Search results for: social network analysis

Authors: Siamak Jamshidi

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One of the major environmental problems in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea is that the marine and coastal debris is being deposited and accumulated due to industrial, urban and tourism activities. Study, sampling and analysis on the type, size, amount and origin of human-made (anthropogenic) waste in the coastal areas of this sea can be very effective in implementing management, cultural and informative programs to reduce marine environmental pollutants. Investigation on marine litter distribution under impact of seawater dynamics was performed for the first time in this research. The rate of entry and distribution of marine and coastal pollutants and wastes, which are mainly of urban, tourist and hospital origin, has multiplied on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea in the last decade. According to the results, the two most important sources of hospital waste in the coastal areas are Tonekabon and Mahmoudabad. In this case, the effect of dynamic parameters of seawater such as flow (with speeds of up to about 1 m/s) and waves, as well as the flow of rivers leading to the shoreline are also influential factors in the distribution of marine litter in the region. Marine litters in the southern coastal region were transported from west to east by the shallow waters of the southern Caspian Sea. In other words, the marine debris density has been observed more in the eastern part.

Keywords: southern shelf, coastal oceanography, seawater flow, vertical structure, marine environment

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Authors: Meskure Pak, Nihal Buyukuslu

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During Ramadan Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset. Transformation of the eating habits cause profound changes in body composition. This study was performed during Ramadan of June-July 2015 with the regular fasting healthy adults (15 women and 15 men). The participants who were not fasting the whole month, have chronic diseases, pregnant and lactated were excluded. All attendances were informed about study. Written informed consent was taken from the voluntary participants. The work was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of Istanbul Medipol University, Turkey. A questionnaire was conducted to determine the nutritional status, demographic and anthropometric data at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of Ramadan. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 18.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) was used for analyses. The mean ages of women and men were 34.4±9.45 and 28.9±10.55 years respectively. The BMI values (kg/m2) were slightly increased in men (26.5±3.9 to 26.2±3.7) and decreased in women (22.5±3.5 to 23.3±4.5). However the differences in BMI values between genders were not significant. Waist circumferences (WC) (cm) decreased in both women (80.2±14.6 to 79.4±17.7) and men (98.9±8.4 to 95.2±11.0) through the Ramadan. Fat percentages of women (27.0±71) increased in the middle of Ramadan (28.4±7.8) and decreased at the end of Ramadan (27.8±8.3). The fat percentages of men (21.5±6.3) were not affected in the middle of Ramadan (21.5±6.4) however decreased at the end of Ramadan (20.8±6.2). The total change in fat mass from beginning to end of Ramadan was higher in women than in men. The daily energy intake was higher in men than in women during Ramadan. In the middle of Ramadan energy intake (kcal) was reached to the highest level (2057.8±693.1) and at the end of Ramadan it decreased to the beginning level (1656.7±553.2) for men. However, daily energy intake of women slightly decreased from the beginning (1410.0±359.7) to the end (1409.2±366.7) of Ramadan. The comparison of energy intake between men and women was significant in the middle of Ramadan (p < 0.05). Water consumptions for both groups were increased in Ramadan fasting period. In comparison with the beginning of Ramadan, daily carbohydrate and fat consumptions increased and the consumption of protein decreased for men and for women at the end of Ramadan. The gender comparison resulted in a significant increase for protein and carbohydrate consumption of men in the middle of Ramadan (p < 0.05). In the first two weeks, the daily energy intake, the consumption of carbohydrates and fats seemed to increase for both men and women. However the later days of Ramadan daily fat consumption decreased to the level of beginning consumption levels which may indicate the nutritional adaptation period. In spite of the consumption of protein sources such as meat, poultry and egg increased, the decrease in the total amount of protein consumed in Ramadan may be due to a decrease in the consumption of milk and dairy products. In conclusion, the nutritional habits and preferred foods changed during Ramadan as a result affected the body composition.

Keywords: body composition, fasting, nutritional status, Ramadan

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Jongsoo Jurng

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The drive to expand renewable energies is often in direct conflict with sustainable development goals. Thus, it is important that energy policies account for potential trade-offs. We assess the interlinkages between energy, food, water, and land, for two case studies, Suwon and Seoul. We apply a range of assessment methods and study their usefulness as tools to identify trade-offs and to compare the sustainability performance. We calculate cross-sectoral footprints, self-sufficiency ratios and perform a simplified Energy-Water-Food nexus analysis. We use the latter for assessing scenarios to increase energy and food self-sufficiency in Suwon, while we use ecosystem service (ESS) accounting for Seoul. For Suwon, we find that constraints on the energy, food and water sectors urgently call for integrated approaches to energy policy; for Seoul, the further expansion of renewables comes at the expense of cultural and supporting ESS, which could outweigh gains from increased energy exports. We recommend a general upgrade to indicators and visualization methods that look beyond averages and a fostering of infrastructure for data on sustainable development based on harmonized international protocols. We warn against rankings of countries or regions based on benchmarks that are neither theory-driven nor location-specific.

