Search results for: housing type

Authors: Ferreira RC, Simons HZ, Thompson WS, Cutler AJ, Dopico XC, Smyth DJ, Mashar M, Schuilenburg H, Walker NM, Dunger DB, Wallace C, Todd JA, Wicker LS, Pekalski ML

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Type 1 diabetes is caused by autoimmune destruction of insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas. T cells are known to play an important role in this immune-mediated destruction; however, there is no general consensus regarding alterations in cytokine production or T cell subsets in peripheral blood of patients with type 1 diabetes. Using polychromatic flow cytometry of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), we assessed production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-21, IFN-γ and IL-17 by memory CD4 T effector (Teff) cells in 69 patients with type 1 diabetes and 61 healthy donors. We found a 21.9% (95% CI 5.8, 40.2; p = 3.9 × 10(-3)) higher frequency of IL-21(+) CD45RA(-) memory CD4(+) Teffs in patients with type 1 diabetes (geometric mean 5.92% [95% CI 5.44, 6.44]) compared with healthy donors (geometric mean 4.88% [95% CI 4.33, 5.50]). In a separate cohort of 30 patients with type 1 diabetes and 32 healthy donors, we assessed the frequency of circulating T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in whole blood. Consistent with the increased production of IL-21, we also found a 14.9% increase in circulating Tfh cells in the patients with type 1 diabetes (95% CI 2.9, 26.9; p = 0.016). Analysis of IL-21 production by PBMCs from a subset of 46 of the 62 donors immunophenotyped for Tfh showed that frequency of Tfh cells was associated with the frequency of IL-21+ cells (r2 = 0.174, p = 0.004). These results indicate that increased IL-21 production is likely to be an aetiological factor in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes that could be considered as a potential therapeutic target.

Keywords: T follicular helper cell, IL-21, IL-17, type 1 diabetes

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: Mehrab Gholami Zangalani, Siavash Rajabpour

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In compliance with the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI)’s results, construction and housing section in Iran is consuming 40% of energy, which is 5 times more than the world average consumption. By considering the climate in Iran, the solutions in terms of design, construction and exploitation of the buildings by utilizing the LEED rating system (LRS) is presented, regarding to the reasons for the high levels of energy consumption during construction and housing in Iran. As a solution, innovative Work Break Structure (WBS) in accordance with LRS and Iranian construction’s methods is unveiled in this research. Also, by amending laws pertaining to the construction in Iran, the huge amount of energy and cost can be saved. Furthermore, with a scale-up of these results to the scale of big cities such as Tehran (one of the largest metropolitan areas in the middle east) in which the license to build more than two hundred and fifty units each day is issued, the amount of energy and cost that can be saved is estimated.

Keywords: costs reduction, energy statistics, leed rating system (LRS), work brake structure (WBS)

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Authors: Luisa Windhagen, Atsumi Hirose, Alex Bottle

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Global urbanization has resulted in the expansion of slums, leaving over 10 million Tanzanians in urban poverty and at risk of poor health. Whilst rural residence has historically been associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, recent studies found higher perinatal mortality rates in urban Tanzania. This study aims to understand to what extent slum neighborhoods may account for the spatial disparities seen in Tanzania. We generated a slum indicator based on UN-HABITAT criteria to identify slum clusters within the 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics, disaggregated by urban slum, urban non-slum, and rural areas, were produced. Simple and multivariable logistic regression examined the association between cluster residence type and neonatal mortality and stillbirth. For neonatal mortality, we additionally built a multilevel logistic regression model, adjusting for confounding and clustering. The neonatal mortality ratio was highest in slums (38.3 deaths per 1000 live births); the stillbirth rate was three times higher in slums (32.4 deaths per 1000 births) than in urban non-slums. Neonatal death was more likely to occur in slums than in urban non-slums (aOR=2.15, 95% CI=1.02-4.56) and rural areas (aOR=1.78, 95% CI=1.15-2.77). Odds of stillbirth were over five times higher among rural than urban non-slum residents (aOR=5.25, 95% CI=1.31-20.96). The results suggest that slums contribute to the urban disadvantage in Tanzanian neonatal health. Higher neonatal mortality in slums may be attributable to lack of education, lower socioeconomic status, poor healthcare access, and environmental factors, including indoor and outdoor air pollution and unsanitary conditions from inadequate housing. However, further research is required to ascertain specific causalities as well as significant associations between residence type and other pregnancy outcomes. The high neonatal mortality, stillbirth, and slum formation rates in Tanzania signify that considerable change is necessary to achieve international goals for health and human settlements. Disparities in access to adequate housing, safe water and sanitation, high standard antenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal care, and maternal education need to urgently be addressed. This study highlights the spatial neonatal mortality shift from rural settings to urban informal settlements in Tanzania. Importantly, other low- and middle-income countries experiencing overwhelming urbanization and slum expansion may also be at risk of a reversing trend in residential neonatal health differences.

