Search results for: 18th century architecture

Authors: Ali Mamizadeh, Ires Iskender, Saeid Aghaei

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Energy is one of the important issues with high priority property in the world. Energy demand is rapidly increasing depending on the growing population and industry. The useable energy sources in the world will be insufficient to meet the need for energy. Therefore, the efficient and economical usage of energy sources is getting more importance. In a survey conducted among electric consuming machines, the electrical machines are consuming about 40% of the total electrical energy consumed by electrical devices and 96% of this consumption belongs to induction motors. Induction motors are the workhorses of industry and have very large application areas in industry and urban systems like water pumping and distribution systems, steel and paper industries and etc. Monitoring and the control of the motors have an important effect on the operating performance of the motor, driver selection and replacement strategy management of electrical machines. The sensorless monitoring system for monitoring and calculating efficiency of induction motors are studied in this study. The equivalent circuit of IEEE is used in the design of this study. The terminal current and voltage of induction motor are used in this motor to measure the efficiency of induction motor. The motor nameplate information and the measured current and voltage are used in this system to calculate accurately the losses of induction motor to calculate its input and output power. The efficiency of the induction motor is monitored online in the proposed method without disconnecting the motor from the driver and without adding any additional connection at the motor terminal box. The proposed monitoring system measure accurately the efficiency by including all losses without using torque meter and speed sensor. The monitoring system uses embedded architecture and does not need to connect to a computer to measure and log measured data. The conclusion regarding the efficiency, the accuracy and technical and economical benefits of the proposed method are presented. The experimental verification has been obtained on a 3 phase 1.1 kW, 2-pole induction motor. The proposed method can be used for optimal control of induction motors, efficiency monitoring and motor replacement strategy.

Keywords: induction motor, efficiency, power losses, monitoring, embedded design

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Authors: Olga Gomez De Miranda, Jose R. Ochoa-Gomez, Stefaan De Wildeman, Luciano Monsegue, Soraya Prieto, Leire Lorenzo, Cristina Dineiro

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The chemical industry is facing a new revolution. As long as processes based on the exploitation of fossil resources emerged with force in the XIX century, Society currently demands a new radical change that will lead to the complete and irreversible implementation of a circular sustainable economic model. The implementation of biorefineries will be essential for this. There, renewable raw materials as sugars and other biomass resources are exploited for the development of new materials that will partially replace their petroleum-derived homologs in a safer, and environmentally more benign approach. Isosorbide, (1,4:3,6-dianhydro-d-glucidol) is a primary bio-based derivative obtained from the plant (poly) saccharides and a very interesting example of a useful chemical produced in biorefineries. It can, in turn, be converted to other secondary monomers as isosorbide bis-methyl carbonate (IBMC), whose main field of application can be as a key biodegradable intermediary substitute of bisphenol-A in the manufacture of polycarbonates, or as an alternative to the toxic isocyanates in the synthesis of new polyurethanes (non-isocyanate polyurethanes) both with a huge application market. New products will present advantageous mechanical or optical properties, as well as improved behavior in non-toxicity and biodegradability aspects in comparison to their petro-derived alternatives. A robust production process of IBMC, a biomass-derived chemical, is here presented. It can be used with different raw material qualities using dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as both co-reactant and solvent. It consists of the transesterification of isosorbide with DMC under soft operational conditions, using different basic catalysts, always active with the isosorbide characteristics and purity. Appropriate isolation processes have been also developed to obtain crude IBMC yields higher than 90%, with oligomers production lower than 10%, independently of the quality of the isosorbide considered. All of them are suitable to be used in polycondensation reactions for polymers obtaining. If higher qualities of IBMC are needed, a purification treatment based on nanofiltration membranes has been also developed. The IBMC reaction-isolation conditions established in the laboratory have been successfully modeled using appropriate software programs and moved to a pilot-scale (production of 100 kg of IBMC). It has been demonstrated that a highly efficient IBMC production process able to be up-scaled under suitable market conditions has been obtained. Operational conditions involved the production of IBMC involve soft temperature and energy needs, no additional solvents, and high operational efficiency. All of them are according to green manufacturing rules.

Keywords: biomass, catalyst, isosorbide bis-methyl carbonate, polycarbonate, polyurethane, transesterification

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Authors: Sally Naji, Julie Gwilliam

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Climate change remains a challenging matter for the human and the built environment in the 21st century, where the need to consider adaptation to climate change in the development process is paramount. However, there remains a lack of information regarding how we should prepare responses to this issue, such as through developing organized and sophisticated tools enabling the adaptation process. This study aims to build a systematic framework approach to investigate the potentials that Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment tools (NSA) might offer in enabling both the analysis of the emerging adaptive capacity to climate change. The analysis of the framework presented in this paper aims to discuss this issue in three main phases. The first part attempts to link sustainability and climate change, in the context of adaptive capacity. It is argued that in deciding to promote sustainability in the context of climate change, both the resilience and vulnerability processes become central. However, there is still a gap in the current literature regarding how the sustainable development process can respond to climate change. As well as how the resilience of practical strategies might be evaluated. It is suggested that the integration of the sustainability assessment processes with both the resilience thinking process, and vulnerability might provide important components for addressing the adaptive capacity to climate change. A critical review of existing literature is presented illustrating the current lack of work in this field, integrating these three concepts in the context of addressing the adaptive capacity to climate change. The second part aims to identify the most appropriate scale at which to address the built environment for the climate change adaptation. It is suggested that the neighborhood scale can be considered as more suitable than either the building or urban scales. It then presents the example of NSAs, and discusses the need to explore their potential role in promoting the adaptive capacity to climate change. The third part of the framework presents a comparison among three example NSAs, BREEAM Communities, LEED-ND, and CASBEE-UD. These three tools have been selected as the most developed and comprehensive assessment tools that are currently available for the neighborhood scale. This study concludes that NSAs are likely to present the basis for an organized framework to address the practical process for analyzing and yet promoting Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change. It is further argued that vulnerability (exposure & sensitivity) and resilience (Interdependence & Recovery) form essential aspects to be addressed in the future assessment of NSA’s capability to adapt to both short and long term climate change impacts. Finally, it is acknowledged that further work is now required to understand impact assessment in terms of the range of physical sectors (Water, Energy, Transportation, Building, Land Use and Ecosystems), Actor and stakeholder engagement as well as a detailed evaluation of the NSA indicators, together with a barriers diagnosis process.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, climate change, NSA tools, resilience, sustainability

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Authors: Kiyanoush Ghalavand, Ali Ferydooni

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Fars province Fārs or Pārs is a vast land located in the southwest of Iran. All over the province, you can see and feel the glory of Ancient Iranian culture and civilization. There are many monuments from pre-historical to the Islamic era within this province. The existence of ancient cultural and historical monuments in Fars province including the historical complex of Persepolis, the tombs of Persian poets Hafez and Saadi, and dozens of other valuable cultural and historical works of this province as a symbol of Iranian national identity and the manifestation of transcendent cultural values of this national identity. Fars province is quintessentially Persian. Its name is the modern version of ancient Parsa, the homeland, if not the place of origin, of the Persians, one of the great powers of antiquity. From here, the Persian Empire ruled much of Western and Central Asia, receiving ambassadors and messengers at Persepolis. It was here that the Persian kings were buried, both in the mountain behind Persepolis and in the rock face of nearby Naqsh-e Rustam. We have a complex paradox in Persian and Islamic ideology in the age of technology in Iran. The main purpose of the present article is to identify and describe the problems and prospects of origin and development of the modern approach to the conservation and restoration of ancient monuments and historic buildings, the influence that this development has had on international collaboration in the protection and conservation of cultural heritage, and the present consequences worldwide. The definition of objects and structures of the past as heritage, and the policies related to their protection, restoration, and conservation, have evolved together with modernity, and are currently recognized as an essential part of the responsibilities of modern society. Since the eighteenth century, the goal of this protection has been defined as the cultural heritage of humanity; gradually this has included not only ancient monuments and past works of art but even entire territories for a variety of new values generated in recent decades. In its medium-term program of 1989, UNESCO defined the full scope of such heritage. The cultural heritage may be defined as the entire corpus of material signs either artistic or symbolic handed on by the past to each culture and, therefore, to the whole of humankind. As a constituent part of the affirmation and enrichment of cultural identities, as a legacy belonging to all humankind, the cultural heritage gives each particular place its recognizable features and is the storehouse of human experience. The preservation and the presentation of the cultural heritage are therefore a corner-stone of any cultural policy. The process, from which these concepts and policies have emerged, has been identified as the ‘modern conservation movement’.

