of about 10%. The production of quality compost averages 38% - 40% of the production of organic waste material. Most of the compost produced is used as an organic soil improver in those nutrient-poor soils in order to improve its quality. This study seeks to enhance the production of quality compost by creating a synthetic soil, where the percentages of compost on average oscillate between 50% and 60% in which, with appropriate precautions, different species of horticultural can be grown in conditions of high environmental safety without the use of pesticides and with a consumption of water used for irrigation limited to the actual evaporation of the plants. The project started in 2018 and is still ongoing, confirms its validity through a series of different horticultural productions, especially if this technology is applied where the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of vegetables is limited and where the use of water for irrigation represents a cultural criticality. Furthermore, the creation of "open field" crops, together with their automation, represents a further possibility in the concrete development of such technologies, giving the final product organoleptic characteristics equal if not superior to what the market offers today for human nutrition.

Keywords: water scarcity, compost, vegetable foods, syntetic soil

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Authors: Maria da Conceição Proença

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This case study implements the evaluation of burned areas that suffered successive wildfires in Portugal mainland during the summer of 2017, killing more than 60 people. It’s intended to show that this evaluation can be done with remote sensing data free of charges in a simple laptop, with open-source software, describing the not-so-simple methodology step by step, to make it available for county workers in city halls of the areas attained, where the availability of information is essential for the immediate planning of mitigation measures, such as restoring road access, allocate funds for the recovery of human dwellings and assess further restoration of the ecological system. Wildfires also devastate forest ecosystems having a direct impact on vegetation cover and killing or driving away from the animal population. The economic interest is also attained, as the pinewood burned becomes useless for the noblest applications, so its value decreases, and resin extraction ends for several years. The tools described in this paper enable the location of the areas where took place the annihilation of natural habitats and establish a baseline for major changes in forest ecosystems recovery. Moreover, the result allows the follow up of the surface fuel loading, enabling the targeting and evaluation of restoration measures in a time basis planning.

Keywords: image processing, remote sensing, wildfires, burned areas evaluation, sentinel-2

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Authors: Sumaya Iqbal, Aijaz Ahmad Reshi

Abstract:

The advances in sensor and embedded technologies have led to rapid developments in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Presently researchers focus on the integration of WSNs to Internet for their pervasive availability to access these network resources as the interoperable subsystems. The recent computing technologies like cloud computing has made the resource sharing as a converged infrastructure with required service interfaces for the shared resources over the Internet. This paper presents application architecture for wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANS) following web of things, which allows easy integration of each node to the Internet in order to provide them web accessibility. The architecture enables the sensors and actuator nodes accessed and controlled using cloud interface on WWW. The application architecture was implemented using existing web and its emerging technologies. In particular Representational State Transfer protocol (REST) was extended for the specific requirements of the application. Cloud computing environment has been used as a development platform for the application to assess the possibility of integrating the WSAN nodes to Cloud services. The mushroom farm environment monitoring and control using WSANs has been taken as a research use case.

Keywords: WSAN, REST, web of things, ZigBee, cloud interface, PaaS, sensor gateway

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Authors: Muhammad Yusuf Sulfarano Barusman

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Research for the strategic formulation of competitive advantage development on Indonesian Private Higher Education Institutions (IPHEI) is mostly done using positivistic paradigm by means of analytical thinking. This study emphasized of the participatory paradigm by using synthesis as a way of thinking in order to achieve its goal. The purposes of this study are to: 1) build future scenario of the external environmental dynamics that will be encountered by IPHEI, 2) formulate a strategy that can be implemented by IPHEI through developing the organization's competitive advantage in the future. The used research methodology is Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA). The results showed that the future scenario of external environmental conditions that will be encountered by IPHEI in the future can be described in three conditions, namely: optimistic, moderate, and pessimistic scenarios. The strategic formulation from the research results is based on four internal factors as its foundation (the effectiveness of leadership, the availability of funds and financing, the effectiveness of human resource management strategy, and the relevance of curriculum). A set of resulted strategic formulation is knowledge of the experts that needed to be followed up wisely so that their use can be optimized for the development of IPHE organizational competitive advantage in the future.

