Search results for: fuzzy soft similarity measures

Authors: André Pasti

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Historically, the communication sector in Argentina is characterized by intense monopolization and geographical concentration in the city of Buenos Aires. In 2000, the four major media conglomerates in operation – Clarín, Telefónica, America and Hadad – controlled 84% of the national media market. By 2009, new policies were implemented as a result of civil society organizations demands. Legally, a new regulatory framework was approved: the law 26,522 of Audiovisual Communications Services. Supposedly, these policies intend to create new conditions for the development of the audiovisual economy in the territory of Argentina. The regionalization of audiovisual production and the democratization of channels and access to media were among the priorities. This paper analyses the main changes and continuities in the organization of the spatial circuit of the audiovisual industry in Argentina provoked by these new policies. These new policies aim at increasing the diversity of audiovisual producers and promoting regional audiovisual industries. For this purpose, a national program for the development of audiovisual centers within the country was created. This program fostered a federalized production network, based on nine audiovisual regions and 40 nodes. Each node has created technical, financial and organizational conditions to gather different actors in audiovisual production – such as SMEs, social movements and local associations. The expansion of access to technical networks was also a concern of other policies, such as ‘Argentina connected’, whose objective was to expand access to broadband Internet. The Open Digital Television network also received considerable investments. Furthermore, measures have been carried out in order to impose limits on the concentration of ownership as well as to eliminate the oligopolies and to ensure more competition in the sector. These actions intended to force a divide of the media conglomerates into smaller groups. Nevertheless, the corporations that compose these conglomerates resist strongly, making full use of their economic and judiciary power. Indeed, the absence of effective impact of such measures can be testified by the fact that the audiovisual industry remains strongly concentrated in Argentina. Overall, these new policies were designed properly to decentralize audiovisual production and expand the regional diversity of the audiovisual industry. However, the effective transformation of the organization of the audiovisual circuit in the territory faced several resistances. This can be explained firstly and foremost by the ideological and economic power of the media conglomerates. In the second place, there is an inherited inertia from the unequal distribution of the objects needed for the audiovisual production and consumption. Lastly, the resistance also relies on financial needs and in the excessive dependence of the state for the promotion of regional audiovisual production.

Keywords: Argentina, audiovisual industry, communication policies, geographic concentration, regionalization, spatial circuit

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Authors: R. Vasireddi, J. Kruse, M. Vakili, M. Trebbin

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Here we present a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) based microfluidic jetting devices for spinning of nano/microfibers. The device is fabricated by soft lithography techniques and is based on the principle of a GDVN for precise three-dimensional gas focusing of the spinning solution. The nozzle device is used to produce micro/nanofibers of a perfluorinated terpolymer (THV), which were collected on an aluminum substrate for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The influences of air pressure, polymer concentration, flow rate and nozzle geometry on the fiber properties were investigated. It was revealed that surface properties are controlled by air pressure and polymer concentration while the diameter and shape of the fibers are influenced mostly by the concentration of the polymer solution and pressure. Alterations of the nozzle geometry had a negligible effect on the fiber properties, however, the jetting stability was affected. Round and flat fibers with differing surface properties from craters, grooves to smooth surfaces could be fabricated by controlling the above-mentioned parameters. Furthermore, the formation of surface roughness was attributed to the fast evaporation rate and velocity (mis)match between the polymer solution jet and the surrounding air stream. The diameter of the fibers could be tuned from ~250 nm to ~15 µm. Because of the simplicity of the setup, the precise control of the fiber properties, access to biocompatible nanofiber fabrication and the easy scale-up of parallel channels for high throughput, this method offers significant benefits compared to existing solution-based fiber production methods.

Keywords: gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) principle, microfluidic device, spinning, uniform nanofibers

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Authors: M. Ghasemi, S.Fazelifar

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Abstract Aim: Over-weight is not desirable and has implications for health and in the case of athletes affects performance. Exercise is a strategy used to counteract overweight owing to create a negative energy balance by increasing energy expenditure and influencing appetite regulating hormones. Interestingly, recent studies have revealed inhibitory effects of exercise on the hunger associated with these hormones in healthy subjects Neuropeptide Y(NPY) is a 36 amino acid protein that is a powerful stimulant appetite. NPY is an important central orexigenic hormone predominantly produced by the hypothalamus, and recently found to be secreted in adipose tissue. This neurotransmitter is secreted in the brain and autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, research has shown that thyme in addition to various properties, also affects the appetite. The purpose of this study was to determine Effects of eight weeks endurance training and thyme consumption on neuropeptide Y in untrained men. Methodology: 36 Healthy untrained men (mean body weight 78.25±3.2 kg, height 176±6.8 cm, age 34.32±4.54 years and BMI 29.1±4.3 kg/m2) voluntarily participated in this study . Subjects were randomly divided into four groups: 1. control, 2. Endurance training, 3. Thyme 4. Endurance training + Thyme. Amount of 10cc Blood sampling were obtained pre-test and post-test (after 8 weeks). The taken blood samples were centrifuged at 1500 × g for 15 min then plasma was stored at -20 °C until analysis. Endurance training consisted three session per week with 60% -75% of reserve heart rate for eight weeks. Exclusion criteria were history of gastrointestinal, endocrine, cardiovascular or psychological disease, and consuming any supplementation, alcohol and tobacco products. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations, and ranges were calculated for all measures. K-S test to determine the normality of the data and analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to analyze the data. A significant difference in the p<0/05 accepted. Results: Results showed that aerobic training significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, but significant increase observed in maximal oxygen consumption level (p ≤ 0/05). The neuropeptide Y levels were significantly increased after exercise. Analysis of data determined that there was no significant difference between the four groups. Conclusion: Appetite control plays a critical role in the competition between energy consumption and energy expenditure. The results of this study showed that endurance training and thyme consumption can be cause improvement in physiological parameters such as increasing aerobic capacity, reduction of fat mass and improve body composition in untrained men.