Keywords: urban health, slum residence, neonatal mortality, stillbirth, global urbanisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Rahmatollah Amirjani

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By the emergence of the debate over the failure of Regionalism in the late 1970s, Critical Regional­ism was introduced as a different way to respond to the state of architecture in the post-war era. Critical Regionalism is most often understood as a discourse that not only mediates the language of modern architecture with the local cultures but also revives the relation between architecture and spectator as indexed by capitalism. Since the inception of Critical Regionalism, a large number of architectural practices have emerged around the globe; however, the work of the well-known Portuguese architect, Álvaro Siza, is considered as a unique case amongst works associated with the discourse of Critical Regionalism. This paper intends to respond to a number of questions, including; what are the origins of Critical Regionalism? How does Siza’s design strategy correspond to the thematic of Critical Regionalism? How does Siza recover the relation between object and subject in most of his projects? Using Siza’s housing project for the Malagueira district in Évora, Portugal, this article will attempt to answer these questions, and highlight Alvaro Siza’s design procedure which goes beyond the existing discourse of Critical Regionalism and contributes to our understanding of this practice.

Keywords: Alvaro Siza, critical regionalism, Malagueira housing, placelessness

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Abdusalam Gsiea, Ramadan Al-habashi, Mohamed Atumi, Khaled Atmimi

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We present a theoretical investigation on the structural, electronic properties and vibrational mode of nitrogen impurities in ZnO. The atomic structures, formation and transition energies and vibrational modes of (NO3)i interstitial or NO4 substituting on an oxygen site ZnO were computed using ab initio total energy methods. Based on Local density functional theory, our calculations are in agreement with one interpretation of bound-excition photoluminescence for N-doped ZnO. First-principles calculations show that (NO3)i defects interstitial or NO4 substituting on an Oxygen site in ZnO are important suitable impurity for p-type doping in ZnO. However, many experimental efforts have not resulted in reproducible p-type material with N2 and N2O doping. by means of first-principle pseudo-potential calculation we find that the use of NO or NO2 with O gas might help the experimental research to resolve the challenge of achieving p-type ZnO.

Keywords: DFF, nitrogen, p-type, ZnO

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Authors: Scott Kelting, Lucas Nozick

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The perpetually growing population and economy within the United States necessitates building construction of all types. Increased building generates environmental concerns, and rightfully so. This industry accounts for approximately 4% of the total GDP in the United States while creating around two-thirds of the material waste annually. The green building movement is certainly gaining popularity in both application and recognition through entities such as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and their LEED program; however, builders are also producing their ideas. Alternative housing solutions that include pre-fabricated building components and shipping container homes are making great strides in the residential construction industry, and will certainly play an important role in the future. This paper will compare the cost and schedule of modular, panelized and shipping container homes to traditional stick frame home construction in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and recommend the best application for each option.

Keywords: cost, prefabricated, schedule, shipping container, stick framed

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Authors: B. Falah, N. E. Abakouy

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Due to its high computational cost, mutation testing has been neglected by researchers. Recently, many cost and mutants’ reduction techniques have been developed, improved, and experimented, but few of them has relied the possibility of reducing the cost of mutation testing on the program type of the application under test. This paper is a comparative study between four operators’ selection techniques (mutants sampling, class level operators, method level operators, and all operators’ selection) based on the program code type of each application under test. It aims at finding an alternative approach to reveal the effect of code type on mutation testing score. The result of our experiment shows that the program code type can affect the mutation score and that the programs using polymorphism are best suited to be tested with mutation testing.

Keywords: equivalent mutant, killed mutant, mutation score, mutation testing, program code type, software testing

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Authors: Sahar Navabakhsh, Rokia Raslan, Yair Schwartz

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Decision-making on regeneration of housing estates, whether to refurbish or re-build, has been mostly triggered by economic factors. To enable sustainable growth, it is vital that environmental and social impacts of different scenarios are also taken into account. The methodology used to include all the three sustainable development pillars is called Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), which comprises of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the assessment of environmental impacts of buildings. Current practice of LCA is regularly conducted post design stage and by sustainability experts. Not only is undertaking an LCA at this stage less effective, but issues such as the limited scope for the definition and assessment of environmental impacts, the implication of changes in the system boundary and the alteration of each of the variable metrics, employment of different Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methods and use of various inventory data for Life Cycle Inventory Analysis can result in considerably contrasting results. Given the niche nature and scarce specialist domain of LCA of buildings, the majority of the stakeholders do not contribute to the generation or interpretation of the impact assessment, and the results can be generated and interpreted subjectively due to the mentioned uncertainties. For an effective and democratic assessment of environmental impacts, different stakeholders, and in particular the community and design team should collaborate in the process of data collection, assessment and analysis. This paper examines and evaluates a participatory approach to LCSA through the analysis of a case study of a housing estate in South West London. The study has been conducted throughout tier-based collaborative methods to collect and share data through surveys and co-design workshops with the community members and the design team as the main stakeholders. The assessment of lifecycle impacts is conducted throughout the process and has influenced the decision-making on the design of the Community Plan. The evaluation concludes better assessment transparency and outcome, alongside other socio-economic benefits of identifying and engaging the most contributive stakeholders in the process of conducting LCSA.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, participatory LCA, life cycle sustainability assessment, participatory processes, decision-making, housing estate regeneration