Keywords: ESS, renewable energy, energy-water-food nexus, assessment

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Authors: Mojtaba Esmaeilzad Limoudehi, Ebrahim Amiri

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Water scarcity is now one of the leading challenges for human societies. In this regard, recognizing the relationship between soil, water, plant growth, and plant response to stress is very significant. In this paper, considering the importance of drought stress and the role of choosing suitable cultivars in resistance against drought, a split-plot experiment using early, intermediate, and late-maturing cultivars was carried out in Katul filed, Golestan province during two cultivation years of 2015 and 2016. The main factor was irrigation intervals at four levels, including 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 28 days. The subfactor was the subplot of six maize cultivars (two early maturing cultivars, two medium maturing cultivars, and two late-maturing cultivars). The results of variance analysis have revealed that irrigation interval and cultivars treatment have significant effects on the number of grain in each corn, number of rows in each corn, number of grain per row, the weight of 1000 grains, grain yield, and biomass yield. Although, the interaction of these two factors on the mentioned attributes was meaningful. The best grain yield was achieved at 7 days irrigation interval and late maturing maize cultivars treatment, which was equal to 12301 kg/ha.

Keywords: corn, growth period, optimization, stress

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Authors: T. Pedersen, A. Lindfeldt

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The minimum dwell time is an important part of railway timetable planning. Due to its stochastic behaviour, the minimum dwell time should be considered to create resilient timetables. While there has been significant focus on how to determine and estimate dwell times, to our knowledge, little research has been carried out regarding temporal and running direction variations of these. In this paper, we examine how the minimum dwell time varies depending on temporal factors such as the time of day, day of the week and time of the year. We also examine how it is affected by running direction and station type. The minimum dwell time is estimated by means of track occupation data. A method is proposed to ensure that only minimum dwell times and not planned dwell times are acquired from the track occupation data. The results show that on an aggregated level, the average minimum dwell times in both running directions at a station are similar. However, when temporal factors are considered, there are significant variations. The minimum dwell time varies throughout the day with peak hours having the longest dwell times. It is also found that the minimum dwell times are influenced by weekday, and in particular, weekends are found to have lower minimum dwell times than most other days. The findings show that there is a potential to significantly improve timetable planning by taking minimum dwell time variations into account.

Keywords: minimum dwell time, operations quality, timetable planning, track occupation data

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Authors: Rouaz Idriss, Bourahla Nour-Eddine, Kahlouche Farah, Rafa Sid Ali

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The stability of structures made of light-gauge steel depends highly on the contribution of Shear Wall Panel (SWP) systems under horizontal forces due to wind or earthquake loads. Steel plate sheathing is often used with these panels made of cold formed steel (CFS) to improve its shear strength. In order to predict the shear strength resistance, two methods are presented in this paper. In the first method, the steel plate sheathing is modeled with plats strip taking into account only the tension and compression force due to the horizontal load, where both track and stud are modeled according to the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the specimen used in the experiments. The theoretical background and empirical formulations of this method are presented in this paper. However, the second method is based on a micro modeling of the cold formed steel Shear Wall Panel “CFS-SWP” using Abaqus software. A nonlinear analysis was carried out with an in-plan monotonic load. Finally, the comparison between these two methods shows that the micro modeling with Abaqus gives better prediction of shear resistance of SWP than strips method. However, the latter is easier and less time consuming than the micro modeling method.

Keywords: cold formed steel 'CFS', shear wall panel, strip method, finite elements

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Authors: Amir Wahid, Fazal Hadi, Amin Ullah Jan

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Tomato and Cauliflower seedlings were grown in-vitro under salt concentrations (0, 2, 4, 8, and 10 dSm-1) with objectives to investigate; (1) The effect of salinity on seedling growth and free proline production, (2) the correlation between seedling growth and proline contents, (3) comparative salt tolerance of both species. Different concentrations of salt showed considerable effect on percent (%) germination of seeds, length and biomass of shoot and root and also showed effect on percent water content of both plants seedlings. Germination rate in cauliflower was two times higher than tomato even at highest salt concentration (10 dSm-1). Seedling growth of both species was less effected at low salt concentrations (2 and 4 dSm-1) but at high concentrations (6 and 8 dSm-1) the seedling growth of both species was significantly decreased. Particularly the tomato root was highly significantly reduced. The proline level linearly increased in both species with increasing salt concentrations up-to 4 dSm-1 and then declined. The cauliflower showed higher free proline level than tomato under all salt treatments. Overall, the cauliflower seedlings showed better growth response along with higher proline contents on comparison with tomato seedlings.

Keywords: NaCl (Sodium Chloride), EC (Electrical Conductivity), MS (Murashig and Skoog), ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), LSD (Least Significant Differences)

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Authors: Alex Sidarta Guglielmoni

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Since the 1970s, sustainable development has become increasingly present on the international agenda. The present work has as general objective to analyze, discuss and bring answers to the following question, what is the importance of the generation of electric energy through the wind power plants in the Brazilian electricity matrix between 2013 and 2019? To answer this question, we analyzed the generation of renewable energy from wind farms and the consumption of electricity in Brazil during the period of January 2013 until December 2020. The specific objectives of this research are: to analyze the public data, to identify the total wind generation, to identify the total wind capacity generation, to identify the percentage participation of the generation and generation capacity of wind energy in the Brazilian electricity matrix. In order to develop this research, it was necessary a bibliographic search, collection of secondary data, tabulation of generation data, and electricity capacity by a comparative analysis between wind power and the Brazilian electricity matrix. As a result, it was possible to observe how important Brazil is for global sustainable development and how much this country can grow with this, in view of its capacity and potential for generating wind power since this percentage has grown in past few years.