Keywords: Endurance training, neuropeptide Y, thyme, untrained men

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Authors: Addisu Tadesse Sahile, Tennyson Mgutshini

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Background: Periodontal disease is a common, complex, inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of tooth-supporting soft and hard tissues of the periodontium and a major public health problem across developed and developing countries. Objectives: The study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of periodontal disease and associated factors among diabetes patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2018. Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on 388 diabetes patients selected by systematic random sampling method from March to May 2018. The study was conducted at two conveniently selected public hospitals in Addis Ababa. Data were collected with pre-tested, structured and translated questionnaire then entered to SPSS version 23 software for analysis. Descriptive statistics as a summary, in line with chi-square and binary logistics regression to identify factors associated with periodontal disease, were applied. A 95% CI with a p-value less than 5% was used as a level of significance. Results: Ninety-one percent (n=353) of participants had periodontal disease while oral examination was done in six regions. While only 9% (n=35) of participants were free of periodontal disease. The number of tooth brushings per day, correct techniques of brushing, malocclusion, and fillings that are defective were associated with periodontal disease at p < 0.05. Conclusion and recommendation: A higher prevalence of periodontal disease among diabetes patient was observed. The frequency of tooth brushing, correct techniques of brushing, malocclusion and defective fillings were associated with periodontal disease. Emphasis has to be given to oral health of diabetes patients by every concerned body so as to control the current higher burden of periodontal disease in diabetes.

Keywords: periodontal disease, risk factors, diabetes mellitus, Addis Ababa

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Authors: S. S. Singh, A. Bhattacharya, S. Bhattacharya

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The eukaryotic exosome complex plays a pivotal role in RNA biogenesis, maturation, surveillance and differential expression of various RNAs in response to varying environmental signals. The exosome is composed of evolutionary conserved nine core subunits and the associated exonucleases Rrp6 and Rrp44. Rrp6p is crucial for the processing of rRNAs, other non-coding RNAs, regulation of polyA tail length and termination of transcription. Rrp6p, a 3’-5’ exonuclease is required for degradation of 5’-external transcribed spacer (ETS) released from the rRNA precursors during the early steps of pre-rRNA processing. In the parasitic protist Entamoeba histolytica in response to growth stress, there occurs the accumulation of unprocessed pre-rRNA and 5’ ETS sub fragment. To understand the processes leading to this accumulation, we looked for Rrp6 and the exosome subunits in E. histolytica, by in silico approaches. Of the nine core exosomal subunits, seven had high percentage of sequence similarity with the yeast and human. The EhRrp6 homolog contained exoribonuclease and HRDC domains like yeast but its N- terminus lacked the PMC2NT domain. EhRrp6 complemented the temperature sensitive phenotype of yeast rrp6Δ cells suggesting conservation of biological activity. We showed 3’-5’ exoribonuclease activity of EhRrp6p with in vitro-synthesized appropriate RNAs substrates. Like the yeast enzyme, EhRrp6p degraded unstructured RNA, but could degrade the stem-loops slowly. Furthermore, immunolocalization revealed that EhRrp6 was nuclear-localized in normal cells but was diminished from nucleus during serum starvation, which could explain the accumulation of 5’ETS during stress. Our study shows functional conservation of EhRrp6p in E.histolytica, an early-branching eukaryote, and will help to understand the evolution of exosomal components and their regulatory function.

Keywords: entamoeba histolytica, exosome complex, rRNA processing, Rrp6

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Authors: Dinesh Munjurulimana, Anil Tiwari, Tingwen Li, Carlos Pereira, Sreekanth Pannala, John Waters

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With the rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) across the globe, car manufacturers are in need of integrated and lightweight solutions for the battery packs of these vehicles. An integral part of a battery pack is the battery tray, which constitutes a significant portion of the pack’s overall weight. Based on the functional requirements, cost targets, and packaging space available, a range of materials –from metals, composites, and plastics– are often used to develop these battery trays. This paper considers the design and development of integrated thermoplastic-intensive battery trays, using the available packaging space from a representative EV battery pack. Presented as a proposed alternative are multiple concepts to integrate several connected systems such as cooling plates and underbody impact protection parts of a multi-piece incumbent battery pack. The resulting digital prototype was evaluated for several mechanical performance measures such as mechanical shock, drop, crush resistance, modal analysis, and torsional stiffness. The performance of this alternative design is then compared with the incumbent solution. In addition, insights are gleaned into how these novel approaches can be optimized to meet or exceed the performance of incumbent designs. Preliminary manufacturing feasibility of the optimal solution using injection molding and other commonly used manufacturing methods for thermoplastics is briefly explained. Then numerical and analytical evaluations are performed to show a representative Pareto front of cost vs. volume of the production parts. The proposed solution is observed to offer weight savings of up to 40% on a component level and part elimination of up to two systems in the battery pack of a typical battery EV while offering the potential to meet the required performance measures highlighted above. These conceptual solutions are also observed to potentially offer secondary benefits such as improved thermal and electrical isolations and be able to achieve complex geometrical features, thus demonstrating the ability to use the complete packaging space available in the vehicle platform considered. The detailed study presented in this paper serves as a valuable reference for researches across the globe working on the development of EV battery packs – especially those with an interest in the potential of employing alternate solutions as part of a mixed-material system to help capture untapped opportunities to optimize performance and meet critical application requirements.