Keywords: competitive advantage, participatory prospective analysis, PPA, private higher education institutions, PHEI, strategic formulation

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Authors: Bita Rabbani, Hossein Chiti, Faranak Sharifi, Saeedeh Mazloomzadeh

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Background: Lifestyle modifications, especially improving nutritional patterns and increasing physical activity, are the most important factors in preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. For this purpose, the following interventional study was designed to investigate the effects of educational programs for students, as well as changes in diet and physical activity, on obesity and components of the metabolic syndrome. Methods: This study is part of an interventional research project (elementary school) conducted on all students of Sama schools in Zanjan and Abhar in three levels of elementary, middle, and high school, including 1000 individuals in Zanjan (intervention group) and 1000 individuals (control group) in Abhar in 2011. Interventions were based on educating students, teachers, and parents, changes in food services, and physical activity. We primarily measured anthropometric indices, fasting blood sugar, lipid profiles, and blood pressure and completed standard nutrition and physical activity questionnaires. Also, blood insulin levels were randomly measured in a number of students. Data analysis was done by SPSS software version 16.0. Results: Overall, 589 individuals (252 male, 337 female) entered the case group, and 803 individuals (344 male, 459 female) entered the control group. After two years of intervention, mean waist circumference (63.8 ± 10.9) and diastolic BP (63.8 ± 10.4) were significantly lower; however, mean systolic BP (10.1.0 ± 12.5), food score (25.0 ± 5.0) and drinking score (12.1 ± 2.3) were higher in the intervention group (p<0.001). Comparing components of metabolic syndrome between the second year and at time of recruitment within the intervention group showed that although number of overweight/obese individuals, individuals with hypertriglyceridemia and high LDL increased, abdominal obesity, high BP, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance decreased (p<0.001). On the other hand, in the control group, number of individuals with high BP increased significantly. Conclusion: The prevalence of abdominal obesity and hypertension, which are two major components of metabolic syndrome, are much higher in our study than in other regions of country. However, interventions for modification of diet and increase in physical activity are effective in lowering their prevalence.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, obesity, life style, nutrition, hypertension

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Authors: Carlos Y. Soto, Camila A. Lota, G. Astrid Garzón

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Bacterial biofilms cause an ongoing problem for food safety. They are formed when microorganisms aggregate to form a community that attaches to solid surfaces. Biofilms increase the resistance of pathogens to cleaning, disinfection and antibacterial products. This resistance gives rise to problems for human health, industry, and agriculture. At present, plant extracts rich in polyphenolics are being investigated as natural alternatives to degrade bacterial biofilms. The pomace of the tropical Berry Vaccinium meridionale S. contains high amounts of phenolic compounds. Therefore, in the current study, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects of extracts from the pomace of Vaccinium meridionale S. were tested on three foodborne pathogens: Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC®700728TM), Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus (ATCC® 6538TM), and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (ATCC® 13076TM). Microwave-assisted extraction was used to extract polyphenols with aqueous methanol (80% v/v) at a solid to solvent ratio of 1:10 (w/v) for 20 min. The magnetic stirring was set at 400 rpm, and the microwave power was adjusted to 400 W. The antimicrobial effect of the extract was assessed by determining the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) against the three food poisoning pathogens at concentrations ranging from 50 to 2,850 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL of the extract. Biofilm inhibition was assessed using a crystal violet assay applying the same range of concentration. Three replications of the experiments were carried out, and all analyses were run in triplicate. IC50 values were determined using the GraphPad Prism8® program. Significant differences (P<0.05) among means were identified using one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the post-hoc least significant difference (LSD) test using the Statgraphics plus program, version 2.1.There was significant difference among the mean IC50 values for the tested bacteria. The IC50 for S. aureus was 48 ± 9 μg GAE/mL, followed by 123 ± 49 μg GAE/mL for Salmonella and 376 ± 32 μg GAE/mL for E. coli. The percent inhibition of the extract on biofilm formation was significantly higher for S. aureus (85.8  0.3), followed by E. coli (74.5  1.0) and Salmonella (53.6  9.7). These findings suggest that polyphenolic extracts obtained from the pomace of V. meridionale S. might be used as natural antimicrobial and anti-biofilm natural agents, effective against S. aureus, E. coli and Salmonella enterica.