Keywords: wind power, Brazilian market, electricity matrix, generation capacity

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Authors: Nikolaos Papadakis, Constantinos Condaxakis, Konstantinos Savvakis

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The aim of this paper is to determine the elastic properties (elastic modulus and Poisson ratio) of a composite material based on noncontacting imaging methods. More specifically, the significantly reduced cost of digital cameras has given the opportunity of the high reliability of low-cost strain measurement. The open source platform Ncorr is used in this paper which utilizes the method of digital image correlation (DIC). The use of digital image correlation in measuring strain uses random speckle preparation on the surface of the gauge area, image acquisition, and postprocessing the image correlation to obtain displacement and strain field on surface under study. This study discusses technical issues relating to the quality of results to be obtained are discussed. [0]8 fabric glass/epoxy composites specimens were prepared and tested at different orientations 0[o], 30[o], 45[o], 60[o], 90[o]. Each test was recorded with the camera at a constant frame rate and constant lighting conditions. The recorded images were processed through the use of the image processing software. The parameters of the test are reported. The strain map output which is obtained through strain measurement using Ncorr is validated by a) comparing the elastic properties with expected values from Classical laminate theory, b) through finite element analysis.

Keywords: composites, Ncorr, strain map, videoextensometry

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Authors: Ziyad S. Haidar

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Millions of teeth are removed annually, and dental extraction is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures globally. Whether due to caries, periodontal disease or trauma, exodontia and the ensuing wound healing and bone remodeling processes of the resultant socket (hole in the jaw bone) usually result in serious deformities of the residual alveolar osseous ridge and surrounding soft tissues (reduced height/width). Such voluminous changes render the placement of a proper conventional bridge, denture or even an implant-supported prosthesis extremely challenging. Further, most extractions continue to be performed with no regard for preventing the onset of alveolar osteitis (also known as dry socket, a painful and difficult-to-treat/-manage condition post-exodontia). Hence, such serious resorptive morphological changes often result in significant facial deformities and a negative impact on the overall Quality of Life (QoL) of patients (and oral health-related QoL), alarming, particularly for the geriatric with compromised healing and in light of the thriving longevity statistics. Opportunity: Despite advances in tissue/wound grafting, serious limitations continue to exist, including efficacy and clinical outcome predictability, cost, treatment time, expertise and risk of immune reactions. For cases of dry sockets, specifically, the commercially-available and often-prescribed home remedies are highly lacking. Indeed, most are not recommended for use anymore. Alveogyl is a fine example. Hence, there is a great market demand and need for alternative solutions. Solution: Herein, SockGEL/PLUG (patent pending), an all-natural, drug-free and injectable stimuli-responsive hydrogel, was designed, formulated, characterized and evaluated as an osteogenic, angiogenic, anti-microbial and pain-soothing suture-free intra-alveolar dressing, safe and efficacious for use in several oro-dental and cranio-maxillo-facial interventional applications; for example: in fresh dental extraction sockets, immediately post-exodontia. It is composed of FDA-approved, biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, self-assembled electro-statically to formulate a scaffolding matrix to (a) prevent the onset of alveolar osteitis via securing the fibrin-clot in situ and protecting/sealing the socket from contamination/infection; and (b) endogenously promote/accelerate wound healing and bone remodeling to preserve the volume of the alveolus. Findings: The intrinsic properties of the SockGEL/PLUG hydrogel were evaluated physico-chemico-mechanically for safety (cell viability), viscosity, rheology, bio-distribution and essentially, capacity to induce wound healing and osteogenesis (small defect, in vivo) without any signaling cues from exogenous cells, growth factors or drugs. The performed animal model of cranial critical-sized and non-vascularized bone defects shall provide vitally critical insights into the role and mechanism of the employed natural bio-polymer blend and gel product in endogenous reparative regeneration of soft tissues and bone morphogenesis. Alongside, the fine-tuning of our modified formulation method will further tackle appropriateness, reproducibility, scalability, ease and speed in producing stable, biodegradable and sterilizable stimuli (thermo-sensitive and photo-responsive) matrices (3-dimensional interpenetrating yet porous polymeric network) suitable for an intra-socket application, and beyond. Conclusions and Perspective: Findings are anticipated to provide sufficient evidence to translate into pilot clinical trials and validate the bionanomaterial before engaging the market for feasibility, acceptance and cost-effectiveness studies. The SockGEL/PLUG platform is patent pending: SockGEL is a bio-inspired drug-free hydrogel; SockPLUG is a drug-loaded hydrogel designed for complex indications.

Keywords: hydrogel, injectable, dentistry, craniomaxillofacial complex, bioinspired, nanobiotechnology, biopolymer, sol-gel, stimuli-responsive, matrix, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine

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Authors: Sadık Ata, Kevser Dincer

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In this study, performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell was experimentally investigated and modelled with Rule-Based Mamdani-Type Fuzzy (RBMTF) modelling technique. Coating on the anode side of the PEM fuel cell was accomplished with the spin method by using Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Input parameters voltage density (V/cm2), and current density (A/cm2), temperature (°C), time (s); output parameter power density (W/cm2) were described by RBMTF if-then rules. Numerical parameters of input and output variables were fuzzificated as linguistic variables: Very Very Low (L1), Very Low (L2), Low (L3), Negative Medium (L4), Medium (L5), Positive Medium (L6), High (L7), Very High (L8) and Very Very High (L9) linguistic classes. The comparison between experimental data and RBMTF is done by using statistical methods like absolute fraction of variance (R2). The actual values and RBMTF results indicated that RBMTF can be successfully used for the analysis of performance of PEM fuel cell.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane (PEM), fuel cell, rule-based Mamdani-type fuzzy (RMBTF) modeling, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Thirumila Muthukamaru