Keywords: thermoplastics, lightweighting, part integration, electric vehicle battery packs

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Authors: N. H. Harun, A. S. Abdul Nasir, M. Y. Mashor, R. Hassan

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Leukaemia is a blood cancer disease that contributes to the increment of mortality rate in Malaysia each year. There are two main categories for leukaemia, which are acute and chronic leukaemia. The production and development of acute leukaemia cells occurs rapidly and uncontrollable. Therefore, if the identification of acute leukaemia cells could be done fast and effectively, proper treatment and medicine could be delivered. Due to the requirement of prompt and accurate diagnosis of leukaemia, the current study has proposed unsupervised pixel segmentation based on clustering algorithm in order to obtain a fully segmented abnormal white blood cell (blast) in acute leukaemia image. In order to obtain the segmented blast, the current study proposed three clustering algorithms which are k-means, fuzzy c-means and moving k-means algorithms have been applied on the saturation component image. Then, median filter and seeded region growing area extraction algorithms have been applied, to smooth the region of segmented blast and to remove the large unwanted regions from the image, respectively. Comparisons among the three clustering algorithms are made in order to measure the performance of each clustering algorithm on segmenting the blast area. Based on the good sensitivity value that has been obtained, the results indicate that moving k-means clustering algorithm has successfully produced the fully segmented blast region in acute leukaemia image. Hence, indicating that the resultant images could be helpful to haematologists for further analysis of acute leukaemia.

Keywords: acute leukaemia images, clustering algorithms, image segmentation, moving k-means

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Authors: Jeong-Min Son, Jeong-Hee Eum, Jin-Kyu Min, Uk-Je Sung, Ju-Eun Kim

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While various environmental problems are severe due to climate change, especially in cities where population and development are concentrated, urban thermal environment problems such as heat waves and tropical nights are particularly worsening. Accordingly, the Korean government provides basic data related to the urban thermal environment to support each local government in effectively establishing policies to cope with heat waves. However, the basic data related to the thermal environment provided by the government has limitations in establishing a regional thermal adaptation plan with a minimum unit of cities, counties, and districts. In addition, the urban heat environment perceived by people differs in each region and space. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare practical measures that can be used to establish regional-based policies for heat wave adaptation by identifying people’s heat perception in the entire city. This study aims to develop a mobile phone application (APP) to gather people’s thermal sensation information and create Korea’s first thermal map based on this information. In addition, through this APP, citizens directly propose thermal adaptation policies, and urban planners and policymakers accept citizens' opinions, so this study provides a tool to solve local thermal environment problems. To achieve this purpose, first, the composition and contents of the app were discussed by examining various existing apps and cases for citizen participation and collection of heat information. In addition, factors affecting human thermal comfort, such as spatial, meteorological, and demographic factors, were investigated to construct the APP system. Based on these results, the basic version of the APP was developed. Second, the living lab methodology was adopted to gather people’s heat perception using the developed app to conduct overall evaluation and feedback of people on the APP. The people participating in the living lab were selected as those living in Daegu Metropolitan City, which is located in South Korea and annually records high temperatures. The user interface was improved through the living lab to make the app easier to use and the thermal map was modified. This study expects to establish high-resolution thermal maps for effective policies and measures and to solve local thermal environmental problems using the APP. The collected information can be used to evaluate spatial, meteorological, and demographic characteristics that affect the perceived heat of citizens. In addition, it is expected that the research can be expanded by gathering thermal information perceived by citizens of foreign cities as well as other cities in South Korea through the APP developed in this study.

Keywords: mobile application, living lab, thermal map, climate change adaptation

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Authors: Jaroslav Kraus

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Spatial information about demographic processes are a standard part of outputs in the Czech Republic. That was also the case of Population and Housing Census which was held on 2011. This is a starting point for a follow up study devoted to two basic types of households: single person households and households of one completed family. Single person households and one family households create more than 80 percent of all households, but the share and spatial structure is in long-term changing. The increase of single households is results of long-term fertility decrease and divorce increase, but also possibility of separate living. There are regions in the Czech Republic with traditional demographic behavior, and regions like capital Prague and some others with changing pattern. Population census is based - according to international standards - on the concept of currently living population. Three types of geospatial approaches will be used for analysis: (i) firstly measures of geographic distribution, (ii) secondly mapping clusters to identify the locations of statistically significant hot spots, cold spots, spatial outliers, and similar features and (iii) finally analyzing pattern approach as a starting point for more in-depth analyses (geospatial regression) in the future will be also applied. For analysis of this type of data, number of households by types should be distinct objects. All events in a meaningful delimited study region (e.g. municipalities) will be included in an analysis. Commonly produced measures of central tendency and spread will include: identification of the location of the center of the point set (by NUTS3 level); identification of the median center and standard distance, weighted standard distance and standard deviational ellipses will be also used. Identifying that clustering exists in census households datasets does not provide a detailed picture of the nature and pattern of clustering but will be helpful to apply simple hot-spot (and cold spot) identification techniques to such datasets. Once the spatial structure of households will be determined, any particular measure of autocorrelation can be constructed by defining a way of measuring the difference between location attribute values. The most widely used measure is Moran’s I that will be applied to municipal units where numerical ratio is calculated. Local statistics arise naturally out of any of the methods for measuring spatial autocorrelation and will be applied to development of localized variants of almost any standard summary statistic. Local Moran’s I will give an indication of household data homogeneity and diversity on a municipal level.