Keywords: antibiofilm, antimicrobial, E. coli, S. aureus, salmonella, IC50, pomace, V. meridionale

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Authors: Suniti Suparp, Panuwat Joyklad, Qudeer Hussain

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This is a well-known fact that the actual latera forces due to natural disasters, for example, earthquakes, floods and storms are difficult to predict accurately. Among these natural disasters, so far, the highest amount of deaths and injuries have been recorded for the case of earthquakes all around the world. Therefore, there is always an urgent need to establish suitable strengthening methods for existing concrete and steel structures. This paper is investigating the structural performance of square concrete columns strengthened using low cost and easily available steel clamps. The salient features of these steel clamps are comparatively low cost, easy availability and ease of installation. To achieve research objectives, a large-scale experimental program was established in which a total number of 12 square concrete columns were constructed and tested under pure axial compression. Three square concrete columns were tested without any steel lamps to serve as a reference specimen. Whereas, remaining concrete columns were externally strengthened using steel clamps. The steel clamps were installed at a different spacing to investigate the best configuration of the steel clamps. The experimental results indicate that steel clamps are very effective in altering the structural performance of the square concrete columns. The square concrete columns externally strengthened using steel clamps demonstrate higher load carrying capacity and ductility as compared with the control specimens.

Keywords: concrete, strength, ductility, pre-stressed, steel, clamps, axial compression, columns, stress and strain

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Authors: Auwal Mustapha Imam

Abstract:

The aim of the energy management system is to monitor and control utilization, access, optimize and manage energy availability. This can be realized through real-time analyses and energy sources and loads data control in a predictive way. Smart-home monitoring and control provide convenience and cost savings by controlling appliances, lights, thermostats and other loads. There may be different categories of loads in the various homes, and the homeowner may wish to control access to solar-generated energy to protect the storage from draining completely. Controlling the power system operation by managing the converter output power and controlling how it feeds the appliances will satisfy the residential load demand. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides an attractive technological platform to connect the two and make home automation and domestic energy utilization easier and more attractive. This paper presents the use of IoT-based control topology to monitor and control power distribution and consumption by DC loads connected to single-input multiple outputs (SIMO) DC-DC converter, thereby reducing leakages, enhancing performance and reducing human efforts. A SIMO converter was first developed and integrated with the IoT/Raspberry Pi control topology, which enables the user to monitor and control power scheduling and load forecasting via an Android app.

Keywords: flyback, converter, DC-DC, photovoltaic, SIMO

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Authors: Rituparna Nath, Shawn J. Marshall

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Glaciers are one of the main sensitive climatic indicators, as they respond strongly to small climatic shifts. We develop a flow line model of glacier dynamics to simulate the past and future extent of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, with the aim of coupling this model within larger scale regional climate models of glacier response to climate change. This paper will focus on glacier-climate modeling and reconstructions of glacier volume from the Little Ice Age (LIA) to present for Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada. Glacier thickness, volume and mass change will be constructed using flow line modelling and examination of different climate scenarios that are able to give good reconstructions of LIA ice extent. With the availability of SPOT 5 imagery, Digital elevation models and GIS Arc Hydro tool, ice catchment properties-glacier width and LIA moraines have been extracted using automated procedures. Simulation of glacier mass change will inform estimates of meltwater run off over the historical period and model calibration from the LIA reconstruction will aid in future projections of the effects of climate change on glacier recession. Furthermore, the model developed will be effective for further future studies with ensembles of glaciers.

Keywords: flow line modeling, Athabasca Glacier, glacier mass balance, Remote Sensing, Arc hydro tool, little ice age

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Lalita Subedi, Jae Kyoung Chae, Yong Un Park, Cho Kyo Hee, Lee Jae Hyuk, Kang Min Cheol, Sun Yeou Kim