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Authors: The Danh Phan

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House price forecasting is a main topic in the real estate market research. Effective house price prediction models could not only allow home buyers and real estate agents to make better data-driven decisions but may also be beneficial for the property policymaking process. This study investigates the housing market by using machine learning techniques to analyze real historical house sale transactions in Australia. It seeks useful models which could be deployed as an application for house buyers and sellers. Data analytics show a high discrepancy between the house price in the most expensive suburbs and the most affordable suburbs in the city of Melbourne. In addition, experiments demonstrate that the combination of Stepwise and Support Vector Machine (SVM), based on the Mean Squared Error (MSE) measurement, consistently outperforms other models in terms of prediction accuracy.

Keywords: house price prediction, regression trees, neural network, support vector machine, stepwise

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Authors: Atefeh Esmailnejad, Mohammad Abbaszadeh Hasiri

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Coxiella burnetii is a gram-negative obligatory intracellular bacterium that causes Q fever, a significant zoonotic disease. Sheep, cattle, and goats are the most commonly reported reservoirs for the bacteria, but infected cats and dogs have also been implicated in the transmission of the disease to human. The aim of present study was to investigate the presence of antibodies against Coxiella burnetii among companion dogs in Fars province, South of Iran. A total of 181 blood samples were collected from asymptomatic dogs, mostly referred to Veterinary Hospital of Shiraz University for regular vaccination. The IgG antibody detection against Coxiella burnetii was made by indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), employing phase I and II Coxiella burnetii antigens. A logistic regression model was developed to analyze multiple risk factors associated with seropositivity. An overall seropositivity of 7.7% (n=14) was observed. Prevalence was significantly higher in adult dogs above five years (18.18 %) compared with dogs between 1 and five years (7.86 %) and less than one year (6.17%) (P=0.043). Prevalence was also higher in male dogs (11.21 %) than in female (2.7 %) (P=0.035). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of positive cases and breed, type of housing, type of food and exposure to other farm animals (P>0.05). The results of this study showed the presence of Coxiella burnetii infection among the companion dogs population in Fars province. To our knowledge, this is the first study regarding Q fever in dogs carried out in Iran. In areas like Iran, where human cases of Q fever are not common or remain unreported, the public health implications of Q fever seroprevalence in dogs are quite significant.

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii, dog, Iran, Q fever

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Authors: Jorge Eliseo Muñiz-Gutierrez, Daniel Olvera-García, Cristina Sotelo-Salas

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The objective of this research is to allow the understanding of the hybridization process shown in culture through the architecture of mass production for the purpose of consumption, taking as a case study the mass-built housing of the city of Mexicali, Mexico. The methodology is born from the hermeneutical study of the meta-modified architectural object, which guided the research with a qualitative focus to be carried out in two stages, the first is based on the literature review regarding cultural hybridization, and the second stage is carried out in through an ethnographic study of the cultural exploration of the contextual landscape produced by the houses located in popular neighborhoods of the city of Mexicali, Mexico. The research shows that there is an unconscious hybridization process, the birth of a mixture of impositions guided by the popular and the personal aspirations of the inhabitant. The study presents the possibilities of a home and the relationship with its inhabitant and, in turn, its effects on the context and its contribution to culture through hybridization.

Keywords: hybridization, architectural landscape, architecture, mass housing

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Authors: R. Osada, S. Ogata, T. Segawa

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Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators (DBD-PAs) have been developed for active flow control devices. However, it is necessary to reduce ozone produced by DBD toward practical applications using DBD-PAs. In this study, variations of ozone concentration, flow velocity, power consumption were investigated by changing exposed electrodes of DBD-PAs. Two exposed electrode prototypes were prepared: span-type with exposed electrode width of 0.1 mm, and normal-type with width of 5 mm. It was found that span-type shows lower power consumption and higher flow velocity than that of normal-type at V_p-p = 4.0-6.0 kV. Ozone concentration of span-type higher than normal-type at V_p-p = 4.0-8.0 kV. In addition, it was confirmed that catalyst located in downstream from the exposed electrode can reduce ozone concentration between 18 and 42% without affecting the induced flow.