Keywords: census, geo-demography, households, the Czech Republic

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Authors: Divvela Vishnu Sai Kumar, Deepak Arora, Sheenu Rizvi

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Forecasting a cyclone through satellite images consists of the estimation of the intensity of the cyclone and predicting it before a cyclone comes. This research work can help people to take safety measures before the cyclone comes. The prediction of the intensity of a cyclone is very important to save lives and minimize the damage caused by cyclones. These cyclones are very costliest natural disasters that cause a lot of damage globally due to a lot of hazards. Authors have proposed five different CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) models that estimate the intensity of cyclones through INSAT-3D IR images. There are a lot of techniques that are used to estimate the intensity; the best model proposed by authors estimates intensity with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 10.02 kts.

Keywords: estimating cyclone intensity, deep learning, convolution neural network, prediction models

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Authors: Jing Li, Li Jin, Fulin Wang, Jie Dong, Wenjiang Ding

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Mg-Li dual-phase alloy exhibits better combination of yield strength and elongation than the Mg single-phase alloy. To exploit its deformation behavior, the deformation mechanisms of Mg-2Gd alloy with or without Li addition, i.e., Mg-6Li-2Gd and Mg-2Gd alloy, have been studied at both microscale and mesoscale. EBSD-assisted slip trace, twin trace, and texture evolution analysis show that the α-Mg phase of Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy exhibits different microscopic deformation mechanisms with the Mg-2Gd alloy, i.e., mainly prismatic slip in the former one, while basal slip, prismatic slip and extension twin in the latter one. Further Schmid factor analysis results attribute this different intra-phase deformation mechanisms to the higher critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) value of extension twin and lower ratio of CRSSprismatic /CRSSbasal in the α-Mg phase of Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy. Additionally, Li addition can induce dual-phase microstructure in the Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy, leading to the formation of hetero-deformation induced (HDI) stress at the mesoscale. This can be evidenced by the hysteresis loops appearing during the loading-unloading-reloading (LUR) tensile tests and the activation of multiple slip activity in the α-Mg phase neighboring β-Li phase. The Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy shows higher yield strength is due to the harder α-Mg phase arising from solid solution hardening of Li addition, as well asthe strengthening of soft β-Li phase by the HDI stress during yield stage. Since the strain hardening rate of Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy is lower than that of Mg-2Gd alloy after ~2% strain, which is partly due to the weak contribution of HDI stress, Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy shows no obvious increase of uniform elongation than the Mg-2Gd alloy.But since the β-Li phase is effective in blunting the crack tips, the Mg-6Li-2Gd alloy shows ununiform elongation, which, thus, leads to the higher total elongation than the Mg-2Gd alloy.

Keywords: Mg-Li-Gd dual-phase alloy, phase boundary, HDI stress, dislocation slip activity, mechanical properties

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Authors: Brian Carey Sims

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The current study examines psychological factors relevant to child custody litigation among African American fathers. Thirty-seven fathers engaged in various stages of custody litigation involving their children were surveyed about their perceptions of racial stereotypes, parental motivations, and racialized dynamics of the court/ legal process. Data were analyzed using a Critical Race Theory model designed to statistically isolate fathers’ perceptions of the existence and maintenance of structural racism through the legal process. Results indicate significant correlations between fathers’ psychological measures and structural outcomes of their cases. Findings are discussed in terms of ethical implications for family court judicial systems and attorney practice.

Keywords: ethics, family, legal psychology, policy, race

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Authors: Hai Huu Le, Paul Junor, Moshi Geso, Graeme O’Keefe

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In this paper, the authors propose a personal wearable directionally-sensitive radiation dosimeter using multiple semiconductor CdZnTe detectors. The proposed dosimeter not only measures the real-time dose rate but also provide the direction of the radioactive source. A linear relationship between radioactive source direction and the radiation intensity measured by each detectors is established and an equation to determine the source direction is derived by the authors. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed dosimeter is verified by simulation using Geant4 package. Results have indicated that in a measurement duration of about 7 seconds, the proposed dosimeter was able to estimate the direction of a 10μCi 137/55Cs radioactive source to within 2 degrees.

Keywords: dose rate, Geant4 package, radiation dosimeter, radioactive source direction

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Authors: Hefzollah Mohammadian, Mohammad Bagher Heidari

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This paper deals with the technical and economic effects of various parameters on the performance of heat recovery system on gas complex turbo generator. Given the importance of this issue, that is the main goal of economic efficiency and reduces costs; this project has been implemented similar plans in which the target is the implementation of specific patterns. The project will also help us in the process of gas refineries and the actual efficiency of the process after adding a system to analyze the turbine and predict potential problems and fix them and take appropriate measures according to the results of simulation analysis and results of the process gain. The results of modeling and the effect of different parameters on this line, have been done using Thermo Flow.

Keywords: turbo compressor, turbo generator, heat recovery boiler, gas turbines

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Authors: Maryam Beiranvand, Sajad Yaghoubi