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The objective of a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is to achieve a quality evaluation of risk assessments in a timely manner where adequate controls can be in place to protect workers health, especially during turnarounds where the exposure to health hazards is expected to rise during the performance of the many activities that take place, exposing workers to health risk. HRA development requires a competent team comprising experienced subject matter experts in the field, such as Industrial hygienists, Occupational Health Doctors, Turnaround Coordinators, Operation / Maintenance personnel, etc. The conventional way of conducting HRA is not only tedious and time-consuming but also less appreciated when it is not interpreted correctly, which may contribute to inadequate operationalization of it. Simplification can be the essence of timely intervention in managing health risks. This paper is intended as a sharing of the approach taken to simplify the methodology of developing the HRA report and operationalizing it. The approach includes developing a Generic HRA for turnaround activities to be used as a reference document and the empowerment of identified personnel through upskilling sessions to take up the role of facilitating HRA sessions. This empowerment is one of the key approaches towards the successful translation of the HRA into specific turnaround Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) that embed it in the Permit to Work (PTW) process. The approach used here increases awareness and compliance on HRA for turnaround activities through better interpretation and operationalization of the HRA report, adding value to the risk assessment for turnaround activities.

Keywords: industrial hygiene, health risk assessment, HRA, risk assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 23

Authors: Waraporn Boonchieng, Ekkarat Boonchieng, Wilawan Senaratana, Jaras Singkaew

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Geographical information system (GIS) is a designated system widely used for collecting and analyzing geographical data. Since the introduction of ultra-mobile, 'smart' devices, investigators, clinicians, and even the general public have had powerful new tools for collecting, uploading and accessing information in the field. Epidemiology paired with GIS will increase the efficacy of preventive health care services. The objective of this study is to apply GPS location services that are available on the common mobile device with district health systems, storing data on our private cloud system. The mobile application has been developed for use on iOS, Android, and web-based platforms. The system consists of two parts of district health information, including recorded resident data forms and individual health recorded data forms, which were developed and approved by opinion sharing and public hearing. The application's graphical user interface was developed using HTML5 and PHP with MySQL as a database management system (DBMS). The reporting module of the developed software displays data in a variety of views, from traditional tables to various types of high-resolution, layered graphics, incorporating map location information with street views from Google Maps. Multi-extension exporting is also supported, utilizing standard platforms such as PDF, PNG, JPG, and XLS. The data were collected in the database beginning in March 2013, by district health volunteers and district youth volunteers who had completed the application training program. District health information consisted of patients’ household coordinates, individual health data, social and economic information. This was combined with Google Street View data, collected in March 2014. Studied groups consisted of 16,085 (67.87%) and 47,811 (59.87%) of the total 23,701 households and 79,855 people were collected by the system respectively, in Saraphi district, Chiang Mai Province. The report generated from the system has had a major benefit directly to the Saraphi District Hospital. Healthcare providers are able to use the basic health data to provide a specific home health care service and also to create health promotion activities according to medical needs of the people in the community.

Keywords: health, public health, GIS, geographic information system

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Ambuj Srivastava, Narender Singh

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This paper presents the effect of installation of cylindrical external store on the performance, stability, control and handling qualities of light transport category aircraft. A pair of long cylindrical store was installed symmetrically on either side of the fuselage (port and starboard) ahead of the wing and below the fuselage bottom surface running below pilot and co-pilot window. The cylindrical store was installed as hanging from aircraft surface through specially designed brackets. The adjoining structure was sufficiently reinforced for bearing aerodynamic loads. The length to diameter ratio of long cylindrical store was ~20. Based on academic studies and flow simulation analysis, a considerable detrimental effect on single engine second segment climb performance was found which was later validated through extensive flight testing exercise. The methodology of progressive flight envelope opening was adopted. The certification was sought from Regional airworthiness authorities and for according approval.

Keywords: second segment climb, maximum operating speed, cruise performance (single engine and twin engine), minimum control speed, and additional trim required

Procedia PDF Downloads 200

Authors: Kwame Amoah

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has the prospect of transforming project management, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. By automating specific tasks with defined guidelines, AI can assist project managers in making better decisions and allocating resources efficiently, with possible risk mitigation. This study explores how AI is already impacting project management and likely future AI's impact on the field. The AI's reaction has been a divided opinion; while others picture it as a destroyer of jobs, some welcome it as an innovation advocate. Both sides agree that AI will be disruptive and revolutionize PM's functions. If current research is to go by, AI or some form will replace one-third of all learning graduate PM jobs by as early as 2030. A recent survey indicates AI spending will reach $97.9 billion by the end of 2023. Considering such a profound impact, the project management profession will also see a paradigm shift driven by AI. The study examines what the project management profession will look like in the next 5-10 years after this technological disruption. The research methods incorporate existing literature, develop trend analysis, and conduct structured interviews with project management stakeholders from North America to gauge the trend. PM professionals can harness the power of AI, ensuring a smooth transition and positive outcomes. AI adoption will maximize benefits, minimize adverse consequences, and uphold ethical standards, leading to improved project performance.