Keywords: tradition, modern, heritage, historical building, protection, cultural policy, fars province

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Authors: Tony R. Walker, N. Devin MacAskill, Andrew Thalhiemer

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Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia has long been subject to effluent and atmospheric inputs of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a large coking operation and steel plant that operated in Sydney for nearly a century until closure in 1988. Contaminated effluents from the industrial site resulted in the creation of the Sydney Tar Ponds, one of Canada’s largest contaminated sites. Since its closure, there have been several attempts to remediate this former industrial site and finally, in 2004, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia committed to remediate the site to reduce potential ecological and human health risks to the environment. The Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup project has become the most prominent remediation project in Canada today. As an integral part of remediation of the site (i.e., which consisted of solidification/stabilization and associated capping of the Tar Ponds), an extensive multiple media environmental effects program was implemented to assess what effects remediation had on the surrounding environment, and, in particular, harbour sediments. Additionally, longer-term natural sediment recovery rates of select contaminants predicted for the harbour sediments were compared to current conditions. During remediation, potential contributions to sediment quality, in addition to remedial efforts, were evaluated which included a significant harbour dredging project, propeller wash from harbour traffic, storm events, adjacent loading/unloading of coal and municipal wastewater treatment discharges. Two sediment sampling methodologies, sediment grab and gravity corer, were also compared to evaluate the detection of subtle changes in sediment quality. Results indicated that overall spatial distribution pattern of historical contaminants remains unchanged, although at much lower concentrations than previously reported, due to natural recovery. Measurements of sediment indicator parameter concentrations confirmed that natural recovery rates of Sydney Harbour sediments were in broad agreement with predicted concentrations, in spite of ongoing remediation activities. Overall, most measured parameters in sediments showed little temporal variability even when using different sampling methodologies, during three years of remediation compared to baseline, except for the detection of significant increases in total PAH concentrations noted during one year of remediation monitoring. The data confirmed the effectiveness of mitigation measures implemented during construction relative to harbour sediment quality, despite other anthropogenic activities and the dynamic nature of the harbour.

Keywords: contaminated sediment, monitoring, recovery, remediation

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Authors: Justine Garraud, Hervé Capiaux, Cécile Le Guern, Pierre Gaudin, Clémentine Lapie, Samuel Chaffron, Erwan Delage, Thierry Lebeau

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The repeated use of Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate) and other chemical forms of copper (Cu) has led to its accumulation in wine-growing soils for more than a century, to the point of modifying the ecosystem of these soils. Phytoextraction of copper could progressively reduce the Cu load in these soils, and even to recycle copper (e.g. as a micronutrient in animal nutrition) by cultivating the extracting plants in the inter-row of the vineyards. Soil cleaning up usually requires several years because the chemical speciation of Cu in solution is mainly based on forms complexed with dissolved organic matter (DOM) that are not phytoavailable, unlike the "free" forms (Cu2+). Indeed, more than 98% of Cu in the solution is bound to DOM. The selection and inoculation of invineyardsoils in vineyard soils ofbacteria(bioaugmentation) able to degrade Cu-DOM complexes could increase the phytoavailable pool of Cu2+ in the soil solution (in addition to bacteria which first mobilize Cu in solution from the soil bearing phases) in order to increase phytoextraction performance. In this study, sevenCu-accumulating plants potentially usable in inter-row were tested for their Cu phytoextraction capacity in hydroponics (ray-grass, brown mustard, buckwheat, hemp, sunflower, oats, and chicory). Also, a bacterial consortium was tested: Pseudomonas sp. previously studied for its ability to mobilize Cu through the pyoverdine siderophore (complexing agent) and potentially to degrade Cu-DOM complexes, and a second bacterium (to be selected) able to promote the survival of Pseudomonas sp. following its inoculation in soil. Interaction network method was used based on the notions of co-occurrence and, therefore, of bacterial abundance found in the same soils. Bacteria from the EcoVitiSol project (Alsace, France) were targeted. The final step consisted of incoupling the bacterial consortium with the chosen plant in soil pots. The degradation of Cu-DOMcomplexes is measured on the basis of the absorption index at 254nm, which gives insight on the aromaticity of the DOM. The“free” Cu in solution (from the mobilization of Cu and/or the degradation of Cu-MOD complexes) is assessed by measuring pCu. Eventually, Cu accumulation in plants is measured by ICP-AES. The selection of the plant is currently being finalized. The interaction network method targeted the best positive interactions ofFlavobacterium sp. with Pseudomonassp. These bacteria are both PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) with the ability to improve the plant growth and to mobilize Cu from the soil bearing phases (siderophores). Also, these bacteria are known to degrade phenolic groups, which are highly present in DOM. They could therefore contribute to the degradation of DOM-Cu. The results of the upcoming bacteria-plant coupling tests in pots will be also presented.

Keywords: complexes Cu-DOM, bioaugmentation, phytoavailability, phytoextraction

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Authors: Javad Sadidi, Ehsan Babaei, Hani Rezayan

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The advent of web 2.0 gives a possibility to scale down the costs of data collection and mapping, specifically if the process is done by volunteers. Every volunteer can be thought of as a free and ubiquitous sensor to collect spatial, descriptive as well as multimedia data for tourist services. The lack of large-scale information, such as real-time climate and weather conditions, population density, and other related data, can be considered one of the important challenges in developing countries for tourists to make the best decision in terms of time and place of travel. The current research aims to design and implement a spatiotemporal web map service using volunteer-submitted data. The service acts as a tourist-guide service in which tourists can search interested places based on their requested time for travel. To design the service, three tiers of architecture, including data, logical processing, and presentation tiers, have been utilized. For implementing the service, open-source software programs, client and server-side programming languages (such as OpenLayers2, AJAX, and PHP), Geoserver as a map server, and Web Feature Service (WFS) standards have been used. The result is two distinct browser-based services, one for sending spatial, descriptive, and multimedia volunteer data and another one for tourists and local officials. Local official confirms the veracity of the volunteer-submitted information. In the tourist interface, a spatiotemporal search engine has been designed to enable tourists to find a tourist place based on province, city, and location at a specific time of interest. Implementing the tourist-guide service by this methodology causes the following: the current tourists participate in a free data collection and sharing process for future tourists, a real-time data sharing and accessing for all, avoiding a blind selection of travel destination and significantly, decreases the cost of providing such services.

Keywords: VGI, tourism, spatiotemporal, browser-based, web mapping

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Authors: Gustavo Axel Elizalde-Velázquez

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Metformin is the first line of oral therapy to treat type II diabetes and is also employed as a treatment for other indications, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, cancer, and COVID-19. Recent data suggest it is the aspirin of the 21st century due to its antioxidant and anti-aging effects. However, increasingly current articles indicate its long-term consumption generates mitochondrial impairment. Up to date, it is known metformin increases the biogenesis of Alzheimer's amyloid peptides via up-regulating BACE1 transcription, but further information related to brain damage after its consumption is missing. Bearing in mind the above, this work aimed to establish whether or not chronic exposure to metformin may alter swimming behavior and induce neurotoxicity in Danio rerio adults. For this purpose, 250 Danio rerio grown-ups were assigned to six tanks of 50 L of capacity. Four of the six systems contained 50 fish, while the remaining two had 25 fish (≈1 male:1 female ratio). Every system with 50 fish was allocated one of the three metformin treatment concentrations (1, 20, and 40 μg/L), with one system as the control treatment. Systems with 25 fish, on the other hand, were used as positive controls for acetylcholinesterase (10 μg/L of Atrazine) and oxidative stress (3 μg/L of Atrazine). After four months of exposure, a mean of 32 fish (S.D. ± 2) per group of MET treatment survived, which were used for the evaluation of behavior with the Novel Tank test. Moreover, after the behavioral assessment, we aimed to collect the blood and brains of all fish from all treatment groups. For blood collection, fish were anesthetized with an MS-222 solution (150 mg/L), while for brain gathering, fish were euthanized using the hypothermic shock method (2–4 °C). Blood was employed to determine CASP3 activity and the percentage of apoptotic cells with the TUNEL assay, and brains were used to evaluate acetylcholinesterase activity, oxidative damage, and gene expression. After chronic exposure, MET-exposed fish exhibited less swimming activity when compared to control fish. Moreover, compared with the control group, MET significantly inhibited the activity of AChE and induced oxidative damage in the brain of fish. Concerning gene expression, MET significantly upregulated the expression of Nrf1, Nrf2, BAX, p53, BACE1, APP, PSEN1, and downregulated CASP3 and CASP9. Although MET did not overexpress the CASP3 gene, we saw a meaningful rise in the activity of this enzyme in the blood of fish exposed to MET compared to the control group, which we then confirmed by a high number of apoptotic cells in the TUNEL assay. To the best of our understanding, this is the first study that delivers evidence of oxidative impairment, apoptosis, AChE alteration, and overexpression of B- amyloid-related genes in the brain of fish exposed to metformin.