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Background: Some microbes can colonize plants’ inner tissues without causing obvious damage and can even produce useful bioactive substances. In the present study, the diversity of the endophytic bacteria associated with medicinal plants from Iran was investigated by culturing techniques, molecular gene identification, as well as measuring them for antibacterial activity. Results: In the spring season from 2013 to 2014, 35 herb pharmacology samples were collected, sterilized, meshed, and then cultured on selective media culture. A total of 199 endophytic bacteria were successfully isolated from 35 tissue cultures of medical plants, and sixty-seven out of 199 bacterial isolates were subjected to identification by the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis method. Based on the sequence similarity gene and phylogenetic analyses, these isolates were grouped into five classes, fourteen orders, seventeen families, twenty-one genera, and forty strains. The most abundant group of endophytic bacteria was actinobacterial, consisting of thirty-two (47%) out of 67 bacterial isolates. Ten (22.3%) out of 67 bacterial isolates remained unidentified and classified at the genus level. The signature of the 16S rRNA gene formed a distinct line in a phylogenetic tree showing that they might be new species of bacteria. One (5.2%) out of 67 bacterial isolates was still not well categorized. Forty-two out of 67 strains were candidates for antimicrobial activity tests. Nineteen (45%) out of 42 strains showed antimicrobial activity multidrug resistance (MDR); thirteen (68%) out of 19 strains were allocated to classes actinobacteria. Four (21%) out of 19 strains belonged to the Bacillaceae family, one (5.2%) out of 19 strains was the Paenibacillaceae family, and one (5.2%) out of 19 strains belonged to the Pseudomonadaceae family. The other twenty-three strains did not show inhibitory activities. Conclusions: Our research showed a high-level phylogenetic diversity and the intoxicating antibiotic activity of endophytic bacteria in the herb pharmacology of Iran.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, endophytic bacteria, multidrug-resistant bacteria, whole genom sequencing

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Authors: Getachew Demesa Bexa

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Building resilience to withstand extreme weather events through reduction and mitigation measures towards predicted disasters with appropriate contingency plans complemented by timely and effective emergency response demands committed and integrated/coordinated efforts. The 2006 flood disaster that claimed more than 200 people in Dire Dawa town shifted the paradigm from reactive to proactive engagement among government, NGOs and communities to contain future disasters through resilience building. Dire Dawa CMDRR Association is a model community organization that demonstrated the basic minimum and turning adversity into opportunity by mobilizing vulnerable community members. Meanwhile the birth of African Centre for Disaster Risk Management is a milestone in changing the image of the country and beyond in resilience building while linking relief and development.

Keywords: Dire Dawa, disaster, resilience, risk management

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Authors: Dembel Bonta Gebeyehu

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In the study area, the impacts of deforestation for environmental degradation and livelihood of farmers manifest in different faces. They are more vulnerable as they depend on rain-fed agriculture and immediate natural forests. On the other hand, after planting seedling, waste disposal and management system of the plastic cover is poorly practiced and administered in the country in general and in the study area in particular. If this situation continues, the plastic waste would also accentuate land degradation. Besides, there is the absence of empirical studies conducted comprehensively on the research under study the case. The results of the study could suffice to inform any intervention schemes or to contribute to the existing knowledge on these issues. The study employed a qualitative approach based on intensive fieldwork data collected via various tools namely open-ended interviews, focus group discussion, key-informant interview and non-participant observation. The collected data was duly transcribed and latter categorized into different labels based on pre-determined themes to make further analysis. The major causes of deforestation were the expansion of agricultural land, poor administration, population growth, and the absence of conservation methods. The farmers are vulnerable to soil erosion and soil infertility culminating in low agricultural production; loss of grazing land and decline of livestock production; climate change; and deterioration of social capital. Their adaptation and coping strategies include natural conservation measures, diversification of income sources, safety-net program, and migration. Due to participatory natural resource conservation measures, soil erosion has been decreased and protected, indigenous woodlands started to regenerate. These brought farmers’ attitudinal change. The existing forestation program has many flaws. Especially, after planting seedlings, there is no mechanism for the plastic waste disposal and management. It was also found out organizational challenges among the mandated offices In the studied area, deforestation is aggravated by a number of factors, which made the farmers vulnerable. The current forestation programs are not well-planned, implemented, and coordinated. Sustainable and efficient seedling plastic cover collection and reuse methods should be devised. This is possible through creating awareness, organizing micro and small enterprises to reuse, and generate income from the collected plastic etc.

Keywords: land-cover and land-dynamics, vulnerability, adaptation strategy, mitigation strategies, sustainable plastic waste management

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Authors: Fei Wan Ngai

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Background: Family and marital functioning has become an important public health issue because it is vital to child development and well-being. Objective: This study was designed to examine the changes in family and marital functioning among Chinese women during the transition to motherhood. Methods: A longitudinal design was used. A convenience sample of 202 Chinese childbearing women completed the Medical Outcomes Study Family and Marital Functioning Measures during pregnancy, at 6 weeks and at 6 months postpartum. Results: The results showed that women experienced substantial decline in their family and marital functioning from pregnancy to 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the need for more attention to family and marital functioning among women after childbirth. Culturally relevant interventions should be developed to assist women in facing the challenges of new motherhood and achieving a better family and marital functioning.

Keywords: family and marital functioning, perinatal period, women

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Authors: Chandan Jha, Amit Sachan, Arnab Adhikari, Sayantan Kundu

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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of India and examine the impact of urbanization on the performance of HEIs. In this study, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been used, and the authors have collected the required data related to performance measures from the National Institutional Ranking Framework web portal. In this study, the authors have evaluated the performance of HEIs by using two different DEA models. In the first model, geographic locations of the institutes have been categorized into two categories, i.e., Urban Vs. Non-Urban. However, in the second model, these geographic locations have been classified into three categories, i.e., Urban, Semi-Urban, Non-Urban. The findings of this study provide several insights related to the degree of urbanization and the performance of HEIs.

Keywords: DEA, higher education, performance evaluation, urbanization

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Authors: Chek Kim Loi

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The study attempts to undertake an error analysis of prepositions employed in the written work of Form 4 Malay ESL (English as a Second Language) students in Malaysia. The error analysis is undertaken using Richards’s (1974) framework of intralingual and interlingual errors and Bennett’s (1975) framework in identifying prepositional concepts found in the sample. The study first identifies common prepositional errors in the written texts of 150 student participants. It then measures the relative intensities of these errors and finds out the possible causes for the occurrences of these errors. In this study, one significant finding is that among the nine concepts of prepositions examined, the participant students tended to make errors in the use of prepositions of time and place. The present study has pedagogical implications in teaching English prepositions to Malay ESL students.