Keywords: project management, disruptive teacnologies, project management function, AL applications, artificial intelligence

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Kedar S. Prabhavalkar, Nimmy Baby Poovanpallil

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Lamotrigine is approved for maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder. However, its role in the treatment of acute bipolar depression is not well clear. Its efficacy in the treatment of major depressive disorders including refractory unipolar depression suggested the use of lamotrigine as an augmentation drug for acute bipolar depression. The present study aims to evaluate and perform a comparative analysis of the therapeutic effects of lamotrigine, an epileptic mood stabilizer, when used alone and in combination with duloxetine in treating acute bipolar depression at different doses of lamotrigine. Male swiss albino mice were used. For evaluation of efficacy of combination, immobility period was analyzed 30 min after the treatment from forced swim and tail suspension tests. Further amount of sucrose consumed in sucrose preference test was estimated. The combination of duloxetine and lamotrigine showed potentiation of antidepressant activity in acute models. Decrease in immobility time and increase in the amount of sucrose consumption in stressed mice were higher in combined group compared to lamotrigine monotherapy group. Brain monoamine levels were also attenuated more with combination compared to monotherapy. Results of the present study suggest potential role of lamotrigine and duloxetine combination in the treatment of acute bipolar depression.

Keywords: lamotrigine, duloxetine, acute bipolar depression, augmentation

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Authors: Abdulrahman Fahim M. Alsulami

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This paper is dedicated to a detailed investigation of the interaction between the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Australia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The chosen research object is complex and requires a thorough examination of a set of factors influencing the problem under investigation. At the moment, to the author’s best knowledge’ there is no academic research that would conceptualize and critically compare the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in these two countries. While there is a substantial amount of information in the literature on certain aspects of the problem, the existing knowledge about certain aspects of the health-related regulatory frameworks in Australia and Saudi Arabia barely explains in detail the specifics of the ways in which the TRIPS agreement interacts with (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights. Therefore, this paper will address an evident research gap by studying an intriguing yet under-researched problem. The paper comprises five subsections. The first subsection provides an overview of the investment climate in Saudi Arabia and Australia with an emphasis on the health care industry. It will cover political, economic, and social factors influencing the investment climate in these countries, the systems of intellectual property rights protection, recent patterns relevant to the investment climate’s development, and key characteristics of the investment climate in the health care industry. The second subsection analyses BITs in Saudi Arabia and Australia in light of the countries’ responsibilities under the TRIPS Agreement. The third subsection provides a critical examination of the interaction between the TRIPS Agreement and BITs in Saudi Arabia on the basis of data collected and analyzed in previous subsections. It will investigate key discrepancies concerning the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia from the position of BITs’ interaction with the TRIPS Agreement and explore the existing procedures for clarifying priorities between them in regulating health-related intellectual property rights. The fourth subsection of the paper provides recommendations concerning the transformation of BITS into a TRIPS+ dimension in regulating health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The final subsection provides a summary of differences between the Australian and Saudi BITs from the perspective of the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights under the TRIPS agreement and bilateral investment treaties.

Keywords: Australia, bilateral investment treaties, IP law, public health sector, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Sorin Oancea

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More than half a century after Ivan Sutherland’s seminal essay, ‘The Ultimate Display’ (1965), 3D Virtual Reality is still an emergent and exploratory medium in terms of its narrative potential, production methodology, and market penetration. Traditionally positioned in front of the screen/canvas as a ‘window-on-the-world’, the storyboarder and animation director transcend the medium and its narrative reality entirely while designing a linear cinematic sequence. This paper proposes a gradual transition from the traditional linear sequence design process based on a transcendent position of the storyboarder and animation director to an increasingly immersed one characterized by a sense of unmediated presence and immanence. Employing a quaitative analysis of the current exploratory storyboarding processes for 3D VR, this research uses a practice-based methodology based on producing a short-form 3D VR narrative experience to derive its findings. The original contribution to knowledge is charting an empirically derived conceptual framework for VR storyboarding and animation directing, with the documented reflective and reflexive process as a map for directorial transitioning between converging mediums by articulating the new VR lexical categories and expounding links to allied performative arts, such as film and theatre.

Keywords: storyboarding, immersive, virtual reality, transitioning

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Authors: Abdulrazaq O. Raji, Abba Mohammed, Ibrahim D. Mohammed

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This study was conducted to investigate foetal loss among slaughtered livestock species at the Maiduguri abattoir from 2009 to 2013. Record of animals slaughtered monthly and fetuses recovered were collected from the management of the Maiduguri abattoir. Data was subjected to Analysis of Variance using the General Linear Model of SPSS 13.0 with Season, Species and their interaction as fixed factors. Average yearly slaughter at the Maiduguri abattoir was 63,225 animals with cattle, camel, goat and sheep accounting for 19737, 7374, 19281 and 17540 of the total. The corresponding number of those pregnant were 3117, 839, 2281 and 2432 out of a total of 8522 animals. Thus, cattle, camel, goat and sheep accounted for 30.87, 11.53, 30.16 and 27.44%, respectively of the animals slaughtered at the Abattoir and 35.96, 9.68, 26.31 and 28.05% of the foetal loss. The effect of season and species on foetal loss was significant (P < 0.05). The number of pregnant animals slaughtered and foetal loss were higher during wet than dry season. Similarly, foetal loss at the abattoir was higher in the month of May in respect of camel, goat and sheep, and August for cattle. Camel was the least slaughtered animal and had the least number of pregnant females. Foetal loss (%) was higher (P < 0.05) for cattle compared to other species. The interaction showed that camel was the least slaughtered species in both seasons and cattle in the wet season had the highest foetal loss.