Keywords: AChE inhibition, CASP3 activity, NovelTank test, oxidative damage, TUNEL assay

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Authors: Albert Oluwole Uzodimma Authority

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Nigeria is a diverse nation with a rich cultural heritage that has produced numerous art musicians and a vast range of art songs. The compositional styles, tonal rhythm, text rhythm, word painting, and text-tone relationship vary extensively from one dialect to another, indicating the need for standardized tools for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. The purpose of this research is to examine the structures of Nigerian indigenous art music and outline some crucibles for analyzing it, by investigating how dialectical inflection influences the choice of text tone, scale mode, tonal rhythm, and the general ambiance of Nigerian art music. The research used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 50 musicologists, out of which 41 responded. The study's focus was on the works of two prominent twentieth-century composers, Stephen Olusoji, and Nwamara Alvan-Ikoku, titled "Oyigiyigi" and "O Chineke, Inozikwa omee," respectively. The data collected was presented in percentages using pie charts and tables. The study shows that in Nigerian Indigenous music, several aspects are to be considered for proper analysis, such as linguistic sensitivity, dialectical inflection influences text-tone relationship, text rhythm and tonal rhythm, which help to convey the proper meanings of messages in songs. It also highlights the lack of standardized rubrics for analysis, which necessitated the proposal of robust criteria for analyzing African music, known as Neo-Eclectic-Crucibles. Hinging on eclectic approach, this research makes significant contributions to music scholarship by addressing the need for standardized tools and crucibles for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. It provides a template for further studies leading to standardized rubrics for analyzing African music. This research collected data through a structured questionnaire and analyzed it using pie charts and tables to present the findings accurately. The analysis focused on the respondents' perspectives on the research objectives and structural analysis of two indigenous music compositions by Olusoji and Nwamara. This research answers the questions on the structures and analytical crucibles used in Nigerian indigenous art music, how dialectical inflection influences text-tone relationship, scale mode, tonal rhythm, and the general ambiance of Nigerian art music. This paper demonstrates the need for standardized tools and crucibles for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. It highlights several aspects that are crucial to analyzing Nigerian indigenous music and proposes the Neo-Eclectic-Crucibles criteria for analyzing African music. The contribution of this research to music scholarship is significant, providing a template for further studies and research in the field.

Keywords: art-music, crucibles, dialectical inflections, indigenous, text-tone, tonal rhythm, word-painting

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Authors: Avitus A. Agbor

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Numerous incidents, ranging from trivial to catastrophic, do come to mind when one reflects on hate. The victims of these belong to specific identifiable groups within communities. These experiences evoke discussions on Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, ethnic hatred, atheism, and other brutal forms of bigotry. Common to all these is an invisible but portent force that drives all of them: hatred. Such hatred is usually fueled by a profound degree of intolerance (to diversity) and the zeal to impose on others their beliefs and practices which they consider to be the conventional norm. More importantly, the perpetuation of these hateful acts is the unfortunate outcome of an overplay of invectives and hate speech which, to a greater extent, cannot be divorced from hate. From a legal perspective, acknowledging the existence of an undeniable link between hate speech and hate is quite easy. However, both within and without legal scholarship, the notion of “hate speech” remains a conundrum: a phrase that is quite easily explained through experiences than propounding a watertight definition that captures the entire essence and nature of what it is. The problem is further compounded by a few factors: first, within the international human rights framework, the notion of hate speech is not used. In limiting the right to freedom of expression, the ICCPR simply excludes specific kinds of speeches (but does not refer to them as hate speech). Regional human rights instruments are not so different, except for the subsequent developments that took place in the European Union in which the notion has been carefully delineated, and now a much clearer picture of what constitutes hate speech is provided. The legal architecture in domestic legal systems clearly shows differences in approaches and regulation: making it more difficult. In short, what may be hate speech in one legal system may very well be acceptable legal speech in another legal system. Lastly, the cornucopia of academic voices on the issue of hate speech exude the divergence thereon. Yet, in the absence of a well-formulated and universally acceptable definition, it is important to consider how hate speech can be defined. Taking an evidence-based approach, this research looks into the issue of defining hate speech in legal scholarship and how and why such a formulation is of critical importance in the prohibition and prosecution of hate speech.

Keywords: hate speech, international human rights law, international criminal law, freedom of expression

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Authors: Andreas Kapardis, Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Sofia Michaelides-Mateou

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Corruption and economic crime is a serious problem affecting the sustainability of businesses in the 21st century. Nowadays, many corruption or fraud cases come to light thanks to whistleblowers. This article will first discuss the concept of whistleblowing as well as some relevant legislation enacted around the world. Secondly, it will discuss the findings of a survey of whistleblowers or could-have-been whistleblowers. Finally, suggestions for the development of a comprehensive whistleblowing framework will be considered. Whistleblowing can be described as expressing a concern about a wrongdoing within an organization, such as a corporation, an association, an institution or a union. Such concern must be in the public interest and in good faith and should relate to the cover up of matters that could potentially result in a miscarriage of justice, a crime, criminal offence and threats to health and safety. Whistleblowing has proven to be an effective anti-corruption mechanism and a powerful tool that helps deterring fraud, violations, and malpractices within organizations, corporations and the public sector. Research in the field of whistleblowing has concentrated on the reasons for whistleblowing and financial bounties; the effectiveness of whistleblowing; whistleblowing being a prosocial behavior with a psychological perspective and consequences; as a tool in protecting shareholders, saving lives and billions of dollars of public funds. Whilst, no other study of whistleblowing has been carried out on whistleblowers or intended whistleblowers. The study reported in the current paper analyses the findings of 74 whistleblowers or intended whistleblowers, the reasons behind their decision to blow the whistle, or not to proceed to blow the whistle and any regrets they may have had. In addition a profile of a whistleblower is developed concerning their age, gender, marital and family status and position in an organization. Lessons learned from the intended whistleblowers and in response to the questions if they would be willing to blow the whistle again show that enacting legislation to protect the whistleblower is not enough. Similarly, rewarding the whistleblower does not appear to provide the whistleblower with an incentive since the majority noted that “work ethics is more important than financial rewards”. We recommend the development of a comprehensive and holistic framework for the protection of the whistleblower and to ensure that remedial actions are immediately taken once a whistleblower comes forward. The suggested framework comprises (a) hard legislation in ensuring the whistleblowers follow certain principles when blowing the whistle and, in return, are protected for a period of 5 years from being fired, dismissed, bullied, harassed; (b) soft legislation in establishing an agency to firstly ensure psychological and legal advice is provided to the whistleblowers and secondly any required remedial action is immediately taken to avert the undesirable events reported by a whistleblower from occurring and, finally; (c) mechanisms to ensure the coordination of actions taken.