Keywords: dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators, ozone diffusion, PIV measurement, power consumption

Procedia PDF Downloads 219

Authors: Andres Gonzalez, Adam Boies, Jacob Swanson, David Kittelson

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The concern of the indoor air quality (IAQ) has been increasing due to its risk to human health. The smoking, sweeping, and stove and stovetop use are the activities that have a major contribution to the indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution also affects IAQ. The most important factors over IAQ from cooking activities are the materials, fuels, foods, and ventilation. The low-cost, mobile air quality monitoring (LCMAQM) sensors, is reachable technology to assess the IAQ. This is because of the lower cost of LCMAQM compared to conventional instruments. The IAQ was assessed, using LCMAQM, during cooking activities in a University of Minnesota graduate-housing evaluating different ventilation systems. The gases measured are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The particles measured are particle matter (PM) _2.5 micrometer (µm) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA). The measurements are being conducted during April 2019 in Como Student Community Cooperative (CSCC) that is a graduate housing at the University of Minnesota. The measurements are conducted using an electric stove for cooking. The amount and type of food and oil using for cooking are the same for each measurement. There are six measurements: two experiments measure air quality without any ventilation, two using an extractor as mechanical ventilation, and two using the extractor and windows open as mechanical and natural ventilation. 3The results of experiments show that natural ventilation is most efficient system to control particles and CO₂. The natural ventilation reduces the concentration in 79% for LDSA and 55% for PM_2.5, compared to the no ventilation. In the same way, CO₂ reduces its concentration in 35%. A well-mixed vessel model was implemented to assess particle the formation and decay rates. Removal rates by the extractor were significantly higher for LDSA, which is dominated by smaller particles, than for PM_2.5, but in both cases much lower compared to the natural ventilation. There was significant day to day variation in particle concentrations under nominally identical conditions. This may be related to the fat content of the food. Further research is needed to assess the impact of the fat in food on particle generations.

Keywords: cooking, indoor air quality, low-cost sensor, ventilation

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Y. A. Yahaya, Ahmad Tijjani Asabe

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This paper focuses on the formulation of 3-step hybrid Adams type method for the solution of first order differential equation (ODE). The methods which was derived on both grid and off grid points using multistep collocation schemes and also evaluated at some points to produced Block Adams type method and Adams moulton method respectively. The method with the highest order was selected to serve as the corrector. The convergence was valid and efficient. The numerical experiments were carried out and reveal that hybrid Adams type methods performed better than the conventional Adams moulton method.

Keywords: adam-moulton type (amt), corrector method, off-grid, block method, convergence analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 591

Authors: Flavia Magliacani

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The urbanization of the last decades and its resulting urban growth entail problems both for environmental and economic sustainability. From this perspective, sustainable settlement development requires a horizontal decrease in the existing urban structure in order to enhance its greater concentration. Hence, new stratifications of the city fabric and architectural strategies ensuring high-density settlement models are possible solutions. However, although increasing housing density is necessary, it is not sufficient. Guaranteeing the quality of living is, indeed, equally essential. In order to meet this objective, many other factors come to light, namely the relationship between private and public spaces, the proximity to services, the accessibility of public transport, the local lifestyle habits, and the social needs. Therefore, how to safeguard both quality and density in human habitats? The present paper attempts to answer the previous main research question by addressing several sub-questions: Which architectural types meet the dual need for urban density and housing quality? Which project criteria should be taken into consideration by good design practices? What principles are desirable for future planning? The research will analyse different architectural responses adopted in four European cities: Paris, Lion, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. In particular, it will develop a qualitative and comparative study of two specific architectural solutions which integrate housing density and quality living. On the one hand, the so-called 'self-contained city' model, on the other hand, the French 'Habitat Dense Individualisé' one. The structure of the paper will be as follows: the first part will develop a qualitative evaluation of some case studies, emblematic examples of the two above said architectural models. The second part will focus on the comparison among the chosen case studies. Finally, some conclusions will be drawn. The methodological approach, therefore, combines qualitative and comparative research. Parameters will be defined in order to highlight potential and criticality of each model in light of an interdisciplinary view. In conclusion, the present paper aims at shading light on design approaches which ensure a right balance between density and quality of the urban living in contemporary European cities.

Keywords: density, future design, housing quality, human habitat

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Authors: Kazem Ghanbari, Yousef Gholami

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This paper deals with study about fractional order impulsive Hamiltonian systems and fractional impulsive Sturm-Liouville type problems derived from these systems. The main purpose of this paper devotes to obtain so called Lyapunov type inequalities for mentioned problems. Also, in view point on applicability of obtained inequalities, some qualitative properties such as stability, disconjugacy, nonexistence and oscillatory behaviour of fractional Hamiltonian systems and fractional Sturm-Liouville type problems under impulsive conditions will be derived. At the end, we want to point out that for studying fractional order Hamiltonian systems, we will apply recently introduced fractional Conformable operators.