Keywords: abattoir, foetal loss, season, species

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Authors: Abdelaziz Messis, Azzeddine Bettache, Nawel Boucherba, Said Benallaoua, Mouloud Kecha

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Actinobacteria are of special biotechnological interest since they are known to produce chemically diverse compounds with a wide range of biological activity. This distinct clade of Gram-positve bacteria include some of the key antibiotic producers and are also sources of several bioactive compounds, established commercially a newly filamentous bacteria was recovered from Tikjda forest soil (Algeria) for its high antifungal activity against various pathogenic and phytopathogenic fungi. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1454 pb) of Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 exhibited close similarity (99 %) with other Streptomyces16S rRNA genes. Antifungal metabolite production of Streptomyces sp TKJ2 was evaluated using six different fermentation media. The extracellular products contained potent antifungal agents. Antifungal protein produced by Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 on PCA medium has been purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, SPE column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography in a reverse-phase column. The UV chromatograms of the active fractions obtained at 214 nm by NanoLC-ESI-MS/MS have different molecular weights. The F20 Peptidic fraction obtained from culture filtrat of Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 precipitated at 30% of ammonium sulfate was selected for analysis by infusion ESI-MS which yielded a singly charged ion mass of 437.17 Da.

Keywords: actinobacteria, antifungal protein, chromatography, Streptomyces

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Authors: Cecilia Velasco, Q.

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This study was undertaken to find out the perceived efficiency, appropriateness effectiveness, acceptability and relevance, if at all such exist, of the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Policy under the K-12 Curriculum, as seen by the stakeholders who are directly affected by this policy. The researcher believed that it is right and fitting to get the views and opinions of the people directly involved and/or concerned about this education policy. The results of the study will hopefully guide lawmakers and/or policymakers to fine-tune educational policy or policies. The locale of the study was the DepEd schools in Laguna, (San Pablo City and other nearby cities). The subjects of the study were the teachers (first phase) from the public schools of Department of Education (San Pablo City), in particular and parents (second phase) from nearby cities who are the direct stakeholders of this Policy. To determine the perception of the teachers toward Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Policy; its acceptability, efficiency, appropriateness, effectiveness and relevance, factor analysis was used to refine the instrument (questionnaire). To find out the significant difference between the perceptions of the primary and intermediate group of teachers, including those who teach mother tongue and non-mother tongue subjects, t-test of difference between means was employed.

Keywords: DepEd, K12 curriculum, MTBMLE, stakeholders

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Divya Kanchibhotla

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Of all the major health threats to emerge, none has challenged the very foundation of public health so profoundly as the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCD). Encouraging a holistic health approach encompasses the community’s well-being. Competent public health grounded with holistic health approach can lay a better foundation in the modern world. Yoga has been increasingly explored as an adjunct therapy to major disorders. This study explores the efficacy of Yoga as a tool for public health. A survey was administered to 5500 adults, and 300 teens were selected from 25 states of India. The study explored the differences in health, happiness, and sustainable living between Yoga-practitioners and Non-yoga practitioners. The study also explored the practice and habits of yoga practitioners (frequency, place, reasons to practice) and Health, Happiness, and Sustainable Living. The subjects were grouped based on age, education, experience in yoga (years of practice), and occupational background. The study population comprised of 54% males and 46% females. Majority of the respondents (59%) were from 18 to 30 years age group. The study indicated that 96.4% of the total respondents have heard of Yoga. However, only 46.8% of the total study population practice yoga (YP) and the rest 53.2% were non-practitioners (NP). From a perspective of how Yoga and health, 72.7% yoga practitioners asserted a peaceful and happy life, 71.9% yoga practitioners felt satisfaction in life, and 70.2 % yoga practitioners had satisfactory health. 61.9% of yoga practitioners report being vegetarian, not eating junk food, and not drinking alcohol than 38.1% Non-Practitioners population. 47% of yoga practitioners found themselves to be more sensitive to the environment compared to only 40% of non-practitioners. India has been witnessing an unprecedented rise in the NCDs, accounting for 61% deaths. The importance of yoga as an adjunct therapy for various disorders and diseases is gaining momentum across the globe. There are various studies on yoga that have indicated benefits of yoga as a unique holistic approach towards lifestyle and a consistent, complementary solution that could be adopted for long-term viability for a well being. The comprehensive study is the first of its kind that takes a holistic look at the prevalence of Yoga for public health in India. Our study is unique and stands out as it is detailed in its outlook with extensive coverage of almost the whole country (surveying 25 out of 29 states) and contemplates on the benefits to an individual at the grass-root level – physical, mental and social outlook. The insights from the study will enable the health care systems and grassroots organizations to make the holistic practice of Yoga accessible to spread sustainable living for a healthy community.

Keywords: non-communicable disease (NCD), sustainable development goal (SDG 3), public health, healthy living

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Authors: A. Fettahoglu

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Theory of viscoelasticity is used by many researchers to represent behavior of many materials such as pavements on roads or bridges. Several researches used analytical methods and rheology to predict the material behaviors of simple models. Today, more complex engineering structures are analyzed using Finite Element Method, in which material behavior is embedded by means of three dimensional viscoelastic material laws. As a result, structures of unordinary geometry and domain like pavements of bridges can be analyzed by means of Finite Element Method and three dimensional viscoelastic equations. In the scope of this study, rheological models embedded in ANSYS, namely, generalized Maxwell elements and Prony series, which are two methods used by ANSYS to represent viscoelastic material behavior, are presented explicitly. Subsequently, a practical problem, which has an analytical solution given in literature, is used to verify the applicability of viscoelasticity tool embedded in ANSYS. Finally, amount of error in the results of ANSYS is compared with the analytical results to indicate the influence of used method and time step size.