Keywords: whistleblowing, business ethics, legislation, business

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Authors: Imbesat Daudi

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Islamophobia, which is a billion-dollar industry, is widespread, especially in the United States, Europe, India, Israel, and countries that have Muslim minorities at odds with their governmental policies. Hatred of Islam in the West did not evolve spontaneously; it was methodically created. Islamophobia's current format has been designed to spread on its own, find a space in the Western psyche, and resist its eradication. Hatred has been sustained by neoconservative ideologues and their allies, which are supported by the mainstream media. Social scientists have evaluated how ideas spread, why any idea can go viral, and where new ideas find space in our brains. This was possible because of the advances in the computational power of software and computers. Spreading of ideas, including Islamophobia, follows a sine curve; it has three phases: An initial exploratory phase with a long lag period, an explosive phase if ideas go viral, and the final phase when ideas find space in the human psyche. In the initial phase, the ideas are quickly examined in a center in the prefrontal lobe. When it is deemed relevant, it is sent for evaluation to another center of the prefrontal lobe; there, it is critically examined. Once it takes a final shape, the idea is sent as a final product to a center in the occipital lobe. This center cannot critically evaluate ideas; it can only defend them from its critics. Counterarguments, no matter how scientific, are automatically rejected. Therefore, arguments that could be highly effective in the early phases are counterproductive once they are stored in the occipital lobe. Anti-Islamophobic intellectuals have done a very good job of countering Islamophobic arguments. However, they have not been as effective as neoconservative ideologues who have promoted anti-Muslim rhetoric that was based on half-truths, misinformation, or outright lies. The failure is partly due to the support pro-war activists receive from the mainstream media, state institutions, mega-corporations engaged in violent conflicts, and think tanks that provide Islamophobic arguments. However, there are also scientific reasons why anti-Islamophobic thinkers have been less effective. There are different dynamics of spreading ideas once they are stored in the occipital lobe. The human brain is incapable of evaluating further once it accepts ideas as its own; therefore, a different strategy is required to be effective. This paper examines 1) why anti-Islamophobic intellectuals have failed in changing the minds of non-Muslims and 2) the steps of countering hatred. Simply put, a new strategy is needed that can effectively counteract hatred of Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is a disease that requires strong measures. Fighting hatred is always a challenge, but if we understand why Islamophobia is taking root in the twenty-first century, one can succeed in challenging Islamophobic arguments. That will need a coordinated effort of Intellectuals, writers and the media.

Keywords: islamophobia, Islam and violence, anti-islamophobia, demonization of Islam

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Authors: Wei Hing Rosenkvist

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In the past few decades, concerns and demands of promoting student intercultural communicative competence in foreign language education have been increasing along with the rapid growth of information technologies and globalization in the 21st century. In Sweden, related concepts such as internationalization, global citizenship, multiculturalism, and intercultural communication, are also keywords that would be found in the written learning objectives of foreign language education at all levels. Being one of the leading higher institutes in distance education in Europe, Dalarna University clearly states that after completion of the teacher education program, students shall understand the needs for integrating internationalization, intercultural and global perspective in teaching and learning in Swedish schools and implement their studies to promote education in an international and global context. Even though many teachers and educators agree with the institutes’ mission and vision about the importance of internationalization and the need to increase student understanding of intercultural and global perspectives, they might find this objective unattainable and restricted due to the nature of the subject and their knowledge of intercultural competence. When conducting a comprehensive Chinese language course for the students who are going to become Chinese foreign language teachers, the researcher found that all the learning objectives are linguistic oriented while grammatical components dominate the entire course. Apparently, there is a gap between the learning objectives of the course and the DU’s mission of fostering an international learner with intercultural and globalized perspectives. How to include this macro-learning objective in a foreign language course is a great challenge to the educator. Although scholars from different academic domains have provided different theoretical frameworks and approaches for developing student intercultural competence, research that focuses on the didactic perspectives of developing student intercultural competence in teaching Chinese as a foreign language education (CFL) is limited, and practical examples are rare. This challenge has motivated the researcher to conduct an action research study that aims at integrating DU’s macro-learning objective in a current CFL course through different didactic practices to develop the student's intercultural competence. This research study aims to, firstly, illustrate the cross-cultural knowledge integrated into the present Chinese language course for developing intercultural competence. Secondly, it investigates different didactic means that can be utilized to deliver cross-cultural knowledge to student teachers in the present course without generating dramatic disturbance of the syllabus. Thirdly, it examines the effectiveness of these didactic means in enhancing student-teacher intercultural competence regarding the need for integrating and implementing internationalization, intercultural and global perspectives in teaching and learning in Swedish schools. Last but not least, it intends to serve as a practical example for developing the student teachers’ intercultural competence in foreign language education in DU and fill in the research gap of this academic domain worldwide.

Keywords: action research, intercultural competence, Chinese as a foreign language education, teacher education

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Authors: Bazla Manzoor, Aqsa Yasin

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Pakistan is the country which is progressing by leaps and bounds through agricultural and industrial growth. The main area, which presents the largest income rate through industrial activities, is Faisalabad from the Province of Punjab. Faisalabad’s main occupations include agriculture and industry. As these sectors i.e. agriculture and industry is developing day by day, they are earning much income for the country and generating thousands of job vacancies. On one hand the city, i.e. Faisalabad is on the way of development through industrial growth, while on the other hand this industrial growth is producing a bad impact on the environment. In return, that damaged environment is affecting badly on the people and built environment. This research is chiefly based on one of the above-mentioned factors i.e. adverse environmental impacts on the built structures. Faisalabad is an old city, therefore; it is having many old structures especially from British Era. Many of those structures are still surviving and are functioning as the government, private and public buildings. However, these structures are getting in a poor condition with the passage of time due to bad maintenance and adverse environmental impacts. Bad maintenance is a factor, which can be controlled by financial assistance and management. The factor needs to be seriously considered is the other one i.e. adverse environmental impacts on British Era structures of the city because this factor requires controlled and refined human activities and actions. For this reason, a research was required to conserve the British Era structures of Faisalabad so that these structures can function well. The other reason to conserve them is that these structures are historically important and are the heritage of the city. For doing this research, literature has been reviewed which was present in the libraries of the city. Department of Environment, Town Municipal Administration, Faisalabad Development Authority and Lyallpur Heritage Foundation were visited to collect the existing data available. Various British Era structures were also visited to note down the environmental impacts on them. From all the structures “Clock Tower,” was deeply studied as it is one of the oldest and most important heritage structures of the city because the earlier settlements of the city were planned based on its location by The British Government. The architectural and environmental analyses were done for The Clock Tower. This research study found the deterioration factors of the tower according to which suggestions have been made.

Keywords: lyallpur, heritage, architecture, environment

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Authors: Zhuo Job Chen, Kevin Nute

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The work reported examines potential linkages between spatial and temporal prospects, and more specifically, between variations in the spatial depth and foreground obstruction of window views, and observers’ sense of connection to the future. It was found that external views from indoor spaces were strongly associated with a sense of the future, that partially obstructing such a view with foreground objects significantly reduced its association with the future, and replacing it with a pictorial representation of the same scene (with no real actual depth) removed most of its temporal association. A lesser change in the spatial depth of the view, however, had no apparent effect on association with the future. While the role of spatial depth has still to be confirmed, the results suggest that spatial prospects directly affect temporal ones. The word “prospect” typifies the overlapping of the spatial and temporal in most human languages. It originated in classical times as a purely spatial term, but in the 16th century took on the additional temporal implication of an imagined view ahead, of the future. The psychological notion of prospection, then, has its distant origins in a spatial analogue. While it is not yet proven that space directly structures our processing of time at a physiological level, it is generally agreed that it commonly does so conceptually. The mental representation of possible futures has been a central part of human survival as a species (Boyer, 2008; Suddendorf & Corballis, 2007). A sense of the future seems critical not only practically, but also psychologically. It has been suggested, for example, that lack of a positive image of the future may be an important contributing cause of depression (Beck, 1974; Seligman, 2016). Most people in the developed world now spend more than 90% of their lives indoors. So any direct link between external views and temporal prospects could have important implications for both human well-being and building design. We found that the ability to see what lies in front of us spatially was strongly associated with a sense of what lies ahead temporally. Partial obstruction of a view was found to significantly reduce that sense connection to the future. Replacing a view with a flat pictorial representation of the same scene removed almost all of its connection with the future, but changing the spatial depth of a real view appeared to have no significant effect. While foreground obstructions were found to reduce subjects’ sense of connection to the future, they increased their sense of refuge and security. Consistent with Prospect and Refuge theory, an ideal environment, then, would seem to be one in which we can “see without being seen” (Lorenz, 1952), specifically one that conceals us frontally from others, without restricting our own view. It is suggested that these optimal conditions might be translated architecturally as screens, the apertures of which are large enough for a building occupant to see through unobstructed from close by, but small enough to conceal them from the view of someone looking from a distance outside.