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Neuroinflammation may mediate the relationship between low levels of estrogens and neurodegenerative disease. Estrogens are neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory in neurodegenerative disease models. Due to the long term side effects of estrogens, researches have been focused on finding an effective phytoestrogens for biological activities. Daidzein present in soybeans and its active metabolite equol (7-hydroxy-3-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman) bears strong antioxidant and anticancer showed more potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective role in neuroinflammatory model confirmed its in vitro activity with molecular mechanism through NF-κB pathway. Three major CNS cells Microglia (BV-2), Astrocyte (C6), Neuron (N2a) were used to find the effect of equol in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), MAPKs signaling proteins, apoptosis related proteins by western blot analysis. Nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was measured by the Gries method and ELISA, respectively. Cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 were also measured in the conditioned medium of LPS activated cells with or without equol. Equol inhibited the NO production, PGE-2 production and expression of COX-2 and iNOS in LPS-stimulated microglial cells at a dose dependent without any cellular toxicity. At the same time Equol also showed promising effect in modulation of MAPK’s and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression with significant inhibition of the production of proinflammatory cytokine like interleukin -6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α). Additionally, it inhibited the LPS activated microglia-induced neuronal cell death by downregulating the apoptotic phenomenon in neuronal cells. Furthermore, equol increases the production of neurotrophins like NGF and increase the neurite outgrowth as well. In conclusion the natural daidzein metabolite equol are more active than daidzein, which showed a promising effectiveness as an anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective agent via downregulating the LPS stimulated microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis. This work was supported by Brain Korea 21 Plus project and High Value-added Food Technology Development Program 114006-4, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Keywords: apoptosis, equol, neuroinflammation, phytoestrogen

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Lukman Omobola Adisa

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Spelling is rule bound in a written discourse. It, however, calls into question, when such convention is grossly contravened in a formal setting revered as citadel of learning, despite availability of computer spell-checker, human knowledge, and lexicon. The foregoing reveals the extent of decadence pervading education sector in Nigeria. It is on this premise that this study reviews the effect of spelling on communicative competence of the University of Ibadan Registry Staff. The theoretical framework basically evaluates diverse scholars’ views on communicative competence and how spelling influences the intended meaning of a word/ sentence as a result of undue infringement on grammatical (spelling) rule. Newsletter, bulletin, memo, and letter are four print materials purposively selected while the methodology adopted is content analysis. Similarly, five categories, though not limited to, through which spelling blunders are committed are considered: effect of spelling (omission, addition, and substitution); sound ( homophone); transposition (heading/body: content) and ambiguity (capitalisation, space, and acronym). Subsequently, the analyses, findings, and recommendations are equally looked into. Summarily, the study x-rays effective role(s) plays by spelling in enhancing communicative competence through appropriate usage of linguistic registers.

Keywords: communicative competence, content analysis, effect of spelling, linguistics registers

Procedia PDF Downloads 219

Authors: Kriti Jain, Sucha Singh Gill

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Subsidies have been a major part of agricultural policies around the world, and more extensively since the green revolution in developing countries, for the sake of attaining higher agricultural productivity and achieving food security. But entrenched subsidies lead to distorted incentives and promote inefficiencies in the agricultural sector, threatening the viability of these very subsidies and sustainability of the agricultural production systems, posing a threat to the livelihood of farmers and laborers dependent on it. This paper analyzes the economic and ecological sustainability implications of prolonged input and output subsidies in agriculture by studying the case of Indian Punjab, an agriculturally developed state responsible for ensuring food security in the country when it was facing a major food crisis. The paper focuses specifically on the environmentally unsustainable cropping pattern changes as a result of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and assured procurement and on the resource use efficiency and cost implications of power subsidy for irrigation in Punjab. The study is based on an analysis of both secondary and primary data sources. Using secondary data, a time series analysis was done to capture the changes in Punjab’s cropping pattern, water table depth, fertilizer consumption, and electrification of agriculture. This has been done to examine the role of price and output support adopted to encourage the adoption of green revolution technology in changing the cropping structure of the state, resulting in increased input use intensities (especially groundwater and fertilizers), which harms the ecological balance and decreases factor productivity. Evaluation of electrification of Punjab agriculture helped evaluate the trend in electricity productivity of agriculture and how free power imposed further pressure on the extant agricultural ecosystem. Using data collected from a primary survey of 320 farmers in Punjab, the extent of wasteful application of groundwater irrigation, water productivity of output, electricity usage, and cost of irrigation driven electricity subsidy to the exchequer were estimated for the dominant cropping pattern amongst farmers. The main findings of the study revealed how because of a subsidy has driven agricultural framework, Punjab has lost area under agro climatically suitable and staple crops and moved towards a paddy-wheat cropping system, that is gnawing away the state’s natural resources like water table has been declining at a significant rate of 25 cms per year since 1975-76, and excessive and imbalanced fertilizer usage has led to declining soil fertility in the state. With electricity-driven tubewells as the major source of irrigation within a regime of free electricity and water-intensive crop cultivation, there is both wasteful application of irrigation water and electricity in the cultivation of paddy crops, burning an unproductive hole in the exchequer’s pocket. There is limited access to both agricultural extension services and water-conserving technology, along with policy imbalance, keeping farmers in an intensive and unsustainable production system. Punjab agriculture is witnessing diminishing returns to factor, which under the business-as-usual scenario, will soon enter the phase of negative returns to factor.