Keywords: error, interlingual, intralingual, preposition

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Authors: Mohammed Farag, Mina Attari, S. Andrew Gadsden, Saeid R. Habibi

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Battery state of charge (SOC) estimation is an important parameter as it measures the total amount of electrical energy stored at a current time. The SOC percentage acts as a fuel gauge if it is compared with a conventional vehicle. Estimating the SOC is, therefore, essential for monitoring the amount of useful life remaining in the battery system. This paper looks at the implementation of three nonlinear estimation strategies for Li-Ion battery SOC estimation. One of the most common behavioral battery models is the one state hysteresis (OSH) model. The extended Kalman filter (EKF), the smooth variable structure filter (SVSF), and the time-varying smoothing boundary layer SVSF are applied on this model, and the results are compared.

Keywords: state of charge estimation, battery modeling, one-state hysteresis, filtering and estimation

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Authors: Vivian A. Galindo, Maria C. Galvis, Jaime R. Obando, Alvaro Guarin

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In Colombia, most of the roads of the national tertiary road network are unpaved roads with granular rolling surface. These are very important ways of guaranteeing the mobility of people, products, and inputs from the agricultural sector from the most remote areas to urban centers; however, it has not paid much attention to the search for alternatives to avoid the occurrence of deteriorations that occur shortly after its commissioning. In recent years, geosynthetics have been used satisfactorily to reinforce unpaved roads on soft soils, with geotextiles and geogrids being the most widely used. The interaction of the geogrid and the aggregate minimizes the lateral movement of the aggregate particles and increases the load capacity of the material, which leads to a better distribution of the vertical stresses, consequently reducing the vertical deformations in the subgrade. Taking into account the above, the research aimed at the mechanical behavior of the granular material, used in unpaved roads with and without the presence of geogrids, from the development of laboratory tests through the loaded wheel tester (LWT). For comparison purposes, the reinforced conditions and traffic conditions to which this type of material can be accessed in practice were simulated. In total four types of geogrids, were tested with granular material; this means that five test sets, the reinforced material and the non-reinforced control sample were evaluated. The results of the numbers of load cycles and depth rutting supported by each test body showed the influence of the properties of the reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of the assembly and the significant increases in the number of load cycles of the reinforced specimens in relation to those without reinforcement.

Keywords: geosynthetics, load wheel tester LWT, tertiary roads, unpaved road, vertical deformation

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Authors: Arthur Müller

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The study treats human dimensions of hunting by conducting statistical data analysis and providing decision-making support by examples of good prefectural governance and successful wildlife management, crucial to reduce pest species and sustain a stable hunter population in the future. Therefore it analyzes recent revision of wildlife legislation, reveals differences in administrative management structures, as well as socio-demographic characteristics of hunters in correlation with harvest trends of sika deer and wild boar in 47 prefectures in Japan between 1990 and 2013. In a wider context, Japan’s decentralized license hunting system might take the potential future role of a regional pioneer in East Asia. Consequently, the study contributes to similar issues in premature hunting systems of South Korea and Taiwan. Firstly, a quantitative comparison of seven mainland regions was conducted in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, and Kyushu. Example prefectures were chosen by a cluster analysis. Shifts, differences, mean values and exponential growth rates between trap and gun hunters, age classes and common occupation types of hunters were statistically exterminated. While western Japan is characterized by high numbers of aged trap-hunters, occupied in agricultural- and forestry, the north-eastern prefectures show higher relative numbers of younger gun-hunters occupied in the field of production and process workers. With the exception of Okinawa island, most hunters in all prefectures are 60 years and older. Hence, unemployed and retired hunters are the fastest growing occupation group. Despite to drastic decrease in hunter population in absolute numbers, Hunting Recruitment Index indicated that all age classes tend to continue their hunting activity over a longer period, above ten years from 2004 to 2013 than during the former decade. Associated with a rapid population increase and distribution of sika deer and wild boar since 1978, a number of harvest from hunting and culling also have been rapidly increasing. Both wild boar hunting and culling is particularly high in western Japan, while sika hunting and culling proofs most successful in Hokkaido, central and western Japan. Since the Wildlife Protection and Proper Hunting Act in 1999 distinct prefectural hunting management authorities with different power, sets apply management approaches under the principles of subsidiarity and guidelines of the Ministry of Environment. Additionally, the Act on Special Measures for Prevention of Damage Related to Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Caused by Wildlife from 2008 supports local hunters in damage prevention measures through subsidies by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which caused a rise of trap hunting, especially in western Japan. Secondly, prefectural staff in charge of wildlife management in seven regions was contacted. In summary, Hokkaido serves as a role model for dynamic, integrative, adaptive “feedback” management of Ezo sika deer, as well as a diverse network between management organizations, while Hyogo takes active measures to trap-hunt wild boars effectively. Both prefectures take the leadership in institutional performance and capacity. Northern prefectures in Tohoku, Chubu and Kanto region, firstly confronted with the emergence of wild boars and rising sika deer numbers, demand new institution and capacity building, as well as organizational learning.