Keywords: foreground obstructions, prospection, spatial depth, window views

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Authors: Berfin Yildiz

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These days, increasing global warming effects, limited amount of energy resources, etc., necessitates the awareness that must be present in every profession group. The architecture and construction sectors are responsible for both the embodied and operational energy of the materials. This responsibility has led designers to seek alternative solutions for energy-efficient material selection. The choice of energy-efficient material requires consideration of the entire life cycle, including the building's production, use, and disposal energy. The aim of this study is to investigate the method of material selection of external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS). Embodied and in-use energy values of material alternatives were used for the evaluation in this study. The operational energy is calculated according to the u-value calculation method defined in the TS 825 (Thermal Insulation Requirements) standard for Turkey, and the embodied energy is calculated based on the manufacturer's Energy Performance Declaration (EPD). ETICS consists of a wall, adhesive, insulation, lining, mechanical, mesh, and exterior finishing materials. In this study, lining, mechanical, and mesh materials were ignored because EPD documents could not be obtained. The material selection problem is designed as a hypothetical volume area (5x5x3m) and defined as a multi-objective discrete optimization problem for external thermal insulation composite systems. Defining the problem as a discrete optimization problem is important in order to choose between materials of various thicknesses and sizes. Since production and use energy values, which are determined as optimization objectives in the study, are often conflicting values, material selection is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem, and it is aimed to obtain many solution alternatives by using Hypervolume (HypE) algorithm. The enrollment process started with 100 individuals and continued for 50 generations. According to the obtained results, it was observed that autoclaved aerated concrete and Ponce block as wall material, glass wool, as insulation material gave better results.

Keywords: embodied energy, multi-objective discrete optimization, performative design, thermal insulation

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Authors: Elsher Lawson-Boyd

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In the wake of the Human Genome Project, the life sciences have undergone some fascinating changes. In particular, conventional beliefs relating to gene expression are being challenged by advances in postgenomic sciences, especially by the field of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the modification of gene expression without changes in the DNA sequence. In other words, epigenetics dictates that gene expression, the process by which the instructions in DNA are converted into products like proteins, is not solely controlled by DNA itself. Unlike gene-centric theories of heredity that characterized much of the 20th Century (where the genes were considered as having almost god-like power to create life), gene expression in epigenetics insists on environmental ‘signals’ or ‘exposures’, a point that radically deviates from gene-centric thinking. Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars have shown that epigenetic research is having vast implications for the ways in which chronic, non-communicable diseases are conceptualized, treated, and governed. However, to the author’s knowledge, there have not yet been any in-depth sociological engagements with neuroepigenetics that examine how the field is affecting mental health and trauma discourse. In this paper, the author discusses preliminary findings from a doctoral ethnographic study on neuroepigenetics, trauma, and embodiment. Specifically, this study investigates the kinds of causal relations neuroepigenetic researchers are making between experiences of trauma and the development of mental illnesses like complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both throughout a human’s lifetime and across generations. Using qualitative interviews and nonparticipant observation, the author focuses on two public-facing research centers based in Melbourne: Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health (FNMH), and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). Preliminary findings indicate that a great deal of ambiguity characterizes this infant field, particularly when animal-model experiments are employed and the results are translated into human frameworks. Nevertheless, researchers at the FNMH and MCRI strongly suggest that adverse and traumatic life events have a significant effect on gene expression, especially when experienced during early development. Furthermore, they predict that neuroepigenetic research will have substantial implications for the ways in which mental illnesses like complex PTSD are diagnosed and treated. These preliminary findings shed light on why medical and health sociologists have good reason to be chiming in, engaging with and de-black-boxing ideations emerging from postgenomic sciences, as they may indeed have significant effects for vulnerable populations not only in Australia but other developing countries in the Global South.

Keywords: genetics, mental illness, neuroepigenetics, trauma

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Authors: Nora Geczy

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In today’s architectural practice, during the process of designing public, educational, healthcare and cultural space, human-centered architectural designs helping spatial orientation, safe space usage and the appropriate spatial sequence of actions are gaining increasing importance. Related to the methodology of designing public buildings, several scientific experiments in spatial recognition, spatial analysis and spatial psychology with regard to the components of space producing mental and physiological effects have been going on at the Department of Architectural Design and the Interdisciplinary Student Workshop (IDM) at the Széchenyi István University, Győr since 2013. Defining the creation of preventive, anticipated spatial design and the architectural tools of spatial comfort of public buildings and their practical usability are in the limelight of our research. In the experiments applying eye-tracking cameras, we studied the way public spaces are used, especially concentrating on the characteristics of spatial behaviour, orientation, recognition, the sequence of actions, and space usage. Along with the role of mental maps, human perception, and interaction problems in public spaces (at railway stations, galleries, and educational institutions), we analyzed the spatial situations influencing psychological and ergonomic factors. We also analyzed the eye movements of the experimental subjects in dynamic situations, in spatial procession, using stairs and corridors. We monitored both the consequences and the distorting effects of the ocular dominance of the right eye on spatial orientation; we analyzed the gender-based differences of women and men’s orientation, stress-inducing spaces, spaces affecting concentration and the spatial situation influencing territorial behaviour. Based on these observations, we collected the components of creating public interior spaces, which -according to our theory- contribute to the optimal usability of public spaces. We summed up our research in criteria for design, including 10 points. Our further goals are testing design principles needed for optimizing orientation and space usage, their discussion, refinement, and practical usage.

Keywords: architecture, eye-tracking, human-centered spatial design, public interior spaces, visual perception

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Authors: Azizah M. Nahari, Peter Doerner

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Phosphate (Pi) is one of the essential macronutrients in plant growth and development, and it plays a central role in metabolic processes in plants, particularly photosynthesis and respiration. Limitation of crop productivity by Pi is widespread and is likely to increase in the future. Applications of Pi fertilizers have improved soil Pi fertility and crop production; however, they have also caused environmental damage. Therefore, in order to reduce dependence on unsustainable Pi fertilizers, a better understanding of phosphate use efficiency (PUE) is required for engineering nutrient-efficient crop plants. Enhanced Pi efficiency can be achieved by improved productivity per unit Pi taken up. We aim to identify, by using association mapping, general features of the most important loci that contribute to increased PUE to allow us to delineate the physiological pathways involved in defining this trait in the model plant Arabidopsis. As PUE is in part determined by the efficiency of uptake, we designed a hydroponic system to avoid confounding effects due to differences in root system architecture leading to differences in Pi uptake. In this system, 18 parental lines and 217 lines of the MAGIC population (a Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross) grown in high and low Pi availability conditions. The results showed revealed a large variation of PUE in the parental lines, indicating that the MAGIC population was well suited to identify PUE loci and pathways. 2 of 18 parental lines had the highest PUE in low Pi while some lines responded strongly and increased PUE with increased Pi. Having examined the 217 MAGIC population, considerable variance in PUE was found. A general feature was the trend of most lines to exhibit higher PUE when grown in low Pi conditions. Association mapping is currently in progress, but initial observations indicate that a wide variety of physiological processes are involved in influencing PUE in Arabidopsis. The combination of hydroponic growth methods and genome-wide association mapping is a powerful tool to identify the physiological pathways underpinning complex quantitative traits in plants.