Keywords: fractional derivatives and integrals, Hamiltonian system, Lyapunov-type inequalities, stability, disconjugacy

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Authors: Rui Pedro de Sousa Guimarães Ferreira, Carlos Alberto Maia Domínguez

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Despite the ambitions to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, to fulfill the Paris Agreement's goals, the building and construction sector remains one of the most resource-intensive and greenhouse gas-emitting industries in the world, accounting for 40% of worldwide CO ₂ emissions. Over the past few decades, globalization and population growth have led to an exponential rise in demand in the housing market and, by extension, in the building industry. Considering this housing crisis, it is obvious that we will not stop building in the near future. However, the transition, which has already started, is challenging and complex because it calls for the worldwide participation of numerous organizations in altering how building systems, which have been a part of our everyday existence for over a century, are used. Wood is one of the alternatives that is most frequently used nowadays (under responsible forestry conditions) because of its physical qualities and, most importantly, because it produces fewer carbon emissions during manufacturing than steel or concrete. Furthermore, as wood retains its capacity to store CO ₂ after application and throughout the life of the building, working as a natural carbon filter, it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After a century-long focus on other materials, in the last few decades, technological advancements have made it possible to innovate systems centered around the use of wood. However, there are still some questions that require further exploration. It is necessary to standardize production and manufacturing processes based on prefabrication and modularization principles to achieve greater precision and optimization of the solutions, decreasing building time, prices, and waste from raw materials. In addition, this approach will make it possible to develop new architectural solutions to solve the rigidity and irreversibility of buildings, two of the most important issues facing housing today. Most current models are still created as inflexible, fixed, monofunctional structures that discourage any kind of regeneration, based on matrices that sustain the conventional family's traditional model and are founded on rigid, impenetrable compartmentalization. Adaptability and flexibility in housing are, and always have been, necessities and key components of architecture. People today need to constantly adapt to their surroundings and themselves because of the fast-paced, disposable, and quickly obsolescent nature of modern items. Migrations on a global scale, different kinds of co-housing, or even personal changes are some of the new questions that buildings have to answer. Designing with the reversibility of construction systems and materials in mind not only allows for the concept of "looping" in construction, with environmental advantages that enable the development of a circular economy in the sector but also unleashes multiple social benefits. In this sense, it is imperative to develop prefabricated and modular construction systems able to address the formalization of a reversible proposition that adjusts to the scale of time and its multiple reformulations, many of which are unpredictable. We must allow buildings to change, grow, or shrink over their lifetime, respecting their nature and, finally, the nature of the people living in them. It´s the ability to anticipate the unexpected, adapt to social factors, and take account of demographic shifts in society to stabilize communities, the foundation of real innovative sustainability.

Keywords: modular, timber, flexibility, housing

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: D. Furuya, H. Ryujin, S. Takahira, Y. Sekine, Y. Oya, K. Sonoda, H. Ogawa, Y. Nomura, R. Maruyama, H. Kim, T. Kudo, A. Nakano, T. Saruta, S. Sugita, M. Nemoto, N. Tanahashi

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Purpose: To study the clinical characteristics of hypoglycemic coma in adult patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Participants in this retrospective study comprised 91 patients (54 men, 37 women; mean age ± standard deviation, 71.5 ± 12.6 years; range, 42-97 years) brought to our emergency department by ambulance with disturbance of consciousness in the 7 years from April 2007 to March 2014. Patients with hypoglycemia caused by alcoholic ketoacidosis, nutrition disorder, malignancies and psychological disorder were excluded. Results: Patients with type 1 (8 of 91) or type 2 DM (83 of 91) were analyzed. Mean blood sugar level was 31.6 ± 10.4 in all patients. A sulfonylurea (SU) was more commonly used in elderly (>75 years old; n=44)(70.5%) than in younger patients (36.2%, p < 0.05). Cases showing prolonged unconsciousness (range, 1 hour to 21 days; n=30) included many (p < 0.05) patients with dementia (13.3%; 0.5% without dementia) and fewer (p < 0.05) patients with type 1 DM (0%; 13.1% in type 2 DM). Specialists for DM (n=33) used SU less often (24.2%) than general physicians (69.0%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: In cases of hypoglycemic coma, SU was frequently used in elderly patients with DM.