Keywords: generalized Maxwell model, finite element method, prony series, time step size, viscoelasticity

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Authors: Andrey Boyko

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Nowadays, there is no consensus about the influence of urethral plate (UP) width on the surgical outcomes after distal hypospadias repair. The purpose of the research was to study the association between UP width and surgical outcomes after distal hypospadias repair in children. Materials and methods: The study included 138 patients with distal hypospadias. The mean age at the time of surgery was 4.6 years (6 months – 16 years). We measured UP width at the “midpoint within the glans” and used the HOSE scale to assess postoperative outcomes. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 – the patients (107) with UP < 8mm, group 2 – patients (31) with UP > 8mm. All boys underwent TIP repair. Preincision means UP width after incision means UP width, and the UP ratio was analyzed. Statistical data were obtained using Statistica 10. Results: The findings were preincision mean UP width - 5.4 mm and 9.4 mm; after incision mean UP width - 13mm and 17.5 mm; UP ratio - 0.41 and 0.53 in group 1 and group 2, respectively. Most postoperative complications (fistula, meatal stenosis, and stricture) happened in patients with UP width < 8 mm versus ≥ 8 mm (7/107 versus 2/31, respectively). HOSE results were 15.77 (group 1), 15.65 (group 2). The follow up lasted up to 12 months. Statistical analysis proved the absence of correlation between UP width and postoperative complications. Conclusions: In conclusion, it should be noted that the success of surgical repair mostly depended on the surgical technique.

Keywords: children, distal hypospadias, tip repair, urethral plate width

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Authors: Sergey Kozlov, Juliya Kozlova

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Introduction: The increased attention of researchers to an explosive trauma around the world is associated with a constant renewal of military weapons and a significant increase in terrorist activities using explosive devices. Explosive wave is a well known damaging factor of explosion. The most sensitive to the action of explosive wave in the human body are the head brain, lungs, intestines, urine bladder. The severity of damage to these organs depends on the distance from the explosion epicenter to the object, the power of the explosion, presence of barriers, parameters of the body position, and the presence of protective clothing. One of the places where a shock wave acts, in human tissues and organs, is the vascular endothelial barrier, which suffers the greatest damage in the head brain and lungs. The objective of the study was to determine the pathomorphological changes of the head brain followed the action of explosive wave. Materials and methods of research: To achieve the purpose of the study, there have been studied 6 male corpses delivered to the morgue of Municipal Institution "Dnipropetrovsk regional forensic bureau" during 2014-2016 years. The cause of death of those killed was a military explosive injury. After a visual external assessment of the head brain, for histological study there was conducted the 1 x 1 x 1 cm/piece sampling from different parts of the head brain, i.e. the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital sites, and also from the cerebellum, pons, medulla oblongata, thalamus, walls of the lateral ventricles, the bottom of the 4th ventricle. Pieces of the head brain were immersed in 10% formalin solution for 24 hours. After fixing, the paraffin blocks were made from the material using the standard method. Then, using a microtome, there were made sections of 4-6 micron thickness from paraffin blocks which then were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Microscopic analysis was performed using a light microscope with x4, x10, x40 lenses. Results of the study: According to the results of our study, injuries of the head brain were divided into macroscopic and microscopic. Macroscopic injuries were marked according to the results of visual assessment of haemorrhages under the membranes and into the substance, their nature, and localisation, areas of softening. In the microscopic study, our attention was drawn to both vascular changes and those of neurons and glial cells. Microscopic qualitative analysis of histological sections of different parts of the head brain revealed a number of structural changes both at the cellular and tissue levels. Typical changes in most of the studied areas of the head brain included damages of the vascular system. The most characteristic microscopic sign was the separation of vascular walls from neuroglia with the formation of perivascular space. Along with this sign, wall fragmentation of these vessels, haemolysis of erythrocytes, formation of haemorrhages in the newly formed perivascular spaces were found. In addition to damages of the cerebrovascular system, destruction of the neurons, presence of oedema of the brain tissue were observed in the histological sections of the brain. On some sections, the head brain had a heterogeneous step-like or wave-like nature. Conclusions: The pathomorphological microscopic changes in the brain, identified in the study on the died of explosive traumas, can be used for diagnostic purposes in conjunction with other characteristic signs of explosive trauma in forensic and pathological studies. The complex of microscopic signs in the head brain, i.e. separation of blood vessel walls from neuroglia with the perivascular space formation, fragmentation of walls of these blood vessels, erythrocyte haemolysis, formation of haemorrhages in the newly formed perivascular spaces is the direct indication of explosive wave action.

Keywords: blast wave, neurotrauma, human, brain

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Authors: Jihad S. Daba, Jean-Pierre Dubois, Georges El Soury

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Fifth generation wireless networks guarantee significant capacity enhancement to suit more clients and services at higher information rates with better reliability while consuming less power. The deployment of massive multiple-input-multiple-output technology guarantees broadband wireless networks with the use of base station antenna arrays to serve a large number of users on the same frequency and time-slot channels. In this work, we evaluate the performance of massive multiple-input-multiple-output systems (MIMO) systems in 5^th generation cellular networks in terms of capacity and bit error rate. Several cases were considered and analyzed to compare the performance of massive MIMO systems while varying the number of antennas at both transmitting and receiving ends. We found that, unlike classical MIMO systems, reducing the number of transmit antennas while increasing the number of antennas at the receiver end provides a better solution to performance enhancement. In addition, enhanced orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and beam division multiple access schemes further improve the performance of massive MIMO systems and make them more reliable.