Keywords: hydroponic system growth, phosphate use efficiency (PUE), Genome-wide association mapping, MAGIC population

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Authors: Wei Hing Rosenkvist

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In the past few decades, concerns and demands of promoting student intercultural communicative competence in foreign language education have been increasing along with the rapid growth of information technologies and globalization in the 21st century. In Sweden, related concepts such as internationalization, global citizenship, multiculturalism, and intercultural communication etc., are also keywords that would be found in the written learning objectives of the foreign language education in all levels. Being one of the leading higher institutes in distance education in Europe, Dalarna University clearly states that after completion of the teacher education program, students shall understand the needs for integrating internationalization, intercultural and global perspective in teaching and learning in Swedish schools and implement their own studies to promote education in an international and global context. Despite the fact that many teachers and educators agree with the institutes’ mission and vision about the importance of internationalization and the need of increasing student understanding of intercultural and global perspective, they might find this objective unattainable and restricted due to the nature of the subject and their personal knowledge of intercultural competence. When conducting a comprehensive Chinese language course for the students who are going to become Chinese foreign language teachers, the researcher found that all the learning objectives are linguistic oriented while grammatical components dominate the entire course. Apparently, there is a gap between the learning objectives of the course and the DU’s mission of fostering an international learner with intercultural and globalized perspectives. How to include this macro-learning objective in a foreign language course is a great challenge to the educator. Although scholars from different academic domains have provided different theoretical frameworks and approaches for developing student intercultural competence, research that focuses on the didactic perspectives of developing student intercultural competence in teaching Chinese as a foreign language education (CFL) is limited and practical examples are rare. This has motivated the researcher to conduct an action research study that aims at integrating DU’s macro-learning objective in a current CFL course through different didactic practices with a purpose of developing the teacher student intercultural competence. This research study aims to, firstly, illustrate the cross-cultural knowledge integrated into the present Chinese language course for developing intercultural competence. Secondly, it investigates different didactic means that can be utilized to deliver cross-cultural knowledge to student teachers in the present course without generating dramatic disturbance of the syllabus. Thirdly, it examines the effectiveness of these didactic means in enhancing teacher student intercultural competence regarding the need for integrating and implementing internationalization, intercultural and global perspectives in teaching and learning in Swedish schools. Last but not least, it intends to serve as a practical example for developing the student teachers’ intercultural competence in foreign language education in DU and fill in the research gap of this academic domain worldwide.

Keywords: intercultural competence, foreign language education, action research, teacher education

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Authors: Marius Zemp

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Evidentials indicate how the speaker obtained the information conveyed in a statement. Detailed diachronic-functional accounts of evidential contrasts found in the Greater Himalayan Region (GHR) reveal that contrasting evidentials are not only defined against each other but also that most of them once had different aspecto-temporal (TA) values which must have aligned when their contrast was conventionalized. Based on these accounts, the present paper sheds light on hitherto unidentified mechanisms of grammatical change. The main insights of the present study were facilitated by ‘functional reconstruction’, which (i) revolves around morphemes which appear to be used in divergent ways within a language and/or across different related languages, (ii) persistently devises hypotheses as to how these functional divergences may have developed, and (iii) retains those hypotheses which most plausibly and economically account for the data. Based on the dense and detailed grammatical literature on the Tibetic language family, the author of this study is able to reconstruct the initial steps by which its evidentiality systems developed: By the time Proto-Tibetan started to be spread across much of Central Asia in the 7th century CE, verbal concatenations with and without a connective -s had become common. As typical for resultative constructions around the globe, Proto-Tibetan *V-s-’dug ‘was there, having undergone V’ (employing the simple past of ’dug ‘stay, be there’) allowed both for a perfect reading (‘the state resulting from V holds at the moment of speech’) and an inferential reading (‘(I infer from its result that) V has taken place’). In Western Tibetic, *V-s-’dug grammaticalized in its perfect meaning as it became contrasted with perfect *V-s-yod ‘is there, having undergone V’ (employing the existential copula yod); that is, *V-s-’dug came to mean that the speaker directly witnessed the profiled result of V, whereas *V-s-yod came to mean that the speaker does not depend on direct evidence of the result, as s/he simply knows that it holds. In Eastern Tibetic, on the other hand, V-s-’dug grammaticalized in its inferential past meaning as it became contrasted with past *V-thal ‘went past V-ing’ (employing the simple past of thal ‘go past’); that is, *V-s-’dug came to mean that the profiled past event was inferred from its result, while *V-thal came to mean that it was directly witnessed. Hence, depending on whether it became contrasted with a perfect or a past construction, resultative V-s-’dug grammaticalized either its direct evidential perfect or its inferential past function. This means that in both cases, evidential readings of constructions with distinct but overlapping TA-values became contrasted, and in order for their contrasting meanings to grammaticalize, the constructions had to agree on their tertium comparationis, which was their shared TA-value. By showing that other types of evidential contrasts in the GHR are also TA-aligned, while no single markers (or privative contrasts) are found to have grammaticalized evidential functions, the present study suggests that, at least in this region of the world, evidential meanings grammaticalize only in equipollent contrasts, which always end up TA-aligned.

Keywords: evidential contrasts, functional-diachronic accounts, grammatical change, himalayan languages, tense/aspect-alignment

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Authors: Esther Acha, Jose Cambra, De Chen

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Hydrogen is considered an important energy vector for the 21st century. Nowadays there are some difficulties for hydrogen economy implantation, and one of them is the high purity required for hydrogen. This energy vector is still being mainly produced from fuels, from wich hydrogen is produced as a component of a mixture containing other gases, such as CO, CO2 and H2O. A forthcoming sustainable pathway for hydrogen is steam-reforming of bio-oils derived from biomass, e.g. via fast pyrolysis. Bio-oils are a mixture of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, sugars phenols, guaiacols, syringols, furans, multi-functional compounds and also up to a 30 wt% of water. The sorption enhanced steam reforming (SESR) process is attracting a great deal of attention due to the fact that it combines both hydrogen production and CO2 separation. In the SESR process, carbon dioxide is captured by an in situ sorbent, which shifts the reversible reforming and water gas shift reactions to the product side, beyond their conventional thermodynamic limits, giving rise to a higher hydrogen production and lower cost. The hydrogen containing mixture has been obtained from the SESR of bio-oil type compounds. Different types of catalysts have been tested. All of them contain Ni at around a 30 wt %. Two samples have been prepared with the wet impregnation technique over conventional (gamma alumina) and non-conventional (olivine) supports. And a third catalysts has been prepared over a hydrotalcite-like material (HT). The employed sorbent is a commercial dolomite. The activity tests were performed in a bench-scale plant (PID Eng&Tech), using a stainless steel fixed bed reactor. The catalysts were reduced in situ in the reactor, before the activity tests. The effluent stream was cooled down, thus condensed liquid was collected and weighed, and the gas phase was analysed online by a microGC. The hydrogen yield, and process behavior was analysed without the sorbent (the traditional SR where a second purification step will be needed but that operates in steady state) and the SESR (where the purification step could be avoided but that operates in batch state). The influence of the support type and preparation method will be observed in the produced hydrogen yield. Additionally, the stability of the catalysts is critical, due to the fact that in SESR process sorption-desorption steps are required. The produced hydrogen yield and hydrogen purity has to be high and also stable, even after several sorption-desorption cycles. The prepared catalysts were characterized employing different techniques to determine the physicochemical properties of the fresh-reduced and used (after the activity tests) materials. The characterization results, together with the activity results show the influence of the catalysts preparation method, calcination temperature, or can even explain the observed yield and conversion.

Keywords: CO2 sorbent, enhanced steam reforming, hydrogen

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Authors: Zakaria Baka, Halima Alem

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Cancer is a major worldwide health problem that has caused around ten million deaths in 2020. In addition, efforts to develop new anti-cancer drugs still face a high failure rate. This is partly due to the lack of preclinical models that recapitulate in-vivo drug responses. Indeed conventional cell culture approach (known as 2D cell culture) is far from reproducing the complex, dynamic and three-dimensional environment of tumors. To set up more in-vivo-like cancer models, 3D bioprinting seems to be a promising technology due to its ability to achieve 3D scaffolds containing different cell types with controlled distribution and precise architecture. Moreover, the introduction of microfluidic technology makes it possible to simulate in-vivo dynamic conditions through the so-called “cancer-on-chip” platforms. Whereas several cancer types have been modeled through the cancer-on-chip approach, such as lung cancer and breast cancer, only a few works describing ovarian cancer models have been described. The aim of this work is to combine 3D bioprinting and microfluidic technics with setting up a 3D dynamic model of ovarian cancer. In the first phase, alginate-gelatin hydrogel containing SKOV3 cells was used to achieve tumor-like structures through an extrusion-based bioprinter. The desired form of the tumor-like mass was first designed on 3D CAD software. The hydrogel composition was then optimized for ensuring good and reproducible printability. Cell viability in the bioprinted structures was assessed using Live/Dead assay and WST1 assay. In the second phase, these bioprinted structures will be included in a microfluidic device that allows simultaneous testing of different drug concentrations. This microfluidic dispositive was first designed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for fixing its precise dimensions. It was then be manufactured through a molding method based on a 3D printed template. To confirm the results of CFD simulations, doxorubicin (DOX) solutions were perfused through the dispositive and DOX concentration in each culture chamber was determined. Once completely characterized, this model will be used to assess the efficacy of anti-cancer nanoparticles developed in the Jean Lamour institute.