Keywords: hunting and culling harvest trends, hunter socio-demographics, regional comparison, wildlife management approach

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Authors: T. Marinaci, C. Venuleo

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Different conceptualizations of disease affect patient care. This study aims to address this gap. It explores how health professionals conceptualize gambling problem, addiction and the goals of recovery process. In-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with Italian psychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, and support staff (N= 114), working within health centres for the treatment of addiction (public health services or therapeutic communities) or medical offices. A Lexical Correspondence Analysis (LCA) was applied to the verbatim transcripts. LCA allowed to identify two main factorial dimensions, which organize similarity and dissimilarity in the discourses of the interviewed. The first dimension labelled 'Models of relationship with the problem', concerns two different models of relationship with the health problem: one related to the request for help and the process of taking charge and the other related to the identification of the psychopathology underlying the disorder. The second dimension, labelled 'Organisers of the intervention' reflects the dialectic between two ways to address the problem. On the one hand, they are the gambling dynamics and its immediate life-consequences to organize the intervention (whatever the request of the user is); on the other hand, they are the procedures and the tools which characterize the health service to organize the way the professionals deal with the user’ s problem (whatever it is and despite the specify of the user’s request). The results highlight how, despite the differences, the respondents share a central assumption: understanding gambling problem implies the reference to the gambler’s identity, more than, for instance, to the relational, social, cultural or political context where the gambler lives. A passive stance is attributed to the user, who does not play any role in the definition of the goal of the intervention. The results will be discussed to highlight the relationship between professional models and users’ ways to understand and deal with the problems related to gambling.

Keywords: cultural models, health professionals, intervention models, problem gambling

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Authors: Maryam Beiranvand, Sajad Yaghoubi

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Background: Some microbes can colonize plants’ inner tissues without causing obvious damage and can even produce useful bioactive substances. In the present study, the diversity of the endophytic bacteria associated with medicinal plants from Iran was investigated by culturing techniques, molecular gene identification, as well as measuring them for antibacterial activity. Results: In the spring season from 2013 to 2014, 35 herb pharmacology samples were collected, sterilized, meshed, and then cultured on selective media culture. A total of 199 endophytic bacteria were successfully isolated from 35 tissue cultures of medical plants, and sixty-seven out of 199 bacterial isolates were subjected to identification by the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis method. Based on the sequence similarity gene and phylogenetic analyses, these isolates were grouped into five classes, fourteen orders, seventeen families, twenty-one genera, and forty strains. The most abundant group of endophytic bacteria was actinobacterial, consisting of thirty-two (47%) out of 67 bacterial isolates. Ten (22.3%) out of 67 bacterial isolates remained unidentified and classified at the genus level. The signature of the 16S rRNA gene formed a distinct line in a phylogenetic tree showing that they might be new species of bacteria. One (5.2%) out of 67 bacterial isolates was still not well categorized. Forty-two out of 67 strains were candidates for antimicrobial activity tests. Nineteen (45%) out of 42 strains showed antimicrobial activity multidrug-resistance (MDR); thirteen (68%) out of 19 strains were allocated to classes actinobacteria. Four (21%) out of 19 strains belonged to the Bacillaceae family, one (5.2%) out of 19 strains was the Paenibacillaceae family, and one (5.2%) out of 19 strains belonged to the Pseudomonadaceae family. The other twenty-three strains did not show inhibitory activities. Conclusions: Our research showed a high-level phylogenetic diversity and the intoxicating antibiotic activity of endophytic bacteria in the herb pharmacology of Iran.

Keywords: medical plant, endophytic bacteria, antimicrobial activity, whole genome sequencing analysis

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Authors: Bala Adamu Malami

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The necessity of low-cost electronic vehicle/car security designed in coordination with other security measures is always there in our society to reduce the risk of vehicle intrusion. Keeping this problem in mind, we are designing an automatic GPS system which is technology to build an integrated and fully customized vehicle to detect the movement of the vehicle and also serve as a security system at a reasonable cost. Users can locate the vehicle's position via GPS by using the Google Maps application to show vehicle coordinates on a smartphone. The tracking system uses a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modem for communication between the mobile station and the microcontroller to send and receive commands. Further design can be improved to capture the vehicle movement range and alert the vehicle owner when the vehicle is out of range.

Keywords: electronic, GPS, GSM modem, communication, vehicle

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Authors: Joe Kallas

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It is now widely accepted that the preservation of cultural heritage must go beyond simple restoration and renovation actions. While some historic monuments have been preserved for millennia, many of them, less important or simply neglected because of lack of money, have disappeared. As a result, the adaptation of monuments and archaeological sites to new functions allow them to 'survive'. Temporary activities or 'ephemeral' re-use, are increasingly recognized as a means of vitalization of deprived areas and enhancement of historic sites that became obsolete. They have the potential to increase economic and cultural value while making the best use of existing resources. However, there are often conservation and preservation issues related to the implementation of this type of re-use, which can also threaten the integrity and authenticity of archaeological sites and monuments if they have not been properly managed. This paper aims to get a better knowledge of the ephemeral re-use of heritage, and more specifically the subject of the incorporation of the festival phenomenon within the monuments and archaeological sites in Lebanon, a topic that is not yet studied enough. This paper tried to determine the elements that compose it, in order to analyze this phenomenon and to trace its good practices, by comparing international study cases to important national cases: the International Festival of Baalbek, the International Festival of Byblos and the International Festival of Beiteddine. Various factors have been studied and analyzed in order to best respond to the main problematic of this paper: 'How can we preserve the integrity of sites and monuments after the integration of an ephemeral function? And what are the preventive conservation measures to be taken when holding festivals in archaeological sites with fragile structures?' The impacts of the technical problems were first analyzed using various data and more particularly the effects of mass tourism, the integration of temporary installations, sound vibrations, the effects of unstudied lighting, until the mystification of heritage. Unfortunately, the DGA (General Direction of Antiquities in Lebanon) does not specify any frequency limit for the sound vibrations emitted by the speakers during musical festivals. In addition, there is no requirement from its part regarding the installations of the lighting systems in the historic monuments and no monitoring is done in situ, due to the lack of awareness of the impact that could be generated by such interventions, and due to the lack of materials and tools needed for the monitoring process. The study and analysis of the various data mentioned above led us to the elaboration of the main objective of this paper, which is the establishment of a list of recommendations. This list enables to define various preventive conservation measures to be taken during the holding of the festivals within the cultural heritage sites in Lebanon. We strongly hope that this paper will be an awareness document to start taking into consideration several factors previously neglected, in order to improve the conservation practices in the archaeological sites and monuments during the incorporation of the festival phenomenon.