Keywords: hypoglycemic coma, Diabetes mellitus, unconsciousness, elderly patients

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Authors: Routsukol Sunalai

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The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of public enterprise reform policy on the attributes of organizational commitments in the public energy enterprises in Thailand. It compares three structural types of public energy enterprises: Totally state-owned public enterprises (type I), partially transformed public enterprises (type II), and totally transformed public enterprises (type III), based on the degree of state partially transformed public enterprises (type II), and totally transformed public enterprises (type III),based on the degree of reformed organizations, by analyzing the presence of the desirable attributes of organizational commitment as perceived by employees. Findings indicate that there are statistically significant differences in the level of some dimensions of organizational commitment (affective commitment and normative commitment) between the three types of public energy enterprises. The lack of a structural type difference holds for only continuance commitment. The results also indicate empirical evidence concerning the causal relationship between the antecedents and including organizational commitment also.

Keywords: management control, organizational commitment, public enterprises in Thailand, public enterprise reform

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Authors: Zi Wang, Xinlei He, Jianghua Lv, Yuqing Lan

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Kernel though widely used, is complicated. Errors caused by some bugs are often costly. Statically, more than half of the mistakes occur in the design phase. Thus, we introduce a modeling method, KMVM (Linux Kernel Modeling and verification Method), based on type theory for proper designation and correct exploitation of the Kernel. In the model, the Kernel is separated into six levels: subsystem, dentry, file, struct, func, and base. Each level is treated as a type. The types are specified in the structure and relationship. At the same time, we use a demanding path to express the function to be implemented. The correctness of the design is verified by recursively checking the type relationship and type existence. The method has been applied to verify the OPEN business of VFS (virtual file system) in Linux Kernel. Also, we have designed and developed a set of security communication mechanisms in the Kernel with verification.

Keywords: formal approach, type theory, Linux Kernel, software program

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Authors: Amani Ashari, Julia Omar, Arif Hashim, Shahrul Hamid

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Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism has influence on serum lipids which relates to cardiovascular risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency distribution of APOE alleles among Malaysian Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) and their association with serum lipid profiles. A total of 115 patients were recruited in which 78 patients had Type 2 DM without CAD and 37 patients had Type 2 DM with CAD. The APOE polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The APOE ɛ3 allele was the most common one in both groups. There was no significant association between the APOE genotypes and the CAD status in Type 2 DM using Pearson χ² test. Further analysis indicated there were no significant differences in all lipid parameters between E2, E3 and E4 subgroups in both groups. The study showed that the E4 allele carriers of Type 2 DM with CAD patients had higher LDL-C level and lower HDL-C level compared to the other allele carriers. However, analyses showed these levels were not statistically different. The study also showed that the Type 2 DM with CAD group with E2 allele had higher triglyceride (TG). In conclusion, further study with larger sample size is needed to confirm role of E4 as a marker of CAD among Type 2 DM patients in Malaysian population.

Keywords: Apolipoprotein E, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, lipids

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Authors: Junaid Asimiyu Mohammed, Olakunle Docas Tosin

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The housing environment in many developing countries is fraught with risks that have potential negative impacts on the lives of the residents. The study examined the risk factors in residential areas of two neighborhoods in Bosso Local Government Areas of Minna in Nigeria with a view to determining the level of their potential impacts. A sample of 378 households was drawn from the estimated population of 22,751 household heads. The questionnaire and direct observation were used as instruments for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII) rule to determine the level of the potential impact of the risk factors while ArcGIS was used for mapping the spatial distribution of the risks. The study established that the housing environment of Angwan Biri and El-Waziri areas of Bosso is poor and vulnerable as 26% of the houses were not habitable and 57% were only fairly habitable. The risks of epidemics, building collapse and rainstorms were evident in the area as 53% of the houses had poor ventilation; 20% of residents had no access to toilets; 47% practiced open waste dumping; 46% of the houses had cracked walls while 52% of the roofs were weak and sagging. The results of the analysis of the potential impact of the risk factors indicate a RII score of 0.528 for building collapse, 0.758 for rainstorms and 0.830 for epidemics, indicating a moderate to very high level of potential impacts. The mean RII score of 0.639 shows a significant potential impact of the risk factors. The study recommends the implementation of sanitation measures, provision of basic urban facilities and neighborhood revitalization through housing infrastructure retrofitting as measures to mitigate the risks of disasters and improve the living conditions of the residents of the study area.

Keywords: assessment, risk, residential, Nigeria

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Authors: Jihyun Park, Tae Il Lee, Jae-Min Myoung

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A Silver (Ag) thin film is introduced as a template and doping source for vertically aligned p–type ZnO nanorods. ZnO nanorods were grown using a ammonium hydroxide based hydrothermal process. During the hydrothermal process, the Ag thin film was dissolved to generate Ag ions in the solution. The Ag ions can contribute to doping in the wurzite structure of ZnO and the (111) grain of Ag thin film can be the epitaxial temporal template for the (0001) plane of ZnO. Hence, Ag–doped p–type ZnO nanorods were successfully grown on the substrate, which can be an electrode or semiconductor for the device application. To demonstrate the potentials of this idea, p–n diode was fabricated and its electrical characteristics were demonstrated.