Keywords: 3D bioprinting, ovarian cancer, cancer-on-chip models, microfluidic techniques

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Authors: Bartosz Piechowicz, Stanislaw Sadlo, Przemyslaw Grodzicki, Magdalena Podbielska

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Apples are popular fruits. They are eaten freshly and/or after processing. For instance Golden Delicious is an apple variety commonly used in production of foods for babies and toddlers. It is no wonder that complex analyses of the pesticide residue levels in those fruits have been carried out since eighties, and continued for the next years up to now. The results obtained were presented, usually as a teamwork, at the scientific sessions organised by the (IOR) Institute of Plant Protection-National Research Institute in Poznań and published in Scientific Works of the Institute (now Progress in Plant Protection/ Postępy w Ochronie Roślin) or Journal of Plant Protection Research, and in many non-periodical publications. These reports included studies carried out by IOR Laboratories in Poznań, Sośnicowice, Rzeszów and Bialystok. First detailed studies on the presence of pesticide residues in apple fruits by the laboratory in Rzeszów were published in 1991 in the article entitled 'The presence of pesticides in apples of late varieties from the area of south-eastern Poland in the years 1986-1989', in Annals of National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw. These surveys gave the scientific base for business contacts between the Polish company Alima and the American company Gerber. At the beginning of XXI century, in Poland, systematic and complex studies on the deposition of pesticide residues in apples were initiated. First of all, the levels of active ingredients of plant protection products applied against storage diseases at 2-3 weeks before the harvest were determined. It is known that the above mentioned substances usually generate the highest residue levels. Also, the assessment of the fungicide residues in apples during their storage in controlled atmosphere and during their processing was carried out. Taking into account the need of actualisation the Maximum Residue Levels of pesticides, in force in Poland and in other European countries, and rationalisation of the ways of their determination, a lot of field tests on the behaviour of more important fungicides on the mature fruits just before their harvesting, were carried out. A rate of their disappearance and mathematical equation that showed the relationship between the residue level of any substance and the used dose, have been determined. The two parameters have allowed to evaluate the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of pesticides, which were in force at that time, and to propose a coherent model of their determination in respect to the new substances. The obtained results were assessed in terms of the health risk for adult consumers and children, and to such determination of terms of treatment that mature apples could meet the rigorous level of 0.01 mg/kg.

Keywords: apple, disappearance, health risk, MRL, pesticide residue, research

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Authors: Raja Lahiani

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This study is concerned with scrutinising translations into English and French of references to locations in the desert of pre-Islamic Arabia. These references are used in the Source Text (ST) within a poetic image. Reference is made to the names of three different mountains in Arabia, namely Qatan, Sitar, and Yadhbul. As these mountains are referred to in the context of the poet’s description of the density and expansion of the clouds, it is crucial to know that while Sitar and Yadhbul are close to each other, Qatan is far away from them. This distance was functional for the poet to describe the expansion of the clouds. This reflects the spacious place (desert) he handled, and the fact that it was possible for him to physically see what he described. The purpose of this image is for the poet to communicate the vastness of the space he managed to see as he was in a moment of contemplation. Thus, knowledge of this characteristic about the setting is capital for the receiver to understand the communicative function of the verse. A corpus of eighteen translations is gathered. These vary between verse and prose renderings. The methodology adopted in this research work is comparative. Comparison is conducted at both the synchronic and diachronic levels; every translation shall be compared to the ST and then to previous translations. The comparative work will prove at the end that the translators who target historical facts do not necessarily succeed in preserving the image of the ST. It also proves that the more recent the translation is, the deeper the translator’s awareness is the link between imagery, setting, and point of view. Since the late eighteenth century and until nowadays, pre-Islamic poetry has been translated into Western languages. Translators differ as to motives, sources, priorities and intellectual backgrounds. A translator's skopoi undoubtedly affect the way s/he handles aspects of the ST. When it comes to culture-specific aspects and details related to setting, the problem is even more complex. Setting is a very important factor that reveals a great deal of the culture of pre-Islamic Arabia as this is remote in place, historical framework and literary tradition from its translators. History is present in pre-Islamic poetry, which justifies the important literature that has been written to extract information and data from it. These are imbedded not only by signalling given facts, events, and meditations but also by means of references to specific locations and landmarks that used to exist at the time. Spatial setting is an integral part of a literary text as it places it within its historical context. The importance of the translator’s awareness of spatial anthropological data before indulging in the process of translation is tested. This is also crucial in measuring the effect of setting loss and setting gain in translation. The findings of this research would ultimately evaluate the extent to which a comparative methodology is reliable in investigating the role of spatial setting awareness in translation.

Keywords: historical context, translation, comparative literature, spatial setting

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Authors: Dina C. Castro, Rossana Boyd, Eugenia Papadaki

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Immigration within and across continents is currently a global reality. The number of people leaving their communities in search for a better life for them and their families has increased dramatically during the last twenty years. Therefore, young children of the 21st century around the World are growing up in diverse communities, exposed to many languages and cultures. One consequence of these migration movements is the increased linguistic diversity in school settings. Depending on the linguistic history and the status of languages in the communities (i.e., minority-majority; majority-majority) the instructional approaches will differ. This session will discuss how bilingualism is addressed in early education programs in both minority-majority and majority-majority language communities, analyzing experiences in three countries with very distinct societal and demographic characteristics: Peru (South America), the United States (North America), and Italy (European Union). The ultimate goal is to identify commonalities and differences across the three experiences that could lead to a discussion of bilingualism in early education from a global perspective. From Peru, we will discuss current national language and educational policies that have lead to the design and implementation of bilingual and intercultural education for children in indigenous communities. We will also discuss how those practices are being implemented in preschool programs, the progress made and challenges encountered. From the United States, we will discuss the early education of Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers, including the national policy environment, as well as variations in language of instruction approaches currently being used with these children. From Italy, we will describe early education practices in the Bilingual School of Monza, in northern Italy, a school that has 20 years promoting bilingualism and multilingualism in education. While the presentations from Peru and the United States will discuss bilingualism in a majority-minority language environment, this presentation will lead to a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of promoting bilingualism in a majority-majority language environment. It is evident that innovative models and policies are necessary to prevent inequality of opportunities for bilingual children beginning in their earliest years. The cross-cultural examination of bilingual education experiences for young children in three part of the World will allow us to learn from our success and challenges. The session will end with a discussion of the following question: To what extent are early care and education programs being effective in promoting positive development and learning among all children, including those from diverse language, ethnic and cultural backgrounds? We expect to identify, with participants to our session, a set of recommendations for policy and program development that could ensure access to high quality early education for all bilingual children.

Keywords: early education for bilingual children, global perspectives in early education, cross-cultural, language policies

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Authors: Rob van den Dam

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Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) comprises more than a billion intelligent devices, connected via wired/wireless communications. The expected proliferation of hundreds of billions more places us at the threshold of a transformation sweeping across the communications industry. Yet, we found that the IoT architecture and solutions that currently work for billions of devices won’t necessarily scale to tomorrow’s hundreds of billions of devices because of high cost, lack of privacy, not future-proof, lack of functional value and broken business models. As the IoT scales exponentially, decentralized networks have the potential to reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs to manufacturers. Decentralization also promises increased robustness by removing single points of failure that could exist in traditional centralized networks. By shifting the power in the network from the center to the edges, devices gain greater autonomy and can become points of transactions and economic value creation for owners and users. To validate the underlying technology vision, IBM jointly developed with Samsung Electronics the autonomous decentralized peer-to- peer proof-of-concept (PoC). The primary objective of this PoC was to establish a foundation on which to demonstrate several capabilities that are fundamental to building a decentralized IoT. Though many commercial systems in the future will exist as hybrid centralized-decentralized models, the PoC demonstrated a fully distributed proof. The PoC (a) validated the future vision for decentralized systems to extensively augment today’s centralized solutions, (b) demonstrated foundational IoT tasks without the use of centralized control, (c) proved that empowered devices can engage autonomously in marketplace transactions. The PoC opens the door for the communications and electronics industry to further explore the challenges and opportunities of potential hybrid models that can address the complexity and variety of requirements posed by the internet that continues to scale. Contents: (a) The new approach for an IoT that will be secure and scalable, (b) The three foundational technologies that are key for the future IoT, (c) The related business models and user experiences, (d) How such an IoT will create an 'Economy of Things', (e) The role of users, devices, and industries in the IoT future, (f) The winners in the IoT economy.