Keywords: archaeology, authenticity, conservation, cultural heritage, festival, historic sites, integrity, monuments, tourism

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Authors: Khadija Rafi, Neha Jamil, Laiba Khalid, Meerub Nawaz, Mahwish Farooq

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Speech articulation is a complex process to produce intelligible sounds with the help of precise movements of various structures within the vocal tract. All these structures in the vocal tract are named as articulators, which comprise lips, teeth, tongue, and palate. These articulators work together to produce a range of distinct phonemes, which happen to be the basis of language. It starts with the airstream from the lungs passing through the trachea and into oral and nasal cavities. When the air passes through the mouth, the tongue and the muscles around it form such coordination it creates certain sounds. It can be seen when the tongue is placed in different positions- sometimes near the alveolar ridge, soft palate, roof of the mouth or the back of the teeth which end up creating unique qualities of each phoneme. We can articulate vowels with open vocal tracts, but the height and position of the tongue is different every time depending upon each vowel, while consonants can be pronounced when we create obstructions in the airflow. For instance, the alphabet ‘b’ is a plosive and can be produced only by briefly closing the lips. Articulation disorders can not only affect communication but can also be a hurdle in speech production. To improve articulation skills for such individuals, doctors often recommend speech therapy, which involves various kinds of exercises like jaw exercises and tongue twisters. However, this disorder is more common in children who are going through developmental articulation issues right after birth, but in adults, it can be caused by injury, neurological conditions, or other speech-related disorders. In short, speech articulation is an essential aspect of productive communication, which also includes coordination of the specific articulators to produce different intelligible sounds, which are a vital part of spoken language.

Keywords: linguistics, speech articulation, speech therapy, language learning

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Authors: Raymond K. Dziwornu

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Lending rate of agriculture loan has persistently been high and attributed to risk in the sector. This study examined how food inflation and agriculture lending rate react to each other in Ghana using vector autoregressive approach. Quarterly data from 2006 to 2018 was obtained from the Bank of Ghana quarterly bulletin and the Ghana Statistical Service reports. The study found that a positive standard deviation shock to food inflation causes lending rate of agriculture loan to react negatively in the short run, but positively and steadily in the long run. This suggests the need to direct appropriate policy measures to reduce food inflation and consequently, the cost of credit to the agricultural sector for its growth.

Keywords: food inflation, agriculture, lending rate, vector autoregressive, Ghana

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Authors: Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Vida Cesnaitiene, Ingunn Fjortoft, Lise Kjonniksen

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Background: Gender differences in physical fitness were tracked in many studies with lower effect in preschool children and increasing difference among genders across age. In Lithuania, on a population level, secular trends in physical fitness were regularly observed each ten years for the last two decades for 11-18 years old students. However, there is apparently a lack of such epidemiological studies among primary school students. Assessing and monitoring physical fitness from an early age is of particular importance seeking to develop and strengthen physical abilities of youths for future health benefits. The goal of the current study was to indicate age and gender differences in anthropometric measures, musculoskeletal, motor and cardiorespiratory fitness in Lithuanian primary school children. Methods: The study included 3456 1-4th grade students from 6 to 10 years. The data reliably represents the population of primary school children in Lithuania. Among them, 1721 (49.8 percent) were boys. Physical fitness was measured by the 9-item test battery, developed by Fjørtoft and colleagues (2011). Height and weight were measured and body mass index was calculated. Student t test evaluated differences in physical fitness between boys and girls, ANOVA was performed to indicate differences across age. Results: All anthropometric and fitness means that were identified as significantly different were better in boys than in girls and in older than younger students (p < .05). Among anthropometric measures, height was higher in boys aged 7 through 9 years. Weight and BMI differed among boys and girls only at 8 years old. Means of height and weight increased significantly across all ages. Among musculoskeletal fitness tests, means of standing broad jump, throwing a tennis ball and pushing a medicine ball were different between genders within each age group and across all ages. Differences between genders were less likely in motor fitness than in musculoskeletal or cardiorespiratory fitness. Differences in means of shuttle run 10 x 5 test between genders occurred at age 6, 9 and 10 years; running 20 m at age 6 and 9 years, and climbing wall bars at age 9 and 10. Means of Reduced Cooper test representing cardiorespiratory fitness were different between genders within each age group but did not differ among age 6 and 8 as well as 7 and 8 years in boys, and among age 7 and 8 years in girls. Conclusion: In general, the current study confirms gender differences in musculoskeletal, motor and cardiorespiratory fitness found in other studies across the world in primary school and older children. Observed gender differences might be explained by higher physical activity in boys rather than girls. As it is explained by previous literature, older boys and girls had better performances than younger ones, because of the components of fitness change as a function of growth, maturation, development, and interactions among the three processes.

Keywords: primary school children, motor fitness, musculoskeletal fitness, cardiovascular fitness

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