Keywords: beam division multiple access, D2D communication, enhanced OFDM, fifth generation broadband, massive MIMO

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Authors: S. Pradhan, D. Pradhan, G. Tripathy, T. Dasmohapatra

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Suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS3), a newly indentified anti-apoptotic molecule is a downstream effecter of the receptor tyrosine kinase-Ras signalling pathway. Current study has uncovered that SOCS3 may have wide and imperative capacities, particularly because of its close correlation with malignant tumors. To investigate the impact of SOCS3 on MDR, we analyzed the expression of P-gp and SOCS3 by immune-histochemistry and found there was positive correlation between them. At that point we effectively interfered with RNA translation by the contamination of siRNA of SOCS3 into MCF7/ADM breast cancer cell lines through a lentivirus, and the expression of the target gene was significantly inhibited. After RNAi the drug resistance was reduced altogether and the expression of MDR1 mRNA and P-gp in MCF7/ADM cell lines demonstrated a significant decrease. Likewise the expression of P53 protein increased in a statistically significant manner (p ≤ 0.01) after RNAi exposure. Moreover, flowcytometry analysis uncovers that cell cycle and anti-apoptotic enhancing capacity of cells changed after RNAi treatment. These outcomes proposed SOCS3 may take part in breast cancer MDR by managing MDR1 and P53 expression, changing cell cycle and enhancing the anti-apoptotic ability.

Keywords: SOCS3gene, breast cancer, multidrug resistance, MDR1 gene, RNA interference

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Authors: Rebecca Heron, Steal Adcock, Karen Parsonson

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Non-offending pedophiles are an under- researched, hard to reach population. This group of individuals are often hesitant to come forward and fail to seek help ongoing stigma experienced in society.In order to better understand non-offending pedophiles experiences of their identity and the stigma they face, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 non-offending pedophiles, who were recruited through online support groups for individuals who have sexual attractions towards children. Participants were interviewed over skype, and the data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach, anda number of themes were generated from the rich data set produced. Four main themes emerged, providing insight into how non-offending pedophiles experience stigma. The themes included ‘stigma in relation to themselves’, ‘others’, ‘the media portrayal’and ‘impact of the stigma of MAP’s seeking treatment’. Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, and practical recommendations are proposed to hopefully allow this population to feel more comfortable sharing their sexual interests, which will allow them to seek help resulting in them not offending and, ultimately, the prevention of sexual abuse. This study fills the void in terms of lack of research with this population, especially when it comes to qualitative in depth studies, including not just male minor attracted persons but female minor attracted persons as well.

Keywords: pedophillia, stigma, non-offending pedophiles, minor attracted persons, prevention

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Authors: Flávio A. F. da Ponte, Jackson Q. Malveira, José A. S. Ramos Filho, Monica C. G. Albuquerque

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The vegetable oils have many applications in industrial processes and due to this potential have constantly increased the demand for the use of low-quality oils, mainly in the production of biofuel. This work aims to the physicochemical evaluation of babassu oil (Orbinya speciosa) and coconut (Cocos nucifera) of low quality, as well the obtaining the free fatty acids 6 to 16 carbon atoms, with intention to be used as raw material for the biofuels production. The babassu oil and coconut low quality, as well the fatty acids obtained from these oils were characterized as their physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition (using gas chromatography coupled to mass). The NMR technique was used to assess the efficiency of fractional distillation under reduced pressure to obtain the intermediate carbonic chain fatty acids. The results showed that the bad quality in terms of physicochemical evaluation of babassu oils and coconut oils interfere directly in industrial application. However the fatty acids of intermediate carbonic chain (C6 to C16) may be used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and particularly as the biokerosene fuel. The chromatographic analysis showed that the babassu oil and coconut oil have as major fatty acids are lauric acid (57.5 and 38.6%, respectively), whereas the top phase from distillation of coconut oil showed caprylic acid (39.1%) and major fatty acid.

Keywords: babassu oil (Orbinya speciosa), coconut oil (Cocos nucifera), fatty acids, biomass

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Authors: Waheed Ahmad Safi, Shunichi Nakamura, Abdul Habib Ghaforzai

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Steel and concrete composite bridge with concrete filled steel I-girder (CFIG) was proposed and FEM and laboratory tests were conducted to analysis bending and shear behavior. The proposed form of structural steel I-section is mainly used at the intermediate support zone by placing infilled concrete into the top and bottom flanges of steel I-section to resist negative bending moment. The bending and shear tests were carried out to find out the significance of CFIG section. The result for test showing that the bending and shear capacity of proposed CFIG is at least 3 times and 2 times greater than conventional steel I-section (IG) respectively. Finite element study was also carried out to ensure the result for laboratory tests due to bending and shear behavior and load transfer behavior of proposed structural form. Finite element result result agreed the test result. A design example was carried out for a four-span continuous highway bridge and design method was established.

Keywords: bending strength, concrete filled steel I-girder, steel I-girder, FEM, limit states design and shear strength

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