Keywords: IoT, internet, wired, wireless

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Authors: Tony R. Walker, N. Devin MacAskill, Andrew Thalhiemer

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Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada has long been subject to effluent and atmospheric inputs of contaminants, including thousands of tons of PAHs from a large coking and steel plant which operated in Sydney for nearly a century. Contaminants comprised of coal tar residues which were discharged from coking ovens into a small tidal tributary, which became known as the Sydney Tar Ponds (STPs), and subsequently discharged into Sydney Harbour. An Environmental Impact Statement concluded that mobilization of contaminated sediments posed unacceptable ecological risks, therefore immobilizing contaminants in the STPs using solidification and stabilization was identified as a primary source control remediation option to mitigate against continued transport of contaminated sediments from the STPs into Sydney Harbour. Recent developments in contaminant mass flux techniques focus on understanding “mobile” vs. “immobile” contaminants at remediation sites. Forensic source evaluations are also increasingly used for understanding origins of PAH contaminants in soils or sediments. Flux and forensic source evaluation-informed remediation decision-making uses this information to develop remediation end point goals aimed at reducing off-site exposure and managing potential ecological risk. This study included reviews of previous flux studies, calculating current mass flux estimates and a forensic assessment using PAH fingerprint techniques, during remediation of one of Canada’s most polluted sites at the STPs. Historically, the STPs was thought to be the major source of PAH contamination in Sydney Harbour with estimated discharges of nearly 800 kg/year of PAHs. However, during three years of remediation monitoring only 17-97 kg/year of PAHs were discharged from the STPs, which was also corroborated by an independent PAH flux study during the first year of remediation which estimated 119 kg/year. The estimated mass efflux of PAHs from the STPs during remediation was in stark contrast to ~2000 kg loading thought necessary to cause a short term increase in harbour sediment PAH concentrations. These mass flux estimates during remediation were also between three to eight times lower than PAHs discharged from the STPs a decade prior to remediation, when at the same time, government studies demonstrated on-going reduction in PAH concentrations in harbour sediments. Flux results were also corroborated using forensic source evaluations using PAH fingerprint techniques which found a common source of PAHs for urban soils, marine and aquatic sediments in and around Sydney. Coal combustion (from historical coking) and coal dust transshipment (from current coal transshipment facilities), are likely the principal source of PAHs in these media and not migration of PAH laden sediments from the STPs during a large scale remediation project.

Keywords: contaminated sediment, mass flux, forensic source evaluations, remediation

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Authors: A. Keramaris, T. Sawidis, E. Kasapidou, P. Mitlianga

Abstract:

Although the gastronomy of the Greeks of Pontus is highly prominent, it has not received the same level of scientific analysis as another local cuisine of Greece, that of Crete. As a result, we intended to focus our research on Greek Pontic cuisine to shed light on its unique recipes, food products, and, ultimately, its features. The Greeks of Pontus, who lived for a long time in the northern part (Black Sea Region) of contemporary Turkey and now widely inhabit northern Greece, have one of Greece's most distinguished local cuisines. Despite their gastronomy being simple, it features several inspiring delicacies. It's been a century since they immigrated to Greece, yet their gastronomic culture remains a critical component of their collective identity. As a first step toward comprehending Greek Pontic cuisine, it was attempted to investigate the production of one of its most renowned traditional products, furniko flour. In this project, we targeted residents of Western Macedonia, a province in northern Greece with a large population of descendants of Greeks of Pontus who are primarily engaged in agricultural activities. In this quest, we approached a descendant of the Greeks of Pontus who is involved in the production of furniko flour and who consented to show us the entire process of its production as we participated in it. The furniko flour is made from non-hybrid heirloom corn. It is harvested by hand when the moisture content of the seeds is low enough to make them suitable for roasting. Manual harvesting entails removing the cob from the plant and detaching the husks. The harvested cobs are then roasted for 24 hours in a traditional wood oven. The roasted cobs are then collected and stored in sacks. The next step is to extract the seeds, which is accomplished by rubbing the cobs. The seeds should ideally be ground in a traditional stone hand mill. We end up with aromatic and dark golden furniko flour, which is used to cook havitz. Accompanied by the preparation of the furnikoflour, we also recorded the cooking process of the havitz (a porridge-like cornflour dish). A savory delicacy that is simple to prepare and one of the most delightful dishes in Greek Pontic cuisine. According to the research participant, havitzis a highly nutritious dish due to the ingredients of furniko flour. In addition, he argues that preparing havitz is a great way to bring families together, share stories, and revisit fond memories. In conclusion, this study illustrates the traditional preparation of furnikoflour and its use in various traditional recipes as an initial effort to highlight the elements of Pontic Greek cuisine. As a continuation of the current study, it could be the analysis of the chemical components of the furniko flour to evaluate its nutritional content.

Keywords: furniko flour, greek pontic cuisine, havitz, traditional foods

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Mohamed Fawzy Elzarei, Yousef Mohammed Al-Dakheel, Ali Mohamed Alseaf

Abstract:

Modern molecular techniques, like single marker analysis for linked traits to these markers, can provide us with rapid and accurate genetic results. In the last two decades of the last century, the applications of molecular techniques were reached a faraway point in cattle, sheep, and pig. In goats, especially in our region, the application of molecular techniques is still far from other species. As reported by many researchers, microsatellites marker is one of the suitable markers for lie studies. The single marker linked to traits of interest is one technique allowed us to early select animals without the necessity for mapping the entire genome. Simplicity, applicability, and low cost of this technique gave this technique a wide range of applications in many areas of genetics and molecular biology. Also, this technique provides a useful approach for evaluating genetic differentiation, particularly in populations that are poorly known genetically. The expected breeding value (EBV) and yield deviation (YD) are considered as the most parameters used for studying the linkage between quantitative characteristics and molecular markers, since these values are raw data corrected for the non-genetic factors. A total of 17 microsatellites markers (from chromosomes 6, 14, 18, 20 and 23) were used in this study to search for areas that could be responsible for genetic variability for some milk traits and search of chromosomal regions that explain part of the phenotypic variance. Results of single-marker analyses were used to identify the linkage between microsatellite markers and variation in EBVs of these traits, Milk yield, Protein percentage, Fat percentage, Litter size and weight at birth, and litter size and weight at weaning. The estimates of the parameters from forward and backward solutions using stepwise regression procedure on milk yield trait, only two markers, OARCP9 and AGLA29, showed a highly significant effect (p≤0.01) in backward and forward solutions. The forward solution for different equations conducted that R2 of these equations were highly depending on only two partials regressions coefficient (βi,) for these markers. For the milk protein trait, four marker showed significant effect BMS2361, CSSM66 (p≤0.01), BMS2626, and OARCP9 (p≤0.05). By the other way, four markers (MCM147, BM1225, INRA006, andINRA133) showed highly significant effect (p≤0.01) in both backward and forward solutions in association with milk fat trait. For both litter size at birth and at weaning traits, only one marker (BM143(p≤0.01) and RJH1 (p≤0.05), respectively) showed a significant effect in backward and forward solutions. The estimates of the parameters from forward and backward solution using stepwise regression procedure on litter weight at birth (LWB) trait only one marker (MCM147) showed highly significant effect (p≤0.01) and two marker (ILSTS011, CSSM66) showed a significant effect (p≤0.05) in backward and forward solutions.

Keywords: microsatellites marker, estimated breeding value, stepwise regression, milk traits

Procedia PDF Downloads 78