Keywords: hydrothermal process, Ag–doped ZnO nanorods, p–type ZnO

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Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi

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The probability distributions are the best method for forecasting of extreme hydrologic phenomena such as rainfall and flood flows. In this research, in order to determine suitable probability distribution for estimating of annual extreme rainfall and flood flows (discharge) series with different return periods, precipitation with 40 and discharge with 58 years time period had been collected from Karkheh River at Iran. After homogeneity and adequacy tests, data have been analyzed by Stormwater Management and Design Aid (SMADA) software and residual sum of squares (R.S.S). The best probability distribution was Log Pearson Type III with R.S.S value (145.91) and value (13.67) for peak discharge and Log Pearson Type III with R.S.S values (141.08) and (8.95) for maximum discharge in Jelogir Majin and Pole Zal stations, respectively. The best distribution for maximum precipitation in Jelogir Majin and Pole Zal stations was Log Pearson Type III distribution with R.S.S values (1.74&1.90) and then Pearson Type III distribution with R.S.S values (1.53&1.69). Overall, the Log Pearson Type III distributions are acceptable distribution types for representing statistics of extreme hydrologic phenomena in Karkheh River at Iran with the Pearson Type III distribution as a potential alternative.

Keywords: Karkheh River, Log Pearson Type III, probability distribution, residual sum of squares

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Authors: A. Amidah Amrawaty, M. Saleh S. Ali, Darmawan Salman

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The aim of this study was to identify local and non local knowledge in Bali cattle development, to analyze the contestation between local and non-local knowledge. The paradigm used was constructivism paradigm with a qualitative approach. descriptive type of research using case study method. The study was conducted in four villages subjected to Agropolitan Program, i.e. Palakka, Tompo, Galung and Anabanua in Barru District, province of South Sulawesi. The results indicated that the local knowledge of the farmers were: a) knowledge of animal housing, b) knowledge of the prevention and control disease, c) knowledge of the feed, d) knowledge of breed selection, e) knowledge of sharing arrangement, f) knowledge of marketing, Generally, there are three patterns of knowledge contestation namely coexistence, ‘zero sum game’ and hybridization but in this research only coexistence and zero sum game patterns took place, while the pattern of hybridization did not occur.

Keywords: contestation, local knowledge, non-local knowledge, developing of Bali cattle

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Authors: Debra L. Stanley, Gabriela Wasileski

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Offenders face many challenges as they transition from being incarcerated to the community, ranging from housing and employment needs to long standing problems with addictions and mental health issues. A lack of appropriate behavioral health services in the more remote parts of the United States has led to a significant illegal substance abuse problem, housing instability, and unaddressed mental health and trauma issues. High rates of poverty and unemployment exacerbate the growing behavioral health issues, drug overdoses, co-occurring disorders, and crime that are so prevalent across rural communities. This study examines the challenges of rural jail reentry faced by offenders in a treatment capacity. The client-centered evidence-based program is uniquely designed to provide continuity of care that focuses on issues which affect rural communities. Prior to release from jail, individuals go through comprehensive assessment screenings to measure mental health and substance use disorder as well as trauma and prior crime victimization histories; the assessments help to target client-specific services. The quasi-experimental research design tracks clients throughout their recovery and reintegration into the community. Individuals in a rural program often do not have the benefit of easy access or peer mentoring that is so often found in urban recovery programs. Therefore, much of the support is provided through telehealth and e-services. The goal of this study is to explore the nature of rural reentry programs and measures of recidivism, drug overdoses, and other behavioral health needs and successful reentry to include stable housing and employment.

Keywords: jail reentry, rehabilitation, behavioral health, drug abuse, recidivism

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Authors: Rana Rimawi, Ayman Baklizi

Abstract:

Skewed distributions are important models that are frequently used in applications. Generalized distributions form a class of skewed distributions and gain widespread use in applications because of their flexibility in data analysis. More specifically, the Generalized Logistic Distribution with its different types has received considerable attention recently. In this study, based on progressively type-II censored data, we will consider point estimation in type II Generalized Logistic Distribution (Type II GLD). We will develop several estimators for its unknown parameters, including maximum likelihood estimators (MLE), Bayes estimators and linear estimators (BLUE). The estimators will be compared using simulation based on the criteria of bias and Mean square error (MSE). An illustrative example of a real data set will be given.