Keywords: cropping pattern, electrification, subsidy, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Mezhoud Samy, Toumi Youcef, Boukendekdji Otmane

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Nowadays, industrial by-products and waste are increasing along with public needs increase. The engineering sector has turned to sustainable development by emphasizing the aspects of environmental and life cycle assessment as an important objective. Among this waste, the remains of the red bricks (DBR) may be an alternative worth checking out, given their availability and abundance at the construction sites. In this context, this work aims to valorize DBR in the concrete road (BR). The incorporation of DBR is carried out by the substitution of the granular fractions of mixtures from noble quarry materials. The experimental plan aims to determine the physico-mechanical performance and environmental performance of manufactured BRs from DBR with a cement content (6.5%) and compared with a control BR without DBR. The studied characteristics are proctor, resistance to compression, resistance to flexural tensile at 7 and 28 days, modulus of elasticity, and total shrinkage. The results of this experimental study showed that the characteristics of recycled aggregates (DBR) are lower than those of natural aggregates but remain acceptable with respect to regulations. Results demonstrate the mechanical performance of BR made from less DBR than the control BR without DBR but remains appreciable and encourage their jobs in the road sector. Recycled aggregates can constitute an interesting economic and ecological alternative but require elementary precautions before any use.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, brick waste, road concrete, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Laxman Budhathoki, Lal Bahadur Shrestha, K. C. Laxman

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Hundreds of people are being lost their life by flood disaster in Nepal every year. Community-based disaster management committee has formed to formulate the disaster management plan including the component of EWS like EWS tower, rain gauge station, flood gauge station, culverts, boats, ropes, life jackets, a communication mechanism, emergency shelter, Spur, dykes, dam, evacuation route, emergency dry food management etc. Now EWS become a successful tool to decrease the human casualty from 13 to 0 every year in Rapti River of Chitwan District.

Keywords: disaster risk reduction, early warning system, flood, participatory approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Marta Fernández Batalla, José María Santamaría García, Maria Lourdes Jiménez Rodríguez, Roberto Barchino Plata, Adriana Cercas Duque, Enrique Monsalvo San Macario

Abstract:

Background: Primary Care Nursing is taking more autonomy in clinical decisions. One of the most frequent therapies to solve is related to the problems of maintaining a sufficient supply of food. Nursing diagnoses related to food are addressed by the nurse-family and community as the first responsible. Objectives and interventions are set according to each patient. To improve the goal setting and the treatment of these care problems, a technological tool is developed to help nurses. Objective: To evaluate the computational tool developed to support the clinical decision in feeding problems. Material and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at the Meco Health Center, Madrid, Spain. The study population consisted of four specialist nurses in primary care. These nurses tested the tool on 30 people with ‘need for nutritional therapy’. Subsequently, the usability of the tool and the satisfaction of the professional were sought. Results: A simple and convenient computational tool is designed for use. It has 3 main entrance fields: age, size, sex. The tool returns the following information: BMI (Body Mass Index) and caloric consumed by the person. The next step is the caloric calculation depending on the activity. It is possible to propose a goal of BMI or weight to achieve. With this, the amount of calories to be consumed is proposed. After using the tool, it was determined that the tool calculated the BMI and calories correctly (in 100% of clinical cases). satisfaction on nutritional assessment was ‘satisfactory’ or ‘very satisfactory’, linked to the speed of operations. As a point of improvement, the options of ‘stress factor’ linked to weekly physical activity. Conclusion: Based on the results, it is clear that the computational tools of decision support are useful in the clinic. Nurses are not only consumers of computational tools, but can develop their own tools. These technological solutions improve the effectiveness of nutrition assessment and intervention. We are currently working on improvements such as the calculation of protein percentages as a function of protein percentages as a function of stress parameters.

Keywords: feeding behavior health, nutrition therapy, primary care nursing, technology assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 228