Keywords: point estimation, type II generalized logistic distribution, progressive censoring, maximum likelihood estimation

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Authors: Xilu Liu, Ameen Farooq

Abstract:

Beijing has several compact residential housing settings in many of its urban districts. The study in this paper reveals that urban compactness, as predictor of density, may carry an altogether different meaning in the developing world when compared to the U.S for achieving objectives of urban sustainability. Recent urban design studies in the U.S are debating for compact and mixed-use higher density housing to achieve sustainable and energy efficient living environments. While the concept of urban compactness is widely accepted as an approach in modern architectural and urban design fields, this belief may not directly carry well into all areas within cities of developing countries. Beijing’s technology-driven economy, with its historic and rich cultural heritage and a highly speculated real-estate market, extends its urban boundaries into multiple compact urban settings of varying scales and densities. The accelerated pace of migration from the countryside for better opportunities has led to unsustainable and uncontrolled buildups in order to meet the growing population demand within and outside of the urban center. This unwarranted compactness in certain urban zones has produced an unhealthy physical density with serious environmental and ecological challenging basic living conditions. In addition, crowding, traffic congestion, pollution and limited housing surrounding this compactness is a threat to public health. Several residential blocks in close proximity to each other were found quite compacted, or ill-planned, with residential sites due to lack of proper planning in Beijing. Most of them at first sight appear to be compact and dense but further analytical studies revealed that what appear to be dense actually are not as dense as to make a good case that could serve as the corner stone of sustainability and energy efficiency. This study considered several factors including floor area ratio (FAR), ground coverage (GSI), open space ratio (OSR) as indicators in analyzing urban compactness as a predictor of density. The findings suggest that these measures, influencing the density of residential sites under study, were much smaller in density than expected given their compact adjacencies. Further analysis revealed that several residential housing appear to support the notion of density in its compact layout but are actually compacted due to unregulated planning marred by lack of proper urban design standards, policies and guidelines specific to their urban context and condition.

Keywords: Beijing, density, sustainability, urban compactness

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Authors: Bin Liu

Abstract:

Prokaryotic promoter, consisted of two short DNA sequences located at in -35 and -10 positions, is responsible for controlling the initiation and expression of gene expression. Different types of promoters have different functions, and their consensus sequences are similar. In addition, their consensus sequences may be different for the same type of promoter, which poses difficulties for promoter identification. Unfortunately, all existing computational methods treat promoter identification as a binary classification task and can only identify whether a query sequence belongs to a specific promoter type. It is desired to develop computational methods for effectively identifying promoters and their types. Here, a two-layer predictor is proposed to try to deal with the problem. The first layer is designed to predict whether a given sequence is a promoter and the second layer predicts the type of promoter that is judged as a promoter. Meanwhile, we also analyze the importance of feature and sequence conversation in two aspects: promoter identification and promoter type identification. To the best knowledge of ours, it is the first computational predictor to detect promoters and their types.

Keywords: promoter, promoter type, random forest, sequence information

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Authors: Saima Shaikh, Andre Brown, Wallace Enegbuma

Abstract:

Earthquakes strike both developed and developing countries, causing tremendous damage and the loss of lives of millions of people, mainly due to the collapsing of buildings, particularly in poorer countries. Despite the socio-economic and technological restrictions, the poorer countries have adopted proven and established housing-strengthening techniques from affluent countries. Rural communities are aware of the earthquake-strengthening mechanisms for improving housing resilience, but owing to socio-economic and technological constraints, the seismic guidelines are rarely implemented, resulting in informal construction practice. Unregistered skilled laborers make substantial contributions to the informal construction sector, particularly in rural areas where knowledge is scarce. Laborers employ their local expertise in house construction; however, owing to a lack of seismic expertise in safe building procedures, the authorities' regulated seismic norms are not applied. From the perspective of seismic knowledge transformation in safe buildings practices, the study focuses on the feasibility of seismic guidelines implementation. The study firstly employs a literature review of massive-scale reconstruction after the 2005 earthquake in rural Pakistan. The 2005-earthquake damaged over 400,000 homes, killed 70,000 people and displaced 2.8 million people. The research subsequently corroborated the pragmatic approach using questionnaire field survey among the rural people in 2005-earthquake affected areas. Using the literature and the questionnaire survey, the research analyzing people's perspectives on technical acceptability, financial restrictions, and socioeconomic viability and examines the effectiveness of seismic knowledge transfer in safe buildings practices. The findings support the creation of a knowledge transfer framework in disaster mitigation and recovery planning, assisting rural communities and builders in minimising losses and improving response and recovery, as well as improving housing resilience and lowering vulnerabilities. Finally, certain conclusions are obtained in order to continue the resilience research. The research can be further applied in rural areas of developing countries having similar construction practices.

Keywords: earthquakes, knowledge transfer, resilience, informal construction practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 147